The Cottage Mama's Vintage Ruffle Pants Pattern

Several days ago, I promised to share with you more about the pants Ella is wearing with her Sewing Mama RaeAnna Bumblebee Top.  I've been sick with an awful cold and have fallen behind in my blogging! Please forgive me!

These wonderful, unique, great fitting pants were made using the Vintage Ruffle Capris pattern found in the new Cottage Mama book, Sew Classic Clothes for Girls.

When my husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday last month, Lindsay's book was at the top of my list.  I've known Lindsay for a while but finally met her in person a few months ago when she was teaching a class at the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion.  I didn't take her class, but I did get a firsthand tour of her classroom which was full of her beautiful, one-of-a-kind creations including the garments used in her new book.  Seeing these pieces in person and then having to wait weeks for the book to be available for purchase was pure torture!  There are so many things in this book that I want to make, and I was super eager to get started.

The book finally arrived at the end of October, and I wasted no time reading it from cover to cover in one sitting.  I literally read every word and learned some valuable new sewing tips along the way. The first pattern that I just had to make were the Vintage Ruffle Capris lengthened roughly 4" to make my daughter a pair of Vintage Ruffle Pants!

The details of this design transform an otherwise simple pair of excellent fitting pants into something special.  These pants aren't baggy or skinny, but they are just right!  And the ruffle detail at the bottom is so sweet!

Now on to the unique front pockets.  I've never seen a design like this.  The scalloped edge paired with the contrasting fabrics make this design stand out among others.

And that rear ruffled pocket with that same little scalloped edge!  Love it!  I'm normally not a big fan of lots of ruffles, but these Vintage Ruffle Pants paired with the Bumblebee Top just make me smile.

Now to get busy deciding what I'll make next from the Cottage Mama's book Sew Classic Clothes for Girls--maybe a coat or the Ruffle Sleeve A-Line Dress. Decisions, decisions!

Thanks for stopping by today, and have fun sewing!

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.


  

     

Ruffle Neck Romper Tutorial

Well, several of you asked for it, so here it is!  (Now, just imagine party horns blowing and balloons falling from the sky)!

I finally put together a tutorial on how to make a Ruffle Neck Romper like the one I made here a few months ago.  I apologize for it taking me so long to finish, but better late than never.  Right?!

First of all, let me just say that I am excited to have readers and followers of the blog so interested in something I've made that you want to know how I did it.  That's just so cool!

I first got the idea to make a Ruffle Neck Romper when I saw this one in a Kelly's Kids Catalog a friend gave me.

Kelly's Kids Play Date Romper 

I then looked through all the store bought and e-patterns I own to see if any had a ruffle neck feature so I could read the directions on how to do this, but to my disappointment, I didn't have one.  Then I searched online and only found a couple (at the time) of e-patterns offered for sale, but I kept thinking to myself that it couldn't be that difficult to make.  I mean, it's just a pretty basic peasant/pillowcase top pattern with a ruffle added on.  So I went to bed that night and fell asleep trying to figure this out, and when I woke up the next morning, I had it!

I then remembered seeing a pattern in my stash for a cute little pillowcase style romper that I had purchased at Joann's when they had Simplicity patterns on sale for 99 cents.  I hadn't tried it out yet, but all that was about to change!  The pattern was Simplicity 1903 View C.

I'm sure other romper patterns would work for this as well, but this is the one I happened to have on hand.

Ok, are you ready to get started with how I took this Simplicity pattern and made it into this adorable Ruffle Neck Romper?

Here we go!  

The first time I made this romper, I cut out the pattern using size 4T for Ella. At the time, that is what she had been wearing so I thought it would be a perfect fit.  Some things I didn't take into consideration though were how the shirred waist and the elastic in the ruffle neckline would make the romper rise up.  Although the first romper fit, I always felt like it was a little short in the rise, so to remedy this, I decided to cut out the pattern this time using the size 6 pattern (keeping in mind that the finished romper will be a size 4T)! And I must say that the newest romper fits like a dream.  I'm much more pleased with the fit than I was with the first one.

So, I would definitely recommend cutting out at least one size larger than you would normally if you are using this pattern for this Ruffle Neck Romper version.

Also, I didn't want the top to have a seam down the middle, so I cut out the top front and back on the fold of the fabric.  Just remember to exclude the seam allowance for this center seam (5/8" + 5/8" = 1 1/4") at the fold (not at the side seams).  

Now, sew the romper according to the pattern directions except leave off the ruffle around the waist, don't hem the neckline, and don't put in elastic on the leg openings (unless you want to).  

I added two rows of shirring (spaced 1/2" apart) at the waist seam to cinch the romper.  I strongly recommend using Stretch Rite elastic thread for your shirring.

This is now what your romper should look like.

Wasn't that so much easier than you thought it would be?  Now you know how to add a ruffle neck to any basic peasant top or dress pattern or even just a basic pillowcase dress pattern.  

And the width of the ruffle can be easily adjusted to fit your taste or style.  I just like the look of a 3 to 3 1/2" ruffle on this romper.  Any wider and it reminds me of a clown for some reason!

Oh, and if you are wondering about the fabric, it is a Little Lisette fabric called Watercolor.  I purchased it from Joann's off the clearance isle.  It's so soft and smooth feeling and the perfect weight for this outfit.  My daughter loves the pink and the flowers.

If you decide to make one of these lovely rompers for your lovely little girl, please send me a photo when your finished.   My email is sewvery(at)gmail(dot)com.

Thanks for stopping by!  

This tutorial if for personal use only and it may not be reproduced or copied in part or whole without my expressed written consent.  

Reversible Halter Top Shirt

Hello?!  Anybody out there?  Oh, hi!  Sorry I haven't been blogging lately, but I'm back now.  Hope everyone is doing well and busy making something sewVery fun this week!

In fact, I made this Reversible Halter Top Shirt a couple of weeks ago, but I just had not gotten around to making some decent photos of my daughter wearing it.  Finally, she decided she wanted to wear it today and was agreeable (just barely) to a photo shoot!  I love this next picture.  This one's for you, Daddy!  War Eagle!

If you've read my blog before, you may already know that I am an Auburn University graduate and fan.  My entire family, except for my dear husband, graduated from Auburn.  As for my husband, he went to that other school in Alabama!  Anyway, I've been wanting to make Ella something using this Auburn University licensed fabric for a while, but I never could think of a way to use it that I would like.  That is until now!

This is the perfect top to play (or watch) a little football in!

After making the retro halter top a few weeks ago using my original 1975 version as a go-by, I decided to make the top a little less revealing and add a skirted bottom to it.  To make it even more interesting, I decided to make the entire top reversible!  I am in love with it, and apparently so are a few of my Facebook friends.  I posted pictures of it there the night I made it and had several friends immediately say they would love to have one.  I'm even trying to alter the halter top part to fit a grown up, which is more difficult to do than I thought it might be.  Little girls are so much easier to sew for!

Oh, no!  Grass in her shoe!

See, this shirt is great for doing heavy lifting and yard work, too!

Anyway, here it is!  Ella's Reversible Halter Top Shirt!  I love both sides, and Ella just happened to already have a pair of navy gingham capri pants that match it perfectly.  I made the flower barrette using my Felt Fabric Flower tutorial found here.  Ella has a matching flower pin that I thought would be cute on the waistband of the shirt on the navy side, but she wouldn't let me put it on there today.  Oh, well!

This picture pretty much sums up her attitude about switching the top around mid-photo shoot!  You gotta love her though, and I wouldn't trade her for a thing in the world.

Hope you like this top as much as I do!  If so, let me know and leave a comment.  I love hearing from you all!