Georgia Vintage Dress for The Cottage Mama

Ready for some cuteness overload?!? I’m not sure what’s sweeter, Tandy or this new pattern to be released by The Cottage Mama. Ok, I may be a tad biased on this one. But, on to the sewing stuff. The Cottage Mama is set to release a few new patterns in the coming months, and I was lucky enough to be selected to test out her first one. This is the Georgia Vintage Dress View D. That’s right, you’ll be able to get four variations in this one pattern, and I can think of a few more too!

The bib front is really a blank canvas for fun buttons, trims, monograms, or appliques. The pattern calls for piping, but I used some mini pom-pom trim.

The final pattern actually has a shorter skirt. That’s one of those reasons we testers prove to be useful!

No, vintage style dress would be complete without a big sash. The way the front and back sashes are attached leaves an option for omitting them as well for still more options.

Flutter sleeves and a sweet collar are just icing on the cake.

The Georgian Vintage Dress pdf pattern should be released this week with the paper patterns to follow. Stay up to date by checking in with The Cottage Mama Facebook page. I’ll be sure to update my Facebook page as well.

Dress Remix and a Zoo Trip

I bought this dress at the Junk Gypsy tent at Warrenton a couple of seasons ago, and I just never could make it work well for me. It was cute as a tunic with a belt when I was pregnant with Tandy, but that’s history. On a whim, I did a little remix-ing with it the other night. Now we have two cute dress instead of one.

The girls wore them to the zoo today. Tandy seemed in awe of the panda chowing down.

I love Tandy’s simple dress. I just cut off the front pocket area keeping the bias trim in tack and tied up the remaining bias trim. I cut the back with a slight drop and left the arm holes long. It’s such an easy breezy style for summer. I am tempted to recreate this style on my own.

Avery’s was almost as easy! I cut off the existing bubble skirt, gathered the top, and stitched it to a tank. I think this is the softest dress she owns. I know it will get tons of wear.

We hit the Memphis zoo at the ideal time. The weather was perfect and the crowds were light. These bears were being super frisky with each other which was exciting to watch.

They really got up close and personal!

DIY Padded Envelope

I gave you the inspiration for the pancakes & pearls birthday here. Now, I’ll show you how we are getting the party guests excited for the day. I’m doing my best to encourage Avery in this process that it is better to give than to receive, so we have a few treats in mind for our guests. The first will arrive with the invitation. We’ve intentionally kept this party on a small scale to keep things reasonable.

As usual, Mary Jo Green of What’s Inside Designs designed the perfect invitation. She even came up with the idea to use a gold sharpie to add a bit of shine! She also printed up the cardstock we used for the envelopes.

Here is what the girls will find inside our little DIY padded envelope.

I started with this tutorial, but changed a few steps to make things a tad easier.

Materials:

• Printed, patterned, or plain cardstock
• bubble wrap
• double sided tape
• sewing supplies

Our invitations were 5”x7” and just barely fit inside the envelope made from a standard sheet of cardstock. Keep that in mind for your sizing.

First fold the cardstock in half. Using a bone folder helps get a nice crease.

Next, cut rectangles of bubble wrap that are smaller than the folded paper. I think mine were 4.75” x 6.5”.

Apply double sided tape to the top and bottom of one side of the folded paper. Make sure the tape will not fall in the area that will be sewn. You don’t want any of that sticky goo getting on your machine. Note: I only padded one side since I figured the invitation plus cardstock would be enough backing. You can certainly put bubble wrap on each side if needed.

Adhere the rectangle of bubble wrap.

Refold the cardstock. Using a sewing machine, sew down the long open side and across the bottom. I used gold thread here.

Stuff your lovely contents inside.

Then, sew everything closed across the top.

You can leave it like this.

Or trim up the edges with scissors or a rotary cutter.

Who wouldn’t want to receive such a pretty package!

Pancakes & Pearls Party Inspiration

In less than a month Avery with turn 5. Five!!!! I can’t believe it. Party prep mode has begun, and as usual I try to fit in a project here and there to make it all come together in the end. I’ll try to share a few along the way.

