Current Handmade Clothing Loves

Good Thursday morning to you! Just popping to share some cute new clothes that I've made for Isabelle in the past two weeks. There's a little something fun for each of them, so I will do some tutorials and tips posts soon. But not today...today I'm taking my girl to the beach for some fun in the sun!

This adorable maxi skirt is made with a crisp seersucker fabric- I think it's a poly/cotton blend, which I don't typically use, but it holds its shape really well. This skirt took less than half an hour to complete, start to finish. Now that's my kind of project!

Next up is this cute ensemble. It's made with a cotton seersucker plaid, definitely not wrinkle resistant like the blend above, but super sweet. I followed the pattern...mostly. Of course I had to add my own little details! I'll share them later.(We visited one of our favorite farms with my Mom yesterday to celebrate one of our adoption anniversaries, plus some other thoughts on the orphan crisis. I love barn animals so much! If I could just afford to hire out for all that they require, I'd be good to go!)

Grainy photo, I know, but you can see most of the dress. She is in looooove with this dress. Wants to wear it everywhere, all the time. It was a total make it up as I go kind of project and I love the end result. (I was slightly super nervous that she was going to trip and fall during her concert because I made the dress just a bit too long, but she didn't. Social crisis averted. Phew!)

Friday Feature: Summer Nightgown for Twirling

There really is something about little girls and things that twirl. This nightgown- which of course can also be worn as a dress- fits the bill perfectly.

The link to this nightgown's Etsy listing is found HERE.

Lots of people ask about the fabric: I work with 100% premium cotton, and only cottons that feel smooth and soft...I'm super picky about this. I do NOT work with fabrics that are treated or have been chemically altered, such as those that are considered "flame retardant." Many of us don't want those chemicals rubbing against our children's delicate skin all night long, so it's nice to have a choice in the matter. Many store-bought pajamas and nightgowns have the chemicals.

This nightgown was a bit big on my daughter at the time (it looks slightly longer than the nightgown would normally be) but it gives you an idea of how the style looks. She called this her "princess nightie" and she twirled and twirled around in it. Every little girl should have something they love this much!

Today is our first official day of summer and...it's pouring outside, ha! I got a ton of things done in the gardens yesterday- in the sunshine- so I'm thankful for that! The only requests for the day so far were 1. to go to the library- sure thing! and 2. pancakes for breakfast- yup, we can do that!

To visit my Rose & Ruffle shop, click HERE.

I post items on instagram, too- you can find me at roseandruffle. Say hello!  =)

Easy Ruffled Apron Tutorial

Hello! This is a tutorial for a little girl's ruffled apron, perfect for a beginner wanting to try out some new skills and actually finish a project in an hour or so. The sky is the limit in terms of fabric combinations. These aprons were for a birthday party, so cupcakes and flowers worked beautifully. You could choose anything!

Oh, and sorry in advance for the pics - the sun kept going from blinding to hiding behind a cloud, and I couldn't keep up!

Here's a little tutorial for making the apron:

Basically, it's just squares and rectangles...super easy and fast to make! These are the measurements for a size 6 (I deduced by about 2 inches for a size 5) but you could use whatever sizes you want. I think fat quarters would work very well for smaller sizes.

Ruffle One: 24" x 6"
Ruffle Two: 24" x 9"
Body of Apron: 17" x 15"
Tie: 3 1/2" x 45"
   **I simply cut the strip along the edge of the 45" fabric, but it was barely long enough for this size- next time I'll cut longer strips**

Next turn up the edges on the sides and bottom to iron the hem
Stitch the sides first, opening out one fold on the bottom - this makes for a clean, neat finish

Now stitch along the bottom

Finish the sides and bottom of all three pieces

Next you'll gather the ruffles

If you do things properly, you'll baste the ruffles together and then neatly pull the thread to even everything out...I simply pinned the edges to the pink apron body along the top, and eyeballed it as I worked the layers through my machine.

At this point, the ruffle layers should be stitched to the top of the apron body, laid out like this, not Right Sides Together.

I thought about stitching right sides together to form a tube, but...I didn't want to have to pull them all back through! Also, I wanted them to have a little extra something to make them more stable.

Iron both sides so the edges meet in the middle

Open out ends and put right sides together - you'll stitch these ends like so

Trim the edge and turn out  (you may have to poke the inner corner a bit)

On the home stretch now...
Center the tie over the apron and ruffles, and create an apron-tie sandwich
Pin carefully for this part so it doesn't get shifty on you.

You'll stitch through all the layers
I placed the tie so it was about halfway down onto the apron - it might be easier to place the fold line directly over the top of the apron if you're worried about things moving around too much
Take your time - it's pretty bulky

And that's it! Tie it on an adorable chef and get lunch made for you!  =)

 

We I whipped up a few of these as party favors for Isabelle's birthday party guests (and then promptly forgot to post the tutorial...oops!). The girls decorated their own little pizzas, and while those were baking, they added frosting and sprinkles to some giant sugar cookies we'd made ahead of time.

Thanks for reading! I hope you're having a fantastic day today!

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Tip Junkie

Friday Favorites: Sofia the First Inspired Nightgown

It's Friday!!! We've got a lot going on this weekend that I'm super excited about...hope you have a good one, too!

I thought I'd share these Sofia the First-inspired nightgowns that I made for a customer recently. Now, I have never seen the show, and all I had to go on was a small picture sent to me by my customer. I tried and tried to find other images, but nothing! I think they turned out so cute- they're for twin girls who are adopted, which makes my heart so happy.

The sleeves should fall to the elbow or just below, and have a little "poof" to them. It's often a gamble about how tight to make the elasticized part, since I don't know if the recipient is teeny tiny or a bit more solid, so I tend to keep them on the looser side. I don't know many people who prefer to have the elastic digging into their skin, so that's something to keep in mind when sewing for others. I added the little bow details as a sort of compromise for the cartoon character's woven-ribbon cinching; the elastic is more durable and will hold up to washings much better than the alternative. I think the bows look sweet.

I hope they like them, and I hope she sends me a picture of her little girls wearing them.  =)

I'm working on a tutorial for you, so stay tuned....