Pattern Test: The Cecily Rose Dress

I've been enjoying a bit of pattern-testing lately.  I love the idea of a new pattern, and being part of the  the process and watching any glitches being ironed out during the test, getting inspiration from other testers, and making some new crafty friends along the way.  I also think it's a great way to pick up new sewing techniques and to learn about the pattern design process.

Anyway, when the call-out for testers for this one popped up on Facebook one day, it caught my attention.  This is the new pattern called the Cecily Rose dress by Heidi of Pollywoggles Patterns.  

This dress is reversible .... yep, so effectively you get 2 outfits in 1 sew ...

Same, same ... but different!  For this dress, I raided the discount fabric table at my local spotlight (any excuse for a trip to the fabric store really!).  I picked up the pink floral for $3 per metre, and the metallic silver and blue for $4 per metre.  I liked that both fabrics are very different, but that I could match the blue in both fabrics to give a contrasting waist-band for each side of the dress.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, Heidi has also included instructions and a photo tutorial for making this dress non-reversible, so this pattern is great even if you want to save a bit on fabric.

Anyway, which side do you like best?  I was sure I'd like the floral side best, but the blue turned out so well, and is very striking.  I think it's my favourite now.

Bethany?  Well, she loves either side for twirling, and with the full circle-skirt, twirling is really the best thing to be doing!

The other interesting feature in this new pattern is the tie up bodice.  I wasn't sure if I would like that feature at first, but it works really nicely, and is a fun way to give a sneak peek at your contrasting fabric.  I think it will also mean that this dress will survive a growth-spurt or two, and it's great to think a handmade goodie will go the distance, huh!

The final version of this pattern has eradicated the little bit of bunching-up you can see at the back of the bodice in the pic above.  The fit was pretty close to start with, but Heidi has tweaked along the way, and now it's perfect.   I have even made a new bodice to check, and I can vouch for it!

Now Heidi has arranged this pattern beautifully, with a very clear guided tutorial complete with photos and line-drawing references along the way.  

And as an added bonus, the pattern and tutorial for this cute headband has also been included.  I really love this, and have made 3 already.  I can see more to come.  Bethany has recently had her hair cut (*sobs uncontrollably*) and this headband looks great, and holds those short little bits of hair back from falling in her face.  It's also elasticated at the back, and Bethany thinks its the most comfortable headband she's ever worn.  Winner, I'd say!   

So, do you want to pick this pattern up, brand spanking new on the market, and with a discount?  Well, as a special celebration of the Cecily Rose pattern release, there is a discount for a short time if you're quick, so head over and check it out.

And a big thanks to Heidi for having me to test this one.  What a lovely group of ladies there were in the test group, and what a fun ride it was!

Had to put this pic in too ... just 'cause I love her pose!!  Funny girl!

Tutorial: High-Low Play-time Dress

I know that high-low dresses and skirts have been around for ages, and to be honest I haven't really liked them until now ... well lots of them anyway, especially the ones where the front is VERY short, and the back is VERY long.  Just not my cup of tea ... maybe a little too much like a mullet haircut... you know the old 80's business in the front, party in the back.  Hmmmm!  Anyway, I've seen a few high-low skirts and dresses in the shops with a much more subtle high-low effect, and decided I really liked them.  It's fun when my tastes change and a whole new world of sewing options open up!  I've also found my fabric-matching taste changing lately.  I never would have put stripes with a busy fabric like this before, but I just love this combo right now.

Anyway, so I decided Bethany needed a new dress (stop laughing ... I know my girls never really NEED a new dress!), and one that will hopefully still fit next summer seeing as our warm weather is slowly coming to an end.  I wanted a quick project, and a dress that would be comfy to wear, but also cute for going to a birthday party or out for lunch.  This is what eventuated... The High-Low Play-Time Dress, and Bethany's a HUGE fan.  She loves this dress, and if it's clean and hanging in her wardrobe, she will most likely pick it to wear for pretty much any occasion.

Little Birdie Pinafore - my first Tutorial Exchange!!

Just think ... free designer fabric and an invitation to design something, make a tutorial and share it with the blogging world ... pretty much my idea of heaven these days!

