Wraparound Dress by Carolina Fair Designs (with Giveaway!)

This past winter when we were completely snowed in, I wanted to sew really badly. I had some great fabric but I didn't have any good patterns to work with. So I searched Etsy and bought a few things. The first pattern to arrive in my inbox was this super cute dress by Carolina Fair Designs. I printed it out and taped together what I needed.

I only had 1/2 yard of each of these Petite Ecole fabrics from Kokka so I sliced apart the pattern at the shoulder seam and added a seam allowance. I think it adds a nice dimension to the dress. But what makes this pattern great is that you don't actually have to do any construction. The basic shape of the dress is cut from one piece of fabric. All you have to do is apply the bias tape and you're done. It should be quick and painless (unless you're me and have to learn the hard way).

As you can see, my finished product is a bit different than the original design. Remember my disastrous bias tape experiment? Well, I never did get it the way I wanted so I created a blend of a hem facing and a lining for the top of the dress using the dress I had made as the pattern (my bias tape situation had gone so awry that I had to cut out the cute little button detail). Had I not completely altered the neckline with my mistakes, I could have just used the original paper pattern.

Normally you would do a facing for the bottom hem of a shirt or skirt that has too much curve to it (a roll hem will just bunch up unless you have mad skills). Basically you're stitching the main garment to an identical lining piece (right sides together), clipping the curves and turning it inside out. Topstitch when you're finished to give it that more polished and professional look (I like using a contrasting color when I do my topstitching because it adds some visual interest). I did all that before I added the bias tape edge to finish the dress. If this makes absolutely no sense and you want me to explain it further, let me know and I'll make another one of these cute dresses and do a tutorial for you now that I have it all figured out.

Finally, I added this cute little pocket. I was going to buy a $7 wooden school bus button that Kokka also created as part of this line but thought that would be insane and added this adorable tape detail instead. It cost much less and I still have a lot of it to work with. I do have a good bit of the trim and the fabric left so I will be doing something else with it in the future.

SORRY. COMMENTS ARE CLOSED. WINNERS HAVE BEEN PICKED.

So now, on to the good stuff:
Caroline of Carolina Fair Designs and I have kept up our correspondence since my initial purchase of the pattern. I asked her if she wanted to giveaway one of these patterns on this blog and she said actually, she would give two! To enter, go to her website and take a look at the patterns. Leave a comment on this post stating which one you would like (we will not hold you to that decision, you can change your mind). Tomorrow, I'm going to post about the Pretty Pinafore pattern (in which I actually follow the rules). Enter again on tomorrow's post. I'll pick winners on Monday, August 16.

And make sure we can find you! Leave your email address or a link to a way to contact you. Thanks!

Oliver + S playsuit

I am now officially obsessed with Oliver + S patterns. This playsuit was an absolute breeze to make. I didn't have any problems cutting it out, putting it together, or stitching it up. It was so well written and easy to follow. The playsuit is part of the Tea Party Sundress pattern and seems more targeted to boys. But since we have enough dresses (for now) and I love rompers, I girled this up with some Lizzy House (pearl bracelet from the Red Letter Day collection) and Michelle Engel Bencsko (pre-Cloud 9 days). Who knew these two fabrics would look so good together? The two collections are radically different but were next to each other in my bin. The peach is a solid I had in my solids bin and is absolutely necessary to break up the two prints. I also used it to make some bias tape edging the hem of the shorts and to line the top.

After my initial problems deciding between buttons or snaps (thanks for all the help), I got over my fear of sewing buttonholes, and finally finished this up. I chose some very pretty little faux-pearl buttons with the scrolly detail.

The pattern had a snap tape option. I had never used snap tape before and I'm not even sure I knew what it was when I started searching for it. I don't have a sewing shop nearby (only quilting and upholstery) so I had to go online. What I saw came in massive quantities and in weird lengths and widths. The amount of space between each snap just didn't make sense. So I made my own (tutorial next week -- I had to test the technique out again).

I am super happy with how this little outfit turned out. My kid (for reasons unknown to us) is rather tall so I made the 2T top but cut the waist for the bottoms at the 3T mark. I'm glad I did this because it allows some room for the bulky cloth diapers for now and will hopefully still fit next year (if only for Spring). Anyway, I've not seen much cuter. I've added a couple of their patterns to my mental to do list. I just need to pick a size. The speed at which I'm working seems to be calling for 4T and up.

Summer

I feel like Summer is totally running away from me. It is really August. I am finally back from vacation (we went to Puerto Rico!) and a post-vacation trip to New York City.

