Yesterday, I dropped off two piece of fabric to be pleated (for smocking) - one for Gracie's Easter dress and one for a sundress for her - both from Australian Smocking & Embroidery patterns. I'll pick them up in two weeks and construct the dresses. Benjamin was with me and we pick out a beautiful green fabric for his Easter shirt, which will have realistic giraffes embroidered on it. He's very excited about that.
Before I can cut the shirt, though, I need to finish sewing some projects I cut already. Last night I got down to business and knocked out three pieces of Gracie's warm-weather wardrobe.
First up is this swingy tunic from Bizzkids magazine (summer 2008 issue, design no. 3435). I used a plisse from Joann's that I had in my stash.
Luckily, I also have a lot of buttons in many colors from my grab bag purchases at Patsy Aiken Outlet (it's closed now - wah!)
My second project, this striped t-shirt (with a "cold shoulder" design) is from the 3/2007 Ottobre magazine. It's kind of exciting that moving Gracie up to a size 128 cm means she gets a whole range of new styles available in her size. Yay!
The skirt is a bubble skirt from the same Ottobre issue (design #37) and another one I have been wanting to make for a long time. The rib knit waistband is comfortable but snug enough to stay up well, but I would choose a strong ribbing for sure if you make this.
I have one more outfit, a knit top and skort, ready to sew. Then, I will make Benjamin happy and start on the giraffe shirt...and start thinking about MY Easter dress. I have some coral brocade and a matching texture lime brocade that might become a sleeveless A-line dress.
I found this great Tinkerbell fabric at Joann's and knew it would be a perfect summer dress for Gracie. She loves Tinkerbell and the pattern is actually sophisticated for a character print!
I used Simplicity 1670, a Project Runway design, and chose the tie sleeves, piping at the top and bottom of midriff band, and a piece of green floral trim (which I had EXACTLY the right length of!). The dress has a built in slip with ruffle to give it that fluff little girls love. Luckily I had a roll of soft tricot tulle to use for the fluff part of the slip. It's like a secret "Tink-y" layer!
