Sewing Remix: Flapper Baby Romper

I have actually been sitting on this project for WEEKS and it has been KILLING me! I am so excited to share it today and be part of Jessica from Me Sew Crazy's amazing Sewing Remix series! Me Sew Crazy is one of my fav sewing blogs and one of the few I check very regularly for inspiration, a good laugh and some fun eye candy. My little contribution is the Flapper Baby Romper:

When Jess asked me to be part of Sewing Remix I was pretty excited to follow a pattern. But then I kept seeing little outfits like this everywhere:

Source: Simplicity Photography

Or this adorable retro version:

Pintrest Via Grossgrain

I thought, Evie HAS to have one!!! I wanted to stick to the rules though and remix a pattern. For the perfect place to start I headed over to Made to Dana's free down loadable perfect diaper cover pattern. This gave me a good jumping off point to create The Flapper Baby Romper:

After asking Dana for her permission I morphed the perfect diaper cover pattern into my own Flapper Baby Romper pattern which you can download HERE on my Scribd shelf.  My first attempt was supposed to be Evie sized about 2T... but ended up Carmen sized or about 3-4T

I tweaked it a bit and then shrunk the pattern you can print out by 80% to get my Evie sized Flapper Baby Romper:

I dunno what it is but these little rompers make their little bums look so adorable ha!

It is probably how great Dana's original pattern is! Carmen's was a little roomy so in the final tutorial I added an extra step to put some elastic around the waist and cinch it up a bit.

I also added elastic to the back shoulder blade portion to keep it nice and snug

If you would like to sew a long and make your own Flapper Baby Romper

click learn more for all the instructions!! Jessica thanks so much for having me and I hope you are getting some much needed R&R before this little blue bundle of joy comes!
So funny story, we did this photoshoot right before everyone in our family got super sick. I don't think she was feeling the best this particular day so as a "thank you" for cooperating after pictures we took the kids for milkshakes. None of us were able to finish our entire shake, except for Evie.
 
Who not only finished her own shake but then proceeded to go down the line and polish off everyone else's

That night when Finn started getting sick I thought FOR SURE all those milkshakes were going to come back up

But Evie was the only cutie who DIDN'T get sick! Maybe all that calcium staved it off ha!
ANYWAYS on to the tutorial!!!

Daisy Maisy Dress

I am almost done compiling everything to move forward on the Toe the Line series but while you are waiting......
Also, I left it in the comments but wanted to make sure the people who wanted to know weren't left hangin'. Evie's jeans in the last post were from Zara Kids. If you are able to go to one or order online just keep in mind their sizes run large. Those jeans were 12-18 months, Evie will be two next month and they just now fit perfect. Thanks for all the kind comments about the last post I am right there with you and just LOVE that top! Thanks for all your sweet comments!!!

This dress was not in the plan or on my radar at all but then the other day I was browsing the new little girls dresses at Shabby Apple and I saw this one:

I immediately had to take the challenge to knock it off. And guess what? It is soooooo easy!!! I think I might have to make one for myself ha! (excuse Evie, she was in NO mood to be photographed ha!)

Ironically enough the first one I made was WAY to big for Evie. It ended up fitting Sawyers little friend Carmen like a glove so I would say the pattern you can print out is more of a 4T age range. I made mine without sleeves because I thought it would look super cute with a cardigan this fall and didn't want the bulk under. You could easily add them.

I love how it turned out... even if it meant getting dagger filled looks from Evie

The rosette in the middle was a lot easier then I thought it was going to be, especially if you use a soft suiting cotton/ dress shirting fabric.

I bet you can make it with fabric you have on hand! So instead of $42 it is free!

If you wanna go for a swing and get the pattern just click read more!

Color My Summer: The Baby in Red

Of course we have to continue Evie's wardrobe (there are just a few more items ha!). I have been waiting and waiting to do this project for Color My Summer over at Kojo Designs! I have to say this has absolutely been one of my favorite series to be a part of. Stopping by every day instantly brightens my day, literally, my screen gets so bright ha! I adore Kristen and Jordan, their emails never fail to make me laugh out loud. They were so much fun to "compete" with on Project Run and Play and oh my goodness were their designs fantastic. When they emailed and asked me to take part in Color My Summer I was thrilled! Somehow I got super lucky and snagged the color Red. When I went to Jakarta there was a tiered ruffled dress that I was dying to recreate and this was the perfect excuse to come up with the Baby in Red top.

