Disney Bound

Rosalie and Bay Max

About a year and a half ago my little friend Rosalie was going to go to Disney World for an adventure.  I had wanted to make a Disney Bound outfit with Bay Max from Big Hero 6 for a while and asked her mommy if Rosalie had seen that particular Disney movie.  Rosalie hadn't but Marnie (mommy) was enthusiastic about sharing the movie with her and liked the idea of me making an outfit with Bay Max in mind.  I had fun with this one but I was under a time constraint and the hand cut and zigzagged applique isn't my best work.  It did look charming on Rosalie, though, and she received many compliments while wearing it.  She also wore the outfit to school making me so happy to see her enjoy it!

An internet search provided a coloring page of Bay Max that I could adapt for the applique and my stash provided all the material needed to make the outfit.

Patterns:  Oliver + S Swing Set Skirt, size 5 and

 Simplicity #4206 adapted for the blouse

Fabrics, Etc.:  Red Imperial Batiste, gray mottled quilting cotton, 

white satin batiste, black and red ribbon 

Pattern Changes:  I lengthened and widened the sleeves for a prettier puff. 

 I switched the outer and lining skirt patterns so that the

 red lining would accent the hem of the skirt.

I doubled the white fabric and fused it together to make the white fabric less sheer.

  I didn't want the gray to shadow through.

A red headwrap bow made using a Little Lizard King pattern was the perfect accessary.

Bay Max was happy to have someone dressed to honor him!

Isn't Rosalie adorable?!

Fruit Slice Skirts

Back in 2012 Kristin at Skirt As Top posted a tutorial on how to make the most adorable little fruit stripe skirts.  I just loved the idea and tucked it away on my Pinterest Board.  You can find her tutorial HERE.  Last year I finally got around to making two of them for my friend Rachel's little girls.  I also made Harper and Rory pretty peasant blouses to wear with them.  Fun!

I made Harper an Orange Slice skirt.

Rory received the Lemon Slice Skirt.

The peasant blouses that I made were similar with the same fabric but with different trimming on the sleeves.  I used Simplicity #4206 for the blouse with added width and length to the sleeves to make them puffier.

I know that I will be making more of these little skirts in the future.  Perhaps a watermelon or a lime? 

Black & White Capsule & Some Halloween Looks

A Capsule School Wardrobe for Chloe

Capsule wardrobes became a big topic of conversation a few years ago.  Many blog posts and articles were devoted to ways to shop/sew to create more versatile wardrobes for both children and adults.  The idea was to choose items like pants/skirts/shorts that would go with many tops.  It was like the Mix and Match doll clothing that we (of a certain age) could purchase for our Barbie and Midge dolls!  

My personal live little doll at the time of the big capsule conversation was my sweet friend Kaye's daughter Chloe.  She has been the recipient of many of the things I make.  Alas, she is now a big fourth grader with her very own sense of style and I make less for her these days.  I did make several items for a black/white capsule for her when she was in kindergarten.  Many of the items were worn into first grade getting more 'bang' for the time spent creating them.

Chloe in a Lazy Days Skirt and a Class Picnic Blouse.
Both patterns from Oliver + S.

Patterns:  Halloween Skirts:  Oliver + S Lazy Days Skirt
Dress:  Oliver + S Croquet Dress
White Blouse:  Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress & Top
Shorts:  An old McCall's pattern (?)
White/Black Floral Skirt:  Oliver + S Butterfly Skirt
Spider T-Shirt:  Made by Chloe in kindergarten
Blouse with Gingham Bodice:  Oliver + S Class Picnic Blouse
Black Gingham Peasant Blouse:  Simplicity #4206

Harper's Unicorn Oliver + S Swingset Skirt & Peasant Blouse.

Now We Are Six

By A. A. Milne

When I was One,

I had just begun.

When I was Two,

I was nearly new.

When I was Three

I was hardly me.

When I was Four,

I was not much more.

When I was Five,

I was just alive.

But now I am Six,

I'm as clever as clever,

So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.

I am sure that we would all love for Harper to stay six 

for more than a year!  

