Sewing Project: Miss Independance Dresses & Caplets

Things have been crazypants around here, nothing but non-stop madness. I have been sewing though, if not blogging about it!  For the 4th of July I made three (3!) of these little dresses. I made them for my daughter and for her two younger cousins who are visiting for the month from Chicago.

I have no idea what she is doing with her hands here.

A yo-yo extravaganza of patriotism!

Addison was taking a nap and there is no way you wake a baby for anything as silly as a photo.

It is the same pattern from Sewing for Children that I used before. I did make some modifications. For one, I raised the arm holes so that they weren't so open on all the dresses. In the book the photos show it being worn over a shirt, but it was like 100 degrees here so that wasn't going to happen and I just felt the pattern, as is, was a little too bare. Even fully lined they were light enough for the weather so I'd recommend anyone making this as a dress, and not as a pinafore, raise the curve on the pattern by at least an inch and a half.

Modifying the arm holes is a must, I think.

The girls trying to escape into the shade.  Way too hot.

I made the bottom part 2" longer then the pattern for Abby since the Lilac & Lime version was short. I probably could have added 4". Her legs! It was like I hadn't changed it at all. I kept it the same as the pattern for little Ashland (just turned 3) and dropped an inch for Addison's who is almost 18 months. Pretty sure I'm the only one who could tell I made them different sizes.

The adobe building behind the girls was built in 1846 before California was even a state.  It was the coolest place on the property on the 4th of July.  Adobe brick is awesome. 

Instead of binding the bottoms I hemmed them (straight and everything!) and added ribbon and jumbo ric-rac. I'm not sure how the ribbon will wash up but it looks good for now. My sister-in-law Kim (who was a Textiles Business major!) did the yo-yo embellishments for me which was HUGE. The baby did manage to tear her yo-yos off.  She's sassy! I used ribbon instead of the fold and sew for the tie-straps which saved a lot of time. The girls never complained, but I'm not sure how comfortable it was on their shoulders.

Pretty straight.  I'm thrilled with that.

In addition to the dresses I made matching caplets. When I was kid it always got chilly at night and after the fireworks show my grandmother would serve us hot cocoa. Well, it never got cold enough for the girls to even consider wearing their capes and they were in bed pretty early, so not sure when they are ever going to wear these.

The caplets are navy corduroy with white fleece lining, bound with red quilt binding at the edge. The closure is hook and eye with a faux button. I did embroider "A"'s into the lining of each cape with variegated thread for the girls (Abigail, Ashland and Addison become quite the tongue twister when they are together) as a little something special. Ashland's "A" ended up on the inside of the right front instead of the outside edge which I didn't have time to fix. I'm still a little bummed about that. I have no idea when or if they will ever where these now anyway so I shouldn't be too upset. Still, she won't be able to flash her "A" as easily as the other girls.

Sewing Project: "Sidekick", Girl Detective's Scottie Dog

Back to the thing that got me into sewing in the first place, stuffed animals! 

Sidekick:  Girl Detective's trusty companion.  Their nigthly walks around the neighborhood often lead to adventure!

Tips for beginners:  when deciding on a pattern make sure to note the finished dimensions carefully.  This dog, while adorable, is TINY.  Maybe 5 inches tall?  My seam allowance is next to nothing because if it weren't I doubt I could have even used my machine.  I may make another version in bigger size.

Sidekick here I made to go with Abby's Girl Detective set of stuff.    The body is a super soft fleece.   I embroidered the eyes, but I think I could have made them a little larger and a bit more round.  He looks a touch angry.  But, perhaps he's just suspicious?  He does have a mystery to solve. 

I used this free pattern.  I chose it because it was the only three-dimensional plush Scottie dog I could find.  And it was free.  And cute.  Can't ask for more then that!  The three dimensional aspect is not easy for me.  I'm not spatially inclined, (as anyone who has been a passenger in my car can attest), and it took me awhile to sort out what I need to do with the pieces. 

Underbelly.  As soon as I figured out I needed to sew these two pieces together the assembly made a lot more sense.

This project probably took me 1.5 hours, but someone not being interrupted every five seconds could easily do this in 45 minutes.  Even at an hour and a half this project was faster then Kitty Bat and Fernando the Bunny who were done without a machine- they each clocked closer to 6 hours.  They can't even stand up!  That said looking more closely at the images from the pattern it sure looks like it was hand-sewn so maybe I wasn't supposed to use my machine at all.

Cost:  $1 in material, maybe?  I bought yard of the fleece so I'll have to find something else to do with the remainder. 

Verdict:  Cute, quick and satisfying to make, just wish he were bigger.

*Flikr group of plush doggies made with this same pattern- some super cute versions in there!  It looks like a lot  of people increased the size too.  And yes, photos confirm that this was supposed to be hand sewn.  Oh well!