strawberry dress

about two years ago I made my niece this dress. I had actually made one for myself that is nearly identical (in my size obviously) when she saw mine on my dress form she fell in love with it, begging me to make her one just like it. and since I had about four yards left from my dress I told her I would. and since then she has worn it, and worn it, and worn it. the last time I saw her in it though I told her I thought she had about grown out of it. the bodice still fit in the width but, the dress was getting way too short. which apparently her mother had shared the same opinion telling her she would only get to wear it a few more times then that would be it. her face melted when she thought she wouldn’t get to wear it anymore. and come on how can one resist a cute little six year olds tears? I told her since I still had about two yards left I could make it longer for her . indecently this dress is not the skirt I had previously posted about. same fabric though. the plan is sometime this summer to all dress alike and go on picnic. and no I have not finished the skirt, some things got in the way, but hopefully in the next few weeks I will have that done as well.


and so here it is. I lengthened it four inches. I had left enough in the straps to let them down an inch, took out one pleat on the skirt and completely redid the center bodice piece making it two inches longer , which also meant the zipper had to be replaced. I could get another inch out of the hem but that would require taking all the lace off the bottom and for now its long enough with just the four added inches. the piece I replaced is a bit brighter then the rest of the dress but unless you look really closely I don’ t think its that obvious. and it always makes me happy when I make something for someone and they love it. to me wearing something till its worn out is such a compliment.

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yellow skirt

just a quick little skirt. I made this from some cut off of a dress I hemmed, I loved the bright yellow and thought it would be a cute skirt. I simply took the cut off fabric , sewed it too a yellow satin and made an elastic waist. the bottom was already hemmed since it was just the cut off, so easy and turned out nice.

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strawberry skirt

not much to write about on the sewing stage till now. I had started a few projects which all turned into major fails. which was alright, I set them aside for maybe later projects. after thinking about several things to make I finally decided on making a skirt for my sister which I told her I would do a while ago.

so first thing to do figure out how wide I want the skirt. then getting a can of tuna, and a small can of condensed milk.... WAH! I thought this was a sewing a blog!
oh it is, let me explain. I am making scallops on the bottom of the skirt. first sew a facing to the bottom then draw the half circles. I needed to get the circles even and with enough curve, which is something I can not free hand (yes I have tried it) so I measured up three inches and then drew around the tuna, can, and then the milk can with Tailors chalk, rotating the cans as I went.




I wish I had chosen to only go two inches the scallops are bit deeper then I thought they would be, I also whish I would have used a large can of tomatoes, and the tuna, to make the scallops slightly larger. but that’s alright this is the first time I have done proper scallops.

after marking them I sewed along the markings.



next cut out the scallops about 1/4” away from the stitching with pinking sheers.

next flip the scallops right side out, press and you have scallops!


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petticoat

I finished my petticoat back in September. and thought I had posted about the finished product, but. apparently I didn’t. I am not completely satisfied with the finished product. its a bit uneven. what I need is a bigger place to lay things out. I tired to make it all even, but in the end it just wasn’t to be. its not too bad though when its all in place, with my hoop and everything underneath it. aside from wrestling with so much fabric it wasn’t too hard to make. I just made a bunch of eleven inch strips, sewed them together. hemmed the edges with a tiny topstitch hem. on both sides, then ruffled the entire thing with my ruffling foot (best purchase ever!). next I made a simple skirt that was a hundred sixty inches wide at the bottom tapering up to I think I did sixty inches, now I can’t remember but it was something like that. I got my finished length by measuring both my hoop and the Skirt I was wearing this with. I then hemmed it, and pinned the ruffles on, which took forever. and had to be done one at a time. after each ruffle was pinned I sewed it on. somewhere along the way though things must have shifted slightly while I was sewing and that’s why its not entirely even. I have been considering redoing the uneven part, and seeing if I can fix it up a bit. but then I keep thinking its for underneath so do I really need too? the answer is probably not, I will just see how much it bugs me. if its driving me too crazy then who knows perhaps I will.

the petticoat without the hoop.

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doll dress

both dresses together.

the doll dress.
here is the doll dress I made to match my nieces dress for her birthday. I used a pattern from “sew the essential wardrobe for 18-inch dolls” by Joan Hinds and Jean Becker. except I omitted the collar, so it would be just like the big dress. it went sewed up with ease. In fact I was surprised how easily it went together the last time I made doll clothes they seemed just to take just as much time as the big clothes. so either I got used to how they are made or this book was just easier then the patterns I used before. (Could also be I wasn’t matching evil plaids.) I am thrilled with the way they turned out. they are so cute. it kind of makes me wish I had one in my size, to bad I Don’t have enough fabric for that.

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Another Christmas gift.

my sister loves octopus’s, and sometime this year I came across the most adorable pattern for one made out of felt. this is made with all hand stitching so it was again something made while watching a movie I had already seen. this time it was the fellowship of the ring. yeah I made this before Hobbes, even though I posted about him first. I liked this pattern it was easy, though time consuming sewing all those little tentacles. actually cutting them out was harder then sewing them. I don’t know why, it took less time, I guess just the fact I had to cut out sixteen of the same thing. the pattern gives tips on how to make this easier, which I of course didn’t read till after I had them all cut out. oh well, that’s typical of me. I glance over directions, but don’t really pay attention till I have an issue. and yes I do that with every pattern. the pattern also explains what order to sew the body in so your knots all end up on the bottom, making them less obvious. and as you can see the pattern turns out the most adorable little octopus ever!
http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2006/3/sigmund-octopus.aspx


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Hobbes plush

now that Christmas is over I can post about what I made people. I only made two gifts this year, which is about normal for me. my sister told me about this Hobbes plush her husband really wanted, and gave me a link for a pattern and tutorial. the pattern was easy to follow, and the hand work made easier by doing it while watching “the return of the king.” yes the best way to get through tedious tasks is to do them while re-watching rather long movies. I did have to resize two of the back stripes, by making them both an inch longer, but that wasn’t a big deal. the one thing I found aggravating about both the pattern and tutorial is I couldn’t find where is said how much fabric to buy. I don’t know if I just missed it, or what. in any case I ended up buying too much fabric. its better to have too much then not enough right? in the end I think a 1/4 yard of each color would suffice. which is actually too much for the white, but all the places I have been that is the smallest cut you can get. you can also see if you look at the tutorial that my placement on the stripes for Hobbes’s arms and legs is slightly off. that is due to the fact I we lost internet for several days, and I guessed at the placement. (should have saved a picture right off) I think it looks alright though,. my brother in law seemed to like it, which is really all that mattered since it was for him. and really I was pleased with it as well. I mean come on its adorable!
Pattern and tutorial here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Stuffed-Hobbes-with-pattern/?ALLSTEPS



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