flounce and frou frou

now that Spring has officially arrived, I find myself negotiating with Miss 4 about making her some dresses for the warmer weather. Sadly she's outgrown last years sewing and despite my best efforts to steer her towards 'practical', she's determined to incorporate flounce and frou frou to this years spring/summer wardrobe. So we've compromised by choosing this pattern - New Look 6309. With pink as her favourite colour, I'm planning to make 2 versions of this dress (with and without cap sleeves) and then go on to make her a couple of  'practical' dresses too.

play kitchen

this morning I finished Miss 3's surprise items for her play kitchen. The dish towel, oven mitt and apron were made up using a very bright yellow patterned quilting cotton and creamy cotton towelling from the fabric stash. The apron pattern is from skiptomylou

My young cook is now very busy concocting the strangest dishes. Imagine oranges, eggs and onions. Not very tasty eh? thank goodness I don't really have to eat it!

jiffy sundress

at last something new to show you straight off the sewing machine! this is a 'jiffy' pullover sundress which is meant to be made in next to no time at all unless you're like me and are a finicky, fussy sewer even on the simplest things. I used Simplicity 5504 issued back in 1984 (another second hand 10 cents pattern from the thrift shop) and 2 fabrics from my stash to make up this dress for Miss almost 3. The iron-on applique is a simple heart placed over a flower shape cut from the fabric scraps.

I really like this pattern. It's pretty and girly and a good style for warmer weather. We're planning a trip to Samoa later on this year and I'll definitely be making at least a couple more of these dresses for her to wear then.

Photo removed for safety reasons due to cyber stalking!

girls nightie

with the warm nights and a growth spurt, Miss almost 3 needed a new nightie. Pink is her favourite colour and luckily I had this poly cotton floral print in my stash and Style 1715, another 10 cent pattern from the hospice shop. A couple of nights sewing and this is the result... a pretty pink nightie!

Photo removed for safety reasons due to cyber stalking!

girls nightie

with the warm nights and a growth spurt, Miss almost 3 needed a new nightie. Pink is her favourite colour and luckily I had this poly cotton floral print in my stash and Style 1715, another 10 cent pattern from the hospice shop. A couple of nights sewing and this is the result... a pretty pink nightie!

sundress

         

                                              

this is the cheapest dress that I've ever made. A leftover remnant from an 80s project plus a 10c vintage pattern from the hospice shop equals a quick afternoon sew. Miss almost 3 resists regular naps when the older children are on school holidays so quick and easy projects seem to be the way to go at the moment!

Photos removed for safety reasons due to cyber stalking!

sundress

         

                                              

this is the cheapest dress that I've ever made. A leftover remnant from an 80s project plus a 10c vintage pattern from the hospice shop equals a quick afternoon sew. Miss almost 3 resists regular naps when the older children are on school holidays so quick and easy projects seem to be the way to go at the moment!

groovy play dress

I blogged about this dress back in June 2009 and then for months, it just sat in the ufo pile waiting for button holes, handsewing and hemming.  Here it is finally finished and being enjoyed by Miss almost 3. A perfect twirling dress!

Photos removed for safety reasons due to cyber stalking!

groovy play dress

I blogged about this dress back in June 2009 and then for months, it just sat in the ufo pile waiting for button holes, handsewing and hemming.  Here it is finally finished and being enjoyed by Miss almost 3. A perfect twirling dress!

pyjama pants

Miss 12 has grown over the winter and now her pyjama pants are far too short. She likes her pants to be long and slouchy. I've joined the Pajama sew- along over at http://www.sewmamasew.com/ for motivation and inspiration. My last pants adventure for Miss 12 was the burda wof skinny pants that I blogged about last month. They weren't a success. The front of the pants looked great if she stood still however when she moved around the front tended to puff up at the bottom of the pleats in the crotch area. The pleats are long and deep adding an unwanted fullness. Sorry no photos. I couldn't convince Miss 12 to model the pants for posterity's sake.

moving on to the pyjama pants, here's the pattern that I've chosen to use. Yes it's another easy peasy pattern that's been lurking in the pattern box for a while. There's plenty of knit fabric in the fabric stash, oops, I mean collection, to make her up a couple of pairs.

groovy play dress & poncho progress

the groovy play dress has been a stop/start project which at last seems to be coming to an end. I was a little off when cutting the gingham for the bodice and didn't notice that the checks tended to curve slightly downwards until the bodice was sewn up. Usually I'd be unpicking and making a new bodice but as it's destined to be worn by a very busy, playing 2 year old, I've decided to leave it as it is. The pattern was drafted from Enid's 'Toddler Clothes' pattern book. I took quite a bit of fullness out of the skirt part of the dress. All that's left to do now is handsew the bodice lining and hem in place, make button holes (thank goodness for automatic buttonholes), sew buttons on and then sew on a pocket.


