Zinnia birthday dress using the Oliver+S Roller Skate Pattern

Fabric and flower inspiration chosen by the birthday girl.

Pattern:  Oliver+S Roller skate Dress Pattern

I used quilting cotton (she chose because it looked like seeds) and hand embroidered zinnias onto the border.

I had never use an Oliver + S pattern before this, but will try many more. They are so well written. I lined this with a pink kona cotton. My favorite part of this pattern is the cap sleeves and the elastic on the A line waist. I have 3 more of these cut out and ready to sew up.

Sewing Journal April, 2013

An Easter dress with a very twirly circle skirt and a Peter Pan collar. She told me, "This skirt, it is all I wanted." Ha! I made it with a fabric she picked from Jo-ann's and the collar was a beautiful scrap of pink chambray I got at Purl Soho in NYC that I wished I had yards of. The pattern was Butterick B5877. My sweet old machine hates making button holes so they aren't as pretty as I like, but you can't tell when it's on. This was my first Peter Pan collar and now I want them on everything.

My other project I can share right now (muhaha) is late birthday present for my tiny little Wonder Woman. I surprised her with super hero girl pajamas. I found this fabric at Jo-ann's and traced her American Apparel karate pants. We also made a patch for an old stained blue shirt and it covered and matched perfectly! Then she demonstrated Super Hero Karate.

What have you been sewing or making?

T-shirt dress tutorial

I have seen many versions of this on blogs and pinterest. I have made a few now and this is my process. Using Over and my iphone my 5 year old and I made a quick t-shirt dress and a tutorial.  This is written to someone who has finished seams and knows how to do a gathering stitch. If you don't you can follow the links I provide on how to do that. 

Target-t-shirt- $5 +

1/2 yard leopard floral crinkly silk- 3.50 +

the bonding time and the fact that she chose the fabric and colors

=$8.50 and way more likely to wear it because she was involved.

Wash your fabric and t-shirt to preshrink.

D was in love with this leopard floral fabric. I wouldn't have picked it, but I am learning that if I let my kids pick the fabric, they are WAY more likely to wear the finished product. 

(The shoes have nothing to do with the process, but I know Jessie has them too. Hi, Jessie!)

Ha, I have this pic upside down but already had put the text on. You get the idea. 

Here is a link on how to finish seams.

 Here is a great link for gathering.

 Press each seam and hem as you go and then the whole dress.

Don't sew on the flu

I had sewing projects I REALLY wanted done by this week. 2 way overdue presents. A project for Mike and Easter dresses for my girls.

We have the flu. And it is brutal. So many symptoms. Mike has yet to get it, but the rest of us have.

I tried working on my projects a few 10 minutes installments here and there and I kept making mistakes. Too sick to think straight. Now I have a pile of projects that need redoing or reworking because I sewed with the flu.

So. I thought I show you fabric instead (some already shown on my Instagram). I think a bouquet of fabric sounds as lovely as a bouquet of flowers when you are sick. Mike Cosper, Send me fabric. I mean. I love you.

 A present...some patchwork...vague:)

 3 yards of this to sew for future 4 year old's birthday. Old man PJs and a dress or skirt.

 Spring dresses. I've got plans. 

Gotta get better. XOXO friends. 

Except not. Because you don't want this flu.

Costume: Supergirl

It is February! And I forgot to write about the Supergirl Halloween costume!

 Photo made with Over!

Here are my super late and quick notes of how I accomplished it.

Using this classic picture, Dorothy asked for it to be exactly the same. "I'll try".

The Leotard. I made a practice fitting using a cheap black t-shirt knit material that I bought on sale. I did this by tracing her favorite swimsuit onto freezer paper. and using this tutorial at No Big Dill and lots of the info I have learned from all these posts on my Sarah's clothes to sew: knit pinterest board 
to sew it all together .

The practice fitting or "muslin", fit well so I kept the pattern which like I said was basically a trace of her suimsuit folded down the middle. (I took pictures of all of these steps, but must have deleted them because they are not on my phone or computer. Sorry!).

I added sleeves by tracing D's favorite long sleeve shirt and attaching it with my favorite sleeve method, A cheater's guide to setting in a sleeve At A Fashionable Stitch.

The "S" for Super... it took a long time. I used fusible interfacing and made a patch out of the knit materials. I have hopes of making my own tutorial on how to do that. Until then google that concept if you want to know how to do it.

The Skirt. Mom's of girls, This is my favorite skirt tutorial for girls. I had made a couple of these all ready last fall so I had done the math and this was the easiest part of the outfit. I used the gold to cover the waist band: Dana Made It: The Circle Skirt. Make one now.

Are you still with me?

So.

Cape. I honestly can't remember how I made the cape. I made three versions out of red lame' and that fabric was gross crinkly fabric for me to work with it kept ripping even though I used the right needle. And I made it the night before and she didn't want to wear it. We were both over the cape and of the three times she wore the costume she would not wear the cape. Luckily her cute wool blend coat looked matched with the rest of the costume when she needed it.

Super Dorothy,  Butterfly Jamison, and Little Red Mags

Boots. There is this tutorial on making super hero boots. I was on my 5th or 6th day working on the costume and I just didn't have the energy, also I was not keen on cutting the tape off her legs, so I just took her red tights I had bought for the tutorial and cut them and stretched them over her boots. It cost about 3 bucks and 30 seconds.

And that sewing friends, that is how I made Supergirl costume and learned how to sew with dancewear/swimsuit knits.  I think the costume cost about $18-20. I could have bought it for about 5 or 10 bucks more through a costume store, but I learned a lot of sewing skills which makes it so worth it.  I enjoy this so much. I know there are people that wouldn't, but this stuff makes me giddy.