Little Mouse and Madeline

I made a few other costumes this October.

A friend of mine had her baby a bit earlier than expected. When I found out, I knew she needed a mouse costume so she could hang out with big sister who was going Trick or Treating as a cat.

The hat was made from a free on-line pattern/tutorial here. It was very simple to put together and so adorable!

The sleeper is adapted from Peek-a-Boo patterns Classic footed pj pattern. It was surprisingly a pretty quick and easy thing to sew--even with the zipper! Hooray!  I added in the pink tummy and we made the pads of the feet pink as well to make it extra mouse like.

Obviously a mouse needs a tail.

I wanted Momma to be able to use this outfit as a sleeper after Halloween so I attached the tail with a button so it could be removed. Easy peasy.

I'm smitten with it and can't wait to see how it looks on.

The other costume I made was for this little sweet pea. Her Momma requested a Madeline dress and I was happy to oblige. 

The dress pattern is Debbie's Birthday dress, View 2.  I just left off the pocket and added long sleeves and a red bow to make it a bit more Madeline-like.

I think it turned out super duper sweet, didn't it?

Hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween! We have thunderstorms predicted here so we are scrambling to find indoor options. It's a real bummer! But we are making lemonade out of our lemons. I think we are going to head to the local assisted living center to visit the residents and hand out apples.  It may prove to be the most fun Halloween yet!

~Lindsay

Monarch Butterfly Costume

The Bug requested a butterfly costume for Halloween this year. I thought for sure she would want to be a pink, purple and blue butterfly but she surprised me and requested a Monarch. 

I used the costume at iCandy for inspiration (despite her warnings that it was labor and glue gun intensive).

The wings themselves are made of felt and glued onto a lightweight foam board. The spots are outlined in sequins, black on the front and orange on the back since I ran out of orange and didn't have time to order more. As often happens, I kind of like it and I'm glad I was forced to make it work.

The whole thing is held on by a couple of elastic straps that are sewn onto a piece of felt. I was afraid it would be too heavy and she would object to wearing them but she loves them.

The dress is from the Anywhere Dress pattern.  The fabric is a strange knit. It's like ruffle fabric, but it's not ruffled. I bought it in the remnant section so I don't know the make up of it or the intent. It may even be swimsuit fabric. It's fairly thick though and it has a very fun texture to it.  I added a grey knit band on the bottom just for a little bit of interest. I'm hoping she can wear this dress after Halloween.  I may yet add grey cuffs on the sleeves.  

The leggings are from the Go To Legging pattern. They are so simple and so quick to sew. I made them out of some sweater knit I had in my stash.  I love both of these patterns.

The boots... well those are from Target and they are ALL the Bug.

The orange felt pieces were attached with spray glue so I was working fast. Thus, they aren't perfectly symmetrical.  It bothers me. But not enough to fix it.

Her antennae are simply styrofoam balls covered in glitter and attached to a black headband with pipe cleaners. I love how they kind of droop.

And did you notice Emily? Yes, Emily has her own set of wings. 

This is what happens when I finish a project ahead of schedule. I think of other projects. But I had felt left over. It would have been a shame to let it go to waste, right?

And this? This says it all.

This is why I do what I do.  I love that toothless grin.

~Lindsay

Kids Clothing Week Days 1 & 2

Kids Clothing Week Day One found me sick as a dog, hopped up on cold medicine and going to bed early but not falling asleep until 4 am.  Day Two? Feeling a bit better but still not to be trusted around a sewing machine.  So I glued.

The Bug asked to be a Monarch Butterfly for Halloween this year. Rather than leave well enough alone and just buy the girl some wings, I remembered a tutorial for Monarch wings that I'd seen on iCandy last fall. I couldn't get it out of my head so that's what I worked on last night, gluing all those little puzzle pieces of orange felt onto the black background of the wings.

She was so excited that after ballet and before bed she requested I take a photo and post it to "the facebook".  Dress and leggings are made by mom too.  Anywhere Dress pattern and GoTo Leggings... more details at a later date since those were sewn pre-KCW.

(my apologies for the fuzzy, out of frame photo but you get the gist, right?)

The wings still need sequins. I added a bit last night after the Bug went to bed but have miles to go. 10 yards of orange sequins doesn't go as far as you think it might.

Once the sequins are on, I need to figure out how exactly to work the structure of the wings. I'll glue the felt onto foam core once I've got them all embellished and the foam core will be attached to a back piece. . . it all seems rather complicated but I'm sure it will work out once I actually start doing it. Right?

~Lindsay

Princess Overload

The Bug's fourth and final opportunity to wear her Cinderella dress proved to be too much. She couldn't be bothered with tights and pettiskirts and glass slippers.

She wanted to be a "cooker". So she put on her adorable chef's hat and apron and off we went to the fall carnival at her school.  

The hat and apron were made lovingly by Aunt Michelle and were a Christmas gift last year. In true fashion, the Bug refused to wear them. For a good six months. But all of a sudden they have gained the favor they deserved from the beginning.  She is an adorable "cooker" is she not? Even eating the delicacies of hot dogs and string cheese. . .

