Frozen dress!

I really like the movie Frozen.  The Broadway-style songs are great, and it's an interesting change that there's no real "bad guy" (well, there is towards the end, but that's almost an aside).  My kidlet loves it, and so does every other child, it seems.  Mine thankfully wants Anna's dress (thanks, Spoonflower!) - pleated cotton and embroidered suedette I can happily do.  All the other kids, however, want Elsa's snow queen dress.  I've had three orders for one, and made a fourth for trial of fabrics and patterns.

You must pose with a crown if you're a queen.

JoAnn's wisely has all the ice-blue shiny fabrics pulled on a display table.

Size 3-4 is a bit large on a toddler.

Simplicity gets the Disney contracts, but McCall's made the pattern first, so it's called "Winter Princess," delightfully.  Other unofficial Frozen-inspired products from other companies also have silly names to avoid trademark issues - at Sparkle Skirts it's "big sister" and "little sister".

The odd underarm cape certainly met with her approval.

Hadn't made an attached cape from the yoke (rather than neck) before, and I rather like it - it doesn't pull at the neckline at all, especially as it attaches around past the arms (as in the movie, though I'll likely move it a little further out - this pattern comes perhaps a bit too far in).

The finished product, ready for Etsy if anyone wants it - if nobody wants it in a year, kidlet will have grown into it!

Made with spangly stretchy stuff, costume satin skirt, shiny organza cape, and a nice chiffon for the sleeves.

I'm glad I did the trial run - these spangles are all glued on and it did a number on my machine - needles get gummy, thread won't glide along gummy needles... I've got a metallic crinkle overlay for the other dresses!

Zipper and big placket in the back.  I may alter the placket a bit for the subsequent dresses.

One round of fray-y shiny sparkles down, three to go!

Available here.

Anna dress

In progress: at the request of the kidlet, Princess Anna's coronation dress from Frozen. Better that - cottons and fake suede - than Elsa's ice queen dress, all stretch sparkles!

A trip to Spoonflower (once I decided my fabric painting skills are nonexistent) and to Etsy for embroidery files and I'm good to go - a mannequin makes drafting so much easier!

Cinderella!

I didn't like the Simplicity Cinderella pattern, so I modified the "generic princess" view of Butterick 4320 for this pattern instead. I used a very nice rayon crepe to line the bodice and an old silk-poly blend sari for the main dress, and poly organza for the puffs. 

Modifications: in the bodice, just buttons instead of zipper and for the sleeve puffs (instead of a full puffed sleeve where you can see the elastic through the organza), I sewed the sleeve seam, then gathered both "top" and "bottom" together and set them into the sleeve opening (to the bodice fabric), hand-stitching the lining down on top to cover the exposed edges. (If I make this again, I'll just free-hand more movie-accurate puffs. The ladies at Disney World have just regular puffs in white satin, I think, but I like the movie's version!)

For the skirt, as I was using a bordered fabric, I ignored the pattern pieces and instead gathered the fabric (folded double with a tulle petticoat in-between) and sewed it onto the bodice, again hand-sewing the lining over it. (Dress form very useful for that exercise, as I wanted to keep the point at the bodice front, so sewing straight wasn't an option!) (If I make this again, I'll just use the pattern pieces - the fabric was the only reason I didn't, and it sure would have been easier.)

For the pannier-things, I cut a large organza circle (30" or so), folded it in half, and gathered the edges (two layers together), then pinned and attached as I attached the skirt. 

I'm very pleased with this, as it looks more like the "real" Cinderella than the official patterns! Kidlet liked it too.
(Dress form, which kidlet has named Leonard, is a bit thicker in the waist than she is. But you can see the buttons.)

Frowny hot party-weary toddler approved!

Old notions

Always entertained by old notions - you got a lot more for a lot less back then!

Growth tucks as originally intended

Back when she was tiny, I made the kidlet (now 2!) Chery Williams' Baby Square Yoke dress in a 6 month size.  My first dress on my mother's Bernina that she kindly gave me, with sweet decorative stitches on the collar and lots of exciting work with the edgestitch and rolled hem feet.  My first attempt at heirloom sewing.

