The costumes…

Halloween was a lot of fun this year.  Of course, it was a lot like Christmas – days of prepping (sewing) for just a few hours of fun.  It was worth it though!

Addie decided to be Tinkerbell:

Justin, the Grimm Reaper:

Jacob, a ninja:

I hope everyone had a happy, happy Halloween!

 

Details:

Tinkerbell – Simplicity 2872

Grimm Reaper – Simplicity 1582

Ninja – McCall’s 2940 – but modified slightly; also, used a different mask based on this tutorial

 

Basic pocket pants…

My latest sewing for Addie (aka Baby A) is a pair of Basic Pocket Pants from this wonderful book:

My version:

This is such a great pattern!  Easy to follow with great tips.  I love how Meg instructs to finish the seams.  I think I will use that technique on many items.

I think the contrasting fabric adds just enough detail to add interest:

Of course, I love the little truck…

Addie wore them today, but I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of her.  I’ll try to get one the next time she has them on.  As I said before, she LOVES pockets and these stayed filled most of the day with money, Legos, Cheerios…whatever she could get her cute little two-year-old hands on.

Details:

Pattern – Basic Pocket Pants from Growing Up Sew Liberated by Meg McElwee

Main fabric – Michael Miller Madrona Road Farmstead Petal (I bought mine here)

Contrast fabric – Michael Miller Madrona Road Broken Herringbone Pink (I bought mine here)

 

The Geranium Dress lured me in…

Have you seen the Geranium Dress over at Made By Rae?  I was looking for a pattern with pockets because my little one LOVES the pockets.  I had heard about this dress by many a sewing blogger, so I dove in and bought the pattern.

Let me just say Rae does not disappoint!  The pattern is super easy to follow and the fact that I only had to print out the pages with the sizes that I needed…perfect.

For my little one, I went with the size 3 bodice and size 2 skirt.  I used a fancier fabric because the dress is for my cousin’s wedding at the end of the month.  The pattern calls for the bodice to be lined, but because of the occasion,  I lined the skirt as well.  I am in the process of adding a ruffle to the lining to make the dress a little fuller.

I decided to make a little belt that Baby A can wear with it.  I just made a simple one using grosgrain ribbon and a snap.

I used covered buttons and snaps for the back closure.  My sewing machine is getting serviced right now, so I had to sew the belt by hand.  I haven’t done anything by hand in so long and I could tell that I needed to practice more.

Here’s a picture of the lining with the ruffle pinned into place.  I discovered that I don’t really care for working with silky fabrics.  It’s pretty and it feels nice, but what a pain!

Oliver+S Ice Cream blouse…

I couldn’t wait to get started on my sewing projects after talking about them in the previous post.  The first thing I decided to make was from the Oliver+S Ice Cream Dress pattern.

I wanted a quick fix to my sewing needs, so I made the blouse option (view C).  It turned out pretty well, although there will be things I pay more attention to the next time around.  Not to mention, I started working on it at 5:30am when I didn’t go to bed until 1:30am.  I have heard other people mention that they can’t sew at night because of making mistakes.  Clearly, that holds true to me as well, except early in the morning.

Here is Baby A modeling her new blouse:

This is her “Cheese so hard it hurts” face that I have been getting in a lot of pictures.

It fits her pretty well, but it’s a little snug across the chest and under her arms.  I went with the size 2T and will have to make small adjustments next time for under the arms and chest.  I may just go ahead and make a 3T and see how that works out.  As always, I love this Oliver+S pattern.  I see many variations on this to come in the future.

Peanut Butter face…

When a certain big brother didn’t put the lid back on the peanut butter, I turned the corner to find this staring at me:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a good thing she’s so cute!