The boy wanted a lab coat for his 7th birthday. Since Halloween was long gone, there was little to no hope of finding one in the stores. Being the last minute type that I am, I dug out a kid’s costume pattern, Simplicity 3997. I used the shirt in view A, added length to the sleeves and hem, and placed the buttons lower down on the placket. I also embroidered his name on the pocket, which I should have done before sewing on the pocket, but I was in a hurry and didn’t think of it until I was done. He seemed to like it but as is his way, he tried it on, then promptly took it off and went on his way. I know he will wear it later since he takes awhile to warm up to new things.
Category Archives: sewing
Liesl + Co Bistro Dress
Posted onI made this dress in record time- it was less than a week from the time I purchased the fabric until I was wearing it. I, of course, was too lazy to get the hubby to take a picture of me after church but I really liked the way it fit. I used a poly/rayon blend suiting fabric in a grey plaid with a blue stripe and a Bemberg rayon lining, both from JoAnn’s. The fabric is so soft and didn’t have that cheap suit feel you usually find with that stuff. And bonus, it’s machine washable.
I actually won a digital copy of the Bistro Dress pattern in a Facebook giveaway from Sew Mama Sew. I cut out a straight size 8 and added 2 inches to the length. I should have added more because it was a smidge shorter than I would have liked it. It came out mid-knee and I usually like my skirts to fall at the bottom of my knee. Oh well. The dress does ride up something fierce when you lift your arms and scandalously so when you also have to bend over, like dealing with a kid or something. But that’s standard with a sheath dress. I could also do with adjusting the bust a little smaller since it tended to puff out a little. But the end results came out very professional looking, if I do say so myself. I want to make a black one, next.
So far, Liesl + Co patterns have been a home run for me. I’ve also made two plaid Late Lunch Tunics that I wear all the time. I’ve been on a sewing roll- not that it shows on the blog. I just never get around to photographing most of the stuff I make so it makes for a boring blog post.
Allison’s Baptism dress
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Allison turned 8 and was baptized recently. I used the Oliver + S Garden Party pattern to make her dress. Since the front is already gathered, I wanted to try smocking on the front. I didn’t have a lot of time, or a pleater, so I used honeycomb smocking. I made a size 8 and ended up adding ~10″ to the width of the front panel when I cut it out (I moved the pattern ~5″ from the fold). To do the smocking, I first downloaded some 3/4″ graph paper and used that to transfer the dots using a water soluble marker. Then, following this tutorial, I smocked the front with 3 strands of white embroidery floss. BTW, I loved this video. Her voice is so soothing and I felt like I was sitting in her living room with her teaching me how to smock 🙂 The rest of the dress was really easy to sew up. The only other difficult part was figuring out where to place the front waistband since I didn’t do more than one line of basting there. It came out a little wonky but you can’t tell when she is wearing it. Overall, a very nice pattern and I love the simplicity and details of the design.
4th of July
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When I found a red, white and blue plaid seersucker at JoAnn’s a while back, I knew I wanted to make the girls’ dresses for the 4th of July. As usual, I procrastinated actually working on them and finished them up around 7pm that night. I also made Ian a pair of shorts from the Oliver + S Sketchbook pattern that he wore on Sunday. The dresses are Fiddlehead’s Beach Party Top extended into a dress. I added almost 4 inches to the length of the pattern, in addition to the ruffle, and it could have been a little longer on Allison. I’m trying to take advantage of the fact that Allison still wants to dress match-matchy with her sister 🙂
Easter 2013
Posted onSince I made such fancy dresses for the girls last year, I decided to go simple this year. And last minute, as usual. Saturday I decided to make them Oliver + S Popover Sundresses. I had a purple seersucker for Marissa and a pink gingham for Allison. Ian’s matching bowtie didn’t happen in time for Easter but I have a new pattern to try out and will make him a few for spring. 
Sadly, this is the best picture I got of them on the way into church on Sunday. Oh well.
I made little, felt bunny finger puppets for the Easter baskets using this tutorial. I only started these darn things last year and finished them up the night before Easter. I had stitched them instead of using the machine. The kids weren’t super impressed but they really were more for me, anyways 🙂
Oliver + S Family Reunion Dress
Posted onI made Marissa a dress from the Oliver + S Family Reunion pattern. It’s a cute pattern and I love the details with the pin tucks on the front and back. I used variegated thread on the pin tucks and top stitching for a fun detail. I didn’t get any pictures of her wearing it, of course. I really appreciate the details that go into these patterns and the instructions are easy to follow. I found this Alexander Henry fabric at JoAnn’s a couple weeks ago which was a lucky find since our Joann’s is in the process of moving and currently has 3 bolts of fabric left. But the good news is we are getting a super Joann’s the middle of April.
Easter 2012
Posted onI never did post the pictures of the dresses I made for Easter last year. I loved how they turned out! I’m still debating what to do for this year. I’d better decide soon: Easter is coming fast this year.
For last year’s dresses I used another Brynnberlee pattern design- the Lily dress. I tested the pattern in the larger size for Allison’s and bought the smaller size for Marissa. I cut into my beloved stash of Heather Bailey’s Nicey Jane fabrics. My favorite is the blue and yellow flowers on the back of Marissa’s dress. I wish I could get away with wearing so many ruffles and different fabrics!
Halloween 2012
Posted onFor Halloween, I made:
Rapunzel
Little Red Riding Hood
and Super I
Quick sewing
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Some Recent Sewing
Posted onContrary to what it may seem on this blog, I have actually been sewing and crafting. It just seems that nothing gets photographed in a timely manner. First up, I was a pattern tester for Brynnberlee Designs. I made the Kimberly dress using the Strawberry Fields fabric I’ve been hoarding. I think it turned out well and a lady at church even thought it was something from Gap Kids 🙂 So that’s a success in my book- not looking homemade. A very cute pattern and easy since there aren’t any zippers or buttons to deal with.
I didn’t get that great of pictures since M was just getting over Roseola and wasn’t in the best of moods. As evidenced here:
Next up was a dress to match M’s dress for family pictures. I call it the Pink Lemonade dress. I knew I couldn’t get away with just a yellow dress so I added the contrasting pink. The pattern is a modified version of Prudent Baby’s Snappy Toddler Top. I wish I had made the top bands a little wider but I think it came out pretty good. I enlarged the pattern by hand and cleaned it up a little since it wasn’t symmetrical (which drives me nuts). A usually wears a 5T so I added 1 inch to the width of the top itself and about that to the front and back bands. Now I need to figure out matching hairpieces.
