Blossom By Blossom Dress – Special Occasion for PR&P

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Cherie

For winter’s rains and ruins are over,
And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins.

-Algernon Charles Swinburne

Well winter certainly isn’t over yet, but I thought the poem was fitting. The dress has winter imagery, but spring colors underneath and flowers blossoming all over, so I immediately thought of winter turning to spring. Hence the poem and the name 🙂

So here’s my entry for this week’s Project Run and Play Sew-along. The theme is Special Occasion/Party Wear. I had fun making this dress. I can’t say that it’s a super original idea, but it was definitely a new challenge for me.

I started with the idea of finding a sheer patterned fabric to lay over a solid fabric. I used this curtain, and though it was much more opaque than I had originally imagined, I liked the tree branch image. Because I had a “sheer” fabric, I thought an illusion neckline would be something fun to try. It turned out to be barely noticeable (because of the nearly opaque white fabric and the light colored green underneath), but that’s probably much more age appropriate for a toddler.

I wasn’t planning on making the main body of the dress two different colors, but the idea sprouted from my indecisiveness at the fabric store. I would usually never pick a nearly neon green, but it went so well with the purple and I figured it would be hidden under the white anyways. But once I started playing with it, I really liked the colors and made each one peek out a little bit. They really shout “spring” and “fun” to me! It was a nice contrast to the stark white and bare branches of the curtain material. The fabric is a cheap nylon.

I hand rolled and stitched the neckline and armholes, which was new to me. I don’t really know if I did it right, and it doesn’t look super clean, but I wanted the hem to be as small as possible. They are still not nearly as small as pictures I’ve seen online, but I guess I’ll keep working on it.

I finished it off with a bunch of flowers and petals cut from the curtain fabric and handstitched to the dress. I just can’t resist putting fabric flowers on anything! 🙂

I like the way the fabrics look, but with hindsight, I wish I had chosen something different. These fabrics are synthetic and stiff and unforgiving. I sew at night when Yuki is sleeping and I’m horrible at using measurements (a major weakness), so last night I realized that the bodice fit ALL WRONG. It was super baggy in the front and perfect in the back. The neckline was too big and almost falling off her shoulder. So I added some pleats to the front and had to take in the bodice a bit. Now it’s a bit of a squeeze to get her arms through :P. I really don’t know how to get that perfect balance of fitted, but still fits. If the fabric had even a little give, it probably would not be so bad. Oh well – live and learn!

The shoes are kind of a fun story. I realized last night that Yuki didn’t have any shoes to wear with the dress. I felt ridiculous buying shoes JUST for this outfit, especially since this girl has an outrageous amount of shoes for some reason. But I went to Payless and these gladiator sandals, originally $12.99, were marked at $4. They have a buy one get one 1/2 off promotion, so I thought I’d buy something else and these shoes would be $2. But when I went to check out, it turns out the sandals were on clearance for $2 so with the half off deal, they were only $1!! So then I didn’t feel so bad. 🙂 I didn’t particularly like the silver flowers they had on them, so I made a few more flowers with the curtain material and hot glue gunned them on. I think they look great and match perfectly with this dress now!

I also made a petticoat with tulle to give the dress more body, but I think I actually prefer the dress without. I guess it’s a good thing to keep around though. It can be paired with any skirt or dress and since it’s kinda huge, she can probably use it for a long time. This morning she just wore it around the house like a tutu and turned around in (very slow) circles. Where does she learn this from!?? 😛

(Please ignore how crooked that top row of tulle is. I was in a super rush :))

For our photo shoot today we went to the Palace of Fine Arts. Just another gorgeous spot in our city. And the weather was amazing!! It actually felt like spring!

Well, I guess that’s it for this outfit AND the Project Run & Play Sew-along. I think next week the three actual PR&P contestants that are left will do their signature look. It’d be fun to keep playing along, but I feel like it’s time to move on to other projects that are calling my name. I’ll have a few tutorials coming up and a reflection on this sew-along challenge coming up, but for now I’ll just say that it has been so much fun participating. I have learned so much, been so challenged and am so inspired!

I leave you with two outtakes from the photoshoot:

I told Yuki to lean in and smell the flower. I think she’s either kissing it or nibbling on it. Yum.

And this picture is SO our daughter. You can put the girl in a dress, but that doesn’t make her act “like a lady!” She was climbing and picking up rocks and scraping her knees the whole time. That’s my tomboy! She makes me proud 🙂

Linked up this project here:

Yuki’s Holiday Dress

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Cherie

Ok, ok, so I’m finally posting the last of my holiday projects. Am I the only one still talking about Christmas? Yes, I’m quite sure most people are already talking about Valentine’s Day projects. Oops, I’m quite behind.