(Photo from last July - ignore the mess!)

It was quite big (though she wore it much of her second spring and summer, just after turning 1), and very long (especially for a crawler), so I put in a big tuck that made the dress look even cuter.

Going through clothes to put away as too small, I found this one still fits, so out came the seam ripper, out comes three inches of growth tuck, and my kidlet's wearing a size 6 month dress comfortably into her second year!

(Now where'd I put that iron?)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Simplicity 1745

In honor of the day, here's two cute views from a 1956 Simplicity pattern I picked up at the Quilt Show!  1950s kids' clothes are excellent.

Simplicity 1745

And it's a size 4 (back when patterns came in one size), and my monkey wears a 1, so I have lots of time to get around to making it!

Sleep sack

My monkey sleep-crawls, so blankets are a ways off still, but she's outgrown her sleep sack.  Easy enough to make a new one, though.

Fabric books

I love making the fabric books from panels.  I recently made these four (holidays from Joann, Pooh from Etsy) for my little nephew.  Drool? Washing machine!  My kidlet still loves the Rudolph and Night Before Christmas ones I made her.  And there is something new on the market: http://redbikestudio.blogspot.com/2013/08/hugabook-tm.html
Book with matching soft toy!  Have to try that out soon.

Simple skirt tutorial

Greetings!  Recently I was rushing to make some skirts for the kidlet and her "twin cousin" (born eight hours later), during the last naptime before going to visit them.  It struck me that I could make a skirt the same way a pillowcase can be made, so I took a few photos to share the process:

Step 1 (not pictured) - get some fabric (remnants work for a toddler skirt - width of fabric x the length you want the skirt); get some knit for the waistband (about six inches wide x the circumference of the baby's belly when not really stretched (this leaves room for a seam as well as some growing)).

Step 2: take up a few pleats in the skirt to make it as wide as the waistband fabric when the waistband is stretched out.  Pin them and then tack across the top on your regular sewing machine.



Step 3: oddly, no clear picture of the pinning - likely because it was a bear to do - but it's the same method shown for the basic sausage pillowcase here - roll up the skirt, pinning the waistband around the skirt-sausage; to be safe, I recommend pinning the skirt down away from the edge of the waistband, as shown here.  Then serge along the seam:

 

 Step 4: remove pins and tug the skirt out of the waistband, turning it right-side out.

Step 5: ta-da!  A very wrinkled skirt!  Serge up the back seam and finish the hem.

Step 6: I used a rolled hem, added rick-rack, and added lace.  (On one of the two I serged the seam first, on the other I added the trim first.  Personal preference.)

Hooray, a very very fast (except for nasty pinning) stretch-waisted skirt!

(Sorry, no ironing - had to get it into the suitcase!

Bonnets

Today I: put snaps on the last homemade diaper (sorry, no photos -it's functional, not cute!), made my sister an adorable Jon-Jon and forgot to take photos before putting it in a box, and made two bonnets (and snapped photos on my phone while fending off a kid).  Productive nap time!

A note on heirloom dress sizes

Baby clothes sizes are unpredictable.  Simplicity patterns for babies are sized by weight, which seems pretty accurate.  My monkey's at the smaller end of things, so in the "month" sizes of basic storebought clothes (Gap, Carter's, etc.) she's generally one size back (seventeen months now, and mostly wearing 12mo sizes, though she's starting to be too tall for the footed ones).

In Indian clothes, she's right on the mark.  Our lovely pediatrician, of Vietnamese heritage, understands genetic differences and didn't say a thing when the baby showed up at the 5th percentile for weight - when her "twin cousin" (eight hours younger, also "windy") was called underweight at over a pound heavier by a doctor unfamiliar with the concept of naturally-skinny Asian babies.  And the beautifully-fitted off-the-rack clothes we get from India bear that out (in beautiful silks and soft cottons I can't buy here... and so poorly sewn!).