Almost every Saturday we hear the request for pancakes from Avery. We even have them for dinner on occasion. She jumped at the idea of including them in her party. Instead of a pancakes and pajamas party, we decided to channel her girly side and make it a Pancakes and Pearls party. Here’s a little eye candy to feed the brain storming.

Huge stacks of pancakes.

source

Mini stacks of pancakes.

source

Here is our color scheme: pink, jade, gold, and of course pearly white.

source

Feel free to send any pearls of wisdom my way!! (pun intended)

Her First Maxi

In all honesty the shorts I made Avery here and here have yet to be worn beyond the photo shoot. I know they will get worn during the summer months, but this girl craves dresses. The more twirl the better. I knew she would love a maxi dress, but I wasn’t going to invest in another pattern when I have so many yet to sew. The day after thinking these very thoughts, I received Pink Fig’s pattern of the month in my inbox. To my delight it was a gorgeous maxi, the Bloomshine Maxi. I immediately set to sorting through fabrics to find the perfect mix and quantities. It may have been a bit embarrassing if anyone had walked in the door with the little piles of fabric I had strewn about. I ended up with a fun mix of Riley Blake and Sis Boom.

Like I said, I jumped right into cutting fabrics for this one. Well, part way in to sewing that bottom tier, I realized it ends up being 15 feet of fabric. I almost abandoned ship, but I couldn’t waste the fabric or face the disappointment on Avery’s face. I carried on so thankful for a ruffler foot on my sewing machine.

Boy does it twirl!!

Avery thinks it is “long like a princess dress.” She tends to sway and sing if she ever stands still long enough.

The only change I made to the pattern was for the straps. I ended up criss-crossing and weaving them together at the back. Love it!!

This size 5 fit perfect on Avery. By the way, the size range is awesome for this pattern from 2T to Missy 16. Just to make things easier on myself, I think I would make that bottom tier the same width as the middle tier next time. I still think there would be plenty of twirl factor!

Flip This Pattern Announced

At the beginning of the week, I posted a knock-off, and today I’m announcing a pattern flip. Two of my favorite things! Can you tell how excited I am to be a part of them!!!

This is all of the work of two super sewing sisters over at francessuzanne. They have been working to pair up different bloggers with patterns to flip (re-mix, embellish, make it your own.) It gets better! It’s part competition, part sew-along, and guaranteed to be filled with inspiration. So, head over to francessuznne for all the details and schedules, because I have a feeling you’ll want to follow along even if you don’t sew along. Oh, and check out the talent listed in this group. Awesome!!

Mommy's Apron Strings | Winter Wonderings | doguincho | SoCalSewingMom | nest full of eggs

cathgrace | Welcome to the Mouse House | S is for Sewing | Sewing Like Mad | Elegance & Elephants | Call ajaireLittle Kids Grow | Daisy Chain Creations | Once Upon a Notion | Handmade Martini | iCandy handmade | you & mieIf only they would Nap |  Foster Ramblings | Designs by Sessa | Shaffer Sisters {Jo} | greendoodle | Shaffer Sisters {Al}Siestas & Sewing | mama says sew | Sewing Mama RaeAnna | sewVery | Nap Time Crafters | {lbg studio}Shaffer Sisters {Scary} | Sweeter Than Cupcakes | Once Upon a Sewing Machine | Crafty Cupboard | The Powell Family

And, here are the patterns. See, twelve months of awesome!! I won’t be hitting the scene until April which gives me plenty of time to get inspired (or wavier with indecision, get nervous, reconsider options, etc.)

| Pattern Anthology Figgy's | Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop | Shwin Designs | Clever Charlotte Violette Field Threads | Blank Slate Patterns | Heidi & Finn | The Cottage Mama

Mini Boden Spotty Chambray Skirt Knock It Off–Tutorial

If you’ve been following my blog for a while you know I love a good knock off. I was so excited to be included in Heidi’s Knock It Off series. The hardest thing about it was narrowing down what to sew. I finally decided on the Spotty Chambray Skirt because I knew I could share a little tutorial with you as well. Here is theirs vs. mine.

