Baby B's First Birthday

Baby B. has two little friends who are 6 and 5 weeks older than she is, and so we decided to have a triple birthday party for the three babies. We split up the planning of the party and I, of course, was in charge of the outfits and the party favors.


This cute little guy is wearing an outfit made by me. I based the pants on a pair of white capri's that Baby B. owns and drafted my own pattern. The pants have a flat front with elastic in the back. The length is mid-calf and there are little pleated cargo pockets on the sides.

To complete the look, I bought a white polo shirt on clearance at Target, appliqued a number 1, and replaced the collar with one that was the same fabric as the pants. This is a great way to personalize as well as complete an outfit. You could also ad a little pocket to the shirt instead of the applique.

I made each of the babies their own bibs for the traditional eating of the cake. Baby B as you can see was not so happy about this part of the party.

The older sisters received matching outfits of their own. More Joy Ruffle Skirts.

Here is S. modeling the shirt portion of her outfit. The shirt was bought and the flower was made.

The sweet birthday girl in her birthday outfit. I appliqued a little cupcake on her shirt; a raw-edged applique with straight stitching. So simple and easy.

Ruffle Joy Skirt

The name of the pattern for this skirt just about describes it perfectly. And yes, finally I have made something for baby b. This incredibly cute pattern is by Bridget & Lucy and can be found here. The directions were fairly simple; you can actually use pre-cut jelly roll strips for the ruffled layers though I did cut up my own strips from fabrics I had on hand. The tulle also comes in 6-inch pre-cut rolls. The most exciting part of the process of making this skirt was that I got to use the rolled hem feature on my serger. The hemming was done so easily and fast. And the end result is a beatifully finished skirt! I'll post pictures of Baby B. crawling around in her skirt when the big day comes for her to wear it. And yes, I am talking about her 1 year birthday celebration.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel

The Disney movie "Tangled" just came out on DVD and I was inspired to make my version of the rapunzel dress. I used the same pattern as the cinderella dress, this time using view a, which is the snow white view. For the striped sleeves, I sewed narrow lavendar ribbons spaced about 1 and 1/2 inches apart, and doubled the length of the sleeve bands. The detailing on the bodice was made by adding an extra layer, cutting the two halves into a v-shape, then adding eyelets for the the ribbon lacing. The overskirt was lined with purple satin on top of a sparkly chiffon.

I found myself riduculously pleased with this dress, more so than anything else I've made in recent memory. I think this was because I veered a little away from a pattern, albeit to replicate a different dress, but still. Another factor was the absolute delight that s showed when I gave her the dress. She wore it for our "Tangled" themed playdate and was so happy to show it off to her friends.

Spring is in the air...

S has recently begun painting classes at our local children's museum. She loves the class but hates the mess. Being a stylish girl, S absolutely refuses to wear the t-shirt cover-ups that the good people of the Portland Children's Museum provide for the little artists. And so it was with great excitement that I found a pattern for the perfect art smock in Liesl Gibsons Little Things to Sew

This version was made as a gift for a friend's 2 year birthday. Fabric is Central Park by Kate Spain. I love love love this line of fabric, and actually all of her designs are so pretty and so fun. In my opinion, perfect for a child's garment.

S chose both fabrics for her own smock. The main fabric is sugarpop by Liz Scott. Also a fun and sweet collection.

You may notice that s is wearing plastic high heels. Underneath the smock she is in full ballerina regalia. The only time I can get her to wear normal clothes is when we are out and about. At home she is either in pretend dress-up clothes, tutus, or her favorite jammies and nightgowns.

My husband's co-workers/friend is due any day now. These bibs are loosely based on the travel bib in Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones. I had the trims on hand and the fabrics are left-over scraps from other projects. They are backed with terry cloth so they should be pretty absorbent. This was a fun and quick project that makes me wonder why I have not attempted making bibs before. Ah well, poor baby B is still using the old and stained bibs handed down from S who was a very drooly baby.

The title of this post is really wishful thinking. It is still cold and wet in our little corner of the great northwest. Sometimes we will catch a glimpse of the sun. These glimpses may last a few minutes, maybe even an hour, but when it does show, I am left happy and hopeful.

Thanks for stopping by and happy spring!

A Dance Bag and Other Stuff

I made this little dance bag as a birthday present for S and am now just getting around to posting about it. The pattern is Keyka Lou City Tote and can be found here. Although smallish for an adult, it is the perfect size for a toddler. The straps are perfect for wearing across the body if you are around 3 feet or so tall. Fabric is by Kokka of Japan. Don't you just love the little ballerinas?

It's been a bit slow around here in terms of crafting and sewing. I've been doing lots of thinking, planning, searching the internet for inspiration, buying patterns and books, and occasionally I will even pull out some fabric only to look at it and toss it onto my work table. Ah well, I am hoping to get a bit of motivation back tomorrow night when the girls are in bed. My next project is the Everyday Shopper from Amy Butler's Style Stitches. Something simple and easy that will (hopefully) kick me into action.