Book Report Dress

 With church choir dress code being white top, black bottom, I have been looking for dress patterns that can easily be color blocked... the Book Report Dress came to the rescue!

 The white wool felt bow and the black fabric-covered headband that I made matched this outfit perfectly.

 The hidden on-seam front pockets are my favorite detail on this dress.

 Project details
Pattern: Oliver + S Book Report Dress (difficulty level: 2 out of 4 scissors)
Size: 5
Modifications: I added one inch in length to the bodice and one inch in length to the skirt
Fabric: fine wale corduroy (got the idea to use light weight corduroy from Cindy at Siestas and Sewing) I've worked with stretchy corduroy before when I sewed up a pair of Oliver + S Art Museum Trousers. I got frustrated with how the paper pattern pieces kept sliding on top of the corduroy with I was trying to cut them out. This time around I traced pattern pieces onto freezer paper and ironed them onto the back of the corduroy. Much better results!
Notions: 6 white and black cat buttons (made in France) because someone around here likes kitty cats >^..^<

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Even More Little Geraniums

I can't stop sewing these Little Geranium dresses (here are my 1st 'bouquet' and 2nd 'bouquet').

Earlier this month I was reorganizing my fabric stash and came across pieces that were less than a third of a yard. Just enough to make baby dresses, I thought. This batch of dresses were made from simple quilting cottons except for the gray which is a mystery fabric (it has a bit of stretch), the bodice lining is simple white cotton blend. These baby dresses were made for and will be donated to Dress A Girl Around the World.

If you are ever interested in sewing up a Little Geranium (free pattern, size 0-3 months), here are the amounts that are needed. Just something to keep in mind when you are going through your fabric stash and are wondering what could be made from those smaller fabric pieces.

5.5 X 6 inches (2 of these are needed for the bodice back)
6 X 10 inches (1 of these is needed for the bodice front)
11 X 34 - 11 X 44 inches (1 of these is needed for the skirt)

Do you have fabric pieces in those sizes in your fabric stash?

PS this little blog celebrated it's 4th birthday yesterday ~ thank you for reading, subscribing, and for all of your sweet comments over the years :)

Mara blouse pattern tour

 I had the pleasure of sewing up a dress for the Mara blouse pattern blog tour. Marte from Compagnie M. designed the Mara blouse pattern (a PDF pattern) and it is now available for purchase. Available is sizes 1Y - 10Y, the pattern includes both with or without seam allowances, and all measurements are in centimeters and inches.

The Mara blouse sewing pattern has a vintage touch with the front yoke and pin tucks.

There are 4 different sleeve options:

• sleeveless
• butterfly sleeves
• flutter sleeves
• long sleeves

Plus you can adjust the pattern into a dress (by following 2 detailed tutorials):

• an A-line dress with or without a colored hem band
• a gathered skirt dress

 My version is a sleeveless dress. I followed the tutorial on how to adjust the blouse to a basic A-line dress. I used gray linen, deep red stretch suede piping, and 3 black buttons. It is given a difficulty level of 2 out of 4 and I think that is right on. I sewed up a size 5Y and I am so pleased with how it turned out. I like all the little details which take a bit of time and attention, but after those are complete the rest sews up super fast.

 Be sure to visit Compagnie M. October 1-6 to see all the variations that were sewn for the pattern blog tour.

Marte has generously offered to give a copy of her Mara blouse pattern to nest full of eggs blog readers. Enter below for a chance to win. One person will be chosen to receive the sewing pattern. The giveaway is open until October 6th.

Oliver + S Guest Post

The Oliver + S Fairy Tale Dress came out a little over a year ago and since then I have used it 10 times! Today I am visiting the Oliver + S blog sharing how I have customized the Fairy Tale sewing pattern…

…including my 10th one called '10 Stripes'

Project Details:
Patterns: Oliver + S Fairy Tale Dress (difficulty level of 3 out of 4 scissors), pocket pattern from Oliver + S Playtime Dress
Size: 5
Modifications: Sleeveless, collarless, no bow, no crinoline, I added length to the skirt, I added on seam side pockets from Oliver + S Playtime Dress
Fabrics: Cotton sateen: smoke and eggplant, lining and pockets in cotton sateen: smoke. For size 5 I used about .5 yard eggplant (58 inches wide) and 2 yards smoke.
Notions: Invisible zipper, hook and eye closure
Inspiration: My inspiration came from the 'Carolyn' Stripe Fit and Flare Dress Kate Spade New York $478, black and white version, pink and orange version

Click here to see the tutorial.

Happy sewing!

