Girl's Skater Dress with Lace Overlay

This may be my favorite project of the year.  My niece was having her birthday, and I thought she deserved a dress of her own.  So, I set out designing an age appropriate semi formal dress.  I had this beautiful lace that I bought from Fabric.com, and had intended to use for scarves, but it just wasn't the right weight for scarves, so it became a lovely lace overlay for a skater dress.

The pattern is self drafted, and I used a half circle skirt for the skirt of the dress. I've been hanging onto an oversized lavender zipper, and it was the perfect detail for the back of the dress.

Unfortunately, I didn't factor in enough seam allowance to account for the structure of the lace.  I ended up haven't to make the seam allowances quite a bit larger, which made the bodice quite a bit smaller.  Unfortunately, the dress didn't end up fitting my 10 year old niece, but fortunately, she has two younger sisters, and it fit her petite 8 year old sister perfectly.

I'm glad that someone gets to wear it, and I just might have to make myself a matching dress.  It's just too cute.

Snow White

For those of you that follow me on Instagram, prepare to see a lot of duplicate images. 

 A couple of weeks ago, I put together a little princess party at one of the local boutiques.  It was so much fun to play dress up, and take a bit of a  break from all of the superheroes and robots that fill my home.  To my knowledge, this was the first time that I've ever dressed up as a princess.

The party was an Elsa and Anna inspired meet and greet, but since I'd be at the party all day, I figured that I should dress  up as a princess too. So, in order to avoid purchasing a wig, Snow White was naturally my first choice.  After all, I do live with several little men in a small house.

The costume was thrown together in a hurry, but came together nicely.  I didn't want to have to draft a fitted bodice pattern, so I used a crushed velvet with stretch.  The sleeves are satin, and though I wish I'd made them a bit puffier/pouffier, they were fine.  I'd thought that I'd cut the pieces with enough extra material for gathering, but, I was wrong.  Since it was last minute, there was no recutting/sewing sleeves.  I ended up trimming the sleeves with a gold glitter fold over elastic.  It was an afterthought, but one of my favorite details.

The sweetest little Elsa you'll ever meet!

My dress, is actually separates, the skirt has a flat front, and an elastic back at the waist.  I like elastic waistbands on costumes, just so that they can stretch and be worn by multiple shapes and sizes.

 Add some red lipstick, and of course a bright red hair ribbon, and you're set.  Now who wants to see Anna's dress?

Masha and The Bear Dress

Have you heard of Masha and The Bear?  I hadn't, not until my cousins asked me to make up a Masha dress for their little daughter's party.  Apparently Masha and Mishka is her favorite Russian cartoon, so they planned a Masha themed party to celebrate summer. 

Masha's dress is adorably simple.  An a-line skirt, and a deep necked bodice made the pattern pretty simple to draft.  The hardest part was finding the right trims for the sleeves of the shirt, and the hem of the skirt, which I ended up picking up at Joann's, not perfect matches, but they worked.

As far as materials go, I used a pink suiting fabric for the dress, and a white oxford shirting for the top. 

I added a simple button closure at the back of both the shirt and the dress.  

She made an adorable Masha, and her little brother made a perfectly cuddly bear.  

Two Piece Knit Wrap Nursing Dress: Tutorial with Pattern

Disclaimer: Like most of my projects, this one was winged.  I adapted it as I went, and did my best to document the process.  Sometimes things change, and I don't have photos for every step.  I'll do my best to describe in detail my process.  I'm not positive on the actual size of the dress, but you can easily adapt it to make it a better fit.  I'm guessing that compared to store bought dresses it would be somewhere around a size six.  My bust (fullest part) measurement is about a 36, and my chest measurement a 32.  We're working with knit here, so it stretches, and is quite forgiving.  I'd venture to say that this is an intermediate level sewing project.

Like all of my free tutorials and patterns, this is for personal, non-commercial, use only.  Buckle up, here we go.

This dress does not provide full nursing coverage, but does provide access to nurse.  The jacket can be pulled up on one side, and dress section down, allowing mom and baby to nurse.  A nursing cover or blanket can be used to provide more privacy.

