PJ Pants Simplicity3669

T-shirts designed on Custom Ink for a family trip

Pattern: Simplicity 3669 size 14

Fabrics: Nautique Chambray Prints Indigo by Robert Kaufman

and

Happiness Is...Peanuts Snoopy & Woodstock Blue by Quilting Treasures

I really like how the chambray feels, I haven't sewn with it before.  I'll have to use it again on a future project. 

Anchor Citronille Daisy Tunic

Pattern: Citronille Daisy size 8

Fabric: Anchors Away in Raspberry from Out to Sea by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller

Added a couple of inches to the length

Oliver + S Bedtime Story PJs

 

Oliver + S Bedtime Story Pajamas pattern.

Size 8, made with short sleeves.

Fabric form JoAnn’s.

Matching PJs for my sweet K* and her cousin M*.

 

 

Oliver + S Patriotic Ice Cream Tunic

 

Patriotic Oliver + S Ice Cream Tunic.

Size 8.

Fabric is Robert Kaufman Freedom, blue stars on white.

I added a couple of inches to the length after sewing it up, the seam is disguised by the red ribbon.

 

 

Birthday Party Dress in Oops A Daisy & A Coupon Code

The Birthday Party dress pattern by LilyBirdStudio.

 

This pattern is wonderful and comes in sizes 0 to 24 months and 12 months to 8 years.  Great, clear instructions.  A cute, sweet dress pattern that can be dressed up or worn just because it’s fun to wear a dress & twirl.

Fabric is Oops a daisy kaleidoscope by Keiki for Moda.

I bought this fabric a few years ago at a quilting store clear out and have been waiting to find the perfect pattern to make with it.

Initially, I wanted to make the sleeves out of the pink polka dot fabric also, bit it was cutting it close to have enough for the ruffle and belt.  In the end though, I think I like it better having the sleeves out of the same fabric as the main dress.

Hat from Gymboree, this year {2014}.

Slight changes I made to the pattern are: lined sleeves, longer belt, I used ribbon for the belt loops and the addition of a button placket flap.

 

I have also made the A line dress and recently purchased and have plans to make Bia’s A line dress & Laura’s dress & tunic.

 

 

LilyBirdStudio is offering 20% off with the code CRAFTYENDEAVORS.  The 20% is good from tomorrow, Wednesday, April 9th until Saturday, April 12th.  Go pick out a cute pattern to sew up!

You can buy patterns at  LilyBirdStudio.

 

 

Christmas Dress in Deer Valley

 

For K*’s 2013 Christmas dress, I used some Joel Dewberry Deer Valley fabric & some cream velveteen that I got from Above All Fabrics some time ago, inspired by a dress Melanie made.  The pattern is McCall’s 5793 view B in a size 7.  I omitted the lining and tulle layers as she has a puffy slip she can wear underneath, and I just didn’t feel like dealing with those parts to be honest and the Deer Valley fabric is a nice weight, not see through.  I did add some width to the bodice to create some soft gathers.   K* was super excited to wear her red ruby slippers from her Dorothy Halloween costume with it.

 

 

 

Oh how I love her in this dress twirling around with her sweet little pony tails and red bows.

Christmas PJs in Nordic Holiday

 

For K*s Christmas Eve/Christmas morning pajamas, I made a sweet nightgown using Stitch ‘n Save by McCall’s M6633 (out of print now) view B in a size 6, hoping it would fit my growing girl for the rest of the winter as it was the largest size for the pattern.  The fabric is Nordic Holiday by Michael Miller.  Isn’t it just so fun and bright for the holiday season!  Ilove the reindeer, tress & little birds.

K* felt like the neckline was too low or gaped open or something and was always wearing a t shirt under it, so I cut a t shirt up one day and sewed just the littlest bit of the neck binding & a bit of the shirt onto the nightgown to make her more comfortable.

I did make S* some pj bottoms using the red & blue racer stripes from Sarah Jane’s children at play line, but no pics to show of them.

 

Pants to Capris

 

Just a quick, brief picture "tutorial" of how K* and I turned a pair of her jeans into capris Monday morning.

She asked me if I could turn more of her jeans into capris the next day.  All things considered our May in Houston has been "mild", but it is definitely heating up and I don't think her jeans will fit length wise into the Fall much {and I already have the next size up waiting in the closet}, so I think I'll tackle a few more asap.

I used another pair of capri pants she already had to gauge the length and added 1/2 inch for seam allowance.  I cut the cuffs at about 2 inches.  I lightly stretched the bottom leg opening to fit the cuffs while I was sewing {matching up the side seams as best I could by pinning before sewing} because the cuff opening was a bit larger than the leg opening. After turning them right side out, I tacked the cuffs down in a few spots to keep them rolled up. No raw edges showing!

New Look 6043 Diamond Eyes Top

 

Pattern: NewLook 6043

Alterations to the pattern: shortened length to a tunic top, size 6 with a size 4 front neckline, omitted bodice loop/gather detail, fully lined {so no need for bias trim to finish inside seams}, elastic loop & button back closure {from craftinessisnotoptional}, and bias trim

Fabric: Diamond Eyes by Alexander Henry from JoAnn Fabrics

 

I decided to make this for my sweet K* to wear to school when she presents her zebra project later this week.  I know, I know a zebra applique on a tee shirt would have sufficed and been quicker.

