Don’t Count ‘Em Out

I am often asked if I sew ALL of my kid’s clothing, and the answer is absolutely not. However, our clothing budgets certainly don’t have a lot of excess in them. When the consignment sales hit the convention center I try to maximize the bang for my buck. Here’s a little tip if you sew, don’t count out those sweet monogrammed dresses and tops. They can be super cheap since the market for a specific name or initial is limited. This Patsy Aiken (Chez Ami) dress is a great example. It probably retailed for around $43 and it is still in excellent condition.

I think I paid $3 for it. A little strategically placed applique work, and we have a great nearly new dress for summer. (I know the color looks crazy different in the two photos, but it’s only the light. They really are the same dress!)

Tandy didn’t get left out either. This sweet blank outfit was screaming for added cuteness.

So go get your shop on!

Vintage Play Set

I guess the thought of Warrenton/Round Top Antique Week coming around the corner has me thinking of all things vintage. I found this embroidered pillowcase at Warrenton a couple years ago. This Farmer’s Market print of Sandi Henderson’s mimics the colors and circle pattern perfectly. The floral ruffle on the shorts and bodice lining is another vintage find.

I wanted to do a bit more than the usual pillowcase dress, so I started with the bodice pattern from Patty Young’s Modkid Isabel pattern. Then I cut the pillowcase down, gathered, and stitched it to the bodice. Easy! I’m hoping to make one more change to my pattern for the shorts, and then I’ll share a tutorial. I’m easily distracted though, so let me know if you’re waiting around for a shorts tutorial.

Five Months

Not much new from last month here other than trying some solid foods yesterday. I had a rough night last night, but I’m not sure it was from the food or not. I think changing clothes is about the funniest thing around. On the good nights, I’m in bed by 7:15 and Mommy has to wake me up at 8:00 to get the day started. Bath time really settles me down when I get a bit fussy in the evenings. I enjoy talking to the cute girl in the mirror.

Stats: height 24.5” (34%) weight 15 lbs 6 oz (66%)

Americana Dress Three Ways (+ tutorial)

My sweet friend Katy spotted this Americana dress on Pinterest and sent the request for one my way. Go check out the tutorial on Heart Break Kids then come back to see how I made my version. I ended up making this dress for Katy’s oldest daughter, and with the leftover fabric I jazzed up one for her youngest and one for Tandy.

Here is the dress I started with from Walmart in three different sizes. Cute, but there is always room for improvement. I also used 1 yard of red interlock jersey and a white tee.

First, I cut an old white tee slightly bigger than the skirt portion of the dress.

Then, I ruffled up 4” strips of red knit yardage and sewed them on to the white base roughly 2” apart. Make sure your last piece lines up with the hem of the white base.

I came in 3” from each side hem and down 1” from the top of the skirt and drew a triangle on the dress. In the photo, you can see my drawn line on the left and where I started to cut on the right.

Next, I folded each side of my cut in 1/2” and pressed the fold. I used a twin needle to sew close to the fold. I tapered the fold at the peak of the triangle as needed. This step is optional since the knit fabric will not fray at the cut, but I think it finishes the look.

I used my serger to trim up the ruffles to match the white base. If you don’t have a serger, just trim with scissors and zig-zag the edge to keep everything in place.

Next, I sewed the ruffled base to the inside of the dress at the side seams keeping the stitches within the existing seam allowances. Make sure the bottom of the last ruffle lines up with the bottom of the dress hem.

I stitched the top of the ruffle base to the dress at the waistline using my twin needle. If you don’t have a twin needle, use a zig-zag stich here, so the dress can still stretch without breaking your thread.

Finally, I cut two 2” strips and attached them at the side seams on either side to tie in a bow.

All bustled up.

The last thing I did was remove the cheesy little bow on the dress front.

I ran out of red fabric to do a bustle on the other two dress, so this one got a bow upgrade by just gathering one rectangle of fabric and wrapping it with another rectangle. I just sewed down the middle rectangle. Then, I added a 2” ruffle around the bottom of the dress.

For Tandy’s dress, I added a ruffled bib front. Basically, I just attached two ruffle scraps from the previous two dresses around the neckline.

I know these are pretty brief tutorials, so feel free to ask me any questions. For $5 per dress, plus around $6 for for the red knit, I think we’ve got some knock out Americana style. I’m hoping Katy thinks so anyway!

I’m linking up to Tatertots & Jello.

Chow Time

The saga of Tandy’s first meal:

Ready to go.

Sister’s nearby to assist as needed.

Trying to keep at least some of it in her mouth.

Bibs are pretty yummy too.

Stuffed, but she’ll be back for more!

Easter Blues

These soft blues were just meant for my girls and their pretty blue eyes. I am so grateful to have the time this week to pull together two Easter dresses while Avery was away at Camp Gramps. (She’s on her way home now. Woohoo!) The pattern is Lydia from Pink fig. The fabrics are from two of Tanya Whelan’s lines, French Hat Box and Sugar Hill. The little apron is a Michael Miller Ta Dot.

