I completed a slew of sewing projects in late January / early February for my niece, Ciearra. That's how it goes...in waves. I get inspired and then rush to complete projects so that they get out of my head before they are lost. I had a near-toppling stack of fabric set out for projects, and finally tackled them.
A cute skirt...
This dress is from a scavenged pattern from a yardsale...I think it was from the early 1970s. It is hard to see, but there are pin-tucks down the front and down the sleeves. I loved the cranberry fabric, but wasn't entirely sure I liked the sleeves, which are a very pale yellow. I hadn't done pin-tucks before, and other than the fussiness of lining them up straight, they weren't too bad. I like the retro air of the dress overall. Shelly liked the sleeves, so I kept them.
The princess dress I had re-fashioned from a prom dress grabbed from the church's rummage sale. In the process, I cut out nearly half a yard from the skirt to shorten it. I had originally thought to make this extra fabric into a little skirt for Ciearra, but then had a different idea. I had loved dressing up my baby doll in a princess dress...a long flowing white gown, lined, with lace and rhinestones and a golden cape. I knew I could do something similar for Ciearra's baby with the purple remnant. I combined the it with a bit of purple eyelet for the top and completed it with rhinestone and pearl buttons. I then fashioned a golden cape with silver trim as well. It seemed that Ciearra liked this :-)
While cruising a couple of sewing community websites, I stumbled onto Cut To Pieces blog, which was hosting a princess sew along. The premise was to use the Simplicity Pattern 2377 and to make different princess dresses. I thought...hey, I have this pattern! And this might be a way to go through and use some more of my inherited fabrics.
The first dress was a replication of Alice's dress in Alice in Wonderland. Hmmm...I didn't have any pale blue fabric, but I had this dark blue fabric and lace trimming that I inherited from Aunt Rosilyn. I kept the apron as a separate piece and added an embroidered heart instead of a bunny. With the three red buttons, I think it looks more like a Raggedy Ann dress or a maid/ pre-princess dress. Shelly really liked this one too.
Lastly, I finished this jumper...and it is my favorite of these projects. I have had the corduroy and the inspirational blog for ages...Tea Rose Home.
She actually made a skirt...but I thought a sweet A-line jumper would work really well. I drafted the pattern from a t-shirt with help from iKat Bag tutorial. I did decide to line the entire length with white muslin because of the embroidery. Tamlin picked out the white buttons. I used a zig-zag stitch around all the pieces, and then hand embroidered it all onto the jumper. I even spiced it with a little bead-work too. I had forgotten how long embroidery takes...but how satisfying it is at completion. It is a little big on Ciearra; I am confident that she'll grow into it well by next fall.
Now what?
Finishing an Easter Dress
Two little bunnies for two little boys' Easter basket
And...we'll see what I have time for in the future.
