matching and coordinating
this is one of two photos i know of where my sisters and i are in matching outfits. okay, there may be a few more if you include pjs, but roll with me here, the point is that by having your children over the course of a decade isn't conducive to dressing them alike.
despite this upbringing this i've made the my nieces tons of matching and coordinating outfits over the past four years. today i'll share a few of my favorites.
Read Morecontinuing my series of my favorite homemade gifts today with gifts for babies and new moms. (want to take revisit my past posts? you can find my favorite kid toys and accessories here, my favorite little girl apparel gifts here, and my favorite little boy apparel gifts can here.)
first off the obvious: who doesn't think of a onesie for a newborn gift? here is neela in her put a bird on it onesie from the lullaby layette pattern from oliver + s
Read Moreone of my favorite gifts for new moms has become has become an infinity scarf for mom and a matching top for baby.
Read Moreone snowy day back in cambridge I bundled up and headed to gather here. on the store dress form was a darling rendition of the book report dress by oliver + s. inspired i started looking for a fabric for my own version. i came across this ikat print and knew it would be perfect.
Read Moreas previously mentioned nora and etta are quite girly. i, however, am not. so finding fabric that appeases them yet i can stand is often a challenge.
when i came across this rose and coral abstract print at gather here a few years back i knew immediately they would love it and bought a few yards.
Read Morelast summer while in jackson hole for a friend's wedding i visited a local fabric store and picked up materials to make victor a flannel shirt, the scraps of which became the lil' man flannel.
at the same time i came across some pretty awesome snowflake flannel. so i got a few yards with every intention of making holiday pj pants for the girls. however a month before the holidays my sister abby informed me that her girls (nora and etta) didn't like to wear pants to bed, preferring nightgowns.
so like any good liberal arts graduate i had some iced coffee and came up with a plan b.
Read Morea few years ago when i was just discovering the glory that is oliver + s patterns i went to visit vic's family in pennsylvania for the weekend. now i've already talked about how i find hand sewing to be a great way to bring your sewing when you travel. but another thing is pattern tracing.
when done right pattern tracing is time consuming, especially if the pattern has a lot of pieces. add into that doing the same pattern for multiple sizes and you're looking at hours and hours of work. fun work, but work. so i brought along the croquet dress pattern and traced both versions for all three girls that weekend. not a small task.
Read Moremy third oliver + s style was the music box jumper, making all three girls grey polka dot versions for thanksgivng.
the fabric is a quilting cotton from gather here. at the time I didn't know it was quilt backing (and thus 120 inches wide, more than double what normal fabric is) so i had a lot of it!
i probably should have started with this style, it's simple (a one scissor pattern) but most importantly, easy to get good results with, which is essential for beginners.
i would also recommend using snaps for this dress if you are just starting out. button holes are really tricky (i was never able to get the hang of them on my old machine). however i found snaps to be a great alternative during my first year of sewing.
Read Morenora and etta are active little girls. very active little girls. but they are also quite girly and like to wear dresses and skirts.
so a few years back i decided the badminton skort from oliver + s would be the perfect style for them and with some polka dot cotton i picked up on sale from gather here i gave it a try.
Read Morehave i mentioned nora and etta are quite girly? well they are. i however am not. so it's a constant struggle to find fabrics that are sweet enough for them but not too saccharine for me.
when i saw this amy butler lark print at stonemountain & daughter i instantly knew two things: a) nora and etta would love wearing it and b) i wouldn't mind sewing it. so i picked up a few yards and waited for the right inspiration.
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