Easy Peasy Skirt

Of all the 'quick-makes' I've encountered for small people, the easy peasy skirt is one of my favourites, and thereby merited the breaking out of some deliciously cute fabric I'd been coveting for the right occasion. And so, came about the Princess and the Pea skirt !

It is a super simple design that is suitable for any age, (even grown up girls!) and constitutes a single piece of fabric, (or 2 for an adult version), and an elasticated waistband. It is one that can be made over and again too and in under a couple of hours.

I started by taking two simple measurements, these being a waist measurement and a length measurement from the waist to just below the knee. I added half an inch to this length measurement for the bottom hem and another 2 inches to allow for the elastic casing of the waist band. I also doubled the measurement taken for the waist when cutting out my fabric, in order to add extra volume to the skirt, you could just as easily multiply it by 1.5 for a little less fullness.

With regards length of elastic to use, I started with the waist measurement and then subtracted an inch for a snug fit, but ultimately ended up taking away a smidgen more. You can play around with this once you have fed the elastic through the casing, securing each end of it with safety pins before having a few 'try on' sessions, wiggling the elastic looser or tighter through the casing until you get a comfortable fit. Then you are almost good to go! Sew together the open sides of your fabric and then create the casing for the elastic by folding over the top edge of fabric by half an inch and then folding over again by an inch and a half to create a channel for your  inch wide elastic. Sew the channel in place, leaving a gap at one end through which you can feed the elastic using a safety pin to guide it through. (Once all the way through, it is at this point that you can secure both ends of the elastic temporarily to slip the skirt on to intended wearer and check the fit).

Another useful tip once your elastic is in place and you have adjusted the gathering of the fabric on the waistband to make it even, is to run another row of machining through the waist band and elastic. This prevents the elastic from twisting inside the waist band. This may not happen whilst being worn, but you can more or less guarantee it once it goes in the washing machine! You will need to stretch out the waist band with both hands as you feed it flat through the machine.

Create a small hem at the bottom and it's ready to wear!
                                 

Elastic Fantastic!

                                             

One of the first wardrobe staples of the little girl in the house last Summer, was a loose fitting top with elasticated neckline and raglan sleeves. It was one of the easiest things to slip over her head with minimum fuss and without any fiddly buttons...(for which I have to pick my moment !)

After a pretty poor first attempt at copying a pattern from one such top, (purchased from a well known baby care chain), I decided I would have another go this Summer...happily this time with greater success and a wearable outcome!

It was a fiddly task tracing round the existing top, whilst also holding the stretched out elastic neckline in place ! It is more workable with an extra pair of volunteer hands. I then added an extra inch to allow for the channel in which the elastic would sit. 

Having got the basic shape, I was able to tidy up my rather amateur looking drawing and set about creating a pattern piece for the sleeves. For this I measured all the way around them and then transferred measurements and design to paper.

I chose a lightweight summer floral to work with and having cut out the pieces, sewed front and back together, attached the raglan sleeves and then created the channel for my elastic. With an elasticated waistline, you can pretty much guess that using an inch less elastic than the waist measurement will give a snug and comfortable fit, With a neckline, it was pretty much a case of trial and error. I fed through more elastic than I knew I would need, attaching both ends in place with safety pins once all the way through and then tried the top on her, adjusting the elastic length until I had an evenly gathered neckline of the right size. 

I finished it off with a rolled hem on the overlocker and a little detail of lace trim. Its fits a treat and she looks cute as a button. Next stop, a longer version with pockets.

Unicorn Dress, Part 2!

In September last year, I made one of my first tunics for a small girl of 5 months at the time. I had fallen in love with an enchanting unicorn fabric I found online and it was a must-have for a dress for the end of her first Summer. The Unicorn Dress posted last September, was a hit for a few wears before it was grown out of. In hommage to the original Unicorn Dress, I resurrected this beautiful fabric from my scraps bag and it embellishes Eloise's latest wear with a unicorn, 'raisin stash' pocket, some pretty binding and a sweetie sized fabric covered button. Here it is in its early stages...

The pattern is Simplicity 2684, kindly provisioned amongst a bag of 'no longer needed' children's patterns. It is the clean, simple shape that I love, lending itself readily to your own extra details, such as the front pocket, (which I also use on The Pocket Dress a couple of months ago) Rather than pinafore tab tops with buttons at the shoulders though, this dress has a cute as pie fabric covered button, (see my tutorial on making your own fabric covered buttons here), fastened with a rouleau loop. 

I loved making the little fabric button! All the girly features of this dress had me coo'ing and ahh'ing. I love a pretty detail and there is plenty of that here. The pattern also includes the option of capped sleeves. As always, I found the gathering at the top of the sleeve extraordinarily fiddly - and for all their fiddlesome nature, they never seem to bring the gratification of a neat, even row of gathers, unless being done in industry, by machine. So, I reverted to a little pleat which I think is just as effective...

The pattern does not suggest the visible binding, but with just enough left, it was an opportunity to continue the floral motif of the unicorn fabric.

And here it is ! Ably modelled by its wearer. 

She seems happy with it! 

First Summer dress of 2015 !

I am always intrigued how the same pattern or garment can look so different run up in different weight/style fabrics. Continuing on from my Bird Panel Dress ~ made using Lynn Mizono's pattern for Vogue 1410, (a little reminder below), I decided I would try it again in a lighter, Summer floral. 

