Sewing Underwear

Yes, I'm crazy. Or at least my friends I hang out with here tell me so. Why? Because I've sewn some underwear for myself. I thought it be fun (it is) and pretty easy (for me). It's also fun to say that I've sewn my own undies.

I'm not making crazy fancy lingerie, just little cotton undies. I bought a grab bag of elastics a while back from Kathy's Elastics, and decided I should use the pretty lingerie elastic I got from it. (If you want some elastic grab bags, join her Yahoo Group to get them. She also sells fabric & lace too--all at great prices and fast shipping.)

I traced a pattern from a pair of Sophia's underwear and came up with these. See those cute ruffly elastics? They are made from knit fabrics. (That's my ironing board in the background.)


DH showed them to her in the morning (because all my sewing is done late at night watching old episodes of Law & Order), and she immediately put them on! I consider it a sewing success. So far 2 of the clothing I made for her this summer, she's only worn once.

Truth be told I wouldn't normally bother to make underwear for a 3 year old, but I just wanted to do it for fun. They went together really fast (thanks to my serger and how small they are).

I also made 2 pairs for me. Why not right? I wanted to use some t-shirts that DH brought home from the Spy Museum Store (where he works), but my ass is too big for those size small baby doll t-shirts. At least for me to cut out the undies with the print going the way I wanted. The Mata Hari shirt will languish on my sewing table until I think of something else for it. Thankfully I had some black t-shirt fabric I just bought from the fabric store. And cute lilac elastic. (Sorry about the overexposed pic.)


The last time I made underwear (I keep wanting to type panties, but I guess underwear sounds better) for myself, I used fold over elastic. It was my first time using FOE. I cut out the size for my measurements--according to the pattern--but they were too big. A bit disappointing so I didn't make anymore. Can't have your underwear sliding down as you walk right?

This time the results were much much better. And it took less time to make them than before. I guess now I know what I'm doing. I'm loving the lingerie elastic a lot more. The underwear (almost said panties) looks much more like "store-bought" undies.

I also made myself some pregnancy belly bands. The first time I was pregnant, I thought they were silly, since they're mainly advertised a way to continue wearing your pre-pregnancy pants. Basically you wear your pants unbutton and put the band over the waistband to hide the fact and to keep your pants up.

The belly bands definitely help with my lower back paint. Especially by the end of the day when my baby belly just feels so heavy. There's a great tutorial here. I actually made mine self-lined so there's no seams sewing (overachiever that I am).

Sophia now wants her own belly band so she can be just like me. LOL. Only it has to be pink. I'm going to miss it when I'm not her pedestal anymore. Teen years right?

Finally, some sewing

After going through a sewing craze a few weeks ago, I finally had the energy to cut and sew some deliciously cute baby kimonos with matching pants.

Last week, I drafted the kimono pattern from Habitual's tutorial. Too lazy to draft a real pants pattern (one where there's room for a butt, especially one that will be wearing a cute diaper), I found a cheap pattern from the thrift store.

I know the tutorial calls for woven fabric, but I used a knit I purchased from a member of Sewing Mamas. Since I was too lazy to make matching/coordinating binding for the ties, I just used some foldover elastic (FOE). FOE might be the coolest thing ever.

The two sets are totally adorable! One set is for the babe and another is for a good friend who is also having a boy. She's due the end of September. Hope she doesn't read this first and ruin the surprise!

I did draft a Sophia-sized pattern too. I just need to dig in my stash for some coordinating fabric. I don't want to make the entire set in the same fabric--it might look too pajama like. I know she'll want to wear it out.

Sorry about the bad pics. Sophia decided to pose with the clothes and these are only ones where she's not rolling over them or picking them up.

Who Doesn't Love Baby Clothes?

I was in Target the other day and just happened to notice some super cute baby clothes. I almost bought something. But I didn't. My mother is a shopaholic, and she's called me with weekly updates about all the baby boy things she's been buying. Just like his sister, this baby will not have a shortage of clothes.

