For months now I’ve been pattern searching.  Looking for the perfect dress to make for Miss P’s first birthday.  I wanted it to be simple, summery, and carefree looking.  Nothing too fussy or flouncy.  The fabric I chose for her party dress is a gorgeous bright floral pattern, so I wanted to stick with a dress that had clean lines.

I decided on McCall’s M6944.  A sweet summer dress with coordinating bloomers peeking out from under the skirt.  The finished measurements listed on the pattern were vague, so I decided to make a practice dress just to get the feel for the pattern and work out any sizing kinks.   And this is the finished practice dress-

I love the pattern!  The directions were clear, and it truly was easy to sew.

I added some trim to the waist line just to break up the busy pattern (and to hide some sloppy seams)

The bloomers I made in a contrasting fabric.  The bloomers gave me trouble, which seems counter intuitive… they should have been the easiest part of the dress.

The crisscross back was what sold me on the pattern.

The straps are adjustable and simply button on the inside of the bodice.

So now we get to the nitty-gritty details.  Just because a pattern sews up nicely and looks good hanging on a hanger doesn’t mean you’re home-free.  Fitting is everything!  And that’s were things started to unravel for this dress.

While I was cutting out the bloomers a little voice inside my head kept saying “Man those look big.  They’d almost fit me.”  But I pushed those thoughts aside and kept sewing.  Sure enough…they’re huge.  MC Hammer’s got nothing on these pants.

The dress is just too big as well.  It is supposed to be loose fitting, but this has a really big pucker in the back right were the straps crisscross.

You can see from this picture how much it sticks out in the back.  Sizing is the most frustrating element of sewing.  Pattern companies all size differently.  The store-bought size your child usually wears is not necessarily the size you will end up making for them.  Miss P is a tall girl and a bit big for her age.  She’s been wearing 12 month clothes for several months now, so I was a little surprised when the size 1 (as it’s called on this pattern) was so loose on her.

Now I have to decide what to do next.  The pattern has a 6 month size (or as they call it 1/2 size…which is just dumb), but I’m worried that it will still be too big.  The bloomers are just ridiculous and not even worth trying again.  I think I’m going to cut out the smaller size, and make another practice top out of muslin.  I’m going to scrap the bloomers all together and use See Kate Sew’s, bloomer tutorial.  If that doesn’t work, I’ll make her birthday dress using Rae’s tried-and-true Geranium pattern.

I still haven’t given up on the pattern!  I just think she might need to be a little older and a little bigger before it will fit right.

So, the moral of the story: listen to the voices in your head, and make the practice dress out of cheap fabric instead of darling fabric you actually like.  Hopefully this will fit her next summer!

EDITORIAL NOTE:  After reading this post, my friend Aliya, cleared up some of the sizing problems I was having.  The sizes on the pattern are listed like this: 1/2, 1, 2, 3, 4.  I assumed that the 1 was equivalent to a 12-month size.  Aliya explained that the 1/2 is actually the 12-month size.  Which would make the 1 approximately an 18-month size? I guess?

I have been having so much fun in the sewing room lately!  I have picked up, and been giving some really fun fabrics that have inspired a lot of sewing for Miss E.

I’m still on my Geranium Dress kick.  This is Miss E’s fourth Geranium.  She has two dresses and two tunics.

It’s just a wonderfully versatile pattern with very user-friendly instructions.  Every dress I’ve made from this pattern has had it’s own distinct look.  My Mom surprised me with this citron fabric that I used for the bottom half of the dress (the fabric is Moda, and it’s called 2WENTY-THR3E by Eric & Julie Comstock).  I LOVE the colors of this fabric!  I added the solid colored top and decided it was a bit too plain, so I dressed it up with the ruffle and tiny buttons.

One of the things I love most about sewing is the freedom I have to personalize her clothing.  I decided to embroider her name onto the dress pocket (although she has informed me numerous times that her name is NOT spelled “all fancy like that!”).

I’m trying to include more pictures of Miss E wearing the clothes that I make, so that you can get a feel for how the pattern fits.

Personally I really like the way the Geranium pattern fits her!  The little capped sleeves are my favorite.

These days there are more online pattern companies than you can shake a stick at, and while I really love PDF patterns not all pattern companies are equal.  Some children’s pattern companies are only interested in churning out a new pattern every few weeks, instead of really perfecting one good design.  That’s what I love about Rae’s patterns, she takes her time.  She designs clothes that fit well and look professional when finished.  She doesn’t release a pattern until it has been tested many times over and the attention to detail shows!

This is one of the Geranium tunics I made Miss E about a month ago.  The tunics take very little fabric so it’s a good way to use up smaller pieces of fabric, especially if you mix and match like I did with this one.

