St. Patrick's Day Shirt & Ruffle Pants

Well, another holiday is almost here, and it's the perfect excuse for me to use my embroidery machine to stitch up a cute design for a t-shirt for Ella.  Oh, and of course, she needs some new ruffle bottom pants to go with the shirt.  Right?  I'm sure my daughter is in no need of new clothing, but I just love sewing and making fun things for her to wear.  You know what?  She really loves it, too!

Anyway, I stitched up this shabby four leaf clover from Planet Applique in 10 minutes using my Brother PE770 embroidery machine.  I think this is the simplest embroidery project I've done yet!  The only thing I wish I had done differently is position the design a little higher up on the shirt, but oh, well!  It's still adorable and perfect for St. Patrick's Day!

I used medium weight (Pellon No. 40) cut away stabilizer on the back, plus I doubled my fabric by using a piece of white flannel behind each print to give the edges more fluff when they were snipped.  I've tried using other fabrics like white cotton or muslin, but so far, I prefer to use the flannel.

Now it's been forever since I've made Ella a pair of ruffle bottom pants, so I took this opportunity to whip her up a new pair to match the St. Patrick's Day shirt.  I used McCall's M6530 pattern, View D.

These pants were made using the size 4T length and the size 5T width and stride measurements.  I also added a second ruffle by cutting it out 1" shorter than the pattern ruffle measurement and in the same pink fabric I used on the t-shirt.

Finally, I hemmed the ruffles using the rolled hem settings on my serger.  Stitch a label on there and call it done!

These were super easy and fun to sew together, so I know I'll be using this McCall's pattern again and again.  Ella loves these pants and already wants another pair!  Great!  More sewing for me!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Linking up at the parties shown below as well as others listed here.


  

     

Vintage Patterns and an Antique Thread Case

This past weekend, we traveled out of town to visit with family "back home" where my husband and I grew up.  While there, I found an old box of sewing patterns that once belonged to my mom (and some to my grandmother). Most were for things she had made me.  I picked out some of my favorites and brought them back to my current home in case I want to make Ella a vintage outfit.

Here's what I found...

I'm pretty sure I have a pink skirt with suspenders made from the Simplicity pattern at the top right.  It's stored somewhere deep in Ella's closet right now or else I'd get it out to make a picture.  It has some condition issues, so I never made Ella wear it.

My favorite find is Simplicity 6124--the top with the peplum.  Ella just wears a size 3/4 now, so I guess I'll have to wait to try that one out unless I decide to do some pattern resizing.  After the sewing day I've had today, I think that won't happen any time soon.

The top two patterns here are a couple more of my favorites.  The maxi dress is so cute, so that is going on the to do list as well, and I just love the dress/top from the Simplicity 5483 pattern. My mom used to sew for other people, and I think that is where all three of these patterns came from.  

Ok, these three patterns were definitely my moms.  I had the wrap around skirt, the long skirt with big pockets, and the dress with the ties at the shoulder.  Skirts with fitted waists were always hard to fit on me because my natural waist is not much smaller than my hips.  Still have that same problem today.

This group of patterns brings back the most memories, probably because they were things my mom made me in high school and the first year or two of college.  We loved the Laura Ashley patterns (there's another one that I didn't find) and made them all numerous times.  For some reason, we called the romper a bubble romper.  I'm not sure if that is what everyone else called them back then or if that was just something my mom and I made up!

These dresses/jumpers were so large and loose fitting that I wore them years later when I was pregnant with Connor!  They worked great until the last month or two of my pregnancy when I outgrew the bust!  They are all now neatly packed away in my attic.  

Whew!  What a stroll down memory lane!  I love the memories though, and am so thankful to have them!

Just before we left "back home", my mother-in-law told me her sister had left me an antique thread display case if I wanted it.  I didn't hesitate to answer "yes!", and we managed to fit it safely into the trunk of my car for the 6 hour return drive.  It was already wrapped up for travel, so I didn't even see it until the day after we were home and unpacked.  It's made of all metal except for the front glass.  I've searched for an exact one online to try and determine its approximate age and value, but I haven't found one like it yet.  I know it's not a one-of-a-kind because my mother-in-law has one exactly like it!  

Thanks, Jeannie, for this wonderful treasure.  I promise to use it and take good care of it!  

What goodies have you found or been given lately?  I love making old things new again.

One of My Favorite Patterns

A few months back, I picked up this Chelsea Andersen pattern (M6062) put out by McCall's.  I had just started sewing again and wanted an easy peasant style shirt/dress pattern to make my daughter something cute. First of all, the two little girls on the cover are adorable, and the fabrics I thought were so cute in pink and green.

And although it doesn't have Easy written on the front of the pattern, it really is easy to make.  As you can image, there are no complicated steps required to put together a peasant top or dress, but for someone new to sewing, this pattern clearly outlines what you need to do.  Very simple instructions to follow.  Love it!

Since it was approaching fall, I decided to make my dear daughter top A in cotton quilting fabric I had picked up at Joann's. I had a remnant in the perfect teal green corduroy to match the top, so I whipped up some pants, too.  I think I didn't have quite enough of the corduroy to do two rows of ruffles on the pants, so I just opted for one.  I also extended the sleeve length a few inches to be a 3/4 length.

And I had been wanting to learn how to make a fabric flower, so I searched online for some tutorials.  Of course I came across a ton, and now I don't even remember which ones I used, but I made a couple of fabric flowers--one I turned into a big barrette and the other a pin to attach to the top or a purse.

Here is the fabric flower pin.  Sometimes she wears it on the waistband on the side or the middle, but most often she doesn't wear it.  I still think it is cute.  I had thought she could also pin it to this cute brown corduroy purse I made her, but she hasn't let me do that yet.

 

To date, of all the outfits I have made for Ella, this is the one that I favor most.  Apparently, so does everyone else!  Whenever she wears this, people go out of their way to stop us and tell us how pretty she looks or how cute her outfit is.  That is such a good feeling.  I can't believe I haven't made any pictures of her wearing it though!  Ugh!

Because this first attempt at McCall's Pattern M6062 was such a success, I decided to make Ella's Christmas nightgown from the same top but with some modifications. First of all, I went with a full length sleeve, then I left of the elastic waistband, and I made the overall top longer so it would be more like a dress.  This is the best picture of her in it that I could find.  She had just woken up Christmas morning!

Again, this pattern produced a winner!  She loved the gown, which I made using some vintage holiday themed fabric from my mom's stash.  I even had enough to make Ella a matching pillowcase.

Even though it is way past Christmas, she still likes wearing the gown and using the pillowcase!

Around the same time I made the Christmas gown, I purchased some designer fabrics from a local store.  I thought they were so cute.  Owls seem to be so popular right now, and the light blue color was a nice departure from the mostly pink/purple wardrobe Ella has.  I made another outfit--top and pants--just like the first very popular outfit, but to my disappointment, Ella is not as fond of the fabric as I am.  She has worn it maybe three times since I made it, and it always takes some coaxing on my part to get her into it.  Oh, well.

I even matched up the plaids!   I can't understand why she doesn't like it! Aren't owls cute?

And finally, I made her another nightgown like the Christmas one.  In fact, it was the very first thing I ever blogged about here.  The Valentine gown.  The fabric is so fun and playful, and of course, pink!  She loves this gown and wears it often.  

So, if you are in the market for a great peasant top/gown/dress pattern, I highly recommend the McCall's M6062 by Chelsea Andersen.  I've yet to make Dress B on the pattern, but that is on my to do list for this spring.  I have a feeling Ella is going to love it, too.

Happy Wednesday everyone!