Ice Cream Dress

I cut out two Ice Cream Dress patterns and was able to whip one up yesterday.  The colours are a brighter than in real life and I think that's because of the snow glare. The pink in the hem and bodice isn't quite as intense as seen here.

So here's the deal with the Ice Cream Dress.... it's drop dead easy.  I was fretting about attaching the back yoke, but with a simple snip of the main dress fabric, it was easy to attach the two together.

Get out your Ray Bans.

I managed to match the pocket pattern with the main dress pattern reasonably well too.  Not crazy about the topstitching though.  As I mentioned before, my machine has topstitching thread issues pulling the thread down into the feed dogs and therefore needs to go to the repair shop.  But the repair shop guy is a long drive away in Parry Sound on the shores of beautiful Georgian Bay, hard by Lake Huron. On the next good weather travel day, perhaps I'll make the trek.

My machine needs to go to the vet.

This dress was inspired by a dress in a 1925 magazine.  As good luck would have it, I've got the second dress cut out in repro vintage fabric, so it ought to look good.

 The next test is if it fits and is liked.  If so, I'll make a load of these dresses because they are so quick and easy to make plus I can bust a whole lot of my stash.

Fashion show.

I was able to have a 1 hour audience yesterday to try on the little outfits I made for Caitlin.

Here's the first outfit. It's the 2+2 blouse.  Caitlin liked the colour "lellow" but her mom didn't like the style of the blouse.

She didn't want to take off her long sleeve Onsie.

The skirt fit well which surprised me because I guessed at the waist measurement. I hid little plastic animals in the pockets, so Caitlin really liked the skirt and her mom did too.

Skirt pockets were a hit.

They both really liked the School Photo dress.  It fit well, maybe a little long though.

Toy coming out of the pocket.

It's not a twirling dress but certainly a Go-Go dress!

Show me love!

Here another version of the School Photo dress which I didn't care for after I made it.  But on Caitlin, it looked much better. 

Bending makes it easier to find a toy in a pocket.

The little toy animals were a hit........

A bear! Just like at Grandma's house in the woods.

 .... as were the pockets.

The Jump Rope dress was another matter.  It was really difficult to get this dress on Caitlin.  Almost impossible.  I've made this dress before using another view (without the gathered skirt and belt) and it was easier to get on.  If I make this dress again, I would lengthen the front opening by a good inch or more.

My daughter picked out and paid for this fabric. I'm not so sure she liked the pattern I chose to make it up with though.

What's in this pocket?

I'd shorten the hem too if I made it again.  But I wouldn't omit the pockets!

Wait. There's something in here!

According to my daughter, not too many moms dress their children up in nice outfits where she lives.  At the library, gym or other mom/tot groups mostly the children wear track pants and knit tops.

 So I'm not sure if that was a cue for me to stop making any more outfits.

Oh well, I have a couple of summer dresses cut out and ready to go, so I'll finish those. As for the rest of the fabric that I'm trying to use up (and there's an awful lot of it) I'll have to dream up other projects.

Tops that need ironing.

These tops aren't going to go over well with my daughter because they need ironing.  In many respects, they're just muslins until I can get better fabric.
 
I used 100% cotton from the line Auntie Grace's 40's fabric.

The pattern is Oliver + S.  It's size 2 of the 2+2 blouse.  The skirt is from their pattern called Music Class skirt.

Here's the first one I made which I managed to make a zillion mistakes on.  Since I couldn't find cotton in green or yellow to match the little Scotties I opted for beige.   Boring.  This fabric is from the same Auntie Grace 40's line.

I'm hoping they'll look better on, than hanging limp on a hanger.

I had a lot of problems topstitching these blouses. For some reason, topstitching thread wouldn't work in my machine.  It kept ending up in the bobbin area and clogging up the works.  Perhaps my machine needs to a trip to the Husqvarna service man.

Basic white blouse.

I happened to see a TV show that was showing how to build a wardrobe. The woman suggested everyone should have a white blouse.  Then add a basic skirt, skinny pants (black) and a trench coat. Well, that sounded fairly straightforward but I checked out this my fashionista daughter, Twin A, who concurred.

(When she was a teen and I arrived at the breakfast table wearing something she deemed out-of-style she would say to me "Mom, the 80's called and they want their clothes back.")

I rely on her for all the latest trends.  I hoping she'll tell me shoulder pads are back in style because I still have a load of them.

But I digress.

Armed with the 'white blouse' information I went to work to make Caitlin a perfect little white blouse  to be her wardrobe basic essential. 

Size 2T. White poly-cotton.

Then I  made a basic skirt.  I broke from my stash challenge rule and bought some beige twill.

Cute little pleats.

Together, the two essentials look good.  I have some plans to make a jumper that will also go with the blouse; a jacket that will go with both blouse and skirt.  If I could knit, I'd make a little cardigan.

I'm a non-knitting granny.

The pattern I used was Oliver + S,  Music Class blouse and skirt.  Once again, the pattern was drop dead easy.  However the blouse was a bit fiddly (no pun intended) as it needed many tucks.  But they weren't difficult to do by any means.

I am really happy with the results.  It looks clean and crisp. 

