Crimson Sunset Shirt

The elastic smacked waitband on the shirt provide just enough pop of color to keep this shirt from being boring.  Paired with a pair a jeans, it makes a great shirt to wear on warm summer nights.

Contrast binding at the neck with an embroidered leaf pattern add just a bit more allure to the shirt.

The shirt will fit a size medium.

It is for sale for $15.

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.

From Blah to Bling

I've been seeing this tutorial pop up on a lot of the blogs I follow, so I figured it was time for me to try my hand at it =) Jessica at Happy Together has a lot of creative ideas. Next I plan on trying her toddler t-shirt dress.

And of course I didn't take a picture of the shirt I started with. But I'm sure you can imagine a plain long sleeve knit jersey shirt.

With just a few cuts with the scissors and a few sewn seams, I ended up with this shirt. Now I just have to decide which way I want to wear it.

I love how versatile this shirt is turning out to be. With just a change of accessories and how the front is tied, I can use this shirt for work and for play =)

All Tied Up

I've always admired tie front shirts. I just never dreamed they were this easy lol! Six seams and it was done. Took me all of about 20 minutes to cut the fabric and sew it together. I was able to wear it to a party that night. And looked fabulous =)

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.

Crimson Fiesta

Came across some smocked fabric on clearance and just couldn't pass it up ;) It's a red cotton gauze with yellow, green and blue threads running through the smocked part. I've been wanting to try making a shirt with this type of fabric, but couldn't justify the price, until I found this.


The top has a seam up the back. I put darts in under the arms to tailor the fit a bit. The armholes and the neckline are bound with bias tape. To add a bit of drama, I put the bias tape on the outside on the neckline and then with red thread, stitched a leaf pattern on it.

The skirt also has a seam up the back. I used a blind hem on the bottom. This is a very versatile outfit. With the two pieces together, the skirt waistband is under the waistband of the top. The top looks great with jeans. The skirt looks great with a white t- shirt and jean jacket. But I'm sure you could come up with your own variations.

The chain belt is something I've had for a few years, but don't have too many opportunities to wear. I originally bought it when I was in high school to be part of a Madrigal singer costume.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers out there =)

I finished this up for me =) It was pretty simple. The fabric was already smocked. Now I just have to decide if I want to wear it as a skirt or a top.

DH votes for a skirt, because it "billows" out too much otherwise and makes me look pregnant lol!

Flutter Fly

This shirt is from a vintage pattern I came across on Craigslist. It was printed in 1973. It says it's a size 10, but fits more like a size 4/6. Just shows how much sizes have changed...

Blouse with "sweetheart" neckline and front button closing with set- in ruffled sleeves. Shaped with front and back darts and side darts at the bustline.

The ruffled sleeves is a bit of an understatement lol! I feel like I could fly away with how ruffled they are.

The fabric is 100% that I found at IKEA. Yes, IKEA. They actually have a fairly decent selection in the home decor area. And it's resonably priced.