Taylor's Bunny Bonnet & Little Lizard King 'Astoria Playsuit'

If we could all remember

what it was to be a child

the world would be

 a more pleasant place.

Tammy R. Eledge

Sweet Baby Taylor is the daughter of Kristen, another of my wonderful teammates at school.  She was just over a year old when I made this sunsuit set last April  She has amazing motor skills.  She was full-on walking at nine months without holding on to anything!  She is fast, too!  The only non-blurry photos I was able to take of her in this outfit were when she was lying down!

Just look at that sweet face!

The sunsuit is a PDF pattern from Little Lizard King.  It was the first time I made it and it was an enjoyable sew.  The finish inside is very nice with all enclosed seams.  The front piece is lined and encloses the back pieces.   I used pink plastic snaps on the bottom which was my first experience with plastic ones.  I was thrilled with how easy and fast the application was and I am hopeful that they will stand the test of time like the ones made of metal.

I used a vintage Madeira hand towel and some really nice eyelet edging to embellish the front of the sunsuit and a wider eyelet for the flutters on the shoulder straps.

Patterns:  'Astoria' by Little Lizard King,

 'Bunny Baby Bonnet' by Polluted Pixie on Etsy,

 bib pattern: unknown.

Fabrics, Etc.:  vintage linens, trims & eyelets from my stash,

 floral fabric from stash (?) and yellow Kona cotton broadcloth

I absolutely loved making the bunny eared bonnet!  Soooooooo cute!  I even made another for a dear friend's new granddaughter that I will blog about another day.  The pattern pieces go together well and the directions were easy to follow.

Thank you for reading my blog!  I hope your day is filled with sunshine and flowers (even if it is only the figurative kind)!

A Little Honey of a Dress for Honey Bee: Reversible CC 'Lucy'

This little sweetheart has just charmed me!

You should hear her sing!

Rosalie (AKA:  Honey Bee to me) is the daughter of my friend and kindergarten team mate Marnie.  I have written about her busy bee speediness before when blogging about things I've made for her.  Her last name also contains the word 'bee' in it and her mama uses a bee theme in decorating her classroom.  It is the perfect nickname for this adorable toddler!  I love making bee themed things for her!  (See:  Winnie the Pooh and the Bees outfit HERE.) This one was made last Autumn and served two purposes.

This sweet little two piece outfit is actually reversible!  It was made using all stashed fabrics using the Children's Corner 'Lucy' pattern. (This was my first 'Lucy'.  For Honey Bee's Bunny 'Lucy' see this POST.) The appliques of the skep and bee were hand cut and machine blanket stitched based on some images I found on Pinterest.  (I wanted to credit the designers of  the original designs but it doesn't identify them on the links to the pins.) 

I was very happy with the way the machine

 did the blanket stitch!

It looks almost like hand work!

Fabrics, Etc.:  Mary Engelbreit bee fabric,

 black/white Imperial gingham,

Orange Kona Cotton, ? Halloween panel fabric,

 black jumbo rickrack, stashed black and brown wood buttons,

 and scraps of stashed fabrics for the appliques.

Patterns:  Children's Corner 'Lucy', view B (size 3, length of a 2) and

 'Heidi' (size 2) from Australian Smocking & Embroidery #81

The flight line of the bee was actually stitched by hand

 using a chain stitch.

I made a little black/white gingham peasant blouse trimmed in rickrack and a sheer black ribbon bow using the 'Heidi' pattern from AS&E #81.  I adapted the pattern to add fullness and a bit of length to the sleeves.  It coordinates with both sides of the reversible dress.

Although the Bee themed side could be worn in Florida all year, the Halloween themed side of the dress was only worn during the Autumn.  I have had the pocket panel fabric for at least ten years.  It was found sitting in a remnant basket by the counter in a quilt shop and I purchased the last two panel pieces.  I have used them on little trick or treat purses (see HERE) and a couple of other items.  A little happy last minute purchase!

I hope this inspires you to make a little reversible dress or something Halloween inspired 

for the upcoming holiday!  

Thank you for visiting!

Kate's LLK Charleston Baby Set

I am fortunate to have some wonderful volunteers in my kindergarten classroom.  I am blessed!  I have never had a field trip that was under chaperoned and have had amazing help over the years putting together large portfolios full of school work and scrap-booked photos for my students.  My daughter Victoria-Rose is one that comes through for me every year and makes the portfolios something to be cherished.  Another mother came in this past year and spent many Friday mornings helping to build these large binders full of memories.  To thank her, I made her littlest one an outfit.  Little Kate is two and a little blond beauty.  Both mama and Kate love purple and I wanted to make a PDF pattern I had purchased from Little Lizard King (Link: HERE).  It turned out to be the perfect combination!

