California Christmas with the Elaina Pintuck Party Dress

Happy Thursday, everyone, and welcome to the Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop Holiday tour! Today I'll be showing you Abby's new Elaina Pintuck Party Dress in blue dupioni silk. Yum...

The best part about participating in the Holiday Tour (besides sewing a pretty dress) is that I actually finished my daughter's Christmas dress a whole month before Christmas! That's pretty much a Christmas miracle because I'm usually sewing right up until the deadline.

***

For the tour I sewed the Elaina Pintuck Party Dress. This dress was an adventure for the following reasons. It was:

1. My first time sewing with dupioni silk
2. My first time sewing pin tucks
3. My first time sewing a special occasion dress
4. An enjoyable pattern

If you've been following me here for awhile, you already know that Abby is a fan of pink. She's a crazy fan of pink. She wants her room painted pink and the other day she told me she wished her feet were pink. Not her toes, her actual feet. She asked me to paint them.

So, when it came to making a Christmas dress I knew red was out of the question. She would never put it on. Taupe and silver were also out (she calls silver "gray" and says it's "yucky"). The only thing I could come up with was this blue and thankfully, she agreed! Besides, it's a gorgeous color and so versatile.

To give the dress some pop I added black and white buttons to the back. I have about a million buttons in a jar on my sewing table and my favorite part of a project is pulling out the buttons and trying different combinations. I never buy buttons specifically for an outfit and I never use matching sets of buttons. There's always some variety. It's such an easy way to add the unique touch that is so important in a hand-made garment. 

As you can see, the skirt is adorned with a series of pin-tucks. The pattern instructions were clear and easy to follow and the pin-tucks came together like a dream. The instructions call for them every 3-4 inches, and mine are spaced 3 inches apart. If I could do it over again, I would space them 4 inches apart instead, because I think these came out a little too close together. It's still beautiful, though!

The bodice was very straightforward and has a great fit. My daughter is almost 3 years old, but narrow around the chest, so I made her a 2T bodice. I set out to make the skirt a 3T, but sized it down to a 2T during construction. After all is said and done, I wish I had kept it at a 3T because this dress will be too short after her next growth spurt. But I guess when that happens I can just let down the bubble hem.

If you have a daughter who is petite for her age, or tall and slender, I suggest selecting a bodice size based on your child's chest measurement and a skirt size based on their age.

I simply adore how this dress looks with black tights! She refused to take off her pink shoes for the pictures (*cough*), so I cropped those out of most pictures. The dress would look great with white or silver-sparkly shoes, don't you think? (Says the mom who bought silver sparkly shoes for this very reason). 

We are calling this Abby's California Christmas dress because it's BLUE and reminds me of pool water on a hot summer day. Like yesterday. I like how the red sash ties it in with traditional Christmas colors. 

This dress is very light weight, which is perfect for our holiday season. I'll probably pair it with some kind of cover, like a shawl or cape, when the weather cools a bit. No heavy winter jackets for us! If you are sewing for a little girl in cold weather, I would not suggest using dupioni silk because this dress is very light and flowy. It almost weighs nothing!

For colder climates choose a heavier special occasion fabric (but something that will still yield easily to the pin tucks) and pair it with a long sleeved shirt or nice warm jacket. 

An early Merry Christmas to each of you, wherever you live in the world! 

I truly love this dress and can't wait for Abby to wear it in our family Christmas photos. As one last note, let me tell you that I received a LOT of compliments on this dress last Sunday when she wore it to church. If you're looking for a Christmas dress that turns heads, this might be just what you're looking for.

Happy sewing, everyone! 

*****

If you'd like to purchase this or any other pattern from the Peek-a-boo pattern shop, head over there now and use the coupon code "hohoho" to save 25% on your entire order through November 28th. 

OR... You could try your luck at winning a pattern! Enter the Peek-a-boo pattern giveaway pattern here: 

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Announcing: A Holiday Tour!

Let's start the Christmas season with a bang, shall we? I'm excited to announce that I'll be participating in the Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop Holiday Tour on Thursday of this week! I have something so special prepared and I can't wait to show you. Oh, you want a little sneak peak? I don't want to spoil the surprise, but since you twisted my arm...

