New Etsy Site!

I have opened an Etsy site where I sill sell my aprons, along with other apparel for younger children.  Since I will be busy stocking my virtual shelves, it may be a while before you see what I'm sewing on this blog.  Right now, all I'm sewing are children's aprons.

Please visit my Etsy site as soon as you can!  My shop name is DandyDudsbyRita.

Little People Aprons

Well, that was fast!  All of the aprons I've made so far are gone.  When you order, let me know what colors and styles you like.  In the meantime, I will continue to make more and post them.  Keep in mind that these little aprons are not only for cooking and helping mom in the kitchen, but also for any kid craft - clay, painting, chalk, etc.  - and also for helping dad in the garage.  They are for anything that gets a little kid dirty or messy.

Dinosaurs!

Here are a few of the finished aprons.  Keep in mind that each one is unique, and that I can make whatever you like with the fabric I already have.  Each one is lined; closures on the frilly girl's apron can vary, from a button, to ties, to velcro,  or even a snap.  If you let me know the age of the child, I will adjust the size to fit.  Generally, though, there are two sizes:  one for toddlers 2-4, and one for kids 5-10.

Selling Kids' Aprons

Just in time for Christmas, I am selling my personally handcrafted adorable kids' aprons.  They come in sizes that will fit 2-10 year olds.  See my Friday, October 19th post for pictures of the two different styles.

They sell for $18 apiece if mailed to you, and $15 apiece if you pick them up.

Email me if you need more information:  ballard.rita@gmail.com

Using Zippers as Detail

Last year I made a Vogue pattern that I just fell in love with!  It has a layered collar with zipper teeth edging.  Unfortunately I only wore it once, because the fabric was all wrong, and it itched. 

I recently made the shirt again, and this time, I love wearing it! Here is the pattern:

                                                                                                  

                                                                                               

I have been very productive in the sewing room lately!  Once again, it is about my glorious granddaughter.

I started out wanting to make her some leggings - brown, as requested by her mom - and without a proper pattern, they came out more like a pair of stretch pants.  That's okay, but I still wanted to try my hand at leggings, so - a little after the fact - I Googled "free toddler leggings pattern" and voila, she now has a cute pair of lavender leggings!

A few days later my daughter asked me to make glorious granddaughter an apron, since she loves "helping mommy" in the kitchen.  Wasn't long before I sketched out a pattern and came up with this prototype.  It is lined with the striped fabric.

I downloaded another free pattern and with a few personal touches, I came up with this one, which can be for boys or girls:

My darling granddaughter, wearing a grandma-made outfit:

September ended with two more granddaughter tunic/dresses.  I've been making her tunic/dresses out of re-used knit from adult clothing.  I think it is such a good idea to get the most wear you can out of clothes, rather than throwing them away or giving them to the thrift stores for resale.

On tunic/dress #1 I added a big pocket; after it was finished, I thought that if she put anything in that pocket it would fall out or possibly cause her to lose her balance, so I sewed up the middle of it to create two pockets.  I didn't sew through the heart, just above and below.

Tunic/dress #2 has some interesting and colorful details, which I really liked.  I didn't have enough of the yellow so I finished the long sleeves in a teal that perfectly matches.  The back detail was added because my daughter said that it is easier to dress granddaughter when there is more neck room.  Toddlers do have big heads!

  

Meet Sue, a new kind of sewing machine!

http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/26788/a-new-sewing-machine-concept

Walking Shorts

In August I am going to Denver for 10 days, and need some shorts/shin-length pants that fit.  This is the first of them.  I love the ease in these shorts, although I'll have to get used to that, because I don't usually wear clothes that fit this loosely.  I think they will be perfect for taking those long walks with my sis!                                                      

      

I saw my first Marfy pattern around 2000, when I bought a couple of catalogs to drool over.  Keep in mind that Marfy is Italian and comes with no - absolutely none - instruction.  You don't even get seam allowances.   But I'm a brave soul, and over the years, I've tried a few of them and I like them.  They do things a little differently; their collars, for instance, seem to be put together in a little different way than we do it over here, although the end result is the same.

Anyway, I just finished a Marfy jacket, and here I will be showing pics and talking about how the process went.

This is the pattern I used.  I love the pleats and the side opening.  Surprisingly, the fabric I used looks almost like the fabric in this drawing!

The first thing I changed was that I added a ribbon as binding for the collar.  The fabric has a light blue in it, so I used a very pale blue ribbon.   I didn't realize until I was finished adding the collar that I left a piece out, but no one will ever know. :-)

  I finished the seams in a very simple way, by just turning them under and zigzagging.  Keeps the fabric from fraying too much.  I don't usually finish seams this way, but it worked out well for this fabric.

I love the pleats in the shoulder area and on the upper back!

I was going to add detailing to the sleeves, since they're 3/4 length, and after I sewed them and allowed for the opening, I discovered that I didn't have enough of the buttons I chose.  So, I left them open anyway, using that pale blue ribbon again, as binding.

I also added little pockets, because I love having places to put things, especially in a jacket.  What I especially love about the pockets is that they aren't obvious.

Here is the side detailing:

Altogether, the jacket took about 11 working hours.