The Nutcracker Dresses

This year my mom and I took the girls to see the Nutcracker for the first time. Anais asked for a floor-length gown, and upon hearing this, Ada agreed. Hoooo-boy. So, thus began my journey. I bought vast amounts of silver crepe-back satin and we began.

For Anais's dress, I used a pattern I have always wanted to do, but the sheer number of tiny pieces involved has always been intimidating. It's the Manhattan Special Occasion Dress from the book Sewing Clothes Kids Love. I love the Studio Tantrum patterns, so I knew I've love this one too. I added about a foot to the bottom to make it floor length.

It was slow going in the sewing, and putting together the bodice's shell and lining was confusing at times.  There were times it would have been helpful to see photos or have a few tips (like when top-stitching the back to catch the ribbons, don't top stitch all the way to the end - leave the seam allowance free).

The slowest part about sewing this was all the curved seams. I learned a lot about how to work with the inner curves and outer curves on all the seams so they wouldn't buckle and ripple - which is probably not new to most sewers... but I'm still a novice, here. I did flub one seam on the front though - and I am not sure what I did. But, despite everything it rippled a bit. But, as my daughter never stands still, at least it wasn't too noticeable. ha!

Overall, I was happy with it. The collar was my favorite part - and the back too.

 

Ada's dress was simpler, and I actually used a costume pattern - Simplicity 5520. The only really bad part was I didn't get very good photos. Also, I didn't read the pattern fully to the end so when it came time for the arm bands (lesson learned), it said to make the bands and then Velcro them. So... no... wasn't going to use Velcro - and although I could have left her sleeves full and not cinched, she really wanted them to be. (If I would have read the pattern to the end, I would have realized this and attached them before sewing up the seams of the sleeve.) Oh well - I used some ribbon to cinch it, and it worked out well enough. 

Lastly, the one thing I'd change about this pattern is that is was very large in the top. Though I was able to adjust the bodice a bit with the lacing, it wasn't designed to do that. So, if I do pull out this pattern for the Renaissance Festival next year, I'll definitely figure out how to adjust the bodice to be snugger (by a good couple inches). I also top stitched all the seams, which wasn't called for in the pattern, but definitely made the seams neater (except the back seam rippled a little. Not sure why that happened - no other seam did that like the back. Oh well. .)

So, the ballet was a ton of fun. A little overdressed for a matinee? Perhaps... but they were thrilled to be princesses for the day, and after all - that's half the experience!

Kindergarten Craft: Snow Globes

One of the things I love about the Kindergarten class is that parents can volunteer to read a story and then do a related craft - I do it about every 7-8 weeks, and it is so much fun. This past week, I read Oliver Jeffers' Lost and Found about a boy and a penguin. I love the illustrations, and it's a sweet story.... but the fun part was the penguin snow globes!

I had several plastic jars left over from a craft I did when Ada was in Kindergarten, so I used those. But any jar would do. Baby food jars would be perfect! I found a "Penguin Toob" at the craft store - with 11 penguin figures to place in the jars. Then I had blue sequins, snowflake shaped sequins and some blue and clear rocks from the floral section so the kids could personalize their scenes.

In the tutorials I read online about making snow globes, you could attach the pieces either with aquarium glue or hot glue - or with something called florist clay. Since I didn't want to glue the penguins (I wanted the kids to be able to arrange their scenes and really do it themselves - not have me glue it for them), I searched for the florist clay. I finally found some at the 3rd store, and was so excited - but then I saw on the label a big  warning "Keep out of reach of children". Hmmmm... parents probably would not be too excited about me handing their kids lumps of toxic clay.

I was stumped (but determined). After walking around the craft store for a while, I found some microwavable soy wax in the candle section. Ah ha! A couple of test runs later, I had it down. On the day before the craft,  I piped a wall of hot glue on the inside of each lid in a circle to keep the melted wax from oozing over to the threads of the lid - if that happens, it won't seal! I know this from experience. Also, if you cut away the wax from the threads, it seems to weaken the wax and a couple of shakes later it breaks apart. So, the hot glue to keep the threads clean is important.

The kids assembled their scenes inside the circle of dried hot glue, and then I poured the melted wax in the circle (which was greasy, but not too hot to touch). While we waited for the wax to dry (about 5-10 minutes), we filled the jars with water, white glitter, any sequins or things the kids wanted floating, and a few drops of glycerin to help slow the glitter down when falling. Then we just closed the jars tightly... voila!

