Disboutiquers Part 29 Kids Disney Boutique / Customs Clothes psst..we sew ;-)

[squirrel]

I don't really know anything about White. I believe it is made by one of the other major brands but I don't know who. I did read that most of the brands are made in the same few factories in Asia. It sounds like a good machine at a great price. Just bring along some of your own fabric when you go to look at it and make sure to test it out. Reading up on buying a used serger, I found that a lot of people will use highly starched pieces of fabric in order to sell a machine with tension issues. Does it do rolled hems or coverstich? If so, how difficult is it to change to those features? My guess is that it won't do coverstitch because you only find that on the high end machines.

Thanks! I'll ask about the rolled hem and coverstitch and how easy/hard it is to switch to. Thanks for the tip about bringing some of my own fabric to test with.

Here is a similar one to the one I'm looking at purchasing http://www.ebay.com/itm/WHITE-POWERLOCK-7934WD-Differential-Four-Thread-Serger-4-/260879565865 It does a rolled hem and switching between the two is easy he said. It was serviced within the year and his wife upgraded to a newer model that's why it's being sold. I'm going to see it on Friday evening.

 

[goteamwood]

I finished, finally, safari minnie. You'd never guess this was one of the toughest darn projects. I think it is just fatigue and bad luck. I was able to salvage the 1st of 2 ruined shirts by making the appliqué on felt, then attaching it to the shirt on top of mis-aligned Minnie. I actually like the way it came out better than it was before (other than the alignment issue of course) since the tan felt sort of outlines it on the dark shirt. So bad turned good. of course the thing is about an inch thick, so there's that.

Now we have to figure out how to jam all these clothes into suitcases. Now that the child is out of the suitcase and in bed.

 

[BabyRapunzel]

I finished, finally, safari minnie. You'd never guess this was one of the toughest darn projects. I think it is just fatigue and bad luck. I was able to salvage the 1st of 2 ruined shirts by making the appliqué on felt, then attaching it to the shirt on top of mis-aligned Minnie. I actually like the way it came out better than it was before (other than the alignment issue of course) since the tan felt sort of outlines it on the dark shirt. So bad turned good. of course the thing is about an inch thick, so there's that.

Now we have to figure out how to jam all these clothes into suitcases. Now that the child is out of the suitcase and in bed.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/goteamwood/8120770191/

Very cute! And nice call on the save. I ruined 2 shirts and did not think of that solution. Good luck packing!

 

[4HppyCamprs]

I finished, finally, safari minnie. You'd never guess this was one of the toughest darn projects. I think it is just fatigue and bad luck. I was able to salvage the 1st of 2 ruined shirts by making the appliqué on felt, then attaching it to the shirt on top of mis-aligned Minnie. I actually like the way it came out better than it was before (other than the alignment issue of course) since the tan felt sort of outlines it on the dark shirt. So bad turned good. of course the thing is about an inch thick, so there's that.

Now we have to figure out how to jam all these clothes into suitcases. Now that the child is out of the suitcase and in bed.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/goteamwood/8120770191/

I like her!!

 

[PurpleEars]

Wow, fabulous stuff posted lately! I haven't been on in a couple of weeks and I am hopelessly behind again!

Here is a NBC outfit I finished for Alexa this last week. The top is the Olivia pattern. This was the first time I had tried it. The hood was a little funky but overall a pretty easy pattern. The instructions stink though and if I had been a beginner, I would have been completely lost! The skirt is one that I picked up from Once Upon a Child for $2.50!

Here is a back view of the skirt.

I still have to finish a Frankenweenie dress and shirt plus start Halloween costumes!

Great job on the set! That's a great find on the skirt.

Hita everybody. There has been so many great outfits!! I really like seeing the outfits for boys as clothing seems so limited. I am beyond frustrated with this Christmas dress so I stopped and am surfing here. Totally ready to just rip all the seams out and forget about it. The issue is "gathering" apparently I can't do it.

So sorry to hear about your problems with gathering. I have to admit I was lazy bought myself a ruffler for gathering.

It's funny but he actually requested it! I made the first bowling shirts for the boys and he asked for a Green Lantern one (which I still haven't made, BTW.) and then asked for Wall-E, of course, since that was fabric so hard to come by!

I too am "vintage" then! I definitely feel like it sometimes. I was in Joann fabrics the other day and a lady asked me if I thought ET was brown or grey, and she had a pattern from 1980s that was for an ET costume my mom had made for my brother when he was about 2. She sewed it up in the back though and stuffed it so we had a "life-size" ET, which was awesome. I couldn't believe this lady had the same 30+ year old pattern my mom used! Memory lane...

