Recent Sewing Projects

Yes, I've been sewing!  I've had lots of projects lately, from sewing something for myself, to sewing things for others.  First up:

 

The Claire Cami Dress pattern from Sew Serendipity.  I've made it once before, in a longer version, but this time I decided to make a shorter version for summer.

 

I already had all the fabrics in my stash, so I didn't have to go out and buy anything!  It's hard to tell in the photos, but the fabric is light blue with delicate little roses scattered across it.  I used a pink floral for the hem band and waist tie, and a green print for the waistband and hem ruffle.

 

It's a simple dress to sew and goes together very quickly.  No zipper or button openings--just slide it over your head and adjust the waist ties to fit.

 

I love this dress!  I get compliments on it every time I wear it.  I would highly recommend this pattern if you are looking for something easy and summery to wear this season.

 

Next on the list:  A friend asked if I could sew a crib skirt, diaper stacker, and valance for her new grandbaby.  She gave me the fabric, and this is what resulted:

 

Diaper stacker--how adorable is this?  I love the pink elephant fabric and coordinating brown dots.  My friend bought these fabrics at JoAnn's, if you're curious.  I used a commercial pattern for this (maybe Simplicity?), but I forgot to write it down and have since returned it to my friend.

 

The crib skirt--my, oh my, was there a lot of ruffling involved on this project!  Since my friend didn't know which side of the baby's crib would be showing, we decided to attach a ruffled skirt along each side of the mattress base fabric.  Easy project, but it took FOREVER to gather and stitch all those ruffles!

 

Here is a better view of it lying flat on the ground.

 

 

Matching valance.  The easiest piece of the project to sew, but still took a while because of the amount of fabric involved.  The window it is intended for is six feet wide, which meant that the valance had to be twelve feet wide!  It is backed with white fabric to give it a better drape and protection from fading.  The 1 1/2" casing runs about 2 1/2" below the header.

 

Remember this sweet, little Bye-lo baby which I sewed a bonnet for last year?  The owner wanted me to make her a slip from an old hankie with a pretty, tatted lace edging.

 

Another simple project.  Just a front and a back, gathered to a waistband.  The sides are French seamed, and the waistband lining is sewn down by hand over the raw edges.

 

The back has a placket, and fastens with a hook & eye closure.  Isn't that tatting beautiful?

 

I picked this pattern up at a local JoAnn's sale, and have since started making the doll's dress.  I plan on making SIX of them, since I have six, 18" dolls I want to list on Ebay, and they are currently standing around in their birthday suits.  I think they'll sell better with a cute dress, so that is what I hope to accomplish in the next day or so.  The little girl's dress is awfully sweet, too--that may be a future project for my Sophie.

 

Doesn't this reprint of a vintage Simplicity pattern just make your teeth hurt, it's so sweet?!  Since I have a grandson, I will be making view B, in the bottom right hand corner.  The red dalmation fabric just cried out to be paired with the black plaid, don't you think?  My grandbaby will be visiting this weekend, so I hope to get to this one soon!  And if it turns out as cute as I think it will, then I may make the girl's version with all the ruffles on the bum, just to put away and keep for a future grand-daughter.  Or give as a shower gift.

 

And last, but not least, I had my doll club meeting today, and the hostess had this lovely painting on her wall which I couldn't stop drooling over:

 

I couldn't figure out the artist's name, but I believe it was painted in the 1850's-1860's.  How gorgeous is that dress?  I would love to try recreating this for a doll.

 

So much fabric, so little time...!