friendship is magic

August 30, 2012August 30, 201210 Comments

just when i thought Em would never wear a skirt again (or at least not for a long while), look what she comes down dressed in this morning…!

i did not make this fabulous skirt. Kat, of the blog sew chibi, made it! Kat has a fun, crazy, wonderful imagination and has put the most amazing creations into the project run & play flickr pool. i bet someday she’ll be a PR&P designer because she has so much creativity (and sewing skill) bubbling right at the surface. we live in the same town and have been trying to get together for a little while, and it finally worked out last week. we met at the park, and her daughter Azriella and Em were fast friends!

let’s play “spot the handmades!”

Kat invited Em to Azriella’s birthday party, but sadly we are unable to attend. however, generous spirit that she is, she made Em a party favor anyway. it’s a Twilight Sparkle skirt from My Little Pony! I don’t think Kat even knows how obsessed Em is with the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic show. she loooooves it. her favorite pony seems to change on a daily basis (sometimes she says she “loves all of them!”), but her love of pink and purple never fades. that made Twilight Sparkle a great choice on her part.

i don’t think Em quite knew what to make of the skirt when it was first gifted, but i encouraged her to try it on for dancing (we have nightly “get the wiggles out” dance parties these days) and the bouncy ruffle tail skirt quickly grabbed her attention! she giggled and jumped around while wearing it. i still wasn’t sure whether it would end up dress up only (fine with me because it would stay perfect and clean and beautiful!) or if it’d become everyday wear.

twilight pony skirt

this morning, i got my answer. Em knew we were going to Oaks Park with her cousins as one last hurrah before school starts, and she came down from her room fully dressed in a purple Twilight Sparkle outfit! purple shoes and purple hair clips completed her ensemble. i was just excited she wore a skirt!

the skirt is really spectacular. the ruffles have the perfect amount of volume and movement, and Kat mixed linen with lightweight cotton for a neat textural effect. apparently these are just a few of the “leftover ruffles” from Kat’s INCREDIBLE Rainbow Dash Dress, which you MUST go check out. it’s glorious. she even provides a tutorial for the ruffles and wings over here at me sew crazy.

this is the first skirt Em has picked out to wear all on her own for almost two months, and i’m so thrilled to have her wear something other than just dresses! i could barely even get her to stand still to take a photo of the front. that’s her leaning over, getting ready to continue her sprint around the yard.

thanks so much again, Kat! handmade gifts have become even more special to me since i started making things myself, so this really means a lot to me (and Em too!). i really have no idea how to repay you! i’ll keep thinking – can’t wait too long to give Azriella her birthday present!

in the meantime, i have a new mantra:

elephant balloon skirt

August 28, 2012August 28, 201226 Comments

elephant skirt

so i was talking on sunday about how Em likes most of the things I sew for her…as long as they’re dresses (thanks for commiserating with me, by the way)! and remember how she needs to start wearing a uniform to school, so i need her to wear more than just dresses? well, this was my test to see if i could get her at least wearing skirts again.

looks like she likes it, right? it’s got an elephant (her favorite animal), it’s got pink (her favorite color), it’s got sparkly silver thread, it’s comfy…gotta be a winner…right?

wrong.

she doesn’t like it…because it’s a skirt.

this darn thing has been sitting waiting for a photoshoot for THREE WEEKS and she hasn’t wanted to put it on. i finally bribed her to wear it for these photos. i mean…seriously?

this was my inspiration, an adorable print called jumbo bubble by terry fam, which i spotted and immediately bought for her revamped bedroom. i appliquéd my design onto the kona snow skirt (loosely following the lazy days skirt tutorial with no ribbon hem). instead of having the elephant blowing the bubble like gum, i cut out a pink balloon and used metallic silver thread as the string. i thought it’d be a winner, the skirt to get her wearing skirts again, but i was wrong…for now anyway. she’ll probably insist on wearing it the minute it’s too small.

four year olds. opinionated little things.

anyway, here’s a slightly wider shot of her new pink bedroom walls. she likes those! once i make a new quilt for her bed, i’ll do a full room tour. honestly i didn’t expect to like the pink as much as i do; i’ve been dodging her requests for so long. but heck, it’s just paint and she really loves it, so i just needed to let go and embrace it.

the poor kid doesn’t realize the sea of navy blue, white, and khaki she’s about to plunge into come school-time, so at least she has her pink retreat at home! and if the skirt ends up getting gifted to a younger friend/cousin later, that’s fine with me!