Plaid Dress

 Plaid Dress Free Pattern and Tutorial

The Plaid Dress is a sleeveless drop waist dress with a circle skirt. It has a v-neck back with an invisible zipper and a hook and eye closure. It is fully lined with bias binding on the skirt/bodice seam for a nice finishing touch.

 What you need:

• Purple Rose Party Dress free pattern size 4
• 1 yard plaid fabric
• 1 yard lining fabric
• 1 inch bias tape maker
• 7-9 inch invisible zipper
• 1 hook and eye closure

 What you do: (All seam allowances are .5 inch)

• Cut out the bodice pieces in the plaid fabric.

•  Cut out the bodice pieces in the lining fabric. Also cut 1 yard of bias tape, 1.75 inches wide for the 1 inch bias tape maker.

•  With right sides together sew the bodice together at the shoulder seams, cut seams down to .25 inch, and press seams open. Repeat this for the bodice lining. With right sides together sew the 2 bodices together around the neckline, then along the 2 armholes.

•  Trim seam allowances down to .25 inch, clip curves, then turn right side out and press.

•  Sew the side seams.

•  Install the invisible zipper, hand sew the lining to the invisible zipper tape, and attach the hook and eye above the invisible zipper.

•  Cut out the circle skirt (10 inches in length or you could make it longer or shorter) in the lining fabric. Lay the lining circle skirt on top of the plaid fabric with right sides together, pin around the circle, then cut out. Sew these pieces together and clip edges all around.

•  Turn the circle skirt right side out and press.

•  With right sides together sew the circle skirt to the bodice.

•  Sew the bias tape around the skirt/bodice seam. All done!

The plaid fabric I used was Plaiditudes Collection Fabric- Cotton Heather, Pink, Grey & Magenta from JoAnn, it's super soft and was an absolute dream to work with. And I thought the gray with white polka skirt lining would make a playful addition.

Have fun sewing your plaid dress!

Playtime Dress

 Next up on the Oliver + S fall pattern preview is the Playtime Dress, Tunic + Leggings (available in sizes 6M-12). After consulting with my client (aka my daughter), she chose the dress (View A) because she is more of a dress (with tights) kind of girl rather than a tunic with leggings kind of girl, at least for the time being. Which is totally fine by me, after all I do love making dresses (I'm pretty sure you have guessed that by now).

 This one is the easiest and quickest pattern to sew up from the 3 new fall patterns. Our favorite detail in this dress? The pockets! My girl insists on having pockets on the majority of her clothing items, so what a bonus that pockets are included in this design (now I don't have to figure out how to add them myself)! And how I love that they are topstitched and also sewn all the way through the layers of the pockets and the front of the skirt, so the pockets stay nice in place all the time (so much easier ironing the pockets with them that way, too). Another detail I like is the understitching at the neckline to keep the facing from showing when the dress is worn, a nice professional touch.

 After attaching the skirt to the bodice it says to finish the seam allowances using your preferred method. Lately I've been using bias binding to finish the bodice/skirt seam in a coordinating fabric. Just a little hidden detail that I'm loving at the moment.

 Playtime was a great pick for a name because it is very roomy and she can definitely run around and play in it. I think it has a bit of a super cute Japanese sewing book vibe going on, don't you think? I have a bunch of gray linen in my stash, maybe I'll make a Playtime tunic in that...

 I predict we will be seeing all different types of Playtime Dress/Tunic/Leggings all over blogland in the future as it is such a nice and simple silhouette. The Playtime pattern reminds me of the Rollerskate Dress/Tunic in that the design is like a blank canvas, ready for you to play with. With the options of woven or knit fabrics, the sky is the limit. You could really have fun with color blocking with this design. How about something in knits like the first one here? As of right now, I already have plans for a couple of future outfits using this sewing pattern. Church choir has a dress code of white top, black bottom, so I was thinking of doing color block dress with white sleeves and bodice with a black skirt, but on the white top maybe trying something black for the faux collar, like the heat-set pearls idea shown here.

 Project Details
Pattern: Oliver + S Playtime Dress, Tunic + Leggings (difficulty level: 2 out of 4 scissors)
Size: 5
Modifications: I sewed the dress which is View A, but with the topstitched collar from View B.
Fabrics:
Dress: Heather Ross, Briar Rose, Strawberry in pink (woven)
Bias binding (on the bodice/skirt seam): Heather Ross, Briar Rose, Calico in pink (woven)
Notions: Three 5/8 inch red buttons from my stash
Inspiration: The word 'playtime', I used the Briar Rose line because I find it to be very playful and cute for girl's and doll's clothing. Maybe we will see other variations of the Playtime pattern done in Heather Ross' Briar Rose fabric line especially since they are available in both woven and knit prints.

