Nautical J.Crew Knock-off Sundress

Before this spunky girl went on a trip with her family, I got a request to make her this nautical J.Crew "Knock-off Sundress." 

I made this same dress last summer for two other granddaughters after my daughter fell in love with this style at J.Crew. It was a bit too pricey, even at the outlet, so I figured out how to make it. 

It's summer weather around 80% of the year where my cute granddaughter in these photos lives, so even though it's almost September, she'll be wearing this for another couple of months.

Good thing I didn't wait too long to make it because this sundress arrived the day before her family left on their trip.

I loved and laughed at all the poses this girl came up with for these photos. And don't you just love her choice of shoes? She told her mother that the color matched the dress and who's going to argue with a 3 year-old if they are happy?

The free pattern used to make this sundress can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6zH2I5zjQYWelNlZEdqN3NSVVk/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-UPAcWnsb0Q5hVbiZGrlltA

If you haven't downloaded this pattern, you'll want to. It's pretty simple to make!

The nautical fabric is from Michael Miller and can be found here.

She's such a fun girl! Doesn't her attitude just come right out in these photos? 

How long does summer weather last where you live? Not long enough at my house! 

xoxo Grandma

Link to the fabric used:

Refashion a Skirt into Two Dresses

The warm tints and shades of green and yellow from the original skirt make the perfect fabric for today's Spring refashion. 

I used that skirt to make two dresses for two of my granddaughters. Keep reading to find out how easy they were to make...

The first dress has tulle over the skirt, because the almost three-year-old, opinionated girl it was made for will only wear "ballet" style dresses. 

The second dress utilizes the beautiful pleats found in the original skirt.

  

The first thing you'll need for this refashion is two t-shirts in the sizes of your two little girls.

To get started with your two dresses, cut open the back seam of the skirt. If there isn't a back seam a side seam will work too.  

For the first dress, I measured from the hem up to the length I wanted the skirt part of the new dress.  Now follow these 4 steps for an easy ballet style dress:

1.  Unpick a few inches of the old hem at both ends of the back seam. Then, match the skirt from the bottom up, sewing a 1/4" new back seam.
2.  Re-sew the hem where it was unpicked.
3. Measure tulle the same finished length and width of the skirt. Sew the back seam of the tulle. Pin on top of the fabric skirt. Add two rows of gathering stitches to the top of the skirt, one at 1/4" and the other at 1/2". Gather the skirt to fit the t-shirt. Pin the skirt to the t-shirt.
4. With a sewing machine, sew the skirt to the t-shirt using a 5/8" seam. Optional step, top stitch the skirt to the t-shirt at 1/4".  

 

The final step was to add an accent to the t-shirt top left side. For this dress, I cut out a flower from the skirt's fabric and machine embroidered that onto the t-shirt.

For the second dress, I measured 6 3/4" from the top of the t-shirt and cut the remainder of the t-shirt off.

I carefully unpicked the beautiful pleats of the original skirt. I ran a basting stitch along the top of those pleats so they'd stay in place.

Then I measured the total width of the pleats, added a small seam to both sides, and sewed this skirt onto the t-shirt. The next step was to add a hem.  

For this dress, I used the three covered buttons from the original skirt's opening and sewed the buttons to the top center of the t-shirt.

Not so funny fact: when I finished my youngest granddaughter's dress using the length my daughter supplied me with, it looked too short - keep in mind I hadn't seen this granddaughter in 4 months, so maybe I was just imagining her taller. I sent my daughter a text telling her my thoughts-- that the dress looked too short. She assured me if I used what she provided, it would be right. The next day, I received a text from her telling me she measured wrong & the dress needed to be 4" longer.  UGH!

I ended up using the lining from the original skirt to add the light green border onto the bottom of this dress. I'd already made a diaper cover out of the same fabric and luckily had just enough fabric for this border.

In spite of the measurement frustration, these dresses are perfect for Okinawa's spring weather with their green and yellow fabric and the long sleeves for the breezes and frequent rain storms this time of year.  Happy dress making!   xoxo Grandma

Linked to: Project Run and Play

Warm Snuggly Nightgown from Scraps

If you are a big sewer, like me, you probably have leftover scraps from projects that were too large to just toss out.  My stash of those scraps grows daily. While going though my stack, I found two different blues that were minky and a scrap of "Frozen" fleece. So, without further ado... here is my monthly scrap busting project.

