Polka Dots.

Day 5 of kids clothes week, I wasn't planning on sewing, but Ben put on a gory war movie I wasn't interested in so rather than be responsible and go to bed I decided to stay up and sew another dress.  No regrets... mostly, ha!  I went as far as the invisible zipper, then finished up closing the back and hem this morning.  

This is another Mingo + Grace Blake dress, again in size 4, I wanted a 5 but since I was sewing with the baby asleep in my bedroom/fabric + pattern stash room, I just added a bit of width to my already traced pattern pieces.

I used a Riley Blake home dec I found in my magical hardware/fabric shop.  It isn't as heavy as the stretch denim ones from yesterday, but definitely heavier than quilting cotton.  Bonus for these three dresses is there will be zero ironing.  yay!  Or at least I hope no ironing for this one, there isn't on the other two.

'Mom, this is how da princesses hold deir dresses'

I chose a fun zipper this time too, I didn't get a close up of the last ones, but for the floral one I used a purple zip.  I nearly went red with this one, but I didn't want it too patriotic and while my hardware/fabric shop has a great selection of fabric it is kind of lacking in the zipper and button department.

I also changed the way the invisible zipper is inserted since I was unhappy with it in the original dresses.  I unpicked a few inches at the back neck then sewed the zipper to just the main fabric, sewed the neckline back in place and hand stitched the lining to the zipper giving it a nice clean finish on the inside.  I need to buy a hook to add to the top, but it will work for now.  I am much happier with the zipper this way.

This one was finished earlier in the week.  I found this cool border print in Abby's approved colors, I told her the only catch was that it had to be a dress because of the location of the print.  She decided that still would be okay, so I made her an Oliver + S Roller Skate in a size 10 with length.  She has already worn it once all day this week, which I will call a win.  She has now decided she wouldn't mind a few casual dresses in her closet.

Twin Roller Skates.

 Back for Day 2 of Kids Clothes Week with two more Roller Skates, but this time as dresses.

A few months ago I painted an 8' garage sale book shelf I picked up and set it up in my bedroom.  I put part of my stash up on it, sadly (?) it didn't all fit, but it definitely helped to narrow down the places in my house I shove it.  The twins loooove staring at and petting the fabric, wonder where they get that from... ;)

Anyway, they found these mermaid prints I have been holding on to for a while now and asked every day for the last month or so if I would make them a mermaid dress.  Every time I made them something else, they would ask when their mermaid dresses would be done.

Eventually I got the point.

I kind of held off because I was unsure how I wanted to place the print, though I was pretty sure I wanted to use this pattern.

But I am glad I finally made them, and so are they!

They are both a size 4 with 1 1/2" added to the length, they tend to wear these until they die and/or get too short, dresses become tunics and tunics become shirts.

Surprisingly, there wasn't any fighting over the color because, and I quote, 'Elsa likes blue and Anna gots pink'.  So, my Elsa loving George gets blue (since she's Elsa) and Anna loving Elizabeth (since she's Anna) gets pink.  Works for me!

KCW.

 Are you participating in Kids Clothes Week?  I am!  In fact, I thought back, and I have been participating every season since I started sewing, starting with the fall season in 2011.  Crazy!

Abby has recently decided that she does want me to sew for her, so I may be going a bit overboard.  Two tops last week, this top, a dress and many more tops planned.

This is the Oliver + S Roller Skate Tunic in some yummy Cotton + Steel double gauze.  I thought she would like the color, so I okayed it with her and splurged on a yard.  She loves the shade of blue, and I was able to squeeze a size 10 with some length out of just a yard.  Score!

I realized the girls don't have many pairs of shorts, though if given the chance, they will wear a dress every day.  I figured it wasn't bad to have the option, though, and I wanted to try the Butterfly blouse.  I am not a huge fan of the thread chain used to close this top and so next time I will do something different.  It isn't bad, but I am not very good at them, ha!  Plus, the ones on their carousel dresses have broken quite a few times already, it is a pain to have to repair them every few wears.

The shorts are just from the Badminton Skort.  I still haven't made the full skort, but the shorts from last year were worn to death and I knew they were a super quick sew.  She loves the outfit and wanted to wear it immediately, and to bed, haha.

During KCW I usually try to make at least one thing for each of the kids, so we'll see where that takes me!