Oh I can't wait to see the Green Lantern shirt! Speaking of "vintage" pattern and a trip down memory lane, I found a soft book pattern from the 70's at a garage sale last year. This is a special pattern to us as DH's aunt made him a book using that pattern when he was born. DH's aunt lent me her copy a few years ago when I was making a book for a close friend's baby. I then spent $$ at that auction site for an uncut copy a couple of years ago. This pattern from the garage was in pretty good shape and the woman only charged me $1 for it. This means I can keep my "good" copy untouched when I do more books in the future.

I will send you a PM... Not sure where you are staying - but I am only 30 minutes from the MOA -and I would love to do a Dismeet!!!!

I've been busy doing lots of stuff... Sewing basically non-stop...

Here's a couple of my latest projects:

If you're bored and want to peruse my PTR - I have more photos there - linked in my siggy, but I don't want to post too many pictures here, because I know most of you have seen them enough already.

D~

Thanks for the PM and yes I would LOVE a Dismeet! I didn't realize you live in the Twin Cities area. I responded to your message. I hope we can set something up!

Great job on the bags by the way. Too bad I didn't bring my Minnie Rosetta with me or we could have a Dis-purse meet too!

I'm looking at purchasing a previously owned serger by White and need to know what I should be looking at for a serger.

Is White a decent brand? I know it does 3/4 thread and that each has a different colored threader. It also has a differential feed, whatever that is. The person is asking $50 and that's the cheapest I have seen in a year. But I don't check Craigslist even monthly so I may have missed some. Anything else I should know?

My first sewing machine after I moved out was an older White machine. It was a very sturdy machine (but it was 40 years old by the time I got it). Differential feed means you can adjust the stitches so it gathers or stretches the raw edge (I don't use that feature on my serger at all). I would test drive it and make sure the knife cuts the fabric cleanly. Also, ask the seller to show you how to adjust the serger to do rolled hem (if it does that). Make sure you get the instruction book or make sure you can get it off the internet. I refer to my serger instruction book from time to time still.

So, first, here are the other two adult bowling shirts. The Wall-E his/hers were for me and hubby, these two are for my best friend and her husband who are coming with us. Until they stay in a Cars family suite with my insane almost-3-year-olds that is, they may wish to never see us again! She requested Monsters Inc. Well first she requested UP but that had ZILCH in the way of fabric and I didn't yet have the embroidery machine. So she changed to Monsters Inc, which didn't exactly have a lot more fabric. I was able to get a single Fat Quarter for like $10 on ebay. (sigh) and sort of went from there. I know it's busy, but she LOVES it and cried she was so thrilled. It's an homage to all the monsters. I love the back the best.



The other is for her husband, who wanted Buzz, much easier to find fabric, but he wanted it a little less busy. I guess we can't all be John Lasseter.



I did make a couple things for myself, actually, though I have currently ruined TWO t-shirts trying to make the darn safari Minnie to go with the Mickey/Donald/Goofy I made for my sons and husband. The first time everything was all misaligned, the second time the sleeve somehow got stuck in the satin stitch and I didn't notice until it had done like an inch.
So, I did the plain white t-shirt with the Disney Characters logo, which I love, I wish it were bigger though. I can do 5x7 but could only find this logo 4x4 which was a bummer. Anyway, I added ribbon to the sleeves and shirred the sides to gather it up a little for a little less "plain white t-shirt" look.




Also I found this polka dot shirt at Target and put minnie on it. I made my husband a red w/ a corresponding mickey for the chef mickey breakfast our last day.


And... since I can't leave well-enough alone. I had made halloween shirts for my boys way early on, hand-appliqed on those stupid rabbit skins shirts that are WAY too short and I didn't know it until they were washed. So I re-made them halloween shirts and since I was sitting around watching my embroidery machine, also whipped up these pants to go with them. The fabric I had bought on impulse a month or so ago and didn't really do anything with.


And finally, we have started packing:


Tonight I am going BACK to Target to get a 3rd shirt to make for safari minnie. then I am DONE. With a capital DUH.

Those bowling shirts look fantastic! I hope your friends will appreciate the time and effort you put into them. I like how you jazzed up the white T-shirts. I am glad that you got new shirts done for the Halloween outfits. I like your idea of packing. Now only if I could fit into a suitcase...

I've been browsing this thread during my free time today, and oh my! You ladies are amazing!
I've been sewing on and off for a while, but just really started getting into it a little over a year ago. I am very much a beginner!! I've taught myself (thank you youtube!) what I know so far, but I'm thinking that after the holidays I'll take a few classes at our local fabric store, If for no other reason than to meet some other local sewers.

For the most part I've only sewn "crafty" things. Purses, totes, baby items...all from online tutorials too. The only thing I've ever sewn from a pattern was the Amy Butler Birdie Sling (what I currently use as my purse).