Using this pattern:  

Purchase HERE

I cut out the nightgown sleeves, neck facing, and a pocket from the "Frozen" fabric. I also cut out one of the images to use on the back of the nightgown.  I used the light blue minky for the front fabric.  The dark, royal blue minky was used for the for back of the nightgown.  I love how all three fabrics worked together.

This is how the "scrap" nightgown turned out:

The results of this scrap busting project were a warm, soft nightgown.  Plus three less scraps in my stash.  A win win situation.  Plus, that cute little girl up there lives in South Dakota. Do you know how cold it gets there? As I write this it is just 12 degrees. She'll be glad she has that nightgown to snuggle into at night. 

Happy day when scraps are used!  How do you use your scraps?   xoxo Grandma

Pattern needed for this project:

Warm Winter Dress

Nothing shouts warm and cozy like clothing made from shirting flannel! 

I love how the fabric made sewing this dress easy.  Shirting flannel is so comfortable too.  If you've ever worn shirting flannel you understand it feels like you're wrapped in a soft, flannel blanket.

I had a hard time finding a shirting flannel that my daughter liked.  I ended up choosing these black and white fabrics which complimented one another.  They are a perfect match for a classic, casual winter dress.

The big pockets were cut on the bias out of the large check adding a fun contrast to the small checks.

The trim on the large checked sleeves is the tiny checked fabric.  I love the way the small and large checked fabrics were able to play off of one another adding more interest to this dress.

The pattern I used was a vintage Butterick #3842.  

The pattern shows a raglan three-quarter length sleeve, patch pockets and neckline binding.  It also shows a ruffle at the end of the sleeves but I opted to add self-made bias tape from the small checked fabric instead.  This pattern was fun and easy to sew.  I would recommend this pattern and of course the fabric is just amazingly soft and snuggly! Perfect for a chilly winter day.  xoxo Grandma

Linked as my favorite thing I sewed for a child in 2016 to Project Run and Play.  I love the vintage pattern used and the warm shirting flannel.  I want a dress made out of the same cozy fabric.

Refashioned Lace Dress

 

I love lace clothing.  Nothing looks classier than a girl of any age in pretty lace! This lace creation started out as an adult women's dress.   Right before my oldest daughter got married, she purchased a beautiful lace dress direct from China that looked like this (it was a Kate Middleton copy-cat dress):

Sadly, the dress didn't fit my tall daughter.  She also has long legs and the dress was definitely designed for a short person.  This dress has been hanging in a closet for years and has never been worn. The fabric is golden layers of classic beautiful lace.

 I pulled the dress out of the closet and decided that this was the year to refashion it into a wearable article of clothing for my granddaughter.

To start the refashion, I used Simplicity pattern #1476A, view A but added long sleeves since this was going to be a winter/Christmas dress. 

I cut the skirt and the bodice apart.  The original dress had pretty lace around the skirt and I left that intact. 

To give you an idea as to how short the dress was originally, I only needed to cut 2" off the original skirt to make it fit this almost 3 year old.

   

I carefully unpicked the zipper and reused.  The sleeves were simply cut down to scale.  I reused the gold lace that edged the original dress to edge the neck and the bottom of the sleeves.  To finish the dress, I made a simple 3" gold sash which I permanently attached at the waistline.

I loved that the lace was so easy to sew.  This is now a wearable holiday dress for my granddaughter.  The nice thing is, my daughter can finally enjoy this dress but on her daughter instead of herself.  xoxo Grandma

Sew a Winter Coat

This summer was shortened a bit for this cute girl. In July, she moved with her family to a continent that was deep into their winter season.  I knew she didn't like wearing any of her coats because in March I took care of her and her siblings while her parents headed half way around the world to check out their new home.  During my stay with her, I had to beg and plead with her to put on a warm coat whenever we'd head outdoors. The best I could get her to do was wear a sweater that had a fur collar. Her coats just weren't "pretty" enough for her. 

Fast forward to her fifth birthday that she right before she moved. I thought a warm coat might be the perfect gift for this picky, girl who was about to face a cold winter again.

To make this warm winter coat, I used a pattern from Simplicity #1476A.

I lengthened the sleeves by adding 4" to the length.  This converted them into long sleeves, instead of 3/4 length sleeves.  I used off white fleece for the coat and for the lining.  These glitzy buttons once graced an old sweater of mine.  The collar was made from a soft, lush beige faux fur with hints of mint.

