Peek-a-Boo Patterns Lucy

I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to test a pattern for Peek-a-Boo Patterns.

Her Lucy dress pattern is so wonderfully simple!  

I'm sure it can be made really quickly if there are no little helpers around.

Laurel looked so cute it in!

Something else wonderful about it, you can make it in sizes 3 months all the way up to 8 years!  It looks like most of her patterns are the same way.

We had the worst time getting her to stand in one place.

If you are wondering about Laurel's headband, I used this flower tutorial.  I sewed it onto some felt and elastic before adding the button.

Baby gets a new dress

Around our house we have a problem with a baby doll nudist colony.  Luckily, Eleanor is finally starting to want them dressed.  Unfortunately, one of the babies came in only a diaper.  So I was very excited to find this vintage pattern.

At first, I couldn't decide which one I wanted to do.  They are all so cute.  I finally settled on View 3, when I remembered I had a remnant of eyelet fabric I could use.

I thoroughly enjoyed making it.  It was fast, easy and darling.  I kept going 'awww' while I was putting it together.

Eleanor really likes it too.  Now I just have to decided which one to make next.

Lumber Jill Dress Tutorial

I'm still going through that box of boy clothes.  There were a couple flannel shirts in there that had me stumped. I searched google and pinterest for hours looking for inspiration.  I gave up.  I don't know how the idea came to me, but it did.  I decided to turn one into a dress.  Empire waist with a gore skirt.  Besides, the box of boy clothes, I also have a ton of old jeans, so I wanted to use some for the skirt.  To go with the jeans and make it fun, girly, lumber jack like, I did french seams on the skirt.  

If you want to make one, follow along.

  (One disclaimer, mine doesn't actually fit the child it was intended for, so measure, measure, measure.  Please, make sure it has enough room so the arms can go into the sleeves.)

Take a shirt that fits your child or maybe is a little big.

Put it on your child to see where you would like it to end and the skirt to start.  Take it off of child and cute a little below that.  (This is where I should have gone lower so that there would have been more room to put it on.)  Seam rip sleeves, pockets (optional), and any other items on it that bother you (like that weird beige tape on the side seams).

Then take the sleeves and cut them into something that might turn into a cap sleeve.  I guess every time and usually, even if it isn't what I had in mind, they turn out cute.  I folded them at the top and cut in a gentle curve, keeping the the original sleeve seam/edge in tact.  I fold to keep both sides of the sleeve symmetrical.  Then I use the first one as a pattern for the second one.

Hem the sleeves.  I ruffled them along the seam side and then reattached to the shirt.

Next, comes the skirt.  I used a  tutorial I found to base my pattern piece off of.  It was really handy and took care of all the figuring I would of had to do on my own if I didn't find it.  Instead of 12 gores, I did six.  I did the bottom measurement double the waist and then added a two inch hem.  Since, I made it for a toddler with no hips I only worried about the waist measurement.  I also think it is better to err on the side of big.  If need be, you can always add elastic, gathers, or pleats to bring it in.

Here is another place you can learn from my experience and not do what I did.  I sewed the seams in an assembly line style doing each step of the french seam on all the seams at a time.  It is best to do the whole french seam before going to the next.  Working with a tube the size of a two year old's waist on a large sewing machine can be a pain.  So sew on a sheet, not a tube.  You will only have to work with a tube for the last seam.

Sew two gores wrong sides together and right sides facing out.  I know this seems backwards, but it is what you need to do.

Trim the seam allowance and sew right sides together 3/8th from the first seam along the fold.  This will encase the raw edges.

Next sew down the casing with the right side facing up 1/4 of an inch from the seam.  I like to pull the fabric tight while I sew it to make the seam look nicer.  I'm not sure if it helps or not, it just makes me feel better.  Make sure to sew the casings down on the same side of the stitch ditch all the way around.

Sew the shirt and skirt together.  Put on your child and decide where you want to hem and then hem. 

After I had it all done, I didn't like the back and the loop.

So I took one of the pockets I seam ripped, pleated it and sewed in over the loop.

So now you have a cute dress, worthy of any Lumber Jill, that hopefully fits.

 

I looks like it will fit Laurel, but she threw one of her worst tantrums ever when I tried to put it on her, thus the sad childless picture at the end.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to break down and seem rip the top and try again with another shirt, unfortunately it won't be the lovely red flannel.

Staycation Part 2

This week has been so nice and laid back.  Monday morning Michael decided that we should have breakfast in town.  So we went to Denny's, where Laurel ate my yogurt.  Then we did a little shopping.  That afternoon we watched a movie.
Tuesday was a stay at home and play day.  We pulled out a bunch of board games to see if the girls would get any enjoyment out of them, even if they weren't played properly.  They liked Connect 4 the best, since they really like putting the disks in the slots and making them flow out.
Wednesday morning we took the girls down to the pool and went swimming for a little while.  Eleanor got to wear her new swimsuit that I made from this pattern.  I really liked the pattern.  It was fairly easy and looks really cute on Eleanor.  There are a few things I think I'll try differently next time I use it, but overall I really liked it.

For the evening, Michael arranged for some friends to babysit while we went on a date.  We went to Dockside and Gooey's.  Gooey's is just the dessert menu at Dockside.  We usually just go for dessert, but had dinner too.  We tried to save room for their sundaes, which tend to be gigantic unless you get the personal size. Since we had dinner, we shared the Chocolate Obsession Sundae in the personal size.  I love chocolate, but I think it was a bit of an overload.  After stuffing ourselves, we wandered Target, enjoying a store without keeping track of the girls.
Thursday was another quiet day at home.
Friday, we went into Spokane (on the way there Laurel got very carsick again. Any tips?) to Mobius to play with the girl's cousin.  Mobius is an interactive science museum of sorts for children.  There were so many children there, it was crazy.  I was a little disappointed with it, but the girls seemed to enjoy it, especially the stream water play area.

After lunch at Subway in the mall, we went grocery shopping.  We used one of those silly car shopping carts for the first time.  It was one of our best shopping trips with the girls.  They were entertained, happy and contained for nearly the whole time.  It was lovely.

Saturday afternoon we made cupcakes and today we just took it easy again, eating cupcakes.

I had hoped to visit Cat Tales Zoological Park and do the Mudgy and Millie Trail, which is bases on a cute book that takes place in a town near us.  Unfortunately, the weather and postal service had other ideas. It rained all week and the book didn't arrive till late Friday.  Overall, the week was fun and relaxing, just what we needed.  Laurel's vocabulary has been exploding and Eleanor is figuring out simple puzzles.  It would be wonderful if we could do this again soon.