Village Frock

In some ways the Village Frock pattern is at least partly to blame for my rather large pattern collection. I liked it when it came out but I wasn't sure if I was up to making it and wasn't up for paying I think $16.00 plus shipping for a pattern. My how things have changed but I digress. I also figured if I wanted it one day I would just buy it then. Then all of a sudden it was gone. Most of you know this story but for whatever reason of which there are many rumors Sugar City Patterns stopped existing and the Village Frock became one of the most sought after patterns in the sewing community. At one point I tried unsuccessfully to draft my own version and then sort of resigned myself to live without the frock. That is until a few months ago when a certain very nice online sewing friend offered to share her copy with me. Now usually I'm not much of a pattern sharer because I know how much work goes into drafting a pattern but being as the creator of this one is for whatever reason no longer trying to sell her pattern I was super excited.

I had to size it up a bit since her copy was for a size 2/3 and Emily is more of a 5 these days (insert sobbing sounds here) but it was easy to size up.

I used some super soft ballet print cord for my first attempt.  I like how it looks out of a heavier fabric but I will warn you that even with my good machine sewing the binding in place was a bit of a challenge with all the thick layers.

The only change I made was to leave off the button loops.  I put button holes in the binding instead.  I like the effect but those were not some easy holes to sew or buttons to sew on.  The buttons came from my Chez Ami grab bag and match the little roses in the print perfectly. 

So a big thank you to Jenny Jo it was so exciting for me to get to try out such a sought after pattern.  I think its a little too distinctive of a dress to have 2 of at once but I bet I'll give it another size up for next year.  The good news is its really easy to add width and length too since its really only 3 main pieces and 3 gathered ones.

doll clothes

I feel like I've been saying this too much lately but our family has been busy lately. I also haven't been sewing as much. I do have some recent doll clothes finished though. The first three sets are for the doll clothes swap on sewing mamas and the jeans are my second attempt at the Liberty Jane skinny jeans pattern that I bought last month.

This is for the swap though I did make the same dress for Emily's doll as well.  The dress if from Simplicity 4786 the only change I made was to bind the neckline instead of using facings.  I just don't like using a facing on a knit dress or top.

This is the skirt from Simplicity 5733.  I added the pockets from my Liberty Jane jeans patterns and a good bit of extra top stitching to make it look more like a girls jeans skirt.  The bones of the Simplicity pattern are just fine and the fit is really nice it just needed some details.

The shirt in this set is the free Liberty Jane tee with some length added to the sleeves.  The pants are from Simplicity 5733 view D again with extra details including the pockets for the jean jacket of the same pattern.  I made them before buying the Liberty Jane pattern.

This top is the Liberty Jane free tee again. 

These are for Emily's doll and to match a pair I made her for her SWAP.  They were made from the same pattern piece as the black pants.

Last but not least this is my second attempt at the Liberty Jane skinny jeans.  I think they turned out pretty well.  They take some time and I still don't have the back lined up quite perfectly but I'm pleased with.

My favorite part is that they have actual functional pockets.  I may add a touch of length next time though. 

tangled times 2

Emily got invited to one of her best friend's birthday parties this weekend.  I wanted to make the girls matching dresses and Emily wanted it to be purple since that is her friends favorite color.  I also didn't want to buy new fabric since I have so much cute little girl fabric in my stash.  This Tangled cord  only problem was that I only had 2 yards and its not even 45in wide.

I used the Carla C pattern for these.  Its a great little pattern.  My favorite part is that you pick the width and length separately so no fussing with adding length for my tallish and very skinny thing.  I made both the same size though so I hope the other one fits as well.

I really didn't have quite enough fabric so Emily's dress has a seam down the back.  I think I have just enough for the 18in doll version but I haven't had time to make one just yet.  Soon I hope.