Right now I'm sewing my kids Halloween costumes. I made my daughter a detective cape and hat using a Martha tutorial (I can post pictures if anyone is interested), I'm making a bat costume for ds2, and ds3 is going to be a robot ("bot bot" as he says in 2 year old words. lol)

The problem I'm having is that I can't find any Robot costume tutorials, so I'm going to have to wing it for the first time. I bought some blue fleece, and I have plenty of felt to add details. My idea is to make him a little fleece sweater (and applique on felt dials and buttons) and a fleece hat that I can applique eyes and a mouth onto.
Does anyone know of a good cheap (or free) online pattern for a fleece hat or sweater? Or a method to make my own?
I thought of taking a long sleeved shirt of his, tracing it to make a pattern (adding extra for seam allowance of course), and just sewing two pieces together. Will that work?
Thank You!

Welcome! I hope you will share pictures of your work. I am not sure if the long sleeved T-shirt method will work for the fleece. I am concerned that the armpit area will either be too bulky or be too restrictive. I haven't done much with fleece (nor kids' sized shirts) to know if that is going to work. Hopefully someone with some experience with this will chime in and help.

I finished, finally, safari minnie. You'd never guess this was one of the toughest darn projects. I think it is just fatigue and bad luck. I was able to salvage the 1st of 2 ruined shirts by making the appliqué on felt, then attaching it to the shirt on top of mis-aligned Minnie. I actually like the way it came out better than it was before (other than the alignment issue of course) since the tan felt sort of outlines it on the dark shirt. So bad turned good. of course the thing is about an inch thick, so there's that.

Now we have to figure out how to jam all these clothes into suitcases. Now that the child is out of the suitcase and in bed.

Congrats on getting your last project done! I am sure your family will look fab every day of the trip. I hope you will get a chance to rest a bit before your trip!

 

[ivey_family]

Gah! I had about 10 more quotes but they disappeared! Did anyone else have trouble on page 92 of our thread? It's all goofed up for me.

Goteamwood - A lot of them were yours. Everything turned out great! That Monster's Inc shirt is fabulous! I love the business card holder, too! Thanks for the link! Have a great trip!

Purple Ears - you mentioned a possible new machine next year. How exciting! Does that mean your mortgage will be paid off then? What an awesome accomplishment for you both!

I'm sorry I missed several others!

I finished my friend's daughter's dress and It came out great and was super easy. I think I might make a few more and it should be easy to resize since I only have it in a 12. This is what I used for a pattern, it's from 1976... the year I was born.

And this is the dress I made. her mom went out and got fabric without me.

Front

That turned out nice!

Here is the dress and pinafore that I finished today. It is from one of my new Olabelhe patterns. I like how it turned out.
Front:

Gorgeous and so is the Pooh version! I'm very jealous of your sewing speed! You are cranking all these beautiful items out!

I've got my eye on several Olabelhe patterns next time she has a sale. They are all so pretty!

As promised, here are the pictures of my DS's bday outfit.

The pants are made from the Treasure Pockets Pants pattern found in the book "Sewing For Boys". I really like the look of them and it's fun to be able to combine fabrics. I overall liked the pattern and can't wait to make more and use some of the other patterns in the book.

Then I added a simple applique to a shirt. I ended up being lucky in that the only orange I had that matched the print happened to be knit so I didn't have to do all the satin stitching. But since I was in a rush, my "straight" stitching is anything but! HA!

Sunshine

Very cute! What sizes do the patterns in that book go up to?

Front of dress and pinafore:

I'll say it again - just lovely!

Here is a NBC outfit I finished for Alexa this last week. The top is the Olivia pattern. This was the first time I had tried it. The hood was a little funky but overall a pretty easy pattern. The instructions stink though and if I had been a beginner, I would have been completely lost! The skirt is one that I picked up from Once Upon a Child for $2.50!

I still have to finish a Frankenweenie dress and shirt plus start Halloween costumes!

The whole outfit looks great! I love the tights, too!

I'll be back in a sec with pics of a dress.
Regards,
C.

 

[ivey_family]

I finished a new version of a dress I made last year. We're re-using our Peter Pan outfits from last year's trip, but my dd has grown out of hers. I used the last of my PP fabric and made the dress extra large with a deep hem so she can wear it for several years. (The kids and I wear these outfits at church a lot.) Both are from CarlaC's Precious Dress pattern.

Last year's version:

The new version:

The skirt is two layers instead of a band of green at the bottom and I left off the ties since I just didn't have enough fabric. I made the skirt as full as possible, but nearly had a heart attack while gathering it that it wouldn't gather tightly enough to fit. It worked, but by millimeters! Phew!

Oh, I almost forgot to explain the mod I did on the sleeve bands. (Although, I think you might have done something similar on your Meg dresses, Diane!) the Precious Dress has a clunky sleeve band application, so instead I cut two rectangles on the bias. The length is the same as the pattern piece, and the width is 2x desired finished width + 2x seam allowance. Fold it in half, wrong sides together and apply to edge of sleeve after gathering. I then stitch the seam allowance down after finishing the side seams. Hope that makes sense. Here's a close-up:

I'm close to being done with a Feliz which I'm excited about, though I can't say I love working with that pattern.

