A Trio of Sundresses

It was about a month ago.  We were freshly returned from vacation and made for kids month was drawing to a close.  I had come so far in dressing her in something different each day, but was worried about running out of handmade summer clothes that last day or two.  What to do?  Make a sundress, of course.  And when your fabric scraps start bickering about who has been waiting longest to be made useful?  You make three sundresses.  Naturally.

The first is my favorite and indescribably soft.  Seriously - there are no words.  The bodice is made of an old tee of mine that I've held on to for way too long, and the skirt is make from the rest of the fabric I used for a swing tee I made just before vacation that has yet to be blogged (it's this fabric from Girl Charlee).  Please excuse the waviness where the bodice and skirt meet.  I'm still mastering my serger settings - they got better as these went through the assembly line.

The pattern is super simple and self drafted.  I actually used the bodice and front neckline from my scoop back dress.  The back neckline is the same as the front, except I split it and added a loop and button.  Turned out that was unnecessary and they would have fit over her head just fine without, but who wants to take that chance, especially when sewing in triplicate?

This second dress is some left over polka dots I think I got from fabric.com way back when, and some barely stretchy pale pink yardage my grandmother gave me a while back.

Each bodice is a slightly different length, but turns out you can't really tell the difference.  The first two skirts are about the same length and hemmed.  This third one was left long and un-hemmed, as I was undecided about shortening it.  I decided not to shorten it, and not to hem it either.  The bodice is the rest of the star fabric I used on what is probably her favorite shirt ever, this modified Bimaa.  She still pulls it out weekly, but it is, sadly, not a very practical wear in August in Connecticut.  The skirt is from Girl Charlee - I think this is the one, but I'm not 100% sure at this point.

I realize they have a bit of a "nightgown" feel (especially when accompanied by a baby doll), but I do think the buttons help with that.  They're comfy and she loves them - that's enough for me.

I Straightened Her Hair

I used to periodically publish non-sewing related posts - posts to document our days and special moments.  Somewhere along the line I fell out of that habit, and I kind of miss it.  I do still take a lot of pictures, but not as many story telling shots as I used to and I aim to remedy that.

If you follow along with us on Instagram (@amos_el), you probably heard that I took the straightening iron (on a turned down temperature) to Lisi Loo's hair last week.  I had heard other people say, when they straightened their daughter's curls, that they all of a sudden looked older and more grown up.  I was prepared, but luckily didn't see that with my girl.  Still my little Lisi Loo, just with much longer locks.  And jealousy inducing natural layers.

I did get the strange sensation in the middle of the job, though, that I was looking at the back of my own head.  Something about the iron sliding down those blond strands - maybe reminiscent, though, since my hair isn't quite as light as hers anymore.

This was the day after we watched "Frozen" for the first time - which also happened to be her first princess movie.  So this, of course, was her princess hair.  I was worried I'd unleashed a princess monster, but I haven't heard a royal word since, so maybe we'll dodge that bullet a little longer.

We had only finished a few minutes before I took these pictures, and I hadn't left the ends curly - her hair just really likes to bend in the humidity.  Bend, but not frizz.  So not fair.


That night she went "swimming" in Grammy's hot tub, so I have no idea how it would have fared overnight, but my kids are sweaters (as in they sweat a lot, not in that I wear them in the winter) so I think this would have been a one day 'do anyway.

'Til next time, Princess.

KCW - A Simple Scoop Back Dress

Here is the final product of my KCW time this season.  Unlike the rest of the garments that were sewn start to finish last week, this was a project that just needed some finishing touches.  Like most of my other garments from last week, though, it is a repeat pattern offender...or flatterer, if you're fans like Lisi Loo and I are.

It is once again my self-drafted scoop back dress (here's one, and here's another).  This time I just kept it simple - no embelishments.  I toyed with the idea of having Lisi Loo personalize it with some paint or fabric markers in some of the dots, but decided to just leave it as-is for now.

The fabric was an old thrifted sheet we used to use for fort building on rainy days.  Then I tried making something for myself with it, but just ended up looking like I was wearing a sheet.  Not my intention.  So it's third life is this sweet and simple dress.

With a sassy metal zipper, because too much sweet without a touch of sass just isn't her style.

And, for the last time this season, linking up to KCW here.

