Aztec Floral Zsálya Top- Pattern Parcel #6

Another Pattern Parcel is here!! This bundle of PDF patterns from indie designers, available for two weeks, is all women's patterns and all fabulous! As always, you can choose your price when you purchase, and all profits are donated to the charity Donors Choose, which provides supplies for classrooms in need.

The patterns included in Parcel #6 are:
Bronte Top by Jennifer Lauren
Hudson Pant by True Bias
Julia Cardigan by Mouse House Creations
Syrah Skirt by Lauren Dahl/Selvage Designs
Zsálya Top and Dress by Kate and Rose

aaaand a bonus pattern, if you choose a price of $32 or greater, the Odette Dress by Bluegingerdoll!
It's a star lineup of patterns, folks! Some I've been pining after for a while, some are completely new to me, but I can see myself wearing every one of them.



I chose to sew the Zsálya top first. This is a risky move for me, I have to admit. I have a pretty petite/narrow frame, so while I love the look of loose and drapey tops they rarely look good on me. My shoulders are narrow and generally can't balance out a voluminous top. I decided to sew it anyway and hope for the best because I love that crossover front detail so much. It reminds me of a grown up Fawn Lily pattern, which I've been eyeing for my girls.

Totally works, right?! I love to layer in fall, especially since our weather is pretty temperate. I can start the day with a cardigan over the top and take it off when things warm up in the afternoon.

Fashion Revolution- a guide to a more ethical wardrobe on a budget

My Photo for the #insideout and #handmadeinsideout 

                               

Today is Fashion Revolution Day- a day to remember the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh just one year ago, and a day to ask the question, "Who made my clothes?" A day to bring awareness to sustainable fashion and make us all think a bit about where our clothes come from, and who makes them, and how they are made. Because it matters. And if you don't know why yet, watch this five minute op-doc about the Rana Plaza collapse. It's good. Really good. 

I've had sustainable fashion on my mind for a bit now, ever since I came across this article- 6 Things You Should Know About Your Clothes- in my facebook feed. (You should really read it, and the follow up post, 4 Things You Should Remember Every Time You Shop for Clothes). Here's the thing- I've always been a seeker of bargains. I pride myself on finding a good deal, but this article made me rethink the cost of those "deals.'  I'd started to see the light on quality over quantity (as a twenty something who naturally wants ALL THE THINGS this is a slow going change) but I'm more committed to that change every day, as I'm learning about the options I have as a consumer. I'm on a tight budget, which means I can't afford to buy all organic cotton, sustainably sourced, ethically made clothes for myself and my family. I'm using this fantastic and lovely graphic by Sarah Lazarovic, along with the ideas in the articles linked above, as my guide to navigating a more ethical wardrobe, on a budget.

source: http://longliveirony.com/?p=575 by Sarah Lazarovic

Kids Clothes Week Spring 2014- Days 3-7

As always, I lost some steam at the end of Kids Clothes Week. I put in the time, for sure, but my projects just didn't go as smoothly. Does anyone else have that happen- great momentum in the beginning of projects and then.... ya know? Anyway, I finished up my last two garments yesterday, so here is what I spent the last part of Kids Clothes Week working on:

The bloomers are made using the Hosh Pants pattern-and hey! Perfect Pattern Parcel #2 is still available until Friday, and the Hosh pattern is included!

Kids Clothes Week Spring 2014- Day 2 & 3 (and a half!)

I've done fairly well keeping up with a bit of sewing each day, and I've even managed to get outside with my kids and make dinner. Let's not talk about the state of the laundry, though.

I have a goal this KCW of using stuff I have- refashioning, upcycling, or using fabric from my (small) stash- rather than buying new fabric. It is time to clear some things out and make these piles of junk into something useful! So, for day 2, I refashioned (or upcyled... I really should find out the difference) this shirt I picked up at the thrift store a while back. If you haven't seen a rhyme or reason to my thrifting yet, I'll let you in on a secret. It's all about the fabric. If I'm looking for something for me then yes, I'm looking at fit and lines and all that stuff, but if I find something with a fabric I just love I know I can usually make it into something cool. Which is exactly why I bought this shirt that I knew I'd never wear- at least not in its current state.