Back to work I go.
Regards,
C.

 

[PurpleEars]

Gah! I had about 10 more quotes but they disappeared! Did anyone else have trouble on page 92 of our thread? It's all goofed up for me.

Purple Ears - you mentioned a possible new machine next year. How exciting! Does that mean your mortgage will be paid off then? What an awesome accomplishment for you both!

I'll be back in a sec with pics of a dress.
Regards,
C.

I don't recall having problems on page 92. Hopefully it was just a one-time glitch.

I am impressed that you remember my "rule" prior to a new embridery machine! Actually, we paid off our mortgage earlier this year, before we left for our August trip ! I have been keeping it low key as I know we are extremely fortunate to be in this situation, to be mortage free especially given our age. No, we did not win the lottery or got an inheritance or anything like that, we just kept on putting pennies away whenever possible.

I finished a new version of a dress I made last year. We're re-using our Peter Pan outfits from last year's trip, but my dd has grown out of hers. I used the last of my PP fabric and made the dress extra large with a deep hem so she can wear it for several years. (The kids and I wear these outfits at church a lot.) Both are from CarlaC's Precious Dress pattern.

Last year's version:

The new version:

The skirt is two layers instead of a band of green at the bottom and I left off the ties since I just didn't have enough fabric. I made the skirt as full as possible, but nearly had a heart attack while gathering it that it wouldn't gather tightly enough to fit. It worked, but by millimeters! Phew!

I'm close to being done with a Feliz which I'm excited about, though I can't say I love working with that pattern.

Back to work I go.
Regards,
C.

The new dress looks beautiful! I hope she will get a few years of wear out of it. I am glad that I am not the only one who wears Disney customs to church .

Your DD has grown a lot since the first picture was taken! She looks so beautiful! I can't wait to see pictures of your Feliz!

 

[dianemom2]

I've been sewing on and off for a while, but just really started getting into it a little over a year ago. I am very much a beginner!! I've taught myself (thank you youtube!) what I know so far, but I'm thinking that after the holidays I'll take a few classes at our local fabric store, If for no other reason than to meet some other local sewers.

I bought some blue fleece, and I have plenty of felt to add details. My idea is to make him a little fleece sweater (and applique on felt dials and buttons) and a fleece hat that I can applique eyes and a mouth onto.
Does anyone know of a good cheap (or free) online pattern for a fleece hat or sweater? Or a method to make my own?
I thought of taking a long sleeved shirt of his, tracing it to make a pattern (adding extra for seam allowance of course), and just sewing two pieces together. Will that work?
Thank You!

Hi and welcome to the group. Although fleece is pretty thick, it isn't too hard to work with because it doesn't unravel or fray. You could make your own pattern by tracing a long sleeved shirt but a sweatshirt would be better because it will be looser fitting. You don't want to cut it too tight because you want room for clothing under the fleece sweater. Simplicity has a pretty good fleece jacket pattern that I've used a few times if you decide that you want to buy a pattern. I don't recall seeing any tutorials on-line but somebody else might know of one.

I forgot when your girls are going to Dis, but are they allowing you to make them anything? I would think they'd wear an appliqued t for Dis.

The girls are going in December. They wanted me to make them a shirt with the glow in the dark material and thread that I bought recently. I already made them and they came out cute. I asked if they wanted anything else and they said no. My younger dd has two shirts that I made her last year. Those still fit her so she will take them and they both have a couple of Disney shirts that they bought at Forever 21 so they have plenty to wear for the week they are there.

Thanks! I'll ask about the rolled hem and coverstitch and how easy/hard it is to switch to. Thanks for the tip about bringing some of my own fabric to test with.

Here is a similar one to the one I'm looking at purchasing http://www.ebay.com/itm/WHITE-POWERLOCK-7934WD-Differential-Four-Thread-Serger-4-/260879565865 It does a rolled hem and switching between the two is easy he said. It was serviced within the year and his wife upgraded to a newer model that's why it's being sold. I'm going to see it on Friday evening.

It looks like a nice machine. Good luck!

. I was able to salvage the 1st of 2 ruined shirts by making the appliqué on felt, then attaching it to the shirt on top of mis-aligned Minnie. I actually like the way it came out better than it was before (other than the alignment issue of course) since the tan felt sort of outlines it on the dark shirt. So bad turned good. of course the thing is about an inch thick, so there's that.

That turned out well. I'm glad you were able to salvage one of the ruined shirts. You certainly can't tell from the picture that there is anything under the patch.

I finished a new version of a dress I made last year. We're re-using our Peter Pan outfits from last year's trip, but my dd has grown out of hers. I used the last of my PP fabric and made the dress extra large with a deep hem so she can wear it for several years. (The kids and I wear these outfits at church a lot.) Both are from CarlaC's Precious Dress pattern.

