Mommy Said Sew

Patty Young Pattern Test

2012-02-08T06:47:00.000-08:00

I greatly enjoyed being a pattern tester recently. A few hours away from Chicago, Patty Young designs fabric collections for Michael Miller and her own patterns at Mod Kid Headquarters. I met her this past summer and picked up a few goodies at her sample sale.

Being a pattern tester was challenging and exciting. The challenge for me was to follow the pattern exactly (no renegade sewing on this this one). And to work with only the fabrics Patty sent me from her Lush collection. The second challenge wasn't really that hard (despite my love of mixing and matching from different designers) because the Lush collection has some really great and diverse choices of prints and colors. Both Lauren and Grace got a Chloe Dress and Grace got a Paige Jacket. I really love that jacket, especially because one side (yes it's fully reversible) is sewn with laminates. Grace now owns the cutest rain coat I've ever seen in my life. I learned a great deal from following the patterns and emerged with some new tricks. I've already used the pocket design from the Chloe dress as cargo pockets on a pair of ruffle pants.

Pictures of Lauren and Grace in Patty Young's ModKid designs:
Making it Fun

Library Tote Bag

2012-02-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

This Anna Maria Horner Home Dec weight cotton sateen fabric from her Drawing Room collection was just dying to be turned into a library book tote bag. Whips up in a snap and makes a great birthday gift for a kiddo.

Cargo Pocket Pants

2012-01-31T12:47:00.000-08:00

A new addition to a favorite old style. I have been making ruffle pants since I made my first pair of pants. Boy, that seems like ages ago. But it's still my favorite kind of pants to make. This pair for my older daughter features a lovely Sandi Henderson fabric from her Meadowsweet collection. This print has very unique colors. I decided to play up the orange and fushia combo by adding cargo pockets.

I used a pocket pattern designed by Patty Young for her Chloe Dress. I added the ribbon ruffle to the top edges to give a cargo pocket the girly treatment. This pockets look really cute on because of Patty's round design... they have their own volume and sit out just enough to draw the eye and give an otherwise straight leg some personality. Not that the fabric I chose needed any help in the personality department. My daughter (who also needs no help in the personality department) wore them today with a grey long sleeve tee and she got compliments right away.

Ruffled Nursing Cover

2012-01-29T13:46:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine ordered some gift items for a new mom including this nursing cover. Per her request, I updated the classic look with a ruffle at the bottom. As if the bright pink and orange fabric wasn't lovely enough! This fabric is from Patty Young's new Lush collection from Michael Miller.

Below is another ruffled nursing cover. This one features Heather Bailey fabric.

Fabric Scraps

2012-01-26T12:28:00.000-08:00

Today the little girls helped me "sort" the fabric scraps.

Jumbo Crocheted Circle Scarves

2012-01-17T21:36:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how many people are like me out there in the crafting community, but often it just takes one look at something and I'm struck with the "I can make that!" realization... and then I'm down in my sewing studio the first chance I can get and I'm making it. There might be a quick run to JoAnns first, but then I'm on it. Pinterest makes me giddy.

At the last Monday night sewing social, a friend pulls out a crochet project and we all came to a complete stop to admire a big chunky scarf in the prettiest grey yarn. How do you make that, we all had to know. She had been out to lunch with her mom and she saw another woman wearing a big chunky scarf in pretty yarn and her chatty mom found out from this stylish random stranger that the scarf had been purchased from Etsy, so said friend hunted up the Etsy store, looked closely at the pictures and decided she could manage it herself. Which she did beautifully.

So I fondled her scarf for an appropriate period of time and inspected the size of the crochet hook she used and the next morning I was off to buy my own giant crochet hook and super bulky yarn. The results are 2 scarves in 2 days. The first one pictured is with Lion Brand Yarn in Cape Cod Tweed and a random mustard colored yarn I got at Big Lots last year. The second one pictured is Sensations Sumptuous Yarn in Teal. As a side note, when you can't decide what color yarn to buy, it helps to have a 2 year old in your shopping cart because they just want to hold them all like the skeins are stuffed animals and the result is that you simply must buy all the colors because there's no crying in ~~baseball~~ JoAnns. If there is crying you simply give out ~~candy~~ loving discipline.

The adventure of these crochet projects for me was the new hook sizes (also at JoAnns). This teal one was done with a jumbo plastic crochet hook (comically large, maybe an S size?) It only took 2 hours to make a circle scarf with 4 rows of double crochet (and I'm slow people). I simply wove the two ends together to make the circle when I was done. The gray and yellow one was done on a smaller but still large hook (I'm gonna guess it's about a P in size). I made it longer for a triple wrap. I've been wearing these around non-stop, inside the house and out. This is Chicago and it's winter people.

If you see something you love, go make it!

Sewing Dresses for Africa Event on January 21, 2012

2012-01-11T14:30:00.000-08:00

Another Sewing Dresses for Africa event is coming up.

Saturday, January 21 from 9am - 3pm

We'll squeeze as many volunteers as we can fit into my sewing studio in Chicago, IL.

Join in on the fun as we cut and sew dresses for our partner church in Nairobi to distribute to little girls in the Kibera slum as well as in schools with which they partner. Help bring a sweet smile to a young girl’s face and enhance the ministry of Nairobi Baptist Church at the same time. No sewing experience? There’s still plenty you can do!Donations of various sorts are welcome and the list of needs can be found online. Grab some supplies, a friend. You can come for all or just part of the time.

Click Here to Register

February 2012 Sewing Social Dates

2012-01-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

Here's the February dates for Monday night sewing socials. I'm going to put down some potential projects but I'm always open to a change in plans based on who can attend. Please note the nights we won't be meeting.

Monday Nights, 7:30pm - whenever:

Feb 6: Clothing refashions - bring some of your old clothing and we can turn it into something new! Get ideas ahead of time on Pinterest. You can also find items to use at thrift stores.

Feb 13 and 20 - No sewing socials.

Feb 27: Baby Gifts - how to make nursing covers, ribbon lovies, burp cloths and diaper clutches.

The Details..
Come as you are, beginners and experts alike.
You can pitch a few bucks in the tip jar to cover the cost of any of my fabric you use or you can bring your own.
Feel free to invite a friend.
Bring your own machine or use my guest machine.
Please RSVP.
Please enter through my side/basement door so as not to ring the doorbell and wake up sleeping kids.

Build a Fort Kit

2012-01-05T07:53:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a friend and social media (Facebook and Pinterest) I was turned onto a great gift idea. This year I made a Build A Fort kit for my nieces in Tucson. I hope they love it. They are creative girls and I bet this will be a great solution for when the weather gets too hot to go outdoors.

The kit includes two sheets that I made from cutting apart a queen size duvet cover from Ikea. The price per yard was way cheaper than buying raw yardage. I love the black and white print with graffiti style alphabet. The fabric is light weight so it will be perfect for draping over tables and chairs and will let natural light into the fort. I sewed two ties into each corner, plus two more into the middle of each side of the sheets. That's 16 pieces of tie per sheet. I made the ties from bias tape. I had lots of scrap pieces of bias tape from past projects so I ended up with lots of different colors = fun!!

All packed away in a drawstring bag.

I found some pink and white rope and the clamps at Home Depot. The rope is nylon, so hopefully it will hold up to many years of use. The clamps are in the paint tools aisle. They are also magnetic and cost a bit more than I wanted to pay, but they were the best solution at the time and it was critical that they opened wide enough and could be used by a 4 yr old. The clothes pins came from JoAnns. The duvet cover from Ikea came with 2 pillow shams so I cut one down and sewed a storage bag from it so they girls can clean up easily and always have their Build A Fort supplies ready to go.

Christmas Dresses 2011

2011-12-28T12:56:00.000-08:00

This year, I used some beautiful fabric from the Michael Miller Antiquity collection to create the girls' Christmas dresses. The mostly white fabric in the damask pattern has gold glitter on it. Fannnncy! Little sister, shown first, has a bronze organza adding the shine to her dress in the puff shoulder sleeves and the hem and sash.

Big sister's dress has the same two MM fabrics plus a skirt made from an Ikea blanket. Thanks to No Big Dill for the idea to use this as fabric. Both dresses have identical sashes. One side is the MM fabric and the other is the organza. I used rolled fabric flowers (made from scraps of velveteen) on pins to anchor the sashes in place. You know how wiggly a little girl is... even in her sophisticated, going-to-church-on-Christmas-Eve, little lady dress.

My family! You can't really tell, but I have a mom skirt made from the same organza.

January 2012 Sewing Social Dates

2011-12-26T08:25:00.000-08:00

Here's the January dates for Monday night sewing socials. I'm going to put down some potential projects but I'm always open to a change in plans based on who can attend.

Monday Nights, 7:30pm - whenever:

Jan 9: Big Girl Handbags, I've got a pattern and I'm not afraid to use it. Simpler projects could be a make up bag or re-usable snack bag.