 I couldn't resist sharing a few photos of just the Popover Doll dresses I sewed up. I have sewn up some size 8 Popover Sundresses, but had never sewn up the doll version. They sure turn out teeny tiny and adorable, don't they?

 Doll dress pattern: Oliver + S Popover Doll Dress which is for an 18 inch doll. Our doll dresses look a little on the long side and that is due to the fact that our dolls are 15 inch baby dolls (she is saving up her money to buy her first 18 inch doll, though).
Fabrics: Heather Ross, Briar Rose, Strawberry in pink (woven) and Calico in pink (woven)

See you soon, up next is the Art Museum Vest + Trousers (girl's look).

Library Dress

 This past week Oliver + S introduced their newest fall patterns, have you had a chance to see them all yet? If not, you must go see the introductions for the Art Museum Vest + Trousers, Library Dress, and Playtime Dress, Tunic + Leggings.

 And I have some really good news for you, they are all now available for purchase starting TODAY, both in paper or digital format.  

 I had the pleasure of sewing up all three of the Oliver + S fall 2013 sewing patterns for their fall pattern preview. I'm super excited to share with you what I have made. First up is the Library Dress (available in sizes 6M-12), a faux wrap dress with a wide waistband with piping, pleated skirt, button closure all the way down the back. Options include short or 3-quarter length sleeves with notched cuffs and with or without a collar. I consulted my daughter to see what she wanted from the choices. She picked short sleeves without the collar.

 This was the first time that I ever sewed with flat piping which turned out great, I want to challenge myself by trying new things. I chose pink for the waistband and purple for the flat piping to match and bring out the pink and purple in the largest flower in the print fabric. I'm so pleased with how it turned out, a perfect tailored fit.

 This is my favorite sewing pattern from the fall 2013 Oliver + S patterns. It is a super cute shorter (above the knee) design with fun details like the wide waistband with piping, the collar, and sweet pleats on the skirt. Next time I would like to sew one with the collar. Looking for fabric ideas for this one? How about cherry blossom print fabric, brocade, or solid color fabrics for more of a color block look.

 Project Details
Pattern: Oliver + S Library Dress (difficulty level: 2 out or 4 scissors)
Size: 5
Modifications: Short sleeves from View A and collarless from View B
Fabrics:
Main fabric: Anna Maria Horner, Hand Drawn Garden, Centerpiece Sunlight
Waistband: Pink cotton (broadcloth)
Waistband (flat) piping: Purple cotton (Kona)
Notions: 9, .5 inch white buttons
Inspiration: My inspiration came from this faux wrap dress. I really liked the large floral print with white background and the pink at the waistline.

See you soon, up next is the Playtime Dress.

Hanami Tester's Blog Tour

 I had the pleasure of being a pattern tester for the Hanami, a new mix and match pdf pattern offered by An of Straightgrain.

You can purchase the Hanami in An's shop.

 The Hanami offers many choices:

• top or dress
• without or with slim peter pan collar
• tulip or regular flutter sleeves
• crossed back or invisible zipper back

I let my daughter pick what combination she wanted and she chose:

• dress 
• collarless
• regular flutter sleeves
• zippered back

 The fabrics:

• Jay-Cyn Designs for Birch Fabrics, Mod Basics 2, Organic, Poppies Sun. I won 2 yards of this fabric and can you believe that this dress used only one yard of fabric? (so now I have 1 yard remaining for a future sewing project!)
• Bodice lining is 100% cotton voile in white, I decided to do the lining for the flutter sleeves in the main fabric, instead of the lining fabric

 The instructions include very thorough charts with everything you would need to know about the amount of fabrics needed, dimensions of the finished garment, is in both inches and centimeters.

I'm so pleased with how this dress turned out. I sewed a size 4Y and the fit is perfect. I only used 1 yard of fabric which is exactly what the chart said was needed.

 My favorite things about the pattern:

• Very nice attention to details like understitching so the lining will stay in place
• I learned a new sewing skill: how to stitch a bodice lining to the zipper tape ~ love that! And will definitely use that again in the future
• I like the way the bottom of the invisible zipper is sewn into the skirt/bodice seam

My modifications:

• I did the lining for the flutter sleeves in the main fabric (instead of lining fabric)
• I decided to do French seams for the skirt side seams
• Instead of serging the skirt and bodice seam, I did bias binding on it
• I added a hook and eye closure above the invisible zipper

Be sure to visit Straightgrain August 19-28 to see all the variations the pattern testers sewed.