Made a Vintage Reproduction Swing Dress Today

I love this one so much that I think I'm gonna make it in tons of different colors, patterns and sizes. It is classy, flattering, fun to twirl in and has pockets!
This one is in the shop if you're interested... more will follow

I'm so excited about this, but I finally broke down and bought a nice camera. For years I've been doing all of my product shots with either an iphone or ipad. It would take forever and I could only take pictures at certain times of the day when the sun was just in the right spot and if there were clouds... forget it. Today, it took me about five minutes to snap these pictures and I still haven't even learned how to use most of the functions. I'm so happy and wondering why I didn't buy a camera sooner.

Strawberry Shortcake Costume for a Toddler

I made this costume for Lily when she was about 2 and a half.  I designed it to look identical to the Strawberry Shortcake toy that I had from the 70's

I made the dress just like a regular dress and used fabrics and techniques that I would use to make regular clothing.  She was so sweet in this costume but I am going through my Halloween box and realizing that some things are just going to have to go and since the now 8-year-old Lily obviously won't fit in it anymore, It's up for sale.

I'm asking only $25 for it (or a little more if purchased on eBay to cover the fees).  Either way, the shipping is free.  Hat, dress and apron included.  Tights and shoes not included.

on Square Market

or buy on eBay

UPDATE:  it sold right away, but I'm leaving this blog post just because I love this costume :)

Weekly Dress project week number 9 - Rockabilly Swing Dress

This week I let my sister go through my pattern stash and pick the dress for me.  At first I wasn't excited about the choice she made, mainly because there were several other ones that I'd been looking forward to, but I came around once I picked the fabrics.

She chose Butterick B6049 and opted for the halter neck version.

Years ago I had an online boutique where I sold rockabilly style clothing called Addicted to Rockabilly (I still have some of the remaining inventory up on eBay).  I sold a dress from Pin Up Girl Couture that looked pretty much identical to this one.  They called it the Rita Dress.

Above and Below Photos from PinUpGirlClothing.com

There are some differences.  Their version has the halter top with a long tie and the Butterick version has it hooking with a slide hook.  The Butterick version has a fully lined bodice where I could be wrong here, but I don't believe that the Pin Up version was lined. The Butterick version also has pockets!  I love pockets in dresses.
I have a ton of shows lined up for this fall so in order to stock up on inventory, I cut two of these dresses at the same time.  I was making the same size, so I didn't want to use the same pattern.  I made one with a brown and cream cheetah print with deep red accent and the other from a teal with small lavender dots and a bright pink accent.  Both dresses came out fabulous!   I'm sure they will go quick when I get them listed in the shop.

Weekly dress project - Week 5 - Simplicity 1355 Jumper

For week five, I decided to make a jumper instead of a dress because I think these playsuits are fun and I was about to go on a beach weekend vacation.

 In order to challenge myself for this one, I decided to make it using plaid fabric. I have never worked with plaid before, mainly because I was afraid of it. I am always annoyed when I see plaid clothing where the seams don't match up!  Not only did this fabric challenge me because of the pattern, it was a challenge because of the weight of it.  Matching the plaids took forever when I was cutting out the fabric, but once the pieces were all cut out, it was pretty easy.

This project was probably the fastest one that I've completed yet and that is even WITH matching the plaid. I'd imagine that if I made this one using a different fabric, it would only take about 2 hours to complete.
Want me to make you one? email me!
I haven't gotten nice mannequin pictures yet, but didn't want to hold off on posting this because of it. So, I'll just share the pictures I took of myself when I tried it on. Please don't mind the silly hair do(n't).

I decided not to keep it and I didn't take it with me on my vacation because I really wasn't comfortable with that much back showing. I had planned to wear it over a swim suit, so I didn't think it would matter, but once I had it on, I felt really self-conscious. There is nothing wrong with showing one's back, it is just a silly quirk I have because my tattoos aren't finished yet, oh well...
In the future, I may do this pattern again but recreate it to not be open at the back.
I'll be putting it up in the shop once I get some nice mannequin/good lighting pictures. I'll update when I do.

Week 4 of my Weekly Dress project - Lisette Sew Your Style 1419 from Simplicity

This pattern was pretty easy for me. No real challenge to my skills. All of the elements in this dress were skills that I have already mastered. I am supposed to be doing this as a way to expand my knowledge and skill base so I should have picked a more complex pattern. The thing is, this is the style that I like and it was already in my pattern stash.

