New Spring Dress

For some reason my dear sweet Tee keeps growing. I hear that happens when you feed and love kids. So she needed a new dress to wear to church. All of the ones she had were too short. We can fix that problem.

So her new dress is a lightweight corduroy with cotton straps and midriff. At first she thought it was her new Easter dress. Well, sorry honey, I have something else in mind for that (another post, another day. I don't have any pictures of it yet.) It has a small ruffle at the hem, zipper up the back and she just loves it.

I really love the gathering on the bodice.

The stack is no longer a stack

My small stack of fabric has turned into many little dresses. It was awfully fun too! I have such a great time sewing little dresses and only one girl to sew for. So when I knew that I could get things to some nieces without having to pay shipping, I jumped on it.

This peasant style dress is very cute and comes together very easy. I made one for my sweet Tee and had to make some more.

Tee got a matching one with a cousin. Except that I had to add a strip at the hem of Tee's because she is so darn tall. I am having to do that a lot lately. She doesn't get the match with anyone very often and she really loved it. I am so greatful to get the share other little girls in my life.This one was for a friend's birthday gift. Her little sister loves to play "dress up" and I just happened to be there when she tried on this dress. A few sizes too big for Emmy but just right for her sister.

Emmy also had to try on Tee's new skirt that I made her for school. Again a little too big but so cute and I can't get Tee to model this cute for me anyway.

These peasant dresses have an elastic neckline and sleeves with a ribbon bow at the the neck as well. The sizes are very forgiving if you get it a little too big. It ties in the back and the neck stretches. Can't get much better than that. They are great for using up the remnant pieces of fabric that I buy. You don't need very much of each color. I have now made 5 of these little dresses and I think that this color combination is my favorite. Although they are all VERY cute on each little one.

A Daisy Dress...

As I said, there are many dresses and outfits lately. Somehow, the babies seem to come in spurts. My second new niece was born on the 7th. From what I hear she is doing great. I better get on her dress.
So this dress was a special request from a cousin. She is a great friend of mine and I wish that we could live closer and spend more time together. But I guess the once in a while will have to do for now. It is a special dress that my husband's grandmother used to make for all of the granddaughters. She would sit and make each daisy individually and crochet each little daisy together. It really can be quite the project. We all know that as time passes, grandmother's get older and their dexterity may not be what is used to be. So Slyn called me and asked me to make it because Grandma just wasn't up to it. I promptly agreed. Thanks for letting me be a part of your special day.

Now, some details. It is made with yarn, obviously. I started with a yarn that I already had and thought that I had enough. I won't ever do that again. I ran out of it in the middle and when to find more...it is discontinued. So I took what I had left and found something that was almost the exact same. I sure lucked out on that one! As I said before, each daisy is made individually on a small wheel. I think that I counted approximately 130 or a few more to make this small of a dress. I am not even sure how well it fit. Slyn...you better let me know so that I can adjust for the future.
Each daisy is then crocheted together to form the body of the dress. The sleeves are made seperately and sewn on. The neckline is a simple chain stitch. When we lived in Idaho, close by my husband's grandmother, he requested that I learn how to make these special dresses. We hadn't been married long and he knew that I liked to be creative. I also know that as grandmother's age, sometimes these types of things can get lost. He also asked me to learn his favorite candy that Grandma makes...another post...
It dawned on me as I was making this sweet dress that these things are already starting to go by the wayside. And part of it is my fault. Yes, I am one of the only ones that has learned to make them and my own daughter didn't even know that I made one for her a a small baby. It is currently tucked away in a special box and hasn't been out since she was a baby. We have moved too many times and it just hasn't come out. I better work on that one.
This type of dress definately needs a slip. So I quickly made one to go under it. I wasn't super pleased with it. It just didn't come together like I wanted. Hopefully it was okay. I do love the lace that edged the hem. Thanks again for sharing in your special day. It was a really fun project. It was fun to relive the time that I spent with dear hubby's grandmother at her side.

Las Vegas Baby Girl

Not too long ago I had a "need" to make a blessing dress. I had to go in search of a baby girl to make this special dress for. And that little girl got her dress. Now, just a few months later, I have three baby girls to make dresses for. I am loving every minute of it and every one is just a bit different from others I have made.

This first dress was made for a friend of my sister-in-law. I have made a dress like this before and she fell in love with the mental picture that my sister-in-law gave her. So another dress was born. It has a simple bodice with a cap sleeve and no collar. It buttons up the back and made from my favorite satin. This satin happens to be my favorite because I can always find it on sale and it is totally washable. You know, just in case that sweet baby spits up on it or has a diaper accident.

I was pretty much finished and the dress just needed something more so I added a satin ribbon at the waist with a bow and a touch of pink.

The skirt has two layers of tulle layered over it with silk rose petals enclosed. They are free moving and add just that nice look for a complete dress. Love it! Thanks for the baby girl to sew for.

Two more dresses will be coming soon. I have two more nieces on the way.

Recent Wedding

Before we moved I had the opportunity to work on a wedding. These three darling girls received matching flower girl dresses. Their grandma knitted them matching sweaters. The oldest has an American Girl doll (an 18" doll-my favorite to make clothes for) who received a matching dress as well. They were darling!

Cute Cute Dress

Among everything else I have to do, I took the time to do something just for fun. I know you are thinking...fun? I have had this fabric and pattern picked out since my dear Tee was a toddler. I just never had the chance to get to it. At that time I had her, a baby and was pregnant with the third baby. And I wonder why I didn't get to it. So I finally have it finished and I am quite sad that I didn't get to it when Tee was little. But now my neice gets to enjoy it and spin in circles like little girls do in fun dresses.

This is a simple dress with a peter pan collar.

The pinafore had pin tucks on the bodice and the hem.

Cute puffy sleeves with an arm band.

The pinafore is the same front and back (the back doesn't have the pin tucks) and it ties in a bow on both sides.

I really enjoyed making this and would have loved to see my dear Tee in it. Maybe next time. Now she gets other fun and fancy things. Coming up in the fall is her baptism dress. She is very excited about that one, as am I.