I'm Ba-ack!

I'm not great at posting ultra-regularly... But good grief, it's been almost 40 days! We've had a lot going on since my last post on April 15. We had all the family in our home for Easter, then we were out of town the next week for vacation (Universal Studios Orlando - super fun!), and had my parents in town again for Mother's Day weekend. My crafting space is usually the kitchen table, so with all that company, I had to keep the table clear for actual meals! Well, the company is all gone, so it's time to junk the house up with crap crafts again!!!

Speaking of Mother's Day, I only had one request for a gift from my husband. I found a book called Making Children's Clothes by Emma Hardy, and desperately wanted it. And yes, I got it! Here's a brief look inside, along with my first completed project.

 There are only a few projects sized for infants, including these cute bloomers, and several accessories (a bib, knit cap, and shoes). Most of the clothing items are for toddlers and preschoolers, sized by age 2-5 - the title is Making Children's Clothes, after all.

The author has two daughters of her own, so it's no surprise that most of the clothes are for girls. But there are three items designed for boys. Of course, they can be adapted for girls, too, depending on the fabric and trimmings used.

In all, there are 25 projects: 3 babywear patterns, 4 shirts, 4 pants, 3 skirts, 3 dresses, 3 sleepwear patterns, and 5 accessories. When I saw the skirt below, I fell in love, and knew I had to make it one day for my daughter. How gorgeous is it!?!

I chose a simple project to start with, this reversible hat.

 The book includes full size patterns, on two double-sided sheets. Rather than cutting them out, you need to trace each piece you want to use.

I found a pad of 11"x14" tracing paper for $5.99 at Hobby Lobby. It was easy to see the color-coded pattern pieces to be traced, and the tracing paper held up well to being repeatedly pinned to fabric.

My fabric is from Joann's. And I always buy iron-on interfacing 2 yards at a time, so I have it when I need it.

Everything cut out and ready to sew.

Here's one side:

And the reverse:

I did make one slight change to the original instructions. I stitched additional rows to the hat's brim. The striped fabric I used was a little flimsy after it was washed, and I felt it needed just a bit more stability. Plus, it's just cute!

And of course, my almost 18-month-old wiggle-worm is not a fan of cooperation these days. Here I am trying to get her to pose with the hat on. A bit of a losing battle.

I did manage to get one shot of her in the hat, even if her hair was everywhere! The next day, she wore it around the house for about an hour, but was the camera handy?

I have a few more project in the works. Next up is a skirt for me! And I've decided to do some hand stitching on a dress for Annelise. It's taking a while, so I'm hoping it's finished before she outgrows it!!! In the meantime...

Happy crafting,

Julie