Jan 16: Pants - pj pants for kids or adults, ruffle pants, or leggings

Jan 23: Sweater refashions - cruise Pinterest to see what might inspire you and bring your old sweaters or grab a few at a thrift store. I'm hoping to make some legwarmers to wear over boots and some throw pillows.

Jan 30: Pillows and pillowcases - bring any fabric you would like to turn into a pillow. You will also need to supply the stuffing, either Polyfil or a pillow insert. Closure can be a zipper, buttons (I have) or we can create an envelope closure with the fabric or fabric ties.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

Have a very Merry Christmas! Enjoy a look at these stocking I made for the girls. They use a combo of quilting cotton as the body front, velveteen as the back, jute around the top, jersey as lining and accents on the top stocking and fabric flowers and buttons.

Baby Gifts and this is just half of it...

2011-12-21T12:47:00.000-08:00

My sewing buddies and I have been joking these last few weeks that my sewing studio is "Santa's little sweat shop." We have been sewing a lot. I guess once you figure out that you can hand make gifts, there is no turning back. There have been a flurry of voile circle scarves, fabric embellished towels, pj pants, baby gifts and even a few dresses. Here's some pics of some of the baby gifts.

A sensory lovie. One side is plush minky fabric and the other is cotton voile.

A nursing cover made in a beautiful Amy Butler print.

All packaged up! The blanket, sensory lovie and burp cloths together make an excellent gift for a new or expecting mom. Shown in the top photo are the blanket (one side minky and one side quilting cotton, bound with bias tape) and the pair of burp cloths made from Amy Butler fabrics.

Giveaway Day with Sew Mama Sew

2011-12-12T05:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome to MommySaidSew.com. Thank you for stopping by my blog. I live in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago. Give me a shout out in the comments if you're in Chicago! I am a mom to two girls ages 2 and 4. I stay home with them and during nap time I sew. I mostly sew clothing for little girls, but lately I've been making things for myself. I've been a lover of scarves since before I could sew, but now that I can sew and crochet, my scarf collection has grown. Now onto my Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway... the item I have for you to win is a voile circle scarf.

I love working with voile. It's 100% cotton and it's light weight and so soft and silky. It makes a lovely scarf. This one is shown doubled around in the picture above and can also be worn long as pictured below. I fell in love with this fabric when I found it at Vogue Fabrics in Evanston, IL. I have LOTS of it :)

To enter to win this brand new voile circle scarf, please leave a comment on this blog posting letting me know about your favorite scarf. Is it knit, crocheted, sewn? Did you make it, but it or was it given to you as a gift? Leave your email address in the comment and I'll contact the winner after the contest closes on December 16 at 5 p.m. PST. USA entries only.

Thanks for visiting, I'd love for you to stay a while and comment on my other postings or plan to come back again and read more about what I've been sewing. Cheers!

To get back to the more giveaways click here: Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day.

This giveaway is now closed.
Congrats to the giveaway winner JennaZ! And thank you for all your comments. I hope you stop back by my sewing blog from time to time to see what I've been making.

Crochet Scarf in Gray and Citron

2011-12-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Roxy taught me to crochet last winter and I've made a few scarves since then. We need to have another round of teaching so I can have some help figuring out hats ad flowers. In keeping with my recent theme of blogging about scarves... here is a crochet scarf in colors of gray and citron yellow. I loved the result of this thin yarn as a skinny scarf that is long enough to wrap three times around the throat. The ruffle look adds some girly-ness to the hipster color scheme. It's also lightweight enough to wear around... not just for pairing up with a coat.

Merry Christmas Flower Arrangement Using Cranberries

2011-12-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

After an event this morning at church, I got to take home some free flowers. I added them to a low round vase and poured the cranberries I had used in the Thanksgiving flower arrangement into this arrangement and there you have it. Free flowers + leftover cranberries = beautiful.

December 2011 Sewing Social Dates

2011-12-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

Join us Monday night for one of our sewing socials. I'm going to put down some potential projects but I'm always open to a change in plans based on who can attend.

Monday Nights, 7:30pm - whenever:

Dec 5: Zipper Pouches / Reusable Snack bags - oil cloth, patchwork, for make-up bags or with a wristlet strap for going out or close with velcro for a reusable snack bag (I have food safe lining you can use)

Dec 12: Pants - pj pants for kids or adults, Matilda Jane knock-off ruffle pants, or jersey leggings

Dec 19: Open night: work on any projects you want

Strip Circle Scarf, a T-Shirt Refashion

2011-11-27T12:06:00.000-08:00

I saw this refashion of an old t-shirt into a scarf / necklace via a link on Pinterest from HelloGiggles and had to give it a try. I used my husbands cast off brown XXL Old Navy t-shirt, and a rotary cutter. I was done in 5 minutes. Seriously. It took me longer to find a t-shirt to cut up than it did to actually complete the scarf. It looks best worn doubled around the neck. I tied on a rolled fabric flower to dress it up.

You can even triple it up if your t-shirt was wide enough (shown below). I'm wearing it now and it's pretty warm and cozy.

Voile Circle Scarf

2011-11-23T15:03:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I stopped into a warehouse sale for one of the large Chicagoland fabric retailers. It was my first time in a fabric warehouse. I want one. I have been trying to branch out from quilting cotton, so I spent some time touching all the other types of fabric that have caught my fancy. I am especially interested in velveteen and voile and lawn. I am not 100% sure of the technical difference between voile and lawn, but I'm gonna guess lawn is more sheer. Anyway, I'm in love with voile, so I grabbed three different bolts. The way the warehouse sale works, you pick a bolt, but you have to buy everything on the bolt. So you take it to the guys who measure it and then have fun guessing the yardage. Then you do the quick math and decide if you can afford it, or you try to figure out what you'll do with 20 continuous yards of the same fabric. This fabric was too beautiful and ridiculously cheap (we're talking a sale markdown on top of the wholesale price) so yes, thank you, I'll take the bolt. So far I've used 1/8 of a yard to make a circle scarf.

Voile and lawn fabric are perfect for scarves. They feel soft, drape nicely and keep you warm but not too warm so you can wear it all day as an accessory. I love the way you can wear a circle scarf long or doubled up. You can pin on a rolled fabric flower or other pin to dress it up. This is a wonderful project for a beginner sewer or for a sewing social. It makes a great gift and sews up in less than 20 minutes once you know what you are doing. Here's a great tutorial.

Interior Design Anyone?

2011-11-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, some friends and I had our own version of one of those "while you were out of town we remodeled your room'" shows. Here's a few pictures of a basement that was once beige and didn't have enough storage for the family's toys / books games, or a work station that actually worked for them. Now they have some work and storage options all made from Ikea furniture (top and bottom pictures) and a cozy reading nook (also Ikea stuff). Oh and they have green now. Lots of green.

Jersey Scarves and Rolled Flowers

2011-11-13T19:35:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I brought out the big guns. Not really. I brought out my glue gun, which is small but really hot. I burned my finger a little. But the end result was this super cute rolled flower from a torn edge strip of fabric. It's a chic way to dress up a circle scarf. Thanks to my friend Carrie who showed me that gluing on a simple strip of fabric to the back of your rolled flower (between the flower bottom and the felt circle) makes it easy to tie onto a scarf. Here are some pics of an ensemble...

A friend of mine ordered two jersey scarves, one in a black and grey stripe and one in teal. You can wear the flower with either scarf or with both twisted together (top picture). There are just so many pretty ways to wear a circle scarf. I didn't get a picture of the flower on one of the scarves worn long, but it looks good that way too.

It all wraps up lovely for the perfect holiday gift. The fabric in the flower is quilting cotton from the Del Hi collection by Valori Wells. If you don't want to buy jersey knit yardage for your scarf, you can do the same thing by cutting the hem off the bottom of a t-shirt and then cutting the shirt bottom off the width you want your scarf to be. You can pair two different t-shirts for the layered look. Because t-shirt knit rolls up on the edges and doesn't fray much, you don't even have to sew it. Although the scarves pictured have totally enclosed hems on all sides (think of an inner tube). And what out for those fingers, glue guns are hot!

New Sewing Social Nights Added

2011-11-09T14:44:00.000-08:00

New Monday nights added:

Nov 14: We'll be adding cute fabric to store bought kitchen and bath towels. Bring your own towels to embellish. We can also make aprons too.

Nov 28: Project TBD. We might be doing t-shirt refashions, adding ruffles made from vintage ties, etc. If you come to this session, bring a t-shirt or two or plan to shop from my bin of old t-shirts.

As always, you can pitch in a few bucks the night of to cover the cost of any of my fabric you use or bring your own.

Don't miss the details of other Sewing Social Monday Nights and Saturday afternoons in this post.

See you in the basement!

Vintage Tie T-Shirt Collar

2011-11-07T12:41:00.000-08:00

My mom dropped off an entire grocery bag stuffed with vintage ties, some belonging to my dad and some from his dad. I've been mulling over what to make with them for a few months now. I've considered using them as accent strips on handbags and clutches. I've considered doing an entire dress or skirt from them, but I'm not sure how they will wash up. Then I came across this tutorial for using one to dress up the neckline of a t-shirt. I grabbed a plain t out of my closet and picked a tie and sat down at my machine.

