refashion: two into one

This week LM and I worked on a quick sewing project together during Lark's nap time. I've had this refashion on a to-do list in my head ever since coming across this inspiration. LM was very helpful at handing me pins, spraying the water bottle on the fabric while I ironed, and holding the end of the fabric up as I sewed. I loved that she was really into the whole process and excited about what she could do to contribute.

Though we had fun making it, to me in the end it was looking like a rushed job on a nap-is-almost-ending deadline. But, when daddy got home later and she proudly twirled in it for him and exclaimed, "Look at the pretty new dress I made with mommy!" Well then, seeing the memory of the experience light up her eyes, it was looking a whole lot better.

made: 1950's jagged yoke dress

If you can stretch your memories back to October and November then you will remember when I started making the little red dress on the pattern below... I am happy to say I did finish it! Quite some time ago actually, but I am just now getting around to sharing it after the busy holidays.

 As you can see, it's a little big for LM across the shoulders which I thought it would be. I have found that vintage sewing patterns tend to be pretty true to size or even a little bigger, whereas actual vintage clothing tends to be on the small side - anyone else experience this? Of course, it's fine since that just means she won't grow out of it as fast!


The hemlines in vintage patterns, however, are always short - which is good if you want some cute ruffled bloomers to peek out, not so good if there's a princess pantie peep-show going on... I lowered the hemline on this dress, first, because LM is tall for her age, and second, to save me the work of lowering it later if/when she has a growth spurt.

I really love the jagged yoke with the buttons. The method was so simple, I think I'll post a tutorial on how to do it soon. It's these little unique details in vintage clothing that really get me - the yokes, the collars, the pockets!

Have you been sewing lately?

work in progress

 I started making progress on this little dress again after all the costume sewing craziness literally buried it in sequins. So far, the instructions have been clear and easy to execute. I even got the zipper sewn in right on my first try which I think may be a record for me - usually zippers and I don't get along well. Probably because I never learned how to sew them properly, which I tell myself I need to do every time and save myself the frustration of ripping them out. It's silly, really.

I got as far as the front yoke and then my progress was halted once more, this time by fabric choice. I had wondered if I should make the yoke out of a solid color in the beginning, and after seeing it all in the diamond print I don't have to wonder anymore. The best part of this dress, in my opinion, is the unique pointed yoke and it just doesn't stand out enough as it is... so, off to the fabric store to decide - blue or cream?

Are you sewing up a pattern? If so, leave me a link in the comments, I would love to see!

doll suitcase: tutorial

I created this fun doll suitcase for my oldest daughter and we love playing with it together. It has three interchangeable rooms, a secret clothes storage space under the floor, and it's portable! Would you like to make your own? I'll show you how!

You will need all of the supplies listed above, as well as the notably missing iron, thread, scissors, and sewing machine. The 'wallpaper' fabric, or base fabric, for the rooms needs to be at least a whole fat quarter (depending on the size of your suitcase), but the remaining fabric can be scraps - it's a great way to use up some of your stash.

I made three interchangeable rooms for mine, so I used three pieces of poster board. You may also need a piece of poster board for the 'floor' backing. The foam board just needs to be a big as your suitcase. Speaking of the suitcase, I found this vintage green beauty at the thrift store for $3. The key to this project is the ruffle edging along the inside of the top lid - that ruffle is what will hold your interchangeable rooms in place.

First, measure the inside of the lid and cut out the poster board(s) so it fits snugly behind the ruffle, but you can still pull it out.

Next, take a large piece of freezer paper and trace the outline of the poster board so you know exactly how much space you have to fill. Draw a pattern of your room - know the more detailed it is, the more work it will be! I didn't end up putting all of these little details in my kitchen, but the main components are important at this point.

Cut out all of the main components of your drawing to create freezer paper pattern pieces.

I'll show you the next several steps using my fridge pattern piece, but you will want to do this for all of your pieces.

Now you can decide what color felt or fabric print you want to use for each piece. Iron the freezer paper pattern onto your choice of material, I chose to make my fridge out of blue felt.

This will make it easy to cut out the shape, then simply peel the freezer paper off (you can use the same freezer paper pattern several times if needed - I kept all of mine just in case I want to make another doll suitcase someday for my other daughter, although maybe I would want to make it look different!).

Next take the double stick fusible and place your cut out pattern piece onto it. I don't worry about covering every square inch, that way I can use up scrap pieces of fusible if needed.

Cut out the fusible into your shape and peel off the backing.

Once you have all of your main pieces cut out with the fusible, place them onto a piece of fabric that will act as the 'wallpaper'. A fat quarter was the perfect size for my suitcase, just make sure your piece is big enough to cover the poster board piece you cut out in the first step with a few inches around to spare. Iron all of the main pieces in place, the fusible will adhere them to the fabric.

Add the rest of the details in your room in the same manner and iron them in place. Then sew around everything to secure it and add other details, for example, I sewed the sink outline onto the counter.

Fun details include pictures cut out from printed fabrics. I also used pops of gold and silver fabric for added shine and texture.