Pattern:  Little Lizard King  "Baby Charleston", size 2 with a 3 length

Fabrics:  JoAnn 

My little lopsided mannequin is too small for this size but was adequate for the photos.

I made three buttonholes on the straps for adjusting the fit as Kate grows.  The little bloomers have a decorative lavender shell button to denote the front for little Kate's attempts at self dressing.  "Button over your belly button!"

The inside of the pattern finishes nicely.  I was assured that it fit well and that Kate loved the outfit.   I enjoyed sewing a new pattern and love the batik fabric.  There really is no right or wrong side and washing the fabric, as I always do before cutting, didn't create lots of wrinkles. 

 This was a very pleasant sewing experience!

Thank you for reading!  Have a wonderful day!

Chloe's Minnie Mouse Skirt For Disney

Summertime is the ideal time for Florida families to visit Disney World in Orlando.  The prices are reduced for Florida residents and the children are out of school for the summer holidays.  It is HOT but still a lot of fun!  This one was made for Chloe a while ago.  Her grandparents live in the Orlando area and they often take the children to Disney Springs.  Chloe wore this with one of the white blouses I made her or a black tank top with the ribbon I sewed tied around a pony tail.  Adorable, of course!  I wish I had a photo!

Pattern:  Self-drafted to Chloe's measurements

Fabrics:  Dots from JoAnn, white lining:  sheet

VERY TWIRLY!

A Bunny for Honey Bee

from the blog:  http://ohfirstgradefriends.blogspot.com/

Sweet little Honey Bee (AKA:  Rosalie) is the daughter of Marnie, one of my teammates at school.  Marnie is just two years older than my daughter and is already an amazing kindergarten teacher with three years under her belt.  She and her husband are the epitome of hard working young adults.  Last year they purchased their first home and opened a retirement account!  As the oldest member of the kindergarten team I feel great motherly/grandmotherly pride in their accomplishments! 

I made Honey Bee a bunny themed dress just this past April.  I used fabric that I purchased from Farmhouse Fabrics in a bundle that I received within the last year.  If the fabric hasn't 'mellowed' in my stash for at least a year, I consider it 'brand new'!  (There is fabric in there from 24 years ago!) 

Patterns:  Children's Corner 'Lucy' Dress & 'Madeline' Panties, size 4

Fabric:  Mia Whittemore's 'Flourish' by Windham Fabrics and

 'Joliyou' by Riley Blake Designs

Bunny Applique:  Pieces from an old stuffed bunny pattern, enlarged

The bunny applique is hand cut and blanket stitched on the machine.  I was inspired by large applique animals on simple A-line dresses I have seen on Pinterest.  I fussy-cut the bunny so that a flower would be right where I wanted to put the button eye.  I thought Rosalie would enjoy the floppy ear.

Honey Bee is only three years old but is so expressive in her gratitude for the things I make for her! She saw the dress hanging in the car when her mother picked her up from nursery school and exclaimed, "Pretty dress!  Is it for me?!"  When told that I had made it for her, she kept saying, "Thank you!  Thank you!"  This one gets worn often, I am delighted to say.  

I have made this pattern just three times, all in the past year although I have had the pattern for a long time.  I don't know why I put off making it!  It is adorable and finishes beautifully.  I love the full lining and that it can be made reversible.  In fact, this is the first 'Lucy' that I didn't make reversible.

Busy as a little honey bee!

 Honey Bee is only three and look how brave she was at Busch Gardens with the birds!

  A girl after my own heart!

Have you had an unused pattern for a long time

 that has turned into a favorite? 

Patriotic Summer Time Halter Dress

This little size two halter dress has a bit of a back story.  It started life as a little gingham apron with "Chicken-Scratch" embroidery!  I found it (in perfect condition) and about four of its sisters at antique stores over the years.  The embroidery is handstitched over the grid created by the gingham checks.  I used a favorite halter style dress and adjusted for the width of the apron.  I also had to make two cuts and then sew the three seams (one down the back) matching up the embroidery.  Tricky!  I used some red Kona cotton broadcloth for the ties and the bloomers underneath.

This little set was gifted to my heart-sister Jana to give to her great-niece Emmaline.  I thought the red/white/blue was perfect for the Fourth of July and throughout the summer.

Unfortunately, these photos were taken with my phone and 

I neglected to take close up shots of the embroidery.

Patterns:  Dress:  Simplicity # 1472

Bloomers:  Australian Smocking & Embroidery # 53 "Child of Nature"

This embroidery must have taken the needle artist 

many, many, many hours to complete.

