An Old Project

Since I'm still working on the Butterick pants and since they are rather dull and boring and provide little fodder for discussion, I thought I'd share an old project. I made this dress for my daughter after she asked that I make her a Madeline dress. For those who don't know, Madeline is a children's character - a little French orphan who solves mysteries and gives to the poor.

One day, Rosalind asked me if I would make her a Madeline dress. As she has never before asked me to make her something, I jumped at the chance. Within a day, I had researched Madeline attire and picked out a pattern and was waiting for it to go on sale. I was thrilled that my lovely, then three-year-old daughter was taking interest in having me make things for her. I later discovered that her daddy, wanting his daughter to wear something other than satin princess dress-up clothes, had suggested the idea to her. Nevertheless, I was still excited that she was excited.

I went looking for some dark blue and white fabric. I found some linen at Joann's that was on sale, so I went for that. The dress does need to be ironed everytime it comes out of the dryer. (I have to be more careful about the fabrics I choose for DD's clothes. I'm not used to having to iron her laundry.) Anyway, this is the final product. I cut a size two and lengthened it, as DD is thin and a bit tall for her age. I'll post a pic of the pattern later. One thing I like about the pattern is that the sleeves are pleated instead of eased, so they are very quick to put together.

Next up?

My next project will be a Butterick pants pattern: 5044. I bought a polyester blend (the bolt didn't say what the other fabric is). It's a black linen-look fabric with a great drape. I have a couple of concerns about this project: A) Will it fit? I'm making a medium, even though my measurements tell me to make a large, because it looks very loose fitting (and because I didn't buy the envelope with a large in it (and because I can't handle the thought of making a large)). B) Will it be too bulky in the waist area? The problem with elastic waist pants is that the waist has to be large enough to fit over the hips, and for a pear like me, that can mean a lot of fabric in the stomach area. C) Will my serger work? My daughter was playing around on my sewing table and knocked my serger off the table. Parts fell off. I cried. It was ugly. I haven't mustered up enough nerve to check it out yet. This project will force me into it.

Anyway, I cut the fabric with the only change being extending the back crotch curve by about 3/4 inch. More to come on that project as it progresses.

Quilt Finally Done

The quilt I made my MIL is finally finished, and I can now move on to another project guilt-free. I make about one quilt a year, and I guess this quilt is 2007's. It's a pattern called Japanese moons. I made the half circles at The Sewing Studio in one of Jean's classes. I enjoyed spending the day in her workshop, and she even let us come back the next day to work some more, which was a bonus for me with two little ones at home.



My MIL loves her Koi like most people love their dogs. When I saw this pattern, I wasn't sure what I would do with it, but after some thought on my part, it occured tome that a Koi fabric would work well. I couldn't find any Koi-only fabric, but I found this fabric with a pagoda/Koi pond scene that I liked. That was the insipiration fabric. The back is a a patchwork of some Asian-themed fabrics I had in my stash.

First Post

This is my first post for my new sewing blog. I hope to keep track of my sewing here and to share news and information with fellow sewers. More to come later.