Last year's version:

The new version:

The skirt is two layers instead of a band of green at the bottom and I left off the ties since I just didn't have enough fabric. I made the skirt as full as possible, but nearly had a heart attack while gathering it that it wouldn't gather tightly enough to fit. It worked, but by millimeters! Phew!

Oh, I almost forgot to explain the mod I did on the sleeve bands. (Although, I think you might have done something similar on your Meg dresses, Diane!) the Precious Dress has a clunky sleeve band application, so instead I cut two rectangles on the bias. The length is the same as the pattern piece, and the width is 2x desired finished width + 2x seam allowance. Fold it in half, wrong sides together and apply to edge of sleeve after gathering. I then stitch the seam allowance down after finishing the side seams. Hope that makes sense. Here's a close-up:

C.

The Peter Pan dress turned out great! I love the pictures showing last year and this year. Your dd has grown and changed so much. Last year she was a baby and this year she is a little girl! It is smart to make the dress so that she has room to grow into it. It is such a pretty dress and you don't want her to outgrow it too quickly.

I did do the sleeves on the Meg dress just the same way. The Olabelhe directions had you attach the sleeve band on one end, turn it up and then HAND sew it into place. There was no way that I was hand sewing it so I made the exact same modification you made. The sewing isn't quite as beautifully finished but it is a lot more practical! One thing I have learned from the Olabelhe patterns is to do the hand pleating instead of gathering. It seems to work especially well on those thicker, two layered skirts and I think that the finished product looks very attractive that way.

 

[disneychic2]

So, first, here are the other two adult bowling shirts. The Wall-E his/hers were for me and hubby, these two are for my best friend and her husband who are coming with us. Until they stay in a Cars family suite with my insane almost-3-year-olds that is, they may wish to never see us again! She requested Monsters Inc. Well first she requested UP but that had ZILCH in the way of fabric and I didn't yet have the embroidery machine. So she changed to Monsters Inc, which didn't exactly have a lot more fabric. I was able to get a single Fat Quarter for like $10 on ebay. (sigh) and sort of went from there. I know it's busy, but she LOVES it and cried she was so thrilled. It's an homage to all the monsters. I love the back the best.

I did make a couple things for myself, actually, though I have currently ruined TWO t-shirts trying to make the darn safari Minnie to go with the Mickey/Donald/Goofy I made for my sons and husband. The first time everything was all misaligned, the second time the sleeve somehow got stuck in the satin stitch and I didn't notice until it had done like an inch.
So, I did the plain white t-shirt with the Disney Characters logo, which I love, I wish it were bigger though. I can do 5x7 but could only find this logo 4x4 which was a bummer. Anyway, I added ribbon to the sleeves and shirred the sides to gather it up a little for a little less "plain white t-shirt" look.

lso I found this polka dot shirt at Target and put minnie on it. I made my husband a red w/ a corresponding mickey for the chef mickey breakfast our last day.

And... since I can't leave well-enough alone. I had made halloween shirts for my boys way early on, hand-appliqed on those stupid rabbit skins shirts that are WAY too short and I didn't know it until they were washed. So I re-made them halloween shirts and since I was sitting around watching my embroidery machine, also whipped up these pants to go with them. The fabric I had bought on impulse a month or so ago and didn't really do anything with.


And finally, we have started packing:


Tonight I am going BACK to Target to get a 3rd shirt to make for safari minnie. then I am DONE. With a capital DUH.

All your things are wonderful! The bowling shirts for your friends turned out great! Love the polka dot shirt with Minnie! The boys shirts and pants are adorable and your packing method is awesome!

I finished, finally, safari minnie. You'd never guess this was one of the toughest darn projects. I think it is just fatigue and bad luck. I was able to salvage the 1st of 2 ruined shirts by making the appliqué on felt, then attaching it to the shirt on top of mis-aligned Minnie. I actually like the way it came out better than it was before (other than the alignment issue of course) since the tan felt sort of outlines it on the dark shirt. So bad turned good. of course the thing is about an inch thick, so there's that.

Now we have to figure out how to jam all these clothes into suitcases. Now that the child is out of the suitcase and in bed.

You crack me up! In your own mind, things are going crazy and not turning out and yet your things are all fantastic! You are quite the seamstress, whether you think so or not! Welcome to the crazy world of seeing outfits out of practically nothing and always having visions of "I could make that" swimming in your head. It's a sickness that has no cure. You'll see.

Have a magical trip!!

Gah! I had about 10 more quotes but they disappeared! Did anyone else have trouble on page 92 of our thread? It's all goofed up for me.

regards,
C.

I don't know if it was page 92, and I didn't lose quotes, but lost the comments I had typed under the quotes. Sorry Sunshine and Diane! But I retyped them in an edit.