It had a deep scoop back that meant there wasn't enough fabric to make it a little dress, so I finally decided to lop off the bottom as is and gather it into a skirt. It was basically the easiest thing I've made in a while. I used some fabric from the top to make a flat front/elastic back waistband, gathered the bottom portion and sewed it on. Easy as pie and my little lady is in love.

Kids Clothes Week Spring 2014- Day 1

And all of the sudden I'm back! Posting for Perfect Pattern Parcel earlier today (and again tomorrow) and now Kids Clothes Week is upon us and I'm hoping to stay somewhat up to date with my projects this week. Yesterday was day 1, and since I'd done a bit of prep work by cutting a couple projects out, I managed to finish one of them.

This peplum top was made using the Pippa Peplum pattern from See Kate Sew. I used this pattern to sew a couple dresses for someone recently but this was my first time sewing up a Pippa for one of my girls. Charly gasped when she saw it this morning and immediately declared it was her Snow White dress. I have no idea why she's calling it that, but I couldn't have asked for a better reaction!

I made it using this shirt that I bought for myself at the thrift store a couple of years ago. I have no idea why I bought it. I don't usually wear those colors or that silhouette, which is why its been sitting in my dresser nearly the entire time I've owned it. Lucky for me neon is in and this bad boy was just big enough to cut a top for Charly out of. I was able to cut the bodice and sleeves out of just the fabric from the sleeves of the original shirt!

I used the bottom of the shirt as the skirt portion of the top by measuring the height of the peplum pattern piece and cutting that much off the bottom of the shirt, following the curve. Because of that the bottom has a bit more fullness than the original pattern but it saved me the pain of hemming. Hooray!

Caroline's Blessing Dress

I recently happened upon these pictures of Caroline on her blessing day (similar to a christening) and realized I had never posted about her dress. I made it! I made Charly's (and the pictures of her wearing it are here) so I figured it would be a sweet little thing for each child to have their own handmade by me. Of course, in the three years since Charly's blessing day my tastes have changed some and my skills have improved, so they look very different from each other. It's kind of fun for me to see the difference in difficulty and style after so short a time, not to mention seeing how much this little lady has grown- her blessing was nearly seven months ago!

 I made this dress using Made By Rae's Geranium Dress pattern. It's one I know and love- and bonus, the newborn size is available as a free download! I Used the newborn bodice from the download, drafted a flutter sleeve based on the one from the paid pattern (since the free one is sleeveless) and altered the skirt portion to be pleated instead of gathered. Oh, and did I mention it was a refashion? Yep, I made it from this shirt a friend passed on to me. The cut didn't look very good on me but the fabric was too too perfect for the occasion. So ethereal!

 It's hard to see in most pictures, but I kept the original hem because I loved that pleat detail. And it saved me the pain of hemming such slippery fabric! This is the best picture showing the entire dress.

Of course, that was before I did the embroidery. I did a self- drafted design (ok, I was winging it) of french knots in a sort of starburst coming from the neckline. In gold embroidery floss, which I previously didn't know existed but I absolutely love the look of. I used it on this dress too. If you are so inspired to use it, be warned; it is tricky. But worth it, I think. Also worth mentioning: embroidering a traced-but-not-cut pattern piece would be infinitely easier than embroidering a sewn garment. Just sayin.

I've been anti baby bonnet in the past, but the Storybook Woods Bonnet changed my mind. I love the look of this little cap. I think it is simple enough to be masculine for a boy and easy to doll up for a girl. I loved it enough to make a winter version, even. This one is made from the same lightweight cotton I used for the lining of the dress. I added a simple flower with more gold french knots, and just the tiniest bit of pink for the flower center.

