Little Dresses, Five and Six

Here are the last two Little Dresses for Africa pillowcase dresses that I am making (hallelujah!)  Just in time since I have to take them to a meeting on Wednesday where they will be collected with others and sent off to their new owners.  While making these dresses I've tried to imagine what it must be like for a little girl who may have never even had any new clothes, let alone a pretty dress, to receive one of these as a gift. 

This little yellow dress is fairly simple, with patch pockets I drew myself on a piece of paper and a bouquet of little yoyo flowers at the neck.  Here's a closer shot of those:

I used my Clover yoyo makers for this project, and they really do save time and effort when making yoyos.  The one piece of advice I will give is this; when taking your stitches around the perimeter of the yoyo, try to place your needle as close to the folded edge as possible.  This will make for a much nicer inner circle when you draw up the stitches to close the yoyo.

I've saved my favorite for last.  This dress uses some of the same pink fabric from the yellow one above.  I made a gathered strip of fabric and sewed it around the hem (I made a narrow hem along both edges before gathering, a time-consuming task which would be better accomplished, I think, using a serger and a rolled hem).  I used my ruffler attachment to gather the strip before stitching it to the dress.  The pockets are a simple rounded bottom affair with the top edge slightly gathered and then bound with the same bias binding I used to make the ties.  I added another ruffle along the neckline to tie in with the one at the hem.  You can see that better in this image:

I hope you've enjoyed seeing my Little Dresses, and I hope these posts will inspire you to make a few of your own.  They are a great little canvas for some of your creative ideas.

I've actually been sewing a little for myself recently, and in my next post I will share a dress I have made for a very special occasion.  See you next week.

Little Dresses, Four

Getting tired of these Little Dresses yet?  You might not be the only one :-)  Here's number four with some flowers I had left over from number 3 appliqued on the pockets and at the neckline.  Oversized buttons really add some character.  The zigzag stitch along the hem is bobbin work done with perle cotton in the bobbin.  It is a simple zig zag but makes a really nice trim, one that is very visible without a lot of effort.

Summer is winding to a close; my August Break is over.  My kids have one more week before their school starts and I'm looking forward to having a little more free time for some sewing.  I hope all of you had a lovely summer and are looking forward to the "new beginning" feeling that always comes with the start of a new school year.  See you soon.

Little Dresses, Three

Another pillowcase dress for the Little Dresses project.  This one features fused applilque flowers with vintage ric rac stems and trim.  Using up lots of little bits and pieces for these projects feels really great.  Just finished up #4 and will take pictures when the light is better so I can share that one with you later in the week.

Those of you who have read my blog know that I really love Natalie Chanin and her work and have written about her here, here and here.  Both of her books, Alabama Stitch and Alabama Studio Style are currently on sale at Amazon for $14 each.  This is a great deal for two beautifully put together hardcover books.  You can find the link to Alabama Stitch here and Alabama Studio Style here.  Order them both and the shipping is free.  You will be inspired and delighted by these books.

Little Dresses, Two

I finished my second Little Dress for Africa (if you missed the first one, you can find it here).  For this dress I made a couple of pockets from an old pattern I have (I made myself a jumpsuit back in the 80's with this style pocket -- imagine that!)  I really like the design of this pocket though the pattern piece looks pretty funky and it is hard to imagine how it will come together.

The pocket ends up with two tie ends that form the shape of the pocket when tied.  I added a little more interest to the dress by sewing navy ric rac around the hem and hand embroidering a simple little flower design on the neckline.

I hope everyone on the east coast is safely tucked away inside during Hurricane Irene, and all of my readers have electricity and internet access to read my day's post!  Take care.

Little Dresses, One

My ASG group is making Little Dresses for Africa.  This is my first.  I have the pillowcases and plans for a total of 8 but given that the meeting is tomorrow I guess I'm not going to get them all done in time.  Slow and steady wins the race?

I have two of these extra long pillowcases so I cut off several inches on the top of the second one to use as pockets on the two dresses.  Each flower is fused to the dress (there are three on the back hem, too) and then zigzag-stitched down.  The buttons are hand sewn.  The decorative stitching above the hem was done using perle cotton and bobbinwork.  The stitch is a simple zigzag.  Love that technique.

Even if I don't get them done in time for tomorrow's meeting, I will post pics as I finish these up.  They are a fast and fun project (and for a good cause).  You can get the full instructions here on Nancy's Notions site.