Woke up deliciously late this morning to breakfast in bed prepared by my husband (with a gift certificate to a local yarn shop on the tray) and a beautiful card drawn by my daughter. I'm going to take the day off from Me Made May but I'm hoping to be back tomorrow with a brand new top to show off!
A lovely day to you all, mothers and not-mothers alike!
Z rocks her new frock.
Inspiration: This adorable apple-print baby corduroy was the only remotely Christmas-appropriate fabric in the stash--and I am sworn to ONLY sew from the stash. Baby girl loves apples--they make great projectiles!
The pattern: New Look 6016 separates, a toddler jumper, purse, knit top and leggings.
Photos:
Babies are easy to photograph--they just lie there! Toddlers, not so much.
The girl loves her accessories (whether they be sunglasses, or a toy tool belt).
Here's a yoga view, featuring Mommy and Daddy's feet.
"Hi Elmo--isn't my new dress super awesome?"
The all-important xylophone view.
Pattern Description:
Simple loose-fitting girl's yoked jumper with front and back pleats and two buttons. Cute and sweet!
Pattern Sizing:
Toddler sizing (1/2 to 4T). I made the 2T. It fits great on my 32" tall, 27 lb. 18-month-old toddler, with plenty of room for her cuddly tummy and some space to grow--maybe she can eventually even wear it as a tunic.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, but without all the rick-rack, zippers, bows, ribbons or rosettes. My version is also much longer, but that's a good thing--she'll grow into it.
Were the instructions easy to follow? Simple enough--it's a very basic pattern, but they were just standard pattern company instructions. Nothing special or fun.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
It's cute, it's sweet, it's simple, and it works well for a large-ish print fabric because there are no seams or gathers on the body. A good toddler basic.
Fabric Used: About a yard of apple-patterned baby corduroy from Jo-Ann's ($9). It was really thin and soft and easy to work with, though I had to make sure to use a one-way cutting layout. I didn't worry about crushing the pile while pressing. I also didn't worry about pattern matching at seams, though I did make sure that the apples were vaguely centered on the back and front.
The pink buttons are from M&J Trimming--I spent over an hour waffling between red and pink before going pink, and they're a bit larger than the pattern calls for for extra toddler sewing drama.
Construction notes:
Detail shot:
Successes:
Room for improvement?: Next time I'll draw the stitching lines for ALL the curved bits.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes and yes--I think this might become a good wardrobe basic for her in a variety of fabrics, though I don't think it's nearly as fun and stylish as the Oliver + S dress I made previously.
Conclusion: A sweet jumper for a sweet girl. What's not to like?
Bonus Christmas photos, pt. 1: Z has super awful allergies (as in: she had her first tiny bite of hummus at 10 months old and minutes later we had to call 911 and rush to the ER) to sesame, peanuts, cow's milk and eggs. So she had never in her life eaten a cookie until this Christmas, when we made vegan sugar cookies together. Shaped like apples, of course:
Bonus Christmas photos, pt. 2:
P.S. I didn't get to make a dress for myself but check out my $4 Christmas outfit--thrifted $2 top and sidewalk sale $2 skirt!
P.P.S. Ok, that's all. Happy Holidays, everyone!
I haven't sewn proper in months (years?!) but already I'm imagining tons of "next" projects. Next up: holiday sewing.
Chanukah toddler sewing: DONE!
Z still (barely) fits into this Simplicity 3765 dress, which I think should work just fine for Chanukah:
Christmas toddler sewing:
But for Christmas, I got nothing.
Since I'm only sewing from the stash, and I didn't have much fabric with even a vaguely red or green look to it, I went with this super cute apple-patterned baby cord from Joann's:
I looked through all my Ottobre Design magazines and went through fits of pattern-choice agony. I even briefly considered making overalls instead of a dress, just because I already had a pattern. Then I decided that sewing only from my pattern stash when I didn't own any toddler patterns made no sense.