Prepping for fall.

The fall always sneaks up on me.  One day we are wearing shorts and tanks and the next we need pants and cardigans.  I am *trying* to be more on top of it this year though, of course, with a two month old I can't completely keep up with the wardrobes, but I can try.

So up first is a set for the twins.  Or a twin.  I fell in love with the tiger print and just had to have it and create a whole outfit inspired by it.  Patricia suggested a khaki bottom like the awesome shorts Peta had just made, and as luck would have it I had just uncovered one in my stash.

I made the outfit for Elizabeth's size in, she is a bit bigger around and a little taller, but Georgia threw a tantrum when I suggested Iz put it on for pictures... so she put it on and had her picture taken first.

The tunic is the Oliver + S Roller Skate tunic, size 3T with added length and a slightly lower elastic casing.  This happens to be my fourteenth Roller Skate, so I didn't even pull the instructions out.  Ha! It is in the running for my most used pattern ever.

See?  Still a little big (I want it to fit for most of the winter, hopefully) but a better fit.

For the cardigan I used some interlock from Joann, not the best stuff, but I was experimenting and didn't want to use my good stuff just yet.

I used the Oliver + S School Bus Tee and modified it.  I made a size 4 as I wanted the oversized look, but since I added a cuff to the sleeve hem I probably should have shortened them, but I guess I did say I wanted long wear.

I pretty much love it and will be making more.

The pants, oh the pants.  I bought the pattern so long ago after Katy made a pair for one of her girls and am just now getting to it.  They are the Heidi + Finn Pleat-bottom pants.  I love the look of their patterns, but they don't include a size chart and that irritates me.  I never know what size to pick so I usually stay away from theirs, but since I owned this one already I figured I would make a bigger size than I thought I would need.  I made the 4t as reviews said they were a little short in length and rise.  These are just about right, a little long, but if I had made a 3t they would be too short.

They are super easy to make, though, if you can figure out a size.

I still have a half yard left of the tigers, which is good because I can foresee many fights over this top.

Umbrellas and arrows.

Confession:  These Roller Skate Dresses have been cut out since the last Kid's Clothes week.  That makes it  what, 3 months in the UFO pile?  I was beginning to worry I hadn't added enough length being they have both really shot up the last few weeks. 

But never fear my dears!  They turned out just fine.  I made a size 2T with the length of a 3T and elastic placement of a 3T.  I remember these being a little generous fitting on the twins (I have made these plenty of times already) so I sized down from what I usually make in O+S.

In fact, they are still wearing their 18 month Roller Skates, originally shown here,
(Sad face due to the fact I wanted to take a picture of her rather than sit in my sewing chair)

and this one here.  Also George is wearing an 18 month Jump Rope Dress seen here originally.  It still fits well once it is on (the JRD) but it is a little tricky getting her arms in, but she loves it, missing button and all.

Little Miss George claimed the umbrellas straight away, and there was a little bit of a fight over who would get to wear it, but eventually small one won.

Iz is still digging the "don't look at the camera no matter what" game.  Nice.

I am glad I finally sat down and made these, I do love the prints and they are perfect for spring/summer.

Argh Matey.

For my fourth and final set this go-around, she chose pirate themed.  (first, second, third).

 The inspiration for these dresses were found here.

I used the Oliver + S Roller skate dress, modified, of course.  Also, in a size 4 and a size 12m.  I constructed it slightly different as I didn't want the raw edges shown on the black layer (aka lining layer).

I used the pirate as the "main" layer, black as the "lining" and attached the striped fabric to the black.

I think they turned out pretty well, and similar to the inspiration dress, my friend seemed to like them too.  Can't wait to see pictures from her vacay and live vicariously through her, haha!

Gingham style, Roller Skate edition.

