for the second spring/summer now, my bestie-from-high-school, kim, has “commissioned” me to make a few clothing items for her daughter “e,” who is just 6 months younger than my daughter, and about the same height/weight (which makes the sizing part a cinch!).   last year, i made sort of a collection and coordinated the separate pieces with each other so it all hung together (here’s what that looked like).  from photos i saw over the spring and summer, she seemed to get a good amount of use out of them.  yippee!

 this year, it seems that i have disparate ideas of what i want to make for her, so the whole collection doesn’t go together quite as nicely, but it really doesn’t need to.  what i’m saying is, i’ll be blogging about each item separately because they don’t look as pretty together all hanging on a line.  OCD.

this is another lazy days skirt made out of my current favorite thrifted vintage sheet.  i don’t care if the sheet isn’t 100% cotton; with a little polyester it doesn’t wrinkle!  and who wants to iron a 2-year-old’s everyday skirts?  not me!  i just love how soft vintage sheets are.

kim told me that e’s favorite colors right now are orange and green, but she said i shouldn’t feel the need to stick to that or to work them both in on the same garment.  weeellllll…i just happened to have this fabric, so BOOM!  green with a little bit of orange in there!  gotta please the 2 year old!

and does it pass the all-important jumping test?

i think so.

kim, it’s in the mail today!  🙂

happy easter!  i was inspired by em’s recent obsession with weddings for her dress – she wants to get married in a purple dress (and yesterday she asked ME to marry  her, so we’re still working on the concept).  she also still loves polka dots, so when  i saw this lovely fabric at bolt, i immediately knew it would be perfect.  it’s from little things by sarah fielke for lecien.  it’s kind of halfway between a quilting cotton and a voile.  soooo soft and beautiful.

i embraced the easter theme – egg shaped!  it’s the oliver + s bubble dress pattern, which i picked up on a whim because it was 40% off (again at bolt).  i LOVE this dress.  it’s just so sweet.  i made it in a 2T though she’s now a 3T in most commercial clothes; she was all over the map on the sizing guide in the pattern based on her measurements, but 2T seemed closest and i wanted it to fit her now.  i think it has enough growing room in the length to last through the summer (fingers crossed).

since i’m all about hand-sewing after becoming zen with it on the quilt binding, i hand-sewed the bodice lining to the skirt lining.  it’s theoretically reversible!  once i finished the dress, it seemed a bit like it was missing something, so i added the purple grosgrain ribbon, just tacked to each side under the armpits.  the police-style hands on the wall are HER modeling choice, by the way.

it’s fully lined with kaffe fassett shot cotton, in easter basket grass green!

i love that when i sew clothes for my kids, i can make them look nice but not sacrifice any comfort.  this thing is so cozy it could be a nightgown (in fact, she took a nice long nap in it right before these photos were taken).  also great for her “angelina ballerina moves!”

and here’s her easter egg hunting technique from earlier in the day.  she’d put the eggs under her chin and then drop them into her basket.  NO IDEA where she came up with it, but it was pretty funny.

hope your easter was lovely too!