Flutter dress redo for 18" doll - free tutorial

Have you seen my free tutorial for how to make the 18" doll version of the Millie Rose Flutter dress? 

This tutorial can be used to make other style's of doll dresses. This week, my 11 year old daughter made the version you see above. This was a birthday gift for her little sister's American Girl Caroline doll. Since little sister also got the AG sewing studio for a gift, I thought I would share the dress on our new 18" doll mannequin. 

To make the dress above, all you need is a few scraps of fabric.  Use the pattern measurements from the tutorial for the bodice and sub velvet or other ribbon for straps. Cut the straps about 3.5 inches long.  To make a full length skirt, you need two pieces of 10 inch by 10 inch fabric or one 10 inch by 20 inch (or thereabouts). Since you are using scraps, width can be a bit off and it will just make your skirt more or less full. We used two scraps I found that were both 5 inch by 20 inch.  She sewed them together and added the lace as a nice detail to cover the seam.  The back is elastic, just like the Mille Rose Flutter. 

Voila!  A new party dress for Caroline.  Made from lovely Jennifer Paganelli fabric.  Bodice is Beauty Queen and skirt is Honey Child.  See link in side bar for more fabulous Sisboom Fabrics from Jennifer!

The purse was also sewn by my daughter, for her sister. It's just a tiny scrap folded and sewn, velvet ribbon as strap.  

Giving kids scraps to sew is so much fun!

Project Run and Play Sewalong Season 9, week 1 - Put me in the zoo

It's Project Run and Play Season 9, week 1 and the theme is "Put me in the zoo!"  Elizabeth and Liz, over at PRAP, gave us this challenge - Week #1---"Put Me in the Zoo" Challenge.  Take inspiration from your favorite (or your child's favorite animal) and design and construct an outfit.  Remember to make it "inspired by" and not a literal costume.

My favorite animal at the zoo near us, the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, is the red panda. I like them for a variety of reasons. First of all, it is always quiet near their habitat so we can linger as long as we like. For some reason, they don't attract the big crowds. I also love that they are always up in the trees. My daughter, Eliza, is a climber and I was a climber as a child so I can relate to these little guys. It's pretty cool up in those trees! There is food, you are safe, there is a good view.  And they are so stinkin' cute!  Panda is Nepalese for "small, cat-like animal," which fits them perfectly. They are as cute, if not cuter, than any cat I have seen. And I love cats!

When I looked at that little face above, on the Animal Facts website, I immediately ( I mean like lightning bolt fast IMMEDIATELY) saw what I was going to make inspired by this animal - a Millie Rose Flutter dress.  And can you see why? The red panda's ears look just like flutter sleeves, the facial fur and muzzle looks like a bib, the cute eyes and nose are like buttons. The skirt tiers mimic the shades in the body and the sash ties are the tail.  PERFECT!  I just knew it. And, I had just seen two fabric lines at my local quilt shop that I knew were the perfect colors: Downton Abbey by Andover and Chateaux Rouge by French General. 

I used Microsoft Word and Preview to plan the project out.

And it turned out just as I had pictured!

 

 

You can check out the linky party over at Project Run and Play and see all the other Zoo outfits!

30 days until Christmas! New Millie Rose Pattern

  

Did you know that there are 30 days until Christmas!  If you celebrate this holiday and you are a crafter, this is a big deal. This means you only have 30 days to finish your crafts!! Ack! This year, I want to do a lot of sewing and crafting so I plan to be very busy from here on out.  Technically, I started a week ago by making my youngest daughter this cute Christmas dress from the soon-to-be released Millie Rose Pattern.

Isn't this fabric fun! This is all Riley Blake fabric I got over a year ago and have been hoarding.  Last year, at this time, I had BPPV (Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo) and was unable to do much sewing. So, this lovely fabric has been waiting for a year to be made into something fun. 

And here it is.  This new pattern is a flutter-sleeved dress with sleeves that meet in the middle in the back. It has a sash and several tiers to the skirt. Each tier has a ruffle. It is a fun pattern, pretty to make and wear.  As soon as it is released, which should be any day now, I will share the link to the pattern. You will love it!  My friend Melissa has a sweet and fun way of writing her patterns and they are a joy to make. They are well edited for fit and sewing technique and a pleasure to sew. Highly recommended.

 

Here are some photos of the dress in action. 

My daughter is wearing the dress with a top I made from an Ottobre pattern. 

Twirl factor is important!

Fun dress, fit is good! I made the size 7 so I expect it to fit this holiday and next. 

Hope you enjoyed reading this! 

I have lots more Christmas sewing to come and am looking forward to sharing!

Millie's Flutter dress and the challenge of what to wear to school

Earlier this summer, I had the pleasure of pattern testing for my friend Melissa of Millie Rose patterns.   Her Flutter dress is a pure confection, so frilly and pretty. I love it! 

Here is my pattern tester version. 

 More recently, I have taken the pattern and made it some minor changes to it. I love to personalize patterns in this way, to make them fit either my vision or that of my daughter of both.  The first new version was made as a dress-up dress for my 6 year old daughter.  She is very sensitive to seams and fabrics and wanted something that was comfortable. Most store-bought dress-up dresses are not comfy, so this was made to be super comfy. All the seams are contained and the fabric is quilting cotton. The pink unicorns are from Timeless Treasures and the skirt fabric is Michael Miller, from the Fairy Frost line. It is hard to see in the photos, but these fabrics sparkle! 

 She wanted a long skirt but one that ruffled up in the front, for easy walking.  To make the skirt, I just played around with making two curved front pieces, with ruffle attached, and used them as the the front part of the skirt.   I made the whole dress a size larger than she usually wears so it will last a long time. She can wear it with a t-shirt underneath.

  

More recently, I used the pattern again, this time for a halloween dress. The inspiration for this dress comes from the very talented Jeannine at Kinder Kouture. Her Cinnamon Avalon dress is so pretty! And everything she makes is lovely!  It is also made from the Millie's Flutter pattern, but with a pretty, faux bow in front. 

I winged it on the bow and it turned out pretty cute! I got this cute fabric off ebay and then used scraps from my stash for the rest.  I had just enough of each for what you see.  It is very long, which she usually likes, but apparently it is too long for school. So, it will be shortened and, hopefully, worn to school tomorrow. Again, it is a is bigger so she can wear it longer.  

Elwood had to get into the picture! He's our super friendly kitty.  She's not pulling his tail.  She was just petting it! He will let you pet every single part of him, he is so easy going.