St. Patrick's Day: Little Girl Evening Gown

An elegant dress for a four year old, isn't it? We added the shamrock sash and glittery crown for that oh, so sophisticated touch. And who needs shoes anyway?  Footwear is so cliche. 

The Shamrock Princess- so regal.  She is above looking at the camera.

Actually, my husband and I attended a big fancy-shmancy party last night where after a few hours I was wishing desperately shoes were optional.  I really do hate heels. 

The back.  In person the green is more electric then it is showing up in photos.  I should have made a fake bow for the sash, didn't occur to me until right now.  The sash kept slipping during the day so I should have inserted little loops in the side seams to keep it at her (non-existent) waist.

I realized Friday afternoon that I haven't made Abby anything in ages and felt kind of guilty. I got a bee in my bonnet and whipped up this dress.  It is made with the cheapest costume satin ever produced which I think I bought last year imagining I'd make a Tinkerbell costume for her.  The sash is leftover from Viv's jumper, one of three St. Patrick's Day projects I did last year.  I'm slacking.

No sash = pleats in action!

Notes on the project:  Used my turning tool for the first time with the sash, though I'm pretty sure I used it wrong, but whatever, it was long and pointy.  Used the same bodice pattern from Little Girls, Big Style I've used before (it is a really easy pattern, I recommend for beginners highly) and I made the same mistake I did before which was not make the straps more narrow.  I think they are just too wide, or perhaps Abby is just that slight.  I've made a note in the book now so I'll remember if I do it again.

I did pleats instead of gathers for a more neo-classic look and made the skirt longer for the "gown" effect and wider to accommodate the pleats and so cut the two sides of the skirt at 25" X 25" each. I lined bodice with muslin, but not the skirt. The only other change is the buttons:  I couldn't find my button-hole foot (I didn't look too hard) so I just sewed in Velcro and put fake buttons on the outside.  I think in the future I'm just going to put a zipper up the back of the bodice and sew the straps into both sides.  It will look a lot neater. 

Cost:  Took me maybe three hours?  Maybe four-ish.  Went way faster then last year's St. Patrick's Day dress and was considerably less stressful.  I already owned all the fabric and it wasn't terribly high quality so I'd guess $5.

Verdict:  Preschoolers do not need evening gowns.  It is a tripping hazard.  That said, success!

This is Abigail's fake beauty queen reaction:  "I can't believe I won!  Little ol' me?!"

Sewing Project: All Ages Jumper & Shamrock Onesie

Another St. Patrick's Day project!  I made this for the cutest baby girl, Vivian, daughter of the awesome Miss Kara, friend and killer co-worker. Technically, the third piece of clothing I've ever made, this outfit was a challenge that turned out pretty well. It is a size 12 months made from the "All Ages Jumper" pattern in One Yard Wonders, (which I will get around to reviewing one day).

I used quilt bias binding for the hem which is wide enough that catching the edge was not an issue and I imagine I'll be using plenty of it until I get a better handle on bias tape or learn to make my own. I made the buttons to match. The great thing about the jumper is that it has an elastic back so (if I had made it in non-seasonal fabric) it could grow with the kid and become a longish top to wear with leggings. Nifty, huh? That's a look I really like on little girls actually.  My daughter is wearing leggings under a skirt right now.

Elastic back with inserted straps.  Woo-hoo!

Well, at least you know it is hand-made...

Notes on the project:
-the directions for the jumper were really unclear about how to attach the front and back along with the elastic. I searched the internet and only found examples of people's finished projects. I figured it out on my own, but it took awhile and I wasn't sure I was doing it right. It is more then possible this confusion was due to my total lack of skillzzz.

-the pattern calls for you to attach the straps on the outside with a box stitch, but I thought that looked a little messy so I just inserted them into the seam. A lot of the people who'd made this had complained that the straps were too long, so by inserting them I hoped to make them just a tad shorter too.

-had a little trouble with the buttonholes this time, though I was doing it exactly like I was before, so I don't know. It worked out but isn't has neat as it could have been.

-I used 100% cotton thread to attach the bias tape since I couldn't find the right color in any other thread.  I do not recommend for beginners.  I snapped it a couple of times and it was just not as easy to work with as the blended thread.  I did like the texture though.

-I hand embroidered the onesie which was not as easy as I thought. I attached stabilizer to the back but it was still stretchy. My poor drawing ability is on display here with the different sized and shaped shamrocks. I used variegated green floss which I think was a good idea. Gives the design some depth.

-cost was low. The onesie was $2.00 and the fabric and buttons were probably $4.50 total. This did take some time, but I kept taking breaks to do other things. Maybe three hours? The embroidery I just did while watching tv so that shouldn't even count. That's lost time anyway!

Verdict:  Successfully cute!  We'll see how it actually fits and wears.  I will be making this jumper again, I'm sure.

LINKED HERE:

 

 

Sewing Project: St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Dress

Look!  I made a dress!  A whole dress.  It is wearable and everything!

She agreed to pose only if the tomato pin cushion could pose with her.

She made him a face of pins which is beyond adorable.

Okay, so how did I do it?  A lot of psyching myself up to start.  I must have looked at 100 different patterns and online tutorials to decide what I wanted to make (and to convince myself I could make it).  The basic bodice pattern I took from "Little Girls, Big Style" which I bought last week.  I used the size 4 pattern- my daughter is on the upper end of a size 3- and it turned out a little tight, just an FYI. The lower half of the dress I did without a pattern.  You can't really tell from the photos, but the bottom is a bubble.  I did the gathering with the help of this awesome online tutorial at The Handmade Dress.  It  really was helpful.  I didn't do it perfectly, but now I know how to do it.   

