A (Baby) Dress a Day + New Habits

So while I have been dithering over four unfinished objects in various stages of slow progress, I thought I'd share what my amazing mom has been sewing in the last... well, week. (Not jealous, not jealous, not jealous. Phew!)

Long-time readers may recall the time she sat down and sewed 67 cloth diapers while I was pregnant with her first grandchild. Those will be going to my soon-to-be niece along with some new wardrobe pieces.

Here's what my mom has to say about her new daily baby sewing habit:

I'm trying to stick to my fabric stash that I've been collecting since Z. A lot of the fabrics were from when I was making diapers for her.

Second, I'm using free patterns I found from this site: Sew Things for Babies.

Third, the fact that I'm using stashed fabric and free patterns which are piled up on my sewing table allows a little freedom as I go. I've also been limiting myself to one outfit a day.. so I enjoy it as I make it and don't get burnt out doing it.

.

This little baby is going to be living on my brother's farm up in Maine, hence the need for some snuggly swaddle wraps!

I think my favorites are the kimono-style dress above, and of course the polka dot dress. I think it might be leftovers from this little dress I made for Z...

So. Anyway, more stuff for you soon, but speaking of habits... I've been a bit busy the last few weeks working on developing some new habits of my own and returning to some old ones. Mainly:

• Moving around. I have been ridiculously sedentary for the last, oh, four years. Sitting on the couch knitting is NOT exercise and was starting to feel kind of... yucky. So. I joined the NYC bike-sharing program and I've been commuting home from work. I was scared at first but I've found some good routes and now I'm addicted to it. I've also been doing more active play with my daughter on evenings and weekends. I feel... awesome. It's so weird!
• Trying new recipes. I used to make so many things from scratch - pasta, bread, soups, desserts, even homemade cheese. But after we discovered my daughter's food allergies, we got into a rut working with limited time and ingredients ... and we've been cooking the same few allergy-safe meals OVER and OVER and OVER.

  So my husband and I have both made it a priority to plan meals ahead of time, try new recipes and adapt them for our restricted no-dairy, no-eggs, no-nuts, no-mustard and no-sesame household. We even got a slow-cooker and have been experimenting with soups and stews (not always successfully, I'm afraid).

• Packing lunch. Every day. Eating deli sandwiches or soups for lunch isn't just expensive, it's kind of gross. I've packed my lunch in the evening (usually leftovers plus fresh fruit and veggies) every day for the last two weeks and I SO look forward to opening my PlanetBox every afternoon at lunchtime!
• Keeping to a very tight budget. I'd been living under the delusion that we had already sliced our expenses to the bone, but when we really took a hard look, it just wasn't true. Money has just been flying out the window in little dribs and drabs — a movie here, a takeout meal there, a fabric purchase here. So we're using YNAB ($6 off referral code here) to do a total budget makeover... but until we can have more wiggle room, I'll be sewing and knitting from the stash ONLY. Which is not exactly a hardship, considering the size of my stash...

Phew! More soon. Have a lovely weekend, all!

P.S. I've set up a Facebook page for Polka Dot Overload if you prefer to read your blogs that way... come over and Like me if you like!

Finished*: Candy Striped Tiramisu! (And why I am knit dress obsessed!)

Sweeter than candy: I finally made my striped Tiramisu knit dress!

Seriously, I have been planning to make a candy-striped Tiramisu with this fabric since last August, when I was still illustrating the first Cake Patterns envelope cover! And I'm so glad I finally sat down and did it, because this dress in this soft, stretchy knit is pure happiness.
The pattern: Cake Patterns Tiramisu Dress 0144.

Pattern Description: Knit knee-length dress with front mock wrap neckline, cut-on sleeves, customizable midriff and flattering half-circle skirt. Pattern Sizing: The pattern is sized for a 30-54 inch high bust, 25-50 inch waist and has bust proportion sizing A-D.

• My high bust is between 34" and 35", my full bust is 38.5" and my underbust is 30", so I initially chose to make a 35D (see muslin post here and wearable muslin top here). That turned out to be a bit large in the bust and back for me, especially since I was using a very stretchy knit and I prefer a really close fit with plenty of negative ease.
• For this dress version in my fancier fabric with plenty of horizontal AND vertical stretch, I went with a 30D wide bodice with a 1" FBA but cut just the 30A length (I based this length on measuring some well-fitting RTW surplice knit tops I had that hit me exactly at the underbust). And I used the size 30 back bodice.
• This worked GREAT but if I use a fabric with only horizontal stretch for the next one I will need to make it longer over the bust (maybe the 30C or 30D length).

