Toddler trackpants

 What feels like forever ago, but was in reality only last year, Mum dropped off some polar fleece remnants from my Grandma. They are about 30cm wide so I decided to sew them together so I could make Lily some more trackpants since she never has any clean ones - apparently her clothes are too dirty multiple times a day!

Now this was supposed to be a quick, no fuss project... But of course I decided to practice matching seams. Which went well sewing the two pieces of fabric together. Then I messed up and didn't mirror the pattern pieces. So I had to sew together two more pieces of fabric, pattern matching went fine, but I sewed the wrong sides together. Decided that just matter since they're just for around the house and promptly cut out a third of the same piece... 

I got there in the end, one leg is fuzzy on the outside and the other is fuzzy on the inside. Somehow I've managed to get the back pattern matched (you can just see the orange on the elastic casing) and the fuzzy leg is matched quite nicely, but the rest is all over the place! Lessons have been learnt - I don't have the patience (or the mental capacity) for pattern matching.

Once I got past the hurdles of cutting out the pieces it was a quick no fuss project. Even better this is a free sweatpants pattern from Life Sew Savory. Now I've got two more pairs to make since I've aready cut out two right legs!

Mermaid skirt

 Our daughter has decided she wants a mermaid party next year and that she really likes mermaids. I've been asking her daily and it's been something we've just talked about or seen, but for the last week she's been saying she wants a mermaid party. Let's see if she sticks with it, she's not turning four until next year!

I did tell her that I have some mermaid fabric - one little fat quarter. 

Luckily she loved the skirt idea, and I had a lace curtain from the op shop to add underneath for some extra length. For some reason I refused to just look up a tutorial on how to make a simple elastic waist skirt. Needless to say this tiny skirt took forever as I plodded along overthinking every step! But I did it in the end without googling anything, so I guess I just proved to myself that this sewing stuff is finally starting to sink in.

Maybe now is the time to make myself a dress...

Duck romper to dress

 Last year I made Lily a rubber ducky romper that still wasn't long enough with the extra inch added. Since she loves it so much, I chopped off the legs and added a ruffle at the bottom to turn into a dress. Added bonus was turning the legs into boot covers!

It turned out pretty cute, now to see if I get anymore rompers converted before she outgrows them width wise!

Added a pocket

 I posted those cute rainbow hearts dresses I made - with the terrible mistake of not adding pockets. So I've fixed that...

Although the response was "only got one pocket, not two pockets", she is a very happy little girl now.

This is the gathered pocket pattern in the Pocket Pack from Twig and Tale. I used the small size, but it was still rather big for the dress so I just increased the seam allowance to make it a bit smaller, then had Lily try on her dress and pretend her hand was in a pocket to mark placement. 

Rainbow hearts Chloe dresses

 Well I don't know what I've been doing, but I completely forgot to write a blog post last week. I mean can I blame that we have a "threenager" and we are exhausted... and so is she since she will not sleep!

I have been crocheting again, but that's all work in progress blankets which will probably never be finished. And when I asked Ray what on earth I've been doing he said a lot of gardening - which is thanks to the Autumn weather finally cooling this place down. There has also been a lot of chasing a toddler who recently decided she needs to run down the hill whenever you're not looking!

Over a month ago we had a first birthday to go to so I sewed a dress for the birthday girl, along with a matching one for Lily. Although she thinks I'm terrible because I didn't add pockets!

This is the free Chloe dress baby and Chloe dress from Vintage Little Lady. The fabric is Rainbow Hearts for the skirt, with a purple homespun for the top. I thought about doing all rainbow hearts but I really liked the solid top I did on the first Chloe dress I made.

So that's this week sorted, and I'd best get to work on something to share with you next week!

Leilani dresses

 For Lily's birthday this year we are doing a chicken theme, so I got some gorgeous fabric and the Leilani pattern from Vintage Little Lady.

The first one I made in the simpler version as a trial run in this cute bunny fabric from Audrey's.

I did find sewing the elastic back awkward so when I did the chicken dress, I left the elastic out until after attaching the skirt at the back. I just sewed the back panel in place between the channels for the elastic. After I had gathered and attached the skirt at the back only, then I added the elastic and topstitched the sides down. Then continued gathering and attaching the front and sides of the skirt.

