Renfrew Top and Another Swing Dress

I finally got my Sewaholic Renfrew Top Pattern in the mail, and as soon as the kids were in bed last night, I proceeded to cut into this gray knit from JoAnn's.

 I chose to sew View C, with the cowl neck and 3 quarter length sleeves.  I am so happy and excited about this pattern.  I see many more renfrews in the future.

And here is little B in another version of Blank Slate's Pristine Swing Dress that I made before here.  Pictures were all taken by my almost 5 year old.

sewing in the new year

I made something for the littlest one in the house.  The hopscotch top pattern by Oliver + S in a nice four-way knit that I bought on-line a while ago from the Fabric Fairies.    This is a size 3T lengthened by a couple of inches.  Do you recognize that skirt?  I made that for s not that long ago it seems.   




The dress above is the Pristine Swing Dress by Blank Slate Patterns.  I've been a huge admirer of MellySews, and as soon as she released her Blank Slate for girls, I grabbed the entire collection at a huge discount.  This dress was cut in a size 5.  The placket calls for a woven fabric, but I used a knit instead, and the neckline came out huge because of the stretch.  I pinched a couple of inches in the back and omitted the button closure.  And voila, there is now a little inverted pleat in the back that makes the dress even swingier.  Problem fixed.

 

My two little girlies wearing all hand-made.  Happy new year!

Explorer Vest and Another Art Smock

The pattern is the Explorer Vest from Liesl  of Oliver & S in the book "Little Things to Sew."  I made it as a birthday present for a friend in S's playgroup.  The plaid is DS Quilts from JoAnn's.  I chose to place it on the pocket bellows and the flaps.  The main fabric is a dreamy Lisette chambray also bought at JoAnn's.

Here's the back view.  Easy peasy project, and even with the bellows and the lining, it took me less than 3 hours to sew.

Here's my goofy girl modeling yet another birthday present for a friend, this time it's the Art Smock also from "Little Things to Sew."  Can you tell I love that book?  Not sure what the fabrics are, but they all came from my stash, which I am trying very hard to shrink a bit. 

Christmas is fast approaching.  I have a few things I'm thinking about making.  Ah, so much to do and so little time.  If only I didn't have to sleep....

A Butterfly and a Bee

These butterfly wings were made using Martha Stewart"s tutorial found here.  Since it seemed like the original pattern was too big for my 4 year old, I shrunk it by a couple of inches, which also meant that I had to redraw the inside design to fit the smaller wings.  Once the pattern pieces were all cut out though, it was a pretty quick sew.  I used wool felt and one inch foam.

 

 



And here's our cute little bee. The Oliver & S Bubble Dress pattern was pretty much perfect for this costume.  I cut up the skirt portion into black and yellow stripes but was too lazy to add seam allowances, so the dress ended up a little short on her.  Both the tights and wings were bought at JoAnn's on super clearance.  The antenna headbands I made myself out of pipe cleaners and yellow pompoms.

 

Happy Halloween to all the other little insects out there!

 

 

Fall KCWC: Days 2 & 3: Butterfly Tweed Sunday Brunch Jacket

I've made this jacket before, back in the spring.  S soon grew out of it; the sleeves are now almost elbow length.  So this time around, I made a size 5.  It's now available as a digital pattern on the oliver & s website. 

It's a little big on her, but I expect she will grow into it soon.  One end of the selvage on this wool tweed has embroidery and butterflies, I used that end for the bottom of the jacket.  I think it softens this rather grown-up gray. 

The whole outfit together reminds me a bit of a Maoist uniform.