Meanwhile Miss 2's crochet poncho is making good progress. This was meant to be an 'in front of the telly' project in the evenings but sometimes it's hard to stop when the tv goes off. The colours look good together and I think Miss 2 will be very happy when it's finished and ready to wear.

crochet poncho

Giveaway post - 27 May - 2 posts down from here!

remember the poncho? as a kid I had a lovely crochet poncho that my mother made for me complete with pom poms and a colorful fringe. At the Clevedon market this morning I saw some really great examples of the modern poncho. Wow! I was so inspired that I as soon as I got home, I started making Miss 2 a poncho. Think purple, pink and white and shell edging - just not sure about the pom poms yet!

new play dress

here's another play dress from Enid's 'Toddlers clothes' pattern book. This dress is made from remnants and although browns are an unusual colour palette for a play dress, it's certainly very flattering on Miss 2.

I've started drafting the cape pattern and hope to do my cutting out later on today.

new play dress

here's another play dress from Enid's 'Toddlers clothes' pattern book. This dress is made from remnants and although browns are an unusual colour palette for a play dress, it's certainly very flattering on Miss 2.

I've started drafting the cape pattern and hope to do my cutting out later on today.

play dress

Finished Miss 2's play dress last night and then pressed and hung it up for her to find and wear this morning. With delight she put it on, all the while asking 'for me?' and 'sooo cute!.' There's been plenty of whirling and twirling this morning. The green of the skirt was hard to photograph. The photo of Miss 2 modelling is the closest to the actual shade of the fabric.

Another successful garment made from an Enid Gilchrist pattern. The pattern was drafted with ease. Next time I make this dress, I'll redraft the neckline to allow for a deeper square. Apart from that, it looks like the 3 'ugly' fabrics go together well.

play dress progress

Miss 2's play dress is coming along nicely. I decided to add some bright pink ric rac to the yoke and pocket. It's brightened up the dress considerably and draws the mixey/matchy fabrics together more. Putting binding around the square neckline was a little fiddley and I didn't quite get it 'square'. Usually I'd make sure it was 'spot on' but I don't think Miss 2 is going to be looking too closely. She just wants it finished asap!

As for Miss 12's Mary Quant dress, it's almost finished. Just some hemming to do. I'll post a photo on Friday when she's wearing it at her project presentation.

play clothes

Miss 2 has been waiting so paitently by the sewing machine for me to stop working on Miss 12's Mary Quant inspired mini dress & start sewing her play clothes.

Her first item of play clothing is an economical square yoked dress drafted from Enid Gilchrist's 'Toddlers Clothes' book. Again, the Spotlight remnants bag hasn't disappointed. It's yielded up 3 really 'ugly' fabrics that go together in a mixy/matchy sort of way. My plan is to make version 1 using the ice blocks fabric for the yoke & pocket, green floral for the dress skirt, make stripey bias binding for around the neckline, armholes and border on pocket. Thank goodness Miss 2 isn't fussed about colour yet. Her main concern I think is that it's twirly and whirly. So off I go to make it work!

simple nightgown

now the big reveal of Miss 2's simple nightgown. As with all of Enid's patterns, it was easy enough to draft up. I usually skim read the instructions and then put the garment together my way. The fit and length is good. When it was made up, I realised that Miss 2's wrists were larger than the finished nightgown. It was something that I hadn't thought of. So the french seams on the sleeves were undone to make room for her wrists. I guess the 1950s 2 year old had tiny wrists. As you can see that nightie is made up of floral & plain pink wincyette (both remnants), ricrac and leftover pink satin ribbon. My nightie has to be a salute to 1950s thriftiness.

simple nightgown

now the big reveal of Miss 2's simple nightgown. As with all of Enid's patterns, it was easy enough to draft up. I usually skim read the instructions and then put the garment together my way. The fit and length is good. When it was made up, I realised that Miss 2's wrists were larger than the finished nightgown. It was something that I hadn't thought of. So the french seams on the sleeves were undone to make room for her wrists. I guess the 1950s 2 year old had tiny wrists. As you can see that nightie is made up of floral & plain pink wincyette (both remnants), ricrac and leftover pink satin ribbon. My nightie has to be a salute to 1950s thriftiness.

little girls nightie

Miss 2 prefers wearing nighties to pyjamas. It was easy to find her nighties for the summertime but it's been almost impossible to find her winter ones. In the Spotlight bag was a floral wincyette remnant which should make up nicely into a little girls nightie. I'm using an Enid Gilchrist pattern from her 'Babies' book. Like all of Enid's patterns, it's easy to draft. Luckily Miss 2 is small for her age so she'll probably fit size 2 for a while with room to grow. The only challenge for me is remembering that I'm working in inches rather than centimetres.

Remember my A+O pants? they're in the 'lack of enthusiasm' box at the moment. I just don't seem to 'feel the love' for the pants project so I guess it'll sit there until I either force myself to finish them or they go into the scrap basket for rehashing.