A Sockin' good time

Originally, I'd planned for my daughter to wear her "Rotten to the Core" Hoodie (remix version) to her Descendants-themed birthday party, but a few weeks out, my husband upstaged me with a much-desired Mal Tutu dress from Wal-mart (sigh...) I couldn't blame him, though - my daughter had been asking for months, so when he saw one in her size, he snapped it up.

Of course, that's what she wanted to wear to her birthday party instead. But, when the going gets tough the tough get creative; My daughter's birthday was at a bouncy house, where they allow you to bring your own socks. I had plenty of scraps left over from the Rotten to the Core Remake. So after some research, I tracked down the kid-sized Cozy Critter Socks by PeekaBoo Patterns.

I've had good luck with Peekaboo Patterns before, and the cozy critter socks did not disappoint. The pattern is straightforward and a 'troubleshooting' section made it easy to get the perfect fit at the cost of one trial sock. The trial sock's fit wasn't bad either - I made it a mate and put it in rotation anyway. One thing to be aware of, though, is that the sock sizes are determined by the length of the child's foot, and not their shoe size. I live with the children I am making socks for, so I just made a foot tracing and measured it, but it wasn't as simple as calling someone up and asking for their child's shoe size.

Discussions in the Peekaboo Pattern Fan group suggested that ankle high socks are best for bouncy houses, because no matter how perfect the fit, everything else likes to work its way down as the calves extend and compress with all the jumping. At first this bummed me out - I was using gorgeous fabric, and my first instinct had been to go knee-high. But my daughter, bless her soul, stumbled on the perfect solution for showing off her Descendants socks when not in the bouncy house -

A pair of Mary Janes! I fussycut everything, but it was just pure luck how well the pattern placement on the socks worked with the 'windows' provided by the Mary Janes. Our luck also held in that the socks stayed on through ~1.5 hours of bouncing - more than I can usually expect from storebought socks. Also the socks still looked good afterward.

Below is my daughter in her party outfit, showing off her best 'villian' face...

...with homemade villain socks that she's definitely going to wear again, from a pattern I'm definitely going to make again.

Crashin' the Party

With D3 on the horizon, I jumped at the chance to order some more of the "Rotten to the Core" fabric; my daughter *loved* the hoodie dress I made her last year with it, but she outgrew it earlier this year.

I missed my initial goal of a new Descendants outfit for the D3 premiere, but D3 juiced my daughter's enthusiasm for the franchise. So the next time my daughter got to pick her own fabric for a dress, she selected this Descendants-inspired print.

And I, having had a long time to think about what I wanted to make for it (and to pick the perfect purple to go with it, thank you PurpleSeamstress) had TONS of options at the ready; a layered off-the-shoulder look, a pretty peplum, and a hooded 'princess' dress with a high-low double skirt.... the possibilities were endless, and I was absolutely itching to try something new after my pre-Disney Hoodie Marathon in September.

So what did my beloved daughter pick? Well... another Haven's Hoodie, of course. Sigh. I'll admit, it dampened my enthusiasm for a bit, having already made one of these in this fabric with these features. Usually I have a drive to finish "So I can see what it looks like," but in this case, all I needed to do was look at old pictures to see how it would turn out.

Also, in my annoyance at having to make it again, I blew straight past my daughter's size-7 measurements and made her a size 8, only to find that it was *still* a little large on her, even though she'd outgrown her Size 6 Haven's Hoodie last year. Not that she minds! She and her Brother both picked fun mom-made customs for the day before Halloween, and had a blast wearing them.

At the end of the day I do have plenty of *other* fabric I can use to try out new patterns, fabric with prints she doesn't have a preconceived notion about. I can still enjoy experimenting with those.

And in the meantime, here's to a dress so loved it got requested twice! And here's to two years of "Rotten to the Core" creations.

Galaxy of the Force At Galaxy's Edge

One day while organizing my stash, my son caught a glimpse of this fabric, and it was love at first sight. I won't mention how *many* days ago that was, but I will say I had enough time to track down another half-yard "for backup" while I was working up the courage to cut into this lovely print.

Fortunately, our last-minute trip to Disneyland - months after Galaxy's Edge opened, no less - gave me the courage I needed.

At this point I've got the Raglan patterns for my husband and son pretty well worked out. For my son I used the Max Raglan by Max & Meena Patterns with hood, short sleeves, and the no-band options.

