Yellow Rose Baby Dress

This is the first time I've made the Itty Bitty Baby dress by Made by Rae (see pattern here). My cousin is having a baby girl in a couple of months and since the little miss will be born a Texan I thought it would be fun to go with a handmade Texas themed gift. This is the "Yellow Rose of Texas" dress and I'll be finishing the "Stars at Night" dress soon to go along with it.

 

 

I don't know if I can go an entire project without adding piping!

 



Instead of using bias tape to finish the edge, I did a really narrow hem.

 



I used princes seams and hand stitched the bodice lining down.

This is the finished dress...The pattern doesn't take very long to sew up and is ridiculously cute when it's done. I just hope it fits!

 



Easy Summer Purse

I came across the pattern and tutorial (it's free!) for this purse from the blog "Prudent Baby" which you can get here. It's a great beginner project and it finishes quickly. I just used some scraps that I had lying around and I made the bias tape which I love doing. I plan on making a few more of these for the summer because I like to have a lot of random bags lying around to change things up. Plus it's a good project to get some scraps used up.

Just In Case You Forgot...

Just in case you forgot, here is the link to Grograin's free pattern month that's going on right now!

A Favorite Sewing Blog

Just in case you are interested: My absolute favorite sewing blog http://www.grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/ has some exciting stuff coming up in the next couple of months. Pretty soon she will be posting the beautiful dress patterns (ungraded) that she has designed for free!!!! You will also be able to buy the graded patterns for a small fee. In addition, she rounded up a bunch of other sewing people to guest blog and provide their FREE patterns...it's like Christmas!!! The dress above is in my top 5 favorite dresses ever category...I LOVE IT! It's the Streamer Frock and I really, REALLY, REALLY am hoping this pattern will soon be mine so that I don't have to wishfully dream about how I would put my own spin on the dress if only I had the pattern!

Lil Cutie Pouch Tutorial

I am excited about this project and I have some squirrel fabric that will soon become this pouch! It's called the "Lil Cutie Pouch" and the free and awesome tutorial can be found here. This little thing sews up so quick and has infinite possibilities. This one is made from some vintage houndstooth fabric that I found at a funky furniture store in Austin. I always hesitate to use this material because it's vintage but, I thought that it would work well for this project. It has a key ring added so it's super convenient to carry around. This is also a perfect way to use up some miscellaneous scraps cluttering up the sewing room :)

The Devil is This Red Dress

This dress was supposed to be finished in time for the July Dress challenge. I used the Danielle pattern for this catastrophy (see here for a successful rendition) and I chose to use crepe de chine which is a HUGE nightmare. The fabric scorches easily so the facings can'tbe ironed to my liking and the fusing of interfacing on the waistband left permanent marks. AHHHHHHHHHH.... I've decided that I will not be finishing this dress. The one positive thing that came out of it though is that the invisible zipper went in wonderfully :) I always enjoy winning that battle especially when the rest of the project turns out all wrong!

Another Skirt

Here's another skirt I made for myself and have yet to post. The pattern was from a book I found at the library called Twinkle Sews. I really like the look of the skirt, but I do have two things to say about it. First, the yardage listed in the book was off, so if you make it, but extra fabric! Second, while I love the ruched waistband, it needs to have a little more shape (unless you are shaped like a brick). I keep debating whether I'll try to modify it or not. Also, the question is, what kind of shirt do I wear with this without covering up the waistband?? Any ideas?

The Phoebe Bag Again

As my sister mentioned in a previous blog about this pattern, it is awesome, awesome, awesome. Not only is it quick, it also doesn't require a lot of fabric and is extremely versatile. I used a burnt orange floral fabric for the outer part (it reminded me of UT) and a white and orange polka dot material for the lining. Also, I used fusible fleece for the first time which added a nice fullness to the shape of the bag. I will definitely be adding fusible fleece to my list of items to buy in bulk!

The Phoebe Bag

I'm just going to come right out and say that this bag is awesome and you should make it. It is very simple and I actually made it Saturday morning before my husband got out of bed, and with my three kids underfoot. Here is the link to the pattern.

The Ruffle(less) Shirt

Here is my latest project: The JJ Ruffle Shirt, a free pattern from Burda Style. This is another one of those that Rachel found and let me be the pattern tester. The only thing I am disappointed with is the absence of the ruffles. Because European fabric is a different width than we are accustomed to (who knew?) I was short on fabric and had to omit the ruffles. I am still looking for the 'perfect' belt for this shirt (or an idea for making one, I do have a vintage mothe-of-pearl buckle I might use). Also, the hem of the shirt is straight, despite the picture. And the buttons? After having a hard time finding the right buttons, I admit I took them off one of my daughter's outfits...she'll never notice! :)

Backpack

It all began when I saw a picture of an owl lunch box. I liked it, but I decided I could make one myself. I found a great (free) pattern here for a toddler backpack, and turned something simple into something more complicated. I added a flannel lining, piping and two layers of interfacing for stability. I added the owl's features to the front panels before I began sewing it together. Did you notice I managed to work in some rick-rack? I know what you are thinking....step away from the rick-rack please! I like this pattern because a) it is simple to construct, it takes little fabric, and c) instead of using a zipper which can be hard for a toddler to open, it has a front opening that closes with velcro. This project was made completely with stuff I had on hand: the denim was from old jeans, the lining flannel, felt and rick-rack scraps were in my stash and the interfacing was from a huge hunk we found at a yard sale last summer.

My New Sewing Crush - The Buttercup Bag

(Designed by Rae...see link to free pattern below)

This is made from vintage houndstooth that I found in a furniture store in Austin and the lining is made from scraps leftover from my junior Prom dress!
The pattern was designed to be made out of 2 fat quarters! Random scraps work well too.

I LOVE polka dots. I made a dress and an apron with these fabrics and I had just enough left to crank out this bag.

http://www.made-by-rae.com/2009/02/free-buttercup-bag-sewing-pattern.html

Easy Project

Here is another headband I made from this tutorial. They are really simple and use very little fabric. This one is made from one of Grandpa's ties.

Easter Finery

For Easter I made my daughter a simple skirt and matching headband. The skirt is from...you guessed it...the One Yard Wonders book. Instead of using bias tape to finish the hem, I used rick rack. The piping was made from a linen shirt that was passed on to me, and some cording I inherited from a friend's grandma. The cording was not made for this use but it worked out just fine. The headband was made using this tutorial. I modified it by covering the elastic for a more finished look. I also added some rick rack to the edges. The headband manages to stay on pretty well, much to my surprise! And as you can see, I got to wear the dress I made for myself for the first time! Yay! And yes, I am in desperate need of a little tan.

A Hat Full of Memories

Our Grandpa passed away last month, and I took a few of his shirts hoping to make something special out of them. I thought about Grandpa and all the fun memories while I sewed this hat. I used one of Grandpa's flannel shirts, and this tutorial. I made sure to plan ahead, so that I have enough left to make a hat for my younger son as well. The lining is from an old pair of medium-weight cotton pants. The pattern is sized for a 6-8 year old boy, but I think it is on the smaller side. Good thing I cut it on the bias like she suggested or it would not have fit. Now, to figure out how to scale the pattern down for an 8 month old...