I finished a new version of a dress I made last year. We're re-using our Peter Pan outfits from last year's trip, but my dd has grown out of hers. I used the last of my PP fabric and made the dress extra large with a deep hem so she can wear it for several years. (The kids and I wear these outfits at church a lot.) Both are from CarlaC's Precious Dress pattern.


The new version:

I'm close to being done with a Feliz which I'm excited about, though I can't say I love working with that pattern.

Back to work I go.
Regards,
C.

The dress is beautiful and so is your daughter! Enjoy sewing for her while she's young. So many fabulous patterns and fabrics and ideas for little girls! I'm looking forward to seeing your Feliz, since I have absolutely no idea what it is!

 

[ivey_family]

I am impressed that you remember my "rule" prior to a new embridery machine! Actually, we paid off our mortgage earlier this year, before we left for our August trip ! I have been keeping it low key as I know we are extremely fortunate to be in this situation, to be mortage free especially given our age. No, we did not win the lottery or got an inheritance or anything like that, we just kept on putting pennies away whenever possible.

That is wonderful, Flora! Congratulations to you and your husband for such discipline. I hope you'll treat yourself to an amazing machine after such hard work!!

I did do the sleeves on the Meg dress just the same way. The Olabelhe directions had you attach the sleeve band on one end, turn it up and then HAND sew it into place. There was no way that I was hand sewing it so I made the exact same modification you made. The sewing isn't quite as beautifully finished but it is a lot more practical! One thing I have learned from the Olabelhe patterns is to do the hand pleating instead of gathering. It seems to work especially well on those thicker, two layered skirts and I think that the finished product looks very attractive that way.

I avoid that kind of hand sewing unless it's an heirloom item. I'm slow enough as is! I have done sleeve bands that way on christening gowns. I had to go back and examine your Meg dresses for the pleats. That IS a very pretty look!

The dress is beautiful and so is your daughter! Enjoy sewing for her while she's young. So many fabulous patterns and fabrics and ideas for little girls! I'm looking forward to seeing your Feliz, since I have absolutely no idea what it is!

The Feliz is a Farbenmix pattern found in the Sewing Clothes Kids Love book. It used to be used a lot more frequently around here, but I think the Funktional Threads Grace pattern has eclipsed it recently.

Regards,
C.

 

[DMGeurts]

Thanks for all the compliments on my bags everyone!

I finished, finally, safari minnie. You'd never guess this was one of the toughest darn projects. I think it is just fatigue and bad luck. I was able to salvage the 1st of 2 ruined shirts by making the appliqué on felt, then attaching it to the shirt on top of mis-aligned Minnie. I actually like the way it came out better than it was before (other than the alignment issue of course) since the tan felt sort of outlines it on the dark shirt. So bad turned good. of course the thing is about an inch thick, so there's that.

Now we have to figure out how to jam all these clothes into suitcases. Now that the child is out of the suitcase and in bed.

I think this was a great save! It turned out fabulous!

Thanks for the PM and yes I would LOVE a Dismeet! I didn't realize you live in the Twin Cities area. I responded to your message. I hope we can set something up!

Great job on the bags by the way. Too bad I didn't bring my Minnie Rosetta with me or we could have a Dis-purse meet too!

Bummer about not bringing your Minnie bag... Super excited to do a Dismeet this week though!

I finished a new version of a dress I made last year. We're re-using our Peter Pan outfits from last year's trip, but my dd has grown out of hers. I used the last of my PP fabric and made the dress extra large with a deep hem so she can wear it for several years. (The kids and I wear these outfits at church a lot.) Both are from CarlaC's Precious Dress pattern.

Last year's version:

The new version:

The skirt is two layers instead of a band of green at the bottom and I left off the ties since I just didn't have enough fabric. I made the skirt as full as possible, but nearly had a heart attack while gathering it that it wouldn't gather tightly enough to fit. It worked, but by millimeters! Phew!

Oh, I almost forgot to explain the mod I did on the sleeve bands. (Although, I think you might have done something similar on your Meg dresses, Diane!) the Precious Dress has a clunky sleeve band application, so instead I cut two rectangles on the bias. The length is the same as the pattern piece, and the width is 2x desired finished width + 2x seam allowance. Fold it in half, wrong sides together and apply to edge of sleeve after gathering. I then stitch the seam allowance down after finishing the side seams. Hope that makes sense. Here's a close-up:

I'm close to being done with a Feliz which I'm excited about, though I can't say I love working with that pattern.

Back to work I go.
Regards,
C.

I cannot believe how big your dd has gotten, she is just precious! I love the dress too - I've been hoarding that same fabric, and dd just got a cool peter pan shirt at Target yesterday... Hmmm... I see a cute wrap skirt with that fabric for our trip in the future.