This is my ninth Roller Skate dress, but only the first time I have put the cute little ribbon on the front, can you believe that?  Huh!  I have added a belt, turned it in to a maxi dress, added trim, appliqued and even made it as is a few times;)  Well, I realized pretty soon why I haven't put it on (at least for the twins) as Elizabeth has been pulling it undone all day! Guess I should tie it then tack it down?  (Oh, and if you are interested in the other 8 dresses/tops click here)

 

 

I have been good at not buying fabric lately, but this one got me.  I went to the shop intending to buy strap adjusters for four messenger bags from Little Things to Sew, but they were out!  So I wandered over to the super soft, super inexpensive gingham when inspiration struck.   I remembered Nicole's cute b/w gingham Souvenir Top (doesn't it look fab on her?) and her b/w gingham pillows.  I turned around (because gingham is on the same aisle as the trims) and found turquoise bobbles and the exact same shade of turquoise ribbon.  It was fate, I just had to make a dress.  And as a testament to their great price on ginghams, the whole dress, trims included, cost just over $5- because I chose to line it with the main fabric.

 

 

 

 

This is a size 18m with just a little extra length.  My sweet little model was less than cooperative, but whaddya gonna do?

 

 



I still need to heat seal the ribbon.  Girlfriend reaaally liked to pull on the bow!

I found a turquoise button in my stash, perfect!  See?  Told you it was meant to be.

This was her yelling at me "no more cheese!" Okay Izzlebit, no more cheese. 

 

A special dress.

So Miss Abigail is turning eight next month, in our church that is a special birthday as it is the age you can choose to be baptized.   She has chosen to, so that meant making a special dress for the occasion.  She went to her friend's baptisms last month and decided she wanted a "big poufy cupcake dress", I am not a fan of the mini wedding dress look, so I talked her in to something more conservative.  At first she didn't like the idea, but I told her to let me make the dress and then she could choose if she liked it or not.  Well, about half way through she declared her love for the dress, so this will be "the one". 

 

I used the Roller Skate pattern again, and actually made it at the same time as this one, I plan to take her out to a nice location in town for better pictures being it will be her annual photo session (I try to take each kid out around their birthday for nicer than normal pictures), but these will do for now. 

 

 

 

 

Grandpa happened to have his roadster out on the street so we took advantage:)   It was a little too late tonight so the pictures aren't as sharp and nicely lit as they could have been...

 

 



 

 

So the dress, it is white eyelet lined with a lightweight white cotton, size 6 with some length, though I wish I had added a little more. 

 

 



A better shot of the eyelet, it is really pretty in person.  So she is happy, I am happy- for once in my life I didn't procrastinate until the night before... on this one, at least.  I have two bubble dresses cut for the twins waiting to be sewn for Sunday- I decided to just jump in on our annual family Father's Day dinner and do cupcakes for their birthday that is on Tuesday. 

Maxi dress.

I have been a bit quiet around here lately, but there has been sewing going on!  Wanna know a secret?   Rae's wildly popular geranium dress will be here soon in big girl sizes! I made two for Abby last week and just love them!!

 

 

Ben told Abby one time that he thought all girls should wear a full length dress to church, and well, that girl never forgets anything you say.  -- which works really well for her schooling, but as far as things we say, sometimes it comes back to bite us:) --   So she has asked me a few times if I would make her a long dress and finally inspiration struck!  The Oliver + S Roller Skate was the perfect dress for my plan! During my spring cleaning I found some bigger cuts that I had *ahem* forgotten about.  This one was two yards, and I picked it up on some super clearance for under $3/yd- not bad for Michael Miller (at least I am pretty sure that is what it was- too lazy to go look at the selvage:)

 

 



 

I was worried about it being too plain, so I added the pink band.  She is so in love with the dress! 

Not too bad on matching the stripes in the back!

I was trying to find my cool wooden button that I had in mind for this dress but couldn't, if I do then I plan to switch it out, but this will work just fine.

I did a 1 1/2" hem thinking I could let it down a little if she grows taller and it still fits around the chest... or just make it in to a shorter dress! 

This pretty little lady has a birthday next month!  So I am working on a birthday dress for her , I am excited about it.  And the twins turn two next week, I better get on their dresses too!

Bold.



 

Bright and bold, that's my style.  Luckily Abby is more than happy to oblige. 