In the works: a couple of super cute rompers that I made for Zadie, a week of travel tips (as promised from when I made the switch to Project:Project), a cool pattern giveaway along with some glowing reviews of one of my favorite Etsy designers, and more plans. I love to plan.

The sewing machine situation is finally remedied. Basically, the new machine was a dud. The one I bought was replaced with a brand new one that works perfectly. I can't wait to get back to sewing. The new baby just purrs. I am taking a "new owner" class this weekend to help me be less afraid of breaking it. My assignment is to get familiar with it but I don't even know where to begin.

Yard sales are awesome

Last weekend I walked over to a yard sale a couple of blocks away and got these amazing vintage tablecloths for $2 and $3. I also bought a beautiful porcelain doll that needs a lot of work so more on that later.

I want to take my kitchen in a pinker direction.

I love this style of art. I have a cool cookbook that Crisco put out and it has this feel.

This is a huge gingham skirt that I just love. It's not very vintage (the tag says Liz Claiborne) but it's good quality 100% cotton so I may make a skirt for me or a dress for Zadie out of the fabric. I think I paid about 50 cents for this.

This Week...

...was kinda awesome. You wouldn't have thought that to yourself if you had been here, but to me, it was a good week. I finished up some stuff at work and took the rest off. We found a babysitter who is great and will come over and "play" with Zadie for four hours a couple of days a week. Summer is half over for me but I feel as if it has just begun.

A new friend came over to my house for the first time so we Lemons cleaned up as much as possible and it still feels better almost a week later. I tried to act like Martha Stewart by making my famous iced tea and a designer snack. I fancied everything up in a low-key way (putting anything in Fiestaware makes you look professional, for reals). We spread fresh, local chevre from the market onto crackers (because Aaron didn't know what I was talking about when I asked him to buy "cute little breads or something cute" at the grocery store). Then we topped that with ripe organic blueberries and drizzled it all with honey that another friend made in her house a couple blocks down the street. I had no idea how all this would taste but it turned out to be rather delicious.

I actually don't usually like looking at pictures of cooked food on blogs (unless it's cake and stuff, Honey, don't worry) but I love looking at people's dishes.

Anyway. I also got some sewing and organizing done. I am almost finished with a cute romper for Zadie inspired by this post and another pair of these pants in a different fabric -- just gotta sew some buttons on them both. I hemmed a pair of pants, fixed a hole in a sweater and a zipper in a skirt, cut out the wipes for the winner of my Earth Week giveaway, and have been getting ready for our upcoming trip. I'm a planner so when we leave the house for more than a day trip, watch out.

It's Friday night. Mr. Lemon is out. I'm listening to the hum of the baby monitor with a cup of decaf green tea and I'm about to work on a little bag to haul legos in. It's all good.

Somebody Else's Project: Circle Dress

When Zadie was just a baby I got this awesome circle dress from Sweet Pepita at a craft show. I'm thinking it was Squifire's in Baltimore but I honestly don't remember.

The dress finally fits and it's been getting a lot of use. In fact, Zadie pretty much demands to wear it everyday. It hasn't been hung up on a hanger in the closet because it's always pulled straight from the laundry basket (clean) and over her little head.

One day, shortly after the first time she wore the dress, Zadie was demanding to wear the circle dress and I had no idea what she was talking about. I showed her everything in the closet and pulled out lots of tops and rompers from the drawer, only to remember that this was in the dirty laundry hamper. I pulled it out and she was so excited. If only the stuff I make for her would have the same power...

Anyway, I'm in no way getting any kickbacks from mentioning this awesome shop and seller (although I certainly wouldn't mind, ha ha). I just want to give props where they're due. Thanks for making great stuff!

The big reveal: What I did to that polka dot dress.

Zadie got to wear her new very girly, very ruffly, very hijacked polka dot dress to a bunny rabbit birthday party this weekend. I love the final result although I'm not sure it was worth all the hassle. It does fit much better and is a lot easier to get on and off the poor kid. I just love how serious she is in this photo, taking care not to spill the contents of the bag.

I had to cut the dress from the middle of the neck all the way to the waist. There was no other way to make it look intentional. I like the result and the vintage button detail from my stash stands out and adds a nice touch.

I almost didn't post a picture of the disaster that these closures on the shoulder seams have become but I was not about to give up this fight. I started by adding the roundy piece to the original shoulder seam. It was a thick mess so I ended up just covering the whole seam with this wide yellow grosgrain ribbon. Nothing here has been a happy accident but I do like this touch. The dress is still a bit wide but I can reset the snaps next year and have a little tunic.