Literally a few minutes later and I had a much cooler t-shirt. The tie adds a stiffness that makes the t-shirt sit up across my collar bones, it's pretty. I decided to make my pleats do a bit more of a zig zag instead of the straight line shown in the tutorial. It gives my look more of a haphazard quality that works with my personal style. I realized I just called my personal style haphazard. If the shoe fits...

Sewing Social Calendar 2011

2011-11-01T21:12:00.000-07:00

Now that the basement remodel has happened, I can get more social with my sewing. I've decided to put some dates on the calendar for sewing socials. I'm going to be down there sewing anyway, so you might as well join me. Please RSVP to me via email or in the comments section if you'd like to attend one of my socials. I'm going to put down some potential projects but I'm always open to a change in plans based on who can attend.

Monday Nights, 7:30pm - whenever:

Nov 7: Scarves - circle scarf, jersey scarf, Anthropology Catch and Release knock-offs, you can even bring your knitting or crochet scarf project to work on

Nov 21: Pants - pj pants for kids or adults, Matilda Jane knock-off ruffle pants, or jersey leggings

Saturday Afternoons, 1pm - 3pm:

Nov 12: Sewing basics class, or work on any projects you want, a whatever night

Nov 26: Zipper Pouches / Reusable Snack bags - oil cloth, patchwork, for make-up bags or with a wristlet strap for going out or close with velcro for a reusable snack bag (I have food safe lining you can use)

So get ready for some social sewing and drop me a comment if you can come, or let me know what you'd like to sew in December...Christmas presents anyone?

Another Dress in the Wild

2011-10-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

This knot dress made it into the wild for a few snap shots in the leaves. I added a third picture below so you can see that big sister has ruffle pants made from the matching Amy Butler fabric. You can now see that we were playing in leaves right by the street in front of our house. That's life in Chicago.

Dresses in the Wild

2011-10-19T14:21:00.000-07:00

It's fun when dresses actually get photographed on their little owners. These were taken at a favorite Chicagoland pumpkin farm.

First Dress in the New Digs

2011-10-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

See previous post for pics of my new basement sewing room. I got right to work and made a birthday present for a sweet girl turning one! And then I forgot to take a picture of it. So the second dress I made in my new sewing room is pictured here. I've been wanting to use this Midwest Modern fabric by Amy Butler for a fall dress and just hadn't picked the style yet.

I paired it up with one of my other fall favorites from Anna Maria Horner's Loulouthi (bodice). And I used some toile that was kicking around for straps. I pulled the olive green out of the toile and the orange came together with the ribbon from Patty Young.

The back gets a Plum Sparrow label (my personal garment label).

I trimmed out the hem with the olive green color again, this time in a skinny velvet ribbon. Little girl number 2 is going to be a darling in this one maybe plunked down on a big pile of fall leaves!

New Sewing Room

2011-10-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

Holy smokes. I can't believe it's real. What a blessed life I live. My husband (lover of home remodeling projects) took on a redesign of our basement to add an office for himself (ok he's not totally altruistic) and a sewing room for me. Thank you honey. We have some guys who do our work for us and they didn't disappoint yet again.Thank you Ted.

There is room for my large (2 buffet tables butted up together) cutting table. Room for my chaise lounge (cause I might sew so hard I need to rest). Room for at least three machine stations. If I reconfigure once I get the tables I want, I'll have room for 4 or 5. So far I have my fabric on some inexpensive Home Depot plastic shelving, but I hope to upgrade to some Ikea Expedit soon. That wood box was left behind in our attic. I've been dumping all my ribbon in there. I keep all my other notions in hat boxes. You can't see the pictures but the basement also has my laundry room and I have overflow fabric shelving in there (yep, I have an... umm... passion for fabric).

Pumpkin Patch Outing 2011

2011-10-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

The shockingly hot weather this past Saturday drove the crowds out to our favorite Chicagoland pumpkin patch. It was stinkin hot. I tried to wear a cute crochet skinny scarf I had made recently, just wrapped loosely around my neck, but I got all sweaty and hat to take it off and even tuck all my hair up under my hat. And the hot weather even messed with my plans for photographing some of the girls new fall dresses.

It was absolutely short sleeve weather but I had packed most of them away when I made the fall transition. So Lauren's t-shirt doesn't match with her dress (which she took off later anyway) and Grace is wearing a short-sleeve dress, so at least she wasn't too hot.

Altough both girls were dripping with sweat after their 4 alloted minutes of jumping on the giant bouncy pillow - that cost $5 a person. At least you don't have to pay to get in and take lovely pictures nestled amongst the orange orbs.

Fall Twirl Skirts

2011-10-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

Today during one afternoon nap time I made two twirly girl skirts. I picked some fall colors. 4 of the prints are from Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush collection. The mustard waist band on the pink and brown skirt is Patty Young. After they woke up from their naps, both girls wanted to put their skirts on right away...and then they wanted to have their special treats on the couch. I figured it would be a good time for pictures.

The pink and brown skirt has a 4 panel skirt gathered and sewn to a waist panel with full elastic. I decided to hem the skirt with a skinny pink bias tape. It pulls together the differences in the panel fabrics.

This skirt is my usual twirl skirt design, a large piece of fabric for the body of the skirt and a hem fabric (folded in half so that it creates it's own hem as both cut ends are serged to the bottom of the body fabric). I added a argyle ribbon down the front (offset to the left) for more visual interest. It too has a full elastic waist.

Inspired By Matilda Jane

2011-10-02T11:37:00.000-07:00

A Matilda Jane knot dress is the first thing that inspired me to sew clothing for my children. I routinely browse the Matilda Jane website to get ideas and inspiration for fabric color combinations and construction ideas. I've made quite a few knot dresses over the years. This one has the new "detachable apron" concept. There are three orange buttons sewn onto the bodice and the apron can be removed and worn over jeans, etc and the dress can go it alone w/o the apron. I LOVE the Anna Maria Horner Loulouthi fabric that makes up the skirt of this dress.

And I am indebted to MJ for the concept of ruffle pants. This past summer I made the girls at least 6 pairs of ruffle shorts. I loved being able to make them shorts from comfortable jersey material, in colors they like and with a cute little ruffle and best of all, I could custom fit the length. I don't want my daughters running around in short shorts at such a young age. Hopefully they will let me make them long shorts through their teenage years ;)

This skirt is a copy of the Jesse skirt by Matilda Jane. I made mine using quilting cotton as the trim on the ruffles, which are made from nylon chiffon (same material used in petti-skirts). Each section of trim is 14 feet long. Yes, you read that correctly, 14 feet long. And I sewed a rolled edge on both the top and the bottom to prevent unraveling. That, plus the gathering took some time. But this skirt is a show stopper. It is the twirly-est thing I have ever made in my life and my oldest can spin in this thing until she falls over. It reminds me of playing dress up with my great aunt's square dancing skirts.

Newest Knot Dresses

2011-09-12T12:01:00.000-07:00

I've been dipping into two recent piles of new fabric. One is my stack of Patty Young and the other is my new Anna Maria Horner Loulouthi prints. The top dress features 2 Patty Young prints. Bless her heart, my oldest daughter has been begging for a hot pink dress. I finally obliged but still managed to work in a little brown with the exquisite ribbon down the front of the bodice and some matching ric rac at the hem. I love how dark it is and how it sets off the brightness of the rest of the dress.

The second dress features Loulouthi fabric in the skirt, hem and straps. The bodice is Anna Griffith. I was trying to make the most out of my yardage when cutting the straps and ended up with some really long and skinny ones. So they knot in a bow. Not my usual strap MO but I think it's a girly addition to an otherwise sophisticated color scheme. I love this dress. Might have to make myself a mommy dress with some of these fabrics.

Fall Ruffle Pants

2011-09-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

Forgive the lack of ironing, but these are a pair of pants I made for my youngest. She's wearing a 3T these days. Ruffle pants are quick and easy to make once you have the pattern piece for the leg. Easy to make shorts or Capri length. Baby girl wore the brown and orange pair to our neighborhood apple festival and got some compliments! Those feature a Sandi Henderson Meadowsweet print. The others are a Tina Givens print.

Hot Air Balloon Dress Two Ways

2011-08-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

For 2 darling 2-yr-olds, born only 1 day apart... hot air balloon dress 2 ways.

One the left a pillowcase dress with lime green grosgrain ribbon and a Heather Bailey Pop Garden hem fabric.

On the right a Bias tape strap dress with a bodice from Amy Butler Midwest Modern Martini.

Peasant Top and Pig Tails

2011-08-17T11:28:00.000-07:00

A favorite design, the peasant top or, if made longer, peasant dress is an easy to slip on and go option. Here's one showcasing an Amy Butler print from her Midwest Modern line, an older collection but the orange and pink shades are just lovely for the transition to fall. my daughter Grace found it comfy for a trip to the Indiana State Fair.

