A Surprise Wax Print Quilt by Big Sis for Baby

So I was talking to my daughter on video chat (she'd been staying with my parents for a few days while I recovered from yet another bad cold) when suddenly she surprised me with a gift she'd been making for her baby sibling — a quilt sewn from scraps of African wax print fabrics left over from outfits my mom and I made for her (like this one).

I have to say I was a little stunned. I knew she was getting interested in sewing, but I haven't even finished making a quilt myself in years (though I keep meaning to before baby comes—we'll see).

Ms. Z of course had a lot of help from my mom (who is an expert quilter), but she cut out all the pieces herself...

... and arranged them into various formations for my mom to appliqué to the blocks. She also sewed some of the straight stitching lines herself.

She is so proud of herself, and I really can't blame her!

Double Wax Print Impulse Sewing (based on free tutorials - Made by Rae Baby Sunsuit, Oliver + S Lazy Days Skirt)

The impulse sewing bug strikes again! We were at my mom's house in Massachusetts this weekend and I wandered into her sewing room looking for a darning needle for my Hetty cardigan. Her fabric stash was sitting right there, so I just decided to look through it, out of you know, curiosity. And I saw this wax print fabric and I thought "Why don't I make Z and her baby cousin R some simple matching elastic-waist skirts?" So I did.

And then after the kids were in bed I saw my mom had some elastic thread and I thought "Why don't I make matching shirred tops?"

Presto! Instant matching wax print cuteness.

Of course, by the time I had both outfits ready for a photo shoot, six-month-old Baby R had fallen asleep for a nap. So I mostly got photos of Z running around in her new favorite outfit (plus a matching headband my mom threw together with her heavy-duty snap attaching machine):

The basics

Pattern: I used two free tutorials I'd been eyeing for a while — the Made by Rae Baby Sunsuit (to make the shirred tops—I just left off the bottom part) and the Oliver + S Lazy Days skirt. Both are just constructed from simple rectangles — the skirt is a full width of fabric gathered by an elastic waistband and trimmed with a ribbon hem, and the top is a rectangle with some elastic shirring and straps.

Fabric: "Veritable" Dutch wax print cotton borrowed from my mom's stash. She got it from my beloved Sew-Fisticated Discount Fabrics in Boston (see my review).

Size: I just went by the girls' waist measurements, and made the tops and skirts a bit long on them so they could wear for a while yet.

I remember the first time I realized it was possible to make simple items like skirts without (gasp!) an actual pattern—that many garments were nothing but rectangles or circles gathered up in different ways. At the time I went a little crazy and sewed like, six elastic-waist full skirts before I realized it wasn't always the most flattering look for me. But it works really well on these little girls!

Instructions: Both tutorials/patterns had excellent, clear, detailed instructions.

Construction notes: I added two extra rows of shirring on Z's top since she is so much bigger than R. And I added extra snaps to make the tops adjustable.

My favorite details are the ribbon hems...

(Can you believe the cuteness of those toes? GAH!)

And the purple snaps:

The stripes on this fabric are not even vaguely on-grain, so there's a bit of a jumbled tilted effect, especially in back:

All in all, an impulse sewing win!

A perfect outfit for running around and playing all summer long:

And for snuggling with cousins, of course:

Sewing doesn't always have to be complicated. Even simple shapes can look awesome in a bright, fun fabric and with the right details. (Cute models don't hurt, either.)

So: Do you ever make simple garments from rectangles or sew from tutorials? Or are you all about using actual pattern pieces?

Done: "Swim Away!" Wax Print Dress (Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress)

This little dress has been swimming around my head since back when I was pregnant and bought this "Super Deluxe Veritable Wax Print" fish fabric for $1.99/yard at Sew-Fisticated Discount Fabrics.

So I'm feeling quite pleased with myself for finally completing it before my daughter outgrew the largest size in the pattern envelope (or, say, went off to college!). I was nearly derailed by a few disasters—crappy yoke fabric that shredded like spiderwebs, a loop turner that refused to turn loops...

But I triumphed in the end and Ms. Z squealed in excitement this morning when I showed her her brand-new "Swim Away!" dress.

It'd been a long time since I made her anything, and I had forgotten how soothing sewing simple relaxed-fit children's cotton clothes can be. Even when the construction techniques are complex, there's no fitting or alterations to make me cry and swear. I just make everything a bit too big, and know she'll eventually grow into it. Only it's not really all that big. Oops!

The pattern: Oliver + S Ice Cream dress, View A. (Though around here we're calling it the "Coconut Cream" dress — my daughter has life-threatening dairy allergies, so she was very alarmed when she saw the little girl on the envelope holding a cone of "mean allergies" in her hand):

Pattern Description: Child's color-blocked dress with notched yoke, cut-on sleeves, color-blocked patch pockets and double hem panel.

Pattern Sizing: I bought the 6M-4T envelope, and made up a size 4T (tracing the pieces with my beloved Bosal paper in case I need the smaller sizes again).

My daughter is a big girl—just turned three but already 37.5" tall and 37 pounds in weight... so the 4T fits just right with not very much room to grow, alas! So I'll just have to make her wear it every day this summer. Right?

Fabric & notions Another stash win!

• Super Deluxe Veritable Wax Print" fish-patterned cotton, $1.99/yard at Sew-Fisticated Discount Fabrics. Really soft and gauzy, not stiff at all. Used a bit less than a yard's worth.
• Scraps of turquoise Kona cotton leftover from a quilting project. The pattern calls for a whole yard but with very careful single-layer cutting I was able to squeeze it out of just half a yard with miniscule scraps remaining.
• Extra button from a sweater I donated to charity long ago.
• So, a free dress, right?

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: None. This was a pure, relaxing "sew exactly as directed" project.

Instructions and Construction: Are great. Oliver + S patterns always make me feel so smart, like I'm taking a mini sewing class. I don't find them easy or quick to sew, but they have such fun details and atypical construction, they are a joy to put together. And I do feel like I've learned skills here that could easily apply to a fitted dress for myself!

What I love about the pattern: Um, everything. It's such a great style for a little girl on the go.

• The colorblocking.
• The adorable notched patch pockets (perfect for rocks or toy fish, which is what she put in them this morning).
• The little bias button loop closure.
• The cut-on sleeves.

Successes:

• First bias button loop.
• Lots of nice even edge-stitching (thanks, edge-stitching foot!)

Near disasters:

• Bias button loop agony. So I have a loop turner and have made spaghetti straps and such with it before, but this thick Kona cotton did NOT want to turn inside out. I literally spent 40 minutes struggling with the loop turner before I finally got it to cooperate. Which is crappy when I generally only have 30 minutes a day to actually sew.
• Fabric of spiderwebs fail: I originally intended to use a bright red cotton poplin remnant I bought at Mood for the solid color contrast. Except when I went to even out the ends, my FINGERS WENT RIGHT THROUGH IT. Like it was made of butter. Or spiderwebs. Or spiderweb butter. WTF?!:
  
• Toddler non-cooperation: She wanted to run around in the dress and jump and lie on couches, but I could not get her to just look straight at me and smile. Could NOT. Oh well!

Wear for: Running around all summer and looking freaking adorable. Also for relaxing on polka-dot couches:

P.S. "Swim Away" is of course a Finding Nemo reference... I never really liked or appreciated that movie until I had a kid with severe chronic health issues, but now I am kind of obsessed with it!

P.P.S. I would like to take credit for the polka-dot couch, but I just bought the fabric. My amazing mom actually covered my old couch for me. In like, an hour. Thanks Mom!