That's all you get for now! The whole post will be available on Thursday, so stay tuned. Some of my favorite sewing divas are participating in the Holiday Tour. Be sure to check them out through the week:

Monday:

The Sewing Loft 

If Only They Would Nap

Nap Time Crafters

Tuesday:

Sew Country Chick

Sewing Mama RaeAnna

Wednesday:

sewVery 

Melly Sews

Caila Made

Thursday:

Sew a Straight Line

Alida Makes

Friday:

Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Girl.Inspired

If you'd like to start gearing up for holiday sewing right away, you might want to take advantage of the Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop's super sale. It ends today, so hop on over now! For the rest of the week, you can use the code "hohoho" to save 25% on all patterns. It's a great week to shop! 

Before I go, I'm curious: have you started sewing for the holidays? What do you plan on making this year? I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Thanks for visiting, friends. I love you all! *mwah*

Graphic Tees for S and A

Happy week-after-Thanksgiving to you all! If you are anything like me, today you are dragging yourself back into your usual routine after a few days off and a lot of good food. My oldest had the whole week off school, so we took the time to really enjoy each other and the break. I hope you had the chance to do the same!

I have a few exciting things coming up, and later today I'll be posting a little preview of something special (hint: it has to do with Christmas, and Abby, and dupioni silk). But in this post I'm going to show you my newest favorite-ever sewing project (actually, two). Hope you enjoy!

On to the first thing! Ever since I saw Cirque De Bebe's fabulous Squid on a Couch tank I knew, I knew, I had to try her technique using TAP (Transfer Artist Paper). As a side note: I want to copy everything Sophie makes because she's just so dang creative and fun! So I bought some TAP from Leslie Riley's shop and I am so pleased with the result. Check it out:

Abby's a princess, so of course she needed a crown. I like the way the black and pink go together. She always wants to wear pink--every day--but I don't want her to look too froo-froo, so this top is a compromise. It's a simple Flashback Skinny Tee with the following changes:

1. Three-quarter sleeves.
2. A curved waist. (I'm not a fan of straight waists on girls' shirts--just personal preference).
3. A ruffled collar.
4. Bias-bound neckline rather than the usual.

These changes were easy to make. I'd love to make a tutorial for you, so I'll try to make another one soon and take some pics. But in the meantime, this top was so simple I'm sure you could easily do something similar.

I bought the crown image (and many, many others) from Madame Bricolage on Etsy (directed there by Cique De Bebe). I'm having way too much fun collecting these images right now!

Speaking of. Check out Stryder's Strong-Man Shirt {how do you like that alliteration?}:

I think this is the absolutely perfect graphic for my S-man. He is only one year old but I swear he thinks he's 15.  Slow down, baby... you're growing too fast!

These shirts are just the first two in what is sure to be a long line of TAP projects. If you are interested in working with this particular TAP, I've listed some tips below to help make your project a success. Just so you know, I am not being paid to say any of this. I wish I was! {haha}

Tips for working with Leslie Riley's TAP {Transfer Artist Paper}

1. The cost is $12.95 for 5 sheets of TAP paper {before shipping}. That seems like a lot, but I was able to get three t-shirt images out of one sheet of paper. And based on my results, I think the price is worth it.

2. Using TAP is infinitely less annoying and more satisfying than freezer paper stenciling with fabric paint. Man, I hate that method. I know it's simple and über popular, but I hope I never have to cut freezer paper with an exacto knife again. {As a side note: pre-made stencils and fabric paint are a great option. Also stamps and fabric paint.}

3. The image came out clear and bold. It was easy to iron-on and looks like a screen-printed image.

4. I suggest cutting carefully around your image to remove all extra TAP before ironing on. Otherwise, you may have some white-ish area around your image. I cut carefully around each of my images with a sharp pair of scissors before ironing.

