Gifts for baby. . .

Am I the only one who finds sewing/blogging hard in the summer? 

Maybe I'm just out in the garden more. I don't know.

But I'm definitely not as prolific in the summer months.

I did get in there enough to make a few sweet little gifts for a baby shower this past week.

Baby clothes are so fun to sew. They take so little time and fabric comparatively.

 Embellishing onesies is alway fun. This one I just topped off with a bit of ruffle trim around the collar.

I think it's just the right amount of understated sweetness to pair up with this bold little skirt.

And the skirt (complete with threads needing trimmed. . . sigh. . .) is a simple design with a sweet little ribbon hem.  I love this fabric. It's been in my stash for forever waiting for just the right project. I think this was it.

Instructions on how to complete a ribbon hem are at the end of the Oliver + S Lazy Days Skirt Pattern. It's a technique I've used more than once to avoid hemming a garment!

My personal favorite summer baby gift is also the least photogenic.

It's near impossible to get a good photo unless it is ON a child. 

But Heaven help us. . . believe me when I say this little ruffle bum romper is the pinnacle of adorableness. 

If you don't believe me, click HERE (but don't blame me if you faint from cuteness overload!).

You can get yourself a copy of the pattern by Little Lizard King, here.

I highly recommend it.

The last gift was inspired by this beautiful embroidered pillowcase that was in my stash of vintage goodness I received from my grandma.

I ALMOST made a traditional pillow case dress.

Maybe I should have since that tutorial is the one thing driving traffic to this blog.

But I didn't.

You know me, I can't ever do the same thing twice. 

So I made a peasant dress.

 I used a bit of vintage bias tape to make some fun little stripes. One on the waist and one on the skirt--to make up for the fact that I cut the skirt too short! Shh! Don't tell, I made a mistake! Ha!!

I really do live the bias tape though. It looks so perfect with the sunny yellow flowers.

This embroidery bewitched me.

I am a sucker for a scalloped crochet edge.

I wish you could feel the fabric through the computer. It's the softest time worn bit of lovely you will ever see or feel.

It simply begged to be made into a dainty baby gown.

Unfortunately, I didn't make it to this shower but I sent my gift ahead.  I'm told there were great oohs and aaaahs among the crowd.  That stuff always makes me uncomfortable. But what I really hope is that the Momma felt loved and blessed because that's what it's about for me and it's what keeps me sewing. . . even when the sun shines bright outside my sewing room window and my garden beckons.

More baby gifts to come! Another sweet girl due the end of this month will be receiving a package soon! Assuming I get my act together and finish one last thing!

~Lindsay

Sun Suit Pattern test

I am liking this pattern testing gig. 

It's keeping me busy and focused. 

Sometimes I have sewing idea ADD. So many good ideas that I can't settle on a single one.

The most recent test is destined to become a favorite go to pattern.

Super cute and fast to whip up.

I couldn't wait to see them on the models to share photos.

This is the Little Lizard King Baby Sun Suit. The pattern is, obviously, still in testing but you will want to snatch it up once it's available for purchase.

Seriously.

You can't resist those butt ruffles can you?

If you really, really can't wait you can buy the rough draft here.

This cute little one is the 9 mo. version.

My model got a tummy bug so we didn't get to do our photo shoot yesterday.

Get better sweetie pie! I'm dying to see you in this ruffley cuteness!

More ruffles. 

Oh yeah!

This time, in 24 months size.

This one is travelling cross country in the mail as we speak.

Can't wait to see it on little Firecracker.

And this one, in 18 months may well be my favorite.

Though it's hard, I love them all.

I tried the second ruffle option this time where they are sewn down in the center rather than on top.

And yes, I know white bum ruffles are terribly impractical but they are so darn cute.

And though it's a pattern test and meant to be done quickly and on the cheap, I couldn't resist adding this little fella to the front.

Quack, Quack!

I'm so looking forward to seeing it on baby girls round little belly.

It will be in the mail headed East today!

Stay tuned to see these beauties on three of the cutest little girls you ever did see.

~Lindsay

Town House Ruffle Skirt

I whipped up this simple little ditty over the weekend.

I found this cute fabric at JoAnn's, who has all of a sudden gotten some really cute stuff in. I know not all JoAnn's stores are like mine but ours has been so nasty (both in cleanliness and staff attitudes) in the past that I've all but stopped going there completely.

At any rate, I found the store in much better condition lately and the staff seem to have gotten attitude adjustments since I was last there. Thank goodness because we don't have many brick and mortar fabric shops around here. Unless you count the Amish ones and well, I'm just not that brave yet. Maybe after another ten years in Amish country I'll get up the nerve.

At any rate, I think this simple little skirt is quite sweet with the modern, funky cartoon houses juxtaposed against the dainty, almost old-fashioned, floral ruffle. And what little girl doesn't love purple, right? I know mine does.


This will be posted in the Etsy shop soon and since I have plenty of yardage I'll be able to custom make most any size you request!

~Lindsay

Jersey Dress

Last night I had one of those moments where I had a vision in my head for a project and I knew I would never be able to sleep until it came to fruition. This was my first real attempt at making something for the Bug without an actual pattern but I was inspired by the fabric to try.

I came across this piece of blue and grey striped jersey in a remnant bin at Yoders Department Store in Shipshewana. It has a neat, kind of wrinkly texture to it and it is so soft. Using a dress the Bug already had as a basic guide, I drafted up my own pattern and sort of just made things up as I went along.

Here is the Bug this morning before church looking oh so hip in her Chuck Taylors, leg warmers and sporting her headphones and "music box". Yes my two year old has an iPod. Don't judge.

I was so impressed that it actually looked like a dress and everything fit! It was a little short though. Despite the added coverage of the leg warmers (which she insists on wearing pulled all the way up) she kept flashing her panties at church. Since we just can't have that, I attempted a fix while she was napping.

I added a wide ruffle at the bottom for some additional length. It was a little too much length but she'll grow into it, right? Once the ruffle was on I thought the dress needed something more so I made a quick flower out of a scrap of fabric I had left over.

For the ruffle, I used the gathering method that I've seen all over the web lately where you adjust your sewing machine tension to the highest number and use the longest straight stitch. It is truly a time saver. The machine does all of the work for you and there is no need for a special ruffling foot. It just comes out evenly gathered. Awesome. Thank you World Wide Web. And I wonder, where was this trick when I was gathering everything carefully by hand all of those years in 4-H?

The "flower" was also inspired by some on-line tutorials I've seen around lately. Super easy. I just made a quick hem on one side and then used the above gathering method to gather the other side. Then I simply started twisting the fabric in a spiral, making quick tacking stitches as I went. In the end, a few more stitches through the bottom of the whole thing shaped it up a bit and I sewed a pin on the back so that I can move it around if I want.

All in all I'm pretty pleased with the results. It was really good mental practice to do this "pattern-less". And it was good to work with the jersey. I've been stuck in a bit of a cotton rut lately and the jersey wasn't nearly as difficult as I expected it to be. And while this dress isn't up to the standard I'd have for something to sell I think it will serve the Bug well as a nice Fall church and play dress.

~Lindsay