The Fine Art of Never Letting Go

I'm sorry I don't have a Before photo. So here's the story. I made a dress ages ago - maybe 20 years, I can't remember - out of this really cute yellow and white check with ladybugs. But it didn't turn out well. I loved it until I put it on and looked in the mirror, then it just didn't work for me. I tried once to fix it by making a complete new bodice for it. Slight improvement but it still didn't work. So for years I tried to think of something else to do to fix it. I considered giving it to Goodwill but it's so hard to let go.

Finally a few weeks ago it hit me. Why not make something for the granddaughter! The pattern is McCall's L9462, plus pockets from another pattern.

Yes it's wrinkled. Don't judge; Her mom honestly doesn't have time for ironing.

You may notice she's holding something very small in her hand.

It was quick and easy to make and she likes it.

But the story doesn't end there. I had a few little scraps left and I had an idea. So I searched for and quickly found some black and white stripe fabric. I used New Look 6963, my current favorite long shirt pattern and here's what I came up with:

And the back:

This is different for me. I don't often wear stripes and never anything as plain as black and white stripes but I love this. Sometimes less really is more. Less of this adorable ladybug check fabric works so much better than more. And best of all, I was able to let go and yet not let go.

For a Small Person and What's Next

UPDATED

For the past two weeks I have been sewing for my granddaughter. Pictures of clothes laid out on the floor are not the best so you'll have to use a little imagination but my model is an hour away and I wanted to show that I have been sewing. These are both McCall's 9227.

I have also been using up small pieces of leftover fabric to make shorts and these capri pants.

I'm probably going to take these to her later today.

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Now I'm really wanting to sew something for myself but I really don't need any more clothes and I'm getting to the point where I can't stuff one more thing into my tiny, overstuffed closet. But, on the other hand, I have all this fabric. I do have three more pieces for the granddaughter and lots more leftovers that might also be enough to make little clothes so maybe I should keep working on that.

I "decided" that I would spend some time altering and fixing some things that I love but that are not quite right one way or another and I actually did one of those. I'm pretty sure something new is coming soon though because the urge is irresistible. I have two new Vintage Vogue patterns that I am excited about: 9106 and 2960. I'm excited about these but also anxious because I'm pretty sure I'm going to have some fitting issues with both. And 9106 is crazy. Those skirt pieces are huge and it requires 60 inch wide fabric. There is not a lot of 60 inch cotton available but I do have some on order. It's a solid color! Can you believe it?

UPDATE: I just got done cutting out the pattern pieces of Vogue 9106 and I have figured out two things. 1. I think the designer might have been high. 2. Although the pattern only gives yardage and cutting layouts for 60 inch wide fabric I'm pretty sure I can make it out of 44 inch fabric. I just need to figure out how much I will need. Probably a lot.

Little Things

I have started and completed several sewing projects in the last two weeks. I feel like I have really been accomplishing things. I will start with a couple of little things I have made for the granddaughter and I will try sometime this week to get around to photographing the two things I have made for myself.

First, this cute little dress is Simplicity 1453.

This was the first time I had used this pattern. It has a lot of little details but it wasn't difficult. I specifically wanted to make her something with cats on it and I found this adorable kitten fabric at eQuilter. The trim fabric is a subtle tumbling blocks print.

Next is this t-shirt.

This is not among my best work but considering how difficult to work with the main fabric was, it turned out better than I expected. It's very soft and drapey and kept trying to run away while I was sewing it. But it's fine for a 4-year-old's play clothes. She likes shiny things so I'm pretty sure she will love it.

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Now it's time to start something else but I haven't decided what yet and I'm feeling sort of anxious being between projects. Maybe take a break from sewing for a couple of days; maybe do some of the altering and re-fashioning that I've been putting off; maybe grab something randomly and just get started? What do you do when you have indecisive days?

Another One For the Granddaughter

Meet my friend Jacqueline - Jacqueline the Ripper.

An evil looking thing isn't she? But I couldn't get much sewing done without her. Most recently she helped me finish this adorable little dress.

It's another McCall's 9227, view B this time. It's not that it was a difficult pattern; I just kept making stupid mistakes - really hair-brained. But we got through it and in the end it turned out great. The only changes I made this time were leaving off the tie belt and adding elastic at the back waistline and adding side seam pockets. Granddaughter is just like her Nana when comes to pockets. They are a must.