5. These shirts did not become stiff where I transferred on the image. Not at all.

6. You must use an INK JET PRINTER for this paper. You cannot use a laser jet or something bad will happen. The world may explode or just your printer, but either way your project will fail! Check your printer before purchasing. {I actually bought an inkjet so I could use this paper. Yes, I did. Only $25 on Craigslist, new in the box.}

7. Make sure you set the image to print MIRROR IMAGE so it comes out the right way on your shirt.

8. Finally, I can't tell you how much dang fun I had printing images from my computer and putting them on stuff.

Those are my tips, folks! You're sure to see more projects using TAP on the blog from now on.

***

And lastly, take a gander at Abby's new JEGGINGS!

These were made using Andrea's awesome new Go-To Leggings pattern and I LOVE them! Abby loves them, too, because they were made using an ultra-stretchy jeggings material that is also ultra-comfortable. Abby's all for looking cute and being comfortable at the same time. Can't say I blame her.

Be sure to try the new Go-To Leggings pattern, available here! There are about a hundred options, including skirted leggings, which I must try next. 

Thanks for stopping by, friends! I hope I didn't give you picture over-load. I'm prone to that. :) Have a wonderful Monday and I'll see you back here soon! *mwah*

Breaking radio silence...

It's Friday and I'm just now blogging! Where did the week go?! Do you ever have weeks in which everything seems like chaos and you can't get a single thing accomplished? That was this week for me.

I'm slowly becoming aware of the fact that we have entered a new phase (kid-in-school, mom-working-part-time) and it's changing life for us. I barely had time to sew this week, and in my book that registers as a CRIME. I know you feel my pain.

So tonight I just wanted to stop in and share a few things. Some are life things, some are sewing. You're ok with both, right?

1. I suddenly feel the need to start quilting again. Maybe it's the cold, maybe it's because my Instagram feed has been BLOWING UP with quilting pictures. Whatever the cause, I've got the bug and I've got it bad. Stay tuned on that...

2. I made some completely fabulous flashback skinny tees for Abby this week and I can't wait to show them to you. If only *someone* would remember to charge the camera battery before the sun sets every evening...

3. I'm kind of glad it's Friday. This week *real* life really tumbled down on me. My parents are moving out of state, and for those of you who don't know, that's kind of a big deal because we've been living with them for the past 8 months. We will be renting their house on the lake while they traipse around Oregon enjoying a well-deserved retirement. I feel two things about this: 1) I can finally decorate a HOUSE for Christmas. Watch out neighbors... and 2) There goes all my free babysitting.

To be honest, things are a whirlwind right now which is why I haven't been posting much. On a daily basis I wear the hats of wife, mommy, daughter, writer, sewist, blogger, friend, church member, sometimes-house-cleaner, and cook. I don't think I've been wearing them very well, so I scaled back this week, enjoyed my family and took my time sewing Christmas projects. YES, I SAID CHRISTMAS (eeeeek!). Hoepfully, you'll see them soon.

Thanks for checking in here, friends. I know we are all busy and yet I love taking time out to update this space and check in with all of you. I pray you're enjoying the Thanksgiving season, working yourselves up for turkey and getting your sew on. I should be back in the short term with a couple of catch-up posts (Stryder's first birthday party, for example, which was weeks ago).

In the meantime, the pictures at the top of this post prove I'm still alive (originally posted on Instagram). If you're not already, you can follow me on Instagram, @cailamade. (And if you already follow me, I apologize that you're seeing all these pictures again. BORING.)

Love you all!

A Tinkerbell Halloween

Halloween was ten days ago, so am waaaay behind the curve here. Everyone else is moving onto to Christmas sewing, but I still need to plug away on some remaining fall projects before I tackle the tinsel.

Two out of Abby's three Halloweens have seen her dressed as the same Disney character: Tinkerbell. I don't know if it's Tink's little shoes, the blond pony tail or her pixy ways, but Abby LOVES her. I wanted to make Abby a mermaid costume this year, but no, she had to be Tinkerbell.

Maybe Abby has it right. After all, she does look a lot like Tinkerbell. Only cuter, of course. (And between you and me, she certainly has a Tinkerbell temper sometimes. We are working on that).

Anyway, just like with Hudson's Shark costume, I think my satisfaction with sewing Halloween costumes is all wrapped up in how my children receive them. I love the challenge of any new project, but more even more exciting is making something my children really love. Something that actually means something to them. I think it's a nice break from sewing what I want to sew all the time.