First off, I just need to say a massive Aussie thank you to Kym at Fabric Fascination and Totally Tutorials for selecting me as one of 5 bloggers who were able to choose some designer fabrics in exchange for a free blog tutorial.  The fabric bundle I chose was the Valori Wells Nest fabrics, which came with a 1/2 yard of the Paisley, and a 1/2 yard of the Birds.   The moment I saw these fabrics online my creative juices started going overtime, and I fluctuated with ideas from something to go in the girl's rooms, to clothing, to bags and back again.  Luckily, living in Australia I had a bit of time to think and ponder before my fabric arrived this week.  When I saw and touched and measured, my mind was made up.  I decided on a little pinafore dress for Hannah, and some accessories to go with it.  I kind of made a few parts up as I went along to try and showcase the fabric as best I could, and the accessories were definitely an afterthought, but I just went a little crazy over this fabric.

I first designed this little pinafore dress a few weeks ago when my Mum and I took Bethany, Hannah and my Niece to see a local kid-entertainment production of The Wizard of Oz.  The organisers suggested that kids could dress up for the show, and my sister-in-law drew my attention to the fact that this could mean sewing with gingham ... lots of gingham ... which as we know, is one of my favourite things.  So I went all Dorothy, and made 3 little blue gingham Dorothy pinafores ... (stay tuned for a blog some time soon about a Dorothy costume refashion into a skirt that's a bit more wearable for a 4-year-old).

Anyway, Hannah just looked so adorable in this design, especially the little cross-over straps, and when I saw this fabric, I just knew this would be such a cute dress for this munchkin.  

Do you wanna make one too?  Here's the instructions, and I'm so happy for anyone to make these little dresses for personal use, as gifts, or even to sell, but as always, please give credit back to me and my blog.  I'd love to see photos if anyone makes one too ... feel free to email to me!

This tutorial is based on Hannah's size - She's 10 months old, but pretty petite, so this is probably about a 6 month size.  I have indicated how you can adjust this pattern to fit any size.

Here's what you'll need:

- About a yard (or a little under a metre) of fabric (or 2 fabrics if you want to have contrasting fabrics like this)

- 2 buttons, or coverable buttons and button-covering tool like I've used to make matching buttons

- 1" wide elastic

- Sewing Machine

- Cotton

- Scissors or rotary cutter and mat

Cut:

Fabric A:

- Skirt - 2 rectangles, 16 1/2" x 8" (or measure waist circumference x desired length)

- Bib - 2 squares, 6" x 6" (or measure from waist to mid-chest and cut squares this size)

- Straps - 2 rectangles, 14" x 2 1/2" (or measure from back of hip across back and over shoulder to opposite chest, and cut straps this length x 2 1/2")

Fabric B:

- Wasitband - 1 rectangle, 16 1/2" x 2 3/4" (or waist circumference x 2 3/4")

                    - 1 rectangle, 8 1/4" x 2 3/4" (or 1/2 waist circumference x 2 3/4")

- Bottom Band - 2 rectangles, 16 1/2" x 4" (or waist circumference x 4")

Elastic - Cut a 8 1/4" length (or 1/2 waist circumference)

This is what you should have:

Now, to sew it ...

1.  The back of the skirt.  Take one of the Fabric A large rectangles (16 1/2" x 8"), and the Fabric B 16 1/2" x 2 3/4" rectangle (waistband).  Iron the waistband piece in half long ways.  Line up both pieces along their long edge, right sides together and sew using 1/4" seam.  Remember, if you have a directional fabric like my birds, you want to make sure you sew it the right way, so that when the waistband is flipped up, it's the right way up .... I'm not openly admitting that I had to unpick and do it again ... just a suggestion!!!  LOL!)  Then open out this seam and iron flat.

2. On the raw edge of the waistband, fold over and iron a 1/4", then flip the waistband over to the wrong side of the Fabric A piece and pin along with the 1/4" section folded in so you don't see any raw edges.  Try to line it up so it just covers the last row of sewing my a millimetre or so.

Then flip back over the right side of the skirt, and sew along just in the ditch from the original seam, trying to get all your stitches in the ditch so that they don't show.  I went really slowly, and kept checking the back as I went to make sure the back was being caught in.  Now it should look like this on the back:

3.  Thread your elastic through the waistband using a safety pin.  When the end of the elastic lines up with the edge of the waist band, sew it in place about 1/8" from the edge, then continue threading your elastic through to the other end of the waistband.  When it's through, sew that end too, about 1/8" from the edge.  These stitches will be covered up later by the side seams, but just hold the elastic in place for now.  The back of the skirt is done, and should look something like this:

4. Now for the front of the skirt.  Take your other large Fabric A rectangle (16 1/2" x 8") and your other Fabric B wasitband piece (8  1/4" x 2 3/4").  Iron the wasitband piece in half long ways.  We're not putting elastic in the front so that the wasitband sits nice and flat, but we still want our skirt to gather up in the same way the back has, so we need to do some gathering.

