Frances and baby Janet matchy matchy

I decided to make Frances another sun dress after making her princess dress and thought I would give the free Oliver + s popover sundress a spin.

I used some pale pink with white spots cotton fabric which I picked up in Just Sew in Penrith a little while ago - it turned out to be thinner than I remember, but that doesn't really matter for a sun dress for a nearly 6 year old.  I also used some plain pink fabric for the yoke and ties.

I cut out the 6 year old size but left the 8 year old length, added some rickrack at the yoke edge and french seamed the side seams.

There's not a lot really to say about this dress, it's such a simple little pattern - well written and not very hard to sew.  I made continuous bias tape for the bias binding rather than using the pattern piece - basically to not eat into too much fabric.

I think it looks good on Frances and although she's not looking very happy about her dress in this photo - she does like it... 

and here's her "smile" to prove it...

 It went so well I thought I'd better make baby Janet a matching dress....

 I used the free doll popover sundress from Oliver + s this time - it's meant to be for an 18" doll so I took 1cm out of the centre front and back and the yoke.  I also removed about 1 cm from the top of the dress and a couple of cm off the length.  Luckily I had a bit of rickrack left, but went with shop-bought bias binding out of shear laziness.

wearing what I make - self drafted skirt x3

Now that the weather's better I'm able to start carrying through a promise I made to myself of not just wearing jeans all the time - but making an effort to wear more skirts.  My jeans are pretty much all worn out, and although I have a pattern and some denim to have a go at making my own jeans... I had a go many years ago, but it's time to do it again and make a staple in my wardrobe me-made.  I haven't got to them yet.  Anyway, back to now and the skirts. 

I think it was back when we were living in Norway in 2006/7 part of our TV package included fashion TV, or something similar and I would sit and watch some fashion shows when I was having my lunch (I was working from home at the time).  I watched a Tom Ford for YSL Rive Gauche show and saw this skirt....

I liked how it is a pencil skirt but loved the movement in the hem. 

A little later I came across this in a magazine (Don't ask me which one as I have no idea :-)) and thought I should give some pattern drafting a go.  I'd already made some self drafted slopers and this was an opportunity to test them out....

I ended up having three goes (or wearable muslins) and or course, it's so long ago I can't remember which order they were made it... but from how they fit I suspect this one was my first:

It's a bit baggy around the stomach/hip area and looks more A-line than the original inspiration.

I think this one was second:

It fits a bit better around the waist and I think is a bit flared.

And, finally I think this one was third:

None of them really look like my inspiration but they're all wearable.  I've still got the pattern I made so maybe I should have another go at some point and try to make one that's even closer to the original.... I think it needs to nip in more a couple of inches above the knee and then flare out to give the more dynamic shape needed rather than the pleasant enough, safe, A-line shape.

And this is also proof that I wear one of the sorbettos that I made in March 2014.

Princess dress

Not long ago I mentioned to Frances that I was planning to make her a new dress - she's now at the age that she likes to have a bit of input in what I make her so went away saying she was going to be a fashion designer and came back a little while later having drawn the following picture:

It's nice, isn't it?  Frances is 5 (6 in September) and I find it really interesting how she draws things.  Anyway, back to the dress.  She explained that she wanted it to have puffy sleeves (like a princess has) and be really long so that it covers her feet (again as this is apparently how princesses wear their dresses), she also wanted a flower on the front and bows around the bottom.  No pressure Mummy!

I explained that I had some spotty fabric that her Grandma had brought us last time she visited, so we were going to make it out of that - but I'd do my best on the other design elements.

I don't think I did too bad... I used the bodice from the Absolutely A-line book, sleeves from Burda 2463 with added band cuffs and the rest is two rectangles inspired by this free Boho Maxi dress pattern. 

It's unlined apart from facing in the bodice,

And the fashion designer's reaction?

This is her doing her princess pose (we probably should have brushed her hair too - but I guess she's going for the tousled princess look).  She would still like bows and flowers, but I'm trying to stall on that... I wonder if I could find or make her a flower broach.