what we've been up to (sewing-wise)

Yesterday I felt like sewing.  I don't mean 'I-don't-have-anything-else-to-do-so-I-might-as-well' feel like sewing.  No, it was more along the lines of 'Luke-take-the-baby-because-there-are-too-many-ideas-and-too-much-awesome-fabric-lying-fallow-in-my-stash-for-me-not-to' feel like sewing.  This is a very familiar inclination in my life, usually preceded by a cup of coffee while perusing favored blogs.  All that inspiration and my need to create something beautiful wells up inside of me and then veritably explodes forth (in the form of my entire fabric stash strewn across the living room).

What I really wanted was to make a dress for Wren out of the leftover linen from Luke's shirt.  I love that fabric so much and I'd hate to see it go to waste when it could be made into a jumper for Wren to match her daddy-o.  I pulled out a cute (and easy!) pattern stored away since a few years back.  But sadly the linen scraps that remained were too small to cut out the pattern pieces.

Disappointed, I considered just putting everything away and coming back to it another time, when I realized that there was enough fabric for a jumper if the bodice was cut separately from the skirt.  That's when, for the first time ever ever ever, I brazenly decided to make my own pattern.  I don't know how to convey to you that this is not like me.  At all.  I need patterns.  I like having every direction transcribed in great detail.  I like reading each step over and over to make sure I don't screw it up.

Considering all this, who knows what possessed me as I grabbed one of Wren's dresses and traced the shape of the skirt onto some newspaper.  Then I pulled out the McCall's pattern I'd intended to use originally and traced the bodice front and bodice back , stopping where the width met the skirt top.  I cut out the linen, added a teal lining, chopped off two inches from the skirt bottom and replaced it with a strip of vintage fabric I picked up at this year's Mennonite relief sale.  The colored fabric is simply folded in half and sewn to the raw linen edge (no hemming!).  I pressed the allowances up and then top stitched them to the linen so they'd be secured.  Lastly I added two vintage buttons (from the same sale), and we've got a matchy-matchy father-daughter duo!

I purposely made the dress big so that Wren can grow into it, though I think I may have gone a bit too far.  She tried it on this morning and I'd say it's closer to an 18-24 month, which means she and Luke can match next spring instead of now.  I'm fine with that, since I'm actually planning on making a slew of clothing in much bigger sizes that she can grow into over the next few years.  Can you imagine how fun it'll be to pull out a forgotten pair of homemade pants when she's 2 and have them magically fit?  I can, and I imagine that to be quite satisfying.

I thought I'd also quickly share some pictures of a bunting banner I made on commission for a friend. It's the same concept as the one I made for my niece's baby shower, though I opted for larger triangles this time and spaced them closer together.  I cheated and bought a pre-made binding that saved me a bucket-load of time, and added little ribbons to each end for easier-hanging purposes.

So that's what me and the sewing machine have been up to lately.  And me and Wren?  We're enjoying this crazy yo-yo spring weather, taking lots of walks to the playground down the street.