Navy and Lemon Polka Dotted Goodness

I set out to make a cute pair of matching dresses for the girls this spring.  I wanted navy and yellow but never found a print that I liked, so I improvised.  I used a navy fabric and added yellow accents: an inset in the bodice, lining, a ribbon belt, and a chiffon ruffle.

I love me some chiffon!

And I’d seen this ruffle-like inset at various places on other dresses.  I never did find a free tutorial, so I had to guess how it was made.  I made a ruffle, then gathered the other side of the panel as well.  I stitched them into the bodice and hoped for the best.  It worked, I think.

This dress was definitely a work in progress for a long time—my first vision of it had sleeves and piping and a trim at the bottom, but as I laid the pieces together, I didn’t like those things.  I also originally tried tulle on the bottom but I didn’t like the color.  And I tried four different options for the ribbon belt.  I mean, it’s just a piece of ribbon.  Yikes.

The pattern I used (which includes pleats in the skirt—fun!) was New Look 6957.

Double Cuteness

A good friend of mine is having twins (!) in a few weeks—a boy and a girl.  We’ve had a few conversations about the enjoyment of coordinating outfits for children (um…not that I tend to make my children wear matching clothes…not at all…) and we discussed that it’s harder to find things for boy/girl matching.  Not impossible, of course, but I decided I just had to make something.

So I did.

For baby girl, I made another itty bitty baby dress.  I wanted to find a fabric that worked as a girly dress but also worked for the boy tie.

Mmmmm…piping.

And I’m getting a little better at sewing hems and bias tape.

For baby boy, I wanted to make an embellished onesie with a necktie.  Comfy and dressed-up.  I found a tutorial with a printable pattern and it turned out on the first try!

I can’t wait to meet those babies!

Cotton Candy Goddess Dresses

I saw a dress at Crazy8 that was chiffon with a ruffled neckline. It looked cute and I wanted to make my own version. The basic pattern I used is for a shirt with a neck that looked about like I wanted it to. The free pattern and tutorial is available online here. I attached chiffon as an overlay and made chiffon ruffles for the collar.

They’re a bit of a fifties silhouette, and a beautiful shade of blue. Light and fluffy!

Itty Bitty Cuteness

I found a free pattern online (Thanks to the wonderfully talented Rae) that was so adorable I needed to find an excuse to make it. It is for an itty bitty dress for a baby. I know I could attempt to make it in a large size, but I think that a lot of its charm is its petite size. One of my dear friends from college was about to give birth to a baby girl—her second child but first daughter—and it seemed like the perfect occasion.

The pattern was very easy to follow and turns out beautifully! The bodice is lined but didn’t actually involve rocket science for me to figure it out. The piping and bias tape makes the edges look neat, and since the straps tie, there are no zippers or other fasteners as my nemesis.

One-Shoulder Ruffle

I found some cute fabric at JoAnn’s of all places, and it begged to be a dress for the elder daughter.  I had recently found a tutorial for a dress that involved a ruffle and only one shoulder, and it seemed like a perfect match.  Here is the tutorial I used for this asymmetrical dress.  I had a little trouble with drafting the pattern—I think I was missing an angle or something to write out the pattern in its original size, and then I made it larger (so it fit my size 4-5 kid).  I ultimately mostly drew the shape for the body freehand, and it is quite forgiving.