Baby Girl Clothes Inspiration (Small Human Being Sew-Along)

The most important thing to remember if you're joining us for the Small Human Being Sew-Along in April is: take it easy on yourself. We have deliberately set the bar low, low, low so even new parents or tired pregnant ladies can participate — all you have to do at minimum is sew an item (clothing, toys, accessories, whatever) for a baby or new parent.

If all you have is 15 minutes, well — go grab an old knit top or T-shirt, cut it up, and make a baby hat with this free pattern or with a cereal bowl.

Don't know any hat-wearing babies? Make a bib. DONE. YOU HAVE WON THE SMALL HUMAN BEING SEW-ALONG. (By the way, please do check out our #SHBsewalong Pinterest board for sewing inspiration and links to cool patterns and tutorials, free and otherwise).

Baby girl style inspiration

OK then. As the only sew-along host with a little girl (even if she is almost 5), it fell to me to provide a little baby girl sewing inspiration. Sewing for baby girls is pretty awesome. You can put a baby girl in almost any pattern or fabric you can use for boy clothes. You can keep it gender neutral, go for subversive with more traditionally boy styles OR you can sweeten things up with little dresses, ruffles, flutters and whatnot.

Anyway. At top—a fun fabrics collage. I have so little time to sew kid's clothes that I like to try to make really special garments when I do, and not just everyday basics. Gorgeous kids clothes are often distinguished by their fabrics — soft cottons in funky patterns, fancy cashmere, fine french terry, loud wax prints. Go for it! For example, here is my daughter as a baby in a hoodie I made from custom fabric with my husband's cartoons on it:

And here's my baby boy today in a cashmere Kwik Sew hoodie I sewed for him from a thrifted sweater:

Another good example: these wax-print baby and big girl outfits made from a mashup of free Made by Rae and Oliver + S patterns.

Appliqué and embroidery can elevate a simple garment to something amazing. Put a bird on it, put a cat on it, put a banana on it, put a robot on it, put a dinosaur on it, put a Time And Relative Dimension In Space on it. Whatever! Here is a pair of Ottobre "Pupu" overalls I made for my daughter with an appliquéd cat:

Stripes, colorblocking, contrast color bands — always the right answer. Combine them with appliqué or freezer paper stencils for extra baby clothes sewing excitement.

Here's a little color-blocked Ottobre outfit I made for my daughter as a baby, cut from clothes of my mom's that were headed to the Goodwill:

And here's a little outfit I made for baby boy out of a striped maternity top:

Finally, some things that are a bit sweeter and more ruffly or delicate.

Baby girl sewing pattern inspiration

The big pattern companies have a variety of fun baby patterns (I've made a few Simplicity and Kwik Sew patterns with excellent results) but don't forget to look at the independents too. So Zo had a great roundup of these recently (see part one and part two), with a particular focus on girl patterns. I was already a big fan of Ottobre Design, Oliver + S and Made by Rae, but Brindille and Twig and some of the others were new to me and very exciting.

I'm also a fan of baby sewing books — my personal favorite is the versatile Kwik Sew's Sewing for Baby but there are plenty of others out there too by Amy Butler, Oliver + S, Lotta Jansdotter and more.

And of course the Internet is overflowing with free digital patterns of varying quality — do check out our Pinterest board for free patterns for onesies, hats, sleep sacks, rompers, sunsuits, hoodies and more by a variety of talented designers and bloggers.

So if you're joining us for the sew-along, what are you hoping to make? Are you going for quick & simple or elaborate and embellished? (Feel free to discuss this in our little Flickr group too—we're starting to share fabric and pattern ideas already).

Lego Dress Showdown: Which Block-Inspired Dress to Make for My Daughter's 4th Birthday Party?

Help me out, sewing friends—if you had a daughter, and that daughter was obsessed with LEGOs, and you wanted to make her an amazing birthday dress for her LEGO-themed birthday party that was inspired by LEGOs but not LITERALLY a LEGO dress (i.e. not "licensed product" looking) and that she could still wear later... which would you make?