By the end of the day, the dress had taken a direct hit from a chocolate ice cream cone, but you can see in the last picture that I satin stitched around the edge of a eyelet heart shape to add an "applique" effect near the bottom hem. Never fear, it washed up just fine.

Meeting Patty Young, One of My Favorite Fabric Designers

2011-08-07T17:19:00.000-07:00

This past week, I was reading through some of my favorite fabric blogs (see list on lower right side of this page) and I came across a mention in Patty Young's blog that she was having an open house in her studio. And a sample sale. An open house and a sale...hmmm. I had figured out where city her studio is in and it wasn't so far from Chicago to make the trip unrealistic. Plus I have a friend who lives there. So the girls and I hopped in the car (after we had lunch and ice cream cake at a birthday party!) and off we went!

I got to catch up with my friend Vicky and her husband David, and the girls got to play with their friends Ethan and Kate. Vicky and I went out to Patty's studio in the evening with the little grils, Grace and Kate. The picture is Patty, me and Grace. Grace is wearing a dress made with Patty Young fabric from her Playdate. Grace loved her "fishy" dress so much when I showed it to her she put down her lovey and hugged it up to her chin and said "I love it." That's just one more reason to keep sewing!

Another reason is the new line of ribbon that goes with Patty's Grand Bazaar. There isn't a ton of super chic embroidered ribbon available. I've been using ribbon from Patty's old Andalucia collection for years now. I grabbed up some sample boxes at Patty's open house. I also picked up these pillows she made to showcase her Grand Bazaar fabrics. This pic is from her website. The pillows are currently hanging out on the chaise lounge in my dining room, but will soon have a permanent home in my new studio in a month or so when our basement gets spruced up.

Another special treat to the overnight trip came when Vicky and I (with all 4 kids in tow - LOVE you my Honda Odyssey) stopped by the local fabric store in town. I imagined that they would have lots of Patty Young fabric, but I hadn't counted on it being on sale. So I bought some fabric from several of her old collections. They had lots of pieces that I can't find online anymore. So the Patty Young open house, followed by the Patty Young fabric buying spree, now followed by the Patty Young sewing projects that have already started in my studio.

I found a few shots of other dresses I've made featuring Patty Young fabric and ribbon:

60 Handmade Dresses For Africa!

2011-07-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

Wow. On Saturday a dozen or so women got started on these dresses. By the end of the week, myself and few others finished up the details and we sent 60 handmade dresses to Africa.

Stay tuned for more postings about Handmade For Africa events in the Mommy Said Sew Sewing Room!

It's a Girl! Baby Shower Gift Set

2011-07-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

I love it when my friends find out. It makes it so much more fun to pick out girly fabrics if I know there's a girl on the way. And trust me, the boy babies will appreciate it too if they aren't subjected to my "gender neutral" choices. I hosted a baby shower recently for a mom who was expecting her first girl (second child). I whipped up a nursing cover with one of my favorite all time prints by Tina Givens. That bird cameo from Fairy Tip-Toes is just soooo sweet...

In addition to the nursing cover I made a pair of burp cloths backed with chenille instead of diaper cloth (which I'm pretty much over - I don't like the way it gets all distorted after repeated washing, which Hello! is what you have to do with cloth diapers). Anyway, and rounding out the gift set is a handy Diaper Clutch to carry a travel sized wipes case and several diapers.

The other fabric I used is also Tina Givens from the Treetop Fancy collection. I love how all my Tina Givens (and there is a whole shelf of it) mixes and matches so well.
Here's the gift set all packaged up in a cute fabric box to be used in the nursery...

Handmade Dresses for Nairobi, Africa

2011-07-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

These are just three of the lovely pillowcase dresses I finished up after our sewing event. A generous group of women from Park Community Church gave up their Saturday morning to hand make dresses for our partner church in Nairobi, Africa to distribute to needy little girls in some of the cities poorest areas. The three dresses above were made from pillowcases, elastic, bias tape and ribbon and button adornments.

Birthday Party Dress

2011-07-21T23:46:00.000-07:00

Grace turned two today and for her birthday I had worked up this Shattered Knot Dress from mostly Anna Maria Horner fabric. The collection is called Innocent Crush.

There is big sister in the middle with her own handmade dress. All the kids enjoyed the beautiful weather and the pinwheel favors. Happy birthday darling girl!

For more details about the birthday dress visit the post about it's creation here.

Sewing Dresses for Africa Event

2011-07-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

These are just a few (badly photographed via my cell phone camera) pictures from our sewing dresses for Africa event at Park Community Church. The African gentleman speaking to our group is Pastor Shiramba. He is a pastor at our partner church in Nairobi, Africa and they will be taking these dresses back with them to give out to girls in their community. He was very touched that although we have the means to buy dresses for those little girls, that we decided instead to create one of a kind dresses with our hands and give of our time. Each dress was created with prayers being being lifted up for the little girl who would wear it.

Morton Arboretum Photo Shoot

2011-07-15T11:21:00.001-07:00

Again, our favorite place for a photo shoot. The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL has a huge kids area. Outside of that, the settings are limitless. We did a shoot under some large oaks and one in a more formal garden adjacent to the Thornhill Education Center.

My husband took the leading photo about 2 or 3 shots into the first shoot and promptly showed it to me via the digital display on the back of the camera. "That will be $500." he joked. Good thing I make the dresses (and the models!) myself and get my prints done at Costco, or I'd be in debt.

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

A few little sweet pieces for my girls for 4th of July. Big sister is wearing an a-line dress with bias tape straps that knot on each shoulder. The hem of the dress matches little sisters peasant top.

Little sister's dress is a cap sleeve peasant style with a full neck and shoulder line of elastic for easy on and off. She also has matching shorts with a short ruffle on the hems. Cute fun and easy projects for a patriotic holiday! And aren't little sisters baby ponytails reminiscent of sparklers!?!

Signature Sparrow Fabric for some PLUM SPARROW One-of-a-kind Dresses

2011-06-05T12:41:00.001-07:00

I was so excited when I heard that Joel Dewberry was doing a reprint of the mega popular sparrows fabric. I had purchased a small amount of it from the first go round, but had used it all up. Imagine me further delight to find out that the expanded colorways (the subcategories based on color groupings that each collection is divided into) would include "sparrows in plum"!! What better to use to make a signature PLUM SPARROW dress.

The only problem I found once the fabric arrived was that I had nothing to go with it. I am not a "purple" person. I like plum for sure, but there was also the added problem of the blue-y green background color. Lovely, but very hard to match. I had to buy three completely new stash fabric to build out a signature look for my signature dress. I love the end result. So does my 4 year old daughter who A) has a thing for pockets, B) has a thing for purple (what little girl doesn't!?) and C) has a thing for pretty dresses. I count myself super lucky on that last one because I just can't seem to stop making dresses.

Fresh Market Peasant Dresses

2011-05-28T12:30:00.000-07:00

Whipped these up for gifts...

May Giveaway Day Winner and Promo Code

2011-05-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

Congrats to the random number winner of my May Giveaway Day: Ravens Rascals. She shared her passion: My passion is crocheting and using my talents to raise money for the American Cancer Society via our Relay for Life team. I love that dress! It's so unique! Thanks for the chance to win! :o)

She is now basking in her winning glory. Thanks for all the comments. I loved reading about your passions. So many of you love sewing, surprise surprise!!

If you are really hankering for a t-shirt dress of your own, check out my collection at www.plumsparrow.com. Enter code: FRIEND2011 for 25% off your entire order!! I'll be adding more dresses after the Memorial Day holiday, so stay tuned.

If you follow this blog, I'll have more giveaways and store discounts throughout the summer!

May Giveaway Day Posting

2011-05-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my sewing blog. My name is Liz and I'm a mom to two girls under 5 and sewing for them is one of my passions. I have 2 Etsy shops: PlumSparro w and MommySaidSew. You are welcome to visit there and to read back through this blog to see what I like to sew! For May Giveaway Day, I've decided to offer both a handmade prize, a T-SHIRT DRESS and a bunch of fabric scraps. One winner gets both the dress and the scraps.

Prize: T-SHIRT DRESS and fabric scrap bag (the scraps will include some big pieces and some really nice fabric from the best designers)
How to Enter: Leave a comment on this blog posting telling me what your passion is and include your EMAIL address.
How to Win: I will pick a random number and that person wins if they have left their email
Details: Entries accepted until midnight in Chicago on May 25th. Shipping only to USA addresses.

More info: the t-shirt dress is made from upcycled parts of three different t-shirts. The pattern pieces for the dress were cut out and assembled with all new seams and elastic through the neckline. The dress shown utilizes a plain hot pink t-shirt, a plain black t-shirt and a heather grey Le Miserables t-shirt. The dress is a toddler size 3T (knee kength). It will fit longer like a prairie dress on a 2T and shorter like a tunic on a 4T... there is enough room in the chest and armpits because of the gathering of the material in the neck and sleeve line. I'm really excited about this style. Each dress made this way is ONE OF A KIND! You can find more TSHIRT DRESSES like this one (but from different t-shirts) in my Etsy store: www.plumsparrow.com
The scrap bag will be a good size offering of all kinds of fun scraps from premium quilting cotton and who knows what else.

