Happy 4th of July

Here's my daughter's one of a kind 4th of July dress. I whipped up a "country" inspired look to celebrate our Country's independence. The prints are from the Debbie Mumm collection at JoAnn Fabrics, hence the country chic feel. JoAnn doesn't always have what I want for an urban chic look, but they are the place to go for pigs, cats, sheep, cows and roosters waiving the American flag.

Also please note the unfinished strap fasteners. For the photo shoot, I hadn't gotten around to pounding in the pearl button closures so straight pins are doing a temporary job.

I'm not too pleased with how the tiered skirt of the dress looks sitting down (kinda bunching out on the sides), but I am happy with the hand gathered ruffles at the top and bottom of the burgundy fabric.

Happy July 4th everyone!

New Yolk Dress Design - Perfect For Summer

I've got to tell you, it went from being rainy and cool to mega hot here in Chicago. This yolk dress ought to keep the little girl feeling breezy. I found the main body fabric and fell in love with the complicated design. I paired it with a simple but dimensional bright pink and then added a super tucked ruffle to give it a really girly feel. Just add sandals and go!

I LOVE My Photographer

No really, I do love him. A lot. We're married, so it's not that unusual :)

Check out this photo and several from the post below to see how talented he is. Not sure if the outfits look the cutest or if my little model (daughter) looks the cutest. It's a toss up!

The new outfits are finally on my Etsy site as of today. Please buy something, you'll love it too (photography of your cute little one in the new outfit not included).

New Knot Dresses

We headed out to our favorite photography setting, the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL to take some photos of some recent sewing projects. Our little model was quite a handful. I can guess that most professional photographers of children's clothing do not use 2 yr olds as models. At any rate, we had Grandma doing the toddler wrangling, Mommy using the fancy reflector to bounce the sunlight and Daddy behind the lens. We got some really amazing shots of our little girl and even a few nice ones of the clothing.

Giving a Sling a Try

Not one to buy a pattern (when will I ever learn), I gave my first sling a try. With my own baby number two on the way, I figured I'd be able to use my own and if it turns out well, I could make more in the future for friends.

So back to the no pattern thing. I did buy a commercial sling that I found on sale and opened it to discover that it was missing it's instructional DVD, so I was going to return it anyway. Once I saw the seeming simplicity of the design, I thought I'd try to make my own.

Only when I got to the last seam on the sling did I realize that what I had left for last, should have been sewn earlier (much earlier, aka first!) in the process. But it was salvageable and I'm the only who will know that I didn't really mean for that last seam to be folded over quite like that.

I employed two prints from some great designers. The black and white is Damask Dandy from Michael Miller and the Asian print is a lovely one from Alexander Henry.

More about the sling itself. This one is a pouch sling, or pea pod sling style. It's designed to fit a specific size person as there are no closures or rings for adjusting the fit. I made mine reversible. I added a section of batting along the top edge that run half the length of the sling to provide more comfort for the baby or toddler.

I was surprised that my toddler not only fits, but likes to ride in it. That works for me since it takes all her weight off my arms and transfers it to my back/shoulder and hip. She is pictured riding on my hip. Sorry for the poor photo, it was taken in the bathroom mirror because I just couldn't wait for my husband to get home to get a picture.

I don't think this item will make it into my Etsy store since so many other Etsy folk are selling beautiful slings similar in style. I'll reserve it for gifting to friends and family.