This is a picture of E wearing her tunic with some pants I made her last week.

These little pants are so much fun to make!  They are a really satisfying project that only took an afternoon to finish (I should mention that making these pants in an afternoon meant that dinner did not happen,and my husband kindly suggested that we order pizza).  I used Meg McElwee’s Basic Pocket Pant pattern from her book Growing Up Sew Liberated.

Miss E doesn’t like to wear jeans.  She hates how thick and scratchy they are and how they bunch up around her waist.  So all last winter she wore dresses and leggings or already worn-out thrift store jeans.  This year I decided to make her some.  I used some really soft denim I found on the flat-fold table at my local fabric store.  It was crazy inexpensive, felt nice to the touch, had a cool crosshatch texture, and it was 60 inches wide!  How cool is that?…very!  I made the all denim pants first and used the opposite side of the fabric for the contrasting pockets and cuffs.  I had Miss E try them on and she looked at me with a confused look and said, “But there just pain ol’ pants!”.

So for attempt number two I decided to dress them up a bit.

Once again I used the opposite side of the denim for the pant legs and a floral and dot fabric for the contrasting cuffs and pockets.

The cuffs look so cute with her little feet peeking out from under them!

Just some pictures of the pants on E.  I did have to do some alterations to the pattern.  Miss E is four-years-old and usually a 4T fits her perfectly.  I cut out the 4T and was surprised when the pants were a full 3 inches too long!  Fortunately shortening the pant legs and redoing the cuffs was no big deal, and for the second pair I just cut three inches of the bottom right away.

She was very happy with the second pair I made her!  I can tell that she really likes them because she’s always fishing them out of the dirty clothes hamper.

Lastly, I made this slip dress one morning a few weeks ago.  The fabric is called Neighborhood Houses by Timeless Treasures.  I found it on Etsy and just fell in love with it!  I made a simple slip dress with bias tape finish.  This is another dress that Miss E seems to favor.  She tried to wear it three days in a row, but on the third day I put my foot down and insisted that the dress must be washed!

And that’s all the buzz from the sewing room.  I already have more fabric on order and new patterns to try out!  I’m looking forward to tackling some new projects for the littlest member in our family (who is growing out of her cloths every time I turn around!).  So stay tuned… more to come!

~April

PS- as always if you have any questions about the fabric or patterns please feel free to ask!

This little post is entirely dedicated to all things baby girl.  I’m finally getting around to snapping a few pictures of the things I’ve been making for her and I decided to just post them all at once.

Last month Miss E helped me drag all her old baby clothes from the shed into the house, so we could sort and wash anything that this new little one might be able to use.  Fortunately, there were lots of sweet little things that could be handed down to baby sister.  E was enthralled and happily helped me make room in their dresser for the baby’s clothes.  I wish I had taken a picture of E standing on her tippy-toes, chin resting on the edge of the drawer, looking fondly at all the little things that will belong to an already most beloved little sister.

Now this beautiful piece of workmanship I had nothing to do with.  This is the baby quilt that my mom pieced and quilted for the baby.  Isn’t it wonderful?!  There are over 50 different pieces of fabric in this quilt that my mom pulled from her fabric stash, a few from my stash, and added a dozen or so new pieces of fabric just for good measure.

I am so delighted with how it turned out!  I gave her very little instruction but somehow she managed to make something even lovelier than I had envisioned.

I made the baby a few new dresses (hand-me-downs are fun but a girl needs a few things of her own)

One again I used Rae’s free Itty Bitty pattern.  I love that pattern!  I’ve probably made close to 10 of these dressed because they are so simple!

I didn’t make this dress.  I bought it at Old Navy and added the flower applique to the bodice.

I like the contrast of the navy stripes with the feminine floral.

This is a little glimpse at her hospital bag.  Just an assortment of things I have made and collected for her stay at the hospital and for her homecoming.

This is her “coming home onesie”.  I know it’s kind of silly, but I like to have something special for the babies to wear when they come home.  This is nothing fancy but it’s fun and comfortable, and I know it will fit her right away.

In her diaper bag I also have a few sets of tiny socks and a couple burp cloths.

I also made this little zipper pouch for keeping pacifiers from floating around in the bottom of the diaper bag.

I used the Little Cutie Pouch tutorial from Noodlehead (sorry I’m being lazy this time and not including links!).  It was a fun project that went together in about 20 minutes.

And of course the bag that holds them all together.  For her diaper bag I used an old favorite pattern, Amy Butler’s Swing Bag pattern.  It’s so simple and it really is the perfect size, not too big, not too little and easy to get into.

And lastly just a few onesies and headbands I put together for her.  It’s summertime and I know this little one is going to practically live in onesies or if I’m honest probably just a diaper

Both of these onesies are hand-me-downs that I added the cotton knit rosettes to.   It was a fun and easy way to bring life to something that was looking a little worn.

