Georgia Vintage Dress- Red Riding Hood Style

I have hundreds of patterns and not nearly enough time to sew them all.  So I often add new patterns to my mental "To Sew Soon" list, and then forget about them when the next must-have pattern comes along.  But the Georgia Vintage Dress from The Cottage Mama had been at the top of my list for quite some time.  This past August, there was a contest in their FB group to sew up one of their patterns, so I took the opportunity and created this little beauty!

 

I spent approximately 5 weeks (or maybe just 2 days, but that's still a ridiculously long time) choosing my fabrics and trims.  I'd been hoarding this Little Red Riding border print in the pink colorway for quite a while just waiting on the right project.  While I loved the border motif with the pink, I knew I wanted to pair it with red.  So I cut the cute pink with white polka dots portion off because I knew that the red gingham print was meant for this fabric.  I also knew I wanted to bring out the teal from the border print, so I decided to go with a teal bib and then add the lace hem tape to the bottom of the print.  The red satin sash and red shoes make everything pop.  I finished it off with a white Swiss dot for the collar, sleeves, and underskirt.  I adore how it all came together!

 

 

Let's talk about the actual pattern.  It is made for sizes 6m- Girls 10.  There are options for making it with or without the bib, with or without the underskirt, and with or without the ruffle sleeve.  The PDF is 42 pages with pages 20- 48 being the pattern pieces.  There was a lot of cutting and assembling, so be prepared!  However, there is a chart containing the skirt measurements if you prefer to just cut those out according to the measurements and not print/use the pattern pieces.  It could save you some ink and paper ;)  Her pattern pieces contain grainlines, notches, and other markings, so you know exactly how the pieces should be cut and sewn together.  Each step in the tutorial is accompanied by a clear, color photo so you can see exactly what to do.  Also included are cutting layouts, measuring charts, a list of suggested fabrics and necessary notions, fabric requirements, and design inspiration photos. 

 

 

The dress has been a HUGE hit every time she's worn it.  But if you were wondering if I placed in the contest, the answer is sadly no.  I was showcased as an honorable mention, though.  There were a lot of beautiful versions of this dress in the competition, so no hard feelings, haha!  And I loved the dress so much that I sewed up a version for my best friend's little girl using Michael Miller's Children at Play border print.  Maybe I can get her to send over a photo to share here.  It was just as gorgeous as this one :)   

 

 

 

Photographs courtesy of Leigh Ann Goodin Photography

 



Coffee Date Dress

Hello!  I recently came across a sew-along hosted by Project Sewn for the Coffee Date Dress by the Selfish Seamstress that's offered as a free pattern on the BurdaStyle website.  I've been wanting to try it for awhile, so I went for it. 

 

It was only my third time to sew up something for myself as I mostly sew for my daughter.  I'm not gonna lie, the idea of working with darts and an invisible zipper scared me, and I almost gave up before I began.  My sweet husband reminded me that I can sew anything, so I decided to keep going (It wasn't as sappy as that just sounded in real life).  I found a really in-depth sew-along from Bobbins of Basil that was just fabulous, and I really relied on her to hold my hand through it all since 99% of the patterns I sew are detailed and include lots of photographs. 

 

I decided to sew the pattern as is since it was my first go at it.  I used a green with navy damask print fabric I bought from JoAnn on sale last week.  I didn't want to ruin any of my nicer fabric should I have failed. 

 

The most difficult part for me were the darts.  I jumped ahead without paying attention to the fact that you don't actually cut the dart lines on the pattern.  Ooops.  Therefore I didn't really get the chance to play around with dart placement because I sort of had to sew that line up as is.  You live, you learn. 

 

But here's my finished product!  Yes, I look awkward in photographs, so forgive me :P  I never know what to do with my hands, lol! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'd like to thank my husband and 6-year old son for their exceptional photography skills ;) 

 

I really do love this dress.  It turned out even better than I thought it might.  I may have to give it another go with a solid top, print on bottom, and a fabric sash.  I think that would be cute, right? 

I'm ready for my coffee date now!

 

 

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Bugs!!

About a month ago, I decided to try a new idea out that I had seen someone talk about in a Facebook group I'm in. They had taken an applique of a jar of bugs and and removed the bugs from the design. Then a piece of vinyl was added and some small toy bugs were placed it. Super cute in theory!

I found a jar applique at Applique Alley and got to work. 

I went all over town trying to find some cheap toy bugs that were A) cute and B) flat enough to lay well under the vinyl.  I ended up finding some at Fred's (I think, but I went so many places I really don't remember).  Then I went to Wal-Mart (who did NOT have bugs) and bought some medium weight vinyl from their really fabulous new fabric department. 

It stitched really well, and I was super excited with the results!  



Until...Gabriel put it on and I realized that the vinyl had come apart from the stitching  :(  The bugs are kind of rubbery though, so there was enough friction against the vinyl to where they wouldn't fall out.  After all the work I put into it, I decided he was going to wear it at least once, even if it came apart on him, haha!  So he wore it on another trip to Wal-Mart (we go there a lot even though I am not a huge fan) and a lady actually stopped me to ask about his shirt.  I washed it and stuck the bugs back in, and it still seems to be wearable.  The vinyl lays flat against the shirt, so it isn't noticeable unless you are really looking.  I may try it again and see if I can attach the vinyl a little differently.