Oliver + S Croquet Dress in Liberty (?)

Well, I'm back after a 3 month(!) absence, with no excuse other than the same old story: I'm a lousy blogger. I wish I didn't have to explain my extended absence every time I write a new post...maybe this is what will be expected :)

 This is the third time I've made the Croquet Dress from Oliver + S. It's a really fun summer dress. When the pattern first came out, I wasn't a huge fan of it, but I've grown to really love the silhouette. 

Now for the fabric and the (?) in the title. About 5 years ago, I was shopping at Joann Fabrics and I came across a bolt of this stuff in the red tag clearance aisle. I immediately recognized the print as a Liberty design, and I was super curious (and excited). I wound the fabric off the bolt and saw that the Liberty logo was indeed printed on the selvage. So I'm super confused...how in the world did it end up at Joann in the red tag clearance (it was like $3/yard and I bought all that was on the bolt), and is it actually Liberty? It's not Liberty Tana lawn; it feels much more silky than that. But as to what it is, and if it's legit, and most of all how it came to be at Joann, I can't figure it out! 

Anyway, legit or not, I thought it would pair really well with this pattern. I used a sagey green fabric for the tie, and I like how it turned out. I think it has a 20s vibe with the drop waist and the Liberty(ish?) fabric.

Unfortunately, the little one isn't as big a fan of the dress as I am, so I kind of have to bribe her to wear it. Silly kid!

An Easter dress and a thank you!

This year, we're killing two birds with one stone. My brother is getting married next weekend and Easter is this weekend, so I thought I'd make a dress that would work for both occasions. 

The wedding colors are aqua and....uh, aqua, and I've had this fabric in my stash for a couple years, originally purchased for me (oh, the sacrifices you make as a mom ;). I thought it would pair well with the Oliver + S Fairy Tale dress.

I've made this pattern a couple times before and I really love it. The construction is so clever and the style is just classic little girl. I actually made two of these, one for the bigger girl and one for the baby. By the time I got done with the baby's dress, I was getting pretty fast at it! The methods result in a dress that is fully lined with a tulle underskirt for extra poof :)

I've got a fairly uncooperative model again, complete with oatmeal around her mouth and a fake credit card from the day's junk mail for entertainment. Classy, huh?  :)

In spite of the expressions, she actually does love the dress and requests to wear it for part of most days. 

I'm a lousy blogger (if you read this, bless you!), but there are some really kind people out there in the blogging world. Shelley or Lightning McStitch (that is the greatest name!) from Bartacks and Singletrack gave me a Liebster award back in March, which was so kind of her. Shelley is an amazing and prolific sewist. I especially envy her Weekend Getaway dress. Thanks so much, Shelley!

Asmita from elephant in the study gave me the Liebster blog award as well. Check out her blog for her gorgeous creations. This little dress made from Heather Ross' strawberry print is wonderful! Thank you Asmita!

I know I'm breaking the rules by not passing it on, but I do want to thank both of these kind ladies for reading my poorly attended-to blog!

A Chambray Playdate Dress

I've had this dress rattling around in my head for a couple months now. I thought the paring of this pattern with chambray would be really fun.

I also had some mini pompom trim I'd purchased several months ago. This was my first time using a pompom trim, and it was really fun! I also decided to modify the yoke to include pintucks, rather than the ruffles specified on the pattern. I used a size 2 for the length and size 12-18 months for the width, because my girl is a little skinny one :)

I swapped out the Playdate dress sleeves for the 3/4 gathered sleeves from the Apple Picking dress. I've made the Playdate dress a couple times before, and while I like the sleeve design included in the pattern, I've found it doesn't fit my skinny mini little one very well. I think she's too narrow in the shoulder for the design, so I swapped them out and I like the change. It also gave me the opportunity to use the pompom trim in the sleeve binding...you can never have too much pompom trim!

I basted the pompom trim to the yoke before placing it on the bodice. Then I topstitched it down and pulled out the basting stitches. I found this worked pretty well.

I like how it turned out. It's kind of simple, a little old-fashioned, but still modern. I'm glad I got it out of my head and into a finished product!

