Seasonally Inappropriate Sewing: Mini Sutton Blouse

Oh man, I started this Mini Sutton Blouse for my niece so many months ago, back when it was seasonally appropriate for her!

Fishy Butterick 5019

Earlier this summer I made this cute Butterick 5019 dress for my niece's birthday:

Antalya Dresses

A few months ago I made some coordinating Antalya dresses for my nieces...

Ballet Skirts

2 skirts in an hour? 3 rows of stitching each? I wish skirts for me were this easy.

Vaguely based on this tutorial from Dana Made It, following kiddo measurements from this downloadable size chart at Sugar Tart Crafts (since I don't have easy access to my nieces to measure them). I ended up having to tighten the elastic on one of them, but otherwise the measurements worked for me.

The fabric is this striped ballet quilting cotton from Belleboo. Quite twee for my taste (I do not aime le ballet), but I knew my nieces would be all over it. 

And they were, although, wow, it's hard to get photos of little kids. New found respect for all those sewists out there getting professional looking shots of their kids!

Zoe's "cheese" face (?):

Anna always on the go:

Playhouse Dress x 2

My younger niece is turning 2 years old very soon, so I thought I would sew something up for her. But then, once I got started on her gift, I decided it made sense to make something for her older sister, too. Assembly line sewing is efficient, but man, it's tiring!

Bubble Fairy Twin Dresses

A couple of dresses I am sending back to my nieces for Christmas!!  Based on their Halloween costumes, my understanding is that they are big into fairies.

Perfect Pattern Parcel #5: Fishsticks Designs Playhouse Dress

Another Perfect Pattern Parcel #5 make!  This time, the Fishsticks Designs Playhouse Dress!

Ash Halter Top and Monkey Bar Skirt

My first Monkey Bar Skirt for Zoe came out so cute, I immediately made another one.  This time, though, I used woven fabric for the skirt... a super cute cotton/poly blend with watercolor strawberries from a local shop here in Bangkok.  The green waistband and shorts are made from this emerald heather jersey blend from Girl Charlee (super soft!).  Love it!  Download this free pattern from Hey June if you haven't already!

I also made a top to match: the adorable halter top portion of Willow & Co's Ash jumpsuit.  Zoe looked so cute in the pink seersucker Ash jumpsuit I made here that I thought I should make it again.  The halter doesn't have a lot of hanger appeal (or kitchen table appeal, as it were), but I know it will look awesome on her:

The whole outfit is pretty damn cute, huh?:

Seersucker Ash Jumpsuit

The second I saw the line drawings for Willow and Co's Ash jumpsuit, way back months before the pattern was released, I knew I was going to get it.  So cute- I love the little halter top!  It's designed by Celina at Petit a Petit and Family.

Now that the patterns are out, I got my hands on it and I sewed one up for Zoe in some pink seersucker from Martha's stash.  I made the shorts version, although I think the pants version is pretty awesome, too.  I can also envision making the little halter top on its own in the future.

The pattern is a lot of pieces to keep track of, but everything's explained very well.  The only thing I might change for the next time I sew it up is to sew the elastic and waistband differently so the ends of the elastic are not forming lumps on the side seams, which could potentially be itchy.  I would sew the waistband pieces together in a circle, sew the side seams of the jumpsuit, then attach the waistband on top and insert the elastic.  Other than that, pretty straightforward and surprisingly quick despite all the pieces!

I can't wait to see it on her!

Lola Tanks

When I made those awesome elephant MC Hammer pants for my nieces (remember those?), I didn't really anticipate that it would be impossible to find tops to match, but it was.  So I made some instead!

I had some bright yellow cotton that exactly matched the yellow in the elephant fabric, but I wanted to tie in more of the elephant fabrics into the top, too.  I found this (free!) pattern and tutorial for the Lola dress from Climbing the Willow (of Izzy top and my Liebster award nomination fame!) and thought it would make cute tanks to go with the elephant pants if I left off the bottom ruffle.

I made 1/2 inch double fold bias tape (starting with 2 inch strips and following the directions at Colette) from each of the elephant fabrics and then made the Lola tanks according to the tutorial, although I left the armhole bias tape long enough to tie into bows at the shoulders to keep them adjustable (I left 13-14" of bias tape hanging off the end of each point on the tank).  I also bound the bottom hem with the elephant bias tape.  The pink/purple is size 3 and the blue is size 2.

Super easy and very cute!  Definitely take a look at the Lola pattern.  

In the meantime, can you picture how the Lola tanks will look with their respective elephant pants?:

Tumble Tee, Take 2!

