Recent sewing

In an unprecedented occurrence, the kids' Christmas outfits were completed before Thanksgiving. This will probably never happen again. My only stipulation in picking out the patterns and fabric was "must be easy". I chose a lime green corduroy embroidered with reindeer. Caroline got a very big-girl skirt (can't wait to make some of these for spring/summer). Helen got a jumper. And Peter got a Johnny. I was really enthusiastic about these projects because they were each unique. I'm fairly certain the girls will be able to wear theirs again next Christmas. Peter, however, will not and that makes me a little sad.

In non-Christmas sewing, I finished 3 easy daygowns for my dear friend Nell, who recently delivered her first babies - triplets! She is awesome. The girls are identical twins and I thought two unique gowns would make telling them apart a little bit easier. I did some shadow embroidery (my favorite part!) to coordinate with the trim. This is my favorite style of infant daygown - poly-cotton blend for no ironing, buttons in the front for easy on and off, no fussy collar or itchy trim. I hope Mom, Dad, Camille, Ann Fisher, and Rob love them, too.

 

Fall sewing

I saw a smocking plate in a Sew Beautiful magazine last year that I knew would be perfect for Peter. I asked for Daddy's approval to smock something for our boy and received it. It took me a while, but I finally finished three little mallards - perfect for our future duck hunter.

Aren't they adorable?

Once the smocking was done, the outfit went together very quickly (like during two nap times). I used the Children's Corner "Johnny" pattern.

Just in time for duck season

Helen is wearing a dress I made four years ago for Caroline. Peter's Johnny has the same brown tattersall as the sunflower dress. I wanted something coordinating for Caroline's dress, but without all the smocking. I'll have to get a picture of just Caroline in it. I used the Children's Corner "Ruthie" in a purple floral cotton print and a butterscotch gingham for the collar and trim. This is a great pattern. The sleeves and yoke are fully lined, which means very little hand sewing! I say this about every project, but this is one of my favorite dresses. Plus, it suits Caroline's sweet personality so well. And she loves purple. Win all around.

Now I need some ideas for Christmas sewing? Any suggestions? Another Johnny for Peter? Ruthies for both girls?

Summer outfits

I needed some fun sewing after spending so much time on the flower girl dress. I picked out a blue floral print that coordinated with a blue linen gingham. For Peter's, I used Creations by Michie's romper pattern, made in the linen. And the girls got Michie's suntop with shorts. I used the white yoke to display some embroidery. After using so many bullion flowers on the white dress, I decided to go ahead and use more bullions. I think it's safe to say that I am proficient at the bullion stitch. The girls got bullion violets and Peter got a bullion dragonfly. Peter's outfit is big for him, which makes me hopeful that it might still fit next spring and summer.

Easter outfits

I know! It's been almost a month since Easter. I just today took pictures of the girls in their dresses.

For the girls' dresses, I used a Bonnie Blue pattern called "Jenna Leigh". It's a wrap dress that buttons in the back. I've made this dress a couple of times before (my goodness - Helen was little!), but hadn't done the smocked yoke version. I'm hoping this floral print will make a good transition into the fall and winter months.

For my sweet baby boy's outfit, I made a bubble (Maja's Heirlooms). The pattern has 2 inches of smocking, which takes no time at all. I decided to mix some embroidery with my smocking and created a little bullion stitch bunny. I'm completely obsessed with how cute the bunny is. It's a Peter Rabbit for my Peter!

I had so much fun putting this boy outfit together. Isn't it adorable? I love it. I'm so happy there are more little boy outfits in my future!

And it just wouldn't be a photo shoot at our house without some drama and silliness.

Daygown

I love babies in daygowns - girls and boys. And I love making daygowns. I made this little daygown for Peter a couple of weeks ago. I know the daygown days are quickly coming to an end and I'm taking advantage of them as long as I can. I'm really, really grateful to my patient husband, who lets his son wear dresses. :-)

It's made from blue imperial broadcloth. The pattern has machine pintucks on each front panel. I embroidered tiny french knots between each set of tucks. I opted for a collarless style and used large pleats at the sleeve openings instead of gathers. This gives the "dress" a little more boyish look.

I'm finishing up one last daygown for Peter's first Christmas season. Then it's time to move on.

Peter's gown

We have an heirloom baptism gown in our family. It is over 60 years old and was handmade by my great-grandmother. Six girls have been baptized in this lovely gown. It's beautiful - gathered lace, hand-embroidered flowers, pintucks, puff sleeves. But I just couldn't see our son wearing it.

I was probably just looking for an excuse to sew something new. Peter's gown is not too frilly, so I feel like he can wear it on regular Sundays. The pattern I picked out is #101 from Creations by Michie. I used a scrumptious (Caroline's new frequently used word) striped swiss voile for the gown and satin batiste for the smocked insert. I added tiny swiss edging to the neck and sleeve edges. I loved making this gown. It was the perfect garment for our son to wear to his baptism. Our beautiful boy...