Plum Chevron Shift

I love the chevron prints that are out on the market these days. Many people may say they are "over" the chevron movement but I LOVE IT still. Especially this Moda Purple dots print. I wanted to make something for my daughter that would show offer the print. A simple design with classic lines.

I decided to go retro and make a simple shift with a little girly flair. Here is what you need for this dress:

-1 to 2 yards of fabric
-1 yard lining fabric (I used white cotton)
thread to match

Create your pattern by tracing a well fitted t-shirt. This pattern actually works best with a shirt that is the perfect size or maybe even one size too small. Trace the shirt outline on some packing paper or tissue paper. Then you are going to create a boat neckline. To do this widen your neckline to the shoulders so the shoulder is only about 1 1/2 inches wide. Extend the dress down to the desired length +1inch for hemline  (for a 4T it is about 22inches long.)  Cut the main fabric and the lining fabric on the fold line.

Next create your sleeves adding 2 inches to the top of the sleeve for the puffy effect.

Now you have all your pieces.

Sew the main fabric RST at the shoulders, and repeat with the lining fabric.

Open the main fabric up and press the seams (serge or zigzag for a finished look). Open the lining fabric up and press the seams. With RST pin the main fabric to the lining around the neckline.

 

Flip right side out, press, and top stitch around the neck. 

Now take your sleeves and fold the bottom over 1/4 inch. Press then fold again 1/4 inch. Sew this down to create your hem. Repeat with other sleeve.

Open the sleeve up and make a mark for your gathering stitch. Mind started at the curve of each side of the sleeve. Sew a gathering stitch along the top of the sleeve and gather it to make a puffy top. Then pin with RST to the main fabric with the lining fabric underneath. (RS sleeve-RS main fabric- WS lining fabric. Does that make sense?) Sew the sleeve to the dress.

Now with WST sew the lining pieces together so that the lining hangs free from the bodice of the dress. 

 
This next part is the tricky part. With RST sew the dress up the side seams all the way through the sleeve. Make sure not to sew the lining. 

And you are done! I think next time I will add some elastic to the bottom of the sleeves for an even more puffy sleeve look but I wanted something very simple.

 

Actually the first dress I made was too big for my little girl. She is between a 3T and 4T and I used a t-shirt that is a 4-6T. As I said in the beginning, use a very tight fitted shirt or one that fits perfectly. 

Happy Sewing! Let me know if you have any questions.    

If you are interested in the 5T version of this dress I am selling it in my Etsy shop Today!

Mustard Village Frock

If you are looking for a cute fall/winter dress Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop has a great pattern and tutorial available for just 50 cents (that's right I said 50 cents). The Brooklyn Frock is adorable. I love the smashed ruffles and the button closure in the front.

This is the dress we used for our family pictures and I am so happy I went with this one over the country time dress. I love that it is a solid color, it really shows off the details of the dress. I used a linen in mustard yellow that I found at Joann's. So many linens that I love in stock right now. The color is fantastic with the autumn leaves which we had a blast tossing around and rolling in. The buttons are fabric covered buttons with the same material as the dress. If you have never made fabric covered buttons YOU MUST TRY IT! All you need is a button kit (found at almost any fabric store) and follow the directions on the box. So easy and really cute.

I did make one small adjustment adding ruffles to the arms as well. I used the same technique as the neckline but added it to the sleeves (same sleeve length as the pattern with a 4 inch ruffle piece). It just makes the dress more appropriate for the cooler weather.

Country Time Dress

It is the holiday season which means picture time for many families. Every year we get our family pictures taken (the one time of the year that I am actually in a picture), and I love searching for the perfect clothing ensemble for all of us. I usually pick one clothing item that I love and build on that for everyone. I started this year with a yellow and blue plaid shirt my son likes. So I took those colors and created an apron dress for my daughter.

I used a golden yellow base for the skirt and complimented with this funny chicken fabric for the apron and straps. It has a country feel with a little bit of whimsy.