Ooops.

I had some lovely French cotton that I used to make this sweet little dress about a year ago.  It turned out well and I was happy with the results.  Well, maybe not with the embroidery part as I'm still trying to figure out how to center letters.

With the leftover fabric, I made up this dress and I'm not happy with the results.

The fabric is so light, that the inside pocket shows.   Mostly, I think the dress looks like something the school nurse back in the 60's would wear.  Originally, I was going to use some French cotton that was navy, but thought it might be too dark for a toddler.  And the buttons aren't white enough. 

This fabric creases like crazy so I doubt my daughter will like this one at all.

Oh well.  Chalk this up to experience.

They'll be ga-ga at the Go-Go.

I can't stand it!  This pattern is just too .... oh.... I don't know .... Mary Quant? Oleg Cassini? Andres Courreges? .... wait ...... GROOVEY!  It makes me sing 60's tunes when I sew.  To complete the mood I even found some 60's style fabric.   And that reminds me, this dress definitely needs Go-Go boots!

When baby grows hair she'll need a 5-point cut.

The fabric is a heavier weight poly-knit-bonded-worsted whatever.  I really have no idea what it is but I know I had a dress made from this type of fabric back in the 60's.

Flower power.

Of course the pattern is from Oliver + S and it's called School Photo Dress.  I made it in size 2T.

Getting back to the fabric, it is double sided and I literally had to toss a coin to decide which side to use.

I haven' t exhausted my repertoire for 60's tunes (although I'm growing somewhat weary of music from Hair) so that means, more of these little gems will surely be on the way.  Far out!!

They'll be gag- at the Go-Go

When they see me in my toga

My toga made of blond

Brilliantined, biblical hair..........

Embossing Velvet.

Still playing with heart shaped purses, I thought I might emboss some scrap red velvet which might make for an interesting purse exterior.

I pulled out my rubber stamps and then tried to recall how to do it.  Do I wet the front side of the velvet or the back side and then press?

Simple rubber stamp from the 80's

I tried both.  Then it all came back to me.  Wet the back side of the velvet fabric, lay nap side down on the rubber stamp and with the iron set at the hottest. press down.

New iron. Woot!

However, there was another detail I was forgetting.

It worked!!

I had this nagging feeling that the velvet to be embossed had to be rayon or acetate or something other than cotton which was the type of velvet I was using.  But hey, it embossed.   I must have been mistaken.

Where did the 80's go?

Well, when I finished assembling the little purse, the embossing had disappeared into the nap.  I was right.  This method of embossing doesn't work well on cotton velvet.

Hide it with a big fake flower.

Gotta love fat q's

These little purses only take about 15 minutes to whip up.  I found some pink cotton fabric and made another one.  I've got a gold sparkle pen and maybe I'll write a message on it.  Be My Valentine.

Or maybe it should read Give Up Now!

 The little ones I made yesterday look like little vintage cards rather than purses. They'll have to do.

Well, I'm growing weary of heart shaped purses and besides,  I really don't have nice looking Valentines Day-ish looking fabric.

Therefore, it must be a sign that I need to move on.   A bunch of patterns that I ordered from Oliver + S patterns arrived in the mail yesterday and I'm keen to try them out.

Playdate dress pattern.

Apparently, this pattern is out of print, but I found one in a fabric store in Toronto.  I've seen some on-line for sale.  At any rate, I've got a copy and was able to make this little dress.  I think it's just too cute.

A few months ago, my daughter was looking through my stash to select some fabric so I could make a smocked dress for her daughter.  She came across this fabric, but there was barely a meter.  Not enough to make anything smocked.   I'm hoping she'll be surprised when she see's it made up using this sweet little pattern.

Colour seems a little washed out in the bright sunlight.

Playdate Dress. Oliver + S.   I made it up in  size 2T. 

Out of print. Too bad.

On the neck/bib area, the pattern called for flat bias trim.  Being old school, I was ready to make my own corded piping, but opted to try it flat; sans cord.  It was tricky to insert as is the case with bias piping, flat or not.

The pattern also called for a little bit of frill on the bib section.  Instead I went my old school way and put on a few lines of pin tucking ....corded pin tucking at that!  Besides, my daughter doesn't like frilly things, so I'm sure she'll appreciate the pin tucking accent.

I got bogged down somewhat with the pin tucking because on my Berninas, (1630 & 801) there is a hole in the throat plate to run cording for just such an application.  On my new Husquvarna (Quilt Desinger) there is no hole, so I had to improvise. There's no hole on my Husquvarna Iris, either.

My husband thinks a Husqvarna is a chainsaw.

 Technology.  When it changes, it throws me for a loop sometimes.  Just like my new camera.  I still can't seem to get a good angle or correct colour.

Bird's eye view from the suet feeder.

Well, the good news is I used up almost a meter or fabric, 3 buttons and learned something new about my sewing machine.

The bad news is it's the coldest day of the year, -30oC and my fingers froze taking these photos!

Jump Rope Dress

I'm still having a love affair with Olver + S patterns.  I wish these patterns were around when my 3 children were little nippers.  Thankfully, I have one grandchild, and a girl at that,  for whom I can make little outfits using these patterns.