confession sunday: the rejects

August 26, 2012August 27, 201252 Comments

most of the time, the things I make are liked and worn by Em. i try to make her clothes in colors/silhouettes that she’ll enjoy, and she generally does a great job of jumping and posing and doing her ballet moves for blog photos (mostly because she loves to jump and twirl). she acts like she genuinely likes her outfits during photoshoots, and i’m not faking that – she really does seem to love stuff on first wear!

however.

there are definitely garments she will NOT wear more than once or twice. i try so hard to encourage her to wear them, and it doesn’t happen. i mean, she does wear something that i’ve made nearly every day and she does genuinely love most of what i sew for her (which is awesome), but a lot of the time she picks the same favorite dresses over and over (current favorites are her Amélie dress, butterfly dress, apple dress, and wedding dress). i think a lot of 4 year olds are probably that way, right?

for confession sunday today, i thought i’d share a few things i’ve made that she will not wear right now. honestly it breaks my heart a little.

please note none of these are the pattern maker’s fault – it’s my aesthetic choices + her whims that have caused them to be rejected, not their designs!

1. Flapper Tapper Dress – made during Project Run & Play and probably the garment I’m most proud of designing, with a high-low circle skirt, pieced bodice, invisible zipper…and she won’t wear it. i don’t even think it’s been washed since the photoshoot. she and her brother do wear the headband for dress up, though.

2. Little Apples Hopscotch Skirt – i really loved this pattern and how the skirt turned out, but recently she decided she doesn’t like skirts (“dresses are more beautiful”) and this one hasn’t been worn for months. she did get quite a bit of use out of her doily skirt this summer, and this hopscotch skirt was worn a good amount last fall, but it’s now been in the drawer for almost a year. it’s probably too short, come to think of it. maybe i’ll try it again in pink or something – it was fun to sew.

3. Finch Top & Shorts – this one is quite upsetting to me; i love it so much. but she just won’t wear shorts (the only ones we can wrestle onto her are the knot shorts and that’s rare). even with pink piping in the pockets, she won’t do it. and since she won’t wear skirts either, there’s no reason for her to need a separate top. sigh. maybe I should add a color block panel at the bottom and make it a dress…it’s such a fun silhouette and i can’t let that washi go to waste!

i suppose the moral of the story is i should stop making her things in gray! that seems to be the common theme. she is very color driven – she doesn’t care too much whether her clothes are super comfortable, but if they aren’t the right color (or don’t have a “special feature” like ruffles or twirl to make up for that), they’re out.

oh and did i mention Em will be wearing a uniform to school? she can wear blue/green plaid jumpers and pleated skirts, but i’ve been fretting since her wardrobe is strictly limited to colorful twirly dresses at the moment. let’s just hope the “no skirts/no pants/no shorts” thing is just a phase, or i’ll be sewing jumper after jumper in a few weeks’ time! this blog might get very boring.

yikes.

what has your experience been in sewing for your kids? do they wear what you make? do you cater to their favorite things just to make sure your hard work isn’t wasted? and then do they pick outfits that make you cringe? a couple she likes have sewing mistakes that drive me nuts, or they’re way too small/worn out but she chooses them anyway (i’m looking at you, christmas dress and second birthday dress)!

alright guys, confession time!

i’m swooning and i need advice

August 22, 2012August 24, 201247 Comments

probably breaking some major sewing blogger rule here by posting two projects in a row made from the same fabric, but i need your help!

we recently painted Em’s room the pink she has been asking for FOREVER. in doing so, i decided she needs a new quilt for her bed, because her old one (my first quilt ever that i was so proud of) was rejected. she said it wasn’t “cozy” and threw it to the ground even if i just folded it at the foot of the bed!

boo, Em! booooo.

i gave it to my sister, and i think my niece is much more appreciative of it. harrumph!

so anyway, i decided to make her a new quilt, which will be all pink solids and backed with flannel so it’s cozy to the touch. i decided it’d be neat to do just one star block on a field of pink. i purchased the ever-popular swoon pattern and then decided that since i’ve never done a complicated pieced block before, i should make one for practice. that’s where this one comes in. i made it from washi two scraps of dear stella, kona snow, and some peach shot cotton (note: mixing shot cotton in with quilting cotton is rough!).

here is my practice swoon block. it’s big – 24″ square!

