"I'm a Princess..."

One thing that I have to come to terms with is having a semi - girly girl.  She's not totally girly girl - she plays in the sandbox with the best of them, gets filthy, runs, scampers, and picks her nose occasionally.  But, she, like most girls of 2 1/2 years, she is into the "princess" thing.  As much as we try to not do a lot of commercial type things, like commercial TV, shirts that say "Daddy's Little Princess", the girls in her pre-school peer group seem to just naturally gravitate towards princess-like things.

I'm trying to work on making her things that (1) work for her coloring and (2) that she will like.  The majority of my wardrobe is black.  Probably not the first choice for most two year olds.  And, what she really wants to wear, is what she calls a "pretty dress".  I don't know how some of her dresses qualify to become the "pretty dress", but some are, and some are not.

This is the Jump Rope dress from my absolute favorite pattern company, Oliver + S.  I made this in some pale green and pale coral seersucker.  The placket and collar are white linen.

When I completed the dress, and she put it on, she said "I am a princess".  Success.

The dress is not easy, but it is not crazy-difficult.  It has a perfect collar, that is the perfect frame for a little girl face.

The instructions to construct the placket are perfect.  Probably the most important instruction is at the end, where you are instructed to do a "little fiddling" to make it look just right. I sewed this over about a week - doing just a little bit in the evenings after work.  I'm usually good for about 20 minutes of sewing at the end of a long work day....

It has a sweet belt, that hits just at the waist, and the gathers are slightly below, which I think may be the part that Julia likes the best.  I love the way this looks at the back...

I did make the button tabs on the sleeves a bit larger - I used white linen for the placket and collar, and I wasn't able at all to make the tiny tabs that the pattern included.

I did search about a million images in the Oliver + S Flickr group to decide if I should make a white belt, a self belt, white belt loops, or self belt loops.  Then, of course, I had to find the absolutely perfect buttons....I wonder if people who design/manufacture children's clothing for a living agonize over details as much as sewing moms do....

Two Swingsets

The Oliver + S Swingset Tunic pattern was one of the very first Oliver + S patterns I wanted.  It took me forever to find one in the larger size, but I finally did.

I actually had an extended long weekend from work this holiday weekend, so I found some time to sew, in between cooking, a two-year old's earache with a trip to the doctor, and some superficial house cleaning.

I chose two totally different fabrics - the first, a floral quilting cotton that I found in the remnant bin at my local quilting store for about $2.50.  The beauty of this pattern is that it takes a mere half yard of the main fabric.  I actually used an old white sheet for the lining fabric on this one.

I made this in a size 3 for my 2 1/2 year old.  I originally thought I should trace a two and add length, but this size worked out just fine.  It works well with the hot pink Sunday Brunch corduroy skirt I made previously.

My daughter was less than cooperative with the photos - refused to have her hair done....she's going through a phase where she wants her hair down, which leads to lots of tangles, which leads to lots of crying the next morning while I'm trying to do her hair for school....

The next fabric is an unknown fabric that I've had in my stash for years.  I used it for a shirt years ago for my now 22 year old daughter.  It worked really well in this pattern as well - I love these colors on my daughter - it screams summer to me....

These two tops made me happy because I was able to make both without a trip to the fabric store.  I had perfect buttons for both in my stash, and I didn't even need thread.  I'll be making a bunch more of these tops, especially since my daughter loved them.

Next, off to enjoy the last day of my long weekend!

Kokka Nature Walk

We are having some early morning gray weather in Southern California lately, especially by the beach.  I thought I'd make a Nature Walk top, a pattern by Oliver + S.  I used some Kokka Trefle from the Scandia collection fabric that I purchased for sale in my shop....when that opens!

The bottom is linen - a perfect match for the weight of the Kokka cotton.  I love the details of this pattern, as with all Oliver + S patterns.  It goes together beautifully.  I added some decorative stitching around the pockets:

The large pouch in front was absolutely perfect for a walk on the beach...perfect for shells, and whatever else a 2 year old picks up on the beach!

A Mother's Day Gift

I always try really hard to get my mother her Mother's Day gift on time.  Mostly, I fail.  I end up sending an email gift card, or something like that.  This year, I was determined to succeed.  I live in California, and my mother lives in Massachusetts, so I knew I had to get something in the mail by Thursday.