The result is a lighter, floatier version that still holds the shape of the pattern, but in a more informal way, beckoning sunshine, ice cream and sandy toes.

And of course with each new attempt at the same pattern comes the opportunity to make a few more additions and touches of your own. My Summer version is a little shorter ~ I'm anticipating tanned legs at least some point over the Summer! and I have added a decorative stitch to the darts and folds on the front and back :

Last but not least, the seams of this dress have been given the full treatment of a shiny new Bernina overlocker (and its excitable owner).

In the interests of fairness (and sympathy), my next project is for the little lady with the 2 new pearly whites kept her awake. 

A sneak preview of work in progress :

Check out My New Toy !

Having a 'serge' of excitement! And with the appalling pun out of the way, I officially declare my new overlocking habit, (or serging, as they say in the US) Ably assisted by my shiny new Bernina! Long overdue I know, but now that I have perfected my French seams and zig zag edges, I figured it was time.

And here's what it does !

Here's to neat, unfrayable, overlocked seams ! And even better for finishing off clothes for the little lady in my life, giving them strength for that extra bit of rough and tumble endured by children's clothes.

With an hour or so's 'Know Your Overlocker' session, I feel more at ease with the whole threading process, which in itself is what has given the Overlocker a bit of a bad press in the past. However, these days clever alterations have been made to the design of most newer overlockers to ensure greater ease of threading that hideaway Underlooper. Nonetheless, a steady hand, focus and trusty pair tweezers are still required for directing the thread for each needle and upper and lower looper, on its own correct path through the machine. (Feels a little like a game of 'Operation')

I've found then, that unless of calm disposition, it is best not to watch what is going on inside the machine, as all the running threads and crossing loopers get to work in what looks like a birds nest of disasterous consequences! Yet somehow, this poetry in motion as it turns out to be, produces a magical chain of overlocking from under the needle. No going back now ;o)

Pocket Dress

Finally we are seeing Spring yellows and the purples and blues of crocuses and hyacinths in the garden. Likewise, it feels it is time to set aside the Winter wools and bring out the linens and cottons !

 First stop, a new linen dress for the little girl in my life. A simple pattern with tab tops at the shoulders, a facing in the bodice and that all important front pocket for keeping essentials in ;o)

And it was a chance to make use of some very cute owl buttons I snapped up last year at a craft fair.

Bird Dress

      

I am feeling especially happy with my latest sewing creation, on two counts. First, (and not least!), I have managed to finish it! (Something I'm proud of given the lack of sleep this week, unsociable hour baby 'alarm calls', a huge work deadline and general baby busyness). Secondly, the fabric is in a gorgeous inky, peacock blue that I had been keeping an eye out for for some time and then by happy happenstance stumbled across in , The Sewing Shop, Canterbury...AND in the Sale ! Lastly, I had been saving up this birdy beauty in my sewing box for about ten years, retrieved from an old Noa Noa top that I loved 'til it could be worn no more, but now taking its new place here :o)

The design is by Lynn Mizono for Vogue V1410  :

 

I immediately fell in love with the quirky shaping, its definitively Japanese elements (unsurprisingly) and the versatility of the style. It sang to me on so many levels that I danced a merry dance inside at having found a pattern that ticked so many boxes. That said, I have still made some necessary tweaks and adjustments...(just a few), these include shortening it, adding sleeves, changing the neckline and replacing the suggested button to draw it in at the front, with my bird panel.
Another option here is to use a piece of ribbon or another panel of contrast fabric, which is what I did for my toile :

It is a pretty fabric-hungry pattern, asking for 3 metres. I didn't quite use all of that, but was left with just enough over to add some 3/4 length sleeves. The pattern pieces are voluminous! A front and a back, large as you like and reminiscent of my advanced pregnancy body..(where was this pattern when Eloise was an 'inside baby' ?!)

Making a toile for this dress was definitely time well spent, as this was where I discovered that the rather long length wasn't quite working for me. As well as shortening it at the hemline, I ultimately 'took out' some of the middle of the pattern too, so that the bulbous curve of the dress' design starts a little higher up.

I also found that the marked positioning of the tailor tacks where the dress is drawn in at the front of the bodice were not so well placed for me either. I brought these a little higher too. I also found that the neckline was slightly 'baggy', (an issue I have found echoed in reviews by others sewers making this dress). This was resolved by continuing my folds all the way up to the neckline and then adding a couple of small darts.

The back of the dress also features a couple of darts to pull it in and shape it a little. Again, I just moved these to where I was most happy with them :

Having decided to add sleeves, I hunted down a pattern in my box that had long sleeves. I then measured the sleeve pattern piece, as well as the armholes on my Mizono dress. The latter being a couple of centimetres larger, I enlarged the pattern piece my making a clean cut down the middle, carefully opening out the pattern piece at the top to the required extra centimetres and then backing it with some card to create a new sleeve pattern that would work for this dress. It worked a treat and the new sleeves eased into the dress beautifully. The nature of the fabric helped with a little bit of forgiving stretch, but actually the fit was pleasingly good. 

(See 18th June 2013 post re using a similar method to add extra room in the back of a skirt).

This has been worn and washed twice already, giving me to believe that it may now be one of my new 'reach for' wardrobe staples. Also prompting me make a couple more in different fabrics. My linen stash awaits its call up for a Summer version.