First things first, you can find a printable pdf pattern here.  Pattern pieces are for the bodice/jacket pieces.  Measurements are included in the file for the skirt.

To make the dress you will need less than 3 yards of knit material.  I started out with 3 yards (2.5 would probably do), and have a healthy amount left over, but my fabric was nearly 60" wide.  If your yardage isn't as wide, I'd recommend purchasing 3 yards for sure. 

My knit is a medium weight interlock knit with a good horizontal stretch. You will also need a small piece of fusible featherweight interfacing.

Begin by printing off and cutting out your pattern pieces.  Once your pattern is assembled (sorry, no photos), you will want to cut out one back bodice piece of the fold, one fabric facing, one facing out of featherweight fusible interfacing, and four front bodice pieces.  You will also want two sleeves cut on the fold. Instructions are included in the pattern for cutting out skirt pieces.  If I were to make this dress again in my size, I'd reduce the width of the skirt band by about an inch, just so that it was a bit tighter.  I'd also reduce the width of my skirt, by about three to four inches.  I would have liked a bit less gather.

If you are adapting the pattern to a different size, I would recommend extending the tail end (narrow end) of the front bodice pieces a few inches. If you wanted you could even extend them out by a foot and a half or so to make ties on the back of the jacket, rather than fitting the band. 

When adapting the skirt/dress portion I would recommend taking your chest (bra band), and bust (fullest area) measurements.  I made my tube/band of the dress 4" smaller than my chest measurement, but as I would recommend at least 5" to keep the dress in place.  

Transfer dart marking from the pattern to the jacket pieces.  Dressmakers carbon transfer paper is my favorite way to do this,

Two of the front bodice pattern pieces will serving as lining pieces for your top.  You will want to match up your front bodice and lining pieces.  Two should face to the left, and the other to the right. Pin your front bodice pieces with right sides together along the bottom edge, and the upper curved edge.  Use a 3/8" seam allowance, and stitch along the pinned edges (no image).  The shoulder side, tail end, and just under the arm should be left open. Once the upper and lower seams are sewn, you can turn the bodice pieces right sides out, so that the sewn seams are encased in the dress pieces.

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With front bodice pieces turned right side out, pin the exterior and lining layers together along the shoulder and side edges.  Stay stitch using 1/4" seam allowances.

Begin by adhering your fusible interfacing to the wrong side of your facing.  Follow manufacturers directions for this step.  Next, if you have a serger, you can serge the outside edge of the facing, just to keep things tidy.  Next, pin the right side of your facing to the right side of your back bodice piece.  Pin along the upper curve (neckline). Using a 1/4" seam allowance.  

Clip along the curved edge of the facing/interfacing seam. Turn the facing so that the interfacing is now facing the wrong side of the back bodice piece.  Press the seam flat.  Secure pieces together with pins, and stitch 1/8" away from raw edge of facing, and the top edge of the neckline. If you look closely at the bottom left photo, you can see the stitching lines along the lower edge of the facing, visible on the right side of the back bodice piece.

Using a long gathering stitch, stitch along the top edge of the front bodice pieces 1/4" away from the raw edge.  Do NOT backstitch to begin/end stitching. Leave thread ends long for gathering.  Pull on the bobbin (underside) thread, to gather the shoulder seam of the bodice.  Using the back bodice piece as a guide, gather the front bodice piece enough that the front and back bodice pieces  are equal width. I like to secure my gathers by tying simple knots on both ends of my stitching.

  Pin the front bodice pieces to the back bodice piece, matching up shoulder seam edges, with right sides together.  Use a 3/8" seam allowance to stitch the shoulder seams together, this should encase all gathering stitching. Press the seam allowance toward the back, and topstitch 1/8" away from shoulder seam, back bodice side of seam (see lower right image).