She is one of the most delightful six year old children

 I have had the pleasure to know!

Harper is the oldest daughter of my friend and teammate, Rachel.  She is kind-hearted, generous, and very smart.  She is a wonderful reader and an amazingly prolific writer.  I do believe that she writes multiple page stories nearly every day!  Harper is a lover of all nature but she has especially loved the mythical unicorns since she was just a tiny thing.  I made her an aqua VFT 'Clara (Violette Fields Threads Pattern) a couple of years ago and blogged about that dress in this post.  Although Harper is now a big girl of six, her love for this magical creature hasn't dimmed. 

Last September I made her this little skirt with fabric I found online at Hawthorne Supply Company.  I knew that she would like it!  I used a pattern that I have loved for a long time:  The Swingset Skirt by Oliver + S.  I have lost count of how many of these skirts I have made!  The little peasant blouse was made with machine embroidered fabric purchased several years ago at JoAnn.

 

I switched the lining and outer skirt pieces of the pattern so that the gray patterned under layer would peek out of the bottom of the skirt.  I added cotton lace edging to that bottom skirt and narrow hemmed the top skirt. I also used only one piece of .75 inch elastic in the waist.

The blouse pattern is Simplicty #4206 with added length and width to the sleeves to achieve the little ruffled puffed sleeve.  The narrow elastic was inserted under the ribbon trim.

The Unicorn

by Shel Silverstein

A long time ago, when the earth was green

and there were more kinds of animals then you've ever seen,

and they run around free while the earth was bein' born,

and the loveliest of all was the unicorn.

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!

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?

Project Run & Play Season 16 Signature Style Sew-Along Part 1

Sweet Summer Sisters 

Oh my stars!  These girls!

These sweet little sisters are Harper (age 5) and Rory (age 3) and I have the delightful pleasure of not only working with their mommy, an amazing kindergarten teacher, but I have the pleasure of seeing the girls often.  They always seem very pleased with the little gifts I make them and enjoy wearing them.  When Rory was given another skirt recently she said, "For meeeee?", and hugged it!  

I think these two have me wrapped around their fingers almost as tight as Chloe does!

I originally thought that these would be posted for the "Sew Your Stash" sew-along challenge on Project Run & Play.  I had them sewn and we photographed them at the children's museum on the same day as the three entries I got blogged in time for that contest.  I just couldn't get this set blogged quickly enough.  There are enough details in the outfits to qualify for what I consider My Signature Style so I decided to save them for this week.  

Harper's outfit consists of two pieces using Oliver + S patterns.  The top is a free pattern for a ruffled halter top and the skirt is a favorite pattern, the  "Swingset Skirt".  I have lost track of how many times I have made it and in how many ways.  Maybe I'll make a post someday on just that skirt pattern!

Patterns:  "Swingset Skirt" by Oliver + S, size 4

Ruffled Halter Top by Oliver + S (free:  found HERE), size 5/6

Blouse Fabrics:  Leftover eyelets from previous projects and Venice lace

Skirt Fabrics:  Floral mystery fabric that has "mellowed" in the stash for years and leftover white satin batiste for the lining.

The only changes made to the skirt were to add a button on the front waistband to denote the front for a five year old and to use just one 3/4 inch wide elastic in the waist casing.  Changes to the blouse:   I cut the fabrics on the bias but just couldn't leave them raw.  I narrow rolled hems using a hem rolling foot on my machine and added lace to each ruffle and under the drawstring casing at the neck.  

The bandaids are badges of courage.  Harper had her five year old
shots for kindergarten that morning.

 Rory's sun dress is made with the same floral print with added ribbon, buttons, and Swiss edging and insertion from my stash.  This is a free pattern from The Cottage Mama.  I particularly like that the bodice front and back is lined to the underarm section making the the underarms finished without a bias binding.

 Pattern:  "Summer Picnic Dress" by the Cottage Mama 

(Free:  found HERE), size 3

The biggest change I made to this dress was to increase the width of the skirts by three inches and to increase the width of the ruffles.  Adding the trims to the little bodice and the bottom of the skirt was the "icing on the cake"!