The Annual Apple Picking (Dress)

I think I'm on repeat when it comes to some patterns. There are certain patterns that just work so well in a specific fabric for a specific season that I can't help myself and I repeat them every year. This is the third year in a row for the combination of the Oliver + S Apple Picking dress in plaid flannel.

Really though...I love it every year! It's kind of a perfect fall/winter dress. It's warm, soft, plaid and cute!

I used a brown, tan and pink plaid flannel from Fashion Fabrics Club. It feels like a really great quality flannel. It washed up really soft and fluffy.

Here's the visual history of this tradition...years 1, 2 and 3. :)

I've got to say, it's kind of hard to get a decent picture of clothing modeled by toddlers. They (or mine at least) tend to be rather uncooperative. Anyone have any tips?

Anyway, there's not too much to say that hasn't been said before about this dress, except that I still like it!

Bloglovin

If you're interested in following...

Guest Post at Oliver + S

I shared a tutorial for modifying the Sailboat Top to a dress over on the Oliver + S blog today. Click over if you're interested!

Oliver + S Wool Herringbone School Photo Dress

I've had the Oliver + S School Photo Dress pattern for a long time, and I've been meaning to make it for a long time.  I just really love the style; it's so classic.  Since I saw it, I've wanted to make it out of a tweedy wool fabric, but thought that would be totally impractical for a toddler. I saw this wool blend (65% wool/35% poly) online at Fashion Fabrics Club for about $5/yard, and thought I'd give it a try.  I washed and dried the fabric by machine and it didn't appear to change it at all, so I figure I should be able to just machine wash, then hang dry and it appears it will hold up fine.

I sort of mixed views, choosing the sleeves and collar that I liked.  I also omited the kangaroo pocket, just to get a cleaner look on the front.

I think it turned out pretty cute...I wouldn't mind having one myself (although on second thought, a shift style isn't really very flattering on my body type). It's pretty darn cute on a toddler.

I made the size 18-24 month width and 2T length for my skinny, little, almost-three-year-old.  She actually likes it too, which is nice, because she's got opinions about everything. I lined it with a lightweight batiste.

I'm happy I finally made this pattern.  It was a joy to sew, as are most Oliver + S patterns, and it should be a great little winter dress.

A little Library Dress

Well, I got around to finishing an Oliver + S Library Dress. It took a little while to finish, not because it was a difficult pattern, but because the new baby was able to sense in her sleep the minute I sat down at the sewing machine ;)

This was a fun dress to sew. As I said before, it wasn't too difficult, but it had a lot of details that made it fun. I used a black and white gingham underlined with a lightweight cotton to make it a little better suited to fall and winter weather.

I loved the little collar, the cuffs and the piping! I decided to keep the color scheme pretty simple, black and white with the addition of orange buttons on the back.

I think it will be a fun dress for fall and winter!

Two finished objects!

Wow! It's been a long time! I've been busy with sewing and other things, but the other things have taken a LOT of time and energy...enough time and energy to leave me with little motivation to blog.  Its becoming obvious that my first love is sewing, rather than blogging!

Anyway, on to the finished objects...first (and by far the most work ;) I had a baby! Another little girl joined our family in early August and we're delighted to have her. She's a sweetheart and we've really been enjoying her. She's also been keeping us really busy.  I forgot how much work a newborn is!

Now, the second, much less extensive project: a denim dress based on the Oliver + S Sailboat Top. Awhile ago, Liesl Gibson pinned a women's dress from Toast and mentioned that it would be a great modification for the Sailboat top. I thought so too, and before the baby was born, I made this for the 2 1/2 year old.

Here's a image of the original women's dress from Toast.

I used a lightweight denim from Joann to make the dress and topstitched with Coats & Clark heavyweight thread. I lengthened the top to dress length and modified the facing and topstitching shape.

I also added patch pockets and added topstitching to the hem and sleeves. I like the way it turned out. It's a fun shift shape that's both retro and modern at the same time.