I lined the whole dress with muslin because that was the only neutral fabric I had with that much yardage.  The lining made it a little thick to attach the bottom of the dress to the bodice, but it gave the dress more substance.  It's heavy and fluffy.


Attaching the bodice to the dress-lining sandwich was a little tricky. 

 Notes on the project: 
-the straps (which button in the back) benefited greatly from my previous tote bag making; I'm no longer struggling with the fold and sew.  There should be confetti exploding over my head for that.

-the button and buttonhole-making process was a non-issue this time around.

-I'm struggling still with the cutting.  I think I just need to be more patient.  I also need a cutting table because my back does not appreciate the stooping over.  I had to re-cut the straps and the lining because I did it wrong the first time.

-the bubble bottom isn't the best, but it is fun.  I'll try it again another time, maybe actually follow a pattern!  To make it I attached the raw edge of the dress to the edge of the (shorter) lining which is something I should have done by hand.  It is a little funky as is.  Next time.

-this would be a really cute dress with a nice fancy fabric, maybe a wide silk belt that ties in the back?  I don't know, it could really use some embellishment.  Maybe a yo-yo or two?  Some lace?

-cost was probably $8-9 in materials.  It took me probably about 5 hours.  Maybe a little less. 

Verdict:  Successful!  The first of many dresses, I hope. Abby will wear it to the Irish Hooley mid-March and will hopefully be just as happy as she was today in it.  And she'll be wearing a turtleneck and tights too.  It is freezing here!

Places I've linked up!  (My first such attempt!):

Sewing Project: Valentine's Day Chair Backers

I always loved the idea of the holiday chair backpack/mailbox.  I'd eye them in the endless supply of PB Kids catalogs sent to me, but they were always too expensive when you add in tax and shipping and personalization.  A $12 item suddenly costs $38.  Times two, of course, because I have two kids.  So when I saw this post over on At Second Street, I was super excited.  "Hey!  I own a sewing machine now!  I can totally do this!"

I love everything about this ad.  Look how perfectly everything coordinates!  Don't you love how none of the baskets are overflowing?  How none of the chalk labels are rubbed off?  How clean those chairs are? That rug has not a single stain!

 
After inspecting all the variations I went with the chair back tutorial on Our Scoop which was great in that it is PDF format.  I print these and file them neatly in labeled manila folders,  (I know!  Super organized, right??), and PDFs print so much neater then straight from the web stuff.  I'm always super grateful for online tutorials which are free and a ton of effort on the part of the creator.  So thanks!  Probably due to my complete inexperience I had a couple of problems with these directions though... I eventually figured out how to sew the bottom and sides to the front and back by ignoring the directions and thinking of them as tiny cubes like the ottoman slipcovers I made.  I never could figure out how to do the rickrack properly.  How in the world does it end up on the outside when you sew the two pieces right sides together...whatever, I couldn't sort it and my rickrack isn't nearly as cute since it's all on top.  I'm going to work on figuring this out at some point.


Following directions, word for word.  Until I get confuzzled.





Low light is a friend to wise women and beginner's sewing projects.




I did the second one a bit differently because I only had two buttons left, but they look cute together.  The letters are all whip-stitched on by hand with pink to go with the pink rickrack. 


The biggest obstacle for me was the button holes.  I've (clearly) never done it before and it took me a lot of trial and error and plenty of Googling and curse words to figure it out, but now that I know how it is done, it is not difficult at all.  I intend to make button holes on everything from now on, whether buttons are called for or not.

Notes on the project:
-these aren't especially easy.  The first one took me forever.  Hours and hours, literally.  Figuring out the buttons was a huge pit of time suckage.  The second one went faster as far as sewing goes, but all the hand stitching took awhile. 

-interfacing is key to keep the square shape.  Some of the other tutorials have more of a pouch and less of a boxy look, but I liked the structure.  It comes as at a price though: that ironing takes time too.

-the red duck cloth I used I thought would be great for durability but the straps on the back are kind of fraying at the edges, felt might have been a better choice.

-I wish I'd used a more contrasting fabric for the second one's cut out and applique work.  The red with large white polka dots just don't stand out as much. The reverse (red on white) would have looked better.

-I tried to top stitch in white around the heart cut out on the first one and it didn't turn out.  I ripped it out.  The edge is a little too raw for my personal taste without it.  I just learned about finger pressing yesterday and wish I'd known about it when working on these. 

-a tip for beginners:  After I finished the first one it occurred to me that the only chairs in my house these could attach to are the kids playroom chairs so make sure you have chairs with back slats somewhere before you do this project.  Duh!

-cost was pretty low in terms of dollars.  The fabric for the outside and the lining were both on sale, about $4/yard I think.  I might do a tutorial on how to read a Joann's receipt.  The Dritz button kits were $2.50-ish and I bought two, plus the thread, rickrack and interfacing (on sale, too) brought the total up to about $18 for the two chair backers.  In time, these took me close to nine hours, almost all of which was spent on the first one.

Verdict:  Cute!  Learned how to do buttons so that was huge and "saved" about $30.   Now of course I have to fill them with lovely little notes and gifts... I should have included that in the cost.