A Childhood Shared

Like a good nerd, I am into many fandoms these days. But I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the very FIRST fandom I participated in as a little kid, namely Rainbow Brite. I was 4 when the series came out. I watched all the episodes, collected all the dolls, read all the books, and even owned a record or two I think (vinyl, of course).

So obviously when I saw this fabric being offered, I had to jump in. The characters, the color palettes, it was like seeing my childhood books brought to life. And as always I love a good border print!

This time the lucky recipient was my daughter - she'd admired the print a while ago, and she's also a fan of the books I saved from my childhood. She's also fast outgrowing the Care Bears and JoJo Summer Dresses I made her last year. Last summer I didn't *quite* get around to making a Striped Swallow Desert Breeze, and I've been chomping at the bit to use it ever since.

Striped Swallow Designs does do a really nice job with patterns - the instructions can be confusing at times, but the cutting instructions are consistent, and the garments are easy to assemble. I was pleasantly surprised at how fast the Desert Breeze came together, especially once I figured out that my sewing machine (a Janome DC2007 LE) would allow me to move my needle over to the side when triple stitching the binding.

And I was also quite pleased with how well received it was! My daughter isn't into Rainbow Brite like she used to be, but she loves this dress - it hasn't made it more than 2 days in her closet without a washing yet.

They say "out with the old, in with the new," but in this case, I think old & new are coexisting together quite nicely.

Holidays in June

My Dad loves Harry Potter, Trains, Stamps, and Disney; and as it turns out, he also loves shirts made by me! Over the past 2 years I've made him two shirts: an "Always" Shirt and a Magical Gift shirt. Both were Harry Potter themed, so this year it was time to branch out.

This print featured not one, but two of my Dad's favorite fandoms: Trains, and Disney. Technically it's a Christmas print. But even if Dad does only take it out for a few months of the year, he'll still have twice the fun wearing it, right?

I've had a previous success with the short-sleeved version of the Peek-a-Boo Patterns Yukon. It's a men's dress shirt with a back yoke, which makes it flexible when cutting. I am a devoted fussycutter, and this shirt was no exception - a lot of work went into making sure the tracks lined up, the sleeves didn't end mid-train, etc etc.

My one fussycutting oversight the collar - it'd been so worried about making sure the trains went *around* my Dad's neck, I forgot that with the collar has a collar stand. Technically if Dad buttons his top button, the trains will circle his neck perfectly, but they'll also be upside down. Ooops. Fortunately, my Dad is retired and as he puts it he "never has to button a top button again."

I gifted this shirt to my Dad for Father's day 2019; I know it'll be a little bit before it is seasonally appropriate, but he was in town and I was excited to show off his new gift.

And who knows, maybe he'll wear it to his train club meetings anyways. He definitely looks sharp in it! He confirmed that the bright blue was a really good call, and was delighted to find Donald (his favorite of the Disney Fab 5) waiting for him in the caboose.

And I'm delighted that he's got another, non-Harry Potter shirt from me to wear. So excited, in fact, that I splurged on fabric for a matching shirt for my Mom.

Here's looking forward to a VERY well dressed, homemade Christmas!

Some Berry Lovely Dresses for a Berry Good Friend

Some fabrics just speak right to your heart. Last year, a favorite fabric host ran a Nostalgia round and I gotta be honest, my inner child took my wallet and ran with it! I'm mostly a Rainbow Brite fan, but I still remember Strawberry Shortcake fondly. I have a friend who's the other way around, and when I saw this fabric, I knew I needed to get her some.

This was my first foray into working with a Double Border print. Border prints are interesting because there's only one "layer" of artwork, and it runs parallel to the selvage on both sides; in 60" wide fabric, that leaves a pretty substantial center section. It also means the artwork can be tall and panoramic, with long repeats and plenty of features interspersed along its length.

To show this fabric off, I chose the SLPCo Isla. Since I was going to make two (one for each of my friend's girls), I wanted a pattern that was simple and familiar.

I based the options off my daughter's well-loved Jack's Back Isla. Truth be told, it was storm season and most of this cutting was done while home with the kids watching the weather and hoping we didn't have to make a sudden dash to our storm shelter. Hey, you take your opportunities where you can get them, right?

Ever the fussycutter, I elected to put the border on the skirt and try to center the strawberry house as much as possible. I was also able to coax the entire outer bodice + 3/4 sleeves out of the center section of the fabric. I did thin the skirts slightly from what the pattern suggested (24" instead of 28" - I didn't want the artwork to get lost in the folds), and both the flounces and the bodice linings came from inexpensive Purpleseamstress solids.

And.. the dresses were a hit! I was lucky enough to be able to hand these dresses over in person, and both girls were happy to try theirs on right away. I also have it on good authority that they wore the dresses to daycare the next day, where they received much admiration from teachers and staff.

Little C even recognized the characters from another gift I had given her mother long ago - A Strawberry Shortcake stuffed cat that might be a little worse for the wear now, but is clearly well loved around the house.

It's good to see a long-ago sewing project getting such love. And It's also exciting to help cultivate the next generation of Strawberry Shortcake Fans!