I am still undecided, but I have two favorites. I'm hoping to create the Legodots with fabric paint and a hand-carved stamp to make them look more organic. The girls or block cityscapes would be appliqué and embroidery. I considered making fabric on Spoonflower but wanted to do something more handmade here.

The patterns shown are:

• The Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress: made and blogged and still worn constantly... but I'd have to grade up because she is outgrowing the largest size in the envelope I have.
• The free Oliver + S Popover Sundress sewing pattern.

I already picked up the yellow and blue fabric—if I went with a four-color option I'd have to purchase red and green. I'm thinking those four-color options are a little garish anyway? I generally avoid combining primary colors, but I felt like it wasn't going to evoke Legos without that bright blue and bright yellow.

Here were my original hand sketches with crappy highlighters when I first came up with the idea:

I'm thinking a matching block-themed headband and/or hair barrettes are also in order.

Which one would you make?

P.S. Part of me is very tempted to make myself a Lego-evoking dress as well using the Tilly and the Buttons Coco pattern as my blank canvas... but obviously the girl's dress is higher priority. I may just end up wearing some me-made Lego-esque jewelry or whatnot (like felt rectangles with six circles embroidered on them on a necklace).

Inspiration: Pretty, Pretty Peplums!

"Pretty Pretty Peplums" inspiration featuring a Modcloth striped dress and top and a Stop Staring dress

With the Cake Patterns Hummingbird Sew-Along humming along on day 2, it's time to cut my third Hummingbird top, and I was on the hunt for a little inspiration on what I might do differently this round. Man do I love a peplum...

You might guess I was leaning towards a dress version... maybe with stripes...

And I was. Until I remembered that my daughter's third birthday party is this weekend and I only have two actual sewing evenings before both my parents and my husband's mother and young cousin come to stay in our little apartment for several days...

So I think another top it is—probably View Blue, which has a deep wide neck, with a woven dickey and cuffs. (A little step towards making my first button-down shirt, but way less commitment!). Here's Steph's version for an example.

I'm doing mine in a nice chevron jersey from my recent trip to Mood:

And the dickey and cuffs in some scraps of sheerish black Swiss dot lawn from the Stash that Must Be Busted, left over from my self-drafted reversible shirred skirt:

I hope sheerness won't be an issue here... we shall see!

P.S. On another note, this just made my day. I have a bad case of laryngitis and have been very cranky about not being able to talk properly. I got home today and my husband had washed a recent fabric purchase (sorry, can't tell you what it's for! sssssssh!) and put it on my sewing cabinet with this little note:

So are you pro or anti-peplum?

Sketchbook: Knit Franken-dress Ideas

Not going to discuss the state of my sewing queue right now or all the things I WISH I had time to sew (Bonny and a Bombshell swimsuit and a Hummingbird flounce skirt and peplum dress and some Oliver + S for the little one and a top-secret project and my vintage patterns and... !).

But here are some ideas that have been bumping around my head and sketchbook for colorful Franken-patterned dresses I don't even have patterns for.

I love them both but am kinda leaning towards the second one (blue and green version) because color-blocking and flutter sleeves both rock my little sewing world.

Which one would you sew if you were me?

Glove Inspiration: Making My Knitting Life More Colorful (and Difficult!)

Source: ravelry.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Inspiration for my next knitting: maralenenok's "Worth Two in the Bush" colorwork gloves on Ravelry

At long last, I have finished knitting my chartreuse Georgina cardigan, and although I still have to sew in the ends, find some buttons and block the lovely soft thing, I'm super happy—it fits perfectly (that is, very snug and not all baggy and droopy like the last cardigan I made for myself) and is just soft as an organic merino wool cloud.