For my husband, I used the Cole's Creations Jerry Raglan. I modified the hood to be dual layered (to match my son's) and shortened the shirt about 1.5" since my husband is well under the 5'10" it's designed for. The sleeves don't need any shortening though, per his preference.

My husband and my son both got TONS of compliments on their shirts while wandering Galaxy's Edge - usually when I was out of earshot, sigh. I was also pleased with the results, but then I expected to be, since these are both tried & true patterns for me.

I'd rest on my laurels, but someone else did it for me that day!

Golden Sun Finale

Everyone in my family enjoys Small World every time they go to Disney. But when it comes to the art of small world, the biggest fan in our family is definitely my mom, their grandmother. My mom and I both quilt (see her blog here), and one year she and I spend a long while admiring a small-world inspired quilt at a garden quilt show, so now when I think of the ride, I also think of her.

So clearly, after making all those outfits for my nieces and nephew, I HAD to see if there was just *one more* family member I could squeeze in.

This project would probably have laid fallow for a while, except that in September of 2019 my daughter had an unusually-timed school break; we used that opportunity to plan a whirlwind Disneyland trip. At the last minute I thought mom might enjoy matching her grandkids (on my brother's side, alas) so I added this to my sewing queue.

This make is a modified Patterns for Pirates Basic Tee, only I shortened the scoop a little bit (for modesty) and added some self-drafted flutter sleeves using an online tutorial. I added about six extra sections at 1.5" each, and it wasn't *quite* as luxurious and drape-ey as I'd envisioned. But, my mom was still pleased with her gift nonetheless.

Here she is with my nieces/nephews during our Disney trip, showing off their coordinated outfits outside of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Certainly a world of laughter here! You can read more about our trip on my mom's travel blog here.

Should You Need Us

Sadly, A friend of mine recently lost a beloved pet. To be sure, the cat in question lived a long, happy life, but it's always hard to let go of our furry friends.

Fortunately, my friend is a HUGE Labyrinth fan, and it just so happened that my Labyrinth-inspired fabric had arrived earlier that week. So when she texted me and pointed out the truism that "adulting sucks," I knew what I had to do.

This is a Hey June Lane Raglan, which is designed for a relaxed fit. It's straightforward - as most raglans are - and I was able to cut it out and sew it up in a weekend.

The panel and sleeve fabric are from Fabric Anthropology, and the solid on the back is from Purple Seamstress. I made this according to my friend's measurements and she reported back that despite the advertised "relaxed fit" she would have preferred it to be a little looser. Notes for next time, I guess. But it still looks good, and I'm pretty sure she was touched by the gesture :-)

And she wasn't the only fan of this shirt - as she put it "I think [my daughter] would have fought me for the right to wear this shirt as a dress if the sleeves were shorter." Sadly, that was my only panel, but I'm sure I can find something else for a kid of such great taste.

And I'm glad that a handmade item can bring such joy, no matter the circumstances.

It Takes Two

They say "once begun is halfway done," but when it came to my daughter's Back-to-School outfit, "Done" turned out to be only halfway there. Why, you ask? Well because in the final stages of finishing my daughter's top, I found out what, exactly, she was dreaming of pairing all my hard work WITH. Namely, the pink leaf skirt she made last April.

I'm pretty liberal about mixing colors, but this was a bit much even for me. Not to mention the whole swing top + skirt silhouette combo reads like a Christmas tree. So, with less than 48 hours to go before back-to-school started, I plowed through the rest of the Ruthie and plotted ways to switch my daughter's allegiance.

Fortunately, indecision at the quilt shop had left me with extra coordinating fabric, and a kind soul on the VFT Facebook Group was able to confirm that the VFT Allie was both on sale (20% off) and a fairly quick & easy sew if you skipped the bow part.

So quick and easy, in fact, that I came up with a last-minute idea: perhaps my daughter was so attached to that pink leaf skirt because *she'd* sewed it. Did I think she was up for sewing an Allie? In the end I took a leap of faith and found that yes, she was.

I still handled the iron, the scissors, and the serger. Together we hemmed everything in the flat, and I finished the waistband when the elastic back looked challenging. But she carefully guided it through the machine herself, and handled lots of the pins. As the hour got late, she still told me she wanted to wear her pink skirt. But having learned to play the long game, I finished the shorts myself after she went to bed and laid BOTH choices alongside her Ruthie top for the morning. When she came downstairs the next morning, this is how she was dressed:

I count that as a definite win. My first-grader got to show up in an outfit she helped make, and I got a photo for the album where everything is matching!