Sweet sweet candy-colored peppermint back chevrons!




Fabric: This fabric is out of control awesome. It's a light-weight, yet substantial red and white cotton-spandex knit with good recovery that I bought on a sewing club outing to NY Elegant Fabrics for $15/yard.
At the time I felt guilty paying $45 for a hypothetical me-made dress, but this fabric is amazing. It is softer than soft, has stretch in both directions and is drapey (but not TOO clingy). Also: candy stripes. So... worth it!
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Most. Definitely. And I should know, I drew it myself...
Were the instructions easy to follow? Obviously I'm quite biased, but I followed them almost exactly and was quite pleased with the results!

Pattern thoughts: So. Knit dresses. Lately I have been wearing knit dresses three days out of five. Because they are the perfect garment — no mixing and matching, just throw it on, pick some shoes and a necklace (and maybe a cardi) and I am DONE and I even look FANCY when I am chasing my toddler around the farmer's market or playground.

Most importantly, knit dresses ALWAYS fit. My weight fluctuated a lot when I was ill and on oral steroids for months, and has fluctuated even more since I stopped nursing four months ago, so my jeans and non-elastic woven dresses all hate me... but my knit dresses always love me and never complain. (Heck, I wore some of my non-maternity knit dresses 6 and 7 months into my pregnancy a few years ago! So there you go.)
However, the Tiramisu has one thing that almost NONE of my other surplice-style knit dresses have...

... a no-gape neckline! NO cardigan needed for bra-hiding modesty! Thanks striped neck binding!
Pattern alterations: I did leave off the pockets on this version, but only to make sure I had enough fabric left over to recut the bodice if necessary (which it wasn't).
Construction notes:

• I cut the fabric on a single layer to make sure the stripes were just so.
• I made this on a mix of sewing machine and serger as recommended in the pattern instructions.
• My walking (aka dual feed) foot helped a lot in keeping the jersey from rippling out of shape and in pattern matching at the seams.

Successes:

• Great fit! So flattering!
• Stripes! Stripes! Chevrons and stripes!
• Lovely binding that is NOT in any way stretched out of shape.

Recommended Reading:

• Tiramisu 30 Minutes a Day Sew-Along.

Wear for: Work or a date. I love it so much and the fabric is so nice I am a bit afraid to get it grubby at the playground. So I might make a second version in a less fancy knit for weekend wear.
Obligatory half-circle skirt twirly photo:

Outfit details:
Cake Patterns Tiramisu knit dress, me-made
Coral necklace from craft fair
Vintage-inspired blue and aqua leather watch
Comfy red leather Mary Janes

*So the asterisk in the post title is because this dress isn't actually hemmed yet. BUT one of the hemming options recommended is to leave it raw... either permanently or just for a few wears until it settles. So it is finished ENOUGH. For now. I do think I will do a twin-needle hem to even things out, as it seems a bit shorter in the front than the back (though that might be a bad posture thing).

Bits and Pieces from a Mini Sewcation

My daughter is off visiting her grandparents in Massachusetts for a few days, and I'm managing my severe toddler cuddles and kisses deprivation by taking a little sewcation for myself each night when I get home from work. It is kind of amazing how much sewing you can get done when you don't have to start at 11:30 p.m. and stop at midnight each night... and when you can actually leave out the ironing board, sewing table and cutting mats!

Above you see two separate items in progress: the bodice of my Tiramisu dress so far (finally! I made the muslin back in May!) and a self-drafted "Insta Skirt".

The Tira is the one I sketched for my Spring Sewing Plans, it's got a red and white bodice and skirt just like my envelope illustration:

I picked a smaller bodice size this time (30D with a 1" FBA, instead of a straight 35D) and she is fitting great so far! I should have the skirt attached tonight. (And I know she doesn't fit my crappy sewing form at all, so just trust me on this).