KCW - Arrows and Oops

Kids Clothes Week July 2014 sewing is complete!  This was supposed to be yesterday's post, but it's the weekend - so there's that.  We've got two more tees for you today.

First up, a blue tee that was Daddy's, but is now perfectly boy sized with a few freezer paper stenciled arrows.

The arrows come from this set of stencils that I previously used for this swing tee.  Since the tee is so nicely broken in, I wanted the detail to look a little broken in, too, so I watered down the paint and only did one coat.

Now, some jumping:

This last tee was, no surprise here, also made from Daddy's old tee.  Super soft, and conveniently blue.  So soft, though, that the neckline ended up a little wonky.  I think it'll shrink back up once I wash it, though.

I'm calling this an "Oops Tee" because I accidentally cut two front pieces, so needed to add a piece to the back to raise the neckline.  Then, to keep a little balance I added the pocket from the original tee I used above to the front of the new tee.

More jumping!!

I'll be back tomorrow with the last of my KCW sewing: a pretty little dress for a pretty little girl.

Linking up to KCW here.

KCW - Poppies and Denim

This is the week of pattern repetition, I guess.  The same summer tunic pattern we saw yesterday, and another pair of bubble pocket shorts with the same modifications I made last time.




The shorts were from an old pair of Daddy's jeans.  I'm usually a denim-only-for-long-pants kinda girl, but these were just so soft and broken in.  I was also drawn to the idea of the different pieces being cut from areas with different levels of fading and wear, although the end effect is much more subtle than I was hoping for.  They actually have kind of a chambray look from a distance, which isn't a bad thing.



The top is made exactly the same as the previous one, except that I ran out of 3/4 inch elastic (KCW problems, right?) and so made the facing a little wider, sewed a seam down the middle, and used two 1/2" pieces instead.  It worked out just fine.  I actually made this one before I had tried the first one on her - and didn't even realize it until I was photographing it (that's how excited I was about this pattern)!  If I had, I probably would have made the straps as well as the elastic just a tad longer.  Oh well, guess I will just have to make some more next Summer.  Darn it...not even a little bit.

The fabric came from my grandmother - it may have been a sheet at some point, but I'm not sure.  I have two pretty large pieces and I just love the colors and the large graphic flowers.   I intentionally used a lot of white space, though, so as not to overwhelm her itty bitty self.  No one needs their clothes wearing them, do they?

KCW's coming to a close by I'm hoping to get two more posts up - one with two more tees (see note regarding pattern repetition), and one previously started but finally getting finished scoop back dress with some kid art embellishment.  Wish me luck!

Linking up to KCW here.

KCW - She Painted a Sunset

Finally - some legit Kid Art to fit this season's Kids Clothes Week theme!  She painted a sunset on her new top.

I made the top first, using the free Summer Tunic pattern from Shwin & Shwin.  It's an ivory linen from my stash - more like a home dec weight than is ideal for summer, but it does give some nice shape to the top.

I was going for a water-color effect, so we sprayed down the areas we wanted to paint with water (probably her favorite part - free reign over the spray bottle!) and used very watered down paint in pink and orange to wash the over the fabric.  I also took a dry brush over the top and did a little more spritzing here and there to ensure the color wasn't too concentrated in any one spot.

I considered letting her paint the fabric first, but I really wanted a more seamless look to the painting.  To say there wasn't a little...okay, a lot...of literal hand-holding would be a lie.  We were, after all, adding paint to a FINISHED GARMENT.  She did great, though, despite Mama's uptight approach.  I'll trust her more, next time.

This pattern is lovely, and I've actually got a second cut out and ready to go, along with another pair of shorts for her and two more tees for her brother.  Gonna finish this KCW out strong!

Linking up to Kids Clothes Week here.

KCW - It's Amazing

Things that are amazing: Kids Clothes Week; making a new little boy shirt from Daddy's cast-off; phonetic spelling.

But Mama asking you to jump on the bed?  That's truly uh-mAz-ing!!

The pattern is self-drafted using a store bough tee as reference.  As mentioned, I upcycled an old tee of his father's - using the existing bottom and sleeve hems is, also, amazing.

I used the ever popular freezer paper method - hand lettered and cut out with a craft knife.  I don't know that it really fits the "Kid Art" theme of this season's KCW, but he did help me with the painting.

Linking up to KCW here.