Waste Not Want Not: Bubble Dresses (from Onesies)

So, Hannah's toilet-trained ... and sleeping in a big-girl bed, and in the big-kid class at swimming lessons (you know, the one where the Mums are relegated to the seats at the side of the pool instead of being in the pool with their babies)!  Where has my baby gone?  I've shed a couple of tears I must admit, but she's so enjoying being a big-girl.  I guess her joy and excitement will take the edge off this Mummy's broken heart, and of course I'm constantly thankful for the blessing of healthy, happy, growing munchkins!

Anyway, with growing up also comes a lack of need for baby things like onesies.  I mean, it really is a little unfair to expect this 2 1/2 year old to get herself out of a onesie in time to make it to the toilet ... and she does insist on taking herself to the toilet ... "I do it myself Mummy ... you stay out!" *sobs*  So those size 2 onesies I bought on sale last year, ready for this winter are absolutely no use to us at all now ... and they're brand new.  Time for a waste-not-want-not project me-thinks!

I've wanted to have a go at a bubble dress for ages and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.  I found some cute knit fabrics I've had stashed since I bought them on sale, and seeing as they're a little warmer than a light cotton poplin or something I thought they would also work for our winter weather.

Now, I know there are other ways to do bubble dresses, but this was a nap-time project for me and I was really happy with the super-quick way these came together.  I got both of these little dresses done in a couple of hours from beginning to end.  Not bad, huh! (Oh, and pay no attention to the super-crushed-ness of these dresses in the photos.  They've been worn and washed a number of times by now, and these were taken straight off the line for photos ... you now how it is!

The best part of this project (as with any other sewing for my kids) is that Hannah ... who is an absolute dress fan at the moment ... loves her "cloud dress" and her "strawberry dress" and loves to "twirl" in them.  She's mid-twirl in the pic above.  

The cloud dress is a little shorter, and not quite as drop-waisted because this onesie was a slightly smaller make than the other. I embellsihed this one with a little bow made from the same fabric as the skirt.  I thin it's a cute touch ... debating making a matching bow for a hair clip!!  The strawberry dress is a little longer and I'm hoping we might get next year out of it as well, or at least the cooler spring-time days ... I can always hope, huh!  I embellished this one with a simple applique of a strawberry cut out from a fabric off-cut.  I think the strawberry dress is my favourite!

So, wanna know how I did it?  Play along if you'd like!  It's a really simple one ... promise!

You'll Need:

- A onesie ... that fits, or even if it's a little short it will be OK.  This would be a great way to recycle a onesie that's been outgrown length-wise, especially if it's a short-sleeve / singlet version.

- Some knit-fabric (though I reckon a woven fabric would work just as well if that's what you have on hand).  For Hannah's (size 2) dresses I used about 1/2 - 3/4 metre of knit fabric.

- The usual sewing machine, serger (if you have one), scissors or rotary cutter, coordinating thread etc.

Let's get to it:

1. Grab your onesie and lay it flat.  Draw a line across to mark your cutting line (or if you're clever lazy like me, you can just free-hand the cut) then cut the clip-section of the onesie off just at the top of the leg-hole edging.

2.  Measure the width of your cut edge to help you calculate how wide to make your skirt pieces. 

3. Calculate the size of the skirt pieces as follows: Width: Double your onesie measurement from step 2.  So, Hannah's onesie was 10" wide, so I cut the skirt pieces 20" wide.  Length: Your preferred length plus 1 inch (for seam allowance), then doubled.  So Hannah's finished skirt length was  9", so I cut the length at 20" (9+1, doubled). 

4. Cut your skirt pieces (Hannah's were 20" x 20" as calculated above in Step 3).  You need 2 skirt pieces ... a front and a back.  Then place the pieces right sides together and sew down each side (using a 1/4" seam) to make a tube like so... 

5. Fold the tube up onto itself (kind of like you've half turned it through the right way), so you have a fold at the bottom, and the two raw edges together at the top.  This also encloses the side seams, so there's no need to finish those seams ... they'll never be seen again!

6. Set your sewing machine's stitch length to the longest (on my machine it's number 6), and sew a gathering stitch 1/4" from the raw edges all around the top of the skirt.  This will also join the two layers of skirt together all around the top seam.  Remember not to back stitch at the start of end of the round, and to leave nice long threads for gathering with.

7.  Lay your skirt alongside your onesie with the 2 raw edges near each other, then pull EITHER the top or bottom thread from your gathering stitch.  This will gather the skirt fabric.  Pull gently because you don't want the thread to break, and just gently move the gathers around until the skirt is the same width as the onesie, then tie off your threads to stop it un-gathering.  It can be helpful to give your gathers a little iron at this point to help set them a bit more, but I find knit fabric to be quite forgiving with gathering generally so I didn't bother this time.