since i’m not much of a quilter, i kind of hated cutting all the pieces and grumbled at how long it was taking to make the HSTs and my first flying geese ever. but once i started putting the components together, i got super addicted to making it! it was so fun to see the block take shape like a puzzle. however, i see now why quilting bloggers often post just a block at a time rather than only showing finished quilts; they’re a lot of work!

as i hung this block up to take photos, i really liked how it looked against the charcoal wall in our bedroom (my husband painted it one day when i was out at my parents’ house with the kids – it was something i’d wanted to try for a while and he did it for me as a mother’s day surprise – i LOVE surprises and i love my wall!). so anyway, i think i want to turn this block into a mini quilt and hang it as art in our room. he’s in favor of the idea too (good man).

questions for you (especially the quilters out there):

how do i quilt it? i have a free motion foot but i’m not too great at it, so straight line ideas are preferred.
should i add a border, or just bind it?
what color binding?

i’ll definitely show you once i’m done with it…but i need to get to work on some school sewing first! Em starts pre-K right after Labor Day!!

washi two

August 20, 2012August 23, 201259 Comments

woohoo, washi two! i made this dress, oh, a week and a half or so ago. before the washi pattern was officially released, i’ll tell you that. Rae had sent us testers the changes she was making (.5″ longer bodice, 2.5″ longer skirt) but i couldn’t wait for the updated final pattern; i just went ahead and made the changes to the tester version.

i lengthened the bodice an extra .5″ to hit me right at my natural waist and added an extra line of shirring at the bottom to compensate for the longer bodice. i also realized i had sewed the darts slightly wrong on washi one, so i fixed that on this version. i liked it a whole lot before, and i love love LOVE it now.

when i spotted this fantastic dear stella print at bolt i thought it’d make a great washi dress (from their maasai mara line). i figured the charcoal color would go with everything and get tons of wear, which it has. that’s why it’s taken this long to blog – i’ve been wearing it almost too often! probably time to make washi three, eh?

so i also changed the neckline. i feel a little bad about it, frankly; the U cutout of the original washi is a major part of its charm and i know it took a good amount of work getting it just right in the patternmaking stage. but i do like a scooped out neckline; it just flatters me. also, part of me wanted a more generic neckline so i could wear it often and maybe not have people notice? i plan on making more washis and i plan to have every dress look a little bit different, so the U will make its return soon enough.

this washi also happens to look nice belted. the belt is my mom’s i think (i should probably give it back, sorry mom!).

dear stella washi dress

so i’ve actually seen quite a few gals mention in comments for Rae that they like the washi but can’t make it until they’re done nursing. i think with this modification, the washi can be nursing-friendly! O isn’t nursing anymore, but i can still imagine what it’d take…and i think this would work. my neckline is almost 1″ deeper than the pattern’s scoop neckline option, and wider on the bottom sides too (so a wider U out toward each armpit but not up toward the shoulders). i tapered the scoop as i went up so the shoulders are the same width as the original pattern; otherwise it might really alter the fit. i’d highly recommend working the shape out in the muslin phase and then using your muslin as a pattern. don’t go quite as deep/wide as you want it in the end, because the seam allowance will scoop out more and it’s very easy to go too deep very quickly. don’t want that (or maybe you do?). anyway, your choice.

once you’ve gotten your muslin how you want it, lay it over your front bodice and trace the new neckline on the fold so they match. repeat with the facing, just match up the shoulders and trace it so the necklines match. you can also round off the bottom U of the facing since you’re omitting the U cutout. finish as instructed. enjoy your (probably) nursing friendly washi!

washi dress scoop neckline

and look, you’ll likely need to do a FBA if you’re nursing too. just a guess…but that’s not my issue. hehe.

i believe this is the first time i’ve bought a higher quality fabric specifically for my own garment, which shows that my mindset is finally starting to change about sewing my own clothes. i’m not just using vintage sheets or cheap fabric anymore, because i know the pattern will work!

when i first started sewing for Em as a little gal, i was self-conscious about it, like i didn’t want people to know. now my skills have advanced to the point where i’m proud of the fact that i make my kids’ clothes, but i was still timid about that when sewing for myself. finally, FINALLY, i’m becoming proud of what i make myself as well. what a great feeling. i owe Rae a lot for that – this dress is simple enough to be a real confidence builder and it looks good in quilting cotton, which i currently feel most comfortable working with. THANK YOU, RAE!!