This was the first time I have used pom pom trim and it ended up being a pain trying to use the zipper foot. But I found using this clear foot along with poking the pom poms under the foot using my seam ripper worked best at getting it to stay put!

Now that the dress is finished I better get started on everything else for her party!

Versailles sunflowers & bees

 Well I've made yet another Versailles dress for Lily, so that's three of them in the same size - and there's still plenty of room for her to grow.

For the first two I used the full single ruffle collar so I tried the double ruffle collar this time. It looks so cute, but the lace I used was too thick which made it a little difficult to sew. My plan for extending this one in the future is to add a white band at the bottom and add a band of the same lace on top.

The fabric (which I could not remember buying) is a cute poplin from Spotlight, I found it in my box next to the sunflower fabric I was planning to use!

A-line with shoulder ties Moana dress

 Our little lady loves Moana so I searched and found some cute Moana fabric. The dress is from Jellyfish Kidz and was quick and easy to sew. All the pieces are rectangles so you can just use the cut chart - no printing or taping together the pattern! I did have to make the elastic channel a bit bigger to fit my elastic, so check that before you sew. 

It looks so cute on, but Lily doesn't want to wear it. I'm not sure if she doesn't like the fabric or maybe the bows on her shoulders are bothering her. If I make it again I think I'll use a lighter fabric, maybe poplin as it's a little stiff in this cotton.

Tulum shorts in gingham & flowers

 I finally made some of the LLK Tulum shorts for Lily, and she was rather excited for me to finish them after I showed her the pockets!

I didn't have the right size elastic so I just used 1 inch, and also did a 1/2 inch hem instead of 1 inch just because they looked a little too short when she tried them on. I did the size 3 so they're a little big around the waist, but they're staying up! 

Now to make a pair of the Styla Tulum shorts for me, or maybe I'll make them 3/4 length. The question is whether the pockets will be big enough to fit my phone!

Versailles dresses

 I still have fabric leftover from these nibling presents I made forever ago and decided to make Lily a Versailles dress before she outgrew the pattern without me ever sewing it!

This fabric is so cute with the little bird, bunny and mouse line drawings. For some reason I thought it wouldn't be a cute dress, but I love it, so much so that I decided to make her Christmas dress with this pattern.

And it turned out so beautiful! I made them in size 4 so they're a bit big but they should fit her next Christmas - although no doubt they'll be too short. I did cut some strips of the red fabric from her Christmas dress so I can add a band around the bottom as Lily grows. I think it's something I'll try and plan for on any future dresses so they can continue being dresses rather than tops!

I added pockets using LLK's free pocket pattern to the Christmas one - amazing that I actually remembered this time. My plan is to tell Lily that it has pockets while we're doing her Christmas photos - hopefully I get a good shot of her - pockets are very exciting for a two year old. To be fair, I also get excited if my dresses have pockets!

My one gripe with this pattern is trying to figure out which way to cut, and sew the ruffle with a directional fabric. Which is precisely why I chose to use a solid red for the Christmas dress.

Petal wrap dress elephants and stars

 Well last week I shared the Petal Wrap Dress from Twig & Tale, and after I finished I decided I needed to make another one. Straight away...

As much as I love gathers and ruffles, this is much more enjoyable to sew. These are fabrics that I've had in my stash for awhile, technically the star fabric is a Christmas line from Spotlight, but I think it works any time of the year.

So that's two new dresses - with pockets - for my happy little toddler. Well I guess since it's reversible it's more like four new dresses! 

Petal wrap dress floral and May Gibbs

 So I finally made the Twig & Tale Petal Wrap Dress and I wish I had made it earlier!

If you haven't seen this site I suggest you go have a look, there are some beautiful wing patterns, and this reversible dress is a freebie! I really liked the pattern instructions, the layout, the photos and how it was written.

One side is a Floral May Gibbs from Spotlight, and the other side is a lovely floral Amelia from Frankie Bear Fabric.

Now I did this properly and actually altered length based on the patterns measurements. Lily's were mainly 12-18 month size, and then size 3 for length. I started with the 18-24 month size and added 2" to the length. It's a little big so it should fit her for awhile, and stay dress length for longer since she mainly grows up, not out!