Ah, the Tumble Tee might be my new "palate cleanser" project.  You know, perfect for when you're working on another, more complicated and/or frustrating project, but you need a break... something simple and refreshing and quick.  The Tumble Tee is perfect for that, I've just discovered.   

I was working on another project (the new Soleil dress from Selvage Designs, which is awesome!), but my serger decided to act up on me and try to eat the dress (which was 95% finished).  I freaked out and needed to step away from it for a few days.  But I still wanted to sew... another trouble-free Tumble Tee was just the ticket.  After the little win from whipping out the Tumble Tee, I regained the patience necessary to try to fix my stalled project.

This Tumble Tee, like my first, is made with vintage knits from my mom's stash: a fun squiggly aqua knit.  I paired it with some white knit I cut out of one of Tim's old t-shirts. Love it!  I hope niece Anna likes it, too!

the back...

Selvage Designs Soleil Dress

I can't remember how I stumbled on Lauren Dahl's blog and her brand new sewing pattern, the Soleil dress, but I do know that it was love at first sight: how cute is this dress?!  I love the little opening in the back and the pockets.  Check out all of the cool versions from her pattern testers.  I snapped up the pattern immediately after it was released and set about making it for Anna, whose birthday quickly approaches.

I used two fabrics from Joann, both of which I've used before (both Bimaa sweaters: hearts here and purple rib here).  They don't exactly match, but go well enough!  The purple was all I had in my stash for ribbed fabric and I haven't seen any ribbing around Bangkok (not to say it doesn't exist, I just haven't found it yet), so that's what I went with.

The pattern was pretty easy to put together; the directions were very good!  My only complaint: I found the guesswork about how much or how little to stretch the ribbing to be a little perplexing.  Without a kid at hand to try the dress on, I'm not sure how successful I was, but we'll see!  I ended up putting in the arm binding flat, but the neck binding in a circle.

I did have some trouble with attaching the skirt: my serger was overwhelmed by all the gathers and decided to retaliate by eating the dress.  Uuuuugggg.  After I carefully picked the dress out of the machine (it was wrapped around both loopers!), I was eventually able to re-serge it.  I think I may have stretched out the waist band something awful, though.  We'll see!  Hopefully it's still wearable for Anna!  Looks pretty cute on the hanger, eh?

Skater Twins!

Matching dresses for the girls made from Kitschy Coo's Skater dress pattern (the little girl version of the top I made a few months ago): good stuff!  Making the adult version made me want to make the child version, and now, having made the child version, I want another go at the Lady Skater.  Putting it on the list...

I used this soft pastel knit fabric that I stole from Martha's stash.   It definitely looks like an '80s-era purchase with the paint splatter effects and pastel colors.  It's not something I would likely purchase myself, but still very cute and pretty (and free! Thanks, Martha!).  I've got approximately 9 miles more of it, so this is not likely to be the last you'll see of it.

Construction wise, the only change I made was to sew the neck-band together as well as the shoulders before attaching them, as that's the way I've done it successfully in the past.  

The little dresses look so cute!  Can't wait to see them on the girls... and I'm sure they can't wait for the warmer weather that will allow them to wear the dresses!

Maggie Mae Menagerie

Zoe loved her Maggie Mae tunic (pattern from Shwin Designs) so I thought I would make one for Anna, too, so she wouldn't feel left out.  And while I was at it, I cut another one out for little baby Zoey here in Bangkok, figuring I could sew them at the same time, assembly line style, and also get some instant gratification by walking down three flights of stairs and seeing Zoey try it on immediately.

The navy menagerie  fabric (with some seriously random animals: lions and frogs and octopi (?) and dogs and rabbits and elephants, oh my...) is from Belleboo, paired with some coordinating yellow quilting cotton.  I made the Maggie Mae according to the directions, with the exception of the pleats in the skirt, which I just gathered instead.

I meant to cut out the dress version, but spaced out and cut the tunic version by accident (note to self: measure twice, cut once), so I made a matching diaper cover using the free pattern and tutorial from MADE... I sewed up the version with the bias tape edges to match the yellow fabric.  Cute!!

Here are a couple shots of Anna looking pretty great in her new Maggie Mae, paired with some jeggings and a long-sleeved t-shirt for warmth:

Action Shots

Prepare yourself for cuteness in action!

Allie rocking her cute Little Geranium dress:

Zoe bopping around the house in her new heart print shawl-collar Bimaa:

Zoe in her purple Bimaa and paisley Hosh Pants, which are now toeing the too-small line:

Anna looking sharp in her Izzy top and Fancy Pants Leggings:

 Anna's Thai elephant MC Hammer pants:

Anna in her green and white striped Best Harem Pants: