KCW Spring Day 1

Don't be fooled and think that I made this dress in an hour.  Hah.  It actually took a month to finish because of a few interruptions and quite a bit of perfectionism.  But what a better day to finish than the first day of KCW Spring 2013.

You may remember this fabric combination from this skirt.  I loved the combination so much I bought enough to make one more thing.  I just couldn't decide between this dress or a bag for myself... you can see which one won.  The main fabric is Cloud 9 Circles Metal which they appear to be reproducing in June.  I'm definitely planning to buy some Interlock Sprout when it comes out, isn't it lovely?

The pattern is from this Japanese pattern book.  It's my hands down favorite.  I've made several things from it and this dress has been begging me to make it since I got the book a couple years ago.

The only change I made to the pattern was to combine the back bodice and skirt pieces so I could cut them together and then elasticized the back waist instead of gathering it.  Lucia has a dress with an elastic waistband on the back that she has worn for more than a year.  It seems a little more comfortable and more conducive to play than the original design.

I thought I'd share a bit on how I did it.  The top picture shows the original back bodice and skirt pieces.

To modify the bodice I drew a cut a straight line from the center of the waist seem to the point between the neck and shoulder (I'm sure this has an official name, but I can't find it right now).   I then spread the two pieces out so the width at the waist matched the skirt. 

The last step is to add some paper between the gap, overlap the pieces at the waist slightly since they were originally cut on a curve, and tape it altogether.  Because I use freezer paper, I ironed them together and removed the tape.

Lucia hasn't actually tried on the dress yet, but I've held it up to her and I think it will be great.  The modification on the back was also really great because I didn't have to match the pattern there too.  I think I spent a week cutting because I was trying so hard to match the print.  I just need to get back to Joanns for the last two buttons and then I'll share some modeled shots.

three

The munchkin turned three a couple weeks ago.  And following tradition, I made her a new outfit for the occasion.  

The skirt is the Oliver + S Hopscotch skirt.  I love this little pattern, it is like the Tulip skirt pattern by Wikstenmade for little girls.  The funny thing is that what attracted me to the skirt in the first place was the cute little take-out box pockets.  But when I saw these pockets, I knew I wanted to incorporate some cat pockets into something for my girl.  

The shirt is a raglan from Ottobre XX.  I copied my good friend Layla's idea to make a birthday shirt but something a little more abstract than the number.  The funny thing is that the shirt was so big I had to tuck it in so you couldn't see the word three, and both Lucia and her teacher thought that one of the flowers was a kite.  But since they were so excited about that fact, I didn't say anything to correct them. 

St. Patrick's Day

Holidays this year have become so fun as Lucia anticipates each one a little more as a special day.  Of course for me, they are just an excuse to make something!

This is the Hopscotch Dress by Oliver + S out of one of my maternity shirts.  I've pinned so many interesting uses of stripes over time (like this one), I kept this shirt around waiting for the opportunity to play with stripes.  This was the perfect excuse.

I love this pattern because it's super easy.  I put it together the night before (using the shirts hems and sleeve finishes helped too).  But here you can see how easy it is to wear too.

Valentine's Day 2013

DIY Valentine's with a two-year-old.

1. Print hearts and any words you like on card stock.
2. Fuse fabric to cardstock using double sided fusible interfacing, such as Steam-A-Seam Lite.  (Give the little one some fabric options.)
3. Cut out your hearts.
4. Go crazy with fabric paints and googly eyes.
5. Admire.  We loved making our monster valentines.

Christmas Crafts: Last minute gifts

I'm pretty notorious for giving gifts after the event and this Christmas was no different.  Despite starting earlier and making, what I thought, was a reasonable gift list, life caught up with me.  So here in one post are the rest of the gifts...some came on time and some a little later.

First off is Elena's stocking.  I knew I couldn't let her first Christmas pass without making her a stocking.  Stockings  are the best!  As you can tell, I used the same pattern I used for all of ours.  I also used a similar fabric as the Lucia's (far right).  It's actually a cafe curtain from Superbuzzy.  I really like the fabric because the border print is fun and the fabric itself is really nice.  The only downside is that it has holes along the top for the curtain rod.  On Lucia's I cut out the batting and it let the lining show through, but it looks odd.  So I just let the batting show on Elena's.   The other funny thing about this fabric is that Lucia is convinced it has little "baby Jesus's" all over it.  I think it's hilarious that she thinks the matryoshka dolls look like baby Jesus.   