Set your machine to it's longest stitch ... on mine, it's No 6.

Then sew a straight line along the long edge of the Fabric A skirt piece, about 1/4" from the edge.  Don't backstitch at the ends, or you won't be able to pull it through.  As this is on the longest stitch, it may start to gather a little by itself as you sew, and that's fine.  Then lay your piece on the table, and pull EITHER the back or the front thread at each end to gather the skirt up.  Keep pulling until the top of the skirt piece is the same length as your waistband piece, but try to be gentle so you don't break the thread.  Spread the gathers out evenly, then pin the skirt piece to the waistband piece, right sides together.  I find it easier to pin one end, then the other, then add pins along the middle to keep it all together.

Sew the waist band to the skirt piece (put the stitch length back to your normal length first!!).  Open the seam and press flat.  Then, same as the back of the skirt, turn the raw edge of the wasitband over 1/4" and iron.  Then flip the wasitband over to the back and pin just covering the last row of stitching.  Turn back over to the front and sew in the ditch to hide your stitches, but making sure you catch the hem at the back.

Now you've got both your skirt pieces, and that's the trickiest bit done ... great job!

5.  Put your skirt pieces right sides together, pin the side seams and sew 1/4" seams down each side.  Try really hard to line your wasitbands up perfectly, as this just looks so much better on the finished product.  Overlock (serge) or zigzag the raw edges to stop fraying. 

6.  Now to put the band of Fabric B on the bottom of the skirt.  You could totally just hem the skirt and leave it a little shorter (like I did with the Dorothy dresses), or you can add the band.  I think the band is a nice way to incorporate your contrasting fabric.

Take your two band pieces of Fabric B (4" x 16 1/2" pieces), and sew them together with a 1/4" seam at one of the short ends to make 1 long strip.  Iron out the seam, and iron the whole piece in half long ways to make a crease.  Open it up, and pin to the skirt, right sides together all the way around, like this.  Try to line the ends up with one of the side seams, and pin the raw edges of the band pieces together at the end of the round.

Sew around the band piece using 1/4" seam and when you get to the end, sew straight down the ends to close off the band piece.

As with the waistbands, fold over and iron 1/4" along the raw edge, flip the band over to the back and pin, just covering the first row of stitching.  Flip back to the right side, and sew in the ditch to hide your stitches, catching the back of the hem as you go.

Then do a little happy dance at having finished the skirt piece, and maybe a nice cuppa and a chocolate biscuit, then move on to the bib! (Ok, this step is totally optional, but definitely makes the whole process much more fun!)

7.  Take your 2 Fabric A 6" squares, and sew right sides together around 3 sides (using 1/4" seam).  Snip the corners off and turn it through, trying to get those top corners nice and pointy, give it a good iron, then topstitch around the same 3 sides about 1/8" from the edge.

8. Measure your buttons and do a buttonhole on each of the top corners long enough for the buttons.

9.  With right side out, fold the bottom raw edge up 1/4" and iron it well.  Then pin the bib, with those raw edges sandwiched on the inside, to the waistband of the skirt.  I just eye-balled it to get it in the middle.  At this point, it looks better to sew 2 rows, as if topstitching on the front of the waist band 1/8" from each side.  It also looks neater to go along the full length of the waistband, and not just the bib.

Now it looks like this:

10.  Take your 2 strap Fabric A pieces.  Fold in half length ways, and sew right sides together 1/4" down the length to make 2 long tubes.  Use a safety-pin to turn the tubes through to the right side, then iron flat.  Fold the ends into the tube and iron flat, then top-stitch to close the ends of the tubes.  They should look like this: 

11. Turn the skirt inside-out, and lay on the table with the back elastic waistband up.  Measure or eye-ball approximately 1 1/2" from the side of the elastic waistband on each side and pin the strap in place.  I like to attach the strap on an angle like in the pic below so that when the straps are crossed over they sit nicely.  Sew across the strap at the top and bottom of the waistband, and backstitch for extra strength.  The ruffled waistband with the elastic helps to hide the stitches, so don't worry too much about them showing, but do try and use a cotton colour that will blend in.

12.  All that's left is to do is attach buttons to the end of the straps.  I have a thing for covered buttons at the moment, and bought a kit in bulk, so I decided to make buttons to match the beautiful paisley fabric.

Ta-Dah!!!!