With shoulder seams secured, we are now going to hem the back bodice piece.  This is a very small hem.  If you have an overcast serger you will want to serge the raw edge of the back bodice piece.  Turn the raw edge of the back bodice piece up 1/4" toward the wrong side of the fabric (at this point you will want to compare your front bodice pieces with your back bodice piece.  Make sure that you press up your back bodice piece hem, so that your bodice pieces match up at the bottom, adjust the 1/4" hem allowance as necessary.  Press hem.  Pin hem allowance, with pins on right side of fabric.  Stitch hem down, catching in both layers of fabric.

Now it's time to try on your bodice piece. Stand in front of a mirror,   and have pins handy. Slip your arms through the arm holes, and wrap the two front bodice pieces around your body.  We want a snug fit here, meet the two tail ends of the front bodice pieces at the center of your back.  Pin the tails together, indicating where you want your tails to meet. Carefully slip the bodice off over your head, watching for those sneaky pins.

Stitch the tail ends together on the underside of the bodice.  When the jacket is wrapped around the body, the tails become a bit twisted, this is how it's supposed to be. Trim any excess material from your tails.  Serge raw edges. or press them outwards and stitch down.

Now it's time to make some darts.  You should have transferred the dart markings to the wrong side of your fabric.  If you did, you can match up the two dart markings at the bottom of the hem, fold the fabric so that the wrong side of the bodice fabric is facing out, and you the right side of the fabric is folded onto itself.  Pin the dart in place. If you've sewn a dart before then this should make sense.  If you are new to darts then I apologize, but here is a really helpful video tutorial.  This was one step that was unexpected, and under documented. The upper right photo shows what the finished dart looks like.

 Carefully slip the bodice back on, and see if you need to adjust the darts (careful not to prick yourself).  You will want to jacket to lie flat on your back, rather than stick out away from your body.  Use the dart markings as a guide, and adjust as necessary. If the jacket is too loose, you will want to increase the amount of fabric included in your dart.  If the jacket is too tight, take a bit out.  When you are confident in the fit of the jacket with the darts, you will want to stitch them, once again, this video is an excellent resource.  Start at the bottom hem of the jacket, and stitch from the hem to the point at the end of the dart.  Leave threads long, and do not backstitch.  Tie a knot at the end of the dart with the long threads (lower left image).  Press the darts toward the center of the bodice. Tack the darts down by stitching along the hem line, where the dart fabric lies. 

Here's a look at the darts on the outside of my jacket piece.

Time to sew the sleeves.  Begin by turning up the hem of both sleeves. A 3/4" hem allowance is included. Press the hem.  Pin the hem in place (on the outside of the sleeve).  Stitch the hem, by sewing 5/8" from the bottom of the hem on the outside of the sleeve.  

We are now going to create the sleeve by meeting up the sides of the sleeve with right sides together (lower left).  Stitch with a 3/8" seam allowance.  Serge the seam or press it open. Turn sleeves right sides out.

Now we're going to set in the sleeves.  Turn the bodice piece inside out. With the sleeves right side out, insert the sleeves into the arm opening.

Meet up the seam of the sleeve with the side seam of the bodice pieces. Pin in place. Pin the rest of the sleeve in place, distributing material evenly.  Stitch around the sleeve using a 3/8" seam allowance (not shown).  Repeat with remaining sleeve.

Here's a look at what the bodice piece looks like when laid out and finished.  When you go to put it on, simply adjust the pieces in the front so that they are lapped, and so that the strap is centered in the back. Slip on over head.

The skirt is fairly simple.  Start with the two smaller rectangles.  Place them right sides together, and pin along the edges. The stretch of the fabric should run across the body. Sew the side seams, and press the seam open.  Next fold the band in half, encasing the side seams. Try on the tube around your chest, make sure that it will stay in place on its own.  Adjust if necessary. Stay stitch the two layers of the band together 1/4" from the raw edges.

For the skirt, place the two large rectangles with right sides together.  Pin along sides.  Stitch side seams with 3/8" seam allowance.  Finish seam by serging or pressing seam open.

