November's Sewing

I'm going to start my November report with something that my little girl made instead of something I made.
My daughter is 11, and about 2 years ago she showed an interest in learning to sew.
We started with hand sewing, and moved on to some simple projects.
I found a couple of books at our local Chapters book store for her, and she made several projects from them.

The first of the books focuses on hand-sewn projects, mainly in fleece or felt.
Sewing School

The second book moves on to simple machine sewing projects.
Sewing School 2

Last year, I upgraded my sewing machine, and had my old one serviced and passed it along to her.

She's come a LONG way from small hand-sewn felt toys in just a year or so.

Last month, she made this lovely little cheer outfit for a friend's daughter.
This is a Simplicity Costume pattern, so definitely *NOT* the greatest instructions, but it went together okay for her.  She even had to put zippers in both the top and the skirt.

She also make a ruffle-bum romper for a baby shower, but I didn't get a picture of her final project.
For that - she used the Chelsea Romper pattern by My Childhood Treasures.


And then, on to my own projects from this past month.

I started with a Simplicity Pattern too - #2264 - for a friend's little boy.
Black bamboo knit for the body, and a pirate jersey for the bodice.
This wasn't meant to be sewn with knits, but it turned out okay, and it will be nice and soft for the little boy to wear I hope !

Then I broke out a vintage Simplicity pattern - #5337, circa 1963.
So far, I only have the dress done, but I plan on making up the little coat and hat that go with it as well.

I found a vintage-feeling fabric in my 'stash to use, and made my first try at a blind hem too.

Some cream buttons and lavender bias tape to finish and it turned out really sweet I think.

 

 

And then on to more baby stuff !  With a baby shower coming up for one of my husband's cousin's I just HAD to make more itty-bitty baby things!  We knew that baby will be a baby girl, which makes the sewing easier for me :D

I started with a Simplicity 2264 dress and bloomers !
A beautiful raspberry twill and some crinkle cotton went together to make a lovely outfit that I hope was well liked.

And, since the "devil is in the details" a wee bit of cotton ribbon made the dress truly unique.

 









I added a Tuxedo Dress from Love Notions Patterns, in a teal sweatshirt knit to my gift pile.

Then a friend requested bibs !!  BIBS !!  More baby stuff.  YAY !

I looked up a few patterns, but in the end, opted to draft my own.
And here is a look at almost a dozen bibs that I made up for a couple of old friends and thier sweet 4-month old son.

By now, the November weather has cooled off, and I needed a sweater to keep me warm - so back to Love Notions Patterns to make a "Boyfriend Cardigan", in a super warm, plum sweater knit.

A little bit of doll clothes after this, for a break from such large items !

Some footie-pajamas for our 18" dolls.

Oh, and now - doesn't Little Miss find that her swimsuit is all stretched out?
Okay - so a new swimsuit is in order.  A little mishmash of a KwikSew underwear pattern for the bottoms, and the Cartwheel Collection T-shirt from Love Notions Patterns for the top.
I used a bright orange swimsuit fabric a friend gave me, and fully lined the front of the T-shirt.

 

And then a shirt for little miss - since her dance recital is coming up, and her outfit was a "grey or purple flowing tank top" - I combined those ideas with the Love Notions Patterns Posh Popover shirt, with a purple under layer, and a grey flowy outer layer !

 


And just before I had to send my lovely Opal off for her yearly maintenance appointment, I opted to give the Love Notions Patterns Lotus Blossom Blouse a try.  One for Little Miss, and one for myself.

If you get this one - take my word for it - do **NOT** think too hard about how to do the twist - it will work out !