I am thrilled with how it turned out and how easy it was to make! I thought it would be a perfect little top to share on the summery and color filled Kojo Designs.

Since I was so close to the finale I wanted to make sure I did a super cool photo shoot. I built a little A Frame Tent and we headed to the rocky beach to fake a little girlie camp out

I loved the contrast of Evie's sea of ruffles and the grey sky. She was even good about wearing the little headband I made out of twill tape and little felt flowers. The back has a tiny strip of elastic so it is super comfy.

The top has a single button closer so it is easy on easy off.

I am absolutely making more of these in fun bright colors and have even thought about making one in rainbow color, how cute would that be? Now grab your munchkin and your measuring tape and lets get to work!

Sea Glass Tunic

I promise only a few items of house keeping today:
1. Not only was I crazy excited about being on Grossgrain, but Evie's Bali Bliss outift was also on UCreate! That is like being on Oprah and The Martha Stewart show in one week for me ha! Thanks ladies for taking the time to mention my fav outfit ;)
2. I know a lot of ya'll are totally annoyed by having to download the pattern pieces one at a time instead of as a whole document. This will change in four weeks when I have high speed internet. For now the only way I can upload a document is by shrinking it significantly and then loading it one by one. I have tried int eh past to do more then one at a time but with the electricity cutting in and out I have never been able to do it grrrrrr. Sorry for the frustration.
3. I get asked often about on Etsy store. While I would love to have one it is illegla for me to send anything through the diplomatic mail that I would make money on. So maybe when I get back to the states? For now if you are looking for premade headbands like the ones I make Evie, check out Alexie's store HERE. Her headbands were made using my tutorial and are WAY cuter then mine and you don't have to do any of the work ha!

Alright, back to Evie's wardrobe!!! I am doing a photoshoot this evening for her outfit for Color My Summer that I am positively giddy about. When I showed my hubby he actually said "Wow, that looks professional" ha! That is what I am going for right? :) But for now I wanted to share Evie's Sea Glass Tunic that I made to go with her Sea Glass shorties :)
The Sea Glass Tunic
I am a major sucker for Tunics. I knew when I started Evie's wardrobe it would have to have one. But I also hate being unoriginal and if there is something out there cuter then what I had in mind well then, I just have to go with it. So, I made Evie's tunic based on Jessica from Me Sew Crazy's out of this world adorable Chloe Tunic which can be found HERE. I made a few changess to make it more suitable for Evie and Timor.

Off came the sleeves

and in came the waist with a drawstring pocket

I loved the embroidery detail. I felt like that MADE the tunic. I don't have (and couldn't find on the island) and embroidery hoop so I just did this all free hand. (I literally followed the cuties from play spot to play spot embroderying ha!).

I wanted it to POP so I did it in a funky orange. Which I don't know how well it actually worked but I think it looks cute :) The fabric is by Amy Butler and it was my MAJOR splurge in Singapore. Yup, I broke down and bought a half a yard. When paired with the Sea Glass shorties Evie looks positively comfy. No sweaty baby here! Now off to find some Sea Glass!!!

Bali Bliss: Grosgrain guest

I am positively GIDDY to be over at Grosgrain today. I have been following Kathleen for so long I don't even remember when I started! When we both took a photography workshop together I was too timid to introduce myself, I just slunk around standing next to her hoping some genius would rub off.... that sounds creepier then it actually was ha! Anyway, I have been saving this particular pattern for a long time waiting for just the right moment. I was going to save it For Sewing In No Mans Land one year anniversary but I thought Grosgrain called for my favorite! That's what this is, my favorite outfit I have made my Evie (my 18 month old girl). Because of my location on a small island close to Bali I have been heavily influenced by Balinese fashion. Light, airy, cotton and super super comfy.

When Evie wears it she looks blissfully free and cool, so I named it the Bali Bliss outfit.

The pattern can be found and printed out HERE on my Scribd account. It is for an 18 month old and will need to be enlarged using a copy shop if you would like it in a larger size (someday I'll get some pattern software ha!) I used a soft organic cotton in light purple for this particular one

But she also has the outfit in bright blue, black and white ha! Told you I love it :)

This particular one has the top velcrod together while the others have buttons down the front. The back is safe :)

I have found that with an 18 month old, the trickiness of getting buttons off is probably better ha!