So I resisted buying baby clothes. Until I saw these baby kimono tops. I mean, look at this cute set by bookchiq, it's so dang cute! Can't you see a juicy little baby in one of these sets? (Check out this flickr group of them)

My sister gifted Sophia with a set when she returned from Japan a few years ago. Alas, she has completely outgrown it. But thanks to the tutorial by Habitual, I can make one for Sophia and her little brother! Sophia loves it so much, she actually still tries to squeeze into it. LOL.

I like the kimono tops better than a onesie. You don't have to pull the dang thing over the baby's head, and I hate those frigging crotch snaps on onesies.

The tutorial is printed, some boy fabric is on its way to me. Now to dig out a pants pattern so I can make an entire set.

Does this mean, I've hit the nesting phase of pregnancy already? If it's going to be this cute, I don't mind at all.

Don't forget that Friday is the last day to enter my book giveaway!

Ruffles and a Chopped T-shirt

I actually starting cleaning off my sewing table. I'll spare you the pics. It was like shopping. I rediscovered some of my fabric stash. I also found the mermaid T-shirt that I Gocco'd over a year ago. Shortly after I embroidered the face and seashells, Sophia got to it. She cut holes in one of the sleeves and the shoulders (opposite sides of course). It was totally my fault for leaving it out (with the scissors), but I was so upset, I didn't touch it until the other night.

Looking at the shirt again, I thought about this dress from Dana. I just discovered her blog last week via these cute ruffled skirts. I know Sophia would love a girlie skirt, but all those ruffles! Putting them on would drive me crazy.

After a long debate, I decided to make 2 separate pieces. I chopped up the t-shirt, turned it into a tank top. Cut off the sleeves & neckline ribbing. I also took in the sides and shorted the hem. I wanted to lettuce edge the hem with teal thread, but I couldn't get it to work the way I wanted. So I just serged everything.

T-shirt before the hacking.

T-shirt after.

The skirt is a simple A-line skirt with an elastic waistband. I just drafted a quick pattern. Normally I wouldn't draft a pattern. I'd just draw it on the fabric and cut it out. But since an A-line skirt has many uses, so the pattern will come in handy for other skirts. Thankfully, I had the perfect fabrics in my stash.

I stitched up the skirt, hemmed it, and finished the waistband except for inserting the elastic. Next, came all the ruffles. I hate doing ruffles, not because they're so feminine. They're just so repetitive and boring. Like hemming a really long curtain.

I wanted to the ruffles to make a wave pattern. Mermaid shirt, wavy ruffle, get it? So I pinned the ruffles on beforehand. If I were to put them straight on, I'd draw stitch lines and just add them on as I sewed.

It's not the lighting. The fabric is ombre. Darker at top than at bottom.

Originally I wanted to cover the entire skirt with ruffles, but after pinning 3 rows on, I thought it looked great. Too many more would've been overkill.

She like this outfit, though not her favorite color. Thank goodness she like mermaids. I was able to snap some pics of her at the playground before she got the outfit too dirty. One day I'll remember to take a close up of the embroidery while it's clean.


I'm really enjoying making clothes for Sophia. Partly because she's so small, the clothes come together fairly quickly, usually about an hour. Plus I don't want to invest too much time on making maternity clothes.

Now I need to make a sundress for my sister. She's feeling left out. (Hi Sis!) Check out the new zine she made!

Pink-tastic or Another Dress

I've really caught the sewing bug again! Ever since I saw this dress made by Astrid, I just HAD to make one for Sophia. She used a pattern from Ottobre, a European children's sewing magazine. I have yet to see one in person, but it gets lots of rave reviews. Maybe I'll try it out since it seems to have pretty cute patterns for boy.

So I used one of the fabrics I received from the swap. Since the dress is a pretty basic pattern, I drafted it myself. I just used one of Sophia's dresses to make sure the size and length were correct. From drafting to cutting to sewing, it took me about 1 hour to make. Now that I have the pattern it shouldn't take much time to make another one.

