Adventures in Sewing

Well, one of my goals back in January was to get back into sewing... Snow White took so much out of me that I went on a sewing sabbatical for a long while.  When I made those resolutions, I didn't realize that I'd also be pregnant while trying to carry them out!  So, while I've done well on a lot of them, sewing had remained on the backburner while I tried to keep up with work, home, and everything else.

Now that I'm off on summer break, I've been back at the sewing machine a little bit.  I can tell I'm a bit out of practice - the basics are like riding a bike, but I'm a little rusty in the fitting department.  I started by making Katie Anne a little summer outift - an A-line swing top and pants out a cute kite and clouds fabric that I bought last summer on clearance and just loved.  I was really happy with the way it turned out...

until I tried it on her!  It was waaay too big.  I didn't even take a picture of her in it because there wasn't a lot of point - the pants won't stay up, and the shirt hangs off her shoulder like a Flashdance flashback.  So, the kite outfit is hanging in the back of her closet, hopefully to be worn next - or even the next - summer!

I took a few days off again, and then jumped back on the sewing bandwagon.  I found this silky animal print (which is probably for lingerie, but I don't care - I knew KA would love it) on sale at Hobby Lobby for $2.00 per yard.  So, I got one yard and decided to go back to the old faithful - the pillowcase dress!  Katie Anne - who did love the fabric - decided that she would wear this to my birthday dinner, and she's been very anxious that I won't finish it in time for her to "look beautiful".  She was quite relieved when I finished it this weekend!  Here's the first fitting:

As you can see, the dress fit okay, but it was way too big under the arms.  I took it in a little bit without cutting it (and this isn't the best picture):

but, hopefully that will allow me to just snip it as she gets older, and it will still fit!  Also, I think it looks a little better with the pleats under the arms - makes the skirt a little more full.  

Here's the finished product:

Katie Anne loves the feel of the silky fabric on her skin - and I bound the hem with satin binding tape, so that's silky, too.  She immediately decided that this is a dancing dress, and she was happy to show off her moves!