The clothes from Creations by Michié must also run skinny (and looking at how nicely they fit on her non-chubby granddaughter, that may well be the case).  Because I made the Sailor Dress #106 in the 18 months size and it's a perfect fit:

Sailor Dress upside-down

Sailor Dress backwards and flipped up

Sailor Dress in motion

Well, you can't really tell, because she's reached the stage of constant motion.  

The fagoting on the collar was a challenge (never done embroidery or much free handwork), but it really makes the dress.  

I have another cut out, same size, in a lovely blue plaid.  I like her patterns - easy to make (for heirloom), very clear instructions, and an excellent finished product.  Of the three I've tried (Chery Williams, Creations by Michié, and Ginger Snaps), I like these the best.

This dress, however, Chery Williams' baby square yoke, in the six month size, still fits just fine at seventeen months.  Heirloom patterns in general run large, I've heard (perhaps so slow seamstresses don't find the kid's outgrown it before it's finished, or so it can be worn longer - I do like the four inch hems - the extra tuck I added in this dress still hasn't been taken out), so Michie may be the exception.

(And it's also a lovely pattern that I'll use several times - and already have used three times - but it's perhaps *too* well made - a fabulous lined bodice isn't necessary in Houston's heat!  I'll just finish my seams and call it a day with only one layer of thin cotton!)

Old notions

Borrowed from my mother: bias tape she's had as long as I've been alive.

Overalls

I believe a yellow duck is necessary, don't you?

Chew guard

The baby turned into a badger and started chewing on her crib when she got teeth. It's a mini crib, and the rail in question is thick and round, so the plastic protector things wouldn't work.  On a friend's suggestion, I simply took a length of fleece, about eight inches wide (from my mother's sewing room trash can, actually - left over from making a sleep sack for my upcoming Boston nephew), snipped it all along, and tied it around the rail. Cute!

(And yes, that is a sleeping baby in the photo - took a big risk snapping that picture!)

Skirt done!

And, in about an hour, with a kid crawling around, I managed to sew (but not iron!) the Oliver + S Music Class skirt - it's very fast! Just need a bit of elastic. (And a better photo... Soon!)

How much fabric does the music class blouse require?

For what it's worth, the size 6-12 and 12-18 month blouses can easily be cut from 2/3 yard each, and possibly less, in case you were wondering...as the pattern says it's one yard for all sizes 6 months to 4T!  The remnant bin can still be your friend for both blouse and skirt.

Music Class

So, when I went to the store to get a pattern for an outfit for my upcoming nephew, I may have gotten distracted...

Camera bag

Goodness! As far as I can tell, there are no tutorials for making a camera bag for a compact mirrorless camera. Lots for a giant camera like my husband has, and lots for a padded pouch for the phone-shaped little cameras, but none for mine, small but with a protruding lens, as seen below. Looks like I'll have to make one myself - and try to get my act together to make a tutorial!

Pattern weights

When you have a kid, you start using different things as pattern weights!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day - pacifier/toy holder

It's time for the giveaway day!

In addition to the knitting books, I'm also giving away a pacifier/toy clip like the ones in my store:

It can be used to hold various kinds of pacifiers, including the Soothie type, and toys with a thin area to put the elastic loop around.

I've been disturbed to see people selling ones they describe as having a 24" strap - that's not safe.  There's a reason you'll never see a commercially-produced one like that.  Mine have roughly 6-8" straps, that cannot wrap around a child's neck!

The one I didn't get to photograph with the rest is pink and white polka dots with a pink clip and a white loop:

(colors brighter in real life - camera's out of commission, so have to rely on telephone!)

Giveaway open through Friday, I'll do a random drawing Saturday morning, and I'll ship anywhere (shipping time may take longer overseas, as I can't use the automated machine).

If you're interested, leave a comment telling me who it would be for!

When I'm not making pacifier clips, I make monkey hats:

Sweet baby dresses (and a sweet baby):

Traditional quilts:

Historical costumes (worn at Dickens on the Strand last week):

And all sorts of other things - I have a making compulsion :)

Happy giveaway week :)