Seersucker!

We love seersucker! Can you tell? After I made my grandson's little blue seersucker Jon-Jons for Easter, his auntie decided that she wanted a blue seersucker dress to wear to her Master's graduation. And, of course, I never say no when one of my daughters wants to wear something made by me. She loves classic, timeless designs so we chose McCall's 2401. We loved the wider rounded neckline and the simple lines. I did the usual alterations for her, added white piping to the neckline and armholes, and an invisible zipper in the back. I finished the lining hem a few hours before graduation and she was thrilled!

Here she is with her sweet nephew who is sporting his pout-pout look for the photoshoot.

Congrats to Hannah for completing her Master of Science degree in Instructional Design!

Little Hilltopper

Okay, I know I said I was all caught up sewing for Baby Hayden but I saw a men's red and black striped T-shirt on the clearance rack at WalMart for $3.00 and it reminded me of the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers. Since Hayden has a gown for his dad's school, I thought he needed one for his mom's alma mater. I bought the largest size they had so I would have plenty of fabric for the gown and accessories.

I used Kwik Sew 3090 again for the gown and Kwik Sew 2433 for the hat. The tutorial for the pacifier clip can be found here. I took the pocket off the T-shirt and made a tiny little pocket for the gown.

 I like the elastic at the bottom edge to keep little feet from poking out.

I was able to salvage the knit ribbing from the neckline of the T-shirt and used it to make the sleeve ribbing for this gown rather than the hand covers.

And this is my sewing buddy, Kitty Boo. She loves to keep me company when I sew. I found her at the Humane Society with that "take me home" look in her eyes. It was a trick. She is a stinker!

I mailed this little surprise to the expectant parents last week. I think Hayden has enough gowns. My friend, who is a nurse in labor and delivery, told me that babies need sleep sacks nowadays rather than blankets. So, guess what, I bought a pattern today for sleep sacks. I just thought I was caught up!

Vogue 8469

Now this was a very satisfying sewing project! My daughter told me on a Saturday that she needed a new dress to wear to a banquet at her college on the following Wednesday. She wanted a white dress to wear with a red jacket she bought at Forever 21. Her school colors are red and white. It's always a little difficult to find a pattern that works for her because she is very petite. Hancock Fabrics had several pretty summer white fabrics and Vogue patterns were on sale. I have always liked this pattern and luckily it came in a size 6 which I only had to take up slightly to make it fit.

The midriff section has an interesting curve to it, higher in the front and dipping down in the back. I was a little concerned that she wouldn't be able to wear the brown belt that she wanted to wear but it worked out okay. I made thread loops at the side seams to keep the belt in place.

The gathers are on the sides of the front and back sections. This turned out to be a very flattering detail. Leave it to Vogue to get all the little details right.

My daughter loves this pattern and I loved making it for her. I'm on the lookout for another great fabric. By the way, it only took about 2 1/4 yards of 45 inch fabric for her size 6 dress!

Shorts for Haiti

A few months ago, a group of ladies at church started making little dresses for 3 orphanages in Haiti. As the project progressed, we decided that we should make enough dresses so that all the girls in the orphanages would have a new dress. We now have over 125 dresses! For the little boys, we decided on shorts with elasticized waists in sizes 4 through 14. We now have about 100 pair of shorts and still counting. A week or so ago, I was not having much luck finding affordable, appropriate fabric. It was much easier for the dresses since we could pick up cute pillowcases at Goodwill for 50 cents. I just happened to be in the Design, Merchandising and Textiles Department at Western Kentucky University. A group of students and their sponsor from the Fashion Inc. Club donated enough fabric samples to complete the project. Thank you to Fashion Inc. for your generous donation!

I added little tags with sizes to the back so that the boys would know which way to put their shorts on!