 I knew I would adore this dress so I purposefully made it too big for me so that I wouldn't be tempted to keep it. I need to sell some of these dresses or I can re-invest in fabrics in order to keep this project going.

 The fabric for this dress cost me about forty dollars plus about 8 hours of my time so I think it is a steal priced at only $84. (If you are looking to purchase it, you'll find it here) Maybe later down the road, I'll make this dress again for myself because I love it! I especially love that it has pockets.

 I love pockets in dresses.
I made the sleeveless version. The only adjustment that I made was to shorten the dress. I shortened it to 20" from waist to hem. I added a tiny tack at the base of the front facing because I noticed that it kept flipping up when I hung it on a hanger. I'm pretty obsessive about how things look from both the inside and outside so it just drove me crazy. I really prefer a lining rather than a facing for this reason. Maybe my future versions of this dress will have that adjustment. I'm confident that I can make this dress in various sizes so this would be one that I'd be happy to create for custom projects.  Let me know if you want one.

Making Handmade Halloween Costumes swells my heart

Last night I was working on my 7-year-old daughter's Halloween costume and I got to a point where I needed her to try it on to make sure that one piece was right.  Being that it was 10pm, she was sound asleep, so I laid the incomplete costume out on the kitchen table with a note on it asking her to try it on for me.

This morning I stepped out of the shower to see a wide-awake, very excited little girl in an incomplete Princess Leia dress standing there beaming!  I am by far NOT a morning person but seeing her in that dress, with an ear-to-ear grin was a great start to the day.

Backing up a little.... last weekend, we watched the original Star Wars and both of my kids have become obsessed.  Being that, in the same weekend, we put up the Halloween decorations, they both decided that their costumes needed to be Star Wars related.  I sat down with my kids individually and sketched out the costumes and measured them and talked about ideas on how they should look. Then I took them each to the fabric store to pick out the materials.  They are so excited about Halloween right now and I'm happy that the excitement isn't just about candy.  It is wonderful to hear their ideas and see their creativity blossom.

I know that not everyone can sew and I know that even some who can, don't have the time or desire to create a one-of-a-kind, complex, completely-overboard-with-detail costume like I have a tendency to want to do, but that planning time and putting the whole thing together has been priceless for me as a mother and a crafter. 

Here are a few that I've done in the past and had a really great time with.

(The Jesse costume is actually up for auction right now on eBay if you are interested)

 I have no idea why I don't have a picture of Lily and I together in our Strawberry Shortcake costumes, but we were so cute! That's her and here was mine.

 I'd made this princess Aurora costume for her 2 years before this picture was taken.  The year I'd made it, she ended up sick on Halloween and because it is kinda stiff and itchy, she refused to wear it.  You know how it is when you don't feel good... you need to be comfortable.

These pumpkin suits were the result of me over-booking my time.  That year I had zero free time for any complex sort of costumes.  Thankfully they both loved them anyway.  Probably because they were so involved in the making of them.  I laid out fleece and had them lie on the floor and I cut around them.  They placed the face pieces where they wanted them stitched and helped me pin them.  Plus, they were comfortable.

I'll share more pictures when I get this year's costumes finished.  But for now,..... back to sewing.

Published in Stuffed Magazine AGAIN!

It is just as thrilling as the last time!  I am down-right giddy over this.  I am holding myself back from carrying this magazine around everywhere, around showing it to strangers.

This One Eyed One Horned Flying Purple People Eater was actually submitted to Stuffed BEFORE Mildred the Monster who was published in the Spring 2013 issue.  I was nervous that he'd gotten lost or something because I moved in between when I submitted him and now.  If they don't like your work... they just ship it back.  They have had him so long that for awhile I'd forgotten about him.

How he came about:
My friend Dickson had a little boy come into his life (who stole such a big part of his heart that he wrote a book about it) and he asked if I could make a 'One Eyed One Horned Flying Purple People Eater' for him to give as a gift.  During the design process I decided that I wanted to go a different direction from the norm.  I crafted him as though the 'Purple People Eaters' were a species that has two eyes and two horns but his were damaged in some way or another.  I also made him a little 'people snack' that goes in his zipper pocket mouth.  I had so much fun making this guy that I was giggling the whole time.  I loved the way he turned out, and so did the little boy he was made for.....

so I made another to be submitted to Stuffed and the rest is history!  I saved the pattern, so I can make more if I ever end up with the time.  Maybe you'll see more of these guys in the future.  For now, just proudly walking around showing off my magazine.