Ruffled Dress

Here is my ruffled dress inspired by 2 sources.  First from Rae over at Made by Rae who recently had a I can do that moment while visiting Janie and Jack.  And second from Janie and Jack who had the perfect dress for Madeline's first Christmas photo.  I plan on adding a forth ruffle and making this out of Duponi Silk with tulle under each ruffle for her Christmas dress.  I want to do it in this amazing blue that I found with beige tulle but I'm not sure if that will go with what I have planned for the boys (brown corduroy).  Maybe white?  Anyway, this was a test run and I used some of my vintage inspired fabric by Sandy Klop for Moda that I purchased way to much of on a recent vacation.  I traced the yoke of a dress that looked similar and for the ruffles I just used trial and error.  Lots of error!  The ruffles where a pain to figure out and are still not perfect.  I finally decided around 1:30 a.m. that I just had to finish.  It will be a lot easier now that I have figured out the process.  Maybe I will do a tutorial on these lovely ruffles to save you from the torture.

I like the way it turned out.  The ruffles are so much fun!  The best part is they are apparently fun to chew on.  Every time I check on her she has a handful of ruffles in her mouth.  Love it!

Halloween pics are coming soon and hopefully lots of Christmas gift ideas!

Invisible Snaps Tutorial

Invisible Snaps.  Can you see them?




I finally figured out a way to make dresses without having to use buttons!  I don't like the way snaps look but I love the ease of them so I decided to try and cover the snaps with fabric and it worked.  Yea! 

First I cut a circle out about 3 sizes larger than the snap

Then I wrapped the fabric around the decorative prong and put it in the rubber ring.  After that I followed the directions for my plier kit.  I have the Dritz plier kit that works with several sizes. 

And when I was finished I had what looked like beautiful fabric covered buttons!

I hope this makes someones day like it did mine! 

Creepy Crawly Spider Dress

Today the family went to the pumpkin patch.  We had a lazy morning in the house prior and I decided I was going to wear my orange dress from last fall.  It's a little chilly so I put on tights and the outfit was just looking a little odd.  It was all I had for fall colors in my closet so I got to thinking....what about some creepy spiders?

Here is what I came up with.  I'm still going to add one more to the back before Halloween but I'm pleased with the way it turned out.

I used my embroidery machine and the embroidery design came from embroidery library.  It's a great site for realistic bugs and plants.  You can't tell in the photo but I changed the shape and angles of each spider to make it look more interesting and I used a shinny black embroidery thread so they really stand out.  I got lots of compliments. 

Embroidering on knit is challenging.  I used a light weight tear away stabilizer and it didn't work well.  The knit keep pulling into the feed dog.  It was better after I added a second layer of stabilizer.  I also had to use black thread in my bobbin because It was pulling through a bit.  The last bit of advice is when you are embroidering on pre-made clothes, keep and eye on the rest of the garment so you don't sew you outfit together.  This happened when we were suppose to be walking out the door.  Luckily I caught it early enough and was able to save the dress. 

Hope you enjoy and Happy Halloween. 

before

Goodnight

Antique Brass Clasp Clutch Purse

For the next couple of days I will be unable to sew while I get my new sewing space in order.  We just recently sold our house.  Yes, we were one of the lucky few and we are renting until we find what we are looking for.  I've been in the market for a sewing desk for awhile so I'm so excited to get everything organized.  I will post a photo when it's put together. 

For now I thought I would just show some photos of clutches I've made in the past.  I'm going to be offering my clutch pattern and supplies next month for anyone who is interested in making their own clutch.  They make fantastic Christmas gifts!  I was originally making these and selling them to raise funds for the adoption of our baby girl Madeline.  She is here now so I no longer have time to make large quantities to sell to local boutiques.  I will have new designs I come up with on Etsy from time to time but I'm hoping that you will want to make your own.  I'm so excited to see what other designs will be created!

Here are a few of my favorites. 

This one is made out of a Japanese double guaze fabric and I hand beaded the berries.



This one is a light green burlap and I machine embroidered a large dragonfly on one side and a smaller on the opposite.  It looks really cool in person.

This one is 100% silk and was inspired by a bride to be. 

This clutch is also 100% silk.  It was made out of a dress from Anthropologie.  I made this for my best friend over a year ago and she still carries it everyday.  It's holding up great for silk.

This clutch is sea grass on top and a japanese cotton fabric on the botton.  I love the idea of working sea grass into the design.  It looks really unique.  I just haven't come up with the perfect design yet.  Hopefully soon!

Thank you for looking and please leave feedback!  I love to hear from you.

Baby Dress in Linen

Ok, I love my girl in blue too!  I promise I have more boy projects and home projects that I'm working on it's just my little one is growing so fast that by the time I get to the laundry she has already out grown her clothes.  Maybe I should be doing laundry instead of sewing and blogging?!?  Anyway, it' a good thing.  Madeline was only 5lb 6oz at birth so it's really nice to see some meat on her bones!  She is actually our adopted baby and it is an open adoption so you will see lots of projects that we do for her biological big sis who is 6.    

This dress was made from a pattern from i think sew.  It is baby dress in linen.  It's super easy and everyone seems to love the finished product.  I've made several as baby shower gifts.  Here is one I made for Madeline.  

I used white linen for the body and the accent fabric is Sandy Klop for moda.  I cut a 2" strip of fabric the length of the body of the dress and folded over the sides 1/4" and ironed.  I then pinned it to the middle of the dress and top stitched each side 1/8".  For the ruffle in the middle I took a 1" strip of fabric 3X the length of the body of the dress  folded right sides together and stitched.  I then turned it right side out by attaching a safety pin to one end and pushing it through.  After I ironed it flat I put a baste stitch down the middle, pulled one of the free ends to bunch and pinned it in place.  I pulled out my baste stitch after I had sewn my ruffle to the dress.  I'm guessing there is an easier way then pulling it out after I have put another stitch on top but that was all I could think of to keep my ruffle in place.  Here is how it turned out. 

 For the bloomers I used a pattern from Amy Butler's little stitches for little ones.  It's a really fun book that will guarantee you have the best baby shower gift at the party. 

So this photo doesn't do the dress justice.  Sorry, I wasn't thinking blog photo when I took this.  I was just thinking I had to get a photo of that cute little grumpy face and as my husband likes to call it "Rock Star Hair".

Tiny Tot Tea Party Dress

So I finally finished a pattern that I will be offering for free soon!  It's super simple to make.  How cute does my baby girl look in this one?  I'm a little biased I know, but she just looks so lovely in pink.  I made the top out of linen and the dress is lined so it has a beautiful flow.  When I finished the dress the linen looked a little heavy for the thin bottom cotton so I added a hand made flower.  There are several really cute pleat options that I will add to the pattern.  I'm also trying this in knit and I really hope it turns out.  There are some fantastic new knits at Sew Mama Sew right now.  Sorry about the less than perfect photos.  A new camera is on the budget for next month.  Hallelujah!

Skull knit shirt for boy

I finally got the Tee for Two pattern from Figgy's.  I absolutely love this pattern.  There are so many fun possibilities and I'm using up all the knit scraps that have been taking up space in my fabric cabinet.  I made the arms out of super fine knit because we are in Florida and I added a pocket because we must have mini rocket ships in our possession at all times.  I just cut a pocket out in a shape I liked and stitched it on showing raw edges.  It worked out great.  I plan on making many more.  Thanks for the inspiration Rae! 

As you can see my little guy liked it so much he had to rock out.