We'll see how things go on the blogging front from here out. I can't make any promises, but I have big plans ;)

Leibster Blog Award

Ashley and Emily from the awesome blog, Frances Suzanne, nominated me for the Leibster Blog Award, which was super nice of them.  And I'm totally embarrassed to admit that it was almost two weeks ago and I'm just now getting around to thanking them and responding to the questions!  We've had some sickness, and more sickness and then a little more sickness.  We're finally starting to feel human again, thank goodness!  So I want to apologize to Ashley and Emily for the delay in response and say "Thanks!!" for the award :)
 

 So here's the description of the award:

"The Liebster Blog Award is an award given by bloggers to up and coming bloggers, most of whom have less than 200 followers (or have been blogging for less than 6 months). It is to show newer bloggers that they are appreciated, and to help spread the word about new blogs. It was created to promote appreciation and recognition among the blog world. Liebster translates to “dearest” (or favorite/best) in German. It is also known as the Love Blog Award."

 And here are the rules:
1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you.


11 Random Things:

1. I love old sewing machines!  I have a Singer 201 from 1957 that I use nearly every time I sew.  I also have a couple Berninas from the early 1980s that I love dearly.

2. I think winter should end after December (can you tell I've got cabin fever??)!

3. I studied Industrial Design in college and loved it.  I started out interested in designing furniture, which I explored while I was in school, but ended up designing laptops for several years before Miss S was born.

4.  I'm 2nd of eight children in my family and one of four redheads!

5.  I've never had a cavity (due more to good luck than perfect dental hygiene :)

6. I've been sewing for as long as I can remember.  I received an old, metal sewing machine ( I can't remember what kind) for Christmas one year, and I went to town on it!  I remember sewing grass skirts (with real grass!) for my brothers and a grass door for a treehouse we built.

7. I'm a Mormon!

8.  I really love dill pickles.  They've been one of my favorite foods since I was old enough to ask for them.

9.  I don't like to travel much.  I'm kind of a homebody.  I used to have to travel to Asia every month or two for work, and while it was always interesting and sometimes fun, it cured me of the desire to travel :)

10. I'd rather do laundry than cook!

11. I'm kind of a fabricaholic...

 
 And now, here are the questions from Frances Suzanne: 

1. What are your top five ‘must-read’ blogs?  
Ooh, that's a tough one...there are so many great blogs out there...
 Little Betty:  She's got great style and is really good at seeing hidden potential in patterns
skirt as top:  Super talented and super nice
Five and Counting.....:  Nicole is constantly making amazing things for her five kids
No Big Dill:  She's got really creative ideas
craftinessisnotoptional:  Fun ideas and tutorials

 
2. Do you have a phobia? And if so – what is it?
Hmm, maybe rodents?  I'm pretty irrational when it comes to thinks like mice...


 3. What is your favorite fabric? This might be a certain designer’s look, or a particular style / texture you are drawn to....





Hmmm, I love cotton voile, especially the really finely woven, super silky ones.  I've loved the Free Spirit voiles that have come out in the past few years. There wonderful to sew with and the drape is so well suited to garment sewing.

4. What is your most tried and true pattern in your stash?

Actually, I think the best patterns I have in my stash are those taken from items of clothing I've purchased and loved the fit.  I have a tshirt pattern and a jeans pattern that I pulled from existing clothing, and have reproduced several times.  These are probably some of the most-frequently worn items in my wardrobe.

5. What is your dream job?
I kind of feel like I have the dream job right now :)  Life's not perfect, but I love taking care of my little girl and sewing during naptime...I don't think there's anything else I'd rather be doing.  Ask me again when she decides she's done with napping ;)
 
6. Share a tradition that you and your family enjoy.

We love going on long walks on summer evenings.  It's the easiest way for everyone to relax!


7. Name one thing sewing-related that you haven’t tried…but want to learn how to do.

I'm totally intimidated by sewing jackets for women.  They seem so hard to get right, but I'd love to learn from a great tutor.

8. What is your favorite month of the year and why?
I love May, because the weather is usually pleasantly warm, but it's still spring and everything is new.
 
9. If you had the opportunity to do a guest post, what series would you want to participate in….or, on which site would you like to guest post?
 Ooh, this is kind of hard.  I'm a little intimidated by the idea of guest posting, so I don't have a good answer for this question.

  10. Where do you get your sewing inspiration (be specific – for example: a particular pinterest board, blog, children’s retail, etc.)? 
 I'm generally inspired by fabrics.  It's usually in looking at my fabric stash or browsing a fabric store that I am inspired.



