Goodship Dress in Out to Sea

I really wanted to wait until I had Christian's shirt done before I blogged about this dress but I couldn't wait!  Christian went down for a nap so Eva Mae and I had a photo shoot and I still have time to write about it before he wakes up!!!!



This little girl has stolen my heart!!!  She is so happy and adorable and I can't believe how big she's getting!  She is really developing a fun personality - she's sweet, silly and definitely sassy!  She's not afraid to tell her brother what she thinks - in her little pterodactyl voice! "BRRRAGH" is her favorite response when he tells her to do something!

The fabric I chose for their matching Easter outfits is from the Michael Miller line "Out to Sea" by Sarah Jane!

The pattern is the Goodship Dress which was included in the Sew Fab pattern bundle I advertised a few weeks ago!  Did you grab it?  If not, you can buy the pattern here!  And make sure you check back next year when I will share the link for the next Sew Fab pattern bundle!

I love the way the pleated front plays "peek-a-boo" with the sweet nautical print!  The sailor collar is what gets me!!!  Have I mentioned how I love collars?! :) 

Here's a view of the back.  I originally wanted to embroider an anchor on the front but with three different fabrics some sewing friends and I decided it would be too much - the dress was perfect "as is!"

I hope Easter will be warm so we can see these cute and fat baby arms and legs!

The anchor hair clip is a felt embroidery design - they are so fun to make and I really want to build up my inventory so I can take them to craft shows, etc!  I love using them for hair bows and clips for Eva Mae!

And to close out the blog post here is my VERY FAVORITE picture of Eva Mae!!!  My little sailor girl, I love you so much!

A Seussical Week!

If you didn't know, Dr. Seuss' birthday is celebrated on March 2nd each year!

 In my former life as a music teacher I LOVED this week - creating lessons that used various Seuss books and putting on a "Read Across America" program each year with 2nd grade.

 Now, as a crafty stay-at-home mama I've had the opportunity to create some cute Seuss celebration clothes!  Check out these adorable "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" shirts I was able to make for a customer!

As my kids get older I can't wait to incorporate fun crafts and activities to inspire a love for children's literature! Dr. Seuss was so magical and unique! I remember as a child reading "Cat in the Hat" and "Please Try to Remember the First of Octember" (My brother's favorite was "Marvin K. Mooney!" I had to read that out loud to him many times as well!) Here are some fun projects I found on the web!!!

Check out these adorable push pops from Country Chic Cottage!!!

Thing 1 & Thing 2 Puppets (with printable)
at Crack of Dawn Crafts

If you have a Dr. Seuss craft/activity on your blog, leave a comment so I can check it out!!!

I hope your many colored days are filled with lots of yellow and pink days and not gray or black ones!

 

Hopscotch Top Sewalong

I am sooooo excited to share this adorable dress with you guys today!!!

The pattern is from Peek-a-Boo pattern shop - click here!



I picked this pattern because I'm offering a sewing class in my town on March 23rd and wanted something easy for a beginner and this pattern is perfect!



The only pattern piece you have to print out is the bodice.  The skirt, sleeves and front panel are just rectangles that you have to cut to a specific size!

And you have 3 choices in length - you can make it a top, a tunic length, or a dress.  After I decided to sew it as a dress length I regretted it......see all the buttons/buttonholes?  Yeah, buttonholes are not my favorite thing to sew.  Hand sewing buttons isn't so bad when you can plop in front of the TV to work.  I finished all 12 buttons during a 1 hour show! :)

And I love the fabrics!  I bought several coordinating prints for Eva Mae's spring wardrobe!  Yellow just feels so right for her personality!  She's such a bright little girl and so so so so sweet!!!

If you would like to join us for the sew along you can see the information on the
Spring Hill Sewing facebook page here!

It's free, you just have to purchase the pattern and let me know you're coming! :)

Emie Dress - PR&P Signature Look

Well, I'm a day late and a dollar short - Project Run and Play "Signature Style" was due yesterday but we had a really busy week and the only sewing I got done was for custom orders (yay for me!)

I knew when I was planning for the signature style that I wanted to use this dress pattern in some adorable fabric I ordered.  I plan to make Eva Mae's spring wardrobe out of these prints (I have a few others that are adorable and in the yellow/pink tones.)

The dress designer/pattern maker is Rachel Knoblich of Little Bird Lane

CLICK HERE TO VISIT HER ETSY SHOP!

I found out about Rachel through a customer!  A local mom that I've made some ruffle pants and applique tees sent me Rachel's etsy store link asking if I could make this dress for her daughter in some blue and black material that she bought.  I messaged Rachel and she was SOOOOOO kind to let me try out her pattern and post it on the blog!

I wanted to sew a dress for Eva Mae first before I began the dress for my customer.  I just love how it turned out!  I'll post more pictures of the pattern when I finish little Abagail's dress!

Rachel did a great job explaining each step of the dress construction!  

  

The options for the dress are a bodice ruffle, apron, pockets and bottom contrasting trim.

For my dress I only did the apron but I modified it with a bottom band on the apron and added ribbon.

Here's the back

I really liked the under arm casings and it was easy to put together - not as easy as doing a simple lined bodice with gathered skirt, but I like the look of the extra detail!