Anyways, I wanted to make Yuki a new dress for Christmas and New Years, and we had recently seen one in a boutique that Hideko really liked. So based on that, I made this dress.

Only problem is that it was TOO BIG. Yuki wore it anyways, but I didn’t get any pictures of her in it and it didn’t look very good on her anyways. But hopefully it’ll fit her in a few months and I’ll try and get some pictures then. It’s a bit more on the conservative side, in fact, the first time I tried it on her I thought she looked like an old church choir lady. No offense to anyone. I added the bow to try and add some youth. I dunno though, I still feel a bit indifferent about this dress.

I DO like how the pleats in the front came out though. And the fabric covered buttons! Oh, what fun! It was my first time making fabric covered buttons and I’m hooked! Maybe I’ll show you more about how to make those later (once you try it, you’ll be hooked too!).

I made the sleeves quite long with elastic at the wrist so that you could actually fold the sleeve over for a bubble look. I think I like this better.

That’s it for holiday projects, I swear. And yes, we’ve taken down our tree (though all our holiday stuff is still sitting in a bag in our bedroom). I’m making more kid’s clothes for Project Run & Play’s sew along the next few weeks, but I’ll be trying to get other projects in there as well. Thanks for stopping by!!

Tutorial: Classic Jumper

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Cherie

This post is long overdue! I made this jumper for Yuki for Thanksgiving (along with the Herringbone Short Coat) and I’ve been wanting to share this tutorial ever since. I hope you keep in mind that I just kind of make this stuff up as I go along, so I don’t know if this is actually the best way to make a jumper. It’s just the way that I did it and in case you’re curious – here it is!

I’d been wanting to make a jumper for Yuki for some time. It’s just such a fun and classic style. And there is this super colorful plaid flannel (that I’m kind of obsessed with), that I thought would add a bit of a non-traditional, yet still holiday, feel to this piece. Here is the sketch of the jumper I wanted to make.

You will need:
Main fabric
A little bit of fabric for lining
2 buttons

For this 12-18 month size jumper I probably used 3/4-1 yard of the main fabric and 1/4 yard of the lining material.

So first you need to draft your pattern. I used a small jumper to get the pattern shapes, and a dress that fits Yuki to get the pattern size. If you need help drafting a pattern, there are plenty of great resources out there like this one or this one.

The red lines are alterations I made as I was sewing, when I realized the size/fit was all wrong. If you’re using this to get general shape ideas, make note of those changes!

The pieces you’ll need are:
Bodice front (1 main, 1 lining)
Bodice back (1 main, 1 lining)
Body front
Body back
Pocket (2 main, 2 lining)
Pocket edge (2 main)

Let’s start sewing!

First we’ll do the pockets. Take one main fabric pocket and one lining pocket and pin them together right sides together. Do the same with the other pocket fabrics and sew the curved edge together. Keep the top (straight edge) open! Flip them right side out and press.

Now we’re going to gather the top of the pocket. If you need help with gathering, here’s a great gathering tutorial. I do it the way Dana calls the “proper” way, except I usually only do 1 line instead of 2 or 3, like you’re supposed to.

Sew a straight line across the top edge of the pocket with your machine set to the longest stitch. Do not backstitch at the end or beginning! Pull on one of the threads to gather the top edge of the pocket.

For the pocket edge, fold it in half along the long side with the right side in. Sew up the short sides and leave the long edge open. Flip it right side out and press.

Then fold the edge in about a 1/4 inch and press. Now you have this little pocket to stuff the top of your pocket into 🙂 Confusing enough?

Slide the top of the pocket into the opening and sew around the edge.

(why does one pocket look bigger than the other in this picture? 😦 )

Position your pockets onto the front body piece and top stitch around the pocket. Make sure to leave the top of the pocket open and also sew back and forth several times at each end. The top corners of pockets get pulled the most, so these extra stitches will make sure the pockets are securely attached.

Now lay the front and back body pieces together with right sides together and pin up the sides. Sew up the sides and then press these seams open.

With the side seams opened up, serge or zig zag stitch along the arm hole. Fold the edge down a 1/4 inch, press and sew. If you can’t serge or zig zag, just fold the arm hole edge down a 1/4 inch and then another 1/4 inch, then sew (like you would a hem).

Now we’re going to gather the top part of the body piece. Just like before, set your machine to the longest stitch and sew a straight line across the top of both the front and back of the body piece. Pull one thread to gather the fabric (both front and back). Set the body of the dress aside while we work on the bodice.

Pin the bodice pieces together: main fabric and lining of the front bodice piece and the main fabric and lining of the back bodice piece, right sides together.