11. What has been your greatest “sewing find” to date?
 Maybe Oliver + S patterns...they're practically no-fail!  The styles, the fit, the instructions are all so good.


Now, there are a few more rules:

3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.
4. Choose 11 new blogs you love and link them in your post.
5. Please leave me a comment on this post with the URL to your Liebster post so I can learn more about you!

....but I'm going to break them.  I don't think I know of 11 new blogs that haven't already received the Leibster award.  I hope that's okay.

Thanks again to Ashley and Emily from Frances Suzanne for the award!  It's been fun trying to think of random things and answering all their questions! 

Lace Christmas Dress: Oliver + S Bubble Dress

 I was in Joann Fabrics a couple weeks ago and saw this lace in their special occasion fabric section.  It was actually pretty gorgeous, and I thought it would make a fun Christmas dress for Miss S.  I  decided to use the Bubble Dress pattern again, since it was a fun, quick dress to sew.  I also decided to add actual sleeves again, rather than just the extended, cut-on sleeve as directed in the pattern.  I've got a picture of my pattern pieces below, in case you're interested in how I modified the sleeve.

 

Rather than make a gathered sleeve with binding, like I did last time, I made a little bubble sleeve, using a lining and the same method as is in the pattern instructions for making the bubble skirt (essentially sewing a piece of elastic in between the outer fabric and the lining fabric).  You can see a peek of my lining in this photo of the sleeve.  I liked the effect the bubble sleeve produced, of a slightly more formal looking sleeve finish than the bias bound sleeve.

The green velvet ribbon is my favorite color in the world.  I found it at this great little shop near my house that has a really fun selection of trims and ribbons.  I bought some felt and begged my younger sister to make some little flowers to put on the ribbon.

The fabric is actually a really nice quality lace.  It is a cotton/nylon blend and has a subtle gold foiling  It's got really nice texture in person.  I underlined the lace with a cream colored lining fabric, then treated the two fabrics basted together as one in constructing the dress.  I lined the entire dress in a white cotton voile.

Here's a picture I snapped of my modified pattern pieces.  I used the sleeve and armscye from the Jumprope Dress pattern, since it's just a basic straight sleeve.  I just shortened it to a cap sleeve.  I kind of guessed on how long the shoulder seam should be and where the sleeve should start.  You can see that it wasn't a really scientific process, but more trial and error.  Then, to make the puffed sleeve at the top and bottom, I slashed and spread the sleeve apart.  I estimated how much I should spread it by measuring a puffed sleeve from a top that Miss S already had and then roughly matching that.  Unfortunately, I don't have the sleeve showing the slashes and spreads, I only have this cleaned up copy that I used for cutting the fabric.  You can probably google "slash and spread gathered sleeve" or something like that and get some examples if you're interested.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  Unfortunately, during the winter it will have to be worn with a sweater most of the time, since it's pretty cold, but at the rate Miss S is growing, she'll still fit it when the weather warms up.

A few projects...

I'm still in the process of getting together a cold weather wardrobe for Miss S.  It all of a sudden got really cold (for November) and snowed about 10 inches here.  I wasn't quite prepared, so I got to work sewing up a bunch of long sleeved tee shirts.  They aren't too interesting; they're just very basic long sleeved tees.  I used a pattern that I've used for myself a lot: Jalie 2805.  It is really a pretty great basic tee pattern.  It goes from size 2T up to like a size 22 in women's.  These are five of the nine I made (the others are either being worn or in the wash).  They went together so, so quickly.  It think I spent maybe a total of 5 hours over a few days.  They're going to get some good use this winter :)

I also finally made the Apple Picking dress that I've had cut out for about a month and a half.  I made this dress last year in a cotton flannel and it was a really great winter dress, so I made it again in a cotton flannel, but a different color.  This fabric was left over from the lining of a Minoru jacket that I made for myself, but haven't blogged about yet.

I wasn't sure if it was a good fabric choice, because it's a bit subdued.  When I finally got it sewn up and tried it on Miss S, I decided it was actually really, really cute.