And the shoulder ties are so cute!  I love shoulder ties! :) See here.....and here......and here!

 

Thank you Rachel!!!

I also think it's my signature style of dress because of the fabrics.  For some reason I'm drawn to either pinks with teal or yellows with red and blue!

 

 I told Nick it was funny - the skirt fabric was bought at Stitcher's Garden a year ago to make this dress (look how little she is!!!)

The top of the bodice and the skirt fabric were bought last week when Fabric.com had a sale on Riley Blake!

 

I definitely like the boutique clothes look similar to Matilda Jane and Persnickety when I make clothes for my little girl!!!  (Although I can't wrap my head around why moms like to wear Matilda Jane too.....I have seen some things that are cute but I've also seen some things that moms just should not wear!!!!  Sorry, you won't see me around town in a pair of ruffle pants!)

And before I sign off, I wanted to show you my new hanger!!!
 

Pick Your Plum had a deal where you could get a personalized hanger engraved on wood!  I love it!  I think it adds that extra whimsy that I love when I'm displaying the kids clothes I love to sew!!!


Thank you for stopping by!  I'll be linking this post up all week and would love for you to become a new follower of my blog!  On the right side you can click to follow with Google Friend Connect or your RSS reader! :)  Good luck to all the ladies in the Project Run and Play competition!!!  I have loved visiting your blogs and seeing all your creativity!

Applique Onesie Tutorial

I'm over at Summer's blog - Sumo's Sweet Stuff today!

Come check it out!!!

http://www.sumossweetstuff.com/2013/02/feature-friday-sewing-mama-raeanna.html

Project Run and Play Men's Shirt Refashion

This challenge was probably one of my favorites!!!  I had a lot of ideas going into the deconstruction of my hubby's shirt!  I thought about using the button down front as the back of the dress and appliqueing the front but I thought that might look too much like my Valentine look.
Then I though about using the construction of the shirt as the basic form but shirring the waist.  Like this

Finally, I decided on showcasing the collar with an adorable halter sundress!!!  I LOVE how it turned out!

My first step was to remind my hubby that I needed one of his shirts!!!  We both have way too many clothes so it wasn't a problem for him to destash a shirt! :)


When he brought this blue paisley I was really surprised!  It's such a great shirt but I realized I only have seen him wear it a few times!!  I think I bought it for him for Easter several years ago!  *Note to self - hubby doesn't like pastel paisley!*

Or, maybe he does?  Anyway, he said "it's too out of style" when I asked him if he was sure he wanted to give up this shirt!

And he will admit that it looks much better on Eva Mae then it did on him! haha!

The basic construction of it utilized the collar as the focal point of the design.  I love collars on my baby girl!    

The color was also perfect for her!  Those big, bright blue eyes!  She melts me!

The back of the dress has an elastic casing - if you look closely at the ties they were created from the front button placket of the shirt!!!  I could have used the sleeve material for the shoulder ties but I was hoping to use that for a cute pair of pants.  I might eventually get to it.....I have to get caught up on my to-do list!

And the cute little birdie hair clip can be found in a tutorial I guest posted at Welcome to the Mouse House! There's a free printable template to make your own!


Thank you so much for stopping by!  I have a tutorial for this dress that will be posted soon!  I would love to have you join me as a follower of my blog (click the Google Friend Connect button at the top or follow with your RSS reader!)  I'll be sure to post when and where you can get the tutorial and pattern that I drafted!

Also, if you haven't heard about the awesome Sew Fab E-pattern Bundle click here to read more and purchase over $180 worth of patterns for $24.95!!!

Fabric Party Hat DIY tutorial!

***Update:  If you want to sew the party hat, check out my new tutorial!***

Continue reading below if you want to make the no sew version!

These party hats are SO EASY to put together and you can easily customize the look for your little one's birthday party!  This is the "bare bones" tutorial and I'll leave all the creative embellishments up to you!  Make these hats as extravagant as you want!  Although if your little one is like mine, the hat probably won't be on for too long!

What you'll need:
My pattern (click here)
Scrap fabric (a fat quarter is plenty)
Adhesive spray or other fabric glue
Hot glue gun
Elastic cord or elastic thread
Embellishments (yarn pom, ribbon, etc.)

 

Print out my pattern on cardstock.  I looked around the internet but all I could find was a party hat template that you had to trace on cardstock!  This makes it easy that you can just put your cardstock in the printer and cut out from there.

Cut out the hat template and place on your fabric.  Cut all around the fabric leaving about 1/2" edge.  You can see how the fabric is about 1/2" bigger than the hat template.

 

Using adhesive spray, spray the wrong side of the fabric and turn the edges of the fabric onto the cardstock all around the edges.

 

Now, you can make an easy yarn pom to glue to the top:

Wrap yarn around a rectangle of cardstock (I just used a piece from the template) - I would say this is about 1.5-2" wide.

Tie it off in the middle

Cut all the looped ends to make the pom!

Hot glue the pom to the top of the hat and hot glue some elastic cord at the bottom on both sides so that the elastic can go under the baby's chin and the hat can stay on at least long enough to get a few pictures!


Now, make a diaper cover and a little necktie or bowtie to complete an adorable smash cake set for your little one or as a gift!