We are as ready as we are ever going to be and the doctor tells me that baby girl is doing great and can come anytime.  So now we wait…. but if there is one thing I have learned over the years, it’s that babies feel little obligation were due dates are concerned

Oh, and off the subject of baby girls for a moment; I’m in the process of setting up a new blog with WordPress.  I have been blogging on Xanga for 6 years now but it’s time for a change.  I hope to be able to keep in contact with you all, and I will be sure to post a link to my new website as soon as it’s up and going!

Thanks my friends,  April

I haven’t had the chance to sew for Miss E all summer.  Now that the boys are in school I have a little extra time on my hands so I made a few things for the girl.

I found this Fan Dress pattern from Anna Maria Horner online.  It’s a free pattern that I downloaded directly to my computer and printed off on my little printer.  You can find the pattern here.

I bought this fun large dot material and thought it would make a darling dress.  Sorry about the quality of the pictures my camera didn’t like focusing on the dot pattern.  I thought it would looks sweet with some tights and a little cardigan.

I added a little vintage lace doily to the waistline but the box pleats ended up covering it up more than I would have liked.

This is what it looks like from the back.  The backside is my favorite!  The two little overlapping buttons and the row of little pleats at the edge… really it’s a great pattern (did I mention it’s free?).

I lined it with some material I had left over from a dress I made her last fall.

When I sew for E, I sometimes feel torn about the style of clothing I made her.  Personally, I love a simple minimalist style.  Plain, muted colors with unique textures offset by some lovely lace or trim.  I wander through the fabric store with those items in my hand, but I always end up putting them back.  That look just isn’t right for my little girl.  She is anything but muted!  She’s playful, and colorful and she loves bright, pretty clothing… so that’s what I make for her   Who knows, someday I might squeeze in a “mamma style dress” but I know it will be the one I have to beg her to wear.

I also made another simple skirt.  Once again, I used Dana’s skirt tutorial and made the double layer version.

I trimmed it with some large pink rickrack I had been saving for the right project.  I’m not quite finished with this skirt yet.  I’m planning on crocheting a scalloped trim around the brown layer but I won’t dare attempt it without Stephanie at my side.

If you have been toying with the idea of sewing for your own little girl, this is the pattern for you!  It’s a breeze to make and it turns out darling every.single.time.

I’ve made her four of these skirts in the last year.  They get used every single week!  More often than not, when I ask E to go get dressed, she comes out wearing one of these skirts (in some cases two at one time).  I must admit I love seeing her running around playing in the clothes I’ve made her.

She always pairs her little skirts with the funniest shirts and accessories.

I also made her a handful of covered clips.  Aren’t they fun?

E has a lot of fancy flower clips but on a day-to-day basis I reach for simple snap clips to hold her hair out of her face.  Why not make them look cute?  I used this tutorial.  Warning, it does require a fair bit of hand work, so if you have and aversion to needles and thread this might not be the project for you.  I had a great time making them!

Lastly I made this little bear/doll carrier for her.  It’s a pattern from my Oliver + S, Little Things to Sew book.  I’m just crazy about that book! I’ve made several projects from it now and there so many more I would like to try.

I’m realizing that I’m in that perfect, magical window of time with E, where her whole world revolves around pretend play.  One day she’s a butterfly princess, the next a doctor or a mommy… it’s so fun!  I plan on taking full advantage of this sweet time and make her lots of little things to play with.  I know the day is coming when she won’t be so thrilled with all her handmade things but fortunately today is not that day.

Have a great weekend!  April

I have a brand new beautiful niece, and several friends who are expecting baby girls later this summer.
The sewing room has been filled with frilly, feminine goodness.

Here are just a few of the gifts I’ve been making.

Tea dyed onesies with vintage lace, carved mother-of-pearl buttons, and chiffon flowers make a
one-of-a-kind gift.

~Ruffles on the bum~

I like to add a little vintage inspired hair clip.

I also made some baby dresses

This free pattern can be found here

No zippers, no scary buttons holes… just two little ties and a bit of bias tape for the hem.  Brilliant!

I realize that a baby dress might seem a little intimidating, but this is a lovely, breezy little pattern that goes together so quickly.  One hour… tops.  But you don’t have to tell your friends that.  Feel free to let them think you labored away for days to make a dress for their little girl.  I won’t tell.  Mums the word…

If you are looking for more sewing inspiration you can check out my sewing board on Pinterest.  It is filled with all of my favorite tutorials and patterns.

Now go have fun making something lovely for someone you love.  ~April

ps~ I tried to keep the post from being too wordy, but if there was something you wanted to know a little more about, I’d be happy to oblige.