If anyone is wondering where the apron is for Tandy’s dress, it was my big oopsie. I sewed up the cute itty bitty thing, then forgot to sew it in. Yep, stitched, serged, and topstitched then I see the apron waiting on the table over to the side. I wasn’t willing to turn back at that point. It think Todd prefers it without, so I guess we’ve struck a good balance.

Heaven's Sewing Room

So, I just started following this blog yesterday. It must have been meant to be, because today she revealed this.

Source: shoprubyjean.com via Courtney on Pinterest

You really must click on the image and view her dreamland of a sewing room. Seriously if heaven has a sewing room, it must look like this! If I had a room like this, I would NEVER leave it. Sorry, gotta go drool over her photos some more.

Modkid Style Banded Tank Top

You know how eager I was to get into Patty Young’s fun book Sewing Modkid Style. Well, Patty did not disappoint. I’ve been a fan of her patterns since I sewed my first Isabel dress. She really seemed to bring sewing with knits to those of us so accustomed to sewing with quilting cottons. If you’ve been nervous to give knits a try this book is packed with tips and pointers to get you started. I really love how Patty gives details with each pattern for the types of knit she recommends and why. I immediately was drawn to this banded tank top for the easy style. I love the bubble look! I went with solids this time around, and I love the pop of the vintage buttons. For the first time, I sewed this top completely with my serger except for the gathering threads for the bubble portion. The only downside was that my serger knife cut the gathering thread as I serged the pink and blue pieces together. This resulted in some uneven gathers, but overall I think it worked out fine. These fabrics a from Chez Ami.

Avery is off at Camp Gramps & Gogo this week, so I’ve had some extra time to sew and love on Miss Tandy on her own. We miss our big girl though!

Back from Atlanta

Our first vacation with all four of us staying in a hotel was a success! Everyone seemed happy and a bit tired on the drive home, which are usually good signs. Avery had a blast at the aquarium despite the scary dolphin show. I know what you are thinking, how can a dolphin show be scary? Someone had a very bad idea to add theatrics to a wonderful dolphin show, and managed to make things traumatic for the toddlers.

This little one was a trooper! Despite long car rides, changing time zones, time changes, and naps on the go, she stayed relatively happy. I think she’s happy to be back to her own routine though.

Just Because

It’s Here!

It feels like I have anticipated the arrival of this book forever, but it is finally here! I’m so excited to dive into Patty Young’s new book filled with wonderful patterns.

Bad news is I won’t be able to get started until next week. Good news is that it will force me to read all her great tips and pointers before I just dig in and cut up some fabric. I’ll have some time to decide which outfit to start with. Will it be the halter top, bubble dress, yoga pants……? The possibilities are are making me want to grab those scissors again. I better go take care of the baby to distract me.

Dedication Weekend

Sometimes we’re just not the greatest planners. When we set the date and gave Tandy’s grandparents a weeks notice that we would be having her dedicated at church this past Sunday, we didn’t know if we would get a big showing. We should never doubt the lengths our family will go to show their support!! (Sometimes, I think they are just looking for the excuse to visit too!)

We had a long weekend with Omie and Opa.

Avery had some serious bonding time with Opa. I’m not sure how many variations of doctor/patient role play they went through, but they managed to come up with quite a few new ailments that needed tending.

Gogo and Gramps made the trip to join in our celebration as well.

Todd and I realized that we hadn’t fully communicated with our pastor about the timing of the dedication about 2 minutes into the service. We had assumed it would happen at the beginning, so we kept Tandy and Avery in the sanctuary rather that taking them to the nursery. Well, they ended up doing the ceremony at the end of the service, and our girls managed to perform like angels during the long service. I’ve never seen Avery sit so still for so long. Gramps must have a miracle lap!

We are so grateful that God placed Tandy in our little family. We hope to honor Him in our efforts to love, train, and lead Tandy as she grows.

Vision Accomplished–Typewriter Tee

It seems I’ve pinned a few things from the Persnickety line of clothing for inspiration. I certainly don’t buy kids clothes at these retail prices, but I love the colors and vintage feel. I took their idea of this typewriter tee and made it my own.

Source: littlelunablue.com via Courtney on Pinterest

I started with a plain cream long sleeve tee from Target. After scouring the internet for the perfect typewriter image, I used this printable iron on transfer paper to print the image on a scrap from an old pink tee. I attached the oval applique then added on some lace trim and crochet flowers. For the sleeves, I chopped off a few inches then sewed in a short piece of elastic while pulling it tight to get the fabric to ruche.



The skirt pattern if from the book Little Girls, Big Style. The fabric is by Heather Bailey with some vintage lace trimmings.



Time to head inside for clean up!!