So I went ahead and bought a download version of New Look 6016. It's a simple yoked and pleated jumper without too many seams, just perfect for my boldly patterned corduroy (and a nice shape to fit over Z's cute toddler belly.) And it comes with a top and leggings pattern, too.
I'm going to keep it simple--no trim or bows or pockets. Maybe I'll even make a red and white polka dot knit top to go under it--I have some nice rayon-lycra knit in my stash.
After I made my decision, I came across this adorable RTW Mini Boden dress online, which I've decided is my retrospective inspiration. Z was very excited by this photo and kept exclaiming "Apple! Apple!":
I've already downloaded it, taped it together and cut it out. I'm finding this so exciting! Actually sewing once again!
Sun Dress Update:
And before any of you wonder why I'm cutting out future dresses without displaying completed photos of previous dresses, never fear.
The Oliver + S Tea Party sun dress and bloomers set I mentioned in my previous post is well underway--I attached the dress bodice tonight and I just need to hem it and do the whole buttonhole/buttons thing (I've never made a buttonhole EVER, so I think I'll practice first on scraps).
I took Ms. Z to M+J Trimming with me today to buy the buttons for both dresses, though we had to fight our way through gangs of shoppers and roving Santa-costume-clad drunken bar-crawling dancing people (whatever possessed me to get near Macy's that close to Christmas?). Here are the sun dress ones--they have a lovely white floral detail that echoes the fabric:
So that's that. I have a vague tickling inclination in my head to make that green and white wrap dress I blogged about EONS ago for myself... I already have the pattern and fabric. But I'm TRYING to take things one project at a time.
What are you sewing for the holidays?
Miss Z and I rocked red and white polka dots, naturally.
"Da-Da" decked the curtain rod...
... and stoked the YouTube fire.
There was a pathetic little tree...
And homemade cookies for Santa.
Miss Z unstuffed her stocking...
Got a baby doll from her Grandmommy...
Sat (sort of) still for a family portrait....
And enjoyed her first Brooklyn blizzard (or snow, really).
And a well-deserved nap.
If you celebrate, hope you had a good one!
When we finally started getting serious winter weather this year, Z needed an industrial-strength warm hat--one with earflaps and a chin strap. She'd already outgrown the wool hat I knit for her, so my mom bought the below cute RTW purple polar fleece hat with a velcro strap (shown below with her Zadie)...
... and copied it in about five minutes, first in green (shown with some simple no-thumb baby mittens I knit for her)...
... and then in Santa-style colors, with an elongated crown (shown with an kimono-style top my mother sewed, think it's McCall's M4280 but don't quote me on that)...
And when a friend of mine who wasn't expecting her baby girl until New Year's Eve had her little cutie just in time for this Christmas, my mom made a newborn-sized version with a matching red diaper. Which I forgot to photograph before mailing to said friend. But I hope it fits!
It looks a lot cuter without the name blurred out, trust me!
My first project on my new sewing setup? Baby Z's first Christmas stocking. With appliquéd polka dots, naturally.
It's just an IKEA stocking plus the white fringe from a polar fleece IKEA blanket (the rest of the blanket was sacrificed to make cloth diaper wadding) and some felt appliqués (attached with a simple white zig zag stitch). I probably should just have sewn it from scratch instead of using the IKEA base--I was out of practice and trying to maneuver a completed stocking around my machine's free arm resulted in some pulled areas.
I'm working on an item or two to go in the stocking, but I have some purchased toys at the ready in case I don't finish.
Don't worry, she got some Chanukah sewing love too--here she is at her first candle lighting with her first Chanukah gift:
It's a cloth book my mom made her full of photos of her and me and Masheka sewn in with some green polar fleece scraps (that dragonfly on the cover was taken from an IKEA mobile.) She loves it, and flips through it repeatedly at dinner each night before dropping it on the floor.
Miss Z spins a mean dreidel, too:
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