Thank you for visiting, good luck and happy May Giveaway Day. Thanks also to Sew Mama Sew. What fun, right!?!?!

May Giveaway Day

2011-05-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite sites for fabric and other sewing chatter is Sew Mama Sew. They have an awesome online "event" called May Giveaway Day. Read more about it here.

This year I'm planning to participate by hosting a giveaway on my blog. I will be giving away something fabulous (sneak peek below) so check back here for more details soon and mark your calendar for Giveaway Day on May 23rd!

FRESH MARKET a new line for Plum Sparrow

2011-05-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

Introducing a new line in my Plum Sparrow store: FRESH MARKET. This collection features items that are the everyday sisters to my ONE OF A KIND collection. These darling items are designed to be affordable handmade dresses, skirts or pants that showcase pretty fabrics and simple accents.

Unlike the ONE OF A KIND dresses, more than one person can buy a FRESH MARKET item. But each item is still completely handmade by me with premium fabric in your custom size choice.

So far there are several dresses and a collection of skirts to choose from. Check them out here.

Blue Chiffon Reverse Knot Dress

2011-05-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the jungle. This dress has some parrots and some leopard print. My friend Jenn came over a few weeks ago and offered a fresh set of eyes on my fabric stash. She pulled out three of these prints to go together. I added one more to the mix and some trimmings and here's the result.

I decided to go for a reverse knot strap style. Added an apron so I could use the Heather Bailey Pop Garden fabric to add in a touch more color variation. And went with a two tier gathered skirt design (not my usual treatment for a knot dress). I then kicked the dress up a few notches with some electric blue nylon chiffon (the stuff that makes petti-skirts) and leopard print grosgrain ribbon. Whew! Lots of sewing but lots of fun. My almost 2 yr old is going to rock this all spring and summer and then straight through til winter.

Backseat Easter

2011-04-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

This year I let my own sewing take a backseat for Easter. I wanted matching dresses for the girls. I found these pink beauties for a steal online and just couldn't pass up the bargain. They are by Sweet Heart Rose. As I contemplated what to do for the rest of the girls outfits (sweaters? tights? Chicago weather?) I finally decided to make the ruffle pants and peasant blouses that the girls are wearing under their dresses...the day before Easter. I can use these simple pieces again all spring and into summer since they are made of lightweight muslin. They will go great under all the Plum Sparrow knot dresses!

For the Babies and Mommies

2011-04-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

I've been sewing up a storm of items for babies and mommies this month. But I seem to have forgotten to take pictures before giving it all away. Well, Kelly got a nursing cover and ribbon lovie from one of my favorite fabric lines: Treetop Fancy by Tina Givens. Christy's girls (she has three!) got 2 mermaid tail beach towels and a hooded poncho towel. Heather and Angela both placed orders for a burp cloth set with matching Diaper Clutch. Katherine walked away from her baby shower with a pair of burp cloths, a Diaper Clutch and a ribbon lovie all from the pink Kleo collection of fabrics by Alexander Henry. All this and silly me without my camera.

Summer Dresses on Their Way to the Plum Sparrow Shop

2011-03-24T10:23:00.000-07:00

Right now the "models" and I are on vacay in FL, but as soon as were are home these summery dresses will be available in my Etsy store: Plum Sparrow.

New Dress Style - Summer Dress Using Bias Tape

2011-03-11T10:06:00.001-08:00

My friend Roxy has been using bias tape to trim out some of her sewing projects lately and so I thought I should give it a try too. I had some bias tape on hand, passed on to me from my mom and grandmother who cleaned out their own sewing stashes. I have so many buttons and new thread colors and a huge box of vintage fabric!

So getting back to the bias tape. It's pretty easy to just pick up a package ready to go from my a local sewing store like JoAnn's. I've thought about making my own, but the idea of correctly cutting the fabric on the bias and then all that ironing to get it ready to go seems too time consuming. I like projects I can complete in one afternoon nap time.

I cut the bodice from the same pattern I use for my knot dresses. For the skirt of the dress I cut two equal height rectangles, making the middle one about 10" less wide than the bottom one. The dress has some gathering in each of the three tiers, but it is not a full, twirly style. More of a mu-mu / shift dress style. But plenty of room for a kid to move around.

For the details, I added pin-tucked gathers on the front bodice panel. Then I sewed the bias tape across the tops of the front and back of the bodice, then around each arm opening, leaving 15" of tape on both front and back to make the straps with plenty of extra to double knot, and leave room to grow. I still had some bias tape from my package, so I trimmed out the pockets before sewing them onto the front of the dress. My 4 yr old is crazy for pockets. I can just see her wearing this dress on the beach in Florida... filling the pockets with shells.

Custom Dress for Lily

2011-03-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

Lily is getting a custom dress!! This is a personalized take on the Shattered Dress in my Plum Sparrow Etsy store.

Lily's mom wanted straps that knot in the back and the front. She also wanted a ruffle to the bottom hem. Done and done. And after lots of online fabric research, she picked out these fabrics herself from one of my favorite fabric sites, Sew Mama Sew.

Sew Mama Sew shipped the fabric to me so fast, I was able to create the dress really quickly for my customer. Isn't it just lovely. I can't wait to see pics of Lily with her family in a portrait they are planning to take this spring!

Plum Sparrow Launch

2011-02-18T14:07:00.000-08:00

A transition is underway in my Etys stores. I've launched Plum Sparrow at www.plumsparrow.etsy.com and I'm in the process of posting all the spring and summer clothing options to that store.

Meanwhile, you can buy the remaining stock of girls clothing in the Mommy Said Sew store at www.mommysaidsew.etsy.com for 30% off using promo code: CLEARANCE.

Happy shopping and here's to spring!

Sweater Monkey Upcycle Project

2011-02-12T13:04:00.000-08:00

I bought a book about making stuffed friends and decided to try it out with some old sweaters as material. The result of my first attempt at a stuffed animal is this brown sweater monkey. His had is on a little crooked and he's certainly not symmetrical, but I bet my 1.5 yr old loves him. He is very soft thanks to the wash wear on the sweaters and insides of poly-fil. If she decides that monkey is a girl, monkey might get a custom dress!

Fresh Market Skirts

2011-01-31T13:29:00.001-08:00

I love a sale! Recently there was some Amy Butler fabric that came up for sale on Fabric.com. I bought a few prints that I didn't have in my collection yet from her Midwest Modern collection. I pulled out a few other fabrics from my stash and whipped up a few Fresh Market skirts. These skirts are such a fun way to appreciate a few lovely fabrics and to make any little girl feel light and twirly and beautiful. They are an excellent transition piece to wear in early spring with leggings and jackets and they go all the way through summer when paired with a simple tank and sandals.

Some of the other fabrics shown are : pink feathers and blue feathers are both Plume by Tula Pink. Orange fabric is Innocent Crush by Anna Maria Horner. Yellow bees are by Patty Young.

Shattered Reverse Knot Dress with Yo-Yos and Circus Skirt

2010-12-30T13:20:00.000-08:00

This dress has a lot going on in all the good ways! First, I designed a new type of skirt for Mommy Said Sew. I'm going to call it a circus skirt. It involves 3 different types of fabric in a total of 12 panels around the skirt. The skirt of the dress has lots of material in it, so it is very full and twirly. The entire hem and the bodice fabric is Shattered by Anna Maria Horner from her Innocent Crush collection. The full skirt hem is trimmed out in a Patty Young embroidered ribbon.

The bodice is covered with handmade fabric yo-yos. Sewn on by hand with vintage buttons. The lighter blue fabric is also from Innocent Crush. The darker blue is from Del Hi by Valorie Wells. This dress is something else!

West Hill Classic Knot Dress

2010-12-12T13:01:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking for a while on what to do with some lovely, but challenging Heather Ross fabric from her West Hill collection. The fabric has a dark green background and charming frogs, turtles and lily pads. I decided to make it an accent to an apron knot dress.

You can see the Heather Ross fabric in the apron and on the knot straps. The straps knot in front in a classic style for this type of dress. The apron is accented with a double ribbon. The bodice also has a ribbon to pull together the dark green color. The bodice and hem are white with the small yellow polka-dots. The skirt is a four panel construction of 2 different fabric. This makes it a wonderfully full and twirly dress.

And of course, there are matching ruffle pants...

One Nap Wonder

2010-11-15T12:50:00.000-08:00

This is positively the most accomplished dress I've pulled off in just one nap time. The girls were extra tired after moms group today. My three year old practically put herself to bed at 12:30. Despite having woken up from her morning nap around 11am, my 15 month old was game to go back down at 12:45 and so off to my sewing studio I went! From fabric selection, to design planning, fabric cutting and then all the way through to finished with label attached and top-stitching... all complete before either of them woke up!

About the dress...

We'll call her Honey Bee Peasant Dress with Apron Sash

The dress has the gathered neckline of a peasant dress and long sleeves. I decided to mix it up and do two different fabrics for the sleeves.