Maybe I should talk about the actual sewing! Believe it or not, both pieces of this costume--the dress and the jacket--were made using the Flashback Skinny Tee pattern by Made by Rae. See, I told you it was worth the $10! (I also used it as a basic guide for Hudson's shark costume).

The Dress.
The little green dress was made using ruffle fabric I bought in the LA fabric district, and I think it only cost me $8/yard at that time. It's more expensive now, but so is everything. I trimmed the neck and arm holes with stretch lace and it's a very cute look. I'm hoping this dress gets more than one-time use, because it's really cute on it's own.

This was my first time sewing with ruffle fabric and I learned something very important: always cut this fabric with the ruffles facing out! I thought it would be easier to cut with the wrong side out, but then I couldn't tell if the ruffles were laying down correctly. I cut some ruffles in the wrong place as a result.

The Jacket. 
The dress was also cut using the Flashback Skinny Tee pattern. I curved the waist line as I always do when making a dress or cardigan out of this pattern, and cut the front piece straight down the middle to make it like an open cardigan. The jacket is trimmed with lace from my Grandma's famous stash I've told you so much about, and it ties at the neck with some ribbon.

But what is it made of, you ask?? It's a sparkly green mesh I found at JoAnne's right before Halloween and it's FABULOUS! It makes the whole outfit perfect.  The mesh was easy to sew with and brings me back to one of my favorite things about sewing: experimentation. I love using new things and new techniques. The less I know, the better. I just go for it and hope for the best! This time my experiment turned really worked.

The cherry on top of this whole shebang are the wings and Abby's crown. The fairy wings were a gift from my sister-in-law extraordinaire for Abby's 2nd birthday and my mother-in-law bought her the Tinkerbell crown and candy bag at Disneyland. Those two ladies are so fantastic.

 My favorite thing about this outfit is Abby in it. It all came together and made our family Halloween so special. Which is great because, to be honest, Halloween is not my favorite time of year. I think the costumes are fun but it is NOT FUN to be walking around with little ones on Halloween who take skeletons hanging from trees and Freddy Kruger claws very seriously. I'm having a deep and serious debate in my heart whether we should even do Halloween next year because the kids were so freaked. I know they will get older and grow out of it, but really, do I want them to "grow out" of innocence just yet? I don't think so, no. They have their whole lives for that.

Anway, I'm just sharing my honest mommy-heart and I know I'm not alone. We all love our kids and want their best. I'm sure I'll keep sewing costumes for my kids, even if we don't go trick or treating next year.

With that very random turn in the conversation I'll end this post. I think what Abby will remember about Halloween are the sparkles and her wings and the fact that she got to wear lipstick. What little girl wouldn't?

Sequin Skirt Knock Off {guest posting at Elegance & Elephants}

Happy Friday everyone! Hudson has a four day weekend over here, so it feels like the holidays already. Which means I'm gearing up for holiday sewing...

Speaking of, you can find me over at Elegance and Elephants today, where I'm sharing a Mini Boden copycat for Heidi's Knock It Off series. If you haven't been following the series already, you should be! It's been so much fun already, with more fun-ness to come. OK, I am obviously very tired since I'm making up words.

Head on over to Elegance and Elephants to see what I cooked up! Be prepared for PINK and SEQUINS and all of Abby's usually cuteness. See you over there!

Oh, and don't forget to see what's going on in the Flickr group:

A CailaMade Halloween {2012}

Well, last week I spent a lot of time doing something I didn't intend to do: sew Halloween costumes. I don't know why, but I'm always hesitant about sewing costumes. Sewing takes a lot of time, and I like to make sure my time is well spent. I'd rather spend a few hours making a pair of pants than a costume. I know, I know: this makes me sound like a grinch.

But my kids only want to wear things I've made. Totally sweet! But since Hudson wanted to be a SHARK this year, I told him I would have to buy the costume. I mean, I couldn't make a SHARK, right??? So I ordered the costume on Ebay and waited for it to arrive. And waited, and waited and waited. Just a few days before Halloween I received an email from the seller saying they had only just sent the costume--there was no way it would arrive by Halloween.