And, as a stroke of luck, I managed to get my mini-model to cooperate with modeling the back of her new dress.  A pale pink onesie underneath just looks so cute I think.

But of course, I couldn't stop there.  I decided to try my hand at some headbands.  The first one I made (with the bow) is actually a little small, but would probably fit a new-born.  Maybe one day I'll learn to measure before sewing rather than the other way around!!  So Hannah got a cute little bird fabric one.  Bethany, who was a little jealous that all of "Mummy's special fabric" was being used on projects for Hannah, decided she'd like a bird headband, with a paisley heart, so that one's hers.

I was planning to do a tutorial on the headbands, which I just made up based on ones I've seen on kids around the place, but when I googled them, there are already lots of tutorials out there like this one and this one.  The only difference is that I kept my headbands narrow, and the elastic section is the same width as the headband.  No point re-inventing the wheel with a new tutorial on these. 

Then, with my excitement over this fabric still spilling-over, I decided to have a go at a shoe pattern I saw recently on the Crazy Little Projects blog.  They turned out really cute, but did test this beginner sewer's brain a little.  I love them though, and think they just set off the whole outfit.

One thing that I've realised through this tutorial exchange experience is just how expensive fabrics in Australia are ... I've had a look at the Fabric Fascination shop here and this beautiful fabric bundle is amazingly priced even with the shipping fee, which is very reasonable.  I'm actually amazed by the fact that I can buy beautiful designer fabrics, pay shipping costs to Australia, and still be way ahead than buying fabric here.  I think I'm about to become an online fabric shopping addict ... sorry Aussie suppliers! Plus, how much easier is it to shop online than drag 2 munchkins to the fabric shop, and if it also saves money, it's hard to go past!

Anyhow, a huge thanks again to Kym and Fabric Fascination.  I've loved every minute of my first tutorial exchange, and can't wait to see what the other bloggers have made with their fabrics.

Waste Not Want Not - Little Summer Dresses

Well, apart from how cute they are, one BIG bonus of having two girls is that I get to re-use all of the super-cute little girly clothes from Bethany.  I love dressing my girls, and styling cute outfits.  So, recently I was going through some boxes of Bethany's baby clothes to see what I might re-use for Hannah.  I found a gorgeous little shirred sun-dress that my mother-in-law made.  Bethany wore it so much, and for that reason it's a little stained, so I decided Hannah probably couldn't wear that one, but would definitely need one of her own.  As I was studying it to figure out how I might be able to make a similar one, I remembered that one of the reasons I loved this dress so much was because it was made out of a cotton muslin-type fabric ... you know, the stuff they make baby wraps from.  It's so super-soft and it dries almost instantly.  Well, once I realised this, there was no turning back.  I have a stack of baby wraps that Hannah hardly used (she hated being wrapped, and preferred her sleeping bag) in all sorts of pretty colours and weights.  Well, wraps are really just a beautiful piece of fabric with a hem, right?  So once they're finished being used as wraps, it could so easily be used for something else ... like a sundress or two!

I also saw this as a great chance to try shirring for the very first time.  I was extremely nervous as I wound the shirring elastic onto my bobbin.  Lots of blogs I've been reading have been saying shirring like this is really simple and easy, but I wasn't convinced.  Well, it's true...shirring like this is E-A-S-Y, and looks really effective too.

Anyway, here's a little tutorial on how I made some pretty little summer dresses for Hannah from her no-longer-needed muslin wraps.  Oh, and as usual, I'm totally happy for you to use my design for personal use or even to sell, but please always give credit back to me for this design.  Thanks!!

Size - Hannah is 9 months old, but a pretty petite little thing, so I would guess this would make a dress for a 6-9 month old.  But remember, with the shirring elastic it's very stretchy, so would comfortably fit a bigger munchkin...you could just adjust the length to make it long enough.

You'll need:

- 1 cotton muslin wrap - any weight is fine - The ones I've used were about 40" x 40ish", and I reckon for this size (to fit about a 6-9 month old) you could get 2 dresses from 1 wrap ... and double the fun!
- 1 reel of Shirring elastic (this costs only about $2, and as well as in fabric / craft shops, I also found it in Big W, so it's pretty readily available).
- Lace or other embelishment (if you want)
- Scissors or craft mat and rotary cutter
- Sewing machine

How to make it:

1.  Lay your wrap out flat ... if it's been folded for a while, or freshly washed, it would help to iron it first to make sure you get it nice and flat.  Then measure down 15" from the top, and cut straight across to make a rectangle of 40" x 15".  A rotary cutter, ruler and mat makes it so much easier to measure and cut straight.

