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

Chloe's Second Bunny Dress

Once You are real

you can't become unreal again.

It lasts for always.

Margery Williams The Velveteen Rabbit

I seem to have a big desire to see my friend Kaye's little girl, Chloe, in bunny themed outfits!  I made her first bunny dress 3 years ago (blogged HERE) (which she was able to wear for two years) and recently I made a detachable bunny apron outfit for her (blogged HERE).  Each one has been unique and a lot of fun to sew and to see Chloe wear.  This pink dress was made two years ago when Chloe was four.

Dress Pattern:  Simplicity #1208 (Designer: Ruby Jean's Closet).

Dress Fabric:  teddy & bunny print over toile by David Textiles and pink gingham. 

Bunny Pocket Applique':  Adapted from Mary's Patterns "Pet Pocket Jumper", remnants from my fabric and trims stash.

Back loop closure.

The cute bunny hides a pocket behind her skirt!  Lift the arm/bodice flap and you have a place to carry a hankie, candy, or a little toy.  Chloe loved this pocket!

The sleeves on this dress are so sweet!  They have the perfect 'puff', are lined, and tie so that the lining makes a cute little bow knot.

In the Spring a bunny came down the road.
He was going to find a home of his own.
A home for a bunny,
A home of his own,
Under a rock,
Under a stone,
Under a log,
Or under the ground.
Where would a bunny find a home?
A Home for a Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown

Kayla's Easter Dress

Spring is nature's way of saying,

 "Let's party!" 
Robin Williams 

Two years ago, a year after I made my first bunny head dress (blogged HERE), I made another  friend's little girl a bunny dress in blue to match her beautiful blue eyes.  Kayla's mommy also teaches at my school.

I used a sweet print I found at JoAnn's years ago.  I loved it so much that I that I bought several yards of it in both the blue and pink color ways.  The blue for the bodice was another sweet print I had in my stash.  I again used the pattern pieces from Ruby Jean's Closet design for the bunny and another pattern for the dress (Petite Poche' Jennie Carra).

I love how the bright pink of the ears is set off by the sky blue!

At last Peter Rabbit 

made it back to the cozy burrow

where he lived with his family.

He was a very tired rabbit indeed!

Beatrix Potter

Chloe's First Bunny Dress

Spring is in the Air!

When my little friend Chloe was three, I was enchanted by some little dresses I saw on Pinterest.  They featured a bunny head on the bodice with 3-D details.  I followed the link to Ruby Jean's Closet on Etsy and purchased the PDF pattern.  (The pattern as well as some others from this designer ccan now be purchased in paper form from Simpicity.)  I used the applique and pattern pieces for the bunny but did not use the dress pattern.  Instead, I used a pattern I had in my stash and knew would fit her:  "Jennie Carra" by Petite Poche'.  The fabrics were some Susan Winget prints I had in my stash.  I loved how the dress came out and Chloe and her mommy were asked often where the dress came from.  It was a hit!  She wore that dress until it was way too short and I knew I would have to make her another!

Winter Wonderland: Project Run and Play Season Eight

Project Run and Play's eighth season has begun with a wonderful line up of themes.  The first is "Winter Wonderland".  Perfect for the weather for most of the country right now.  Even Florida is having nippy weather!  I live in sunny Florida but we do have some cold (lower than 65 degrees F) days in January, February, and March.  We do bundle up and wear jackets, hats, gloves, and scarves because to us, It is winter and it is cold outside! Today the temperature in Palm Harbor, where I teach, was a very wintry 54 degrees F!

When I think of Winter, I think of these things:  cold, snow, blue skies, rosy cheeks, snowmen, layers of clothing, mittens, warm capes, and pretty hats. I think this outfit embodies it all!  

I had already decided to make little Miss Emma a snow-lady dress when Emma's grandmother and I were discussing what to make for Emma this winter. (Emma and her grandmother took care of my shih tzu puppy girls last summer in exchange for a special outfit. I love 'bartering' with her because I get to indulge in something I love:  making pretty things for an adorable little girl!)  When I saw the themes for this season's challenges the week after Christmas I couldn't believe that the first theme would be perfect for something I was already planning on making!  Two of the fabrics arrived from Farmhouse Fabrics on Friday, January 3 and I immediately put them in the wash.  Saturday saw me sketching ideas, ironing fabric, and choosing patterns.  That Sunday I cut all the pieces out except for the French beret.  Then it was a mad dash to sew the outfit to enter on time (8:00 PM tonight) between teaching full time and the normal family routines.  I am not a fast seamstress.  I am very careful and try to be precise when I sew so it can be rather slow going.  

The underdress is a pink pima cotton one eighth gingham with an attached white cotton slip.  I used McCalls 6062 and made changes only to the sleeves.  I omitted the elastic in the sleeves and added a band of Swiss beading and hand whipped French lace edging to the bottom.  Pretty pink ribbon is woven through the holes in the beading.

                                             

                                            

For the pinafore I used white cotton sateen, and pink and blue pima cotton gingham.  The skirt, apron, and ties are just rectangles cut to Emma's size and my vision.  The petal knot ties are from the Petal Knot Dress in "Claire" by Portabellopixie.  The bodice was drafted by me to accommodate the snow-lady face and Emma's size.  The cheeks and nose are yo-yos, the eyes are large buttons, and the mouth is wide rick rack.  All the facial features except the eyes were sewn on before sewing the lining to the bodice. 

The lined cape is one I just fell in love with!  I just love those mitten pockets and so does Emma!  The pattern is a PDF design purchased on Etsy:  "Gwendolyn's Cape" by Ruby Jean's Closet.  I love everything about this pattern except how the side seams are sewn.  I followed the pattern this time but will sew it like a man's lined vest next time to give it a prettier finished look on the inside.

  

                                 

The hat was added to the line up after the hood I drafted to fit the pattern just didn't look quite right.  I then thought a little French beret would be the way to go.  Now I am so glad the hood didn't work out!  I love the beret and I think it is the perfect accent for this outfit.  I used a pattern by SewBaby called the Hat Shoppe.  I added lining and the bow and button details.

I am linking this post to the sew-along at Project Run and Play HERE.  Go check out all the wonderful designs by the contestants and the sew-along 'sewists'.  This was FUN!