Which means I can look forward to my next project, something I've always wanted to tackle—gloves with real fingers! I know knitters love making mittens, but I am just not a mitten wearer. Fingerless mitts are also more popular and easier than gloves, and I've made two pairs... a Malabrigo "Fetching":

... which I wear all the time when my office is chilly, but which are not so useful outside in the actual freezing winter cold. And a pair of "Dashing" man mitts for my husband...

Source: ravelry.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

... which I'm afraid never actually get worn, since his home office is never actually cold.

But I want gloves. Real gloves. Difficult gloves with tricky little fingers. And COLORWORK, which I've never actually done. So I'm going to follow in the footsteps of all the enterprising Ravelers who have made gloved versions of Eunny Jang's lovely free colorwork pattern, the Endpaper Mitts:

Source: eunnyjang.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

This is not exactly a new plan, since I bought the yarn for this project back in 2008. It's Koigu Premium Merino in two of my favorite colors—chartreuse (naturally) and teal:

Hurrah for stash-busting?

By the way... It took me a good deal longer to finish the Georgina than the one and a half weeks suggested by the pattern, but who's counting? As I've probably mentioned a gazillion times, things have been quite rough over here for me and my little girl, healthwise. In January, we ended up taking little Z to an amazing two-week intensive hospital program for kids with severe eczema, asthma and food allergies at National Jewish Health in Denver. It was life-changing: little Z is no longer covered in horrible itchy rashes and she SLEEPS every night through the night from about 9:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. (No more crying and itching herself awake until 1 a.m. and needing to be held all night long).

But alas, a few blissful weeks of sleep have not alleviated my own health problems. I've now had EIGHT serious sinus infections in the last six months with fever, chills and aches, four of which required antibiotics and oral steroids. Basically, I get really, really sick, am bedridden for 2-4 days, slowly start to recover over the next three weeks... and then after maybe two or three days of feeling OK, I get sick again (There's nothing wrong with my immune system, either.). A CAT scan revealed a severely deviated septum and other anatomical issues, and I'm scheduled for sinus surgery in a little over a week. I'm really looking forward to it—to having energy, to not being snuffly and exhausted and feverish and in pain all the time... to having more fun with my little girl... and to sewing again, of course!

So, two questions. For the knitters:

• Have you ever knit gloves?
• What's your stand on gloves vs. mittens vs. fingerless mitts?
• Do you do colorwork?

And for all of you: do you ever get that urge to tackle a project that is going to be really tricky and make you swear a lot? And how does that work for you?

Sparkly Spandex Shopping Spree

I had a bit of a sparkle attack today in the Garment District while shopping for mother-daughter mermaid costume fabric. (For Saturday's 30th Anniversary Coney Island Mermaid Parade, and Z's upcoming mermaid-themed 2nd birthday party).

I didn't really have a firm idea for the costumes, only that the skirts should be scaly looking, and the tops should be more floaty/meshy/gauzy. So went to Spandex House and, was totally confused and overwhelmed by all the hologrammy sparkly sequiny spandex-ness of the place, and finally ended up with what you see above. The shell trims are from Pacific Trimming.

Anyone have any tips on sewing with really heavy-duty hologram spandex fabric? This stuff is THICK, and every time I stretch it, the sequiny sparkly bits crack! I'm guessing serging with wooly nylon will be the way to go here once I have the skirts basted together and fitted.

I think the skirts can just be elastic-waist tubes to the knee (or maybe a bit above for Z--I want her to be able to run around and have fun) with big gauzy/meshy flounces at the bottom. Kinda like the girl in the middle here with the pink top:

Source: coneyisland.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

For the tops, I'm not so sure--the other fabrics I got are really sheer, so maybe I'll have to do a two-layer thing or put tank tops underneath for bra coverage (for me) and sun protection (for Z). Shell bras are not my thing. Here's my illustration of Z as a mermaid:

Once again, I think I'm just going to wing it, pattern-free! At least for the skirt--I might use one of her knit summer shirts as a rough guide for the top.

So why mermaids? Z has been obsessed with the parade and mermaids ever since she went to a live reading by Melanie Hope Greenberg of her picture book Mermaids On Parade.