I used blue buttons to pick up a little bit of blue in the flannel, as well as to add a little more color.  It went together great, as always with an Oliver + S pattern :)  I'm pretty happy with it

I also made the Penguin Backpack from the Little Things to Sew book.  I've wanted to make this backpack ever since I saw it.  I thought it was adorable, but was a little intimidated by the thought of sewing a backpack.  We're going to visit my husband's family for Thanksgiving, and I wanted to make a little pack so Miss S could carry toys and snacks by herself for the plane.

True to Oliver + S form, the instructions were excellent.  I used a denim for the body, then some quilting cottons I had in my stash for the beak, feet and belly pocket.  I ordered the slider hardware on the back from Pacific Trimmings.  They were reasonably priced and shipped quickly.

I used some vintage blue glass buttons for the eyes and lined it with a blue printed cotton.  I was pretty happy with how it turned out, and it was actually quicker and easier to sew than I expected.

I've got a School Photo dress in the works, and another Fairy Tale dress in the planning stages.  We'll see if I can get them finished soon!

A Girly Field Trip Tee

I was excited when I saw the Oliver + S Field Trip Tee and Pants pattern released, but mostly excited in anticipation of using it if I ever had a little boy.  Then I decided I'd give it a go as a girl pattern.  I had two coordinating knits in my stash that I got from Girl Charlee (I love this site for knits), that I had already used for other projects for Miss S. 

I loved the little floral and figured it would make a pretty girly looking tee shirt, in spite of the more boyish styled tee.  I actually love the raglan sleeve style shirts, and I love it on girls.  I was pretty happy with how this turned out.

It was a really fast, really easy sew.  It literally went together in about an hour, start to finish.  My pocket topstitching is not perfect, but oh well, right?  The knit is also a little off grain, which makes the pocket look a little crooked, but I'm pretty okay with that.  I've got at least another version in mind, and maybe more, since it is SUCH a quick, easy and fun sew.

Figgy's Nituna Jacket as a Winter Coat

Well, being totally on top of things like I am (insert sarcasm here), I'm getting around to blogging about the fall Kids Clothing Week Challenge (KCWC) that I participated in.  I worked on a couple different projects, and here's one of them.

I loved the Figgy's Nituna Jacket pattern as soon as I saw it.  I thought it would make a really cute little winter coat, and I have had a piece of magenta wool in my stash for some time that I thought would work perfectly.  When I finally got around to digging it out, it was a little lighter weight than I had remembered it being.  It wouldn't have made a very warm winter coat, but the color was really great.  So I decided to interline it with flannel, as well as lining it with flannel, so I would get a double layer of flannel warmth.

To interline it, I just cut a piece out of the outer wool fabric, then an additional piece out of a piece of plaid flannel I had in my stash, then placed the wool (right side out) on top of the flannel.  I then pinned them together and basted them on my sewing machine, using my walking foot so the layers didn't shift.  You could also hand baste the pieces together.  I then sewed the jacket, treating the basted-together pieces as one.  The light blue patterned flannel you see in the photos is the lining, which is another layer.  The flannel interlining isn't visible in the photos.

The sizing of this pattern starts at 18 months, and even though Miss S is 22 months, she is a little small.  I looked at the measurements on the pattern envelope and decided that the 18 month size would be too big, so I graded down a size.  I think that was the right choice, because this size seems plenty big.

I chose to do the lined version of the jacket, not the reversible version, but used the patch pockets rather than the welt pockets.  It is actually really a simple pattern to sew.  There's nothing tricky about it.  You essentially sew two simple shells (lining and outer fabric), then sew them together using the bagged method described in the instructions.  The instructions are good and result in a well-finished product.

I also chose to topstitch around the hood and outside edges and hem at 1/2", rather than edgestitching as the pattern instructed.  The pattern includes a Figgy's "Made with Love" label, which is a cute touch.  I also used covered buttons on this, same as I used on the Sunday Brunch jacket.  I just kind of love the look of covered buttons.  It gives such a nice finish.

I would have loved to include some model photos, but I have a rather stubborn little model who wouldn't have anything to do with this coat.  I'm hoping she gets past that, because I'd really prefer that she actually wear the clothes I sew for her...is that too much to ask?  Anyway, we'll see how things go :)

I've got a couple other things I finished for KCWC that I'll post soon...I know, I'm totally on top of things ;)