The apron sports an embroidered ribbon (Patty Young!) and my label. It's sewn into the sash which wraps around and knots simply in the back. The apron and sash are not attached to the dress, so the dress can be worn on it's own or the apron can mixed in with another outfit.

I love the punchy colors and how they came together! The honeycomb / bee fabric is by Patty Young. The turquoise is Jennifer Paganelli and the other print is from my stash of random stuff from JoAnn fabrics. Dress shown is a size 2T. Top-stitching is done in turquoise for contrast. And I need to iron my creations before photos.

On an unrelated note, I realize from looking at my photos, I need to get a dress form based more on a toddler and less on a curvy lady ;) The dress is looking a little busty!

Christmas and Holiday 2010

2010-11-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

I'm behind already! Etsy crafters get their Christmas products in their stores in September apparently. Maybe next year I'll be right there along with the rest of the retail world by getting ready for Christmas at the end of the summer (grumble grumble).

Anyway, I've gotten started and my first offering is a classic style front knot dress. I like to do Christmas with slightly more sophisticated prints and color schemes. I try to avoid Santa and overuse of the red and green. So here is a black and white and red all over ;) number with enough holly, snowflakes and snowmen to make it fun. I have the same prints in a green and creme color scheme, so that gives this dress two color options.

Custom Knot Dresses - Amazing!

2010-11-03T08:20:00.001-07:00

A customer requested some custom fabrics and construction for 2 knot dresses for her daughter and they turned out amazing! I love helping someone get just what they were looking for.

The top dress features fabrics from Tina Givens and Keri Beyer. The bottom dress is Amy Butler from two different collections: Lacework from Lotus and Garden Maze from Midwest Modern.

The ribbon trim on the aprons is from designer Patty Young. I have been loving her fabrics and trims for a long time and loved how they added the special finishing touch on the aprons to pull the color schemes together.

You can request your own custom dress or outfit by contacting me through my Etsy store at www.mommysaidsew.etsy.com. Stay tuned for Christmas and Holiday 2010!

Halloween Costumes 2010

2010-11-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

I didn't go all in with making the girl's Halloween costumes this year (I haven't done that yet, actually). But I did add to their store bought pirate girl costumes with some ruffle pants and sashes.

Arrrrrr - they be cute lassies. And they came back with quite a haul of pirate booty! Ahoy!

Mommy Said Sew at the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-25T16:57:00.000-07:00

Swing Top - Just What the Fairy Godmother Ordered

2010-10-05T12:25:00.000-07:00

So my oldest daughter has lots of dresses (as you might have guessed) and quite a few toddler trousers in her wardrobe, but not really any tops. I decided to try out a simple modification to a knot dress and the result was a pretty cute swing top. I used a two panel design on the "skirt" part and centered the smaller panel in the front.

The fabric is by Tina Givens from her Fairy Tip Toes collection. The front panel fabric features fairy godmothers, ladybugs, flowers and birds.

My favorite parts about this top are the way it coordinates with two pairs of pants already in our wardrobe, and I love the look of the polka dots on the straps. We'll be sporting this one soon with a simple long sleeve t-shirt, also available in our Etsy store.

Stroller Blanket Perfect for Fall and Winter Weather

2010-09-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

You can roll around all fall and through the winter with this special stroller blanket. Unlike other "stroller blankets" this one has a secret weapon: clips! Sewn right into the top corners of the blanket are sturdy but stylish clips that fasten the blanket securely to your stroller so it does not slip off and drag on the ground or get run over.

Your child will be so warm underneath thanks to the "furry" side of the blanket. The faux fur has a very short nap with a flocked design to add warmth. Only the best designer fabric is used. Shown here are a quartet from Tina Givens Treetop Fancy line for Westminster Fabrics. These browns, blues and lime greens are saturated with rich color and make moms of a boy happy to have some high style.

Here's a close up of the clip.

You can clip onto a seat in the car to serve as a lap blanket or clip it on and use it to securely cover an infant in their carrier. And you don't have to worry about it slipping off!

This stroller blanket is available in our Baby store on Etsy. And can be combined with other lovely products in coordinating prints to make the most amazing baby shower gift. You will be the hit of the shower if you show up with this set (shown above).

New Burp Cloth Design at BabySaidSew.Etsy.com

2010-09-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

You can find in our baby shop an original burp cloth design. I had simply "had it" with the off the shelf cloth diapers that most crafters are making their burp cloths out of. I wanted a more premium quality of diaper cloth. Something that would feel soft of baby's face and would look nice after washing.

Meadowsweet Burp Cloth Pair

So I bought premium diaper cloth by the yard and created my own design...
diaper cloth in two layers paired with two prints of premium fabric from top designers on each burp cloth. There is much more beautiful fabric to enjoy on these burp cloths. The edges are serged to prevent fray and the decorative fabric is top-stitched for a professional finished look. The result is a burp cloth that is more beautiful, more resistant to shrinkage and more functional!

Birds and Bees Burp Cloth Pair

I've kept them priced at only $10 a pair so that people can begin to try them out and see if they don't just love them so much more than the cloth diaper variety. Much more work has gone into these than simply sewing a strip of pretty fabric down the middle of a cloth diaper. I hope you'll visit our Etsy shop to purchase some the next time you are someone you know has a baby. I've already sewn a ton for my own friends and family!!

Butterfly and Blue Dot Burp Cloth Pair

Sneak Peek - New Knot Dresses

2010-08-17T12:01:00.000-07:00

Coming off the sewing machine just this afternoon...

Beautiful Model in a Mommy Said Sew Dress

2010-08-16T06:15:00.000-07:00

Photos by Traci Falder Photography.

Toddler Trousers - LOVE LOVE LOVE

2010-08-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

I endeavored to make some better than average kid pants for Lauren for this fall.

Here's the result! These are real trousers...
~ Tailored cut features a full leg but not too much extra fabric in the hip
~ Flat front waist with elastic in back
~ Pleated ruffle is super classy and is top stitched for a finished look...

Chocolate Bird Trouser - pleated ruffle detail with top-stitched hem

They look super on Lauren - just the right length and fullness to the leg. They will be great with a simple t-shirt or to really fun up some fall dresses once the weather gets colder here in Chicago. Since Lauren is only 3, I've dubbed them "toddler trousers" but they would work on walking babies and on school kids. Wouldn't a closet full of these be great for back-to-school!? And seriously, if Lauren ever needed to go for a job interview, the Golden Butterfly pair would get her the job for sure.

Golden Butterfly Toddler Trouser

Creme Bird - all fabrics by Tina Givens from her Treetop Fancy and Fairy Tip Toes collections

Welcome New Baby (ETSY Shop)

2010-08-10T08:40:00.000-07:00

MommySaidSew has spawned a child. I've been sewing enough girl's clothing to fully load up the MommySaidSew Etsy store, so I decided to move the baby and mommy stuff to it's own store.

You can now find burp cloths, nursing covers (and whatever else I might stitch up) at www.babysaidsew.etsy.com.

So far, we've had a few sales. Hope the trend continues!

Pictured are a nursing cover and burp cloth set in Sandi Henderson's Meadowsweet fabrics.

Halloween Items For Sale on Etsy - Free Shipping!

2010-08-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

I've added a few Halloween items to the MommySaidSew Etsy shop.

And right now SHIPPING IS FREE!

Peasant Dresses for Fall 2010

2010-08-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

This fall, I decided to branch out from the knot dress style and go for something I hadn't done yet. I have not had a lot of practice with sleeves so I bought some patterns and then had to modify them (grrr) but ultimately ended up with a short-sleeve peasant dress that I like a lot. The simplicity of the design allows for one awesome fabric to be showcased with a cute accent fabric sleeve.

The peasant neckline (a full elastic gather through the entire top of the garment...sleeves and neck) gives the dress it's name, shape and appeal. Here are some fabrics I'd been holding on to for fall designs.

Moda Botany - Morning Glories...

Amy Butler Love - Memento...

Patty Young for Michael Miller - Flora and Fauna...
(with Amy Butler sleeves)I'd also like to introduce my new model. It is so much easier to photograph a dress form wearing these clothes than a toddler or a baby. Lauren and Grace still get to wear all the samples.

More New Fabric!!

2010-07-29T11:58:00.000-07:00

I scored a super sale at Fabric.com. They were having a Westminster (producer of some of fabrics by some of my favorite designers) closeout. I mostly bought heavily from two past lines of Tina Givens fabrics. The lines are Treetop Fancy and Fairy Tip Toes. Right now her latest line is Opal Owl (can't wait to find some of that on sale!).

Grace's First Birthday Dress and Bloomers

2010-07-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

Made in my new favorite style of knot dress...
the knot happens in the back where both straps are passed through a vertical button hole and then tied in a knot. I prefer not to tie a bow.

The skirt is super full (over a full circle) made from 4 panels of 2 fabrics. Gives the dress major twirl! The hem and bodice are both fully lined in the same fabric. The straps are extra wide for style and comfort. My 3 year old even loves to wear her "dancing" dresses. When ordinarily it's a challenge to convince her to wear a dress (she prefers shorts with pockets). But a one-year-old will wear anything!

