Polka Dots for Two Little Girls

My son Jeff just left after a 10 day visit with Riley and Poppy. I feel a bit bereft today although it's awfully nice to get back to normal and my DH and I have gone back to  enjoying our latest Netflix obsession, "Heartland" If you love horses ( or even if you don't)  and want a really good and wholesome series to watch, you won't be disappointed with this one. Every episode is so good and enjoyable !

Before , their arrival, I started little dresses for my two little cuties. I tried for the first time shirring fabric by using elastic thread in the bobbin of my machine. I loved this process and can't wait to use it again..

I didn't use patterns for these dresses but only guessed how wide to shir and luckily I got it right. I started by using a picot edge finish for the upper bodice .

Since I use push button sewing, I was able to let both Riley and Poppy help sew the back seams and I then finished the hems and made the shoulder straps. My little sweeties were so happy with their dresses that Riley wore hers three days in a row and Poppy insisted on wearing hers four days!

The fabric is  a coral rayon /lycra and therefor very comfy for active little girls. I used a straight stitch with a stitch length of 3 for the shirring.

So here they are, Nana's little sweethearts.

And with face painting done by Nana. ( I may have discovered a new skill !!)

Riley had a hard time to leave me this morning and was on the verge of tears as I was buckling her booster seat when my darling Bob came up with a solution. A $10 bill! What kid doesn't love money !!

Now it's on to sewing for my 18 year old grand-daughter before she leaves for university in Vancouver. I doubt tears can be averted in this case, at least for me!! Sigh!!

Happy Sewing to all of you!

A Culottes Outfit B4861 and V7340

Jumpsuits and culottes. I've always loved them both. Anytime since I reached adulthood that either came in style. I was right there. It didn't matter to me that jumpsuits were hard to deal with when using the bathroom, they were worth it. Culottes sometimes came with matching jackets that I thought  formed such smart suits.

So far, I've resisted the jumpsuit urge,  although I have the perfect ITY knit for a version that's increasingly in my head.

I remember culottes getting very wrinkled when made out of linen or cotton but I've had this great faux linen for a while and I love this fabric for pants because it drapes so well and  they hold their crease and never wrinkle. Perfect for culottes!

So here is this week's outfit.

The culottes are an OOP Butterick pattern, B4861   , View E . I cut a size 12 and they were just about perfect except I decided to add one inch of length to the crotch depth because I like my waistbands to fit above my muffin top.

I love the pleats ,which you can't really see because of the print and the width of the legs is perfect for me.

The waistband is finished in  a cute point which adds a certain "je ne sais quoi! "

 The top was a UFO which has been living in a basket for 9 years!!
The pattern, this OOP Vogue 7340

Isn't it pretty!

The fabric is embroidered linen and just beautiful. I actually have a few yards of this same linen in a beautiful buttercup yellow in my stash.

I love the collar on a band  in this pattern. It's perfect and I pinned it to my cork board for use with a soon to be denim polka dot shirt.

                          

This is a great pattern  (my DGD wants one in red !) and everything worked well, even this curved facing that is top stitched to look like a band.

The green isn't the exact match to the green in the culottes but it's in the same family only lighter so I think it works.

I've already worn this outfit twice and it is so comfortable and fun to wear. I love it it!

I'm not crazy about the tied closure. I may change that to buttons and snaps, but we'll see.

My pics were taken on our new deck which has been built since May but the railings just arrived and installed last week. We are loving spending time out here!

I hope you are all enjoying summer weather but are still finding time for our favorite passtime !