The "Insta Skirt" is the one-piece half-circle skirt and midriff I drafted for this McCall's knit dress I made a while back:

I've always wished I could wear the bottom bit as a separate skirt, and it took me only about 15 minutes to sew (just two sides seams and an elastic-free knit waistband—magic!). FIFTEEN MINUTES FOR A SKIRT, PEOPLE.

...But it's not REALLY an Insta Skirt, because my serger temporarily crapped out on me for three hours of swearing and rethreading and crying... and now that the skirt has hung for a day it has grown by four inches and needs a severe hemming. Having no clue how to evenly hem a half-circle skirt, I suspect there is some online tutorial hunting in my future.

Finally, I have my Hummingbird Blue top pieces sitting around since the sew-along, since I was too busy moderating to actually make anything!

I think this little sewcation may almost be as fun as splashing around on the beach, and I'm getting 100% less sunburned as a result! (But I am also counting the seconds til I get to cover little Z in kisses ... on Friday!).

So readers: When was the last time you really got to sew (and leave all your sewing mess all over the place) with no interruption?

Delancey Try-On: Too Snug or Just Right?

Chevrons and stripes both rank high on my crafterly happiness list and this cleverly-constructed sweater has been a joy to knit so far. The big question, though—does it actually fit me?

Pattern: Delancey Cardigan. You may recall that the Delancey cardigan by Alexis Winslow was the winner of my indecisive "Sweater Girl Showdown 2013." Here was my original concept sketch:

Ravelry link with all details: Here.

Yarn: Knit Picks Merino Style (discontinued) in various colors from the stash. A lovely DK-weight merino that I had lying around. Sadly I lost one of the colors I was using midway through (left it on a subway or airplane during a business trip) so you can see that the stripe pattern on the top back is gray/periwinkle/gray instead of gray/periwinkle/purple. Oops!

Size: 33" bust. The biggest challenge was deciding what size to knit—the 33" finished bust or the 36" finished bust. I have a 38.5" bust and 29.5" waist but I like my cardigans snug, with at least 2-3" of negative ease at bust and waist (see my old post on sweater fitting for more on this).

BUT because of the clever chevron pattern, there is no waist shaping here—the bust and waist are the same size. So if I went with the 36" bust, the waist might have been quite baggy. I wrote to the designer and she gave me some fantastic advice—based on my preferences and yarn she suggested I try the 33", as the bias fabric makes the cardigan quite stretchy.

So readers, what do you think so far? The back looks perfect to me (see top) but the bust area seems to be pulling away to the side (note that I've only knitted one of the side fronts, the other isn't done yet):

And the side "seams" aren't really straight when I pin the cardigan shut in front:

That said, there is going to be a button band and shawl collar in front which will add a little extra front width.

My verdict: Keep going and hope for the best. I think with a little blocking and the bands/collar, it'll be just perfect, and it may loosen up a little with a handwash and wear, too.

Speed notes: I swear I haven't been knitting MORE often than I did last year but I must be knitting FASTER. Not only is my Delancey more than half done, I just finished a baby cardigan for a friend two days ago. AND I just started on a Tulip for my niece-to-be yesterday and I'm already down to the chest:

Hello, my name is Mikhaela and I am a cardigan knitting (and wearing) addict.

I think my new speed is from switching away from plastic to metal needles. I had some serious repetitive stress injury issues with my hands back in 2008 and had switched to using plastic and sometimes wooden needles... and they are just MUCH SLOWER. This year I decided to switch back to metal but just be careful—to knit in small chunks and stop if my hands start bothering me even the slightest.

So, what do you think—too tight or just right?

P.S. By the way, if you're interested in making the Delancey yourself, there was a Ravelry knit-along last year with accompanying blog posts on the Sweatshop of Love. It also comes in a plus-sized version (up to a 58" bust).

P.P.S. In case you're wondering why both Z and I are prancing around in black bike-short-esque things, we were about to go for a family bike ride. We went down to Brooklyn Bridge Park and rode the carousel four times until I got motion sick and had to let my husband take her around for the fifth ride. Phew!

Unusually Unselfish Knitting: Baby Surprise Jacket II

There's nothing like a hot summer day to snuggle your baby in a ... really warm wool jacket. Er.

Anyway, I knit this little garter-stitch cardigan for a friend who had a baby boy last week — she's bringing him over this evening and I can't wait to meet him! I'm hoping it's big enough that he can wear it in the fall.