One thing I love about apron dresses is that you can make small adjustments each time to make it your own. This time I had the straps come together in the back to make a large bow and I added some country eyelet lace to the hem of the apron with a crochet edge.

We didn't actually end up using this dress for the pictures. I made another one that I liked more and went in a different direction. But is still a fun dress and will be worn many times in the future.

Color Block Dress

I love sewing trends, especially trends that are classic looks. I would much rather make a dress that is on trend than buy one and have it go out of fashion feeling like I wasted money on a dress that will be outdated by the time the next little girl arrives. (No immediate plans for another girl but maybe down the road). Anyways, I made a color block dress this week, a trend that I don't think will ever go out of style. I used pink and navy linen, the deep color and stiffer fabric reminds me of fall.

I started with a basic a-line shape (a little wider than usual) and cut it into three sections. Then I cut the fabrics using those 3 sections. I sewed each section together to make the block effect.

 Then I sewed the front and back of the dress together at the shoulders.

Next I created two sleeves and cut the cuffs. You will need 4 cuff pieces (2/sleeve) about 2 inches in width. Find the center of the cuff and cut a small triangle through all the pieces. With RST sew along the bottom where you cut out the triangle. Repeat with other cuff.

 Flip the cuff right side out and press with the iron. Then top stitch along the same line.

With RST match up the raw edges of the cuff and the sleeve. Sew together, open and press, and top stitch along the seam to keep the cuff flat. Repeat with other sleeve.

Attach the sleeves to the arms of the dress and sew up the sides.

With the dress inside out mark on the front of the dress about 2 inches from each side seam and 2 inches from the top of the pink block. These marks are for your elastic. Using a zig zag stitch the elastic all around the backside of the dress starting at one mark and finishing at the other mark. Make sure to pull your elastic tight and try not to stitch directly on the elastic. I used 1/8th size.

Fold your dress in half at the neckline and cut a keyhole shape in the back of the dress.

 

Using your prepared piping pin and sew the piping around the keyhole RST. Flip the edge of the piping underneath the dress and top stitch it in place.

 

 

Attach your elastic in a loop shape to the top of the dress. Then finish off your neckline with the piping RST. Again flip, tuck the ends under, and top stitch along the neck line to hold the piping in place.

Sew your button on.

Turn the bottom of your dress under 1/4th an inch, press, then another 1/4th inch and press. Top stitch the hemline.

Create a bow from the leftover bias tape used for the piping and hand sew it onto the front of the dress.

 

(I know this isn't the most complete tutorial but I was kind of figuring out the piping as I went. Please let me know if you have any questions, I would be happy to explain more.)

It is a simple dress but I love the details that make it special.

Village Frock

So I finally fixed all my little issues with the dress I made over the weekend. All my sewing issues no issues with the pattern (BTW) because this pattern is going to be free for you at Naptime Crafters by the end of this week. That's right I said FREE! Amy is such a great sport that she took a pool of clothing items people wanted a pattern for a made one for everyone to enjoy.

The original dress The Village Frock is from Sugar City Journal but has been out of print for a few years now.

 

 Funny story about that. I saw this dress when I first started sewing and was instantly in love. Searching everywhere for the pattern but not finding it. Finally I asked my dear friend from high school who has a lot of sewing experience if she could tell me how to make the top of the dress since at the time I didn't have a lot of sewing experience.

Her reply was surprising and funny, she told me that the dress I was asking about was actually made by her aunt. Her aunt is the mind behind Sugar City Journal and she just happened to have part of the pattern on her computer. SMALL WORLD in blogging. Well it is 2 years later and I still haven't made the dress. It has a permanent spot on my to do list. Enter Amy, she went and did all the work for me. Way to go Amy and now my daughter finally has her own village frock inspired dress, just in time for fall.

I used blue stretch cotton with this adorable gingham bias tape and covered buttons that I found on sale at Michael's.

The last picture is just for kicks. It was sprinkling when I took these photos. So I got two wishes this week...lower temps and a completed village frock.