The Fern shirt.



Today was dress like a book character day at school today.  Abby begged me to make her a "Fern shirt", she even did extra chores yesterday to butter me up.  I made the mistake of choosing to finish the fairy tale from yesterday before starting on the shirt, which turns out was a bad idea as I ended finishing just after midnight (had wait for it to come out of the wash to get rid of those blue placket marks). 

 

 

So I used the Oliver + s jump rope pattern in size 7 just like last time, but this time I shortened it to a shirt.  I love it!

 



And so does she.  I used a gingham since that was the only red in my stash, I am undecided on the buttons, but I didn't want to take the extra time to cover buttons.

Are you wondering what exactly a Fern shirt is?

Apparently Fern is the character in Charlotte's web.  Ben's cousin gave Abby a bunch of books she had outgrown (sixteen year olds don't need these kind of books anymore apparently ;) ) Abby is an avid reader, in fact, she is in second grade reading at a sixth grade level (please excuse the brag). 

Of course Fern needed a red ribbon (like the book cover)

And a pig. 

She was super happy with it.  First thing in the morning she ran in my room asking if I was able to finish it, and then gave me a "Thank you SO much Mom, it's perfect!" and a giant hug.  Worth it. 

She said one other girl was Fern today, and that one other girl was the only one who knew who she was, HA!

Hello.

My name is Brittney, and I have a problem.  I am obsessed with the jump rope pattern.  Like crazy obsessed.  This is my third view b in a month, and also made up one view a in that time also... It may be time to make something else, though I have one more idea I want to try with the pattern. 

 

 



This is a medium weight ... can't think of what it was called exactly, it is an apparel fabric with a nice texture.  It is a straight size 7, Abby measured in to the 6 but I knew it was a slim fit (at least in the small range)  so I figure she could get a little extra wear from a bigger size.

I tried to steer her towards gray buttons, but she chose pink, still cute.  I didn't even want to think of trying to match the plaid, so I chose a white placket (again), white pockets and cut the pocket binding on the bias for some interest.

I fussy cut enough to match the pink lines and white lines, some times I lucked out and it was the right pink.  I tried to match the pinks exactly, but it was a pain since the pattern is a-line.  I was pretty happy the sleeve cuff lined up too!

She seems to like it, which is a good thing since she has sworn off dresses!  I have picked up speed with each one, and am always so happy everytime my placket lines up just so.  I can't say enough good about Oliver + s patterns! In fact, I finally got the courage to try and talk my local shop to look in to carrying them... One can dream;) 

Next up, something for the boy! It's about his turn.

Another repeat.

Though this time it is for a friend.  I posted a picture of George in her new jump rope dress and a friend  saw it and asked if I would make the exact same dress for her girls for family pictures.  Her youngest is only in 0-3m clothing, so I wasn't able to make one for her, but I did make a little skirt to match sissy's dress. 

 

 

The dress is 3t chest, with 4t length in the sleeves and length.  She actually measured in to the 2t for chest, but since it is more of a slim fitting dress I chose 3t for a little wiggle room and longer wear. 

I sized down the smallest jump rope pockets becasue even the small ones looked like they would be too big for the skirt.  No, she didn't need pockets... but I thought it would be fun to tie the two items together a little more.  Seriously, how cute is this little skirt??  Teeny tiny clothes just make me smile.

A little show.

I started this puppet show a month or so back, before my serger left for the doctor.  I put off finishing it until my baby returned since I had only put one sleeve in and I wanted a consistent look... even on the inside:)

 

I had a little trouble with this one, but a coke and a step away helped clear my head enough to figure it out.  Being I had put it off for so long I apparently forgot to add interfacing to the back placket.  Oops. I ended up ripping through two of the holes and they were pretty unfixable.  So one I just sewed together since it was the second to last and wont affect dressing, the other I put some fray check and hoping it wont fray too much. 

 



 

 

 

This is size 18m, and is quite roomy on Izzy even though she measured in to that size.  But so long as the button holes hold up that just means it will get lots of wear, right?

 



 



 

I am undecided on the color of button I used for the sleeves but I remembered seeing this pin (which I apparently didn't repin...) and thought it was in interesting way to sew on the buttons, so why not try it out now?

 



 

 

And white down the back, because I didn't have enough of the pink.

 

 



 

 

Pretty cute, no?

 



 

 

Does anyone else have problems with the collar popping up?  Every time she moved her shoulders it would pop back up... I used lightweight interfacing and Kona, didn't think it was too heavy.

 

 

Yesterday when I took the girl's legging pictures they sat next to each other so nice.  I put Iz up on the toy box and she kept patting the lid next to her, so I put George up there too and attempted to get a good shot of the two of them... Here is part of the fun that followed:

 

 

 

 

There was a lot of goofing off. 