This is the first time I have EVER made anything more serious than a hat for someone ELSE's baby, but said baby's mom is a knitter herself, so I know she'll appreciate it in the way only a fellow maker-of-garments-that-take-forever-and-ever-to-make can.

The pattern: Elizabeth Zimmerman's famous Baby Surprise Jacket from Knitting Workshop. I knit with a worsted yarn in hopes of achieving a 3-6 month size for this fall/winter.

The yarn: Classic Elite Liberty Wool, a fabulous soft squishy self-striping washable wool, purchased on my birthday trip to the Hub Mills yarn store.

The buttons: High-quality blue buttons from Pacific Trimming (at least, they LOOK really nice and for 75 cents each, they must be high quality, right?)

Time taken: A month (but I was knitting and making lots of other things at the same time).

The exhaustive Ravelry details: Here.

This jacket is known as the surprise jacket because while you are knitting it, it looks like an amorphous blob of yarn nonsense...

And then you do some origami magic and seam up the shoulders, and surprise! It's a jacket. I actually made one for Z three years ago when I wasn't nearly as confident a knitter... and totally left off the buttons and buttonholes. Oops!

Back then I kept getting confused by the cryptic pattern and looking up reviews and notes... this time it was a breeze and a great way to relax on the family camping cabin vacation we took in the Poconos last week:

In sum: pure baby sweater happiness!

In other cardigan current issues, I'm still knitting the fantastic chevroned Delancey cardigan for myself (try-on photos soon)... but I have another urgent unselfish baby sweater to make first, as I'm attending a baby shower in just a month to celebrate the impending arrival of my niece-to-be!

I bought the unisex #4 color kit for the Dream in Color Classy Tulip Sweater in blues and greens from Eat.Sleep.Knit:

Luckily my niece-to-be will reside in Maine, so she'll have an endless need for warm wooly things!

So—what was the last thing YOU made for someone else (and not you or your immediate household?)

Teaching the Girls to Sew! (Fun Dolls Eyelash Bunny)

Don't worry readers, I didn't give my just-turned-three-year-old a needle and a pair of sharp shears. But I did let her use toddler-appropriate kiddie scissors, and I was really impressed with how carefully she cut out her pattern pieces!

Let me step back for a moment.

Twenty-three years ago my brother (then seven) and I (10 at the time) got a really fantastic Christmas present from our sewaholic mom -— doll-making kits. We spent a couple of days sitting around the kitchen table carefully dying our doll fabric with tea, cutting out our pattern pieces, embroidering the faces, sewing on hair, and stitching the seams by hand (see photo at top). It was awesome, and I loved every minute!

My mom still has "Annie," one of the finished dolls at her house.

Anyway, when my niece T came to stay with us for a week recently, she asked if I could help her fix a split seam on her travel pillow. Instead of sewing it for her, I handed her a needle and thread and showed her how to use them... and was impressed at how quickly she figured it out and sewed a sturdy little seam on her pillow.

T was so excited by her success, I decided to give her a more fun project. I gave her a little Japanese doll sewing book and she picked a moderately challenging doll pattern. Little Z couldn't be left out, so I promised to let her make the same pattern.

The pattern: "Eyelash Bunny" from the book Aranzi Aronzo Fun Dolls (Let's Make Cute Stuff). It's a fantastic book full of cute, modern-looking little dolls with excellent comic-book-style instructions. The eyelash bunny in the book is sad, but T decided to make her happy and add button eyes:

Fabric & notions: I let the girls choose fabrics from the stash.

• T made her bunny body out of a stretchy white fleece from an old blanket, and the dress from a lovely floral cotton I had picked up a few years ago in Portland at the Bolt modern fabric shop.
• Z chose some yellow cotton flannel left over from diapers my mom made her a few years ago, the same floral for the body, and some red felt for eyes.
  

The process:

• T's bunny (aka "Mini-Me"): T had never sewn before, but took to it very quickly. She cut out all her own pattern pieces and fabric, did all of the stuffing and most of the sewing. She had a few moments of impatience with the hand-embroidery parts...
  

  ...but absolutely LOVED "driving" the sewing machine and very quickly learned to back-stitch, pivot and the like:

• Z's bunny (aka "Foo-Foo"): Z obviously couldn't do as much as her big cousin, but she made quite a try. She cut out a few of the paper pattern pieces, cut out the felt eyes and nose and glued them on, and drew a second face (that I embroidered for her):
  

  Her Nana Gail helped her cut out most of the fabric pieces, T stuffed the doll and I sewed it together.