So, come on over to Grosgrain and lets make this outfit!

Lets make this outfit!
PS while you are over there grab my button and share the free pattern month love!

Sea Glass Shorties

Everywhere I look I am seeing little bloomer/ balloon shorts. I think they are SUPER cute and admit I have bought Evie a pair or two. I wanted a pair that was a bit longer and made out of linen though so I went to work and came up with the Sea Glass Shorties.

I also made Evie's shirt but that is for another post :) Like I said all the shorts I bought Evie were pretty short. I thought it would be cute to have some that hit right below the knee.

You can TOTALLY make yours shorter.

They are super comfy and since they are made out of linen extremely light and breathable.

The waistband is elastic in the back and has a cute little drawstring in the front for easy on and off.

The "Eating Me Alive" Shirt

When I made THIS top for myself I knew I would eventually make one for Evie. It was just to easy not to! I don't know if it is Katy of No Big Dill's "orange" theme lately or the fantastic spring fabric my mom sent me but I knew I would be making it in the fiery orange jersey that a fantastic reader sent me. I followed the exact same method that I laid out in THIS tutorial except I added a second ruffle that was thinner then the first...this second layer may have been overkill.

While I think it turned out pretty cute it does sort of look like it is eating Evie alive, hence the name :)

I was soooo excited to take pictures of Evie in the new Button Up Bloomers I made to match the shirt (pattern can now be found HERE). I thought it would be a cake photo shoot since she loved wearing her first pair. Unfortunately Evie was in NO mood to wear anything I made for her this morning. When I finally wrestled her out of her jammies she ran to the little pile of clothes I had made, picked all three items and threw them while yelling "NO!!!!!" Then looked at me and added "Ever!" I didn't even know she knew that word! I should have seen it coming, she did poop herself awake at 3am then demanded to watch Shaun the Sheep and spent a good half hour crying in her crib yelling "Sheeeeeeep!" She literally screamed so much about putting on the bloomers and head band that I finally bagged it and thus I only have this very poor picture to share of the would be outfit (taken as Evie bolted down the crumbling Dili sidewalk and I panicked)

She gladly put on her skinny jeans that make her adorable diapered bum look mammoth ha! We crossed the street to the beach to snap some picks. Evie immediately plopped down and started shoving sand in her mouth

I thought maybe if I moved her onto a rock it would curb the dirty item eating, but then she just switched to eating rocks

When I took the rocks out of her hand she decided she was done

On the walk home I tried to take one last full body pic... it didn't come out well

I was REALLY excited about putting one of my new labels on the shirt though!!! While I was in Jakarta we of course frequented the Myestic the HUGE fabric mecca I talked about previously. One of the notions shop made them for me in two days for a insanely affordable price.

I love that they are satiney and fold over so they have no raw edges. I am really interested to see how they wash up :) Hope if you make a cute little "Eating Me Alive" top and "Button Up Bloomers" outfit your cutie is more obliging then mine was this morning, but hey we all have our days right? :)
(PS just in case, Evie's shoes are Salt Water Sandals and her skinny jeans are Zara)

Butterfly Dress: The Pattern & a Tunic

I feel badly that it has taken me so long to get this pattern up. Especially since it is one of the simplest ones of have done lately ha! I wanted to share a second outfit that I made for Evie using the pattern though and that meant another photo shoot ;) I have been really influenced by Asian fashion since moving here... Balinese styles in particular. I noticed the last time I was there that aside from their flowing light cottons and loose fitting clothing that they really used trim and bias tapes to the MAX. I thought it would be fun to use the Butterfly Dress pattern to make Evie a tunic where the bias tape plays a major role. The pattern can be found HERE on scribd.

I grabbed some Amy Butler Fabric and some soft grey cotton and went to town.

I made it in the exact same way I got through HERE except I added the large bias on the sleeves and the bottom of the dress.

I LOVE the flowing loose sleeves.

The easy on and off with only a single button closure in the back

I also added oversized pockets on either side.

With her comfy leggings she can do all the jumping, stooping and rock eating her little heart desires

The pattern is for a 24 month old and is the length you see in these pictures. If you would like it more dress length like the Butterfly dress seen here:

Just add a few inches on the bottom :)  Happy sewing!