best of summer patterns – the popover sundress

June 10, 2013June 12, 201332 Comments

today i’m guest posting over at CailaMade for her Best of Summer series! i’m pretty sure it’s summer all year round on Caila’s blog, though, honestly – such a happy place. and if you’re looking to do some father’s day sewing, she’s got the perfect tutorial for you!

while the series is for pattern reviews and new sewing wasn’t required, i just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make my favorite summer girl pattern – the FREE popover sundress by Oliver + S!

rainbow popover sundress

it’s the first pattern i ever sewed from pieces back in 2009, as i explain in my post over at Caila’s blog. if you read sewing blogs because you want to learn how to sew but haven’t taken the leap yet, this is the perfect pattern to try first! i promise!

i sewed this dress for Em in Anna Maria Horner’s incredible Ghost Wing Linen in Dusk. first i saw Gail’s supertote, then i saw Laura’s roly poly pinafore, and resistance was futile. i picked it up at Bolt the first chance i got (they take orders by phone, FYI!).

it’s really one of the most gorgeous prints i’ve ever seen. just sewing with it made me feel really happy. bad thing is, i only got a half yard and needed to make it work with a contrast band (in michael miller cotton couture in violet). good thing is, Em looooooves rainbows and butterflies and purple and fell for it at first glance!

she’s about to take flight…

and there she goes!

this dress gives her wiiiiiiiiiiings!

head on over to CailaMade to read my “real” pattern review post, see almost every popover sundress that i’ve made over the years (most are pre-blog!) and learn more about why i love this pattern so much!

* * *

junebug dress pattern testing

June 4, 2013June 3, 201322 Comments

i’m so excited that my friend Jess from Craftiness is not Optional is now turning her crazy bank of tutorials into real PATTERNS! she started with the Bapron, and now she’s venturing into her trademark little gal clothes. check it out, it’s the Junebug Dress!

this pattern means a lot to me, but i didn’t even realize it until I was sewing it up as a tester.

the Junebug Dress (in free form) was my remix challenge for the first week of season 3 of Project Run & Play. i flipped the bodice around, added some overlays, and it became the Sweet Tartan Dress (tutorial here) and sort of “put me on the map,” blog-wise. my remix of the Junebug actually led to the first emails between Jess and i – we became quick buds, then decided to do Vintage May together, and have been in pretty regular contact ever since. she’s an inspiration and SUCH a hard worker! recently, Jess’ daughter Sadie and Em have become the cutest pen pals – they keep trying to talk us into a playdate (kinda hard when you live 700 miles away, but we’ll make it happen someday).

so a lot has come from this one little dress!

springtime junebug dress

I should probably talk about the pattern – it’s a great pattern. Jess pumped up the volume with sleeve/sleeveless and dress/tunic options, plus great step-by-step photos and instructions to help you sew a darn cute little garment. it goes from size 18 months to 8 years (thanks to digitizing/grading services by Melissa), and the bodice fit is pretty generous, meaning i sewed a 2T bodice for Em (with a 5T skirt). since it has plenty of growing room, it’s a pattern you could get lots of uses out of as your little gal gets bigger.

springtime junebug dress

this fabric combo was a collaboration with Em. she had picked out a Sarah Jane Children at Play fabric a while back, and when I asked her what she wanted me to use for the Junebug, she pulled it. i thought the print might be a bit busy for the dress and almost said no, but then i noticed something in the print…

doesn’t that dress on the left look awfully close to a Junebug?? Em liked the one on the right up there too, so i mixed both together until I got this…with two pink kona solids on top, red buttons, and amy butler full moon polka dot in tangerine (which i believe i picked up at cool cottons).

she loves it.

it was such a pleasure to pattern test for Jess! she presents sewing in such a friendly and approachable way, and i’ve learned a lot by following her blog. i’m a fan.

i celebrate her entire catalog.

and here’s a little glimpse at Portland spring. it’s warm, we head out when the weather looks fine, and then…it starts raining. i mean, it just started sprinkling, but Em thought we needed to immediately run for the hills.

we made a mad dash inside, just like YOU should make a mad dash over to CINO to pick up the Junebug Pattern!

springtime junebug dress

see what i did there? hehe.

stay dry out there, you guys.

vintage may: gingham swing jacket

May 20, 2013May 21, 201331 Comments

here comes the second week of vintage may posts; we hope you’ve been enjoying all the wonderful vintage-y inspiration so far! today, Jess and I both have projects for you, and the rest of this week we’ll have guests. keep adding photos to the flickr group, your projects are really wonderful and we’ll do a round up at the end!

i decided my second item for vintage may would be a little swing jacket for Em. i really love making her outerwear, and she was due for a new springy jacket to wear over her school uniform anyway. and hey, who doesn’t love a little gingham for spring(ham)?