I've taught some adults to knit before but this was so much more fun—the girls were so very excited and enthusiastic and proud of their creations! (And I found it so much easier to be really really patient and helpful with them... I think sometimes when I've taught adults I get frustrated if they don't pick things up quickly.)

I promised T that next time she visited she could sew a ruffly (and sparkly) skirt! I think she's really caught the sewing bug...

Have you ever taught anyone to sew? What was your experience?

P.S. I finally got around to setting up a Facebook page for Polka Dot Overload... will try and cross-post everything there if you prefer to follow me that way!

Shoe Showdown Survivors: The Colorful Comfy Flats Verdict!

Softwaves Wave Mary Jane comfort flats in Citron: Beautifully made and on sale for $85, but too small for my giant feet!

So one of my most commented on recent posts was the "Colorful Comfort Shoe Showdown" where I was trying to find some bright flats to buy with a Mother's Day gift certificate from my mom. You all seem REALLY opinionated about footwear — which makes sense since shoes are one of the few things most of us CAN'T make for ourselves. So I thought I'd report back on the results of my mission of comfort shoe desperation.

In the end I bought three pairs of colorful flats (and returned one), winding up with two comfort shoe winners. Here's the scoop:

#1: Softwaves Wave Mary Jane leather comfort flats in Citron. (pictured at top of post).

• Pros: Beautifully made, a really unique vintage-inspired style (one of many! I drool!), serious comfort construction and arch support, fabulous color.
• Cons: The largest size available — a European 41 — was at least an inch too small for my big feet. I wear a 41 in some other European-sized shoes (and a 10 or 11 in most American-sized shoes), but I think I'd need a 42 for these.
• Do they pass the subway stairs/playground/long NYC walks test? They would if they fit.
• Result: Wistful shoe sadness. So I exchanged them for a little dose of polka dot happiness...

Polka dot comfort shoe win!

#2: Ahnu Karma flats in "Mood Indigo"

• Pros: Well-designed cross-strap flats perfect for summer and on sale. Great arch support and a really comfortable breathable insole for your bare feet. Also: internal polka dots and a bright orange sole and spiral stitch detail.
• Cons: These "yoga-inspired" shoes mostly come in the kind of subdued/earthy/natural colors I generally avoid. Even this colorway is not as bright as I was going for (except for the topstitching and sole).
• Do they pass the subway stairs/playground/long NYC walks test? Oh yes yes yes!
• Result: They are so comfortable and seem to go with MANY things. I have been wearing them almost every day since they arrived and there was no break-in period — just instant foot happiness. I REALLY wish they came in bright colors!

#3: Tsubo Aftenia fashion sneakers in "claret" and "silver"

• Pros: Bright red, cushy insole, cute pointed-ish toe but not uncomfortably pointy, cheap because they were discontinued. And I had a pair of them in brown already so knew they'd be a win.
• Cons: The insole is well cushioned, but not really shaped for firm arch support. The insoles don't really wick moisture, so they are fine with tights or socks but get a bit slippery/blistery inside after long walks and need to be broken in at the heel.
• Do they pass the subway stairs/playground/long NYC walks test? Only with socks.
• Result: Moderate shoe happiness. Z calls them my "ruby slippers." Here they are in action back during Me-Made May (sorry for bad lighting, they truly are BRIGHT red):

That's it for my shoe-buying budget for a good long while, but next time I have room in the closet/budget for an accessory hunt, I'm going to check into some of the other new-to-me brands suggested in the comments.

What are your favorite "walk for miles" comfort shoes?

P.S. Forgot to mention... I stupidly broke my toe two nights ago while sweeping up fabric scraps (stumbled and stubbed it on a chair leg). There's not much to be done for a broken toe except "buddy taping" it to the neighboring toe, but the doctor said to make sure to wear roomy, comfortable flat shoes with good support, and the Ahnu Karmas seem to be the only shoes I can walk in without crying at the moment!

**Disclosure: Actions you take from the hyperlinks within this blog post may yield commissions for polkadotoverload.com (and quite likely spent on yarn or fabric to be blogged here!).

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!