I swear I'll get back to sewing something actually wearable in real life at some point, but whatever. Costumes are fun!

P.S. A few of the mermaid inspiration images I collected on Pinterest:

Source: google.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Source: picture-book.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Source: kishaskids.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Source: wolfandwillowblog.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Source: mermaidsofcolor.tumblr.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

And randomly (for my costume idea, not Z's, of course): Bettie Page Mermaid...

Source: costumecraze.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Sea-Inspired Spring Separates + Sweet Sweet Piping

As promised, here's the finished sketch of some simple, sea-colored spring separates in blues and greens (and neutrals, too). Some of you already spotted the 3hourspast Bow Tie Tee Hack, and the ever-popular Jalie scarf collar top (for whose purchase I blame K-Line and Elizabeth). Also tentatively planned--Simplicity 3688 1940s trousers (as seen on Debi for OWOP) in a nubbly linen blend that barely survived my last stash purge, and a simple denim skirt--maybe in Simplicity 2058 (or Zoe's beloved Simplicity 2451).

These fabrics and patterns are a mix of stash and new--the most recent additions being the blue/green poly jerseys I bought while hunting for Mad Men Challenge dickey fabric, and the Jalie scarf collar pattern.

And I did indeed bake cupcakes this weekend--Cartoonist Husband and I threw a little Parks & Recreation "Treat. YO. Self."-inspired cupcake party. We made three varieties of dairy-, egg- & nut-free cupcakes (so our food-allergy-cursed toddler could have her first ever taste of cupcake):

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes w/ Piped Blue & Purple Buttercream (a little melty by this point)

Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes w/ Banana "Buttercream" Frosting

Vegan Cookies & "Cream" Cupcakes--the tastiest and most popular of the bunch (fun fact: Oreos contain no dairy or eggs, because they are NOT real food)

I'm not really a dessert or baking person, and I hadn't made cupcakes since I was a kid... but they turned out awesome and delicious. Z just loved the half cupcake we allowed her, and smeared the frosting all over her face and my dress. All the recipes were from the excellent Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.

It was the first party we'd had in our apartment since Z was born, and I'm proud to say the place is now clean enough that I may start varying my sewing photo backgrounds a bit more.

I also blocked Z's Tomten sweater and bought a separating zipper, but I'm still a bit daunted by the insertion/shortening process.

So, are you planning any simple, quick spring & summer separates... or are you working on more long-term fancy projects?

Inspiration: Sweet on Sweater Dresses

Sweet on Sweater Dresses by m1khaela featuring knit dresses

I need another sewing project in my queue like I need more fabric in my underwear drawer (which is where the stash has started to creep). But I can't stop thinking about simple comfy sweater dresses lately, and I have this lovely plum sweater knit (which I got for $12/yard from Fashion Fabrics Club but SUPPOSEDLY was originally $40/yard) just lying around taunting me...

After collecting these images, I started seeing sweater dresses everywhere--I was especially taken with this lovely 1930s sweater dress refashion from This Old Life and her collection of inspiration images like this one:

Source: nabbysvintagelife.blogspot.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

I also loved this Anthropologie-knockoff sweater dress tutorial by un petit design...

And there are tons of gorgeous vintage sweater dresses on Etsy. I've been pinning them like mad, but as I write this Pinterest is down and I can't embed any of the images here. Boo!

Unlikely I'll get to this project before the weather makes it impractical, but wanted to share my obsession anyway. I keep debating whether I'd like a version with a big cuddly cowl-neck, or a split neckline, or deep V/scarf neckline...

So: have you ever sewed with sweater knit? As a knitter it just boggles my mind that a sweater that could take me MONTHS to knit could be magically whipped up in an evening or three...

P.S. Is it gauche/rude/stealikng or totally OK to put Pinterest pins of items sewn by other bloggers in inspiration posts, if they link back to the original posts? I wasn't sure, so just linked to them here.

