I managed to sew a couple of baby dresses (and many bottoms) over the weekend. This is my favorite style of dress for little girls because it is both easy to make and super easy to wear. I couldn't find anything in standard pattern format, but there is this free and fabulous pattern at Sew Much Ado. The pattern is lovely and the instructions are very clear. This dress, sewn in a light lawn print (Regent Street something? I think?), came together in under an hour.
The baby bloomers were made from a Heather Ross template found on Martha Stewart. This project was also super quick and easy. Getting the template enlarged was a bit of a hassle as copy shops won't copy anything with the Martha Stewart copyright on it even though it says right there on the template enlarge by 250% (you can imagine the back and forth conversation my husband had with the Office Depot employee with me cursing into his ear via cellphone, "But it says right there on the template!!!"). So I traced the pattern onto a blank sheet of paper and took it to Staples. The copy cost $2 which was far better than the (no lie) $25 Office Depot claimed it would cost if they could even do it, which they wouldn't. Yay for Staples!
Anyway... Back to the pattern. The video that accompanies the template is easy to follow and once I got started, these came together very quickly. The shirring was a bit of a pain - shirring was oddly much, much easier on my cheapo Singer sewing machine than my higher end Janome.
Yes, I have a growing pile of little Mass outfits all set to go.
I don't think I'll be sewing much for this little one. A quilt or two, perhaps, but sewing just isn't my favorite way to spend the afternoon. Needles break, thread jams, the machine makes that terrifying grinding sound.
Knitting on the other hand? That's a whole 'nother story. One that is becoming almost humiliating. I mean how many handknits does a summer baby - born in Texas - really need? The more pertinent question is how many more weeks of pregnancy do I have left. Many. Back to my knitting.
so adorable!!
Posted by: sarah | March 01, 2012 at 12:07 PM
beautiful, and even texas babies deserve hand knits of course! Even if they're only worn to houses where the air conditioning is set at below freezing. (I remember many of them like that during my two texas summers)
Posted by: Molly W. | March 01, 2012 at 01:10 PM
Very cute outfit :) Makes me clucky for a new little one.
Posted by: Amanda | March 01, 2012 at 02:12 PM
So cute!! I love those kind of dresses.
Posted by: Elisa | March 01, 2012 at 02:27 PM
Do it, Amanda! :)
Posted by: Jennifer | March 01, 2012 at 05:06 PM
Ooooo! So sweet!!
Posted by: Sarah | March 01, 2012 at 05:11 PM
I was going to mention the A/C. :)
Posted by: KC | March 01, 2012 at 08:32 PM
Love it! You could always knit some tiny bikinis. ;-)
Posted by: Amy | March 02, 2012 at 05:05 AM