Use a long gathering stitch, and sew along both panels of the skirt, 1/4" from the raw edges.  Pull the bobbin thread and gather the skirt.  With the skirt right side out, pin the skirt to the band, matching up raw edges (bottom left).  The band should be on the outside of the skirt, with the fold facing down toward the hem of the skirt.  Use a 3/8" seam allowance to stitch the band and the skirt together.  Finish raw edges, and press seam down.  You can now hem the skirt to your liking (not pictured).

That's it.  All done.  Let me know if you have questions.  I know that there are a few gaps in the photos.  This is probably an intermediate level project, but if you need to practice your gathering stitches or darts, this is a good time to do it.

Coral Satin Dress

My Sister In Law is getting married in the coming weeks.  I am thrilled for her.  She is a doll, and found a really great guy.

With the wedding right around the corner, we are tying up loose ends when it comes to wedding attire. I finished some bow ties for the little boys, and just made this dress for my 20 month old niece.  It is a coral satin, and is a really simple style.  There are just four pieces to sew together (aside from facings and linings).

My Sister In Law and I made the patter ourselves.  It isn't perfect, but it fits pretty darn well.  I just wish that I'd made the sleeves a teensy bit shorter.

The top front of the dress has nine pintucks, should have been ten, but what's done is done.  Nine would have been fine if the pintucks were smaller, and not pressed to the sides.  Oh well, there is an uneven, and unbalanced number of pintucks, hopefully she won't notice.

We added some sew on rhinestones at the top of the pintucks, and also in the center of the flowers on the hem.  We added a slightly lighter satin ribbon sash.  It brings in the dress just a bit, and adds a nice subtle contrast detail.

I know that I've pretty much abandoned the blog.  I made a conscious decision to step away from the blog during the month of December.  I wanted to make sure that I spent plenty of time with my boys. We've had a very happy holidays, and hope that you have also.

Merry (late) Christmas!  By the way, I took down all of my Christmas decorations today.  I get so tired of the clutter, even though I love the season.  Anyone else?

Pretty Dresses & A Promo Code, What Every Girl Needs

It's been a busy year for us when it comes to weddings.  My brother was married last month, this coming Friday my Sister  In Law is getting married, and then mid-November, my husband's baby sister will be getting married.  With each wedding comes the stress of having to find a dress.  In our families, we usually try to dress in the wedding colors.  Finding the right dress, in the right colors, that is wedding appropriate can be a difficult task. Thankfully, no matter the color scheme, I've found modest, and beautiful dress options at Shabby Apple.

Golden Afternoon Dress

 The wedding in November is shades of pink with light green accents.  The Golden Afternoon and Love Me Do dresses would both be lovely.

Love Me Do

Sierra Nevada

In July jewel tones were what we were looking for.  The lovely Sierra Nevada, or Tea Time Dress would have been perfect.

Tea Time Dress

Rodeo Drive

This upcoming week, the bride to be has chosen grey and hot pink.  I love the clean lines of the Rodeo Drive dress, and the simple and feminine Look of love dress.  Both great options.

Look of Love Dress

I think that every girl deserves to feel comfortable and beautiful in a lovely dress.  From now until 9/14/2012, you can save 10% off your Shabby Apple order, by using code favorite10 at check out.

Tutorial With Pattern: Chevron Pintucked Sundress

I've been in a bit of a creative funk lately.  I just haven't had the energy or much of a desire to sew, partly due to a project that was more trouble than it ever should have been.

When I get in a rut like that, the best thing to do is make something that isn't on my to-do list at all.  Something that doesn't have a deadline, and is just for me.  Since I don't have any girls of my own, dresses are especially fun to make, and this little pin-tucked sundress has recharged my lil' sewing battery.

If you missed my pintuck tutorial earlier this week, and you're not familiar with the technique, you'll want to check it out before getting started.

Materials:

1 package Double Fold Bias Tape-any width will work

3/4 yard main fabric

10 inches of secondary fabric (for underskirt) 

Chevron Sundress Printable Pattern

Knit Wrap Dress

Update: I've posted a tutorial for this dress here: Two Piece Knit Dress

It seems like you always want what you can't have.  When I was pregnant with Miles all I wanted to wear were high waisted skirts, and that just wasn't happening.  Now that I have my waist back, it seems that all I want to wear are dresses.  Most people can wear dresses, but when you are a nursing mother, they can be problematic.