This morning, I also made matching scrunchies for her too. I haven't made a scrunchy since the 80s. LOL!

Sophia adored the dress! Thank goodness. She had already chosen this fabric when it arrived last week. When she spilled water on her dress this afternoon, I was instructed to wash and dry the dress immediately! I guess that means it's a winner.

I'll try to do a tutorial for drafting the pattern to this dress soon. The dress has a drawstring neckline (I want to find a fuchsia ribbon instead of the pink one I have now). The print is a stretch cotton, and the band is cut from an ugly fuchsia linen dress that I thrifted.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the dress. It's so cute on her and the length (that I guessed at) is perfect. Maybe I should make a grown-up version for me. Though I would definitely make a band or use a ribbon belt since it's a bit shapeless.

Hopefully I'll have some blueberry picking pics up soon!

I'm Not Really Super Mom

Last night I stayed up until 4am sewing matching Heather Ross Mendocino Sundress for Sophia and me. The first one I made totally hooked me. (See bad pic of me & Chef Egg) For some reason, with this pregnancy all I want to wear are dresses.

I know the moms in my playgroup think I'm Super Mom because I'm crafty, and I like to cook. I'm not doing all of this to because I have a type A personality. Which I do, but I've relaxed a lot. Ask my husband.

I craft because I have to. If I go too long without crafting, I get antsy and restless. Somehow with this pregnancy, the urge to craft has been stronger. Maybe I'm nesting already.

I'm totally in love with this faux smocked dress that Heather Ross featured on her blog. Even Amanda Soule Blake made one. The first one I cut apart an old dress. It was so comfortable, that I wore it 2 days in a row. (I did wear it with a strapless bra since my boobies aren't quite so perky or small).

I've been digging through my stash and remembered I had this cute rayon print I bought back in college. Thankfully I had the forethought to prewash 8 years ago. From cutting out the fabric to finish, it took me about 3 hours--with lots of pee breaks in between.

I didn't use a pattern. Basically, I took a rectangular piece of fabric and cut the sides to a slight A-line so it's not so wide at the top, but leaving room for my big belly. You can definitely download the free pattern from Heather Ross. I'm just too lazy to print it out. For Sophia's dress, I just used 2 rectangular pieces.

Heather Ross also recommends that you draw your stitching lines for the shirring on your top. I'm also a bit lazy in this department. The good thing about this design is that it's very forgiving. If you don't do it exactly right, it'll still look good and fit!

Here's a trick for the shirring. It's exactly 1/4" from your needle (in its normal position) to the right (or left) edge of your sewing foot. I just used my sewing foot as guideline. Just line up your previous shirring line next to the edge of your foot.

I wanted to add a ruffle to the bottom of Sophia's dress, but at 3:30am, it was too much work.

I've never thought I'd make matching dresses for my daughter and I, but it was fun wearing them out today. We got lots of compliments. People kept asking me where I bought our dresses. I guess it's a compliment from non-sewers since they don't look handmade. Sadly most ready to wear clothes aren't made as well as the clothes I make for me.

Thank goodness Sophia liked her dress. She did complain that it wasn't long enough. You know, not princess-y enough. Can't win I guess. But she enjoy dressing like her mama. That and making funny poses for pictures.

Now that I have 2 of these dresses, would it be too much to make a 3rd?

Tomorrow is my big ultrasound. If the baby cooperates, maybe we'll see if it has a penis or not.

Handmade Mart Report

I'm so lucky that I live in an area where there's so many great things to do, especially in the summer. Today, Sophia & I met my sister and a visiting friend at Handmade Mart. I wished that I had realized my camera was at the bottom of my backpack. Alas no pictures.

The weather was just beautiful! Sophia eagerly check out all the cool vendors with me. Her favorite vendors included anyone with pink jewelry. LOL. My girly girl. Luckily, my sister gifted her with one of Isabel's Rose oh so cute lampworked cupcake beads. Of course Sophia's had much more pink on it than the picture here. (Pic shameless borrowed from Loriola's etsy shop.) She was very sweet too!

As we went to each booth, if they weren't too busy, I introduced us to the artist/crafter. Sophia was awed as I told her that this was the artist that created the items in the booth. I think it was really cool to see her connect the art of handmade items with a real person.

Eventually, she would ask herself whenever we went in a different booth. "Are you the artist that made these things?" or "You made all of these?" Screw the craft versus art debate. These wonderful vendors are artists. I want Sophia to know that being an artist doesn't mean you have to create with canvas and paint or other traditional media. She's super creative and artistic, I'm going to encourage it as much as possible!

We then shared a delicious Italian ice while enjoying the live music. I love downtown Silver Spring! I can't believe I've never had Italian ices before. It was perfect as the afternoon got warmer.

Of course I had to browse the Pyramid Atlantic Store. In addition to the great art made my local artists, they had great demos. You could silkscreen your own shirt wit the Handmade Mart logo or make some jewelry. Guess what my darling opted to do? She made a totally sparkly pink stretchy bracelet. Totally worth the $5 as I hope she'll stop wearing my jewelry.

Also kudos to blockpartypress who had a kids table at her booth. Most of the booths weren't necessarily kid friendly (even if they sold kids items). I was worried that Sophia would jumble up the displays and such. But she covered a small table with brown paper, put out a bowl of markers, as well as some polymer clay. Sophia did not want to leave her booth. The clay was a bit harder than playdough, but she still had a blast. (Pic also from blockpartypress's etsy shop)

We ended the afternoon with a yummy lunch at Lebanese Taverna, where Sophia actually ate the hummus this time. She loves hummus but sometimes decides it's a yucky food. Maybe it's a texture thing.

Seeing all of these wonderful handmade art really makes me want to create something! So I ordered some elastic thread and making a cute Heather Ross faux smocked sundress for Sophia. I thrifted a fugly dress last year. It's fuchsia and 100 % linen. I think it'll make the perfect summer dress.

Big News & A Bit of Daydreaming

Now that it's spring--okay in DC it's more like summer since it's been in the 90s for 3 days-- I've been doing a bit of daydreaming. When the weather gets warm, I start looking at pattern catalogs. Dream about all the cool new clothes I can make.

When in reality I don't have time or the energy to sew something that will take over an hour from start to finish. I'm not being lazy. I'm pregnant! I'm in my first trimester so it means lots of naps and nausea. Mmmm, aren't you jealous?

I did sit down and do a bit of crafting yesterday. I got a short new haircut right before I left for Vegas in March. Now it's grown out and I have bangs again. I haven't had bangs since, I don't know, middle school. So I've been wearing those elastic head bands to keep them out of my eyes.

I started to make started to make a flower that I could attach to the headband (store bought plain black elastic headbands), but I got ambitious and it turned into a hair clip. While I watched House, I did a bit of beading on it. I think it's fun and it has a vintage button on it. Sorry about the bad self-portrait. I have bad lighting in my bedroom, where the only big mirror is.

So if I had time to sew, here are some fun things I'd make for me and Sophia. Plus it seems silly for me to make clothes that won't fit me in 2 or 3 months when that baby bump gets big. Or that's my excuse anyway.

I'm a sucker for dresses.

And of course this totally cute skirt for Sophia!

Five Minute Headband Tutorial

Sophia has great hair. Sometimes it's a bit unruly. Headbands are the easiest way to keep it out of her face. I bought some ribbon & elastic headbands at the dollar store, but of course, the pink one is missing. The world is not right in Sophialand if everything isn't pink.

Luckily, I scored some pink grosgrain ribbon at a Joann's that was closing. (As well as some corset and underwear patterns! Woohoo). I just used the dollar store headband as a model to make the new ones. It's super easy. I recommend making one straight through and then you can just make the rest assembly line.

You'll need:

• ribbon long enough to go around your head- I recommend grosgrain as it's stronger. But you can use anything. Just don't use anything slippery as it'll slide out of your hair.
• thin elastic- I used elastic 1/4" but you can go up to 1/2" without being to obtrusive. It doesn't even have to match the ribbon. I used white because that's what I had. Black would've blended in with Sophia's hair better
• thread
• a sewing machine isn't necessary to make these. You can hand sew them but it might take longer than 5 minutes

First, measure your head (or whoever you're making the headband for) just like how you're going to wear it. Measure all the way around your head. Subtract 2" from that number. Cut your elastic 4" long. Whatever measurement is left, cut the ribbon at that length.

Line up your elastic to one end of your ribbon. Place the elastic on the right side of the ribbon (if there is one). Fold the sides of the ribbon over the elastic and pin. Like this:


Do the same to the other end, making sure the elastic isn't twisted.


Place your pinned ribbon and elastic under your presser foot, with the pin still in. Once I lower the presser foot, then I'll pull the pin out. When it's folded, it's too small for me to put it under the foot the way I want it. I don't recommend sewing over the pin in this case. Since my elastic isn't very wide, I put my machine on a smaller stitch setting.


Stitch over the folded ribbon and elastic. Back stitch and go over back and forth a 3-5 times. Sometimes, my vintage sewing machine doesn't like elastic, so the back of my stitching looks like a bad hair day.


All you do is take your trusty snips and trim it all off. Like a haircut. Go ahead. No one has to know. Besides it'll take way too long to take the stitches out. Then it won't take 5 minutes to make right? I know, it's not pretty, but no one will see it when you're done.

Go ahead and stitch the other end the same way. Hopefully your stitches will come out better this time around. Mine did. Thank goodness. After it's all stitched, grab the elastic and pull so that it turns inside out. The ribbon might need a bit of help to turn inside out. Do the same to the other side.


This is what it'll look like after you turn your seam inside out. The folded part of the ribbon hides your stitching.


Voila, now you have a ribbon headband! Or in my case, a lot of headbands! (Don't you love my new ironing board cover?)


You can also embellish your ribbon with buttons, fabric or silk flowers, beads, whatever your want! Pull out the hot glue gun or needle and thread. Go to town! If Sophia wasn't at my side pulling on the headbands, I might have done that.

So for about 15 minutes of my time (including Sophia's help cutting down the ribbon), I now have 8 new headbands! Thankfully she didn't mind that I sneaked in a lavender one.

Let me if you make one! I'd love to see some pictures.

Ready, Get Set, Sew!

I finished my holiday shopping last week (thank god for Amazon Prime Shipping). DH is going to wrap the gifts tonight while we watch season 1 of Criminal Minds. I'm not a die hard fan but I catch episodes when I can. Now, I've got DH hooked, so we're going to catch up on the series, all 3 seasons. (It's currently in its fourth season). Since most of our usual shows go on hiatus until mid-January, I think this will be fun for us. Earlier this fall, we caught up on a fun Sci-Fi show, Eureka.

So I decided a few days ago, that I would make pajama bottoms for everyone. Just in time to lounge around in for Christmas Day. Am I crazy? It's all thanks to Betz White, who inspired me with her pajama bottoms. I figured that I can thread the 4th spool of thread onto the serger and just assembly line those suckers! I've been wanting new sleep pants anyhow. Sophia's going to get an entire pj set though. The pattern I bought for her is pretty simple.

I'll let you know how it goes! Tonight I'm going to cut out all those fun flannels from the picture. Tomorrow night I can serge. Tuesday night I can hem and put in the elastic. Or that's my plan at least.

I had my last Passion Party this past Saturday. Whew! It's been an amazing year for me. It had its ups and downs but overall, it was very successful. Now I'm going to take a bit of a break before we gear up for our busiest season. You got it! Valentine's!

Don't worry, I'll give you a sneak peek of the goodies soon. I promise.

Day 9: Princesses, Tea & More Cleaning

Yep, she's no longer a toddler. She's a real kid. My Sophia is 3 years old today. She woke us up early, proclaiming that it was her birthday. It amazes me how they go from a squishy looking baby to a walking, talking, thinking being.

