Hoppin' Down the Bunny Trail

Girly's new Easter dress.  She was cooperative enough to model for me, but only to a certain point.  Out of a dozen pictures, these were the best lol!

I used three coordinating prints to piece the dress together.  It has a pleat in the front that I "hid" the striped fabric in and an upside- down pleat on the bodice.  Girly is completely in love with the pockets on it.

Now just hoping that the weather up north continues to be warm so that she doesn't have to wear a sweater over her dress and she can wear her new pink sandals =)

Purple Passion

 We had our family pictures scheduled in November, and I spent some time trying to figure out what everyone was going to wear.  I wanted us to match, but not be "matchy- matchy."

So, I found a beautiful purple heather sweater knit and made myself this wrap style dress.

Close up of the top part.  One of the best things about a wrap style dress is that it's nursing friendly =)

And then I found an adorable pattern for a little girl's kimono style jacket.  It's still a bit big on Sweet Pea, but she'll grow into it =)

Then I decided I liked the style so much that I wanted one for Girly- girl as well.  But, the pattern wasn't sized for her.  My first attempt at sizing up/ drafting a pattern.  I think it turned out pretty good =)

I wanted it to be slightly different, so I added some flower trim around the edges.  (And it's hanging crooked on the hanger.  The one side really doesn't hang that much lower).

Girly- girl seems happy with it =)

And here we are.  See, we all match, but aren't "matchy- matchy."

Date Night

Limo ride, candlelight dinner, background piano music and professional photos.  The perfect date night.  All that was needed was the perfect dress. 

What could be more perfect than a gray sheath with kick pleats on the sides and embroidered pink and purple flowers?

What, you thought I was going on the date?  Nope, Girly- girl was the lucky one to have a date =)

The jumper is made of a light weight wool with flower embroidery on it.  There are two kick pleats on the side.  The dress is lined with a pink cotton to eliminate the “itchiness."  I overlapped the shoulder seams to give the appearance that the straps came apart.  There is a pink rose button sewn on each shoulder.

She was so excited.

And here she is with her date.

Vintage Doll

This originally started out as a shirt for me.  But I really didn't like how it fit (no shape!). 

So I stitched a couple pieces of elastic at the neckline and turned it into a dress for Girly- girl.

It looks much better on her =)

Princess Girly- Girl

With it being Girly- Girl's birthday last week, I took some time to sew her a dress.  And of course it had princesses on it =)

The pattern I used actually called for a zipper in the back.  But, I *loath* zippers.  Especially in Girly- girl's dresses.  So, I completely ignored the instructions and made the dress into a wrap dress.  There's a slit in the side seam on the right hand side to thread the tie through.  And I made the center band longer to work as ties.  The front edge and the arm holes are finished with bias tape.

Easter Flowers

I'm finally getting around to posting pictures and details for Girly- girl's Easter dress. 

I used Simplicity 2675 View A and fabric from my stash.

Hearts A- flutter

With the craziness of the move last fall, I didn't get a chance to make Girly- girl a Christmas dress.  So I figured a Valentine's Day dress would have to do =)

Girly- girl was being very cooperative with letting me take pictures today.  And the weather was perfect...  Sunny, 75* with just a slight breaze =)

Flashback Cotton Dress

Flashback to the 60's and a simple cotton shift dress. 

Simple lines on this a- line dress make it an easy choice for every day wear.  The dress fits a small/ medium.

The dress is for sale for $20.

Kickin' Back Linen Dress

With three days of gray skies, and Sarge not around to help with pictures, I had to resort to dessing up my dress form and hoping for a cooperative model =)

This is a marron colored linen dress with tone- on- tone embroidered flowers.  The flash on the camera caused the embroided pattern to show up more than it really does.

Three vintage- styled silver buttons with flower embossed on them compliment the embroidered pattern on the dress.  There are two kangaroo- styled pockets at the hips.  The dress zips up the back.

This dress would fit a small/ medium.  It is for sale for $35.

A sneak peak

Just need to finish up a bit of hand- sewing and then get Sarge to help me with a photo shot...

Flowers for Girly- Girl

I seem to have a hard time remembering to take before pictures. This was a plain women's t- shirt. I like the idea of t-shirt dresses for Girly- girl. They're easy for her to put on herself and easily washable for me.

The dress part was cut to take advantage of the hem on the shirt. It's gathered in the front and the back of the bodice. The sleeves were also cut to take advantage of the hem. They're gathered on the top of the sleeve.

The flowers are iron- on appliques that I found at a local store. I was surprised at how well they matched the dress because I didn't have this in mind when I bought them =)

Polka Dots and Pearls

I came across this pattern on fiddlehead and just knew that my Girly- girl needed one for herself.

I figured I had *just* enough fabric to get every piece out and was really proud of myself that I had very few scraps when Junior decided he wanted to help me and cut the tie straps into pieces :( Now what?

Fortunately Girly- girl saved the day by reminding me that I had pretties she liked to wear. A few quick stitches and she had a pretty sewn to her shirt to help keep it up.

Now she's all ready for the hot summer months... If they ever decide to show up around these parts.

Sandles and Sangria

Ahh... The smell of lavender warmed by the sun...

Or lilies in full bloom (well, at least until the goat got out and ate them).

The perfect place to kick back with a glass of homemade sangria and relax with some friends. But, in such a beautiful garden, you would need a beautiful dress to match...

A simple a- line dress with the skirt gathered under the bust. The fabric was cut on the bias to give the skirt some extra swing.

The fabric is a soft knit jersey which is fast becoming one of my favorite fabrics. It's easy to work with and so easy to wear.

Vintage Wedding

No, I didn't sew this gown. My mom and my grandma made it for my mom's wedding in 1969. I had planned on wearing it for my wedding, but my mom was tiny =) I think she was about 5' 2" and 90lbs when she got married. Thirty years later, I was 3 inches taller and "a bit" heavier than her. I was also broader across the shoulders. Needless to say, I wasn't able to wear her gown.


The gown is an empire waist style with hand beading down the front panel.

The train falls from hooks at the shoulder and trails about 1-2' on the ground.

The veil is made from the same lace trim that the train is edged in. It was attached to an up- do with bobby pins. Most likely, the veil would need to be replaced if this was to be worn.

The sleeves have beaded buttons up the underside. The front comes down into a point about mid- hand.

Both my mom and my grandma taught me to sew. Because of them, I learned to love creating my own clothes and clothes for others. I owe them a lot.

After debating about it, I've decided to sell the gown. I would rather know someone else was able to use and enjoy the gown rather than having it sit in storage. It can be found in my etsy store.

Strawberry Lovin'

I had posted a note to my Facebook account that said I would make something for the first 5 people who responded. One of the five who responded has three girls. I wanted to make them something that matched. After pondering what I could make that would look good on three different girls, I came up with appliqueing strawberry hearts on white t- shirts.

The fabric is some that I had left over from girly- girl's Easter dress. Out of that and a desire to expand my sewing skills, I came up with these shirts.

And then in a fit of inspiration (and realizing that I still had some fabric left over), I made a paper- bag style skirt for one of the shirts. I stitched elastic around the waist and then stitched in to the t- shirt.

Girly- girl modeling the new dress. The dress is for sale in my etsy shop.

And why is it that she can never have a photo shoot all to herself? Her younger brother always insists on getting in on the shoots. Thanks to older brother from trying to pull him out of the way.