As for notes on sewing this one, nothing, it's all in the pattern. I didn't get confused or frustrated at any point. The only thing I haven't done is put a size tag on it since it is reversible - I'm thinking I'll put it in the pocket and see if it holds up.

And of course it has a pocket, that is all that matters to a toddler right?

Boho Romper Ducks

 I had to buy the rubber ducky fabric from Spotlight for my little chicken lover! When I bought this fabric it was while Lily was calling all birds ducks, then she called chickens boks and now she calls them "my chickens". To be fair we bought some ex layer hens back in May and she has been very insistent on looking after them from the moment they were in our car.

This one is the Boho Romper from Elemno which I have made before. With this pattern I just need to remember to press the seams as the pattern doesn't remind you all the time. I did make a change this time by cutting the pattern just above the pockets to add one inch. The size 18-24 month stills fits, but unfortunately it's still not long enough for her torso. It really is time for me to give up on the idea of rompers and overalls, and also expecting dresses to not quickly become tops! 

Apricot retro dress

 This little dress is so cute, and gets so many compliments when we're out and about. Plus it has pockets!

I made this last year and completely forgot to share a photo. This is the Apricot from Boo & Lu. The gingham is from Frankie Bear Fabric and some red poplin that I had in my stash. The only issue I had with sewing this one is that I couldn't get the collar lined up properly, but that's on me for being lazy and not unpicking it (again). I am glad I made the size 3 in this one though as I always have trouble getting this style of elastic back on and off our daughter. Other than that, I probably should have done the longer skirt as this is now a top, but that is the fate for most of the dresses in her wardrobe!

More Siena dresses

 I have managed to squeeze in a little sewing time at our new house, but these two dresses for some reason were impossible! And I haven't sewn since forcing myself to finish them. The weird thing is that these are the Siena dresses which I've sewn before - see here and here.

The first one is the beautiful Aria from Frankie Bear. It is such a cute fabric and even cuter as a toddler dress.

The other one is the Bluey family from Spotlight, and is the dress our daughter will choose every time we open her wardrobe! The ribbon trim at the bottom was a lucky op shop find.

I still haven't found a good place to take photos, these are in front of the concrete rainwater tank - it looks cool, but the sun was hitting my camera creating those light effects on the Bluey dress. If my plants ever grow this spot won't work for photos in the future, perhaps I should leave a gap in this garden?

Bee Themed Birthday

A cute little girl turned two last month and I chose a bee theme for her party this year.

As much as I love this fabric, boy is it hard to photograph - it just doesn't want to focus! I opted for size three as I was worried it would be too small, but I was wrong - at least she won't grow out of it anytime soon!

This pattern is Nottingham from Little Lizard King and the fabric is one I bought from Spotlight while I was pregnant (along with many other bee fabrics).

I found the cute bee cupcake toppers on Printables and printed them on the 3D printer.

I have been saving lanterns and fans since our daughters 1st birthday, just added in some blue and yellow this year, plus some cute bee decorations.

The cute little hexagonal bee box was from Thingiverse - I just printed the top section in yellow which looks great! I added sunflower seeds from The Seed Collection.

Lovely lace toddler dress

We recently went to a lovely wedding, the first we've been to since we had our daughter. And she was also invited! Of course that meant I had to make her a beautiful lace dress.

I chose to use the Amsterdam dress from Little Lizard King again, you can see others I've made here and here.

This embroidered lace is so lovely and soft and I had no idea how to work with it! Thankfully this time I was organised so I had plenty of time to play with new fabrics. Even the navy rayon twill I used underneath was new to me. It is also lovely and soft, but slippery and a little stretchy - not something I like to work with.

I got there in the end, the biggest hurdle was stopping the embroidered bits of lace from unravelling. Some I unpicked completely where they weren't connected to the rest. And wherever needed, I stitched two rows over the embroidery in the seam allowance. I had to consider which colour thread I used as well - I used a golden yellow or light blue in the embroidered sections, and for the seams where it was just tulle I used navy so it blended into the navy dress underneath. Everything needs a lot more thought and planning when the seams are visible!

And of course I completely forgot to take a before photo which means you get to see the end result of a toddler wearing a lace dress. Luckily even with the runs in the fabric, and where parts of embroidery are completely unravelling it still looks nice. Hopefully she gets another chance to wear her fancy dress again before she outgrows it!