Aaaaaaaaaarrrggghhh!!

Hudson was really disappointed, so I did what any mother would do who has a little experience sewing. I took Hudson to Joanne's and we bought a van-load of felt.

The next day I had this:

I still don't know exactly how it came together. I started this costume on Monday, two days before Halloween and never even had time to worry about whether I was doing it right. I just cut the dang thing out and went for it. Here are the deets:

Shark Costume Sewing Details:

Pattern: Believe it or not, I used Made by Rae's Flashback Skinny Tee pattern for the body and fins. I just made the body extra, extra large and extended it waaaay down. I used the arm pattern piece to construct the fins--which are obviously much wider and longer than normal FBST arms.
Materials: I used felt-on-the-bolt from Joanne's in the colors charcoal, light gray and white. No hot glue was used. I stitched the whole thing on my machine, but the eyes and part of the head were hand-stitched.
Inspiration: Hudson's costume is a Pottery Barn knock off (but enormous compared to the store-bought version).


The Shark Head
The head presented some difficulties. My first version flopped over and slid down over his face. So I stuffed the head and now it stays up. (I did this by sewing a panel in above Hudson's head and filling the top part of the shark head with stuffing). The teeth still kind of stick out all over the place, but oh well. It's like that shark with funny teeth from Finding Nemo, right? Totally on purpose.

The Dorsal Fin
The dorsal fin is held in an upright position with a wire hanger. My husband took the hanger, cut it and bent it to the correct size and I inserted it into the fin. I stitched it onto the back and did a happy dance when it actually worked.

The Eyes
I love this part! I think the eyes give the shark a such a comical look. These were stitched on after the head was assembled and stuffed. If I made this again I would add the eyes before stitching the head together, but let me take a moment to say: I do not plan on ever doing this again. :)

Overall, the shark costume was a great success. Hudson roared his way through Halloween and Abby screamed obligingly when he chased her. The costume isn't perfect, but in his eyes it is, and that's all that matters.

Before I go, I think you ought to know that the shark costume I purchased on Ebay arrived the day before Halloween, right after I finished this one. It turned out to be waaaay too small for Hudson, so it's a good thing I made him one. The moral of today's story is two-fold:

1. I am better at sewing the right size than buying the right size. Better stick with sewing.
2. I should be more courageous with my sewing. I was convinced I couldn't make a SHARK costume, but I was wrong. Never say "I can't!"

Thanks for reading, friends! I'd love to hear from you in the comments section. How was your Halloween? Did you make a costume? How do you feel about Halloween sewing?

I'll be back tomorrow with pictures of Abby's Tinkerbell costume, which I LOVE. 

Announcing Knock It Off!

Hello friends! Sorry for my one-week absence from this blog! After posting every day for two weeks during the Best of Fall pattern review series I was a little tired, so I took some time off. I wish I could tell you that I did things to sooth my soul, like sleep a lot or read a good book. Instead, I spent almost the whole time sewing Halloween costumes. I'm editing the AWESOME photos of said costumes now and will *hopefully* have them up here sometime on Saturday.

But anyway. That's not what I'm supposed to be talking about! I'm very excited to announce an exciting new series going on at Elegance & Elephants called Knock It Off.

Have you ever seen an outfit in the store and said, "I could make that," or "I wish I could make that?" Well, this series is about just that--knocking off a look, a garment or an accessory--and sharing how it was done. I'm thrilled to be participating in the series, and you can look forward to my post on November 9th. What am I going to sew? I don't even know yet! This weekend will be filled with knock-it-off sewing, and I am so excited even though I don't know exactly what I'l be sewing yet.

I'm so glad Heidi came up with the idea for this series, because seriously, isn't it the very thing we've all been waiting for?? I can't wait to see what the rest of her guests come up with. All childrenswear...all knock offs...all November!

Don't miss Heidi's first Knock it Off post, and remember to follow along with the series. You can post pictures of your own knocked-off outfits in the Flickr Pool:

I hope to see you all joining in! For now, have a great night and I'll "talk" to you all tomorrow. Cheers!