Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Valentine's Day Love!


What a better way to celebrate Valentine's Day then sewing for my two youngest loves! 

After Christmas these two loved their matching outfits so I had to make another holiday set as requested by both of them. (I better enjoy this while I can!! The three older ones have by far out grew this stage.) 


These fabrics are all from Whimsical Fabrics in one great bundle on sale today only! (Well all but the corduroy pants that is.) All four prints are included in one set for one great low price, you can't beat that! I bought the corduroy from Whimsical fabrics as well a while ago. It was great to be able to make matching sets and not worrying about pairing prints and fabrics. 

You can find this bundle deal at Whimsical Fabrics and Me Group. Look for the Wacky Wednesday deal!! 


First onto my little Price C. He is wearing Oliver and S Art Museum pants and vest paired with the Sketchbook shirt.  The pants are sewn in a Fabric Finders cord, complete with welt pockets on the back side. Price C could live in these pants! I have two more sets that need to be sewn this winter for him.  




The vest also has the wonderful welt pockets on the front, a plus for little man. He loves the pockets on this vest so much!  I made the vest lining and back vest in the same fabric as the sketchbook shirt. I think it has a Dick Van Dyke look to them. 



I cut the front welt pockets out on the bias for diagonal stripes.  


I also modified the sketchbook shirt to make it a two piece collar instead of a one piece. I love the way the collar fits like this. I also added a bias hem to the bottom of the shirt just for fun for me.  


Outfit #1 for Sweet pea! The blouse is the Children's Corner Mary De pattern and the skirt is from Oliver and S Swing Set skirt. The blouse is made straight form the pattern, no mods. I love the fit and style of this blouse with skirts! I can see a few more of these being sewn up. 


The skirt I did add a hem band to the skirt's lining for a second fabric to the skirt to be seen while worn. Sweet pea decided that this outfit is perfect for dancing in, and that is just what she and Price C was doing! Ha-ha! 


Outfit #2 for Sweet pea! 

This one is from Children's Corner Mary De pattern. All I can say is :LOVE!!!
The blouse above is the under shirt for the jumper. It looks great with or with out the jumper. The jumper can be worn without the blouse for summer time as well. It's so lovely and classic.  


The smocking plate included in the pattern was perfect for a Valentine's Day outfit as well. I really enjoyed making this dress so very much. I will not lie when I say I took my time smocking because I was enjoying it so. I need to start smocking much more often! 


I even made a piping for the jumper out of the pink and white striped fabric. 


Here is the back side, it has a lovely crossed wrap style back. I will be making a voile version for summer time of the jumper part. I am wondering how it will pleat up but I am sure it will be so much fun to make. 


Happy Valentines Day from us to you!!! 

Sharon and family


Sunday, December 20, 2015

Fairy tale Christmas dress for Sweet pea and her doll!



Last month I made Sweet pea a purple Art Gallery Fairy Tale dress for the holiday season, it's perfect for Christmas and New Years alike. It turned out to be a favorite dress of hers. So for Christmas her doll Isabelle had to have one as well to match Sweet pea's. 


 Since Oliver and S does not have doll pattern for all their patterns yet (*Hint, hint Liesl!!)I had to draft my own. I did leave the darts off this dress but on the next one I will add them to it. This dress is sewn very much like the big version, fully lined with a full crinoline underneath and finished with a big sash bow tied on back. 


The plan was for this dress to be a Christmas morning present but Sweet pea found it before hand any way so it is now on Isabelle for the Christmas week.  She does have to change into her pj's at night though. ;-) 


Here is the skirt's details. Sweet pea wanted it to be just like hers. This dress was also sewn with just the scraps from Sweet pea's dress. I think on my next Oliver and S pattern I will do the very same again! I think this will be some fun projects for the New Year for both my daughter and I. 



Well these two all set for Christmas Eve! I still have 5 sewing days left and so much more to blog about!

happy Sewing!!


Sharon

Friday, December 4, 2015

Free Christmas Stocking pattern and Tutorial!

Remember the Christmas stocking pattern I was working on this past fall?! Well it's all ready and up! 



Go on over to Whimsical Fabrics to get the free pattern and tutorial!! 


Happy Sewing!!

Sharon 

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Faraway Downs, Some Doll Dress Sewing


It's that time of year again, Christmas gift sewing has started in my house. So to kick off the first week of sewing I started out with a Liberty Jane doll pattern. I find sewing for dolls so very relaxing, just what the doctor ordered this week!


The pattern is Faraway Downs for American Girl dolls, although this pattern has many different sizes for all types of dolls. This dress I made is really for Sarah's brand new doll that Santa is bringing her, the Girl Of The Year Grace. My doll was ever so sweet in modeling it for me. ;-) My Doll is an older version of the AG dolls so her bottom is a wee bit nigger than the newer dolls so this dress is a tad snug on her lower half. If you are wondering yes I was super tempted to open up Grace and try the dress on her, hehehe, but I didn't. 


