Skater Dress Tour

Dude, I totally dig that I get to show you this gnarly new pattern by Amanda of Kitschy Coo!  (I hope you read that in the raddest skater voice!  If you really wonder what I sound like think Michigan transplant to Tennessee......a little southern drawl but mostly northern yankee!)

 I don't work with knits that often but I was excited to be a part of Amanda's Skater Dress Pattern tour to show you the version I made!  I didn't veer too much from the original pattern since my confidence in improvising with knits is pretty low!!! :)  But don't worry - this pattern is perfect for beginners like me or those who have worked with knits in the past!  The instructions are great to help those who are new to stretchy fabrics and the shape of the dress is perfect to springboard into other styles if you feel adventurous!

I self drafted a pair of leggings to go with the dress that I think turned out adorable!  This is the first pair of leggings that I've sewn with just my serger!  I used the same techniques in the dress to make the cuffs of the legs and the waistband!  I think a whole new world of sewing has been opened!  Yay for knits!

 

And a cutie patootie matching knit headband completes the outfit!
(She had crazy hair from taking a nap after her bath this morning!)

 

As I said earlier, Amanda's instructions are wonderful and made sewing this dress easy and gave me a lot of confidence to try experimenting with some other modifications like Meg at Elsie Marley!

Since I normally only have time to sew when the kids are sleeping  I don't have the opportunity to test out the garments for measuring unless I want to wait and finish everything up the next day!  I probably should have gone ahead and fixed the length before taking pictures but she just looked so cute I couldn't wait!

The size I used for the dress was 18m/2T and it is a little big for her.  She's on the early side of 18m sizing so the dress may look better in the fall once she's grown a bit!

Thank you so much for reading and checking out this adorable dress!  You can purchase it here!
And if you are following my blog with Google Reader I would hate to lose you this summer!!!  Reader will be going away but I've heard that http://www.bloglovin.com/ is a great place to sign up and manage your RSS subscriptions!  I hope you'll consider following my blog as I continue to create cute stuff for my cuties!

P.S. I'm excited to announce that I will be a contestant in the Sew Off!  I will be sewing up a storm to get my look finished by Friday!

 

Easter is on it's way!

 
I feel bad that I haven't blogged this week but I have a great post going up next weekend!  It's not an Easter post so this will be my token Easter picture blog until I upload pictures of our family Easter in matching outfits!!! :)  Yes, I am THAT mom! We're doing khaki and navy!  The kids are wearing their custom clothes made from the Sarah Jane Out to Sea fabric!

Have you seen the trend of chevron print in dresses?  I love this matching set that I made for my best friend and her new baby sister coming in the next few months!!!
 
And this is the chevron pillowcase I did for another friend!  I love the colors of the Riley Blake girl chevron!

 
And how cute did this Easter basket turn out?!!!  I embroidered the names of 3 siblings for their Easter baskets bought at Michael's!  Next year I'll probably do pre-orders!  They turned out so sweet!

And this was a quick and fun little project - I did a pre-order for some Kavio dresses and I've been running a special on my Facebook page for $5 embroidered initial!  This dress looks adorable with the little Easter bunny hair bow I made below!

I've been doing a hairbow special this month too - $2 for any single bow and character feltie!  I sold quite a few!  The shop is closed up for a few weeks so I can enjoy my friends visiting from out of state but if you're interested in any of the bows you can see the current pricing on my FB page!  I love the little chick in the cover photo and this Easter egg bow!

I hope you and your family have a happy Easter and Holy Week!!!  HOSANNA! :)

Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop Spring Tour 2013

 

I feel like I am soooooo lucky to have a cyber friend in Amy at Naptime Crafters and Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop!  She was gracious to include me in the Holiday tour this past December and I'm really glad to be a part of the Spring tour today with the Cutie Pie Ruffle Pants!

I am a huge fan of Amy's patterns.  In fact, next week I'll be teaching some local moms how to sew the Hopscotch Top from her shop!

Today I'm featuring the brand new pattern for ruffle pants/capris/shorts!  They're called the "Cutie Pie Ruffle Pants!"  And believe me, when you sew these for your little girl you will get a TON of compliments on her cuteness!!!


I've been sewing ruffle pants for almost a year and I usually find that the best fit is to just sew from measurements that I'm given.  Or, if I'm sewing for my daughter I trace a pair of pants that fit her and add some seam allowances.  So far, I've only tested the 18 month size but with my experience from previous Peek a Boo Patterns I'm sure all the sizes are spot on!



I just love the look of an applique t-shirt and ruffle pants!  I needed a casual Easter outfit for Eva Mae so she can have something to wear at our local Easter Egg hunt!  Her actual Easter church outfit will be the Goodship Dress in Sarah Jane Out to Sea fabric!

If you've ever sewn ruffle pants you've probably run into the same thing I've experienced:

1.  The pattern doesn't give enough rise in the back and when your little girl sits down her diaper shows!!!
or
2.  The patterns that use a mirrored front/back end up being bulky in the front crotch - there's no need for the extra fabric in the front but since the pattern has you cut on the fold you are stuck with those measurements.

The way Amy drafted this pattern is that you still have the convenience of only needing 2 pieces but instead of cutting on the fold, the front slant is shorter then the back so you don't get that bulk in the front.  Also, the rise is cut higher in the back so you don't get plumber's crack! YAY!!! :)


You really should go check out the pattern here and also check out the other awesome bloggers that are part of the Spring 2013 Pattern Tour!

Thanks for letting me be a part of the tour, Amy!  As always, your patterns are wonderful and so much fun to sew!!!  Don't forget to enter the giveaway that's happening on the Spring Tour!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

(And here's a little outtake - she didn't want to pose on the couch anymore!)

Guest Posting at Alida Makes!

Alida is hosting my tutorial for making a dress out of a men's button up shirt! 

Check it out!

http://www.alidamakes.com/2013/03/calling-all-kids-with-sewing-mama.html

This is part of a series of fun "outside of the box" ideas for kids clothes!

 

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! :)