Naturally, I was finishing the buttonholes just hours before her blessing was to take place. I just hate buttonholes so so much. Anyone with me? They shouldn't be that difficult but for some reason they are. I seam ripped right through the stitching, making a tear in the fabric that I could only sort of fix. You know how the Amish intentionally make quilts with imperfections? Something about acknowledging their imperfection before God... does anyone know what I'm talking about? Anyway, we'll say that's why it's there. Keep me humble, haha.

For the sake of documentation, here is our little family of four on Caroline's blessing day (which was July 28, 2013- also for the sake of documentation). It is mind blowing to see these little people change and grow.

We sure love this sweet little lady! She's bigger and crazier but just as sweet today.

Thanks for reading!

Green and Gold (AKA The Tiana Dress)

I sewed this dress up over the summer, took pictures in the fall, and now here we are in December and I'm blogging about it. Better late than never?

This is another Geranium dress I whipped up (and yes, that is the right term- it sews up so fast!) but this time I added some embroidery. I was inspired by this picture (uploaded to Pinterest, so I don't know the original source- sorry!) of sashiko- Japanese embroidery- and decided to try my hand at some simple line embroidery.  Charly is my little princess lover, so anything I make is automatically beloved if I can link it to a princess. Green dress= Tiana dress. Logical. I'm just grateful she has a good imagination and doesn't require it to look exactly like the dress from the movie. You'd better believe she runs and sings (screams) songs from The Princess and the Frog every time she wears it. My favorite is "tuh-RIALS and trib-uh-lay-shuns, yuh know I, had my SHAAA-are!"

Gold shoes are a must. One advantage to living in such an ethnically diverse area as DC is that gems like these are readily available, even at a thrift store!

KCW Day 4: Cashmere Winter Bonnet

Plugging right along today, I finished up the bonnets I had in the works this afternoon when my kids should have been napping. Just in time to sneak in a quick photo shoot with my gals. Charly played the part of the unwilling assistant by being bribed with the return of toys that had been banished for being left out. It was frigid out today (finally! some fall weather!) so we kept it short and hoped for some good pictures. And surprise- they were great! Lucky day!

These bonnets (I made two- one to donate to the non-profit I used to work for to auction at their upcoming fundraiser and one for little blue eyes over here) were made using the Storybook Woods Bonnet pattern. I used it once before when I made Caroline's blessing dress, which I realize now I never posted about. Hmm. I'll put that on the list. Anyway, I've never been much of a bonnet person, but I got the hankering for one of this style when I made her blessing dress and I love that it looks a little vintage, or maybe Scandinavian... I don't know.

Color Blocked Maggie Mae Dress

I bought the Maggie Mae dress/tunic pattern a long time ago and am kicking myself for not making it sooner. I love the lines of this little dress! It lends itself well to color blocking because of the piecing on the bodice.

Charly had been asking for a Belle dress for a while (she is completely, one hundred percent, princess obsessed) so I obliged by upcycling/refashioning this yellow thrifted shirt (along with part of an old sheet for the white) into the cute little number above.

I lengthened the dress since my gal seems to grow only up and never out, so hopefully we'll get some good wear out of it. I also reused the original buttons- which makes this dress cost next to nothing!

The pattern was fairly easy to follow, although there were some techniques I chose to do differently because I liked the finish better. I'm not one for cutting corners in my sewing- I'm just too much of a perfectionist for it to not bother me down the line, so if I know a nicer way to finish an edge or detail I usually do. I wish I would have added a lining for the skirt portion, since my fabric is slightly sheer. I have her wear white stretchy shorts underneath instead.

I wouldn't say this is a beginner pattern- probably more like intermediate. My fabric was slippery which meant I had to take my time, so I'm sure it would come together quicker in a cotton. All in all I'm happy with the finished product, aside from the spot on the FRONT (ack!) that I melted with the iron on the final pressing. Yes, just as I was finishing, I melted the dress. The worst. It isn't too noticeable since it caused the fabric to wrinkle rather than change color, so I'm planning to never point it out to her and hope she loves this dress for a long time.