Here are the matching bloomers. Simple extra tall waist band with full elastic. Smaller bands of hem material at the leg openings plus more elastic...

Fabrics:
Amy Butler, Love collection, sandlewood in turquoise (green and blue in skirt and straps)
Moda, Botany by Lauren and Jessi Jung, pollen flora (yellow in skirt) and ripple glories (bodice and hem)

On my birthday girl!!!

Finally Made Myself an Apron

2010-07-21T19:08:00.000-07:00

There has been such a craze lately for hot little retro apron numbers. There was even a scene in SATC2 (if you don't know what that stands for, you aren't missing anything) where Charlotte is making cupcakes with her girls in a cute apron. So here is my cute apron. I decided to use decor weight fabric (so it really will stand up to real cooking). I had a stacked book print from Anna Maria Horner's Drawing Room that was just waiting to be something special (oh how I love books).

I borrowed the pattern idea from a free handout in JoAnn's. Like always with first tries (especially when I go patternless), I got a few things wrong during construction. The seam through the middle of the bust, while accomplishing my desire to cut the book stack down into a shorter pile, is not very attractive. I also figured out a few things that would make the flow of the straps more consistent up the sides of the bodice and around the neck. I like that I could custom fit the neck strap to myself so that it only requires a clip and not an adjustable set of D rings with a strap tail hanging down.

This was pretty easy and fun. I suppose I'll make a few more, but how many aprons does one mom need? Anybody out there want an apron? :)

Friendly URL on Facebook

2010-07-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

Mommy Said Sew's fan page on Facebook now has a friendly URL:
www.facebook.com/mommysaidsew

One More Summer Dress

2010-07-09T06:54:00.001-07:00

I've been laying out my fall fabrics, but I still had one more summer dress for Lauren. Oh and I do have Grace's 1st Birthday outfit in the works. But here Lauren in this BRIGHT! summer dress (a classic front knot dress with apron). Fabrics are: Russian Rose and Alexander Henry's Aviary (apron). We were visiting a petting farm in Door County, WI - what a great place for photo ops!

Andersonville PhotoShoot

2010-07-01T15:06:00.001-07:00

We have a lovely neighborhood next to ours called Andersonville. There is a stretch of green space that runs along the Metra line. The neighbors have built a lovely garden walk there. The perfect place for a photoshoot of some Mommy Said Sew creations...

Thanks as always to my wonderful husband/photographer!

Matching Pants (of course)

2010-06-22T12:36:00.001-07:00

The new dresses need matching pants of course...

New Knot Dresses - They Knot in the Back!

2010-06-22T12:27:00.001-07:00

Made with Amy Butler fabric from her Love collection as well as some Michael Miller, Denyse Schmidt and a unique hot air balloon print for good measure. These look amazing on Lauren. The wide straps and generous use of fabric in straps and hem widths and linings give these a very high quality look. Even better than boutique...these are handmade heirloom dresses.

New Fabric

2010-06-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

So Hancocks of Paducah was having a little sale on Amy Butler's latest collection Love (I couldn't believe it)! So I put a few yards in my shopping cart. Then I noticed another collection, Moda's Botany, that I'd had my eye on. Once those babies went in the cart they were marked down even more to $4 yard! The I spotted some Michael Miller fabrics on clearance too. Oh and some Sandi Henderson. Needless to say...stay tuned for some glorious new stuff!!

More Amy Butler LOVE!

Moda - Botany

Sandi Henderson

Chicago Craft Social

2010-06-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

I missed the last one because I was out of town or having a baby (I think it was both) anyway, there is another Chicago Craft Social on the books. This one is being held at Vineyard Church, which is awesome since I used to meet there for Community Bible Study. I know right where it is and they do have an awesome space. Plus it's close to my house. I will probably try to convince some girlfriends to go with me.

New Member of EtsyKids

2010-06-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

MommySaidSew is excited to be a new member of the EtsyKids community on my favorite website of all time: www.etsy.com.

You can find out more about EtsyKids at www.etsykids.com or at their blog: www.etsykids.blogspot.com

Can't wait to get in there and promote my new team!

Tons of New Stuff in our Etsy Shop

2010-06-06T08:05:00.001-07:00

The Lincoln Square Market got a lot of rain yesterday so we have brought our items online! You can shop for all our items, most ready to ship in our Etsy store. We have knot dresses, taggies (aka ribbon loveys), baby burp cloths, nursing covers and more. Most items make excellent baby shower gifts. You can have a gift that gets Ohhhs and Ahhhs because of the unique and lovely fabrics. It's certainly a boutique look!

Don't miss the lovely lemon knot dresses available in big sister and little sister coordinated outfits.

We also have a knot dress in the hot new fabric by Michael Miller: Flora and Fauna. This fabric features Luna Moths and hummingbirds in a chic black, white, gray and lime color palette. (see picture in posting below).

Happy shopping.

Lincoln Square Neighborhood Market

2010-06-02T19:05:00.000-07:00

Just look at those beautiful new dresses! They are fresh off the sewing machine, along with a ton of other all new stuff... I'm selling Mommy Said Sew items in my first craft fair!

What: Lincoln Square Neighborhood Market
When: Saturday, June 5 from 8am - 4pm
Where: 2150 W. Lawrence (parking lot between Leavitt and Hamilton)

This weekend is the Lincoln Square MayFest, so the whole neighborhood will be filled with food and drink vendors, live music, artists, crafters and other neat stuff. Fun for the whole family!

Come check out my booth. I plan to have dresses, skirts, nursing covers, burp cloth sets, taggies and maybe some other items. I might even get my act together and have a sale rack of consignment items (little girls clothing). Sizes will range from 12 months to size 6. Nursing covers and burp cloth sets will be available in boy, girl or gender neutral prints.

Taggies aka Ribbon Loveys

2010-05-20T19:16:00.000-07:00

Hard to find a name to describe these. I think most boutiques where I've seen them sold call them Taggies. Basically the product is the size of a lovey (is that even the right way to spell that?!!) My kid has one (a lovey), it's about 12" square and is super soft and has a cute little butterfly in one corner. She sleeps with it.

So these are soft minky fabric on one side, and 100% cotton print fabric on the other. Sewn around the outside are small loops of ribbon that serve several purposes. #1 - babies like to put stuff in their mouths, especially tags (you know this if you've ever tried to go clothing shopping with a baby). #2 - babies like to grasp things and rub things in their fingers (especially silky ribbon or ribbons with an interesting texture like grosgrain). #3 - having a loop on your kids favorite thing makes it easier to attach it to their carseat or stroller so it doesn't get dropped!

100% safe and enjoyed by any age baby. It might even become their love object (we can make you backups for when it's in the wash)!

Vogue Fabric Warehouse Sale

2010-05-04T06:19:00.000-07:00

YES!! I love it when the words "fabric" and "sale" come together!

Here's one in Chicagoland this weekend:

VOGUE FABRIC
Warehouse Open House. Come join us again as we open our warehouse to the public. Take advantage of our wholesale prices and special buys. View and buy our upcoming seasonal collections. All fabrics will be sold by the bolt at our low wholesale prices. Buy the way designers buy. If you sew for many people; if you always use the same fabrics, basics, linings, or interfacings; if you are hunting for phenomenal savings, don't miss this opportunity to shop our 20,000 sq. ft. warehouse in South-West Evanston. Take advantage of our silks, woolens, cotton prints, cottons, denims, polyester prints, rayons, knits, velvets, boucles, in season and out of season fabrics, interfacings, linings, and much more! We have also moved our backstock of upholstery and drapery fabrics to the warehouse, and will be offering wholesale prices on our home dec backstock. We will also have special deals and warehouse only specials. For driving directions, go to www.myvoguefabrics.com and click into the Locations and Hours section, then click the Warehouse address.

Friday, May 14, 2010 10:00-5:00 and Saturday, May 15, 2010 10:00-3:00.Vogue Fabrics Warehouse 618 Hartrey Ave. Evanston, Il. 60202
847-864-1270

Lemon Meringue Knot Dresses for Sisters

2010-04-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

I love lemons! I've seen this pretty Alexander Henry fabric a time or two and finally picked some up. JoAnn's was having a nice sale on their white cotton eyelet fabric so I thought a combo would make a nice crisp look. Once I got home, I discovered that I had a wide, green grosgrain ribbon that would add just that extra something of color and detail.

The Lauren's Dress (size 4)
The dress is a simple knot dress (without an apron...keeping it simple here). I did mix it up by turning the bodice fabric 90 degrees to the skirt fabric...

The straps for both dresses are made with the lemon fabric on one side and the eyelet on the other so when the knot if tied, you get a taste of both fabrics. Both bodices are lined in the white cotton.

The Grace Dress (size 12-18 mo)
Here is the back view with Mommy Said Sew tag sewn on ala Matilda Jane style....

