Tag Archives: sewing for kids

DIY Sister Dresses: Sundress

20 Thursday Jun 2013

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I think this baby is making me start my nesting behavior early. I am not due until August, (please oh please make it July!), but I frantically spent a week making skirts and dresses for Ada and Josie before we went on vacation last month.  I really wanted to make a dress out of the little bit of Liberty print I’d found on sale at Brooklyn General, and with some creative piecing managed enough for Josie’s dress.  Ada’s dress is made from a a vintage purple violet print that I still have yards of after these projects (amongst others): 1, 2, 3.  (That violet print was $10 well spent!)  The design for this sundress was inspired by this beautiful Makie version from Acorn Toys in Brooklyn.  (Feel free to peak at my Pinterest boards for more children’s clothing inspiration).  I played around with this pattern from Fabshophop.com for a simple pillow case dress and added an elastic gather around the chest.  I love these kind of easy dresses.  They are great as long dresses for little girls and can become a top as they get taller.  Hooray for summer dresses!

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The DIY (In Under Two Hours) Skirt

14 Tuesday May 2013

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My favorite craft fabric/yarn/craft store Brooklyn General had a huge sale a couple of weeks ago.  I went specifically for knitting needles, and of course came home with more projects than I have time to do.  The Liberty Prints fabric taunted me from the wall as I was finishing up my purchasing.  I decided to get one yard of this beauty with no idea of what it would become.  I ended up making simple skirts for the girls, and had enough to make a sundress for Josie.  (Three projects from one yard!)  I based the skirts off of this pattern for a simple skirt by MADE.  (Danamadeit.com is such an an inspiring blog full of tutorials and color!) For ours skirts we made a single layer and did a basic turned hem instead of serging.  The skirts are super easy to make and if you are a faster sewer than I, (not at all a difficult task), you could finish a skirt in an hour.  So satisfying!  The girls have been wearing the skirts for two days now and I’ve decided to make them a summer supply out of different fabrics.  Hooray for warm-weather clothes!

DIY Bubble Playsuit and Pinafore

02 Tuesday Apr 2013

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SunsuitViolet1 SunsuitViolet2I love Simplicity’s vintage pattern #9395.  It is from the 1970’s and I am sure I had a similar outfit when I was little.  I made this version up with some vintage violet fabric I found for less than $1 per yard at an antique shop.  You can find similar fabric on Etsy here, and on Ebay here.  Be sure to check yardage and ask about fabric condition when buying vintage fabric.  We used ric rac from M & J Trimming in Manhattan, (one of Ada’s favorite places on the planet).  The buttons are vintage mother-of-pearl from our stash. You can find similar sets of buttons here.  This bubblesuit and pinafore can be worn together or separately and the busy fabric can disguise stains from even the busiest day on the playground.

DIY Child’s Smock Dress

04 Monday Mar 2013

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DoggyDress
This smock dress is a variation on a vintage McCall’s pattern, #3470 from 1972.  I have had this dog print fabric for years and finally made it into a dress for Josie’s birthday last week.  (The dress was immediately trumped by Daddy’s gift of green pjs from Baby Gap).  Josie is at the age when a dog spotted on the sidewalk is extremely exciting, so I am hoping she will like the dress more as she grows into it.  The pattern is fairly easy and includes variations with pants and a jumper top with short ruffle sleeves.  (See our version of the ruffle sleeve dress here).  I love the short smock dress because it can be worn as a dress and then a top as the girls grow.  You can find your own pattern #3470 here, or search Etsy for other vintage patterns.

DIY Felt Fish Necklace

05 Monday Nov 2012

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We originally made these fish necklaces for part of our Halloween costumes.  Josie has since claimed them so I decided to post about how to make them.  We also made some individual fish for use with the play kitchen and Josie has been cooking them up all morning.  To make your own felt fish necklace you will need:

*Various Colors of Felt (We use wool felt from Wool Felt Central)

*Embroidery Thread in Contrasting Colors

*Embroidery Needle

*Stuffing

*Scissors

*Card Stock to Make Pattern

*Pencil

1. Draw fish shape on card stock and cut out.

2. Stack two sheets of the same color felt, hold fish pattern on top and carefully cut out fish shape.

3. Place a bit of stuffing inside of two fish and use blanket stitch to sew together with embroidery thread.  Older kids could do this part themselves.

4. After stitching the perimeter of the fish, put the needle up through the head and sew an X through both sides to make an eye.

5. Pass the needle and thread down to the center of the fish’s tail and leave hanging until all fish are sewn.

6. To make a necklace, use the hanging threads to sew fish head to tail.  To make individual fish, just cut the thread.

*These would make a cute garland, or the long string could be tied to a dowel to make a toy fishing pole.

**You may also like some of these earlier felt projects**