Companion Dot & Floral Ruffle Dress

I just finished the companion dress to the Floral & Dot Ruffle Dress I made earlier this week for Baby R. This one is for her big sister, Little H. Their mom picked out the fabric. I just love the colors. And I've always loved flowers and polka dots together. I'm giving both dresses to her tomorrow when we meet up at gymnastics class.

Here are some more shots of this dress.

Here are the two dresses side by side. The girls are going to look so sweet in them. I love that they coordinate, but because they are inverse, they're not too matchy-matchy.

And, I apologize for the crappy photos. It's after midnight and I'm giving them away first thing in the morning, so I didn't have an opportunity to take any photos with natural lighting.

Floral & Dot Ruffle Dress

After finishing the romper I made for Little O, I had some time to make another ruffle dress for a friend's daughter. What a breeze compared to the romper! I'm actually planning to make her two dresses (one for each of her little girls), but I only had time to make one today. This one is for Baby R and the second one is for Little H (one of Little O's closest friends). The other one will be the inverse of this one, so the main dress will be dots, and the sleeves and ruffle will be floral. I can't wait to see the girls in them. They're going to look so cute!

Adelaide Vintage Romper

Today I finished one of the most challenging sewing projects I've ever attempted. And I have to say, I am quite proud of myself!

I found this pattern for a cute little girl's romper online. It was so cute, that I got over my fear of making clothes from a pattern. Yup. I've never done that before. The dresses I made before  (here and here) all came from an online tutorial (no pattern needed).

I learned so much making this little romper, and I'm excited to put my new skills to work on future projects.

First of all, I learned how to add piping. What a pain! But it's so cute it's worth it. I didn't think so at the time, but I do now.

I also learned a new technique for making bows. I see a couple of new hair bows in Little O's future.

Before this project, I had never made a collar before. Or straps, for that matter. I love the sweetheart neckline. I think it turned out pretty well.

I've always been intimidated by patterns that have shirring on the back. It looks so cute, and makes the clothes so stretchy and comfortable, but I was sure it was really complicated. I was so wrong! I just put elastic thread on my bobbin and regular thread in the needle, and voila! For some reason, I always thought you had to shirr by hand. I love that I did this with my machine, and it only took a few minutes.

I experimented with one final technique for this outfit: applying snaps with a snap press. Thank to a friend for loaning me hers. I practiced on a piece of scrap first, but it turned out to be really easy. I kind of want one of my very own now... Hmmm. Amazon wish list?

I think the most complicated part of the whole pattern was attaching the interfacing where the snaps go. It was so tiny.

Here it is! All done and ready to wear.

Too bad it's so late. I can't wait to see Little O in it. Of course she's going to wear it tomorrow. Pictures to come!

Another Ruffle Dress

I just finished sewing another ruffled dress for a friend's daughter. She picked out the fabric (and it just so happens to be the same as the second dress I made for Little O--the sleeve/ruffle fabric is just a little bit different).

This pattern is so easy. I found the tutorial here.

I'm having a little girls' night in tomorrow night, so she'll see it then. I can't wait to see her little girl in it!

Ruffled Dress for Little O (Part 1)

I went to the Modern Quilt Guild meeting on Tuesday with my mom. We decided to try out the afternoon meeting instead of the evening one. After the meeting is time to open sew for a few hours before the evening meeting. I think next month, we'll attend the open sewing and then stay for the evening meeting instead. We seem to fit in better with the evening crowd for some reason.

Anyway, after the meeting, we realized we were the only two who were staying to sew. Oh well. I didn't want to go home. I can't sew there (except on Thursday mornings when Little O goes to school). And my mother-in-law was babysitting. Didn't want to waste that opportunity! So we stayed.

I showed you the inspiration and pattern for a dress I wanted to make Little O for the summer. It seemed really easy to put together And for the most part, it was. (We had a little measuring/cutting snafu because the cutting mat and ruler were smaller than the pieces I needed to cut.

I found the fabric in the pile of donations at the guild meeting. It cost $1 each. So, the materials for the dress cost me a total of $2. The pattern was free!

I got all the cutting done. And I attached all four pieces together (front, back, and two sleeves). I also managed to overcast the edges of the seams to prevent fraying. This step wasn't in the pattern, but my fabric was already starting to fray, and I knew it needed to be done before washing and wearing.

Here's what it looked like when I had to pack up to head home:

I still need to add the elastic to the neck and sleeves and sew the ruffle on the bottom. I can't wait to have Little O try it on!

Modern Quilt Guild Pin Cushion Exchange

Here is the pin cushion I received as part of the Modern Quilt Guild exchange project.

At first, it looked like I was going to get my mom's, and she was going to get mine. We attended the afternoon meeting today (instead of the evening one). Our guild has a meeting in the afternoon, followed by open sewing, and then an evening meeting after that. Usually we go to the evening meeting, but this time, we wanted a chance to sew (remember the dress pattern I shared yesterday?).

Well, it turns out, the leader of the afternoon meeting didn't tell those members about the exchange project, so we were the only ones who did one. (I'm a bit irritated at how this exchange thing is being handled, or not handled, but I'm hoping it will get better).

After open sewing (where I worked on the dress), we ran into two of the other leaders for the guild in the parking lot as we were on our way out. They invited us to stay for the first few minutes of the evening meeting so that we could participate in the exchange. And am I glad I did!