I fell in love with this Tibi Wrap dress.  The original has a zipper in the back, and is fairly fitted, but doesn't it look comfy?

I decided to attempt to make the dress myself.  I didn't want to sew in a zipper, and I wanted to make sure that I would still be able to nurse while wearing it.  To work around the zipper, I decided to make the dress two pieces.  The skirt is a tube dress, and the wrap is essentially a jacket.  I shortened the sleeves, and left off the built in belt.

It actually works out quite nicely when nursing.  I can pull the tube layer down, and the wrap up-  Easy access.  I'd like to take in both the skirt and the tube portion of the dress, there is just a bit too much fabric there. I wish that I were better about mending and altering, I simply hate spending time on projects that I feel should be complete.

  When I wore the dress to church, a lady that I serve with asked me if I'd worn the dress while pregnant.  I didn't, but I most certainly could have.  It is super comfortable. I didn't wear a belt with the dress during the photo shoot, but the great thing about this dress is that you can wear a belt, and it would never have to be removed to feed your babe.

Thanks for reading, and for all of your kind words in the past few posts.  I love hearing from you.

The -Not So Little- Black Dress

It might shock you that I'm back with a project, but I am.  I recently attended my brother's wedding, and had to have something to wear.  I had a horrible time finding an appropriate maternity dress in the store, and I didn't have anything in my closet that seemed appropriate either.

The great thing about this dress is that I used only material that I had on hand.  I had a scrap piece of black interlock knit that was too small for a full sized top, and several yards of semi-sheer fabric that made up the bottom.  The skirt of the dress is lined with a teal piece of material that my mom has had in her stash for years.  

 The wedding was in South Carolina, and I was terrified that I was going to melt in a black dress, so I opted to give it cap sleeves.  I wanted to dress up the neckline, so I added some pin tuck details that you'll recognize from the sunburst top.  I also used some stretch elastic trim to finish off the sleeves and the neckline.  The elastic trim was a first for me, and I really liked working with it.  I'm quite pleased with how the dress turned out.

It's hard to tell in the photos, but under the belt that I'm wearing is a band of stretch lace.  I wanted to cover up the awkward seam of the skirt and the bodice.  You might recognize the belt from this post.

I'm quite pleased with the way that the dress turned out, and I'll probably have to wear it to church every Sunday until I deliver this baby.  I received so many comments the day that I wore this to the wedding, about how I must be due any day.  When these photos were taken I still had 11 weeks left, yep I'm round, and bound to get even rounder.

Thanks for reading.  Happy sewing.

Shirr Thing For Spring: Mini Series Day 1 : Shirring Basics and The Sun Dress

Do you ever learn a new sewing technique, and then wonder what in the world you can do with it?  I do, and I thought that it might be fun to do a mini series of sorts, applying one sewing technique to five different projects.  Shirring is a technique that I first attempted at the end of last summer.  It is a simple technique that can be applied in a number of different ways to create a number of simple projects. It involves sewing with elastic thread in your bobbin, and standard machine thread in your needle.  The elastic thread in the bobbin pulls the fabric creating a nice gathered, or smocked, look.  The more rows of shirring that you sew, the more gathered it becomes.

If you haven't ever heard of shirring, or have been afraid to attempt it you may want to reference the following links and videos.  If you have a basic understanding of it, and are interested in creating a simple sundress like the one featured, you can read my basic instructions for the dress below.

Shirring Basics 

Now there are several shirring tutorials available online, and that is how I first learned to shirr.  Rather than repeating all of the same information, I thought I'd refer you to  my favorite shirring resources for instruction.


Kathlene from Grosgrain, has several video tutorials that are extremely helpful.  She offers helpful tips on getting the elastic bobbin thread to scrunch up, and on adjusting the tension on a Brother sewing machine.   You can find her basic shirring video tutorial here, and her Brother machine shirring video  here. 


