Reunited!

I'm so happy to be back and reunited with the sewing machine - 16 months without one and I've been hanging out to just make something - anything - HUZZAH!

*beam*

OK you can totally tell I'm excited right? So then - what to make? I was humming and hawing until I was told that the nieces and nephew would all be in the same city in a week or so. Obviously dresses for the girls and for the little fella... well he'd get something store bought (boys clothes are somehow a lot more difficult to deal with!)

The dress for Princess S needed to be just like her - bright and bold - so I picked out a red fabric with huge white polka dots and made it out in her favourite dress design, Butterick B4701, previously made here and here. I finished it off with a subtle daisy chain at the waist. The waist ties have been tied around the back of the dress so you can see the shape in this photo.

Princess S dress

For SY2, I wanted something more subtle and in a print similar to what you might find in Country Road. I ended up choosing a pale yellow with a leaf print, more suitable for the tropics where she lives. To make this dress I used the Get Creative: 4006 pattern I've used previously here and here - and altered it from the version modelled by Princess S by removing the V cutout in the neck, inserting a zipper and lining the bodice in a similar manner to the Butterick dress above. Waist ties also tied up around the back here.

SY2 dress

Very happy with how both dresses turned out - but I have to admit it was a bit slow going after not having sewn anything for 16+ months. I had to even stop to think about how to rethread my bobbin for a bit!

I'm hoping this means the end of the sewing drought for awhile :)

Get Creative 4006: Little Girls' Dresses - modelled by Princess S

As the title suggests, I've gotten Princess S to model the dress I made for her not too long ago.

Note the model-ly pose on the left. Love it!

Feedback was that it was a bit of an effort to get her arms through the armholes and that the dress could really do with a zip somewhere so it would be easier to put on. Obviously this wasn't part of the original pattern but I'll look into it when I make the next one.

Seeing as the pattern size I used was for a 4-year-old and she's 3.5 years right now, I'm both surprised and grateful that it actually fits her. A previous size 4 dress that I'd made for her is now too small to fit so if I'm going to make another dress from this pattern for her, it better happen soon!

Get Creative 4006: Little Girls' Dresses

Using the same pattern as I did for the little girl's top/pinafore I made previously, I went ahead with my plans of making a some dresses for Princess S and Little Miss M.

Being housebound for a week with the flu gave me time to cut up the fabric and make up the dresses, but I must say they were a real effort seeing as even picking up the scissors was super tiring in the state that I was in.

After sifting through my stash I decided the dresses were both going to have polka dots. I started with the smaller dress first for Little Miss M - the top/pinafore I previously made for her using the 6 month old sizing fits her perfectly right now, so I decided that since winter is approaching I'd be better off making it for a 1 year old so it'll be ready for her to wear when the weather warms up again (or when she moves back to the tropics, whichever comes first). Instead of the typical pink combinations that lots of little girls wear, I thought I'd make it up in a bold blue/brown fabric.


I then moved on to the 4 year old version for Princess S in her favourite colour pink, accented with a variety of gelati coloured spots.


Here's my rundown:

Material
I used 100% quilting cotton with polka dots for both dresses. The pattern called for ric-rac to edge the dresses, but I went with no notions (mainly due to being unable to leave the house to go shopping!)
Plain white/pale blue thread was used for the stitching, depending on the dress colour.

Pattern (Get Creative 4006 : View B)
This view of the pattern was fairly easy to follow, with the only exception being that some of the steps were misnumbered in the instructions. I finished the blue dress as per instructions, but I have to say that I really didn't like having to finish off the sleeves with bias-binding. I made the binding myself, but ended up doing a long and messy job of it. I probably need more practice with this, but to speed things up with the pink dress, I omitted the binding and instead zig-zagged the armholes and finished them with a narrow hem. I also omitted the ric-rac as mentioned above.
Note the inside and outside of the armhole, done my way
(excuse the slightly crooked stitching *ahem*)
Would I do it again?
After making this up twice, I'm a lot more confident in what areas of the dress I would change if I made it up again (i.e. changing the armhole finishings). I'm sure you will all agree that making something up the second time around can make a big difference in how long it takes and what it ends up looking like - unfortunately for me I tend to get bored of making the same thing over and over - but in this case I'll probably try this again with the ric-rac trim to see how it looks if it looks good on the girls.

***EDIT*** (31/03/10)
The dress looks pretty good on, but apparently it is a little hard to get on and off. I think the next one may need a zip added.
***END***

Giveaway reminder

Just a note to remind you that my giveaway ends in one day so if you haven't already entered and are interested in a free sewing pattern, get in quick!

Good luck!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Get Creative 4006: Little Girls Top

Using one of the many patterns I purchased from Spotlight's Get Creative range (win one here), I decided it was time to try my hand at making something for Little Miss SY2. I hadn't realised that I had patterns for 6-month-olds so I was very happy to come across this one. After umming and ahhing a bit I decided to try my hand at a little top for her.

Material
I used some very cute quilting cotton from Japan. The squirrels and hedgehogs on the pale pink background were perfect for a garment for a little girl.
Plain white thread was used for the stitching.

Pattern (Get Creative 4006 : View C)
The pattern was very straightforward and easy to follow. The only difference I made is that I didn't finish the bottom up with lace or ric-rac as the material was busy enough. I also omitted the bow for the same reason. I think if I made this up in a plain material a contrasting trim would be ideal.

Would I do it again?
Unfortunately I don't have Little Miss M around to test the fit, but I am quite confident she'll be able to wear this. I'm keen to try this out in a couple of other colours once I'm sure that the straps are the correct length (the design said adjust length to fit)

Hoping she'll like it.