D~

 

[smile5sunshine]

I finished, finally, safari minnie. You'd never guess this was one of the toughest darn projects. I think it is just fatigue and bad luck. I was able to salvage the 1st of 2 ruined shirts by making the appliqué on felt, then attaching it to the shirt on top of mis-aligned Minnie. I actually like the way it came out better than it was before (other than the alignment issue of course) since the tan felt sort of outlines it on the dark shirt. So bad turned good. of course the thing is about an inch thick, so there's that.

Now we have to figure out how to jam all these clothes into suitcases. Now that the child is out of the suitcase and in bed.

She looks great!

Packing room saving tip: ROLL your clothes! Seriously, they take up much less room this way. And don't forget you can stuff your shoes will clothes to fill them up too!

Very cute! What sizes do the patterns in that book go up to?
Regards,
C.

A few of the patterns only go up to 24 months but the MAJORITY of them go up to a size 7/8. HTH!

I finished a new version of a dress I made last year. We're re-using our Peter Pan outfits from last year's trip, but my dd has grown out of hers. I used the last of my PP fabric and made the dress extra large with a deep hem so she can wear it for several years. (The kids and I wear these outfits at church a lot.) Both are from CarlaC's Precious Dress pattern.

Last year's version:

The new version:

The skirt is two layers instead of a band of green at the bottom and I left off the ties since I just didn't have enough fabric. I made the skirt as full as possible, but nearly had a heart attack while gathering it that it wouldn't gather tightly enough to fit. It worked, but by millimeters! Phew!

Oh, I almost forgot to explain the mod I did on the sleeve bands. (Although, I think you might have done something similar on your Meg dresses, Diane!) the Precious Dress has a clunky sleeve band application, so instead I cut two rectangles on the bias. The length is the same as the pattern piece, and the width is 2x desired finished width + 2x seam allowance. Fold it in half, wrong sides together and apply to edge of sleeve after gathering. I then stitch the seam allowance down after finishing the side seams. Hope that makes sense. Here's a close-up:

I'm close to being done with a Feliz which I'm excited about, though I can't say I love working with that pattern.

Back to work I go.
Regards,
C.

OH I remember when you posted this dress last year! I loved it then and I love it still! You are such a smart mama making it bigger so she can wear it for a few years. And just so you know my girls wear all their Disney customs all the time to church (and anywhere else!). I didn't think they would, especially my older two (almost9&7) but they have totally surprised me!

I am impressed that you remember my "rule" prior to a new embridery machine! Actually, we paid off our mortgage earlier this year, before we left for our August trip ! I have been keeping it low key as I know we are extremely fortunate to be in this situation, to be mortage free especially given our age. No, we did not win the lottery or got an inheritance or anything like that, we just kept on putting pennies away whenever possible.

WOO HOO and CONGRATULATIONS!!!! And while I agree that you ARE fortunate, please don't deny us all the opportunity to rejoice WITH you! Well done!

These are so cute Sunshine!!! Your DS is adorable too!!!

In all honesty, I didn't learn over night, well - sort of, but lots of and and and and and and happened first.

I've been busy doing lots of stuff... Sewing basically non-stop...

Here's a couple of my latest projects:

If you're bored and want to peruse my PTR - I have more photos there - linked in my siggy, but I don't want to post too many pictures here, because I know most of you have seen them enough already.

D~

Thank you for the sweet comments on my son.

LOL! I thought you'd like that. I enjoyed your rendition of the learning process! HA!

And I don't care how many times I see them I LOOOOOOOOOVE seeing your bags (and anything else you happen to make!).

You.Are.KILLING.ME!!!!!!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the Monster's shirt! EVERY design element is FABULOUS! I would have cried too if someone gave me that!

AND LOL about the John Lasseter comment! HA! The Buzz shirt came out very nice too, but he is going to be eclipsed by his wife!

Sorry that the Disney embroidery was so small. It still looks good and I love the ribbon detail you added to the sleeves.

The Polka dot minnie is super cute too! I'm so glad that you were able to save the other Minnie shirt and that you have some cute things to wear yourself

WOO HOO for PACKING! (Look! A stow-away! )

Right now I'm sewing my kids Halloween costumes. I made my daughter a detective cape and hat using a Martha tutorial (I can post pictures if anyone is interested), I'm making a bat costume for ds2, and ds3 is going to be a robot ("bot bot" as he says in 2 year old words. lol)

The problem I'm having is that I can't find any Robot costume tutorials, so I'm going to have to wing it for the first time. I bought some blue fleece, and I have plenty of felt to add details. My idea is to make him a little fleece sweater (and applique on felt dials and buttons) and a fleece hat that I can applique eyes and a mouth onto.
Does anyone know of a good cheap (or free) online pattern for a fleece hat or sweater? Or a method to make my own?
I thought of taking a long sleeved shirt of his, tracing it to make a pattern (adding extra for seam allowance of course), and just sewing two pieces together. Will that work?
Thank You!

Please post pictures of the things you have made! we would LOVE to see them.

