back to school 2013
let's kick off back to school week with a throwback post to the dress i made two years ago for nora's first day of kindergarten.
earlier that summer i was back in michigan visiting my family and took nora to the store to pick out fabric. we settled on this gradient sprinkle print in pink (for her) and blue (for etta) as well as some accent ribbons.
i came home to cambridge, poured myself a harpoon summer ale, and set to work on two roller skate dresses by oliver + s. since we couldn't find any accent fabric that went with the sprinkle print i made version a. lined in white cotton batiste they ended up being perfect for the first day.
nora was especially pleased her dress went so well with her new big kid backpack.
my mom (now retired, but taught elementary school for 35 years) flew out and was present for the first day.
such an exciting day!
love,
aunt maggie
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now that we've covered maya, neela, and etta's flower girl dresses it's time to make something for nora. i knew whatever I made had to be very special as nora was so very helpful in picking out my dress.
more about sleeves today, specifically my favorite types of sleeves for little girls: cap and flutter sleeves.
more sewing for skills, and today we're all about means to fasten fabric: buttons and snaps.
like many in the sewing world, i am on a constant quest to sew my stash. i've even gone so far as to proclaimed my desire to have less fabric all together, and consider myself am midway through a major two year fabric diet.
so today i'm going to share some of my favorite patterns for busting my stash.
for the next few days we are talking about my favorite homemade gifts for various types of occasions. yesterday i shared my favorite kid toys and accessories to give as gifts and today i'm talking about making little girl apparel as a gift.
now sewing for little girls is sort of my 'thing' so i'm breaking it down into three pieces of advice.
i think of my early sewing projects like i think of high school: sure at the time i thought i had it figured out and was doing a bang up job, but man there were some cringe worthy situations.
however unlike my high school experiences i am better for it and am willing to talk about them. so i thought i would put together a list of my favorite techniques and tips that i've found make my sewing more professional.
it's pretty obvious i love all 49 of my oliver + s patterns (94 if you count each size), but according to all the podcasts about blogging one should do 'list posts' so here it goes:
a few days ago i texted my sister and mom asking if they had any picture of maya in a few outfits so i could blog about them. it went something like this:
me: do you have any pictures of maya in that red polka dot dress?
me: what about that orange and purple [polka dot] long sleeved dress?
me: or that orange and white polka dot skirt?
me: also the green [polka dot] top with the purple accent and that purple and white [polka dot] top?
it was around this time i realized i should probably examine my relationship with polka dots.
beginners luck. that's what i had the first time i made the roller skate dress by oliver + s.
i got this chevron print at the fabric depot in portland oregon when i took nora to pick out materials for thefairy sisters dresses. i had originally planned to just dresses for nora and etta, but realized pretty quickly i couldn't exclude maya. so i planned my cutting and was able to squeeze out an additional dress from my limited fabric.
let me tell you getting the chevrons to match up was not easy, but somehow (let's give credit to the watermelon beer i was drinking and my critical thinking skills, but mostly the beer) it all came together perfectly.
let's kick off back to school week with a throwback post to the dress i made two years ago for nora's first day of kindergarten.
earlier that summer i was back in michigan visiting my family and took nora to the store to pick out fabric. we settled on this gradient sprinkle print in pink (for her) and blue (for etta) as well as some accent ribbons.
i came home to cambridge, poured myself a harpoon summer ale, and set to work on two roller skate dresses by oliver + s. since we couldn't find any accent fabric that went with the sprinkle print i made version a. lined in white cotton batiste they ended up being perfect for the first day.
