or, The SewStorm (Part 2)
You’ve all been so patient, waiting for me to reveal what I’ve been making for the last couple of weeks. On Monday I showed you the tip of the iceberg, and today I’m going to show you more: some gifts for my daughter’s birthday. Now, mind you, that celebration is more than a month off. But I felt that I needed to make these rightthisminute. And you just shouldn’t argue with creative urges.
When I finished our little friend’s bubble skirt, I thought, “Gee, that was easy. I could make one of those for my girl.” I just happened to have a twin-sized bed sheet that I had cut down to toddler size for her, hence some leftover princess fabric that she was sure to approve of. I found a coordinating print for the other side of the skirt, and tada! Another bubble skirt is born!
For good measure, I snipped out one of the pictures from another piece of the sheet and attached it to a store-bought shirt (on clearance for $3!).
I love this so much I am almost tempted to use the rest of the fabric to make another one for myself. (I am kidding. A little bit. A little bit not.)
So, giddy with my success, I eyed some fabrics that were lying on the sewing table, leftovers from another in-progress birthday gift (come back Friday to read about that one; you won’t be disappointed), and I thought, “Those would make a nice patchwork skirt.”
Bam!
Twirly, whirly patchwork goodness. Another birthday gift covered.
The yellow fabric was from the recent sale expedition, and the other two fabrics came from my mom’s basement, where she’d been storing them since the ’80s. She gave them to me recently, and I love their vintage look. The skirt also has a second, white layer underneath for a lining.
I pulled a little tank from my daughter’s drawer, something she had worn under sweaters this winter, to go with the skirt. Why not give it an extended life instead of packing it away to be outgrown before next winter? Using some of the skirt fabric, I created some small ruffles and attached them to the tank.
Now I don’t know which of the two coordinating outfits I like best.
But, wait! I’m not finished. Spurred on by the excitement of seeing these tiny little outfits materializing so easily before my eyes, I found a bookmark to a pillowcase dress tutorial and some reproduction ’30s print fabric from my sister, and I never looked back.
I added an off-white cotton lining and used pre-made hem tape for the ties.
Unfortunately, my model was once again uncooperative, so I had to guess at the length, discovered it was two inches too short, and had to learn how to make a ruffle. (I highly recommend this site for all things ruffle.)
I learned another lesson (the first being that elastic is not scary): Ruffles are not scary either.
And that’s all for today. (As if it wasn’t more than enough!)
What was so great about all of these projects is how quickly they came together. I was able to use the very small amount of time I get during a week and come away with finished pieces I could be proud of. Every so often you need a little instant gratification, right?
My daughter saw them all, but she only knows that they are for “some little girl’s birthday, perhaps her friend Chloe’s.” She approved of them all, especially liking the orange dress and the ruffled shirt. The upside of all of this activity is, of course, that counting the other things I made for her (more on those later), I have most of her birthday gifts finished well in advance. That never happens.
And now I need to take a nap.
how happy is your daughter … not to mention how lucky! i love the orange/red dress. it’s so simple but works as a summer and with a spencer underneath. wonderful creativity.
written on March 31st, 2010, at 10:51 pmMy Creative Space
Wow, you’re one busy mama. The skirts and dress look fantastic.
written on March 31st, 2010, at 11:26 pmhey Gretchen! I LOVE THE YELLOW ORANGE GREEN SKIRT! Coincidentally, I have similar colors in mind that I wanted to apply/make for my canvas wall art for our lounge! You are one talented mummy! :)
written on April 1st, 2010, at 12:03 amThat bubble skirt is precious!
written on April 1st, 2010, at 12:32 amOh, they are so sweet. Wish I had a little girl to dress in pretty skirts like those!
written on April 1st, 2010, at 1:40 amLove it all! That dress is the sweetest. I need some ruffles…
written on April 1st, 2010, at 3:01 amFabulous, it is all fabulous!!!! I love the ruffle on the dress and the bubble skirts are stunning. I don’t blame you for wanting your own.
written on April 1st, 2010, at 3:29 amCheck it out!! RUFFLES… LOVE RUFFLES ok quietly now!! They all look so pretty I do like the orange and you would never know it was a miss measurement!! I give you 5 stars Hun!!
xo Steph
written on April 1st, 2010, at 3:36 amthat $3 shirt is adorable! And of course I love all of your creations. So cute. Hope you had your well-deserved nap! xo m.
written on April 1st, 2010, at 5:21 amNo, you should definitely not argue with creative urges, especially when you come up with such treasures!
written on April 1st, 2010, at 7:11 amBeautiful little clothes and gorgeous fabrics you have chosen. I’ve been wanting to make some things for my little poppet so thanks for the inspiration. x
How gorgeous are all of those things! I’m going to make one of those bubble skirts very soon.
written on April 1st, 2010, at 7:23 amLove your skirts!! They are so cute. And that dress is great! I’m going to have to make one of those!!
written on April 1st, 2010, at 7:36 amWow! It all looks amazing! I love it all – so fun fun for your little one =)
written on April 1st, 2010, at 7:37 amThese are so pretty!
written on April 1st, 2010, at 7:50 amMy goodness, that is a sewstorm and a half! Aren’t little girls’ clothes fun? How sweet is that purple print, I am in love with that – I can’t believe it was a bedsheet!
written on April 1st, 2010, at 8:31 amnothing new to add other than that everything is soooooo fantastic! i LOVE the ruffles you added to the tank top, and that pillowcase tank dress is so cute! i was at hobby lobby recently and there was a brochure for how to make either a purse or grown-up skirt out of a pillowcase so now i’m on the hunt for funky pillowcases.
but back to all your stitching, simply fantastic. i have no idea which would be my favorite, your daughter is a very lucky girl!!!!!
written on April 1st, 2010, at 12:32 pmI’ll say you need to take a nap – the skirts and dress are awesome! Clever, clever!
written on April 2nd, 2010, at 6:14 am[...] as a patchwork skirt, which contributed to the frenzy of kid clothing-making that I wrote about on Wednesday. So I guess, in addition to a fabric sale and a friend’s birthday, I can also blame the [...]
written on April 5th, 2010, at 11:12 pmThose are the sweetest things and there is a lot to say about instant gratification! I am inspired!!
written on April 6th, 2010, at 8:35 pm