One By One

Matching Shorts

I just could not help myself - we just had to have a cool pair of coordinating shorts to go with our new shirt!

Notice the shoes? I think we are a little Dr. Seuss crazy around here!

 

Anyway, I used my go-to shorts pattern - omitted the front pockets, added a side pocket, then digitized a graffiti type font and embroidered "Dr. Seuss" down the left leg. Cute, no?

Here's the final review for those who are interested:

Pattern Description -

Toddler Separates

Pattern Sizing - 1/2 -4. I made a size 2. Jake is 27 months old, but he's in the 90 percentiles.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

Yes, taking into the account the changes I made.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Yes.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

Really like the fit. No dislikes.

Fabric Used: Left over poly microfiber from DH's board shorts. 

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

Omitted front pockets, added patch side pocket. No decorative top stitching. Added embroidery down the left leg by digitizing a graffiti type font.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

Yes! And yes.

Conclusion:

We have been a little Dr. Seuss crazy around here! This is my go-to pattern right now for sewing separate for our lil' man. After making the button down shirt, we just had to have some cool looking shorts to go with it. 

Here are a couple of shots, not in action:

       

 

So cute I can't stand it!

This button down shirt for Jake turned out so cute!

Unfortunately, taking a photo of a toddler is just like nailing jello to a tree...

 

Final review for those who are interested:

Pattern Description -

Toddler Separates

Pattern Sizing - 1/2 -4. I made a size 3. Jake is 27 months old, but he's in the 90 percentiles.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Yes.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

Really like the fit. No dislikes.

Fabric Used: Dr. Seuss print purchased during a recent quilt show. I used a new brand of fusible interfacing - purchased from Fashion Sewing Supply. LOVE IT! So much better than some other stuff I've used. 

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

I put the sleeves in before sewing up the side seams. I also orientated the button holes vertically, instead of horizontally as the pattern states. I used five buttons instead of four.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

Totally! And yes.

Conclusion:

This is my go-to pattern right now for sewing separate for our lil' man. I love the style of the shorts and pants as well. I have some ideas of a matching pair of pants to this fantastically fun Dr. Seuss shirt. More on that later!

More Dr. Seuss

Since I've been spending my evenings hand stitching the binding to the Dr. Seuss quilt, it's on to something new at the machine.

A new button down shirt for Jake!

 

We're a little Dr. Seuss crazy around here :)

I'm using  Simplicity #2907, size 3 (this is become my go-to pattern for shorts and pants for Jake lately). Still have a bit to go (the hardest part is done - the collar!), but  I'm making good progress!

 

Binding!

Been a busy quilting bee, working away on Jake's Dr. Seuss quilted blanket. I just finished making the bias binding... Now time to square off the blanket and get the binding attached!

Dr. Seuss!!

Got my hands on the just released Dr. Seuss fabric yesterday!!

 

This us going to be a quick blanket quilt for Jake. Just going to sandwich the prints, practice my free motion quilting, and bind it with the rainbow print. "Quick"? Not so sure about that, but it will be fun.

I also picked up two other Dr. Seuss prints that will be button down shirts for lil' man. Those will come later :)

 

The ensemble - Honey Girl

Necklace - check!       Earrings - check!       The look is done... for now!

 

Final review toward the bottom

I couldn't help myself and needed to finish off the look with a necklace. I've been really inspired by Anthropologie lately, and used this tutorial as my guide in constructing my own.

I used what I had on hand as far as beads are concerned, and the fabric is what was left over from the ruffles of the dress.

Of course I had to make some earrings too!

The components for these came from the stash as well - crystals and all! The design is my own.

I have some thoughts about making a ruffled jacket (inspired by this one!). I think it would be the perfect piece to carry this dress into the fall. I'm also thinking about making a matching clutch as I have some of the garment fabric leftover. Want to stay away from being too matchy-matchy so I think I need to think about it.

Oh, and don't forget to enter my giveaway here for a pair of earrings designed by moi! Friday is coming up fast :)

Final review of the Honey Girl Dress, for those who are interested:

Pattern Description -

A delightful dress pattern that celebrates everything fun about being a girl.

Pattern Sizing - S-XL.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, for the most part. I changed up the embellishments.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Yes, very easy and very descriptive.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

Love the shirred bodice with elastic on the top and bottom. No dislikes.

Fabric Used: Cotton batik from the stash that I've had for ages. I think it was probably purchased from Joann's. The ruffled fabrics are poly blends (usually used as linings) from Yardage Town. I also got the lace from Yardage Town, but since it was white I used Rit Dye to get it to be a shade of gray.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

I adjusted the fit of the top and bottom elastics in order to refine the fit a bit more. I did not add the bodice/tuxedo ruffle. I added my own lace and ruffled embellishment to the hem based on an Anthropologie inspiration. My straps come to the center in the back.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

Totally! I really like the modified version.

Conclusion:

Once I was done experimenting with my bobbin case and getting the bodice to shirr the way I wanted it to, the dress was a snap to put together. I really think it took longer to add the lace hem and ruffles than it did to make the dress!

Ruffles and Straps

Been finishing up the final details on the Honey Girl dress...

 

I was inspired by a hem finish on an Anthropologie garment I saw when window shopping a couple of weeks ago. I'm pretty happy with the results!

In the process of making an accessory (or two!), so the modeling shot is forth coming :)

P.S. Don't forget about celebrating post #500! Enter the giveaway here.

 

Post #500 Giveaway!!