I like to think that she would be pleased that a precious little girl

has gotten the pleasure of wearing/using her careful work.  

Pillowcase Blouse & Twirly Skirt for a School Raffle

"Never underestimate the power of a woman with a sewing machine!"

Well, while going through photos to blog some of the older sewing projects I discovered this little outfit that I had completely forgotten about.  I made this set about ten years ago and gave it to our PTA to raffle at a Fall fund raiser.  

The blouse was fashioned from a vintage cross stitched pillowcase.  I added the gingham ribbon flowers and used a simple peasant top pattern.  The hem of the pillowcase was machine scalloped.

The skirt is a tiered design that I made without a pattern.  I just made gradually wider rectangles.  I believe that I used bias binding on the hem.  

I do love using vintage linens in my sewing creations!  Do you?

A Forgotten Project Run & Play Season #17 Sew Along

Harper's Blue Birds of Happiness

"Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels, 

bending beneath her;

still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings"

Victor Hugo

Edited:  This post was written back in September 2018 but never posted.  

This sweet little dress was to be my entry for the Sew Along Challenge Contest for week #2:  "Flights of Fancy" but I didn't get it finished in time.  If only I had just two more hours in each day!  I decided to enter it into this week's Signature Style challenge as it fits some of the criteria for my style. (See this POST for an explanation of my two 'Signature Styles'.)

I really did love this challenge and sketched out several different designs that I would really like to make.  However, most were more time consuming than I have as a full time kindergarten teacher so I decided to use what was in the stash and go for a more simple (but I hope charming) design.

Patterns:  Ruby Jean's Closet for Simplicity #8565 (also known as D0911), size 4.

Ruby Jean's Closet PDF pattern (on Etsy) "Pretty Bird" (pockets)

Fabrics:  1748 Heartwood Songbird by The Henley Studio (Makower UK)

Unknown Stash Scraps for Pockets and neckline frill 

Changes to the pattern:

*Omitted the ruffle on the bottom, thereby shortening the dress to above the knee.

*Omitted the frills on the sleeves and the bodice/skirt seam line.

*Finished the bottom edge of the bodice lining and left it free, only tacking at the vertical seam lines and the center front.

*Switched out the bunny pockets for the "Pretty Bird" pockets.

 The pattern has lovely sleeves that have plenty of room to move about without constriction.  I love that the designer chose to have them lined.  (I would have done it anyway.  :) )  I also love the sweetheart neckline and shaped lower bodice with a corresponding shaped front skirt piece.  It would be easy to make this a high/low dress if one just made a straight rectangle for the front skirt.

The little recipient of this dress is my dear friend and co-worker Rachel's daughter, Harper.  Harper is a petite five year old with a thirst for learning.  She is already phonetically writing little stories with beginnings, middles, and endings!  

When I brought the dress to school to give to Harper she was wearing another dress I made this past summer.  She immediately hugged this one and shouted, "I love it!" and asked to change and wear it right then.  Warmed my heart!  

Harper really loved those Blue Bird Pockets!

What a cutie!!!

"Be like the bluebird who never is blue,

For he knows from his upbringing what singing can do."

Cole Porter

Pajama Party Baby Dolls For Chloe

Well, it has been a long hiatus from blogging but not from sewing!  There are many things that I have been creating that I would like to document and share.  The first item up is from several years ago.  Sweet Chloe was midway through first grade and practicing for a class musical performance of "Pajama Party".  (I can't believe that in August Chloe will be in fourth grade! Where does the time go??!!)  Her mama, my wonderful friend Kaye, was searching for old fashioned baby doll shortie pajamas without any luck.  Two days before the performance she asked me if I knew of any other place she should look.  I have to admit I rolled my eyes a bit and exclaimed,  "Only in my sewing room!  Two days, Kaye!"  

 

Pajama Top:  Self drafted

Bottoms:  Pantaloons from "Christy", an old Kaye Guiles pattern

Fabrics:  Tanja Whelan florals from the stash

Trims:  stash

I started with Chloe's measurements and Kaye's general design idea and drafted a super simple design made fancy with special trims from my stash of goodies.  The top was made just from Chloe's measurements and the bottoms were adapted/shortened from a pantaloon pattern in "Christy" by Kaye Guiles, one of my favorites from 20 years ago.

I decided to make the waist 'paper bag style'.

 

Getting all 'dolled up' in her mama's classroom the night of the performance.

I put bows on everything!  Even the stuffy and Chloe's slippers!

Dance moves from the show just for us!  She rocked it on stage, too!

Check out that dimple!

This move is part of a song where the mom says,  "Pick up your toys!"

 I do adore this child!