First Day of Pre-K Outfits

Today was my girls’ first day of Pre-K. I really wanted to get a cute shot of them on the way out the door but for the first time in forever, it was actually raining. The lighting inside my home is terrible, especially when it’s dreary outside, so this was the best shot I could get.

Luckily when the girls came home, they didn’t have lunch or paint all over them, so when there was a break in the rain, I took them outside to get some more shots.

The pants are Foo Foo Threads Triple Ruffle Capris. You may recognize them. It is the same pattern I used for my gnome pants in this post.

I actually made them a few months ago and bought the pink shirts at Target to go with them. I never posted about them before because I always thought the outfit was still missing something.

I thought an applique on the shirt would probably help. I had been eyeing Hang To Dry’s Scalloped Circular Monogram and decided it would be perfect!

Unfortunately, I did the one thing you should never do when using an embroidery machine. I looked away. It was only for a moment but the needle caught the bottom of the shirt and ripped a hole in it.

I wasn’t quite sure what to do about it at first. Then, I remembered seeing several photos of little purses sewn onto children’s clothes. I did a quick search and found this free tutorial and pattern over at Welcome to the Mouse House and got to work. They covered the hole perfectly and I think it was a pretty cute addition to the outfit!

I just love these pants and so do my girls. They are like having six tiny little twirly skirts on your legs. So much fun!

Two BG Nelles in One Day

Two days before we headed out of town for a family reunion, I decided to make the girls each a new summer dress to wear to the party. I thought perhaps I was crazy trying to attempt two dresses in one day, but several people assured me that not only was the Brownie Goose Nelle super cute, it was also a very fast sew. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to turn out the “one dress an hour” that the more experienced seamstresses claimed, but I have enough confidence in sewing now that I was ready to attempt two in a day.

The pattern turned out to be just as easy and cute as they claimed. It is a beautifully simple pattern that allows for lots of little special touches of your own. Because of my time constraints and my colorful fabric choice, I kept my dresses very simple but I already have a dozen plans in my head for new ones!

An unexpected bonus was that the back and the front are identical so it is really easy for 4 year olds to dress themselves!

The girls have ended up wearing these dresses often. They have turned out to be our go-to-dresses recently! They always get compliments when we go out and I see lots of Nelles in our future.

 

***UPDATE***

It has been over a month since I made these dresses and my girls wear them at least once a week. I am embarrassed to say I just now noticed that the elephant fabric is upside down on one of them! I guess that is what happens when I try to speed sew. Thank you to everyone that noticed and didn’t point it out and embarrass me. We are going to wear them again this afternoon and I just know I won’t be able to stop thinking about it. Sigh…

Retro Glam Skirt

Its here!!! The Retro Glam Skirt by Little Lizard King has finally been released! I had the good fortune to be a tester for this pattern and it was worth every minute. The skirt is so cute and the testers came up with so many different looking pieces. It’s a great pattern that is easy to make your own.

The skirt’s design has a retro flair inspired by a vintage apron. It has a button hole elastic adjustable waist, which I loved, with the option to do a regular elastic waist. But there’s no need for that because if you can’t find buttonhole elastic, the pattern gives you directions on how to make it yourself!

I really enjoyed putting the skirt together, which is a good thing because I ended up making three for the test. I first made two for my girls in the Micheal Miller Princess Land fabrics they had been drooling over. I even added a decorative top stitch over all the seams.

Unfortunately, I made a mistake and cut the edge off one of my pattern pieces early in the fabric cutting process. Unaware of my mistake, I pieced the skirts together and came up with TWO skirts six inches smaller than my waistbands!

After discussing this at length with the very patient designer, Tricia, I figured out my mistake. No worries… I made them work anyway!

I felt I owed Tricia a correctly sewn test garment so I picked some cute fall fabrics out of my stash, re-printed the pattern pieces and got back to work. The skirt is really such a fun and easy sew that I had a third skirt finished in a few hours. I sure hope Joanns has more of the Alexander Henry Willow Shroom fabric in stock because I need it to make a second one now! Luckily, I still have plenty of the Ziggy chevron fabric from Timeless Treasures left over!

Oh and I can’t forget my favorite part… the hem. I have never used ric rac this way and it is such a cute and easy way to hem a skirt. Genius!

The Retro Glam Skirt pattern comes in three size options: 6 months – girls 5T , girls 6 – girls 14, or you can get the whole size range, 6m-girls 14. It also comes with a doll pattern and for a limited time only, a rockabilly reversible head wrap pattern! Head on over to Little Lizard King and get your pattern today!

Phoebe Sew-along and Auction

It is time for another sew-along post! This month’s sew-along had a very special cause. Her name is Phoebe. She is 4 years old,  the same age as my own daughters. Phoebe is battling Leukemia and Create Kids Couture’s created a pattern named after her. The profits from the Phoebe pattern go to her family for her medical costs and care. Please take a minute and visit the link to the pattern to read more about her.

Starting today, CKC is holding an auction to raise more funds for Phoebe’s care! Some of the ladies in the sew-along donated their own creations made from the Phoebe pattern.

The auction is being held on Create Kids Couture’s Facebook page.

You can go directly to the auction photos here.

Please visit and bid on these beautiful one of a kind dresses and help out sweet little Phobe.

For those interested in buying the pattern and making one of your own, the dress is fun and very easy to make. As usual, CKC created another great pattern for beginners that can be completed pretty quickly. During the sew-along we did just a few steps each day.

First we made the straps.

Then we pieced together the skirt and added the ruffle.

I decided since the dress was for auction, I wanted a nicer way to finish the seams. I used french seams since I don’t own a serger. They were not all that difficult and I think they turned out nicely!

Then, we finished the bodice and added the straps.

Finally, we put them all together and finished up the dress.

I think the bow straps are so sweet.

If you would like to bid on my dress, visit here and place a bid between 6 AM (PST) Monday, August 5th and midnight (PST) Wednesday, August 7th. Thanks for stopping by!