8.  Now flip your onesie upside down, and insert it into the skirt so that your raw gathered skirt edge and the raw onesie edge match up.  Match the skirt side seams with the onesie side-seams and pin into place, then pin the front and back of the skirt to the front and back of the onesie at regular intervals to keep them well secured while sewing.  Remember, if you're using a directional fabric (like my strawberry one), you'll need to make sure you're joining them correctly so that the outside of the skirt will be right-way up in the end.  I would suggest turning your dress right-side-out after you've pinned the pieces together, just to check you've got them right before you sew.

9.  Sew, using a 1/2" seam around the pinned edge, joining the skirt to the onsie.  If you have one, you ca then use your overlocker (serger) to finish the edge.  If not, it won't matter,as knit fabric doesn't fray, so you'll be all good!

10.  Then turn your little dress right-side-out.  Push the waist seam (on the inside) up towards the onesie, then sew a topstitch 1/8" above the waist seam, which will secure your seam upwards, and make it sit flatter ... plus I just love top-stitching ... it's fun, right!

OK, so your little bubble dress is done ... it was easy wasn't it, and so quick!  Now you can just stop there and rush off to try your creation on your excited little munchkin, or you can take it one step further and join me for some embellishing.  The strawberry dress is just a simple applique (using a small zig-zag stitch around the edge) of a strawberry I cut from an off-cut of the skirt fabric.  Simple enough, but effective all the same, huh!  For the cloud dress, I made a little bow.  Here's what I did:

1. Cut a 4 1/2" square of coordinating fabric.

2.  Fold it in half (right sides together) and sew down the long raw edge.  Turn the tube right-side-out and iron flat, with the seam centred to one side (this will be the back).  Then tuck the ends in 1/4" and topstitch closed as close to the edge as possible (about 1/8" is OK).

3. Cut a 2" square of coordinating fabric.

4.  Fold this in half, right-sides together, sew down the long raw edge and turn it through to bring the right side out.  Iron the little tube flat, with the seam centred on one side.

5.  Pinch the middle of your larger tube in the middle to make a bow shape, then take your smaller tube and wrap it around to secure the shape.  Tuck one end of the small tube into the other, then push all the raw edges under if you can.  It's a little fiddly, but don't worry too much, as it will be on the back, and noone will see!  You'll need to pin it in place once your happy, then grab a needle and thread and sew the ends of the small tube together.  Once again, it doesn't have to be neat (as it's on the back) it just has to be effective!

Ta-Da!  A bow.  I'm thinking about making a couple more of these and gluing them to hair clips ... what do you think?

6.  And you could, of course, attach it wherever you want to on your dress.  I thought about placing it off-centre at the waist seam, but in the end I opted for putting it off-centre on the upper-chest.  

To attach it, I simply pinned it in place, then sewed directly on top of the top-stitching at each end of the bow.  Be sure to back stitch at the ends of each stitch-line to make sure it doesn't work it's way loose over time and in the wash.

And there you have it ... a couple of very cheap, very cute, very quick dresses for my rapidly growing-up  baby.

Coupled with a little pair of boots and some tights, this munchkin's is a happy big-girl indeed!

Oats for a Warm Wintery Morning

We love oats and porridge at our place.  On those slower weekend mornings when we have some extra time, the girls love to climb onto their little step-stools in the kitchen and help me measure out the oats, water and milk, then stir, stir, stir on the stove until the steamy warm porridge is ready to go.   And there really is nothing better than warm oats on a chilly winter morning, huh!  I love my oats plain, but I think the favourite part for my girls is adding the extra flavours.  Bethany loves to add a sprinkling of brown sugar to her porridge (and a little extra straight into her mouth when Mummy's not looking .... or so she thinks!), and Hannah absolutely adores a dollop of raspberry jam.  In fact, it's funny to watch her as she dollops on her jam then dips straight back in with her spoon to lift the entire dollop straight into her mouth ... apparently it's much better that way and there's certainly no need to mix it in!  Funny girl!

So when I was asked if I'd like to try some of the Uncle Tobys Oats Quick Sachets it was an easy yes for me.  I have always used my traditional porridge recipe before now, and haven't ever bought these sachets, but I can tell you I now totally see the appeal.  It is just so quick and mess free to make.  Just use a cereal bowl (microwave safe), tip your sachet in, fill the sachet to the line with milk/water, then mix that in to your dry mixture.  Heat on high in the microwave for 90 seconds (my microwave must be a little stronger I think, 'cause we only needed about 75 seconds), mix an extra dash of milk to cool it down a little and mix it to make the oats super smooth and you're done.  It's just as quick as cereal or toast would be on school mornings and still gives that feeling of warm deliciousness in your tummy on the super cold mornings like the ones we've had recently.  Oh, and did I mention the line on the pack that you measure your milk with? ... how ingenious is that!!!  You don't even need to dirty a measuring cup.  I'm loving the nothing-extra-to-wash-ness about these oats.  