Sew around bodice pieces, leaving the bottoms (straight edges) open. Trim excess fabric, corners and clip curves. Turn right side out and press.

(I also added a label at this point, in the center of the back bodice piece. I just used an iron on transfer that I printed on my inkjet printer).

Turn about a 1/4 inch of the bottoms in (the same way we did with the pockets) and press.

Now you’re going to slide the gathered edges of the body into the bodice pieces (just like we did with the pockets)! Make sure to put the front of the jumper into the front bodice piece and the back of the jumper into the back bodice. Pin and sew along the straight edge and continue top stitching around the entire bodice piece (both front and back).

You’re almost done!! Sew button holes in the back bodice piece and buttons onto the front bodice piece.

Hem up the bottom by folding up a 1/4 inch and pressing, then folding another 1/4 inch, pressing again and top stitching. You’re done!!!

I hope this wasn’t too confusing. I’m still learning how to write and photograph for tutorials, so I know this wasn’t perfect, but I’m working on it! In the meantime, don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

I love the jumper style because it’s so versatile. Depending on the fabric and how you layer it, it can be appropriate for pretty much any season or occasion!

(It is getting harder and harder for me to keep this one still for photos!)

Pair it with a little coat and she’s all ready for the holidays!

Are you all done making holiday outfits? I’m not!! I only have 2 days left, so I better get sewing!

Sew & Tell: Yuki’s Dresses

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Cherie

For some of you who have been following my sewing adventures for awhile, this post may be old news. But in an effort to archive some of my older projects, I’m going to post it anyways. Over the summer, I got on a dress sewing kick. I suddenly had ideas for simple dresses and wanted to see if I could make them for my daughter, Yuki. I based them off of dresses I’d seen, or something similar that Yuki already owned, but I didn’t use a pattern so it was really trial and error sewing. I learned A LOT from each of these projects. So here they are and some of the lessons I’ve learned.

Dress #1: Earl Grey Summer Dress (Hideko named this one!)

I had actually bought this fabric to make my friends M&M some cloth napkins for their home.

I had some left over, so I decided to use it for a simple (and a little sophisticated) dress for Yuki. (I love how little fabric you need to make baby clothes!!)

Lesson #1: Make sure armholes are big enough. I had to squeeze her arms through from even the first time she tried it on, so she didn’t get to wear it very much.

Dress #2: Sailing Dress

I based this dress off of the popular elastic waist skirts and dresses I’ve seen around. I topped it with a stretchy striped knit.

Lesson #2: Be sure to measure your model before you cut and sew. The first time I put together the skirt part of the dress it was WAAAAAAY too big for Yuki. Instead of taking it apart to fix it, I decided to just sew it up in the back. But this meant having 3 seams instead of 2 or even 1. And the side seams were not even on the side anymore, they were pulled towards the back. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. Luckily, you can only tell if you look real close.

Lesson #3: Knits are great if you know how to sew them. If you sew regular stitches on a stretchy material, it will either look bad, lose all of it’s stretchiness, or both. I had originally made this dress with a normal neckline in front and back, thinking it would just stretch over her head. But it did not stretch after I had sewn it. So it would not fit over her head. So I had to cut the back open and do more sloppy stitching and add a button.

Dress #3: Neapolitan Wrap Dress

Yuki had another wrap dress that we loved her in, so I thought I’d try and make her another one. The colors on this fabric remind me of neapolitan ice cream. Yummm!

Lesson #4: I don’t actually know what the lesson is here. All I know if that the dress doesn’t fit her too well on the top. I guess I just need to try things on Yuki as I sew instead of finishing the dress and then realizing that it doesn’t fit. The problem is, I only sew when she is asleep.

Dress #4: Birthday Dress

I wanted to make Yuki a special dress for her birthday. When I went to the fabric store I saw this beautiful material with the most precious print and soft feel. The shop owner told me it was double gauze from Japan. When I came home I read all about it here. It. is. dreamy. It’s really the only word I can think of to describe it. When I washed and dried it, it had gotten even softer!

Anyways, I’m not really one to dress my daughter in pink dresses with a bow, but I could not help it. I used a style very similar to the Earl Grey Summer Dress, but used a zipper in the back instead of buttons and added a waistband (that ended up being covered by the ribbon) AND made sure there was more room in the bodice to put the dress on easily (no more too small armholes)!

Lesson #5: Every time you make a mistake, make sure you learn how to avoid it next time.

This 4th dress was by far the easiest and least mistake ridden dress. I’m happy to say that I have learned so much about sewing and dress making from these projects and I’m very excited to make more! And I have some lovely polka dot double gauze waiting to be sewn up!