1950 - 1960's Doll Nightgown

Last year, I created this pattern for a friend who wanted old fashion nightgowns for her three daughters and matching ones for her girl's dolls.  The nightgown pattern is reminiscent of nightgowns I wore in the late 1950's and early 1960's.  The fabric is obviously not 1950's or 1960's fabric but this sweet pattern is a fun sewing project and looks so pretty on 18" dolls.  This new pattern is now available from my Etsy shop here.

I remember sitting on the heater in the cold Oregon mornings, letting the warm air flow into my nightgown and loving how smugly it felt.  Anyone else out there remember wearing a nightgown with a similar style to this one?

Share with me your nightgown memories or story.  I look forward to reading your comments.  xoxo Grandma 

Emma the Fish Toy & the 5 Cent Rattle

This darling toy fish pattern, called Emma, was released this week by Nittens and Patches. I tested the pattern for the designer/owner and once done, sent it across the ocean to one of my darling grandchildren. Emma the fish is an easy and a fun sewing project. It took around 2 hours from start to finish to make this fish. Isn't she so cute?

This fish is the first stuffed animal I've ever turned into a rattle.  To get a rattle for a great price, I went to a local thrift store and found an ugly toy with a rattle in it. It cost a whopping 25 cents - SCORE!  The even better part, this ugly little rattle toy I found actually had five rattles in it!  So that makes the total cost per rattle five cents each, what a deal!

The finished size of this fish is 7 1/2" x 9 1/2".  If making this for a baby, I'd likely shrink the pattern down by about 50% so it will fit into a baby's hand. But look at how cute this fish fits in a toddler's hand!

You can find the pattern for Emma the Fish at any of these links: Etsy, Craftys, Madeit, Nittens and Patches.  xoxo Grandma

Gone Fishing Outfit & Accessories - American Girl Doll Style

It's been a while since I've made anything for this cute doll and she was feeling quite neglected. So today, I'm debuting her "Gone Fishing" outfit with the perfect accessories for a child to have a little summer fun with her doll.  

It took me a while to create a fishing rod I was completely happy with. Several of my attempts were literally thrown away until I finally created the fishing pole shown in these photos. I'm quite pleased how it turned out. The best part about this fishing pole is that it can actually catch fish! How cool is that? See those cute little felt fish? You can actually catch them with the super small magnet on the end of the hook. Talk about giving this little toy a few extra bonus points with your kids! 

To complete the summer look, I made a doll-sized reversible fishing hat and a "Gone Fishing" sleeveless shirt.  Now this girl is all decked out and ready for some summer fun down by a fishing hole.

This pattern is an instant downloadable pdf and can be purchased HERE.  The set includes the Gone Fishing sleeveless shirt, fishing pole, felt fish and instructions on how to convert an ornamental creel into a child's toy.  The instructions and patterns are a bargain for only $3.00.  If you'd like a chance to win this pattern for free, go to my Etsy shop HERE, like my shop and leave a comment below telling me who will be the lucky recipient of your Gone Fishing creation. Two winners will be announced on the last day of spring, June 20th at 9 p.m., Mountain Standard time.

UPDATE:  Thank you to everyone that left comments and visited my Etsy shop. Two winners were contacted Friday night via my Etsy shop.  The winners were Betsy and Marilyn.  

If you don't want to make a "Gone Fishing" outfit, you can purchase this Gone Fishing set HERE or a fishing pole & creel HERE. Good luck!  - xoxo Grandma

30 Things to Make for an American Girl Doll

Linked to: Nap Time Creations, Crafty Allie

Do you want to Sew a Snowman? Doll Outfit Tutorial & Pattern

Do you want to sew a snowman outfit doll size?  After making my grandson's Olaf, snowman costume, I had some white fleece leftover. Using my experience from making his costume, I created a snowman costume and pattern for a doll. Sometimes it's fun to have matching costumes, you know?  If you don't want to sew your own Olaf looking doll outfit, you can purchase one HERE.  You had until November 13th to download this free pattern.
The pattern is available for purchase at xoxo Grandma Etsy shop HERE.  

To make the costume extra cute, make pants from white fleece too and maybe a white shirt that has brown long sleeves.  Oh and what about brown mittens too?  (To make mittens from a sock, see THIS post.) 

I hope you have fun making this snowman costume. If you hadn't already guessed, its supposed to look like the popular Olaf from Frozen. Hopefully you already figured that out though!  Would love to know who downloaded this pattern, so for those who do, please leave a comment.  Thanks!

xoxo Grandma

Linked to: Nap Time Creations

The Blues Apron

I found this vintage 1960's apron pattern, Simplicity 3702.  I thought it would be fun to make myself a pretty apron. The fabric used as inspiration for this project was an "interior fabric swatch" - you know, the kind that you look at to decide if you want to have drapes or furniture made out of it, but instead ultimately decide on an apron.

Here's my blues apron: 

This is the third vintage pattern I've used this year. Just like the previous patterns used, the instructions lacked a few steps. When that happens, I think things like, "most women sewed back then and I guess they knew how to do that step".  I'm also flooded with memories from my youth. Where I grew-up, sewing classes started in 8th grade and were part of our "Home Ec" education. We were required to purchase a pattern and fabric and then cut it out and sew it in class.  I have horrible memories of a few things I chose to sew.  (Wish I had a photo to show. I'm sure you'd laugh at my fashion sense (or lack thereof) from back then!)  

During the 1960's my mom's aprons would hang behind our kitchen door on the door jam.  An apron was a must-have for housewives back then because she needed to keep her house dress clean.  Aren't you glad we don't wear house dresses anymore?

What memories do you have of aprons or sewing classes? Would love to hear!
xoxo Grandma

Shared at the following parties:  All Things Pretty and The Dedicated House.

Little Elephant Toy Pattern

After more than 11 years offering this pattern for free. The pattern is no longer available from my blog, it will soon be offered in my Etsy shop at xoxoGrandma for only $1.35. Chunky Little Elephant Toy is a fun project with complete tutorial.

Happy elephant herd making!    xoxo Grandma

A Herd of Little Elephants

 Look what my grey fabric scraps turned into, a herd of little elephants!  

You can do this project too. After 11 years, this pattern is no longer available from the original Google drive - apparently I've given it away too many times!. It's a simple, fun pattern which will soon be available from my Etsy shop for only $1.35  

Here's a little elephant music to listen to as you make your 6" high x 5" long x 3" wide chunky elephant.  Don't you just love this elephant song from "Dumbo"?

And now an elephant summer joke....

"Why were the elephants thrown out of the swimming pool?  Because they couldn't hold up their trunks."

Have a fun day!
xoxo Grandma