Halloween: Enchantress

So, Anais wanted to be Enchantress for Halloween - a villain from the Thor mythology (who also made an appearance on Super Hero Squad - which is where she saw her first). The challenge? A 4T size bustier!

 

I found a princess seam leotard by Jalie pattern for the top, but I omitted the attached bottom (and the tutu of course). I used clear elastic for the straps. I had to make a lot of adjustments though - it was way too large even though I made a small size - so I cut out almost 2 panels from the back in the end... but I think I was a little over-zealous in the adjusting or the top was just a hair too short, because it did tend to ride up a bit. Perhaps it was because I omitted the attached bottom. I did add a high waistband to the pants which helped hide the tummy.

I had more elaborate plans for the headpiece, but in the end ran out of time. So I just cut from heavy, stiff felt and then added satin on the top. Oh well, she was quite happy with the outcome regardless. 

Halloween Costuming

Halloween is my favorite holiday. Autumn is my favorite season, and I love the costumes. Plus, what other holiday do you happily open your door (repeatedly) to complete strangers and give them something? Each year I end up making one costume. This year Anais wants to be Enchantress (she's a green clad villain in the Thor world). So, while I struggle to make a mini bustier for my kid (ha ha - she's getting straps, even if they are clear!), I thought I'd share last year's costume for Anais: Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon (she likes those strong women types).

I loved the way it turned out with the exception of the pink Velcro on the arm pieces. Yeah, that was a mistake. But, I found out the Halloween parade at the school was in a day or two (a week before Halloween), and I had yet to finish (er... start?) the arm pieces... so it was a late night and all I had in my sewing stash was PINK velcro. Ah well. It didn't show a lot of the time (though it does in that photo). She had to wear the costume over regular clothes for school to take the costume off after the parade... so the black tee-shirt isn't part of the outfit.

The biggest challenge was the shoulder armor - and it ended up my favorite part. I lucked out when I found Knight helmets at the Dollar Store with those visors - once I pried them from the hat/helmet, they were the perfect shape as a base (no chicken wire needed!). I papier mached (nothing fancy - just water and flour) over those. Strips of paper for the bands. I found for the spikes, I had best control and the finer detail over laundry lint instead of shredded paper (who knew that bag of lint by the dryer would come in handy?). Once it dried, I used a silver metallic and black watery paint  - a couple messy coats.

The skulls on her shoulders and skirt I made out of Sculpty clay. After I cooked them, I soaked them in coffee for a couple of days.  It was a lot of little projects, but I just had so much fun with it.

Another ModKid Pattern

Well, since we're on the topic of ModKid, here is another one I love. I haven't sewn this one for a while, but it's on my list again for the fall. The long sleeve version is my favorite since the sleeve has a nice flare. It's the ModKid Kyoko Pattern ... and the fabric is even by Patty Young (though that wasn't intentional).

Like the Frida dress, this went together very easily. I used pre-made bias tape, and didn't do all the strips on the bottom - as I rather liked just the one fabric pattern. One lesson learned was on the obi sash. I used a less expensive satin ribbon that I had on hand (gotten from a clearance bin) for the ties. After a few washings, the ribbon broke and shredded. It isn't hard to make the obi again, but I always hate having to repair something like that.

The nice thing is that this was one of the first things I made, and she's really worn this since. The cut of the top is very roomy since you cinch it together with the sash. So, really it is just the length. So, it started out as a dress, and now it is a tunic. The sleeves are a little short, but in the fall, it is perfect. Definitely recommend the pattern, and I've got the fabric picked out for the next version of this one (after I do her Halloween costume, of course! Need to get started on that).

A Glance Back

I started sewing a few years ago, and it quickly became a passion... well, obsession, really. So, since I have to start somewhere with this blog,  I will share some of my favorite things I've sewn in the past few years.

My Frida dress... well my daughter's. The pattern is by the Frida Dress by ModKid. The fabric is a Frida Kahlo fabric that I just absolutely LOVE. I believe it is by Alexander Henry. I wish I had splurged on more than a yard. A mistake I often made when I first started buying fabric.

 

I had a hard time getting a good photo of the entire dress. She sat down and I didn't get a good view as full length. Ah well. The pattern went together well, though. I've only sewn 2 ModKid patterns, but both were easy to follow, good photographs and directions, and a nicely designed dress. I chose to cap the sleeve, as I think the un-elasticized version juts out a little too dramatically. I was happy with the way it turned out, so happy with my decision. The dress is roomy too - so she's grown and it still fits.