Hello Kitty Christmas!

Peighton in the fabric store usually costs me money.

She likes to pick things out.

A LOT of things.

 

I don't usually do much (other than pajamas) with character fabric.

I just don't love it.

I often tell Peighton that there "just isn't enough for a dress."

 

But when she saw this Hello Kitty fabric she asked me with very hopeful eyes if "there was enough for a dress."

 

I told her "maybe" knowing that I was probably going to have to do it...

 

So, I did.

And I don't mind it too much.

 

 

 

I cut off a t-shirt and added a very full skirt to it-her favorite kind. ;-)

 

And I thought a little flower with a peppermint button in the middle would be pretty cute too.

 

Preston was "dozing" the dress while I was trying to take a picture.

Boys...

 



Peighton's new favorite dress

I don't know why I haven't made a dress like this before!

From start to finish I think it took me 10 minutes.

And now she doesn't want to take it off!

I took a T-shirt from Target and cut 4 inches off the bottom.

Then, I added a skirt to the bottom and a cute little fabric flower.

And she told me "That's awesome mommy!" :-)

Preston thought he should be in the picture too....although it looks like he is modeling his socks in this picture because that's all he would put on!

I am sure there will be lots more dresses like this one in the future!

Summer Sundress

We are always in need of dresses around here.

Why?

Because Princess Peighton will ONLY wear dresses and her mommy gets tired of seeing her in the same ones all the time!

And when I can whip one up in just a little time why not?

She loves to help pick out the colors and fabrics too so that makes it even more fun.

I saw THIS sweet summer sundress on You Can Make This (Love that site BTW!)

We thought it would make a great addition to our summer wardrobe!

I liked that it had no zippers, buttons, snaps, or any other type of closures too-that means it is quick to make and easy for little ones to get on and off by themselves.

Peighton helped me pick some fabrics out and she played Barbies while I threw this one together during Preston's morning nap!

It was super quick to put together.

And if you  notice, our dress is slightly different from the one pictured in the pattern.

That would be because my little designer-in-training rearranged the pieces of the dress and told me to do it that way!

HA!

Love her.

And I love that she has an opinion about it!

Great pattern-very geared toward beginning seamstresses.

I think the next one we make will be in knit.

We seem to love knit dresses around here!

And she also tells me that Nellie needs one (her American Girl).
Mommy will get right on that.

A new dress for Peighton

My inspiration for this dress came from Me Sew Crazy. I ADORE her blog.  So many fun things to make!

This little number caught my eye and I could not stop thinking about it!  I do love orange and blue so that might have helped a little.  That bow in the middle is simple lovely though.

I did not use her pattern, I had another similar one already cut out and I didn't want to print out another one. So, it's very similar and I'm sure her pattern is great, I just used my own.
I did not like how the arms are finished though.  Next time I might use some bias tape made out of the main fabric or something else.

I loved the bow in the middle and the classy little pleats in the skirt of it.  We had to have one.

Here is what ours looks like:

I simply adore the belt and bow in the center. fabulous.

The buttons down the back are pretty great too.

And since Miss Peighton will ONLY wear dresses I am sure this one is going to get worn a lot!

I think I am going to make another one with the classic "school-girl" pleats on the skirt for lots of twirling fun!

Or maybe add some pockets, or a sweet little apron. 

So many options!

Upcycled T-shirt dresses!

I must be feeling Green lately-I did another recycled clothing project and this one might be my favorite so far!

I used the Sienna T Shirt dress from Lil Blue Boo as a pattern.  Great pattern as far as the pieces but to be honest I never opened the file that has the directions!  I've made enough shirts like this that I didn't want to read the directions-I just wanted to start cutting!

When I was at Goodwill looking for my Men's shirts for this project I also picked up a bunch of fun T shirts with The Sienna pattern in mind!  I found some great ones!  The four leaf clover with Cy in the middle is probably my favorite!

The only semi-difficult/annoying part of this dress was doing the neck.  I took my seam ripper to the original neck line so I could use it again.  I dislike seam ripping.  But the end result was worth it and looks really good.  I had to make it smaller to use the old neckline though. 

Here is my first attempt:

She LOVES it (as do I!!!!) and I am probably going to have to wrestle this one off her to wash it!

The pink stripes were left over knit from another project and there wasn't much left-that is why the stripes are vertical on the chest part but I really like it!

One of the best parts about using old T-Shirts is that you use the original sleeve for the new, smaller sleeve, which means the sleeve is already hemmed for you! Bonus.

The one on the left of this picture is one I learned from but I will share anyway.  The design on the shirt was too far up, like right at the neckline.  So, part of the design ended up in the neckline.  It's just ok-nowhere near as cute as the green and pink one!  But still a good play dress for this summer.

And the dress on the right was my second attempt at making a dress out of a Men's shirt like I did here yesterday.  Still needs hemmed (that is one crazy LONG men's shirt) but I want to try it on Peighton before I hem it.  I even used some of the leftover purple stripes from the first dress!

I got quite a few more T-shirts that I'll be hacking up someday soon-I can't wait!

I even got some boy-ish t-shirts to make into hoodies for my little guy! 

I would definately recommend this pattern-it is quick, fairly easy, and uses up old T-shirts you probably have laying around!

A little upcycled love!

 Peighton and I were both getting sad that her adorable monogrammed shirt had suddenly turned into a belly shirt-she is getting so tall!!!!

So, I decided to do a bit of upcycling-and (thanks to my fabric hoarding tendencies) I still had some of the Amy Butler fabric that is in the "F." YAY! 

 I cut off a bit of the bottom because I wanted it to be kind of high-waisted, added a skirt and attached a bow.  And we have a new and fabulous summer frock! 

It was a very quick project and I can't wait to see Peighton wear it!  

I saved the part of the shirt for some matching accessories-stay tuned for those!!!!

Dreaming of summer days

While there are like 14ish inches of snow outside I am warm and cozy sewing inside!

I was looking through my patterns a few days ago, finding things to make and came across Simplicity 3503 dress pattern.  I had been meaning to make it awhile back but never got around to it.
It made me think of warm days and summer and it seemed like a great project for a snow day!

I love dresses.  Mostly just casual ones to wear while out and about with the kiddos during the day.  But sometimes I have a hard time finding them to fit me right.  I don't think I've ever made myself a dress, especially not a knit one so I really didn't know how this was going to go!

I cut the pieces out last night while Dustin was giving the short ones baths.  I did a little of the sewing last night, but did most of it during naptime today.  It didn't take me nearly as long as I thought it would.

I loved the fact that I could make certain parts of it longer or shorter depending on how I wanted it. The pattern was pretty easy and I kind of made my own directions at some parts but it turned out great!

Here is a picture of it.  I did try it on but I am not going to put my pasty-whiteness on here for the world to see!  It looks fab with some strappy brown heels I have!!!

Both the front and the back have a V shape to them.  It's really cute on-you'll have to look at the pattern picture to see though!

I think the fabric was about $8.00 a yard.  It took a little less than 2 yards.  So for about $16.00 (and a few hours of my time) I just made a really fabulous dress.  I bought a similar one from Express recently for $59! 

I love it and I think I might try the halter version from the same pattern next.   I'm going to be ready for summer in no time!