Oh, and the good news is there is another one in the oven due in August.  Woot! Two grandbabies to sew for!

Back in the fall, my daughter came with me to a fabric store.  She has never been in a fabric store before and not only did she pick out fabric but she paid for it too.  Milestones were cetainly made that day.  So there's hope that one day she might be able to actually thread a needle!!

She didn't specify any particular pattern but has liked the Oliver + S patterns I've made in the past.  I'm quite sure she'll like this one.

Jump Rope Dress Size 2T

These patterns, as I've said before, are straightforward and easy to follow. For someone who might be new to sewing or have rusty sewing skills each pattern is somewhat of a lesson.  And the best part is they are size accurate.

If I had a dollar for every McCalls, Butterick or Simplicity pattern I've made over the years that just didn't turn out, I'd be rich!  Well, maybe not filthy rich. I  just wouldn't have wasted money on a project that flopped.

The O+S pattern styles are current, interesting and no matter the fabric chosen, they always turn out just great.

Like every project, there is always a hindsight factor.  And that's good because I can note it here and refer to it the next time I make the pattern.

Maybe the placket should be same as main fabric?

So the note to myself is: match the buttonhole thread to either the placket or button colour and measure the buttons using from the stash prior to making the buttonholes!  What was I thinking?  Apparently, I simply wasn't thinking. 

I shouldn't have matched the buttonhole thread with the top stitching thread.

I'm happy with the outcome and can hardly wait to see it on Caitlin.  My daughter never ever reads this blog so it'll be a surprise for her to see the fabric she picked out, made up.

Warning: bad photo

This outfit looks a lot better in real life than in this photo.  It's raining outside (and it's now nightfall) so this washed out  photo will have to do.

I used more of my Von Trapp fabric.  The same fabric I used for the School Photo Dress.  And I still have at least 3 meters left!

Because I had to wash it in order for the grandbaby to wear this 100% unknown fiber content outfit, the sizing that made it look smartly pressed has made it's way to our septic bed.  I've tried ironing it, but it just isn't the same as it was pre-washed.  Oh well.

I could spray it with sizing, but that defeats the purpose of washing it for baby's tender skin.

Oliver + S. Sundy Brunch. Size 2

 When I make this pattern again, I will use a more crisp fabric.  Or at least a fabric that looks crisp.  This fabric was just too limp plus it frayed like crazy.  It doesn't iron well either.  Tomorrow is garbage day, so perhaps the remaining 3 meters needs to be retired to the town dump!

Overall, I'll treat this like a muslin test run. The pattern itself was easy and straightforward.  I cut fabric and constructed the whole outfit in about 4 hours. I think the cockeyed hem gives that hasty assembly job away.
Actually, I was watching TV while I was making the skirt and I wasn't paying full attention when it came to the hem.

There are some more Oliver + S patterns I'm itching to try out but my daughter wants a smocked dress made post haste. 

Off to load up the pleater with needles...........

Everything fits. Phew!!

I drove down to the Big Smoke today with finished outfits in hand.  In my daughters front hall, I tried the clothing on Caitlin ...... over her jammies!

Vintage buttons might be short lived.

My daughter loved the School Photo dress, even my labrador Lucy liked the dress.  Well, maybe she was thinking something cookie-ish might come out of the pocket.

Definitely needs a Pill Box hat and white gloves.

This is the Hop Scotch Top and leggings from McCalls 6153.  Caitlin was growing weary of trying on outfits.

Top size 2. Leggings size 1.

Hop Scotch Dress in size 2 fits perfectly.  I got her to play a game just to get this photo.

Patience is wearing thin.

I am so thrilled with Oliver + S patterns.  They are easy to follow, they are size accurate and no matter the fabric used, they turn out looking great!
 

School Photo Dress

I must have been expecting to make a wardrobe for the Von Trapp family because I have meters and meters of this pink and white check fabric.

Son-in-law said he liked it, so I made this School Photo Dress from Oliver + S for Caitlin.  It's size 2.  It didn't use much fabric.  So I still have meters and meters of the fabric left! 

Fabric is synthetic something-or-other from the 80's.

I'm sure I had dresses in a similar style to this when I was in High School back in the late 60's. I found this pattern on Google images.  It looks like what I used to wear in High School and must have been the inspiration for the School Photo Dress.

We weren't allowed to wear pants in High School.

While I was making the dress, which by the way was easy as pie, I was thinking about Jackie Kennedy dresses and buttons that adorned her outfits back in the 60's.  So I dug out these vintage buttons from my stash.  These buttons were on a housecoat I had in the early 60's.

I'm thinking all this outfit needs is a Pill Box hat and white gloves.  Oh, and a sensible purse too!

Another Hop Scotch Top

Having fun sewing with knits.  Knit fabric isn't as difficult as I always thought. 

I found the front neck to be a little too low on Caitlin so I increased the depth of the pattern piece making the neck not so open and low.   I used size 2.

The leggings are from a McCalls 6152 and used size 1.

It is so cold outside today that while I was taking this photo, I could hear the trees pop. They sound like someone taking an axe to them.  But it's just the sap freezing.