I haven't had the chance to give it to her yet but I know she will love it. It's a style of dress she really likes and this is such a fun colorful print. Click on the pic to make it larger and have a better look at all the crazy stuff going on - little deer, birds, giant butterflies and I'm not even sure what some of this stuff is. So much fun.

Another Little Dress and Another Stash-Bust

Another McCall's 9227 for my granddaughter.

Those are not the cap sleeves from the pattern. I just wanted little ruffles so I made little ruffles. Also added the border, like on the last one. On this one I left off the sash and used elastic on the back waistline instead. (I do that on my own dresses that are supposed to have a sash because I really don't like sashes.) I feel like this photo doesn't do it justice. It's super cute and I can hardly wait to see her wear it.

I have had the pink fabric for about three and half years so it counts toward my stash-busting goal of sewing from my older-than-2-years stash at least once a month or an average of 12 a year. The blue pin dot fabric is much newer. Both came from the local quilt shop.

By the way, this and the other little dress are a size 5 in case you were wondering. It's a bit long because she's tall for her age and also she likes her dresses sort of long - well below the knee but not necessarily maxi.

Goal: Sew fabric that I have had for 2+ years at least once a month (or 12 times this year) 4/12

Birdhouses, Birds, and Flowers

This little dress is so freaking adorable I can hardly stand it.

It's for my granddaughter. She told me a while back that she wanted a dress with birds and flowers on it and this is what I came up with. I used McCall's 9227 view A but left off the ruffle and drafted my own curved yoke and butterfly sleeves and added a border to match the yoke.

Sorry I didn't think to photograph the process. Here's a quick tutorial for butterfly or flutter sleeves. To make a pattern piece for the yoke I cut a complete bodice front out of Swedish tracing paper (but you could use any paper) then I traced the edge of various large bowls and plates until I got a curve I liked.

Oops and Nice Recovery

I don't have a before picture. I photograph almost everything I make so I thought surely I had to have a picture of the dress somewhere but I didn't find one. Here's what happened. It was a simple A-line dress. I loved it, mainly for the fabric. I have a bit of a thing for ladybugs, you see. But it had a couple of problems so I didn't wear it very often. One problem was that the arm holes were a bit too small. Easy to fix, right? Well, perhaps I am a bit overconfident at times. When I got done "fixing" the arm holes they were way too big.

So for a while I pouted and tried to think of a way to fix them again. But the armholes weren't the only problem. The pockets were too small to be useful (I made it before I got a smartphone.) and I don't wear A-line dresses much anymore. So I decided to give it up and make something out of it for my granddaughter.

It's McCall's 9227. I lengthened the skirt because she's tall for her age but I might have lengthened it more than I needed to. I think it will be okay though. She often wears longish dresses and not just the ones I make. I will get to see her and give it to her this weekend.

Now I have just one problem: I no longer have a ladybug dress. I can't not have a ladybug dress. Must go fabric shopping.

* This was actually a while ago that I made this and I already have something else to show off but who knows when I will get around to it.

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UPDATE:

It turned out to be a maxi. She loves it. Here she is watching the eclipse, wearing the dress and her dad's welding mask.

Another Little Dress

I made another dress for my granddaughter using McCall's 9207. I really like this one. I like it so much I'm a little embarrassed to admit how much I like my own work. It looks a little odd the way it's laying in this photo but the rick-rack is placed exactly on the waist seam.

I added several inches to the length and it has pockets. You probably can't see them in the photo.

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I added a ruffle to the first dress I made from this pattern, to make it long enough so here's that one. It's a bit of mess but it will be fine for a 3-year-old to wear for everyday play. (I plan to write a separate post sometime about my adventures with gathering - followup to my previous post on that topic.)

A Quick Little Dress

Something I made yesterday for my granddaughter.

I added the patch at the last minute when I realized that it's very difficult to tell the front from the back.

This is the pattern.

A Little Western Shirt

Have you ever made something for a tiny person and it turned out so adorable you wish you could wear it yourself? I'm generally not a big fan of western style clothes for myself but this shirt that I made for my granddaughter is just so darn cute!

The pattern is Kwik Sew 3146. It includes two yoke styles, the western you see here and a standard yoke. It was pretty easy, just like a typical adult shirt pattern but in toddler size. The floral fabric was a scrap left over from a shirt I made for myself a couple of years ago. (I never blogged it and I'm not sure if I have a picture of it but it's one of my favorites.)

I haven't given it to her yet. I'm sure my daughter-in-law will love it. About 3-year-olds you never can tell.