The extra stitching and cute pocket design make this skirt unique. I chose to use Michael Miller’s Petit Point in denim, but I certainly wouldn’t limit this design to just dots.

This tutorial is for a size 5 skirt. The finished length is 14”. You will need 1 yard of fabric. All seam allowances are 1/2” unless noted otherwise.
Materials:

• 3/4” elastic – 9.5”
• 7 – 5/8” buttons
• front waistband interfacing – 3” x 12.5”
• front waistband fabric – 3” x 12.5”
• back waistband fabric – 3” x 16.5”
• button placket fabric – 1 7/8” x 16”
• front skirt panel fabric – 15” x 24”
• back skirt panel fabric – 15” x 16.5”
• Pocket fabric – See photo below. You will need two rectangles 4.5” x 7”. You will also need two pocket pieces with a trapezoidal shape at the bottom. The pocket piece widens to 5.5” at the base.

1. Apply interfacing to the front waist band on the wrong side.

2. Stitch the short ends of the waist band right sides together at each end to form a tube. Press the waistband in 1/2 long way wrong sides together. Edge stitch along the folded edge of the band.

3. On the backside of the waist band, stitch a casing 3/4” from the edgestitch (about 7/8” from the fold). Stitch from side seam to side seam along the back only.

4. Insert the elastic in the casing & secure at both ends at the seams. Set the waistband aside.

5. I like to press my hems before I sew the pieces together. Press the hem under 1/4” then 1” to the wrong side on both skirt panel pieces. Crease the front panel in half to mark the middle for placing the button placket later.

6. Unfold the hem and sew the front and back panels together along the short sides. Finish the seams and press the seam allowance to the back side.

7. Sew gathering stitches at the bottom center of the tapazoidal pocket piece. Gather the bottom to match the rectangular pocket piece. Draw a rounded corner at each of the four corners of the pocket piece. (Tip: I did not do this, but if there is a next time I would probably add interfacing to the top portion of the pocket piece that gets folded over.)

8. Sew the trapezoidal pocket piece to the rectangular pocket piece right sides together with a 1/4” seam allowance leaving a 2” opening on one side to turn. Trim the corners to 1/8” seam allowance and turn right sides out. Tuck the seam allowances in at the opening and press the pocket well.

9. Press the top of the pocket piece own 1.5” along the top and mark at each edge. Top stitch between the marks around the top of the pocket.

10. Mark the front of the skirt for the pocket corner location 3.5” from the center crease each way and 3.5” from the top of the panel. Align the folded top corner of pocket at the mark.

11. Unfold the pocket. Stitch the pocket to the front of the skirt ONLY, make sure the back is pulled out of the way. Stitch from the previous topstitching around the bottom of the pocket to the other side of topstitching.

12. Repeat for the other pocket.

13. Sew two rows of gathering stitches at the top front panel from side seam to side seam. Gather the front panel to match the waistband front, but leave the center 1” ungathered.

14. Sew the skirt panel to the waist band aligning the fronts, backs and side seams. Finish the seam and press it toward the waistband. Set aside.

15. Press the long edges of the button placket under 1/4”. Also, press one short end under 1/4”

16. Pin the placket centered over the crease in the front skirt panel starting at the bottom of the skirt. Align the raw edge at the bottom. At the top fold the pressed end over the waistband tucking under the raw edge.

17. Edge stitch along both long sides of the placket. Stitch another line 1/4” from both edges for a total of 4 rows of stitching.

18. Top stitch the front waistband along the bottom edge catching the seam allowance underneath.

19. Repress the hem folds as needed and stitch the hem.

20. Sew buttons on the placket and pocket fronts.

21. Done!

If you want to check out a few more knock offs you can find shorts here, a suspender skirt here, and a typewriter tee here.