I think your idea for the Robot costume is good. Or at least it's probably the way I would approach it.

Fleece is pretty easy to work with. Are you wanting more like a sweatshirt or like a zip-up type sweater?

For the sweatshirt kind, you can just trace around any other sweatshirt or tee shirt and add some extra room on the sides for "ease"

For a zip up you can try the method here: http://www.craftinessisnotoptional.com/2012/09/rainbow-dash-costume-hoodie.html

I don't know which is more adorable, the outfit or the child!!

Thank you! You are too sweet!

Hope everyone has a fantastic day!
Sunshine

 

[ivey_family]

I cannot believe how big your dd has gotten, she is just precious! I love the dress too - I've been hoarding that same fabric, and dd just got a cool peter pan shirt at Target yesterday... Hmmm... I see a cute wrap skirt with that fabric for our trip in the future.

D~

Thank you, D! Oh, a PP shirt? Was it by any chance from the women's dept? I could use a new shirt to go with my skirt. A wrap skirt sounds great for your dd!

A few of the patterns only go up to 24 months but the MAJORITY of them go up to a size 7/8. HTH!



OH I remember when you posted this dress last year! I loved it then and I love it still! You are such a smart mama making it bigger so she can wear it for a few years. And just so you know my girls wear all their Disney customs all the time to church (and anywhere else!). I didn't think they would, especially my older two (almost9&7) but they have totally surprised me!


Sunshine

Thanks for the info on the book. I checked it out on Amazon. There are some cute pattern ideas. I may put that on my wishlist.

Ok, so we've got your girls, Flora and my group that wear their customs to church. Anyone else?

Regards,
C.

 

[Tami0220]

Help, I need your help! I have a Brother 2003D embroidery sewing machine. The shop where I go for service has a 2011 Quattro D gently used for $5K with a ton of extras. List is probably $10K for everything. Do any of you have this machine? It does so much more than mine. I presently use 3 1/2 disks this has USB, auto thread, cuts jump threads, larger embroidery area, deeper throat, I think it can sew with the embroider hoop attached

 

[DMGeurts]

Thank you, D! Oh, a PP shirt? Was it by any chance from the women's dept? I could use a new shirt to go with my skirt. A wrap skirt sounds great for your dd!
Regards,
C.

Actually it was... On the 70% off rack too...

D~

 

[GrammytoMany]

I finally caught up looking through the pages... Just want to say "CUTE, CUTE, CUTE"...

Sheila

 

[dianemom2]

That is wonderful, Flora! Congratulations to you and your husband for such discipline. I hope you'll treat yourself to an amazing machine after such hard work!!


It used to be used a lot more frequently around here, but I think the Funktional Threads Grace pattern has eclipsed it recently.

I agree that Flora deserves a HUGE round of applause for paying off her mortgage. Way to go Flora!

Have you seen the new Lauren pattern from Funktional Threads? It seems to be equally as popular as the Grace pattern already. It is a very cute pattern. She just released it on her FB page but I don't think it is on any of the other sites yet.

...dd just got a cool peter pan shirt at Target yesterday...

Now I am going to have to go and check out our Target for those! My husband isn't going to be too happy because I can NEVER stick to my shopping list when I go to Target.

Help, I need your help! I have a Brother 2003D embroidery sewing machine. The shop where I go for service has a 2011 Quattro D gently used for $5K with a ton of extras. List is probably $10K for everything. Do any of you have this machine? It does so much more than mine. I presently use 3 1/2 disks this has USB, auto thread, cuts jump threads, larger embroidery area, deeper throat, I think it can sew with the embroider hoop attached

I have a Babylock Ellageo 3, which I understand is the twin of your Brother 2003D. I just upgraded to a new-to-me Brother Innovis 4000D. I really like it quite a bit. It does cut the jump threads, has a USB and has the automatic threader. I am very happy with the new machine. The Quattro should have quite a few additional features over the Innovis since it is a few years old already. From what I understand, you can't sew with the embroidery hoop attached but you can sew with the embroidery unit on the machine. If you used your 2003D a lot, then I am sure you will love the Quattro even more. Who doesn't love bells and whistles???

 

[ivey_family]

Actually it was... On the 70% off rack too...

D~

Well, I ran over there, but all they had was a Lost Boys shirt with a split back. Too trendy and pink for my needs, but your girls may like it, Diane! There was a Thumper one too, btw.

I did find a cute knit dress for dd that I intend to embroider on. Nope, I can't stay on list at Target either.

Yes, I've seen the Lauren dress and am on her FB page. I just haven't bought them yet.

Regards,
C.

 

[BabyRapunzel]

Love the Lauren dress. Will need to get this soon!


Well here is DD2's Halloween costume. Had trouble with the Jessie applique, her pants should've been white, but it said black. Oh well. We are going to pumpkin patch tomorrow, so it will have to do.