I chose the new "Split Personality Reversible Bag" pattern.  Since this was produced by Liesl Gibson from Oliver + S, I knew 100% that it would come together with no problem.  And, I was right!

The bag came together really in four days.  One day shopping for fabric.  The next day cutting out the pattern and figuring out which fabric was A, B, C, etc.  That doesn't sound like it should be tough, but it's really important when putting the bag together to be really organized and don't forget which fabric should go where.  Next night, cut out the fabric and sewed about half.  Wednesday night, completed bag!

My fabrics are heavy linen for the navy blue, and prints from Amy Butler's Lark line.  The stripe is a random cotton from JoAnn's that happened to coordinate perfectly.  My mother had asked for a navy blue bag - hopefully, she didn't mean a plain blue!

I stuck sticky notes on the leftover fabric after cutting to stay organized.  I followed the directions step by step.  Other than one thing that I think may be an errata in the pattern where I ended up sewing the button loop on backwards, there were no issues.  I managed to sew this in the evenings, after work, which is not usually my time to sew.  I made it in between making dinners, pick-ups from pre-school, basketball practice, etc.  I'm happy with the results!

Forgive the less-than-stellar photos, as I had to take pictures at night.  It's much easier to take photos of cute clothing on a toddler than it is to take photos of a bag.  Really.

And, oh yeah - just barely noticeable in the background, an empty bottle of Molson Canadian!  My favorite adult beverage to sew by!

KCWC - Day 2 - A Really Lazy Day Skirt

So, day 2.   A long day at work, but I knew exactly what I was going to sew tonight.  The easiest pattern ever - Oliver + S free download, Lazy Days Skirt.

Here it is:

The fabric is a fabric that will be stocked (at some point!) in my fledgling on-line fabric shop.  When I saw it while shopping for Japanese import fabric, it called my name.  It called my daughter's name also because as soon as she saw it, she said "I have that!"  It's called Koboyashi Quiet Cats.  It's a heavier weight, and a dream to sew. 

I love the Lazy Days Skirt.  I think that maybe the ribbon hem gives it some weight at the bottom, and helps with the twirl factor.  I literally made this in like 45 minutes, start to finish.  I think that may have even included pictures.

A cute skirt, with just a few inches of some - in my opinion - very cool, very unique fabric....what could be better than that!

KCWC - Day 1

I put these dates in my phone, so I'd remember to carve out time to sew each day.  I've been looking forward to this week, and have a bunch of things cut out and ready to go.  That's not cheating, is it??!!

I started with a pattern I had downloaded - "Kate's Dress" by Lily Bird Studios.  I purchased it here:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheLilyBirdStudio#.

I had no idea how the sizing ran, so I made a size three for my tall-ish 2 year old - who will be 2.5 in about three weeks.  The dress went together without a hitch.  Although I've been sewing for a bazillion years, this was my first time with piping.  I put my zipper foot on my machine, and was pleased at how it came out.  I used the string that we use to tie up poultry inside the piping - no idea what other people do, but it worked just fine.  In retrospect, since I've never used piping before, I'm sure it would have come out better if I had used the other view included with the pattern, which has a much larger rounded yoke, with no corners to try to turn.

The sizing may be a bit on the small size, and I'm toying with the idea of either chopping if off and making a tunic to wear with leggings, or adding a ruffle and making it longer.  I think it's kind of a funky length right now.....

I do like the back now that I step back and look at it better, but as I was sewing it, I was thinking I may do a placket back if I try the pattern again.  I like it better since I'm happy with my buttons.  I'm kind of a button-perfectionist...

The sleeves are absolutely adorable to me, which is why I think a ruffle at the bottom may just make this the perfect, totally easy dress!

Fabric is from Riley Blake - purchased with absolutely no plan in mind!

Rainbow Heart Applique Top

I made a Oliver + S Hopscotch top this weekend.  It started with this skirt:

For this skirt, I used an Oliver + S free download skirt - their Lazy Days Skirt.  Really easy, and it was a big success.

Since I still had a bunch of hearts already cut out, ready to be appliqued, I decided on a top.  Not to wear together, however, cause that would just be too much rainbow-ish hearts!

I used a pattern that I've used before - really easy by Oliver + S.  It's made for knits.  I used some old interlock for the body, and appliqued the hearts along the bottom.  I made sure to use stabilizer underneath - the secret to professional looking applique.

I love the results - and my daughter does too!!!: