July 4th Countdown

Do you have one going in you house too?  The kids (and adults) are so excited this year.  Everyone in our house is finally old enough to celebrate and head to the fireworks.

We have been reading up on our Olivia. This time of year Olivia Forms a Band  by Ian Falconer is Sophia and Maxon's top pick. Olivia's family is celebrating July 4th also. We always enjoy Olivia's spunky personality and wild imagination.

Staying in true fashion, I made Sophia a 4th of July skirt. I found this great vintage looking  navy, red, and white fabric on ebay. I love that it is not your traditional stars and stripes and can be worn more than once.  I did not use a pattern, as skirts are pretty basic. I am however planning on creating a tutorial for it. So stay tuned!

I wish all of you a safe and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Simple Summer Time Dress

It's getting hot, hot, hot outside! With warm weather come sun dresses. I just love little girls in pretty dresses. Don't you?

After weeding through Sophia's closet, she only has two other dresses for summer that fit. So not enough. Everything in her world is about dresses, tights, and leggings right now.  Let's hope she gets over tights fast with how hot it is now.

I've had this fabric by Amy Butler for over a year now. I feel in love with it the first time I saw it.  Problem is, it just does not go with anything but white. Hence why it has not been used yet. Lucky for Sophia it made a gorgeous dress!

I did three rows of sheering at the top and one row about 4 inches lower.  This created the empire waist. In the back I made one large box pleat. This gives the dress more detail and flow. The straps are simple ties, made from the same fabric.

Always being silly.

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Fashionista Tee

Well the weather was pretty hot and humid for a few days here in the Chicagoland. Now it is cold and rainy again. During the nice weather I hit the kids closets trying on and sorting out articles that don't fit any longer.  I found a few basic tee's that still fit but this one has a small hole and a little stain right in the middle.

Not wanting to toss it I created a patch for it. Seeing as Sophia is a little fashionista, I thought red sunglasses would be perfect!

It was super simple and turned out great!

Here is the before and after.

Hot Chocolate Winter Top

I find inspiration form all over. I found these holiday ornaments and thought that mug of coco would be adorable on a winter top for Sophia.

I LOVE IT!!!

Here is the little tutorial.

You will need three different colors of felt.  One (your choice in color) for the mug, brown or tan for the hot chocolate and white for the whipped cream.

Matching thread and a sewing machine.

I found a photo online of a tea/coffee cup and cut it out to use it as a template.

Stitch on the chocolate part.

Then add the whipped topping.

On to the flower. I used my sewing machine to make the design. If yours does not embroider you can make a simple flower by hand.

I added the stitching on the bottom of the mug with just a needle and thread.

Place and pin to shirt then baste around the edges of the mug.

Your done!!



Holiday Twirl Skirt

Another check off my homemade holiday gifts check list! I made two of these sweet skirts, one for my niece Emma and one for Sophia. Emma will receive hers in the mail early so the girls can match at our family Christmas party and pictures.

I use the Edith Twirl Skirt pattern. For all the little details the skirt has it was really easy and simple pattern to fallow.

Sophia and I love how they turned out!

Dress for Amelia

Do you remember this post with the dresses I made for the Sophia's party? Well Sophia's mom and my friend Sarah, LOVED the dress so much that she had me make a matching pint-sized one for baby Amelia. Their family will be having  photo's taken soon and I can wait to see and post the girls in their matching dresses.

Fun Fall Top

The weather is still nice and warm but I'm starting to think fall. I fell in LOVE with this pattern Simplicity 2711 and the fabric from Brother Sister Design studios. It was pretty easy to follow, my one remark would be that the armholes are a little small. I love all the details from ruffles to pin-tuck! I left off the flutter sleeves as Sophia is so petite, she looked like she was getting ready for take-off. She can just throw on a cute little sweater for those cool days to come.

What a goof, notice her little toung sticking out in almost all the pictures.

 

Cinderella Top Tutorial

Here it is!! Finally right? The tutorial for this top . Sorry it's taken so long but it's been a crazy busy summer. 

Let's get started!! This is a very basic and simple pattern.

You will also need to cut two (2) 45" x 2" strips and (2) 45" x 3" wide strips.

 These strips will become the pleats and bias tape.

Grab your front piece and fold in half. We are going to create the "V neck." Start by cutting a  2" wide and deep V.  then make a 1/4" slit like above photo. This will create 2 flaps. Fold back and press down.

Time to crate pleats.  Grab one of your 2" strips and fold and press in half (right side facing out). If you have a pleat maker/ruffler begin to create your pleats. If you are like me I made mine by hand by folding every half inch like below.

 

Pin pleats to bodice and then bast using a strait stitch.

.

 

Next grab you bias tape. You can make your own or use store bought tape.  Here is a great video for making bias tape.

Sandwich and pin the edge of the front halter arms and chest. Stitch along the open edge of the bias tape, being sure to catch the underneath layer in your seam. Do this the whole length of the tape from one end to the other.

Fold the top in half  find the center of the neck strap. Cut in half. At this point you will want to use your child to measure how long your neck straps need to be and mark where the button and buttonhole need to go.

Notice in below photo one side is longer than the other. This is because the buttonhole needs to over lap the button.

Here is a tutorial for a buttonhole if you need one.

Tuck in and finish the edges. Set the front aside.

Now grab your back halter fabric (the plain rectangle) and fold down one of the long edges 1/4″ and press. Fold again approximately 1″ and press. Then sew along your fold to create your elastic casing.

Next, cut a piece of elastic that will fit your child. You can measure across her back from armpit to armpit to get an idea. Ours was approximately 9". Sophia is on the small side for 3 1/2 :)

Anchor one end of your elastic with a straight pin at one end of your casing. Attach a safety pin to the other end of your elastic and use the safety pin to feed the elastic through the casing.

Half way done!

Now pin the front and back pieces together (right sides facing together) and do a running stitch down each side leaving a 1/2" seam.

Then do a zig-zag stitch down each side to finish edges.

On to the hem.

With your garment inside out  fold up 1/4" and press and  then a 1/2" fold and press. Pin pleating to hem and  using a strait stitch bast pleats to the hem line.

YOUR DONE!