10.11.13

Make it Perfect- Sprout

 The dress I finished last night. My first NON Oliver and S. Here it is in the strange 11pm sewing room light:
The company is Make it Perfect and the pattern in Sprout. The dress is advertised as a winter dress- lined with flannel, long sleeves, hood. Just what we needed around here.
 Notes about the pattern:
1) Make it Perfect is Australian based, so the sizing is different. I had to poke around online to guess which size translated to baby's size. I went with size four.
2) This pattern is an easier one- but I'm still glad I spent the last two years on Oliver and S. Those directions are full of hints and EVERY step needed for a professional finish. This pattern didn't have all that- but it was easy to learn what I used from my past experience.

So, the thing that had me on pins and needles all night- would the dress fit? Did I guess correctly?
 YES!! I did! It fit really well! And she wore it all day with comfort and ease. Played in it, ran it in, napped in it. Lovely.
 I've only been using fabric from my stash. It's time to make a real dent in that fabric stash. It feels great. The floral was a Liberty cotton on sale at Bolt Fabrics and the blue lining was a flannel I bought tons of at Mill End for the back of her baby quilt. I adjusted the hemming so to blue would poke out at the sleeve and the bottom hem.
 I knew pigtails would be just the thing for this dress. With a little lunch to distract her, we managed to wrangle a few hair ties in.
I would change a few things in the next go around. 1) I would either make the sleeve longer or just go up a size in the bodice. With the flannel lining, I'm worried she'll outgrow it quickly. 2) I would use the hood pattern from the school days Oliver and S jacket. It has three pieces instead of two and I like the finish of it.
I just find it amazing I can even think about veering from a pattern at ALL to make something work better for me. This sewing thing has really been a journey.... and I have so much more to learn!


So much running in the new dress meant a little time with Dada was needed. I think we'll see a lot of the dress this winter.







9.11.13

Ice Cream in October

Eighteen luscious, scrumptious flavors
Chocolate, lime and cherry,
Coffee, pumpkin, fudge banana
Caramel cream and boysenberry.
Rocky road and toasted almond,
Butterscotch, vanilla dip,
Butter brickle, apple ripple,
Coconut and mocha chip,
Brandy peach and lemon custard,
Each scoop lovely, smooth and round,
Tallest ice cream cone in town,
Lying there (sniff) on the ground.


-Shel Silverstein

Oliver and S. How I love! And the Ice Cream dress pattern? The best. I've made the dress four times now and the shirt version once. Maybe not 18 luscious flavors- but I'm on my way!

 This particular version is a size four. FOUR! I held it up to the six month size I first made- unreal. That thing about babies growing up fast? True. All true. (Wrinkles in the picture? Because she wore it before I did the photo shoot)
Check the adorable bunny fabric. Perfect.
I made the dress one size bigger than I thought I needed because I didn't want to work and work... then have it not fit. But, I forgot, Oliver and S does a little of that for you. So, it's a little big.

Even a little big, it's perfect for some bunny I know. She wore it all day, put toys in the pocket (is there any other reason to have a pocket?)


 Had to get the the Star Wars shot in all this. She used it as a suitcase, and went on a journey to a galaxy far far away.
Another success. Seeing her in clothes I made... worth it all.
I have another finished, she'll try it on in the morning, fingers crossed it fits. It's not an Oliver and S pattern. Still though, it turned out. Ha! Flannel lined and long sleeves- something for these winter months.