It's hard to believe that I've been blogging since January 2005. Wow - FIVE years. FIVE hundred posts. Maybe five is my lucky number today!

How life changes over five years. Entered the blogging world. A friend moves to the other side of the country. Another friend moves out of the country. New crafty friendships are formed. Pregnancy. The birth of a baby. Becoming a mother... All the while knitting and sewing my way through it.

To commemorate the fives, let's have a giveaway!

Two tone lavender crystal earrings set in sterling silver squares

I would like to give these away to one of my lovely readers!

To enter, just leave a comment here on this blog post. For another chance to win, mention and link this post on Twitter or Facebook (leave me another comment that you did so). That's it. Commenting for a chance to win ends Friday, September 17th at noon PST.

Good luck! And thank you for reading and commenting over the last five years.

Adding Lace

My apologies for the unexpected blogging break. Our lil' man was sick, and that throws wrenches into everything! He's much better now, thank goodness. There is nothing more heartbreaking that a sick child.

Back to the Honey Girl dress!

I picked up some white lace from Yardage Town earlier in the week. I really wanted it to be gray, but I could not find gray anywhere. But, after a tutorial on Rit dye'ing in a jar, I was all in!

After a couple days of dye soaking and rinsing/washing, the lace has become a nice light gray color. A color that is perfect for the HG dress. I attached the lace to the hem this afternoon.

 

It's truly more gray in person, it looks white here for some reason.

Next up, ruffles. Lots of ruffles!!

 

Looking good

Progress on the Honey Girl dress is coming along nicely. It needs some straps, a hem, and some embellishing.

I have an idea of how I want to incorporate some lace - I just need some eight yards of it and probably some dye! Crossing into unknown territory here...

Shirring Magic

Making quite a bit of progress on the Honey Girl dress! What I love the most is the magical transformation of fabric from shirring...

Before Steam

After

Just fantastic, isn't it?!? More as a note to myself (because I did A LOT of testing), this time around I used my "specialty bobbin case" (so I could mess with the bobbin tension), hand-wound the elastic thread to the bobbin, and set the stitch length to 3.0. For those who want to know - I used my Husqvarna Viking Designer 1.

I before steaming this shirring on the dress (as the photos show above), I basted one side seam completely. On the other side seam I basted the entire side except for where the elastic casings are. I want to be able to make adjustments to the fit of the elastic (on me!) before making any of the side seams permanent.

The plan is to get to my local Joann's today to take advantage of the pattern sales, and check out their lace selection. I need some inspiration on how to embellish this dress!

 

Needs a hem. Finally.

Is it okay to be relieved that this top finally needs to be hemmed??

Pressing, then slip-stitch hemming. I can do this handwork in front of the TV, so this should be done in a day or so.

Now we move onto something new. Yippee!!

Honey Girl. She's a shirred dress pattern. I've made one already, a shirred dress that is, (perhaps to be posted in the future, one that I stumbled and made work), so it will be nice to use an actual pattern. That has directions. So I don't have to think too much!

The fabric is a batik, mostly purple/plum with some blue and green tones. The picture does not do it justice.

I want to get in this one, and a couple more "summer" type pieces, done before fall hits full swing. At the same time, I might be able to get this to transition into the next season. Wondering if I accent with some lace? And maybe make some kind of cardigan or jacket in black? What do you think?

 

Progress?

Do you ever feel like a project is taking much longer than it really should? That is my sentiment about this top today. I feel like it's a "hot mess."

It doesn't seem like I'm much further along than yesterday. But I guess I really am. All the construction details I want are just taking more time than I would like. So the run down from today?

- Invisible zip is in. This required a whole change in contruction order (and a lot of thought!) from the directions because my end goal is to attach the lining to the zipper tape to make is super clean and more RTW.

- Shoulder straps are done. What a pain, by the way. I think I spent an hour just trying to get them perfect. They still are not (don't look too closely!), but I can totally live with it.

- Lining it attached, except for at the zipper.

- Tie is attached to skirt. But bodice is not.

So, I still have a bit more to go. Tomorrow I hope that by the end of the day all I will have left is the hem.

More pin fitting

After sewing up the pleats on the skirt portion of this blouse, and measuring the resulting waist circumference, I was beginning to question the fit. Actually, I was afraid it might be a bit too snug.

This is, of course, completely fixable in the side seam. If it were too small I had enough in the seam allowances to make it work. But, due to how this top is constructed, I needed to figure that out BEFORE attaching the waist-tie (it is sewn to the skirt portion before attaching the bodice, from the back to halfway around the front, after the side seam is put in - phew!) and putting in the back zipper (in case I needed that allowance too!).

So, another pin fitting was in order!

And I needed Andy to pin the back of it closed for me when I had it on. He was so cute about it, in a very funny kind of way!

Anyway, it was all for not, because it fits great! But better to be safe than sorry, regardless of the extra effort :)

 

Onto a blouse

The ruffled skirt is finished! I'm holding off on a modeled shot until I finish a blouse to wear with it.

That bring us to what's up next - Simplicity 3867, view C (the sleeveless top)

photo from the Simplicity website.

This pattern is currently out of print, but I've had it in my stash for ages. In comparing the pattern pieces to the sloper, I made just one change to the pattern - adding 1/2" to the bottom of the bodice pieces. I wanted to make sure it was going to work out okay, so I did a quick and dirty pin fitting:

I'm using a rayon poly blend crepe fabric, in a jade-ish blue. And, my alteration looks like it's going to work out great!