The Last Pattern

I've been very busy lately so I don't have much new to show you. I do have a pile of half finished doll clothes for a swap that I will hopefully finish in time. I also have some jumpers and an dress that I haven't managed to catch a single picture of Emily in yet. Oh well life is full of good things around here. I've also been trying to figure out what I have learned in my year of very limited pattern buying. Here's what I know so far.

• It's helped me learn to stop and think before I snap up a cute pattern for a project that I have no time for.
• I haven't bought any patterns just because they were on sale.  That's particularly good bc when I buy them on sale I usually end up getting one that I really wanted and several that I never would have gotten otherwise.
• I've gotten to make quite a few things that I have been meaning to make forever
• I think I'm really starting to appreciate my Otto collection but I don't plan to ask for a subscription this Christmas.
• I still have quite a few unused patterns that I really love.

 This one was special though.  I saw a version of it on Sew Weekly out of fabric that I have in my stash and was smitten.  Of course I could not find it in my size and since its only from 1976 I decided to wait around instead of trying to size up or down.  A little part of me was hoping that I would not find it until next year but when this one popped up I decided that it was worth adding one more to my count for the year. 

Emily's SWAP

Sewing Mama's hosted an Ottobre Sewing With a Plan or SWAP contest last month.  The rules for SWAPs very but this one was fairly simple.  You had to make 3 tops, 3 bottoms, and 2 additional pieces.  Since Ottobre sponsored the contest 2 tops and 2 bottoms had to be made with Otto patterns.  Also the pieces all needed to work with each other.  After all the idea is that you create a wardrobe for one person.

Here is my large entry photo.  I went with a pink and green theme since I had a few of these fabrics on had that worked well together already.  I still ended up buying new fabric though.  OH well!  I also choose to make all the bottoms pants because I really wanted Emily to learn to wear pants at least some of the time.  As it turns out most of her friends this year wear pants to school so its been no problem at all.

I didn't get a great picture but this is a bishop dress modified to be a tunic.  Its made with Dr Seuss fabric so Emily is pleased.  She is really into The Cat and The Hat Knows A Lot About That.  I like it too because it makes the bishop style more wearable.

These are ruffle pants made with minky fabric.  They are so soft and cuddly that if I thought I could pull it off I'd make myself a pair.

This princess and frog fabric inspired the collection.  This top is made from the muffin tunic pattern which was one of the first otto patterns that I ever used.  When I made the first one she wore the smallest size.  This one is the largest size.

I added this caption to the back of her little girl with glasses shirt because it bugs me that so many if not all of the kids shirts with glasses also say nerdy or geeky or something like that.  Don't get me wrong my baby girl is smart but I don't really like suggesting that its OK to call her a nerd.

I sort of want a pair of these too.

Here is the stencil on the front of her shirt.  The little girl and the glasses were both done with my Silhouette cutting system and freezer paper.  I just layered them together so she could have glasses like Emily.

If you think you've seen this pattern before like in my previous two posts your right.  This was the first pair though and I really wasn't sure if I would like them or not.  I'm so glad I took the chance.

I hope you like my SWAP collection. I really enjoyed this type of sewing and hope to do it again in the spring. If I ever get around to it I plan to add a few more pieces to this as well but my project list is huge at the moment. Here is the link to my SWAP on sewing mamas and here is the link to the whole forum. If you get the time everyone did great work and I bet you would enjoy looking over them all.

oh well make that 4

Hi ladies, I'm working on a big SWAP post for you and also working on some other things so forgive my lack of posting. I wanted to acknowledge my climbing purchase number though. It should hold tight at 4 for the rest of the year now but I felt good about my two recent purchases. I got the Liberty Jane skinny jeans pattern for Emily's doll Emma and bc I'm participating in a doll swap and I got a vintage pattern that I've been looking for for quite some time. I will try to do some more in depth posts about my year of very little pattern buying but for now I will say that I know I've saved quite a lot of money on patterns this year. I'm also getting better at really thinking about my pattern purchases.