Each box comes with 12 .... yep, that's 12 sachets of porridge with a variety of flavours in each box ...   On this particular day we tried Apple and Honey, Triple Berry, Raspberry and Strawberry ... but my absolute favourite was the Apple and Cinnamon. 

I just can't go past that flavour combination.  And the girls are loving that they can pick a different flavour each time.  It keeps it interesting, and the bonus is that there are no artificial colours or flavours - you can see (and taste) yummy little pieces of dried fruit - and Uncle Tobys have always been known for their great quality wholegrain oats.

When I was doing my grocery shopping today, my local Woolies was selling these boxes with lots of different flavours and even a high fibre or multi-grain option for $5.  So compared to the prices of other breakfast cereals, and considering that this is for 12 hot tummy-fulls, I think it's pretty good value.  And it's definitely better for the family than many of those sugary cereals anyway.  We've managed to totally avoid "those" cereals with our kids so far, and I love that they get excited about healthier breakfast options like oats. 

So, I'm seeing many more oat breakfasts in our future ... and now that we have this quick and mess free option, we can enjoy this on our busy school mornings too...

...and maybe even for a snack at other times of the day too ... Ha ha - yep! When these arrived at our house the girls were so super-excited they just had to try one straight away ... for afternoon-tea.  Is that terrible??  Well in our defence, it was a bitterly freezing cold afternoon and I have to admit that I sat down to a bowl of afternoon-tea oats with them.  Yum, and oh so cosy.  We slipped into our PJ's, snuggled under a blanket on the couch with a Tinkerbelle movie, and enjoyed a special oaty treat together.  Just love those moments with my girls, and I'm soaking up as many of those moments as I can before the idea of snuggling with Mummy to watch a movie is no longer cool ... know what I mean?

Oh, and yes, I was provided with these Uncle Tobys sachets in return for my review, but all opinions are my own.

Tutorial: Frozen-inspired tops

"Let it go, let it go, can't hold it back anymore".....  Yep, like everyone with little girls (and boys too I'm told) our house was overun by the recent Frozen movie frenzy.  I actually really like the movie (at least I did like it the first 35 times I watched it!), and it was a lovely excuse in the Christmas school holidays to have a girly date with my two little munchkins, and for Hannah to experience her first trip to the movies.  We had a lovely date ... got dolled up in dresses, caught a mid-morning movie, then had a lovely girly sushi-train lunch.  Too much fun!

Then came the waiting ... you know, the waiting for the movie to come out on DVD.  We were given the soundtrack so we had the songs firmly under our belt, and Bethany requested a frozen-themed birthday in March, so I came up with a very basic frozen-themed cake for her.

Then we watched as the merchandise came into the stores.  Personally, I've never really been a fan of licenced clothing, so I've managed to avoid any of the Frozen licenced clothing so far.  But having said that, with girls that are such huge fans of this movie, it is exciting for them to wear something associated with their movie-crush.  So I thought I'd have a go at making them some frozen-inspired embellished T-shirts ... you know, frozen-ish, obvious enough for the girls to be excited by them, but not too obvious for Mummy.  And here's What Mummy's Been Up To ...  

The first one I made was Hannah's.  I had this white shop-bought cotton doily left over from another project, and I thought it was totally snow-flake-esque.  

So here's what I did:

I grabbed a store-bought T-shirt in this lovely blue-green-aqua, my cotton doily, some clear and sparkly beads (which I secretly snatched from Bethany's beading kit ... seriously, she'll never miss them!) ... 

... and a cute sparkly button like this ...

Then I carefully laid the doily in the centre of the T-shirt, and pinned it around the edge.  I used lots of pins, one on each point and mid-point to make sure it stayed still while sewing.  I could have used some iron-on adhesive, but didn't want this to show through from behind the doily.

I then set my machine to a small zig-zag, and carefully and very slowly stitched around the edge of the snowflake, attaching it to the front of the shirt.

I then placed the beads between each of the points of the snowflake, and hand-sewed them in place, carefully knotting the threads at the back to ensure they are tightly attached.  I also sewed the sparkly button to the centre.

And the result ... Hannah loves her Frozen Shirt, even if she was a little hesitant to let Daddy snap a good picture at our recent weekend away at the beach ... and I really like the effect of it.  

