A Retro-Funky Alder Skirt

Several weeks ago, I got an email from Rachael from Imagine Gnats asking if I was available to test her newest pattern, the Alder Skirt.

Of course I was!  I had seen pictures of it on Instagram, so I already knew how cute it was.

Since I live on the edge, I let the 4 year old pick the fabric.  She  chose a very funky cotton from Jenean Morrison's Grand Hotel line:

Funky, right?

I had three colors of interlock knit to make a top - I had a light peach, an orange, and yellow.  I voted for the peach, my husband voted for the orange, but Julia chose yellow.  As it turned out, a good choice!

First of all, the Alder Skirt - it's a really cute design.  The pockets lie slightly away from the skirt which is a detail the kid really likes.  There's a flat front, which I prefer, and an elasticized back.  Since taking these photos, Julia has worn this outfit 3 times already, so a definite success.  As far as the sewing, for some reason, I had to get my head around the pocket construction, but the directions are really clear, so just follow them, and they work perfectly.  Once I figured them out, they lined up perfectly when I attached the waistband.  I have another cut out from a plain fabric which I'm hoping to make soon, so the details of this adorable skirt will show better.  Oh, and the sizing is spot on - this is a size 4, and I actually hemmed it a bit shorter than the pattern called for (which is unusual for me as Julia's on the tall side) because I thought the shorter length went better with the retro vibe of the pattern/fabric combo.

And, the shirt - it's my second Oliver + S School Bus T-Shirt.  I added the absolute perfect and simple embroidery design from Urban Threads - really, adding this little touch of embroidery really makes the outfit, in my opinion.  Urban Threads is a seriously dangerous site, if you have an embroidery machine....

A cute outfit, eh? 

Thanks much to Rachael for asking me to test!!

Perfect Pattern Parcel #2 - The Caroline Party Dress

So this is the last day to purchase from Perfect Pattern Parcel #2.

Here's the scoop on The Caroline Party Dress.  Now, this is a dress pattern that I had never seen before.  When I received the patterns, I knew it was one that my kid would like.  She's definitely a girly-girl in spite of my best efforts to make her less girly-girly.

I had a great border print in the shop from the Grand Hotel line from Jenean Morrison.  Check out her art sometime - very cool stuff!  I knew the border print would work well for this dress, but I didn't want to use up a ton of fabric, so I cut carefully.  I made sure to line up my pattern pieces so that the horizontal patterns would line up. 

The pattern has several options, and I opted for the easiest version.  There are options for a fully lined dress with a tulle underlay, and although my kid would have loved that, I went with the simpler version as this was my first go with the pattern.  There's also an invisible zip in the back, and I wasn't really confident with my ability to insert that in a fully lined dress.

I made the dress up really quickly.  The zipper instructions were great, and the pattern went together beautifully.  I had left the hem/border very long, and tried it on the child.  Big mistake.  She then got crazy attached to the dress that was almost down to the ground.

So, here's the dress-drama....

I ran out to the store.  When I got back, the kid was in tears.  My husband said there had been a problem....apparently, Julia was running around the house in delight wearing the dress.  As it was a 90 degree day, she got sweaty.  Well, she doesn't like to be sweaty.  So, apparently, she actually tried to remove the dress by tearing at the neckline, and she tore a 5" hole in the dress.  The poor kid - she realized what she had done, and melted down in tears.

I of course told the kid that I'd fix it - not a problem.  So, there's the story of the neckline cutout added to the Caroline Party Dress....not a design feature at all!

I'll be making this pattern again for sure!  This is a size 4 on my 4 year old - the fit was perfect!

We even have color coordinated finger nails courtesy of Julia's big sister....

Oh What a Beautiful Morning....

Mostly, I miss the east coast where I grew up.

Today, I love where I live now.  It was so absolutely beautiful out.  Not cold, not hot, sunny, but not too sunny.  A perfect day really.

I sewed up another Roller Skate dress for Julia, and took her to the beach for some photos to send to the grandparents.  My parents are old-school - I email them photos, and they print them on their computer.  I thought it would be nice to actually print some and send them to them by actual mail for a change....

Here's the dress - the fabric is a quilting cotton from Westminster, the designer is Jenean Morrison.  Since buying some of her fabric from her Grand Hotel line, I checked out her website (http://jeneanmorrison.net/) - her art is really cool - very much my style. 

I had to really think about how I wanted to place the fabric on this border print.  Since the bottom of the hem is curved, and the border is of course straight, I needed to leave a lot of the red at the bottom so that it didn't look like it was uneven.  I also needed to have the elastic casing in a good spot as well....I was happy with the placement, except I should have centered the pattern a bit better.  But, whatever....she's 3!

We went to the beach about 8:00 a.m. - the lighting was beautiful, the temperature was perfect.....I think I got a lot of good shots to send the grandparents....I think they'll be delighted!

 And, I don't know where she came up with the hands on the hips pose....

 This picture (above) is my favorite....the real Julia smile, as opposed to the fake picture taking smile...

  The above picture reminds me of a model face you see on runway models....