The Grace knot dress has a full skirt of white cotton eyelet so I felt she needed something for modesty sake (besides a diaper cover). The pants got more complicated than I meant (the gather in the ribbon was created by sewing tiny elastic to the inside pulling taught while sewing), but the use of the matching ribbon ties the outfit together with the big sister look.

Closer look at the cotton eyelet and the bottom of the pant legs...

Blue Asian Floral Nursing Cover

2010-04-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

Love this fabric! I've been buying blue and Asian fabric lately. Maybe that's just what's available?

Anyway, here is a nursing cover, Quick Change diapering pouch and burp cloth set in this rich fabric. Perfect for a baby shower gift (this set was ordered by a friend for just that purpose!), or as a gift for a new mom or a mom who is planning to try breastfeeding "this time around."

The nursing cover is my deluxe version. It has an inside pocket of minky fabric with an elastic gusset to keep a pacifier, breast pads or whatever handy.

The pair of burp cloths are the standard. One in the blue Asian print and one in a creamy dogwood blossom print. The Quick Change diapering pouch has room for a travel size wipe case, a small tube of cream, and several diapers. Or it can serve as a nursing kit and hold a nursing cover, burp cloth and a hand full of breast pads. Once your kids are past the diaper or nursing phase, it is the perfect size for a keeping a stash of snacks and a few kids books, or a notebook and crayons. There are tons of possibilities.

The whole set packs up nicely for gift giving with a bow and Mommy Said Sew tags!!

My Cute Girls

2010-04-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, so they aren't wearing anything I sewed for them, but they are pretty adorable...at times blurry, but adorable!

Halter Dresses

2010-04-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

Trying a new dress style sans pattern again (when will I ever learn?) But these turned out pretty good. The style I wanted for Lauren to wear when it's really hot...Chicago summer!...is an open back halter dress. Throw a pair of comfy shorts on under and she's ready for the park, or lunch or even just strollering around the square. I am liking the simplicity of a black and white with bold accent color theme. These dresses used up 100% of some half yards of chic fabric I'd been saving up.

For the front, I wanted to add a sweet detail and sewed some tiny pleats with white thread to make them pop out a bit. Not sure what type of pleat this is called, but I've seen it done (on my own clothing actually) and liked the results. See this detail shot below...

For the back of the dress, I wanted to make sure it would fit well and comfortably. A section of elastic in the very back takes care of that and gives the fabric a nice gathered effect whereas the front has a more A-line look. Here's a view of the back of the green one...

Stay tuned for hot weather in Chicago because I bet these dresses will look even better on.

Easter Dress 2010

2010-04-05T07:23:00.000-07:00

Here's the Easter dress I made for Lauren this year. The fabric is from JoAnn's. I picked it up while visiting my folks in Florida and was able to make the dress while they babysat!

It is the first dress I've made with a zipper. I was practicing for the flower girl dress I needed to sew for Angela's wedding. I didn't exactly follow the instructions, but the hidden zipper turned out just right!

I used ribbon trim on this dress. A layering of pink ric-rac and green grosgrain. The neckline is also trimmed out in ric-rac. I used real lining material for this dress instead of the same cotton print. Again, sewing with real lining = practice for the flower girl dress. Post on that coming up!

Oh and I also made a simple little matching purse:

Flower Girl Dress - Satin and Tulle

2010-04-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Angela got married and she invited Lauren to be her flower girl. After we took a trip to David's Bridal, I asked Angela if she wouldn't mind if I copied the dress she had picked out for Lauren and made it myself. I mean, who wants to spend $100 for a sleeveless dress with a tulle skirt. Isn't that child's play for the average dress maker? I guess I now consider myself a dress maker, albeit a children's dress maker.

So here it is! The flower girl dress I made for Lauren....fully lined satin bodice with lined, tulle skirt, empire waist and adjustable sash. I sewed the bow for the back so that it wouldn't come undone and created a place underneath for the end of the sash to pass through so it could be fit perfectly once the dress was on and zipped up. Yes! A zipper installation. Between this and Lauren's Easter dress, I'm now competent at installing a hidden zipper.

That's Mommy, getting Lauren zipped up!

Fabric Coasters

2010-03-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

My moms group did a little project the other morning. We made these fun fabric coasters.

My friend Michelle had given me a bunch of decor fabric samples. The size of each sample seemed perfect for making a set of coasters. Each mom in my group picked out two fabrics she liked and cut each into four squares measuring about 4.5 inches on each side. Then I cut a slightly smaller square of fusible interfacing (washable, sew through, pretty rigid) for each coaster and ironed it like the bread in a sandwich between the two pieces of fabric. The last step was to serge all four sides of each coaster on my serger sewing machine (which I love, love, love). Great result, no?! I like that each mom got to interject her own personality into the fabric choices she made and the result will be something funky and useful for her home. And they can go in the wash if they get coffee all over them. What more can a mom ask for?

Classy Minnie Mouse

2010-01-25T14:37:00.000-08:00

The Mouse girls get their "Minnie" on with stylish black and white damask accents to their Minnie Mouse red polka dots...
I've had this red polka dot material for a while now and finally have gotten around to using it. It was inevitable with a name like Mouse that the girls would some day be sporting something along these lines. I tried to avoid full on Mouse and keep the outfits classy. I picked a nice black and white damask that I've use in the past to make ruffle pants for Etsy. The girls already had matching pants in this material, so adding coordinating dresses just made the pants more versatile in their wardrobes.

FOR GRACE:
My six month old (who wears a 12 month size), gets the girlie version with a ruffled skirt and a tulle pettiskirt layer.

FOR LAUREN:
My almost three year old (who wears a 4T size), gets the simple shift version. Both dresses have yolk necklines with one shoulder closures in the form of two pearl snaps.

FOR PANTS:
Simple straight leg, elastic waist, large subtle ruffle at the hem.

Here's one more pic of the girls in the dresses with their dad (Mr. Mouse).

Mommy Said Cook

2010-01-12T11:30:00.000-08:00

There are a few things that give me as much creative validation as sewing. Cooking is one of them. Like sewing...where sometimes you go from a pattern, cooking is no less an art when you go from a recipe. Especially a recipe that involves bacon! And what a grand use of bacon...

Apple cornbread stuffed pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon!

I only wish they made longer bacon to get around my over stuffed loin. This was delicious. The loin meat was very moist thanks to the stuffing and protective bacon blanket. I made two in one pan and had to cook the dish much longer than the recipe called for, but this was a dish being made for dear friends who recently welcomed their second daughter into the world. I also know they appreciate bacon too. Mmmmm. If you want a copy of the recipe...

Apple Cornbread Stuffed, Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

7 slices of bacon
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped red apple
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup cornbread mix
apple cider (about 1/3 cup)
1.5 - 2 pound pork tenderloin*
(*bigger tenderloins will need to cook longer and might require more cornbread mix and more bacon at least)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cook 3 slices of bacon in large skillet according to package instructions, drain. Crumble.

Carefully pour all but 1 tablespoon bacon grease from the pan; add butter and melt. Add onion, apple, celery, garlic, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper; cook over medium heat until onions are tender. Stir in crumbled bacon and cornbread stuffing. Stir in enough cider to moisten the stuffing.

Place 4 remaining slices of bacon about 2 inches apart across the center of a 15x10 inch baking pan. Make a lengthwise cut down the center of the tenderloin but not all the way through. Lay flat on top of the bacon slices.

Spoon the stuffing over the tenderloin. Wrap the bacon slices around the tenderloin, overlapping on top, but leaving the tenderloin open.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the stuffing is 160 degrees. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Makes 4 servings.

My Notes: I've made this dish on two occasions. Both times I made extra stuffing and did two tenderloins. The first times was with smaller tenderloins. But the second time was for a dinner party and I had huge tenderloins (the only ones at the market that were not pre-packaged with a marinade). I made quadruple the stuffing and instead of trying to stretch one bacon stip around the massive tenderloin, I overlapped two on the bottom of the pan and then closed them on top of the tenderloin by simply laying one end over the other end allowing the stuffing to cook up and expand. And I need to do this 6 times down the length of each tenderloin. Results: delicious!

Pina-forte!

2009-12-15T11:30:00.000-08:00

I love pinafores. So simple in design but cute, comfortable and reversible. The shape looks nice on babies or toddlers. The design really shows off a beautiful print. So of course I have used some of my favorite cotton prints, Heather Ross mermaids from her Mendocino collection.

The first pinafore pictures features Heather Ross Mermaids with Joel Dewberry Sparrows.

The second pinafore features Heather Ross Underwater Sisters and a Stonehill print on the reverse.

Curtains Are Up

2009-12-08T11:55:00.000-08:00

LIVING ROOM:

Finally got around to taking pictures of the curtains in the living and dining rooms. I selected fabric to match our new furniture from Overstock.com.

The results are a striped, medium weight cotton blend in the living room that gives a more casual. masculine feel. I think it blends nicely with the curvy feminine look of the orange chairs.

DINING ROOM:

The dining room has orange silk. The color gets really dramatic when light comes through it. It holds its own with the strong 'heron' blue on the walls...