2.  Leave the hem in place on the top 40" edge, as we will re-use this hem for the top of our dress (love when I can make less work for me).  But, cut the hems off both of the 15" sides.

3.  Turn the bottom raw 40" edge over 1/2", then again another 1/2"to make a double hem, and sew it.  I found it's much easier to hem this little dress before you do the shirring.  We all know I'm a sucker for a bit of ric-rac or lace, so if you're adding an embellishment to the bottom like I did, you could also put that on at this stage too.

4.  Wind a bobbin with the shirring elastic.  For my machine, which is a Pfaff (a very basic one that's about 25 years old ... a hand me down from my Mum), it worked perfectly fine (phew!!) to wind it by hand, trying not to stretch the elastic while winding it, but making sure it's wound firmly.  If you have problems, try Googling about your machine type and "shirring", because I've seen some great tips out there on various blogs for different machine types.  Then pop the bobbin in to your machine.

5.  Sew with the right side up, because you want the elastic to be on the back so it's not seen.  Sew a straight line along the top 40" side.  I lined the edge of my machine foot up with the stitching of the hem we left in place in Step 2.  As you sew, the elastic will begin to gather up the fabric which is what we want (it is shirring after all), but can make it a bit tricky to sew straight.  I found that if I guided the fabric through at the front with one hand, then stretched it out flat at the back with the other hand, this made it much easier.  Be warned, after you have finished the first row you'll think "Ewww, that looks terrible!!", but trust me, once you've done a few rows it really comes together.  Oh, and remember not to back stitch at the beginning and end of the rows.

6.  Sew another row in the same way, about 1/4" from the first row.  I use my machine foot to measure the width between each row, and therefore the width of my foot is the space between each row.  Keep sewing straight lines, pulling the fabric flat as you sew until you've done 10 rows. (If you're making this for a bigger child, you may need more rows).  For 1 dress, I used 2.5 bobbins of shirring elastic.  I would suggest it's better to change the bobbin when you're at the end of a row, rather than running out mid-row, 'cause where I changed bobbins mid-row, a few stitches of shirring came undone and stopped it sitting evenly.  It's not the end of the world, but if you want to make it perfect, that's my tip!

7.  Don't trim off the dangly ends (that's a very technical term!!) of shirring elastic from each row just yet.  Fold the whole fabric in half, right sides together, and sew a 1/2 inch seam, which will be the back seam of the dress.  It's easier if you pin this before sewing it, as the shirring can make it difficult to see where you're sewing.  I also found it easier to start the seam at the top of the dress, and sew down to the bottom.

8.  Go along each row of the shirring and tie together the ends of the shirring elastic (the dangly bits!!) to stop them from slipping undone during wearing, then trim off any ends to neaten it up.  I don't have an overlocker (serger) but if you do, you could totally just overlock the back seam, and this would be just as good as tying the ends off.  Would probably be much neater too.  (I'm dying to get an overlocker ... just need to find a space to keep it!!)

9.  Now, for the straps, go back to your leftover piece of wrap, and cut a 2.5" strip along the raw 40" edge.  Cut the hem off each end, then fold the strip in half long ways and sew down the long edge with right sides together to make a long tube.  Use a safety pin to turn it through, then iron it flat.

10.  Measure 5 1/2" along the tube, and cut it off ... that's one strap, then measure another 5 1/2" and cut, and that's 2 straps.  You should be able to get all 4 straps from this strip in order to make 2 dresses from 1 wrap.

11.  Lay the little dress down on the table, with the back seam in the middle of the back, and measure about 1.5" from each side of the seam (without stretching the shirring out), and mark with pins.  This is where you will attach each strap.  Mark the corresponding point on the front of the dress with pins, this is where the front of the straps will attach.

12.  Fold the end of the strap over about 1/4", and sew the strap on the inside of the dress at the point marked with the pin, with the raw edge in, so that it can't be seen or fray.  Then sew the other end of the strap in the same way at the front.  Repeat with the other strap.

Ta-da ... the cutest little sun-dress ever for a bub, and some shirring practice in the process all without spending a cent on fabric, and using up some gorgeous fabric wraps that we no longer needed.  Love a satisfying project like that!!!!  The blue one was my first attempt, then when it turned out so well, I couldn't resist a pretty little pink one too.

And now that the weather is slowly warming up here in Sydney, it won't be long 'til little Hannah can try out her summer frocks!