Well, if you ignore the backpack, anyway. ;-)

Death By Ruffles

Or a Back-to-School adventure.

This year, I actually had a break in my schedule long enough to sew a Back-to-School outfit for my daughter! She'd picked up a lovely Moda Simply Colorful Red print at our Local Quilt Shop over the summer and was aching to have a top made out of it. I had a Moda Smitten Red Plaid in my quilting stash that paired perfectly, and together we settled on the VFT Ruthie as a pattern, since I'd been so pleased with the one I made for her cousin.

There was only one complication; I thought I was offering Ruthie, the simple version. My daughter, however, ordered me to scroll down on the website and informed me that she much preferred her Ruthie to be the ruffled version. Oops. Since it was her back-to-school outfit I didn't want to smash her budding fashion sense: But Ruthie the ruffled version 1) is a lot more work thanks to all the gathering and 2) only has cutting charts for a dress.

Cue some serious Math-ing. I took a notebook to my son's Tae Kwon Do lessons, and worked out what pieces I would need to convert Ruthie into a size 6 top with two ruffles in the middle and (per my daughter's instruction) a third ruffle on bottom. It turned out that was a LOT of fabric - so much so that another trip back to my favorite LQS was in order. That's when I discovered the same print in white. I bought more of the plaid AND some of the other coordinate, "just in case" (which I was grateful for later).

The VFT Ruthie is cute and easy to assemble, but messing with all those ruffles was TRULY a labor of love. There's no way I would ever have done that voluntarily for myself. Sewing through all those layers was kind of an adventure, too, but this time I took another sewist's advice (can you tell I like the VFT Fan Group?) and hammered the thicker seams before I sewed them. It was strangely satisfying to pound on the fabric, and it worked out well!

The best part is, my daughter was thrilled with the final result. The sizing ended up bigger than expected: we had to cross the straps in back to make them work with the shoulder flounce, and I'll definitely size down a little if I make her another. But, it's still twirly and fun.

She wore it to school her first day, and let everyone know it was mom-made. Sounds like a win to me!

UPDATE: I also posted the in-progress pic to the Facebook Fan group for VFT, and was surprised at the requests I got for describing my ruffling technique. I hardly consider myself an expert, but for the record these ruffles were made by initiating the gathers with my Serger, ironing them before attaching, and then attaching them carefully using my even-feed foot. I mathed this dress out for a 2:1 ratio on my ruffles, and the ruffle fabric is single-folded and gathered at the top.

Have Courage... and try Fluff

With my local nephew growing like a weed, it was time for a new outfit. Having just done a Brindille & Twig Polo Romper for my other nephew (of Golden Sun fame), I was ready to see if I really had worked all the kinks out for a second go.

For this romper I chose an amazing print that came all the way from Japan. I loved the characters, loved the artwork, and shipping wasn't half bad. It was definitely a longer wait than most customs, but it was totally worth it.

I'd like to say the second romper made up faster than the first, but honestly, I think it was about the same time. There was lots of "wait... so how DID I solve that" on the repeat run, and one of the drawbacks to a PDF pattern is you don't have printed instructions to mark up. The second time around I made notes on the pattern pieces themselves, hopefully saving myself the trouble in a future run.

The OTHER best thing about this fabric was... the host offered a blanket as well. Remembering my challenges with the Gotta Catch Em All Cotton Lycra/Minky combo Blanket I did some digging, and came up with a recommendation to work with "Fluff" instead.

When the Fluff originally came, I wasn't sure if they'd sent me Minky by mistake, or if I actually had Fluff on hand... it still felt like Minky. But I can honestly say that whatever I got, sewing this blanket up was SO MUCH EASIER than Gotta Catch Em All had been.

The final product is soft, and delightfully cuddly. My SIL refers to it as the magic blanket because apparently just touching it is enough to calm my nephew to sleep. And my BIL had a blast recognizing all the characters as soon as he saw it.

Definitely another winning set!

So Much That We Share

There is just one moon

and one Golden Sun

And this set has something 

for everyone

It was a long time coming - and I'm not going to lie, there may have been some laughter AND some near-tears along the way, but I made it to the end! Three outfits, lovingly handcrafted for my brother's kids. 