Wowser! The princess birthday tea party was a success. After only 5 hours of sleep, I woke up early to grocery shop for the party this afternoon, including picking up the requisite princess cupcakes. We had a low key celebration. She invited 2 friends, and we also had some friends and family. The kids were sooo cute and civilized, sitting at the little table sipping their "tea" (diluted apple juice or herbal tea) and eating little sandwiches and treats. Of course, the princess dress made another appearance. She even twirled in it for a while!

I opted for a small celebration for this party. It's so easy to get sucked into the commercialism of birthday parties. Maybe it's the DC metro area. We've attended several toddler birthday parties this year, and some are big productions. Do you really need 16 kids at a 3 year old's birthday party? And of course, you have to hold your birthday party at some other place, not your home. I looked into one place. It was over $300 for 2 hours. No kidding. My 3 year old will barely remember her 3rd birthday party I'm sure.

To prepare for the party in our little apartment, we have been cleaning all weekend. I'm not the greatest housekeeper; cleaning house definitely isn't my favorite thing to do. Plus I've been doing a lot of parties, so it just seemed like such an effort to load the dishwasher. Hubby definitely did the bulk of the cleaning. He's great about it when he sets his mind on it. He even cleans the bathroom. And no, you can't have him. He's all mine!

For Day 9, positive affirmations cleanse your energy/spirit as you clean a physical part of your home or body. Normally when I'm cleaning, I don't think about how cleaning can clear the way for positive energy into your life. I usually zone out. I guess it's like meditating, right? However, I definitely feel it after I've cleaned. I'm sitting on my couch and I can actually see the floor! And my coffee table doesn't have sticky fingerprints nor does it have dried play dough stuck to it. It feels good to have everything neat and orderly. I promise myself every time we do this crazy cleaning, that I'll keep it up. This time I really mean it.

I know Day 9 isn't just about cleaning. It's about being aware of your daily actions. Don't just go through the motions. Think about the meaning of your actions. I have to say, today's preparation and culmination of the party definitely made me feel all warm and gooey inside. The pigs in the blanket didn't hurt either.

Don't forget to breathe

Yep, I gave in. Those who know me well know that I don't like pink. I even requested no pink items at my baby shower. And my daughter's favorite color is. . .you guessed it! Pink! And now she loves princesses! We're even having a princess birthday party next week. I figure, why fight it? It's just a phase right?

Halloween was such a beautiful day: blue skies, warm sun, and of course, candy! Sophia loves her princess dress. By the time Halloween rolled around, she had already worn it everyday for 3 days. I'm so glad the day was beautiful enough for pictures outside. As you can see, she loves taking pictures. These are the candid shots, between her princess poses.

This dress was a result of 3 all-nighters. I'm the queen of last minute projects. I started Sunday night and finished it early Wednesday morning. The pattern is Vogue 7819. I'm very pleased with how it came out. I loved how the directions had me bag the lining for the bodice. I've never done it that way before--it would work really well with vests too. The sizing on this pattern was very true to size. Sometimes other pattern companies, the ease in the finished garment is so big, I have go down a size. Hopefully she won't outgrow this dress too quickly. It'll be making another appearance at her birthday party.

I think I'm addicted to being busy. I love looking at my calendar and seeing all the days filled with things. All day I run around and try to cram in as much housework and other work as I can. And I forget to breathe and be present. To enjoy the time of just sitting with my thoughts or being fully present with my daughter. So I've joined a Soul Coaching group, found via Leah (who is an amazing artist, btw. Check out her blog!). I joined the group because I need the accountability. Every day I'll post a few thoughts on the process. As suggested by Denise Linn, I've gotten a composition book to record my progress in. I think on Monday, during nap time, I'll decorate the cover and make it mine.

The search is over

Being a bit of a perfectionist, I decided that I would use a glue stick to assemble my Anda pattern instead of taping it. I figured this way if I needed to iron the paper pattern (which I like to when I pull it out of storage as I fold my paper patterns up to fit in envelopes). That way the tape won't melt when I iron the pattern.