When I gave it to her, she noticed some ribbon on my sewing table with pink, purple, blue and lime green stripes that she got excited about.  She wanted me to sew it onto the bottom of the coat.  After much persuasion, and a little creative thinking, I suggested we make her a special name tag to go inside of the coat, using the ribbon instead.  I even let her press the sewing machine pedal to create her name tag for this coat.  She seemed happy about this addition.

She wore this coat off the plane when her family arrived in Australia (where it is currently winter). It's been in the mid 30's at night there.  She's been warm and cozy in her pretty new winter coat which is just my sewing style.  My style is to create things for my grandchildren which make them feel special and loved no matter how far away they live. xoxo Grandma

Linked to: Project Run and Play

Fall Raglan Sleeve Dresses

I've had these fall knit dresses sewn for a while, but I was waiting for these cute girls, pictured above, to come to grandma's house to see if they fit.  Last week, after an all day drive, the wait was finally over.  These cute sisters got to come to visit their grandparents.  Big cheer for grandchildren visits!!! 

After a little alterations to the necklines, these dresses are now ready to wear when the weather turns to fall and the temperatures cool down.  As you can see, my older granddaughter is barefoot, so the weather isn't quite there yet.

The grey knit fabric used in both dresses tone the peach and the mint accent colors down and create a casual, comfortable dress for fall.  I used a basic raglan shirt pattern which I lengthened and then added a rounded pocket for their hands or little treasures.

These cute sisters had a hard time holding still for the camera.  What did we expect from a one and two year old?  I suggested giving them a book and apparently this book is a good one.  xoxo Grandma

Linked to: Project Run and Play

Wedding Dress Costume From a Tablecloth

While I was ironing a white tablecloth to get ready for a party at my house, I remembered why I hated using it.  It was an extra long tablecloth and every time I used it, I had to iron it!  Anyone else hate ironing as much as I do?  I swear it's the worst task on earth. Well, as luck would have it, my granddaughter had recently requested I make her a wedding dress for Halloween. When I saw this white tablecloth, I knew that ironing it must come to an end... it's fate was to be a wedding dress. 

The pattern I used to make the dress is Simplicity 0631. Yes, it is from the Wizard of Oz, but Glenda the Good Witch's dress turned into a lovely wedding dress.  I added sequins to the bodice and a lot of tulle under the skirt. The great part about using a tablecloth was that the hem was already sewn!

When my granddaughter tried her costume on for the first time, this four year old proudly exclaimed, "All my wishes came true!"  May you have fun making wishes come true for all your little ones too.  xoxo Grandma

Linked to:  Nap Time Creations, Project Run and Play

How to Make a Little Miss Muffet Costume

"Little Miss Muffet

Sat on a tuffet,

Eating her curds and whey;

Along came a spider,

Who sat down beside her,

And frightened Miss Muffet away."

 - Mother Goose

To create this costume, I used vintage pattern McCall's #9270.

This pattern is perfect for a toddler's costume and the best part of this costume is the dress can be worn later by your toddler as a normal dress. 

For instruction on how to make the moppet hat, please go to this post.

For the apron, I sewed together lace, netting and ribbon to make a rectangular pocket. Once the pocket was finished, I sewed it onto the lower right side of the apron.

This pocket is the perfect size to fit a soft, little pom pom pet spider into.

How to make this pet spider for Miss Muffet's pocket follow the directions below:

Supplies needed:

• 2 extra large 3 inch black pom poms
• 1 .28 inch orange Pom Pom
• 2 wobbly eyes
• 2 black pipe cleaners
• clear elastic thread
• hot glue bun

1.  Glue the two black pom poms together with the hot glue.
2.  Glue the eyes onto the head about 1/4" apart.
3.  Glue the orange pom pom onto the head right below the center of the eyes.
4.  Cut the black pipe cleaners into 3" lengths and glue them onto the body of the pet spider.
5.  Bend the pipe cleaners so they look like feet.

Optional - add clear elastic cording around the neck of the spider and add a slip knot to fit around Little Miss Muffet's wrist so she doesn't lose her little friend.

Please join me tomorrow as I share with you a free pdf downloadable pattern to make this child sized spider costume.   xoxo Grandma

Shared at: Project Run and Play