Embroider any small details as needed. I used embroidery on my sewing machine in the bedroom, for the cord on my light and the word on the fridge in the kitchen, and for the clock face in the front room.

Once your room is all sewed up and you are satisfied, it's time to glue! Take the poster board you originally cut out and wrap your room tightly around it. Using a hot glue gun, glue it securely in place all the way around. Add a small ribbon pull tab to one corner.

This tab will allow you to easily pull the rooms out of the suitcase lid to change them up. I also ended up adding a ribbon pull tab to the floor which is the next step.

   
For the floor, measure around the lip of the bottom portion of your suitcase and cut out the foam board to fit. Wrap fabric around the foam board and hot glue in place, add a ribbon pull tab (not pictured), and then back it with a piece of poster board. You may be able to use a leftover piece of poster board if you cut using space carefully at the start.

The bottom of the suitcase serves as storage for my daughter's doll and all of her clothes, so the floor will hide this space during playtime.

Pop your room(s) and floor into place and you're done! All three of my rooms fit behind the ruffle at once, so that is how I store them. Just pull the ribbon tabs to get them out and switch them up (tip: in retrospect I should have used a different color ribbon for each room so I would know which tab to pull accordingly).

Here are my finished rooms - the front room, the bedroom, and the kitchen:

For my doll, I used the Black Apple pattern and I had a lot of fun designing an entire wardrobe for her. The sky is the limit with this project, I hope you try it out!

Also, a big thank you to Prudent Baby for sharing this tutorial on their site as well. 

all cut out

This morning I found some time to cut out the dress pattern pieces. You can see the fabric I chose above, it has little arrows (or at least they look sort of like arrows) between the diamonds, all pointing in the same direction. I decided I wanted the arrows to point up, simply because it seemed more positive, so that meant I had to lay out the pattern pieces according to the layout for 'with nap' since the fabric has a one way design.

A lot of very old vintage patterns like this one will have layouts for fabric in widths that aren't generally sold anymore, and this was the case here: 

The only layout 'with nap' was for a 35" width fabric and I had a 45" fabric. This also was the only width on the back of the pattern 'with nap' to tell me how much yardage to buy in the first place. It told me to get 2 yards of 35" fabric, so I got 1 3/4 yards of 45" fabric (it was all that was left on the bolt, so that helped me decide), and after it was all laid out I ended up with just a little left over. I also didn't lay the pieces out exactly like the pattern showed because I could fit them better in a different way on my wider fabric.   

All of this would have been much easier if my fabric wasn't one directional (since it did have yardage and layouts for 44" fabric without the nap), but it didn't take too long to think it all out. I checked all the pieces twice to make sure they were right before I cut, since I have made mistakes with one way prints before, and this is where I am at now...

When sewing with vintage patterns, just remember that the fabric widths available today are different from what they were then, so what makes the best sense isn't necessarily what the pattern tells you... but don't let this intimidate you, you are smart and can figure it out!

Now time to get sewing...

patterns, and let's sew!

Hope you had a nice weekend! I sorted through a fair stack of vintage children's patterns, checking to make sure all of the pieces were still there and in good condition, while listening to my church's conference. It was a lovely way to spend time - feeling productive and inspired at once. I enjoyed all of the talks, but especially this one - I could use that reminder weekly. 

"and when i am taller, i can sew too!'

You may have noticed that I added a new vintage patterns section to the shop last week. I will be adding more patterns to it soon, including some fun Halloween costumes, so stay tuned!

When I came across this pattern it told me to sew it, so I will be looking for fabric this week. I want to make view C (the red one). It will probably be a little big on LM, but that just means she will be able to wear it longer. I'll be looking for fabric that can easily translate from fall/winter to spring/summer. I thought it would be fun to show you my progress along the way.

Want to sew something too? Choose a pattern and fabric, and I'll meet you back here next Monday to start cutting!

felt cloche

I am guest posting today over at Sparkle Power while Candace is enjoying some time off with her new sweet baby boy. Remember this hat? Well, head on over to find out more about it!

Want to make your own? You can find the pattern here.

her first sewing project

It all started when LM came up to me holding a needle and thread. "I want to make a monster, mommy." Instead of being alarmed that she had somehow acquired a sharp dangerous object, I smiled - my little girl wants to do a sewing project!!! I sat her down with a crayon and paper and told her to draw what she wanted the monster to look like, and I thought what she came up with was so cute and funny. This is the first time she has ever drawn a picture complete with arms and legs, let alone nostrils and a beard (that is what she said the scribble under the nose was - just like daddy, ha)! 

(she added the other eye on the drawing later, after we were already done)

She helped pick out the fabric, I sewed it all together, and then she carefully put the stuffing inside. Once the monster was all done she was so proud and excited that it looked just like her picture! I accidentally put the glitter ribbon on backwards, but it doesn't really matter since they all twist and turn anyway. She named him Snarfy and when I asked her why she answered, "Because he is a Snarfy mom." I guess I should have known :) 

I am so glad that she had an idea and knew that she could make it a reality with a little help from mommy. I think it is such a blessing to be able to express yourself through creativity, and I hope she continues to come up with many more projects for us to work on together!