Disney, of Ruffles and Stuff, also provides a great photo tutorial on how to shirr.  You can find her technique tutorial here.

The Ruffle Strapped Sundress

When I was a little girl I had a little yellow sundress that I would have loved to wear year round.  It was shirred at the top, and always fit my thin frame perfectly.  Shirring is a great way to create a basic dress that can fit a number of different body types.  I recently made this shirred dress for my 5 year old niece.  She is extremely petite, and I knew that making a shirred dress was probably my best bet on getting a good fit, without access to her measurements.

To create the dress you will need to know two basic measurements, the width around the child's chest (though this doesn't have to be exact....thank you shirring), and the desired length of the dress.

I couldn't just take my nieces measurements, so I measured Clark, who is three years younger than her, but he happens to outweigh her by about three pounds. I figured that the discrepancy in size couldn't be too great.  Once I had a rough idea of the circumference of the chest, and an idea of the length of the dress (this should be determined by measuring just below the arm pit to the desired length, whether it be to the floor, mid calf, or to the knee).  

The basic dress is created by cutting out two rectangles that are sewn together at the side seams, with a narrow rolled hem at the top, and a  narrow hem at the bottom.  Knowing this, you can determine the exact size that your rectangles need to be.  Each piece (front and back) should be the width of the chest measurement (plus seam allowance times two), and the length of your dress measurement (plus about 1-1/2" for narrowed rolled hem, and hem).

You will cut out your two rectangles.  Sew them together at the sides and finish off raw edges.  You should have a basic tube that is 2x the circumference of the chest, the shirring will gather in the top for a proper fit.  Once your side seams are sewn, create a narrow rolled hem at the top of the dress by either using a narrow rolled hem presser foot, or by turning the fabric under 1/4" two times, pressing, and stitching down. For the bottom hem I finished off the raw edge, turned it in 1/4", stitched down, and then applied a pom pom trim around the base (the second row of stitching).

Now that your dress is hemmed and trimmed, you will want to begin shirring.  I began shirring about 1/4" from my narrow rolled hem stitching line.  You will want to make sure that you lock in your stitches when you start and stop stitching.  My shirred lines are about 1/2" apart, or the width of my presser foot. I sewed about 13 rows of shirring.  For this style of sundress, you will want to sew enough to reach  the bottom of the sternum.

I wanted to create a strap with a bit of width to it, so I decided to make a little ruffle strap.  To create the straps I cut two long pieces that were four times the desired width, and long enough to reach from the top of the sundress, over the shoulder, and to the back, plus about one inch length for attachment. I pressed the strips of fabric in half, and then folded the raw edges in toward the original pressed crease.  This creates a strap with encased raw edges.

Next create your ruffles.  You are going to want to cut your ruffles four and a half inches wide, and twice as long as your straps.  Fold your ruffle pieces in half and press.  Using a long gathering stitch, gather your ruffles along the raw edges.  Leave threads long, and adjust the ruffles to the length of the straps. I next attached the trim the edge of the ruffles, with the trim facing away from the raw edges of the ruffles.  Sandwich your ruffles between the open edge of your straps.  Pin in place.  Stitch 1/8" away from the edge of the strap, catching in the edge of the ruffle.  Topstitch along the folded edge of the strap. Your straps are now created.

To attach them to the dress I recommend trying it on your model, and positioning them so that the straps sit right in the dip of the shoulder.  Pin the straps to the front of your dress.  Stitch in place.  Try dress on again, and adjust straps so that they fit well, and won't slip off the shoulders. Stitch the straps in place in the back.  Another option is to attach them to the front, and then create a button closure for the back of the dress.  This will give you more flexibility to adjust it for growth, you can add multiple button holes for size adjustment.

Now that your sundress is finished, you can tighten up your shirring by using a steam iron, and steaming (while not pressing, just hovering) above the shirred lines.  The elastic thread will tighten, and so will your fabric.

Next, accessorize.

I know that this mini series has the potential to become a bit monotonous, but I thought that it would be a fun way to develop my shirring technique.  If you get bored, just hang in there, I'll have something new soon.