How to Avert Pants-Sewing Disaster?

(Alternate headline: "Sewing Pants: Why the Frak Not?"

Trouser Love by m1khaela featuring tall pants

Readers, I feel like the powers of the sewing universe are sending me a message: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FIT PANTS.

The evidence? I recently came across blog posts by not one, but TWO amazing seamstresses who can sew anything from boned evening dresses to tailored jackets but who claim to hate making pants, or at the very least, find fitting pants weird. And when I picked up a book that ostensibly should HELP me sew pants, David Page Coffin's Making Trousers... I found myself advised that the only real way to get a properly fitting pants pattern is to pay a wise expert master tailor to draft one for me. In other words: MIKHAELA, DO NOT SEW PANTS THEY WILL MAKE YOU CRY.

I'm going to ignore that message. Because now that I've finished two super-easy toddler dresses that didn't require one whit of adjustment... I'm ready to make myself miserable with endless rounds of fitting and muslining again.

And what could be more painful than fitting pants? I hear pants alterations can make even the most advanced seamstresses/seamsters weep and/or fume. But I'm hoping that with careful planning and prep work--and a little pattern selection help from you all--I can turn out a pair of trousers pleasing to the eye and comfortable to the tush.

Please don't laugh. I find this delusion comforting.

Sewing Pants: A Retrospective in One Attempt

I remember well the first (and only) pair of pants I ever made. It was 1999, and I was 19. I picked up some "easy-to-sew" pull-on pants pattern at Jo-ann's, along with some checked poly-cotton mystery fabric. I couldn't believe how easy they were to sew--a few hours later, I was pulling them on, pockets and all. And I couldn't believe how comfortable they were.

I also couldn't believe how ridiculous they looked. The crotch was halfway to my knees, and the bunched up poofy fabric billowing out from the elastic waist was far from flattering.

I've been running from pants sewing ever since. I didn't make (and barely owned) a single pair while pregnant.

Why Pants--and Why Now:

But my former identity as a skirt girl has taken a hit. Nine months ago I made a very happy career change to the non-profit world, and my new office is so casual that most people wear jeans four days out of five.

As do I. Except there's no such thing as a pair of ready-to-wear denim trousers that fit me, so I'm always tugging/cursing at the few semi-acceptable pairs I own. Any pants that fit my waist sag and bag emphatically below the rear and they're never high-waisted enough (I despise a low rise.)

So how much worse could me-made pants be? (I'm serious!) If I could wind up with "failed" trousers like Liza Jane's... I'd be more than happy.

Going for Corduroy

For fabric, I don't have much in the stash with enough yardage. I could go with some proper trousery drapey pin-striped gray wool suiting, but I'm feeling some dark blue corduroy I picked up in high school:

BUT--HELP--WHICH PANTS PATTERN?!

So now that I'm in a mental pants-making space... WHICH PANTS? I'm strictly a trouser girl--I like semi-fitted hips and waist, and a wide leg. The kind of pants that are sometimes called slacks, and which Casey seems to sew a lot of beautiful versions of. Slim or skinny pants are out of the question.

I cut this been-in-my-stash-since-college Vogue Elements 9745 pattern out last night in a 16 (though might cut it down to 14 after flat measuring it, to prevent excess bagginess):

No reviews on Pattern Review, but lsaspacey tells me she made them before and they turned out great.

Still, I keep reading everywhere that somehow American patterns have bad crotch curves, whatever that means, and that somehow, European crotches are just superior. So alternatively, I could trace Burda Style magazine 2-2010 102B:

But are American crotches REALLY that crazy? Can't they be altered to fit like anything else? What am I missing here? I really like the style and shape of the Vogue pattern better. If I can get it to fit, it could make a great basic Mikhaela pants pattern for tweaking and playing with.

The Pants Planning Arsenal.

