Apricot truffle, holiday dress

shepherdess or ballerina?

 I had a wonderful time making this dress, all but the zipper. I drafted the bodice out of apricot challis and put peaches and cream chantilly stretch lace over, finished with bias on the neckline.

My inspiration came in part from the fabric (the apricot faux lamb shearling) and part from when I was very small and my parents danced in the Nutcracker as ballroom dancers. I would wait in the green room and watch the dancers come and go. The elegant ballerinas made quite an impression on me. I still remember the way Clara's nightgown spun and curled around her legs.

I used two layers, circles of rayon challis for the beautiful skirt. I thought about adding lace on the bottom, but I think that it would spoil the drape. I used quite a lot of fabric, but look how it moves.

She loves wearing it although I think brighter colors contrast with her complexion and give her more color. Next time I'll use the apricot challis on me.  

For accessories, I designed and drafted a beret and  detachable collar. It makes the dress almost wintery. 

Girl not on fire.

I really liked making accessories. They're like frosting and make outfits much more delicious!

The Blue Holiday Dress That Made Me Blue Too.

The Blue Dress

My ball of sunshine saw this dress online and liked it. Gasp! Girl who protests all dresses actually LIKES one. On sale for $50 from Boden, I thought, "That's far too expensive for a dress which she might not actually like once it arrives. Far better," I continued to think, "For me to try and recreate the dress since my time is absolutely infinite and I LOVE to make little girl party dresses. La-la-la-la-la". 

For anyone who is wondering, it isn't exactly easy to find sequined polka dots. For some reason, it's not a natural combination, which is the most adorable part of the dress. After two trips to the local fabric store and time trolling online, "No problem!" I thought to myself. "I'll just sew on a few polka dots and cover it with a few layers of this sparkly mesh!"

A note on fabric: I bought poly organza and lining from fabric mart for 1.99/yard and used metallic fabric left over from armor costumes two halloween's ago. The tulle mesh costed the most bought from Joann's with my little sunshine at $8/yard. I used a generic dress bodice, size 5 for the shoulder width, then altered for fit. I self-drafted the skirt and lining. 

So, I sewed on these wonderful sparkly circles I traced from the center of my iron trivet. It worked great because of the weight, the slippy fabric stayed put. Then, the fiddly part, sewing on the circles. I worried that my machine would eat the metallic fabric, but it actually went fairly smoothly.

My version of sequined polka-dots

I put on two layers of sparkly tulle, basted to the backing which I sewed to lining, difficult because the tulle stretched and distorted with multiple layers to keep together. After that tricky bit, I sewed on the sleeves, flatfelling the armpit seams because tulle is scratchy.

Here the sleeves are finished with the ribbon I used for the waist.

I attached a circle skirt to the bodice made of two layers of organza and one backing fabric. It drapes beautifully. For all the fiddling of the bodice, I did enjoy making this very elegant princess dress. The zipper went in beautifully, and honestly, with her proportions, chances are something bought wouldn't fit very well. 

All the same, next time, If I want a dress already made, I'm just buying the dress.

For my other daughter, I sewed a dress that I got to make up out of my own head. So much more fun! Have you ever tried to make something for less and ended up spending more money and time than you expected? 

Hooliday Outfit for Goblins

I am too cute to have anything in my mouth.

I love the way that this outfit turned out. I wanted the stripe to look like a pinstripe button-up, I think it's more like pajamas. Ah well. I should have added more length to the body since my kids have such long torsos. Next time. The pants are/were pants of mine that didn't fit right. Now they're perfect. Of course he doesn't need the pockets, but they're so cute. I love them.



I used Ottobre Winter 6/2012 # 4 for the knit button-up and #5 for the pants in the same issue.

I seem to use the same issues over and over and then not use others at all. I'm not sure why. One thing I've noticed about Ottobre is that necks sometimes gap open. Anyone else notice this?

I finished Christmas dresses for the girls. I'll post those soon. Happy New Year!

I made the coat coordinate. Simple things make me happy.