 

 



The top is the Roller Skate, I think I need to start Roller Skates Anonymous... Size 6 tunic length in a super soft yellow gingham.  How did I not know gingham didn't need to be ironed out of the dryer?? I think I am in love!  Maybe it was just this one though:)

Rae emailed earlier in the week and asked if I was interested in testing her new pants pattern, I love testing for her- great patterns, great instructions, lots of fun.  Anyway, more details on the pattern (that I turned in to shorts here) later.  I was chatting with some friends and Johanna mentioned she cut out some pants that might be see through depending on the undies worn by her child and was throwing around ideas and one was ombre dying them.  I immediately loved her idea, and even had some white denim that also happened to be a little see through, so I decided to borrow her idea- and I love it!! I picked the denim up as a "damaged" piece because the bolt had been dropped on the ground so I picked it up for $/2yd (normally $12/yd) I just wish I bought more!  I used Violet RIT dye, I kind of wish I had left the waistband/top of the pockets area in a bit longer but my water was no longer warm.  Oh well.  And I think it would look even better with pants.

The details.  The button is purple though it looks a little navy here to me... Some lace trim I picked up second hand for crazy cheap.  I got probably 20 yards of various trims for $1!! Abby was super excited about the heart.

The kids at school are allowed to make paper airplanes during recess, well, Abby didn't know how but still tried and some girls made fun of her attempts.  Last night daddy taught her how to make a great one and today they all asked her to teach them how to make one as nice as hers.  She and Jack may be a little obsessed with paper planes... She requested a picture of her flying her new plane...

 

 

and asked if we could change the name of the shirt to the "paper plane shirt" :)



Roller skate for the smallest one.

After the first Roller Skate I made for the twins I knew it wouldn't be one they could swap.  I have always just made one size for the twins but lately I have noticed I need to start making them separate for a lot of patterns.  So, I made an 12 month with extra length since she is tall.  I don't know how much length, I just eyeballed it... I should really start making notes!

 

 



She wasn't as cooperative this time, ha! Normally she will stand so still while I snap away, but she was a little ham this time. 

I even tried tossing my lens cap and snapping as she walked closer, but that didn't work too well, I typically got silly faces or out of focus shots (or cut off feet, see above)

So I settled with what I could get.  Oh well. 

So more on the details.  I did the yoke option (obviously) and added a fairy tale like belt over the top.  I didn't think about it until a few minutes ago, but I probably should have lowered the casing since she is more of the 18m/2t length but the 12m markings.  Oops.   When I stitched the belt on the first time I didn't stretch it at all, but soon realized it wouldn't stretch at all then when dressing her, so unpicked and stretched a little as I hand stitched it on.   Oh, and I sewed the pattern per instructions and then just hand stitched the belt on in the end.  I really like the look of it!  It added quite a bit of time considering the time it has taken me previously (the *cough* four previous ones... how long has this pattern been out again? Oh yeah, not that long!)  But I am a slow hand sewer.

I couldn't get a good shot of the back of the belt (remember my uncooperative model?) and she wasn't interested in taking the dress off, so I will explain what I did the best I can, ha!  And if there is any interest I am sure I can be talked in to doing a mini tute on the belt;).  So anyway, when I stitched it on I started in the back middle and tucked the raw edges in to the tube, sewed all the way around, when I got back to my starting point I over lapped my belt by an inch (or under lapped?  I tucked it under my original starting point), then I stitched the top and the bow.  I was tossing around putting the bow in the middle, but I like it off center. 

What to sew now?

Another day, another dress.

Two posts in one day?!  The tunic from this morning was made yesterday, and the dress today was sewn during naptime.  Ben's aunt with kids Abby and Jack's age invited them to their pool, what else would I have done with three free hours besides sew? ;)

 



 

Yep, another Roller Skate.  Size 18 months view A with a bit of extra length.  A friend alerted me to a super fantastic sale on the Sarah Jane Out to Sea line last fall and I snatched up a few prints knowing they would be perfect for summer- I wish I would have picked up some more!  Abby has requested a Roller Skate top from the mermaid print, we will see... I should probably move on to another pattern for a bit;)

Little Missy was much more cooperative this morning, tonight she was trying her hardest to avoid me. We were in the front yard and she kept trying to run in to the street, so I tried to distract her by bringing out the slide.  It worked for a minute, then she ran away. 

But George loved it.  She kept trying to go down backwards, silly girl.

After being put back on the grass a couple dozen times, she found a basketball and practiced throwing it in the street, attempted to hula hoop and just ran around the grass for the next ten or so minutes. 

Lesson of the day?  Take Izzy's picture in the morning, or just use Georgia as the model, she holds so still for the camera.