I'm not going into this endeavor randomly. In typical Mikhaela fashion, I own far more books dedicated to the making of pants than I do pairs of me-made pants--three more, to be precise. I've armed myself with:

• The Sewing Companion Library's The Easy Guide to Sewing Pants. I think I own every book in this series (on jackets, tops, linings, you name it)... this one is by far the longest, and is full of great advice and fitting tips.
• Palmer/Pletsch's Pants for Real People. Also full of wonderful fitting information, but I'll be making a muslin, thank you very much--I'm allergic to tissue fitting.
• The above-mentioned David Page Coffin's Making Trousers. Got this a while ago and reread it at lunch yesterday. It's full of wonderful tips about making beautifully constructed trousers... but it's probably the least helpful for my project, as it's all about the subtle details, not fit, style or fabric. In fact, as mentioned above, Coffin suggests that the only way to get properly fitting pants is to pay a master tailor to custom draft them for you from scratch. OK, then. But I do like his advice on using petersham ribbon for the waistbands--love that stuff.
• Sandra Betzina's Power Sewing has lots of good pants tips.
• This pants fitting tip on PatternReview seems pretty handy, I THINK--I'm still confused by the difference between crotch length, width, and depth...
• The Coletterie has pants fitting tips galore, of course.

So that's that. I'm going to do it, and nothing is going to scare me from the attempt. I'm going to measure myself and adjust that pattern tonight after toddler bedtime.

So tell me: do you just love making awesome-fitting pants? Are Burda pants really better?

Easy Access: Nursing Nightgowns That Double As Dresses?

Casual knit nursing dresses like this BelaBumBum Nursing Nightgown/Dress are perfect for new moms!

With only 6-10 weeks to go, I'm nearly done with maternity sewing. Once I finish my shirred reversible skirt and chartreuse cardigan jacket this weekend (which are both intended for post-preggo wear as well)--it's full speed ahead for breastfeeding wear!

My plan is to start with a few nursing nightgowns that can pass as dresses. I'm going to be feeding Cartoonist Baby every 2 hours in the beginning, and trying to nap as much as possible. It seems unnecessarily complicated to have to change my clothes every hour--but I want to look at least somewhat presentable for visitors.

And really, what is the difference between a dress and a nightgown, except that most nightgowns just aren't all that cute? With some exceptions--I'd totally wear a Belabumbum striped nursing gown (and I could make it for a lot less than the $100ish retail price!):

Actually, my current favorite maternity nightgown is not an official nightgown or maternity wear at all--it's just a stretchy cotton-lycra cap-sleeved polka-dot dress from a discount store. I wear it both for sleeping and for lounging around in on weekend mornings (you can see a bit of it at the top of this post). I could totally wear it out and about if I wanted to, especially in the summer.

I've already got the patterns in my stash, too. This is a modular nursing pattern--I've made it up twice already as a maternity sleep bra (with an full bust adjustment and extensive alterations to make it super-supportive) and would just need to attach the actual nightgown bit and maybe some cap or flutter sleeves:

Clearly stripes or polka dots need to be involved, right?

I have some striped fabric left over from the sleep bras, actually... I call them my Tim Burton bras. They don't look like much lying flat, but trust me that they fit fabulously!

And I have this nursing top pattern from the Ottobre Woman 02/2009 issue, which I could easily lengthen into a dress. It's a bit bland, but with cap or flutter sleeves and a fun fabric, it would be totally cute.

I also have plans for nursing bras with more serious architecture, plus tops and coverups and dresses that are too dressy for nightgown use, but more on those later.

P.S. Update from 2013: Once I actually had my baby, I didn't actually have much time to sew nursing nightgowns/dresses! I still get a TON of wear out of the nursing/maternity sleep bras I made shown above, but I ended up buying a few knit nursing nightgown/dresses from Japanese Weekend and wearing them to shreds. Here I am with my 3-day-old newborn in a nice black nightgown/dress hybrid that I pretty much lived in for the first week—it has a nice ruffled lettuce edge:

And here's a similar style available today with lace edging:

It's totally the little black dress for new moms!