~Lindsay

I must say - when Lindsay told me the above story - my heart was warmed! I knew that the initial hat and apron rejection at Christmas time was nothing personal but merely a whim of a(n adorable) 3 year old. But to hear that her whim has finally come around to this "costume" really made my day.  Mind you I have seen pictures of the Bug's play dates enjoying the wears, but all I really wanted was a picture of that sweet little face under an over sized "cooker" hat. I must say this is more than I could have expected - I mean that Cinderella costume was out of this world in my book (and in all the kind people's books who I would show the picture to, and say "Isn't see the most beautiful Cinderella you have ever seen?")

Does this picture look like a muffin to you?

I was making aprons for everyone last Christmas - you may not have known because I never blogged about any of them (mostly because I never got pictures of the people wearing them - and no one wants to read a blog without pictures - at least not one about a sewing project.)  Anyway - not to leave the Bug out (and knowing that Santa had brought her a play kitchen) I thought I would make an apron for her as well.  When looking for a child's apron pattern I came across this: YouCanMakeThis.com pattern.  The chef hat was impossible to refuse! The pattern was super easy to follow and to execute.  The only change I made was to add stiff interfacing to the brim (is it called a brim on a chefs hat?) Anyway, that allowed to hat to set up like I wanted. Do you recognize this hat from anywhere?

The apron I free styled - completely - no pattern, no sizing. That was a big reason I wanted the Bug to try it on - I had NO idea how it was going to fit. Now that I can see pictures of it on - I think it fits pretty well - remarkably.

Isn't the fabric darling? I saw the Alexander Henry - Lorenza collection in peach/guava I knew I needed to make something for the Bug out of it - so glad she is finally wearing it.

~Michelle

First project done...now on to the next one.

I thought I would provide a photo essay of the making of the Dorothy costume: I used Simplicity Pattern 4024. For some reason, I found the skirt accent band very challenging. I don't know if I wasn't reading the instructions right, but it was not simple as the name brand suggests. Perhaps I am just not the best with an iron and straight lines. The point was to have a contrasting band across the bottom of the skirt, so they had the gingham on a diagonal. I ended up ripping this band off and using a smaller gingham print as the contrast, instead of a different diagonal.And now a shot with the top.
And the bloomers, without elastic.

And with...I am hoping these fit better than the last pair I made. I previously used this pattern to make a pair of bloomers to match a dress my sister made for The Bug. I shipped them off to my sister, and she informed me that they turned out humorously big. So this time, I cut the pattern down a size and used less elastic.

Finally the picture you have all been waiting for....drum roll please....here is a picture of the finished project:

All it needs now is a hem. I think it looks good in pictures and will look nice on, assuming it fits (we will see next weekend.) I am generally very happy with it, but I did have many problems & frustrations along the way. When looking at it up close one will definitely notice the little things that make it homemade. For instance, I did have some difficulty aligning everything, especially with the zipper. I ripped that thing out multiple times and broke two needles attempting to get it perfect. In the end I settled for close to perfect, after all I am not sending this to 4H judging, and it is my first attempt.

I did learn from the experience, and am applying what I learned to my next project: Vogue Pattern V8469.

I had originally thought I would make the dress for me, but the sizing isn't quite right. So when it is done it will probably make its way to our Etsy site.

I will be really sad to see it go. I LOVE the material. It is linen, which it proving to be really easy to work with. I have taken it apart a few times, but I am pretty happy with its current state.

This is also my first attempt (IN YEARS) of working with lining. The one side is laying PERFECTLY, the other side not so much. I will probably tear it out tonight and try again. But I am learning, it is all part of the process!

~ Michelle

The Silent Partner…

For those who may have thought that Lindsay was an only child and was just making up a sister/partner in sewing, I, Michelle, the other (younger) sister, am finally here, entering a post. As with almost everything in our lives growing up, my sister is an over achiever, and I am left to try to fill her shadow. Seriously, she has three projects underway and blogged about, and I am just now getting around to introducing myself? Good thing we aren’t competitive, right mom and dad?

The truth of the matter is that, despite the lack of posts, I have been working on a few projects, most notably, a costume for the previously mentioned Little Bug, my niece.

To give some background, a little over a year ago, I got married – yeah! Our ideal reception idea was a “fancy picnic,” and our colors were light blue and brown. So in order to achieve the picnic feel; I purchased a few YARDS of blue gingham to serve as table accents.

I think it looks quite nice; the problem however, is what to do with all that gingham AFTER the big day? Well I thought, since my husband originally hails from Kansas, it would be cute to make a Dorothy costume for my little one. Next problem – I don’t have a little one, nor is a little one in the near future plans (just in case you were wondering.) So next best thing…you guessed it, a Dorothy costume for my niece.

I spent a few weekends at my sister’s abode, and started the project on her machine. I then returned to my home, and my machine, to finish the project only to discover the multiple inadequacies of my machine, especially when compared to my sisters (please remember I am NOT competitive with my sister.) But, despite my flawed machine, I worked through the pattern (yes I use patterns) at home. The flaws proved too much to get over and I have since ripped out every last stitch I made on my own machine, AND ordered a new sewing machine.

Isn't it pretty. It is the same machine that my sister has, so I know I will like it. And the best news…it should be at my apartment as I type this – per Amazon “Where is my package” it is being delivered today! Since all projects have been put on hold until I receive my new machine, (how could I possibly be expected to work on such an inferior machine?), you can look forward to many more posts from me very soon.

~Michelle