 



 

 

She wouldn't keep her fingers out of her mouth, which interested Georgia...

 



 

 

Who just had to try it out herself,

So I told them "no no, hands down".

 



 

 

Elizabeth listened, folding her arms, while Georgia gave me what we lovingly refer to as "mad face",

 

 





 

 

But she soon turned that frown upside down.

 



 

In the end I just had to use the magic of photoshop and swap one of their heads, because let's face it, anyone with twins would know this would never actually happen without a little magic...

Teal and red.

Last week I put out a call for inspiration on flickr.   I just LOVE the support and inspiration in the Oliver + S community there.  I had been on flickr for a long time and nearly thought about just giving up as there didn't seem like a reason to be there when I found O+S patterns and a bit later their flickr group.  I was overwhelmed by the response and support I found there, I don't have any "real life" sewing friends but I have made so many great friends in the last year I have been participating in the group.  *e-hugs to you all!*

 

Anyway, back to the dress.  So I bought MM dots thinking I wanted to make Jump rope View A, but then something came over me and  I thought perhaps the Apple picking? Luckily flickr to the rescue and I got a resounding "View A + red buttons", and the lovely Nicole chimed in with a very detailed description... and I followed it exactly.  I love it.

 



 

 

 

This is size 18m for a longer fit, unlike tiny twin's (which big twin wore to church on Sunday... and let's just say, it wont happen again).  I seriously never would have picked red and turquoise together, only because I wouldn't have thought of it! So, I liked it on the hanger...

 

 



 

 

but absolutely LOVED it once it was put on her.  Miss serious.  Gingham self covered buttons, btw.  I have never used self cover buttons so I probably sewed them on wrong, ha!  Now I am wondering why I haven't tried them yet!  And I nearly made a gingham bow for her hair, but thought it might be OTT,  I like the solid red with it a lot.

 

 



 

 

Okay, so for some reason this screams 50's housewife to me... As with all Oliver + S patterns, I am so in love with all the details that just take it to the next level.  The placket (which isn't quite as "perfect" as the last time), cuff sleves with the cute tabs that make the perfect spot for more buttons, the belt, functioning pockets (also with extra buttons) and a perfectly full skirt.  Not to mention the length of the skirt! I typically lengthen all patterns but made this as is.  I just love everything about this pattern. 

 

 



 

 

She was attempting to run away from the camera again, which is why she is cornered in her closet. The only reason I got a face shot (above) was because I trapped her in her crib.  Love this girl.  If only her feet weren't so hard to find shoes that fit the outfit would have been complete with tights and mary janes.  Ooo! Would it be too much if they were red?  I just may have to take her shoe shopping this week...

Jumping rope.

I purchased the digital jump rope dress pattern nearly a year ago... and did nothing with it... I tracked down a paper pattern a few weeks ago and traced it off immediately.  Oh how I love and prefer paper patterns.  Anywho, I set it aside for a bit after looking in to it a little, seeing a tutorial for the placket scared me more than helping me want to make it.  Well, I finally sat down a few days ago and started on it.  It only took 4 days to finish, ha!  Tiny twin decided she didn't need naps for a few days, so I only managed 15-20 minutes of sewing per day for those days. 

 

 

I decided to make a straight 12m View B for tiny twin.  When they were younger they both fit in the same clothes, always.  Now big twin is quite a bit bigger and requires a bigger size so Georgia has been wearing things that are too big and eventually growing in to them. Not that it is a big deal to wear hand downs of course, but sometimes it is nice to have something special and all your own. 

 

I am pretty pleased with my first attempt!  I've never made a placket before, and since my serger is being serviced I decided to try french seams- and it worked great!  It was impossible to fussy cut the pockets to match, so I just cut from the same general area in the pattern so the colors were at least the same.

Not too bad, eh?  Buttons sewn with pink thread to match the pink in the dress.   It is a little tight to get on, but super adorable once it is!  I think next time I will make the sleeves a bit wider as that is the area that is tough to get on.

Now that I am living right around the corner from my MIL I decided to take George out for a quick shoot, I have missed taking proper photos outside of their clothing.  I quickly found out she isn't as cooperative as she once was. 

We started out near the tree... that has the swing... and she thought she needed to be in it.  But it shows off the back of the dress nicely;)

So I put her in the middle of the grass, just far enough from the tree swing, and ran back to the bigger swing set knowing she would head that way next, and snapped quickly while she came running.  We tried that a few times, and got silly results like this one where she is sticking out her tongue.

And refusing to turn towards the camera.

One decent one.

So then I thought to trap her on the chair.

That didn't really work either.  So I put her on again.

A forced cheese face.

Then she pointed at the camera and signed "all done".  Got it.