When I was in college, this guy that worked in our costume shop (who incidentally was married, but I swear, I thought he played for the other team, if you know what I mean. Heck most guys I meet who work with costumes for the theatre play for the other team.), would iron those Big Four tissue patterns so they would fit back in the original envie, just like when you bought them. Now that's anal retentive.

Anyway, so I sketched out how I'm going to change the pattern for the Mini Challenge. I went to JoAnns today to look for fabric and you know, their apparel fabric selection stinks. I ended up pushing a sleeping toddler in her stroller, wandering around the home dec section (I like making clothes from home dec fabrics) . I did find some gorgeous drapery fabric but didn't want to pay $30 a yard (even at 40% off) since I needed about 3 yards.

Hubby came home early and took the toddler to the park so I got to wander around this fabulous fabric store in Langley Park called Sarah Fabrics. It's a little hole in the wall and you can barely walk around it, there's so much fabric. After walking around the entire store (no small feat for not so skinny moi), in the last batch of fabric, I found this beauty. Yep, it's bright green and purple. I'm going all out, baby! And the purple satin is going to be a sash and band for the sleeves. (No, the Anda pattern doesn't have sleeves, but it will when I'm done).


I can't wait to get started! I know I'll have enough fabric to make Sophia a dress too. A mini-Anda dress, anyone?

Actual Crafting Was Accomplished!

That's right, I actually got some crafting done. I just didn't think about it, but I created it. You know that feeling you get, that itch and you just HAVE to make something? Well, I realized that I have yet to sew clothes for Sophia. So voila, the summer dress! I know, summer is almost over.

She *loves* the dress. I'm so glad. When I was really young, I loved all the clothes my mom made me. However, as I got older, she wanted to dress my little sis and I alike. Welllll. . . sis was the skinny one and I was the chubby one. You see where I'm going? Sophia has worn this dress three times since I made it about 1 1/2 weeks ago. No, I'm not making her wear it as often as she can before summer ends. She picked it out herself.

Okay the directions are easy. I would say this is a experienced beginner (meaning you might have 2 or 3 sewing projects under your belt). I took one of Sophia's tank tops and traced it on some paper (I have large pieces of paper just for patternmaking). Then I added about 1 1/2 inches on each seam since the tank top was a knit and stretches. My fabric is a woven cotton blend and doesn't stretch. The 1/2 inch is my seam allowance. (I have no idea why commerical pattern companies use 5/8". It makes it sooo hard to do math this way. Maybe I'm just not good at fractions.). I also made the bodice shorter than the tank top--I placed the tank against the sleeping toddler (did I mention I made this at 1AM?) to eyeball how long I wanted the bodice to be. I also made the front neckline a bit lower than the front (for comfort). The front is cut on the fold and the back is 2 pieces so she can get her head comfortably through it. I also self-lined the bodice (but you don't have to) by cutting double of the each piece. Sew side seams and shoulder seams. Leave the center back seam open.

The skirt was easy. I only had a piece of fabric about 3/4 yard. I wanted the stripes to run vertically, so I cut the fabric into 3 equal pieces. I sewed the vertical edges together and made a tube. I then ran a gathering stitch ( set your machine on its' longest stitch setting, usually 4 or 5) at 1/4" from the edge. And another one 1/4" from that one. Tip: from the middle of our presser foot to the edge is usually 1/4". I then attached the skirt to the bodice, pulling the gathering threads as needed to make it fit. You want the skirt to be a bit larger than the bodice it's bit more flow-y. I added buttons to the back of the bodice, hemmed the skirt and voila! Instant dress! You can do snaps, zippers, or ties in the back if buttons and buttonholes aren't your thing.

I also cut out some applique pieces for the front of the bodice but haven't gotten around to attaching it yet. Some day. Maybe before she outgrows it. HA! I like this pattern/design because when it becomes to short to be a dress, I can just use it as a top. Thinking ahead. . .