I just love the bright blues and green of the pin cushion I received. And it's filled with crushed walnuts, so it has a nice weight to it. Next time I make a pin cushion, I think I'll give that a try rather than use poly fill.

I think next month, we're going to attend the open sewing after the first meeting and stay for the evening meeting instead. The evening meeting members just seem more lively for some reason.

Prairie Point Pin Cushion

We haven't made swap projects for the Modern Quilt Guild for the last few months (here is the potholder I made for the last one, and here is the one I received in exchange), much to my dismay. I really like doing them because it forces me out of my comfort zone, and I always learn something new. This month, the guild finally assigned another swap project: Prairie Point Pin Cushions. I've never made a prairie point before, so it's definitely something new.

I used a collection of fabric swatches I won as the door prize of one of our guild meetings. I love how it feels like Spring.

I cut nine strips 1-inch by 4-inches. I also cut seven 2-inch squares (to make the prairie points). And finally, I cut one 4-inch by 5-inch rectangle for the back.

I folded each square in half and pressed. Then I folded the corners in to make a triangle and pressed it again to hold it in place.

I sewed two of the strips together and pressed toward the darker fabric. Then, I laid the prairie point where I wanted it to go and pinned it in place, placed the next strip on top (right sides together), and sewed. I opened it up and pressed the seam so the prairie point pointed the right way. I repeated this, alternating the prairie points (middle, left, and right), making sure to keep at least 1/4 inch away from the edge.

When I finished sewing all the strips and prairie points together, I pressed it one more time. Then I placed the back on (right sides together) and sewed all the way around, leaving a two-inch gap for stuffing. I turned it right side out, stuffed it with poly fill, and hand-stitched the opening closed.

I'll be swapping this pin cushion for a new one tomorrow night at our Modern Quilt Guild meeting. I'll share it with you later this week.

Here's the back!

The pattern for this pin cushion came from Quilter's World in the February 2013 edition if you'd like to make one for yourself.

Tutorial: Spring Wreath with Fabric Flowers

I made this wreath last week with the hope of bringing on some warmer weather. I also promised a tutorial. Without further ado... here it is!

You will need:

• grapevine wreath
• letter
• twine
• an assortment of fabric strips.  2" x 16" (for the small flowers and some of the inner petals on the medium flowers), 3" x 18" (for the medium petals), and 4" x 24" for the large flower. Mine weren't exact. Just close enough.
• an assortment of buttons
• hot glue/glue gun
• floral wire
• felt

First, I covered the letter with twine. I already had my letter. It was leftover from a monogram decoration from my baby shower. It doesn't matter that it had previously been painted purple, the twine covered it all up anyway.

I put a dab of hot glue on the back of the letter and left a little tail to hold onto while it dried. Then I started wrapping.

And wrapping.

And gluing. About every few inches. Except when I got to the corner areas. See how it is curved on the bottom and straight on the top. That made it a bit tricky to wrap neatly without the twine slipping around. So I glued along both the curved and straight edges for each time I wrapped the twine.

I wrapped it all the way up to the corner. Then I glued it down on the back and trimmed the tails.

Then I wrapped (gluing almost the entire length of the curved and straight edges) the next section.

I repeated this process on the bottom of the letter as well. Then just wrapped up the middle. I didn't use much glue on the middle part. Maybe a drop every few inches.

After I finished the letter, I started cutting and assembling my fabric flowers. I used scraps leftover from quilts I have made, so the fabric didn't cost anything either! Love using up leftovers!

I cut out an assortment of squares from the fabric strips. The inner petals are 1/2" small than the outer petals. So if I cut 2" squares for the inner petals, I cut 2.5" squares for the outer petals. I also cut out 3" and 3.5" squares and 3.5" and 4" squares. Each set of petals takes between 6 and 8 petals (fabric squares) depending on how full you want it to be. I found 6 not to be enough.

I used the lid of a mason jar to trace my first set of circles (I flipped it over and traced the inner ring for the smaller circle). But I found freehand worked better because the flowers looked fluffier if the circles weren't perfect. However, if you're a perfectionist, trace away! You'll have to find something else to trace for the large and small flowers. This is the perfect size for the medium flower.

Once I finished cutting the circles, one at a time, I created the petals. First, fold one circle in half like a taco.

Then fan fold it. Bring one corner up the front and the other up the back.

This was really hard to get a picture of, but when it is finished it will look like a cone from the front. But from the top (where you would put the ice cream if it were really a cone) it looks like an S.

I put a very small dab of hot glue in the tip of the cone on each side to hold it in place. Repeat for each of the circles.

Now it's time to assemble the petals to make a flower. Cut out a piece of felt into a tiny circle. It needs to be big enough to glue the petals onto, but small enough that it doesn't show outside the edges of the flower.

Glue the outer petals on first, slightly overlapping them for fullness. Then glue on the inner petals.

 Finally glue a coordinating button in the middle.

After assembling all the flowers (it took a while!), play with the arrangement on the wreath. And don't forget to make a few flowers to put on the letter. Oh, and it's cute to mix it up by including some flowers that only have one row of petals.

Once you've found an arrangement you like, start gluing the flowers down. Attach the letter using floral wire. I also used hot glue for the letter anywhere it made direct contact with the wreath.

The wreath is the only part I had to buy for this project. With my 40% off coupon for Hobby Lobby, that makes the Grand Total: $3.60! Not bad!