a village frock

Look what I made!  A Village Frock by Sugar CIty..  This pattern has long been out of print, but thanks to the generosity of Sky, I was able to get my hands on it. 

Seriously, the pictures don't do this little frock justice.  It is way cuter in person than what my poor photographic skills can capture.   I cut a size 4.  As you can see, the dress runs a tad short.  S is little for her age; any shorter and the dress would be a tunic.

The dress was made from a linen blend that i found as a remnant.  there wasn't enough fabric so i had to cut the sleeves about an inch shorter.  The neck and sleeve trims are ds quilts.

I just cut out a whole bunch of skirts during b's nap, some to keep for s and some to give away as presents.  I'm hoping I can post something for tomorrow as well. 

A Candy Corn Dress

Ok, I wasn't going to post about this until I finished both girls' dresses, but yikes, how cute is this?

 Yep, I made a candy corn dress.  You know, so she can wear it  for the next couple of weeks until Halloween.  Impractical, I know, but I just couldn't get it out of my head that the girls needed matching candy corn dresses.  So I drew up a pattern from a sleeveless t-shirt and proceeded to whip up this baby.

 OK, it wasn't as easy as that.  I really wanted a dress with a real placket so I did a little research along the way when I realized that heck, I couldn't figure out how to do it on my own.  First, I read through this tutorial from Ruby in Blue..  The pictures were kind of fuzzy and far away and the placket wasn't really what I wanted anyway so I tried a different tutorial.  I found one from the ever-industrious Made by Rae for a man's shirt placket found here.  Although the directions were clear there were a few very key pictures missing.  But I got the gist and just winged the rest. 

 The candy corn buttons I found at JoAnn's in the Halloween display.  Adorbs, right?

Next up, a candy corn dress for B (I promise I'll post pictures) and Elsie Marley's KCWC.

I Heart Heather Ross

I started this bag a couple of weeks ago and just finished it last night.  The pattern is the messenger bag from LIttle Things to Sew.  It's really not my style to let something remain unfinished for so long.  Once I start on something, I tend to obsess about it until it's done.  Not so with this bag.  This was a leisurely sew, an hour or two here and there.  I had time for other things, like going to bed early and hanging out with the husband in front of the TV.

I used the same fabric combination as the bear carrier, Heather Ross Far Far Away 2.  The bias trim, lining, and straps were made from Liz Scott Sugar Pop.  It's a cute little bag, with an empasis on little.  But it fits S perfectly.  She can probably pack her extra clothes for preschool and a couple of smallish books in there.

So after finishing this bag last night at around 11pm, I saw that I still had quite a bit of bias tape left over.  Of course bias tape should never be wasted.  And so I has to make this:

With a real waist band and button closure.  Almost like a grown up skirt.  It was 1:30 am when my head finally hit the pillow.  So much for leisurely sewing.

B is for Bitty Baby

Each week at preschool, the kids are asked to bring something from home that begins with the letter of the week.  This week's letter was "B."  S wanted to bring Bitty Baby, her baby doll that we gave her to take care of when B first came into our family.   To bring her safely to school, I made Bitty Baby a front carrier of her own.

The Bear Carrier pattern is from my current favorite sewing book Little Things to Sew by Liesl of Oliver & S.  The design is simple but ingenious.  Bitty Baby already had a baby carrier, but she was always really floppy in it and the straps were way too big and long on S.  And so a new carrier was definitely needed.

I used Heather Ross Far Far Away II fabric for the main panel and pocket.  There's Rapunzel in the front pocket looking a bit annoyed.

And here is Bitty Baby looking happy and contented in her new carrier. 

I'll leave you with one last image of Bitty Baby and Baby B as a 2 month infant.

The Easiest Dress Ever

I first discovered this designer called Dans la Lune through Elsie Marley's interviews with pattern designers in the days and weeks leading up to Kid's Clothing Week Challenge.  I bought the Tunic Dress pattern last spring.  And finally got around to making this summery dress just when fall is around the corner.

This is possibly the easiest dress I've ever made.  There are 6 pattern pieces to cut out and they came together so quickly.  I just used pre-made bias tape, the pink I had left over from B's Bonnet. 

The back is held together with the bias trim.  A very sweet and lovely detail.  There's not much more to say about this dress except that I do love the classic lines and the simplicity of it.  I think I will make one for fall, maybe with wool or corduroy....