Blowpop dress

I recently completed a Blowpop dress for the shop and I thought I would post the pics leading up to the dress so that I could submit it as a contest entry over at Lil Blue Boo!

Remember this contest.... (P.S. I previously entered the mermaid dress!)




So here we go!

First I squished up a piece of plain ol white fabric



Then I took these 2 fabric spray paints, pink and purple, a must in a house of girls!



Then I set about spraying in random patterns





Then I spread the fabric back out flat





Then I just kind of sprayed randomly until some of the areas were more filled in



When I was done it looked like this



After it was dry I washed it and dryed it and ironed it. Then I set to work using an Old Navy t-shirt and additional scraps of fabric. I used this dyed fabric on the sleeves only so I have a bunch more to use on something else.





When the girls are bored they sometimes ask if they can dye fabric. So I get the paints and dye out and cover the table in trash bags and they dye up a bunch of fabric. Then I just let it dry on the air hockey table and I use it eventually in a project! It keeps them busy for hours!

New items for the shop

During my all nighter of sewing the other night I sewed up these 4 darling dresses for the shop. Upcycled dresses are my new favorite things to make right now. I hope to have a few more completed by the weekend. But I have been outside planting peas and sewing hasn't happened in a few nights!

First up, there are 2 small dresses in a size 12mo.

Sunglasses- both the hood and the top of the dress are made from reclaimed tshirts.





I even used the cute little double layer sleeves from the tshirt!




Blowpop- this cute little dress has sparkles on the blow pop design and in its previous life was an Old Navy shirt. The sleeves are made from fabric that I hand dyed!







Got an adorable little girl? Well why not buy her an adorable dress?





A wise man once said, buy this dress. Please.









As always, you can find all of these in my Etsy shop.

Raspberry Stripes

The new Ottobre Design magazine has a tunic in it called Raspberry Stripes. I had intended to make it when I saw it in the magazine. In, ahem, January. Been a little busy since then, but I finally got around to it and got 2 cut out and started sewing during my all nighter of sewing the other day. I then got them finished up the next day.

But there is a problem. I made 2 in size 128, which is Nin's size thinking that because she needs new clothes, she could have both. Well then KK got upset so I tried it on her and it fits! It's just a little shorter. So now they are fighting over the same shirt. I like the pink one, but they both like the owls!

To tell you the truth, I am a little afraid of KK wearing the owl tunic. See, it's mostly white and she is the messiest eater. Nin is a little bit better about keeping her food off her clothes. For being a Virgo who likes order and her things just so, KK surprises me with her messy way of eating!

The owl tunic went together a little better than the pink one. I just kind of winged it on pink one and the placket is a little messy.

Pattern:
Ottobre Design 1/2011 #12
Size 128



Cute little Farbenmix owl ribbon from Holland House

4 Sabrina's

How do you like that clever title? After I made Baby Avie a fishy Sabrina, I had a request to make 2 more. They are for sisters and are mostly matchy matchy, except for the sleeves.

A size 104 which is about a 4.



and a size 116 which is about a 6.



Then since I was having so much fun I decided to make a couple more. Once I find a pattern that I really like, I let it stay on the cutting table. (ie. the dining room table) Just like my Antonia. So expect to see more of these ladies.

Shirts from Goodwill that I love to upcycle.

This is a size 134, or about an 8, with a hood. The shirt part of the dress is made from a t-shirt and the sleeves, which are tiny lime green hearts are also from a shirt.





And a Spongebob shirt turned into a dress. This is also a size 4. So if you have a Spongebob fan, this will be in the shop.

My last stash game item

I figured I wouldn't have any time to sew on the last day of February which was a Moday. But Nelson was out running errands and the girls went to play with the neighbor girl. So I sat down and traced a shirt from the new women's Ottobre magazine, cut it out and got half of it sewn before everyone showed up. After the girls went to bed, I sat back down and finished it!

As soon as I saw the version in the magazine, I knew I wanted to make it. But the magazine version had this little skirt thingy attached and drawing attention to my hips is the last thing I need. So I left the skirt thing off and added a couple inches in length to make up for the length I lost. The shirt fits perfect in every way! I was so drawn to the sleeves and the manner in which you put them together is pretty nifty. I can see myself making another one of these, but really, how many of the same ruffly sleeve shirts do you need? Says the woman who made 4 of the same v neck hoodies.....

My challenge entry

My entry for the Lil Blue Boo/Dharma Trading company challenge!!


I completed this awhile back, but I am just now getting the pics up! When I first completed it, it was sooo cold outside, I took one quick picture. Once it warmed up, I was able to get a few more. Too bad I don't have any modeling shots. I don't know any little girls this size! But hey, I had to work within the size limits of the RTW shirt from Old Navy.

The top of the dress is a shirt from Old Navy, a cute little mermaid with lots of sparkles! The bottom of the dress is the Studio Tantrum Redondo pattern with 5 knit panels that curl around to make a really full fluffy skirt that has great twirling potential. There is one navy blue panel, 2 purple panels and 2 panels of white that I dyed blue and purple. I took a big scrap of white interlock, scrunched it up into little mounds in various places and then with tulip dyes in spray bottles, I sprayed in random patterns over the fabric.

Because of the little swirly mounds I made in the fabric, the dye looked almost tye dyed. And the blue and purple matched the Old Navy shirt and the other interlocks perfectly! I love when that happens!!









What do you think?

Hot pink pants!

Who doesn't love hot pink pants? Nin is growing faster than I can keep pants on the poor kid so I saw this pair of pants in a sewing forum the other day and set right out to make them. They are super fussy with all the topstitching and all the details and pockets, but I really wanted to make them. Now, whether Nin will wear them is a different story. Sometimes she goes through these phases of "pants are for boys and I won't wear them". Then other times, pants are just fine. She seems to like them but hasn't worn them yet...

I used about 1 1/2 yds. of hot pink twill along with ribbon, interfacing, button, zipper, size tag, a kellybellykids tags and lots of thread. Great for stash game. These pants alone are worth 21 points. That probably means nothing to you, but trust me, its a good thing!

Pattern: Ottobre Design 1/2011 #13
size- 128, the largest size of this pattern

The pants fit spot on straight from the pattern. I did add 2 in. of length so I could make an extra large hem so that when she grows in 2 months, I can let the hem down and not lose all my hard work!





Look at that zipper! And yes, I had a hot pink zipper on hand!



Leg pocket





Look at all this topstitching!!!! Double and triple rows. There is no way these pants are falling apart..



I love this pattern. The directions were easy to follow, I love all the details and I really like the way you add the pocket on the side of the leg. There is no visible seam on the bottom! Clever! I also love the back pockets that are tucked into the yoke. If Nin will wear these, I will certainly make them again. KK wants a pair, but 128 is the largest the pattern comes. I could probably get away with keeping a size 128 waist and adding about 5 or 6 inches of length. But that girl has more clothes than she can wear.