Two classic and timeless woven dresses, and a dapper little romper that will be soft, flexible, and let little brother match his sisters without sacrificing comfort. Hats off to a fabric host that can manage to color match this well across fabric bases, by the way.

I packed these beauties up and sent them to their recipients early this August, along with a Jojo Dress my daughter had outgrown. I insured the package for $500, because I swore if something happened to it, I was paying *someone else* to make them again.

The day after they arrived, my SIL texted me this beautiful photo of my nieces and nephew all dressed in their matching outfits - I breathed a HEAVY sigh of relief that everything fits. And then admired both my handiwork, and the general cuteness of my Brother and SIL's kids.

So what did everyone get? Well, my nieces & nephew got their dresses and romper, and my SIL got a fun family set for play and special occasions. My brother got a job (replacing Kam snaps as needed), and a few days after the package arrived, *I* got a really touching and heartfelt "Thank You" note from my SIL.

In the end, sharing in my SIL's joy, and seeing the joy on the kids' faces made it all worthwhile.

A World of Fussing

When I first ordered this lovely fabric, my nephew W was still (technically) a baby. Woven doesn't stretch, so I bought knit for him rather than stick him with a stiff  garment he could only wear for 3 months. At the time, I thought maybe I'd make him a Max Raglan (fast & easy) but then my OTHER nephew (he of gamer parents) started coming around in rompers.  One look at *that* cuteness, and I instinctively shifted gears.

I have not had *great* luck with Brindille & Twig patterns, but there's just no beating their sense of style. I'm far enough along in my sewing journey that even though their construction methods drive me nuts, I can usually fix things on the fly. I chose the Polo Romper because I could easily see a collar that would match the girls' dresses, and lots of room to show off the main elements of the featured print.

This romper was all over the place to construct, but I am pleased with how it turned out. The placket came out great once I got past confusingly photographed (but decently described) instructions, and the pattern called for a bunch of bands with raw edges at the arms and legs so I altered it.

All in all, I am really impressed with how nicely the collar came out. For the placket and bottom closures I used Kam Snaps.  I ended up sending extras to my brother, because I don't entirely trust them, but they sure do look nice.

As does the final outfit! I did have a bunch of fun fussycutting for the tower on front and the rainbow on back, this is easily the nicest collar I have ever pieced together in my entire life (sorry Dad, it's not for lack of trying). So how does it look next to the other two? Check back tomorrow to see.

A World of Laughter

As mentioned in my last post, the first part creating my sibling set for my nieces and nephew was making the girls' dresses.

For my middle niece L, I made a VFT Ruthie. It was a surprisingly quick & easy make for me! The simple version is mostly rectangles, and although the back button placket and the method used for attaching straps were both new to me, I was able to follow the instructions and get it right without much issue. I had to practice the strap attachment part with pins a few times before I fully understood it, but once I did, it was pretty straightforward.

The only NOT straightforward part was fighting with my button holer foot. That thing tries my patience every time Fortunately, it waited until AFTER the super-fussy round part was done to wig out on me, so I was able to finish my button hole with a simple zig-zag stitch.

Also, I do swear the button hole was parallel to the edge when I first set it up. I love my Janome DC2007 LE, but buttonholes of consistent quality are still a work-in-progress for me.

That said, I was pretty happy with the final product! Fussy cutter that I am, I'll note with pride that the ombre rainbow is consistent across the fabric - the top of the bodice is all one color, but there's a rainbow over the shoulders. And, even if it *weren't* for the intentional tie-in to big sister's VFT June, I'd still love the bows on the back- they're so unexpected, feminine, and fun.

But Speaking of Big Sister V's June....

I did skip button closures big sister's dress, opting instead for an elastic back that can be easily replaced if this dress makes it to another generation. Below I'm showing the back of the dress first for easy comparison.

The ties on the back of the June were an adventure - they were tiny and the instructions suggested that to get the right look, they need to be hand-turned. So *that's* 2 hours of my life I will never get back. But lesson learned, next time I will just use the fold-and-topstitch method employed by the Ruthie to make my straps.

I also ended up making the bodice twice on this one - the first time I misread my pattern when I traced it, and made the back too small. This pattern does have layers, and in retrospect it would have been smart to use them.

But, I'm still pleased with the overall result - the second bodice turned out as I had hoped, and although sewing the skirt to the elastic back bodice required some fussing everything came out pretty nicely in the end.

And that's two woven dresses, completed. For the next installment, I'll talk about little brother's romper.