And so, to be the nice, fair Mummy that I am try to be, I just had to make Bethany a frozen shirt too.  And in my classic matching-but-not way, I decided I'd do hers a little different.

For Bethany's I decided to go with a smaller snowflake embellishment.  I still used the same store-bought T-shirt, and the same sparkly button for the centre, but I used some 8-ply cotton, and a 4mm crochet hook and made the little snowflake.  I used this pattern, available free online.  

Once crocheted, I used a hot steam iron to set it and flatten it a little more, before attaching it to the shirt in the same way as I did for Hannah's shirt, and hand sewed on the sparkly button.

And Bethany's pretty chuffed with her shirt too!

So, I call that a win-win, huh!  Cute frozen-themed blue, white snow-flakey and sparkly tops for the girls which are totally original, as well as being a fun and quick project for Mummy, and 2 happy munchkins! 

Now, I'm off to enjoy flicking through some more of Daddy's amazing beach snaps.  Sunset at the beach really is the golden hour for photo lighting, huh.  We were at the beach for 3 nights, and had lovely beach-plays each evening in this amazing lighting.  You'd never guess it's the middle of winter!!

Some Dollies For Some Precious Little People

You might remember me mentioning my amazing friend Jo, cake decorating extraordinaire, and my lovely friend who taught me everything I know about cake decorating, runs an amazing cake business called The Cupcake Gallery, has written 2 self-published cake decorating books (they're amazing by the way) and a children's book.  She is definitely THE most creative person I know.  

Well, almost 2 years ago she and her husband moved themselves and their 3 kids (who were 5 and under at the time) to Malawi in Africa where they work as missionaries among the local people.  Amazing huh!!  I still gasp at the thought of packing up a whole family to move to another country where the language is foreign, water and electricity very unreliable and with no one familiar around.  Amazing faith is all I can think of that would make someone do that.

Through the miracle of today's technology (Facebook, email, text messaging), I've been able to keep totally up to date with Jo and her family and see first hand what they've been doing ... and let me tell you, they've been busy.  While Jo's husband works in local and regional youth ministry, they have also managed to get a grasp on the local language, get involved in their kid's school and start up a fortnightly Kids Bible Club at their home, where they often get more than 100 local children attending.  They've also started up a "Garage Friday" at their home and they welcome any local kids who want to come and have help with homework, play, draw or just generally hang out.   So a couple of months ago, Jo put a call out for some help with supplying some handmade dollies for the little girls to play with during their time at Jo's house.  I think it took me all of about a millisecond to respond and raise my hand.  Who could say no to supporting this beautiful family and the precious kids they're working with, but when it involves sewing too ... I'm there!!

And here's what I made.  3 of these gorgeous little ones using the free pattern from Girl. Inspired. which I've made a few times before, and which I really love.  It's a great sized doll, and super soft and cuddly.  Hannah loves the one I made for her last year and still takes it to bed with her every night.

Oh, and about a millisecond after I volunteered, my Mum (aka Nanna) was on the phone to me saying that she'd love to send over some of her knitted dolls too.  She made these beauties ... aren't they cute.  She used the Duduza Doll Knitting Pattern.  My mum has knitted a tonne of these over the past year or so to donate to kids in need, and they are just adorable.

So we got our dolls together and sent them off with plenty of love attached, hoping they would get there OK.  I was so super excited when Jo contacted me via Facebook just a few days ago (you might have seen her post on the What's Mummy Up To facebook page) to say that not only had they arrived, but that the little girls had been excited to play with them.  

She even sent me this gorgeous pic of the girls putting the dollies to "bed".  Oh, aren't they the most beautiful little kids.  Look at those smiles ... it's enough to melt this Mummy's heart!

Another project Jo has been working her tail off on lately has been a new idea she's had for helping the local women learn to sew.  Jo has found that many of the local women are lacking skills that they can use to help support their families financially.  She's found that if they were to develop a skill such as sewing, they could help to support their families by making even a small amount of income.  Jo has spent days, weeks and many sleepless nights sewing beautiful goods lately to sell at a market store to ex-pats and visitors, and has raised enough money to buy a few treadle and hand-cranked sewing machines (they have to be manual machines, as many of these women do not have electricity at home).   

And aren't they just the most stunning machines.  Jo has found a space in her home to set these machines up and has already started giving lessons to some local women.

Anyway, in case you might want to learn a little more about what Jo and her family are doing, or if you would like to help, follow this link to their website.  And if you'd like to make some dollies to send to Jo, it would be so appreciated.  You can send them to: Kids Bible Club, SIM Malawi, PO Box 136, Blantyre, Malawi, AFRICA.

Jo's photos have been used in this post with her permission.