Here's a picture of the lining.  It's a fun pink polka dot seersucker someone gave me. 

This is the other gift I barely got done before Christmas.  In fact, I think I wrapped it before it was hemmed.  The pattern is Simplicity 1721 and the fabric is a great flannel from Momen+.   This is the closest I could get to getting a modeled shot of the pants.  

                   

Some more lovies for my youngest nieces and nephew.

The tails are my favorite part.

And an apron for Lori, modeled here by Lucia.  I used a fun dishcloth from Anthropologie I got for my birthday and the pattern is the free apron pattern on Sew Liberated.  It is a great, easy pattern and it goes to show you that Meg really knows kids--Lucia can put it on by herself.

And, finally, a craft bag for Vayda.  The fabric is Crafty Chloe by Heather Ross.  I sent Vayda the book for her birthday and word on the street is that she LOVES it (I need to order if for Lucia soon).  Inside the bag I included supplies for Vayda to make this.

That's it for Christmas gifts.  I know, it's March.  I need to catch up on my blogging, I have a lot of things to show and tell.

Christmas Crafts: Lucia's Backpack

I've been wanting to make Lucia a backpack for a long time.  Christmas was the perfect occasion.

The fabric, Ukulele by Heather Ross, is perfect, both for the bag and for Lucia.  One of her favorite things is playing the guitar with her dad.  So awhile back he bought her a real, nice ukulele.  I thought it was a little much for a two year old, but she has not only learned how to strum, she has also learned respect for the instrument (most of the time) and tune it (haha).

Back to the bag.  The pattern is the toddler backpack by Made by Rae using the backpack instructions from the Oliver + S Little Things to Sew book.   I bought the pattern before she added the lining instructions, so with the new pattern that should be all you need.

This was definitely the most rewarding sewing I've done recently.  The look on her face when she opened the gift was priceless.  And the first words out of her mouth... "my fabric"... even more priceless.

Christmas Crafts: Lucia's Dress

Do you ever see a sewing pattern and a piece of fabric that you think just HAVE to go together?  This was one of those times for me.  I can't remember which I saw first but once I had the idea in my head I just had to do it and I knew it would make the nicest Christmas dress.  But I was also having one of those times when I couldn't spend any extra money on sewing.  So, back in October when Oliver + S was having their 50% off paper patterns sale I bought this one.  And then on Small Business Saturday I ordered the fabric from Purl Soho, it was all coming together.

The fabric is "Green Peaceful Cooing" a Nani Iro double guaze from Summer 2012.  I need to do a whole post on my love for Nani Iro fabrics by Naomi Ito--these fabrics never stay in my stash long.  I love this one in particular, the border print and the color worked perfectly for what I wanted.  The print reminds me just a bit of popcorn--another Christmas tradition.  And guess what, I just read that emerald is the Pantone color of 2013, so maybe she can wear this dress beyond the holidays.

The pattern is the Oliver + S Fairy Tale Dress.  I wondered if the pattern was really worth purchasing because I was sure that there was something similar in my stash or in an Ottobre magazine somewhere. But I should have know that like all of their other patterns, Oliver + S makes it special.  As others have commented, this dress is quite intricate and involved.  I love the little details, like the self-facings on view B.

I made a size 4 for Lucia and decided to leave off the waist darts because in many ways Lucia still has a toddler's belly (which I love).  Liesl has a nice blog post on how to modify the bodice to accommodate this but I noticed that the smallest sizes don't have the darts so I fit the bodice muslin without them and it was perfect.  I didn't end up adding extra fabric to the skirt either, so it is a little less full than the original.

I think the most time consuming thing about the pattern is all of the hand sewing.  But that actually ended up creating one of the best memories for me.  I got to sit on the couch and sew it while Lucia sat next to me sewing some lacing cards.  She also "made" me a Christmas dress several times using a dishtowel.  And then she went around church on Christmas Eve and told everyone that I had made her dress.  The best part of all of this is that she is learning that such things are made by people and that if she wants to do that someday she can.

Anyway, the only thing I really regret in making this dress is that I wasn't careful enough with the collar to make sure the undercollar didn't stick out and that made the left collar flip up.  It was an easy fix when I noticed it, but it was too late at night to care.  (That's when you know you should go to bed.)  I tacked it down in the end and it is better after it was washed, so in the end it wasn't too bad, but lesson learned...

I definitely have plans to make this pattern again.  In fact, I have the perfect fabric in my stash to make one for Elena's first birthday--this time with the petal sleeves.