WOODCHIP DRESS WITH BOW

This fabric reminds me so much of the grain lines in wood, so I decided to call it my WOODCHIP DRESS. 

This fabric is a soft flowy rayon which was combined with a gold matte linen.

Again, a basic bodice was used and a strip of the matte linen was sewn onto the bodice at the waist and then topstiched (like an inset belt) to add a special touch. I extended the shoulder length by about 1 inch resulting in a soft faux sleeve on her shoulders. This is a size 4T.

Please ignore the pin in the back of the bodice , my model had popped in unexpectedly and the dress had not yet been completed with the buttons. With that said, I decided to add this pop of colour to the back because (you guessed it, if you have been reading my blog long enough) the woodchip fabric was not enough so I had to improvise.

I am still learning about fabric and how they behave. I constantly document my findings in my sewing journal for future references.

AFRICAN PRINT TODDLER DRESS

I have been saving this piece of fabric FOREVER, because I wanted to make something really nice with it. Since it was less than a yard  I could only manage a size 3T out of it. .

The fabric was also very waxy and stiff, so my other concern was choosing the right pattern that would go with that kind of texture.

The colours are actually a lot deeper  than my camera shows - it is really lovely.

Finally I just winged it and made this. A basic bodice pattern was used, and the skirt was barely 1 1/2 times the width of the top,  hence pleats instead of gathers.  It turned out really well, especially with the pleats at the front (you can barely see them) which just lies flat without any fuss.
I did a small "V" in the neck line as I did not know how else to not make it so "boring". The "V" was not as sharp as I wanted, but it was still OK.  I probably should have used interfacing to make it stand up a little more. Ah well, next time....

GINGHAM AND GREEN GIRLS DRESS

Gingham is such a versatile fabric. Cut it on the bias and it  creates a whole new look. I tried that technique this week and here are the results. The bodice is fully lined and there are no zips or buttons on this one because the fabric was such a small piece I couldn't get an overlap on the back.
I embellished with a little bit of white  lace to complement the white in the bodice. I like to carry colours through out the whole design, otherwise I feel as if I am breaking some fashion rule.

LITTLE GIRL'S LIBERTY DRESS PATTERN

I found this free pattern on HomeCraft Forums . It is called Little Girl's Liberty Dress Pattern.  Unfortunately, you don't get the instructions. So, I decided to picture  what it would look like based on the pattern piecies. Unlike the liberty fabric the pattern called for, I used georgette fabric lined with pongee. I neglected to follow the pattern instructions that required for the bottom of the sleeve and not the top to be gathered. This was the end result. I made a flower and a belt out of  polyster silk. I also made a covered button out of the dress fabric and sewed it to the flower and then to the dress. The back has a zipper closure (forgot to take that photo).

DOCTORS SCRUB REFASHIONED TO APPLIQUED TOP

This doctors scrub was made for a career day event. It has no further use after that so I decided to refashion it into something a little cuter.
This was my second try at applique and really struggled with it as I was lazy and did not use interfacing. It seems as if  I like to make easy stuff really difficult by NOT following the rules. Anyway, my sewing machine did not work well either, it was skipping stitching and making the sewing look really uneven. Here is the not so good results.

TEDDY BEAR TOP

Hi,
I found one yard of this teddy bear fabric on sale. Yup, love me a good sale.
The pattern used is the free Pat Bravo Tutorial

I decided to see how much I could get out of one yard of 45" fabric. So I divided it in half so it was now two pieces of 18 x 45. One tiny detail I forgot to pay attention -  yes - directional prints. I have seen it so many times on patterns and totally forgot to follow that rule here. Anyway, I have made one 3T top so far...and plan to use the other half and make a shirred dress / top. I will see how it works out.

To break up the monotony of the teddy bears, I added a neon yellow strip of fabric at the waist.

Even though it can easily slip on or off, I am practicing to make all my items with closures as I realise that most commercial pieces have a closure.