They are really as sweet 'in real life' as they are in these photographs!

 Harper is so intelligent and has such a tender heart!  She is such a good big sister!

Rory is fun and funny as well as so loving!

Sisters & Best Friends

I enjoyed making these outfits for these cuties and the photo shoot was my "icing on the cake"!

Please check the fabulous contestant entries HERE 

and the Sew-Along entries HERE at Project Run & Play.

  So inspiring!  

Project Run & Play Sew-Along: Streak, Stroke, Stripe, Part 2

Flowers & Stripes for Chloe

This was a sweet little summer wardrobe addition for my dear friend Kaye's little girl, Chloe, two summers ago!  I found it in my "Chloe" file when I was uploading photos from our photo shoot today and realized two things:  I had never blogged about it before and it has stripes in both pieces!  Perfect for this week's challenge for Project Run & Play!

Blouse pattern:  Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress & Top

Shorts Pattern:  an old Simplicity pattern (I can't remember!), adapted.

Fabrics:  Left over eyelet and plisse' from JoAnn Crafts 

(both in stash forever!)

Cluny lace

Notice the flower stripes in the eyelet fabric! They echo the vertical stripes in the plisse'.

I made the little ties just by drawing an elongated oval with petal points and cutting two per tie, sewing around the perimeter,  trimming, turning, and slip stitching the opening.  Next, I made a buttonhole for each tie on the sides of the shorts.  Finally, I knotted the ties in a square knot through the buttonhole and around the hem of the shorts.

I am linking this to the Project Run & Play Stripes Sew-Along challenge HERE.  I hope you will check out the other striped goodies on 

Project Run & Play HERE, too!  

Now to edit all the photos taken of Chloe today and get it blogged and linked in time for tomorrow's deadline.  

It sure is a good thing that I am on the long summer break from school!

Project Run & Play Sew-Along: Sew Your Stash Part 3

Sugar & Spice For Tatum!

What a smile this sweet little one has!

One of the things that I love to do is rescue old linens.  The beautiful hand embroidery, crochet work, hemstitching, and lace work speak to me.  I can do some of this work myself and I know the hours of careful work that is takes to do these things by hand.  It amazes me when I discover these old linens (in estate sales, antique stores, yard sales, and resale shops) that they are not appreciated by the descendants of those that made them with such hope and love.  It amazes me even more (and saddens me, too) when I come across pieces that are in perfect condition.  It means that they were not used by the needle artist or the recipient if they were gifts.  I believe in using things.  I use my Lenox china every day.  I use my linens, both new and antique, whether stained or not.  When I come across these old treasures they are washed and put in my linen closet for our use or in my ever expanding stash to be re-purposed into something else.  Vintage pillowcases make sweet dresses and tops for little girls.  You can see some of my previous vintage pillowcase creations HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

 This little pillowcase was one of a pair found in an antique store.  Although they had been used they were in perfect condition.  This time I decided to make a tunic top that could be worn with a skirt, shorts, or with jeans.  I decided to match the blues first and found some fabric that my dear heart sister Jana gave me a while ago.  It is super soft and has a lovely drape for a little swing skirt.  The shorts fabric is relatively new.  (In the stash only a little over a year or so.)  It is a floral and has both the blue and pink from the embroidered flowers of the pillowcase.

I love that this little skirt is lined!

 Patterns used:  Oliver + S Swingset Skirt, Simplicity #8347, and Kari Mecca's More Sewing With Whimsey for the shorts. All patterns have been in my stash for a long time.  I've used the shorts and skirt patterns many times but it was the first time using the Simplicity #8347.  As usual,  it ran a bit large but I really love the ruffles!

Skirt size 5.  Blouse size 4 with adaptation to accommodate the vintage pillowcase.

The shoulders are completely covered, so Tatum can wear this outfit to school!

 This little set will be great for P.E. in the hot Florida sun when we go back to school in August (with tennis shoes, of course)!

Check out all the other entries for both Stash contests at Project Run & Play HERE and HERE.