Tag: Sewing for girls

Posted on by

Sewing for littles – Superhero cape and mask tutorial

If you’re on the hunt for a sweet project to keep your little super hero busy this summer, pick up some satin and felt and sew up this easy superhero cape and mask.  I used the Janome MC9400 to put this project together, and you can find the full tutorial HERE.

This isn’t a difficult project, and you can practice some basic applique skills to put a great finishing touch on it.  Personalize this project with your kiddo’s favorite colors to really make this project pop!

This tutorial was made for approximately 3T-5T.  The mask will fit larger children as well.

My best friend allowed me to have her precious little girl model this for me, and you can tell she’s ready to take on the world 🙂  Happy sewing!

 

Posted on by

The Lorelei dress: Gemma’s first Easter dress

I know I’m getting a little off my usual topic by showing you some recent garment sewing, but I like to mix it up a little bit, and to be honest, a good variety of projects keeps me excited about what I’m doing every day.  This post is ALL about selfish sewing.  I took a little break from my other projects to make this and loved the result. 


I’m not a die hard mom that makes every little thing for the baby, but I did want to make one special occasion dress for Gemma as a baby–her first Easter dress.  I opted for the Lorelei Pattern from E-Beth Designs because I know Elizabeth and love, love, love the dress she made for her adorable little girl.  Plus, I purchased the mommy and me package to make matchy matchy dresses, but I was a little ambitious and didn’t leave myself enough time before Easter got here.  One of these days I’ll get to it, but I’ll make it in a print I love instead of matching my baby girl!  Also, there is a fantastic petticoat under the dress, and the pattern is so well written that there really isn’t any chance you can mess it up.  I was so happy with the results.  You can purchase the pattern on Elizabeth’s website and sew it up for any special event that you have coming up.  The only suggestion I would make is to use a cotton lining fabric instead of polyester, especially if sewing for a young child.  Our church is kind of hot and Gemma was a sweaty little baby by the end of the service, so a more breathable weave might be a better option if you know you’ll be in warmer temperatures.


Photo of the Mommy and Me bundle- from E-Beth Designs website

For the fabrics, I just went with some regular quilting cottons that I had on hand and had already prewashed for another project.  Sometimes I get too excited to sew a new garment pattern and don’t want to wait or go through the hassle of making sure the fabrics are pre-shrunk, so I was happy to use something already prepped.  I used a purple gingham for the accent pieces and a very light purple and cream floral fabric that I thought was really sweet.  I usually am not such a reserved person when it comes to fabric selection, but I wanted baby girl to look sweet!


Front


Back
And here is the finished dress-I made the 6 month size, even though Gemma was only 4 months and it worked out well.  I wanted her to be able to wear it for a little bit before she outgrows it completely, and the sizing was pretty spot on.  She’s a little over 6 months now and can still fit in it comfortably, which makes this momma extremely happy!  I was pleased at how professionally the dress finished–sometimes in children’s clothing patterns, steps are skipped or the patterns aren’t very well written, but this dress finishes with a petticoat and is fully lined.  I really enjoyed each step in the pattern and even learned some new things along the way.  Happy sewing until next time!  
Posted on by

Penelope Dress with Double Dutch by Latifah Saafir

Hey Guys!  I hope your week is treating you well thus far!  Recently, I had the opportunity to sew up the adorable Penelope Dress (pattern by Violette Field Threads) in Latifah Saafir’s latest fabric collection, Double Dutch.  The prints are absolutely awesome, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the entire line once it’s released!  

Latifah had sent me the raspberry waffle cone print and the white ice cream print with some matching tulle to use as the skirt.  The ice cream print is so adorable–and detailed!  I was blown away with the attention to detail of each different kind of ice cream treat.  It took me back to my childhood and thinking about ice cream trucks and summery treats.  This print was perfection in the Penelope dress, but I can’t help but think of how amazing it would look after being fussy cut and put into a quilt project.  It’s definitely on my to-do list!!

Ice cream print-photo from Hoffman Fabrics website

 Here’s an in-progress picture of the skirt from sooooooo much tulle.  And there was a layer of glitter tulle as well.  I will have glitter on me permanently after sewing this, but it was so worth it!  


 And then a finished picture of the front and back of the dress:


The raspberry waffle cone print was used as an accent for the collar and sash, and the ice cream print was used for the bodice, sleeves, and ties.  Latifaah has a picture on her Instagram account of her gorgeous niece modelling the dress, and her adorable nephew modelling some garments embellished with the fabrics.  

The Penelope dress was a pretty straight forward pattern, and I love Violette Field Threads’ patterns.  They are always a good choice for little girl outfits and are very well written-even for a beginner sewist.  You can make the dress with tulle, or you can opt for a standard garment fabric (or even quilting cotton).  It is a little bit time consuming, but totally worth it and a great dress for spinning in 😉

Be on the lookout for Latifah’s line and make sure to snatch some up before it’s gone!  Happy sewing 🙂