The dress is fully lined and is sewn in Fabric Finders Chambray. I really love all the details on this pattern. The real princes seams,the top stitching, the collar, the ruffles right down to the wee buttons on the front. It was a such a satisfying pattern to sew. The better part if that it only took me a few hours as well. (Those were children sleeping hours as well) 


Now that I have finished this pattern I have a few more Liberty Jane patterns lined up to sew Grace doll. I know Sweet pea will be so surprised on Christmas morning this year. 



Happy Sewing!!!


Sharon 

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Sleepy Bear Pj's for all the kids and a Sew-Along!!


So if you know me or have followed me blog for a few years you know how much my kids love winter pj's made by their mama. My kiddos have outgrown all their sets from a few years ago so it's time to remake them. Yep some of my favorite fun sewing, pj party at my house!! 
**Warning lots of photos to follow, I made 6 sets this round**


 For all the Pj's I used the Ellie Inspired Sleepy Bear pj pattern, including the dolls' pj. All the tops are made with Riley Blake knits and the pants are made using Riley Blake Flannel. The flannel is by far my very favorite to work with of all the brands. 


I love this pattern for how easy and quick it is! It took me 1 and 1/2 days to sew all these sets up. Yep it's that quick! The pattern does call for a short sleeve but I made a mod for the long sleeve. That was super easy to make as well. 


My kids love how roomy the pants and top fit. Perfect for curling up with a good book on a cold winters night. They are so cozy that I am thinking of making me set like this, if only it came in my size....


Of course miss Elsa and Isabelle had to match their mommy! The awesome part of the doll pattern is that both sets were made for Sarah's left over fabrics only. How awesome is that?! One reason I love tiny sewing! 


For the doll pattern I used the robe sleeve pattern for the pj top instead of the short sleeve pj t-shirt pattern piece. I did use lettuce edging on the bottom of both Sarah's and doll's pj top as well. They had to be girly as requested by miss Sweet pea. 


Now onto the sew along fun!! Starting on December 14th I will be leading the Sew along for this pattern over at Whimsical Fabrics! We will only be sewing the top and pants this time. (You can sew a robe up as well) I will even be teaching how to make a modification on a pattern to make a short sleeve into a long sleeve. If you have done this before it really is fairy easy. 


As always Danielle has put together some awesome kits for you.  If you have not bought one from her yet this would be a great starting project, she includes everything needed but the thread, including the elastic for the waist band. She has so many wonderful options with this one! Christmas and non-Christmas ones. You can find all the kits options in the Whimsical Fabrics Shop. 


Now I am sure you have noticed how much my little man has grown. Last year this time I was sewing him a size one, the pants were a bit big on him them. Well this year I had to cut a size 3.... When did he grow so much?!? Yipes! This mama is a bit sad over this one. The two older boys are still a 10 and Sweet pea still is a size 5, only taller. My oldest though has gone from a size 14 boys to men's sizing. He is taller than me now. It is so amazing how much growing a child can do in just a few short months. 





Some little mommy loving. Sweet pea adores her baby doll. 


I do love how this pattern does fit all my kiddos with only one pattern. It starts in a size one and goes all the way to a size 16.  The pattern does also include a robe pattern but I didn't sew one up this time. 






As you can see these made my bunch very happy! 

Happy Sewing!! 

Sharon

Monday, November 23, 2015

A Party Dress For Me!




This past week I was a very lucky lady to be able to test Suzanne's newest pattern From Winter Wear Designs, the Bateau Garden Dress for Women. This pattern will release this week, just in time for all the holiday parties coming up and this dress is perfect for a party! 




I love the classic feel this dress has to it, form fitting with princess seams on both the front and back bodice. It has a size invisible zipper with a fully lined bodice and the option to have a fully lined skirt. (Which I did not make.) 


I love the high front bodice and the low back bodice on this one. It has that 1950s feel I think. I can see me making a nice cotton or voile one up for summer time. 


This one I made is a Brocade, I love the weight it has and the drape it gives to the skirt. I made a circle skirt but he patter also has a  rectangle skirt option. I think the circle skirt is just so flattering though. The circle skirt has a box pleat at each princess seam as well. 




If you are friends of mine you already know how I dislike the scar at my neck line, well this dress covers it completely!! Yep, bonus points to this pattern. ;-) And check out the side zipper! Well check out how you can't see it. ha-ha! 

This is a highly recommended pattern of mine, a new favorite for me for sure. 


happy Sewing Ladies!! 


Sharon