i’ve also had this idea stuck in my head to make a swingy little coat with a pleated back panel for a loooong time. so here was my chance.

it was one of those projects that was pretty nerve-wracking as i made it, since it felt pretty off-the-cuff, but luckily turned out pretty well. there are a couple issues (collar overlaps a bit, lining was too narrow so it swings free rather than being attached) but all in all, i like it as a first draft and it’s totally functional for her.

well, not totally functional, i guess. the pockets are just flaps because i couldn’t remember the last time Em really cared about having front pockets in a jacket, but of course the first thing she did when she put it on was lift up the flap to find the non-existent pocket. of course. soooooo i promised her i’d add a pocket underneath (someday).

the pattern…well…it started as a size 4 oliver + s sunday brunch jacket, a long time ago. first i modified it into red riding hood, then into her suzy coat, and now into this little gingham coat, so it’s to the point where only the armhole curves are left from the original. that’s the beauty of a good basic pattern though, it’s so easily adaptable!

the purple gingham is laminated cotton (i think), sent to me by the very generous Tatia. i figure it’s probably water resistant? i put the more “waterproof” seeming side face in, and the more cottony side face out. i thought about adding a hood but drafted a peter pan collar instead, since this thrifted 1967 McCall’s pattern was my original inspiration.

(at the bottom it says “not suitable for chubby girls”!!!!!)

lining the jacket is a floral vintage sheet, sent to me by Lindsay for helping be another set of eyes during Project Run & Play – super sweet of her. she sent me a big box of fun thrifted goodies actually, and this was a fun one to cut into…so soft! i pulled from some blue in the lining to add the blue buttons (with yellow thread for fun).

Em’s dress underneath is a Roller Skate Dress, blogged here, also made from a vintage sheet. she wears it a lot!

Em was feeling a bit under the weather but still pulled off some pretty good poses, eh? It was another of those quickie photoshoots you’ve just gotta do sometimes.

OKAY! now head on over to CINO to see the capital A-DORable dress Jess made for her little gal Charlotte. the floral! the pigtails! the cheeks! the collar! it’s all just too much to handle!

kcw spring 2013 :: hawaiian girl dress

April 25, 2013April 25, 201317 Comments

story behind this one: lately when Em comes out of her room having dressed herself, she often looks like she’s headed to dinner on Maui or something. plumeria hair clip, skirt, lei, whole deal. she also has been asking me to make her a maxi skirt like mine.

boom. made her a hawaiian girl dress.

i saw a super cute dress on groovy baby…and mama this morning and made my own version as soon as i could, because i knew it’d be fast and Em would love it.

the fabric is a lightweight voile that fru-t sent me when i won a giveaway of hers a while back. she sent me a bunch of amazing fabrics, actually, and this is the first i could bring myself to cut into! i just gathered the front and attached some fold over elastic to the top.

Em loves it, perfect for this suddenly summer weather we’ve gotten here in the past couple days. here she is doing a halfhearted hula.

alright, that wraps up KCW for me! i’m just out of time. see, i didn’t even finish this dress, the straps still need to be sewn down.

HOWEVER. it’s a good thing Rae extended the Spring Top Sewalong, because tomorrow i have a free pattern and tutorial for you! like you meaning YOU – the grown up gal! i’m pretty dang thrilled about it – i even taught myself illustrator, so it’s all digital and stuff. 😀

see you tomorrow!

kcw spring 2013 :: pleated plaid skirt

April 23, 2013April 23, 201323 Comments

alright so not the most exciting sewing ever, but something i’ve been wanting to make for months now and something she actually NEEDS, so it’s pretty satisfying. and that’s what kid’s clothes week is all about, amirite?

Em grew out of her uniform pants (and hates wearing them anyway). so even though there’s not much school left, she still needed more options as the weather warms up. i figured this Oliver + S 2+2 Skirt should get her through the rest of the year (and start her off for next too, probably). it’s a 3T with 1″ in added length.

i didn’t do the button loop and instead added a buttonhole on the waistband – i THINK that’s how the “real” uniform skirts close, and i’m supposed to copy them the best i can as you’ll recall. the fabric is from the uniform company; it’s weird polyester that frays like crazy and doesn’t wrinkle but when you DO iron it into pleats, it stays like that through washing. so bizarre.

matching plaids is something i just sort of guess at, but i’m pretty sure my mediocre skills still trump the store-bought ones, so any plaid-match imperfections actually make it look LESS homemade if you can believe that.

i just love it with knee highs and a peter pan blouse.

but it was too chilly this morning for coat-less photos. sorry, Em!

quickest photoshoot ever. seriously, like less than a minute.

i’m feeling a bit sickish, so i think i need to hit the hay early and hopefully make up for my slacking tomorrow (i finished this skirt at 1am last night, probably not the best idea). anyway…happy sewing, everyone!