 

 Using fabric like this for her is out of the norm for me {we're usually all floraly, pink & girly} but I am really happy with how this top turned out.  And it looks like it will fit for awhile.  Maybe I will be able to sew clothes when she's older that are still "cool" to wear.

 

Twirly Skirt: Navy, Pink & White

Finished sewing this skirt last Friday morning.  The fabrics are from Jo Ann's (last Spring), isn't the navy flower print with dots so cute!  I think the pink ruffle is a Heidi Grace fabric.

 

It'd been cut out ready to sew since last Spring when I taught a class on how to sew twirly skirts for girls.  Glad I finally got around to sewing it; just in time for a church Easter activity and egg hunt K* went to.

Fall Clothing Repeat

Luckily, the Fall outfits I made for K* last year still fit {and may next year too} so we got another year's wear out of them, yay!  I'm guessing the Christmas/Winter skirts do too, I know I want to adjust the Christmas one though, will have to pull those out soon.

 

 

 

 

There are so many projects I'd like to do and there's just not time, sometimes it's hard to decide what I really should/want to work on.  I think one of the problems is that I like to work on crafts "in season".  So I come across all sorts of fun, cute ideas for a certain season or holiday, but don't end up with enough time to make what I want before it's time to move on to the next season.  If I could just get on the ball just a little bit ahead of  time.... Oh well, there's always next year, right ;)

Vintage Modern meets McCall's 6313

 

Fabric: Vintage Modern melon wish, cream vintage and sky dots

Pattern: McCall's 6313 size 6 

I shorted the skirt part by an 1 1/2" or so and made the bottom band a ruffle

Kinder Kouture Clothing provided some inspiration for this, she sews such beautiful things.  Her aqua Dahlia, pink Dahlia and aqua Daphne dresses are so pretty.

 

I started sewing this top as part of the Kids Clothes Week Challenge, but wasn't able to finish it last week and finished it up yesterday.  The pattern is pretty easy, I just didn't have the time to finish it up as quickly as I wanted.  Then this morning, I snapped some quick pictures on our way to school.  It was actually supposed to be a dress, but when ordering fabric online I shorted myself on the white floral print (my brain must have been asleep as I have no explanation as to why I didn't order enough), and so it became a top.  Maybe she'll get more wear out of it as a top, at least that's what I'm telling myself.

  

 

 

 

Citronille Daisy in Orange Buttercup

 

The Citronille Daisy shirt pattern.

 

Yesterday/last night, I made this shirt for K* in a size 6.  I'm so happy with how it turned out.  I was a little worried how it was looking last night as I was finishing it and wondered if it would be comfortable. I quickly slipped it on her this morning before school (I had to know, I couldn't wait until after school to know if it fit and looked okay). It is definitely cuter on a little girl than a hanger (you'll see below).

I bought a few yards of this fun orange small buttercup floral fabric at JoAnn's last week.  You may recognize it from the Brynnberlee Brooke dress I made last week.  I also bought it in pink and blue.  I just love it's sweetness.  And the orange might be my favorite, a color I love for Fall but don't usually wear myself or put Kayley in.  So you'll see several things made from this fabric in those three colors.

 

Anyway, I came across Citronille patterns while browsing online for sewing inspiration.  I saw a pretty dress made from the Citronille Antonine pattern and while ordering it, decided to get this one as well.  The patterns come from France and the directions are in French (shipping was really fast), but the pattern is simple and the diagrams are great so I was able to figure it all out without much trouble.  They seem to be well drafted & written patterns, I've read online others comparing them to oliver + s patterns (which I love the bedtime story pj's I've previously made).

 

I almost forgot to mention the alteration I had to the pattern.  If I used the cutting layout in the pattern, my fabric wasn't wide enough to cut everything out on the folds, but it was a more efficient use of the fabric.  So, rather than using a lot more fabric with more "wasted" fabric space,  I decided to make the front & back pattern pieces about an inch smalled in width, which equalled 4 inches total after cutting on the fold.  So, the shirt should be a lot fuller, but I think it is still plenty full the way it ended up. I have no idea if fabric in the US is a different width or what the issue was.

 

 

 

Yes, my kids are both in school, hubby is out of town, soccer practice was cancelled last night, we have no TV, satellite or cable, so I've had plenty of crafty time as you'll see, I made some hooded towels and  started on a hooded towel tutorial today.

Brynnberlee Brooke Dress

 

The Brynnberlee Brooke dress pattern.

 

 I saw it on probably actually last Fall and just thought it was so cute.  It took me until now to finally sew one, I made a size 18 months for my niece who's turning one. I'm excited to make one in K*'s size soon. The orange floral fabric is from JoAnn Fabrics and so it the pink polka dot fabric I used for the lining.  The two slight changes I made were to make a hem facing from the lining fabric and to make half of the sleeve from the lining fabric.  I think the pink is so fun poking out against the orange.  It's hard to tell in the photos but the centers of the white flowers are pink. I also added an inch or so to the length.  I was pretty quick to sew, it took me a leisurly three hours or so this morning.