The Skater Dress {pattern tour}

If you're visiting from Kitschy Koo today, welcome! I hope you find something you enjoy and choose to stay awhile. If you haven't noticed, I love to sew. If you're looking for inspiration, check out some of my free patterns and tutorials!

A long time ago, what feels like ages in the internet world, I came across this awesome website with the most fun and funky kids clothes and patterns. I read a little farther and it turned out the blogger, Amanda, was hilarious. Like, make your side hurt hilarious.

So Kitschy Koo became one of my most favorite places to stop by. It's a fun, spunky place with a non-traditional spin on this whole sewing thing, and I find that really refreshing. I was SUPER excited when she announced that she was releasing the pattern for the Skater Dress. Umm, would I like to review it for the pattern tour? Yes, please!

What I like most about this dress is that it has enough "girl" about it without being over-the-top. There are plenty of patterns out there for dresses that are frilly, frouncy, ruffly, and bouncy. What about a simple, casual, knit dress for a girl with tons of spirit? That's where the Skater Dress comes in!

Let's talk about sewing the actual dress. It took me about 45 minutes to tape the pattern pieces together, trace the size and cut the fabric. Sewing everything together took another 45 minutes to an hour, so you can expect this dress to take under 2 hours to sew.

The fabric is a knit from Joanne's, fun and funky enough for this pattern. Side note: I've been really impressed with Joanne's knits lately. Wow, there's some great stuff there right now! Check out Elsie Marley's Skater Dress, also made with a Joanne's knit. 

Amanda designed the dress to fit for a couple of years, which I should have taken into account when cutting the correct size for Abby. I ended up cutting a size 3-4, when I should have gone down a size for my little skinny minny. The dress turned out waaaay too big for Abby, but that was ok, because I've been wanting to make a dress for another little beauty for awhile now and it fit her perfectly:

Little Miss O is a good friend of ours. She and Hudson are about a year apart and she has a not-so-secret plan to marry Hudson one day. I love those sweet innocent crushes, don't you? And really, she's such a sweet heart and gorgeous to boot, so who could possibly object? Just don't tell Hudson for about another 15 years. He's still too busy playing superheros.

I'm thrilled that this dress fits her, and honestly, it's her style, too. Doesn't it look so great on her? And what a perfect little model! I've been scheming ways to get her on my blog, so I'd say this is a win-win.

I'd like to thank Miss O's mom, my good friend Cindy, for taking these pictures for me! And thank you all for stopping by and reading! Be sure to head over to Kitschy Koo now and buy your very own Skater Dress pattern. It's perfect for Spring and Summer sewing, and would also make a great beach cover up. It's going to get a lot of use from me this season!

Be sure to check out the rest of everyone's dresses in the pattern tour! Have a great weekend, everyone!

If you're looking for more summer sewing inspiration, check out my FREE summer shorts pattern, and this little vintage-inspired dress for babies. Perfect for those warm summer months!

Safe!

Hey everyone! Sorry to post this so late, but I was waiting for the Sew-Vivor results to post over at Family Ever After and I just realized they went live a bit ago. So.... guess what? I'M SAFE! I made it through the first round of cuts in Sew-Vivor!

HUGE sigh of relief.

My next challenge is to sew something with buttons, so you know where my mind is at this moment. Everything buttons. Seven of us are going on to the next round, and let me tell you, there are some EXTREMELY talented ladies in that group so I can't take this lying down. I'm so honored to be among them!

OK, there's already something special on my cutting table, so I better sign off and get started. Sorry for the lack of pictures in this post! I figured you might be kind of tired of seeing that green dress over and over again. Hehe.

For a quick review on what this Sew-Vivor thing is, read this post. To see my first entry, the Emerald Dress, read this post. For a quick (ish) read on the behind-the-scenes for a momma who's not too comfortable in front of the camera, read this.

That's all for now, folks. I promise, more pretty things are coming (and some EXCITING announcements), but for now I have to get some sewing done. Buttons, here I come...

Until next time!

Kids Clothes Belgian Style at Straight Grain!

If you would like to see a better and not-so-ridiculous picture of the dress my daughter's wearing in this photo, HEAD OVER TO STRAIGHT GRAIN, where I am participating in her Kids Clothes Belgian Style series. Ohmigoodness, this series has been so fun and has my thoughts teeming with spring and summer inspiration. Be sure to leave me a line over there, letting me know what you think! 

By the way, An of Straight Grain is a phenomenal seamstress and sweet blogging friend, so look around while you're there. You're sure to see something you like! Like this bubble dress pattern, perhaps?

****

One more thing before I go: I owe you all a great big THANK YOU for your supportive comments after my scary (read: vulnerable) post on Friday. My feelings seem to resonate with so many of you, so I'm glad I had the guts to speak up! Thanks for your show of solidarity and for opening up to me in return. Let's encourage each other to be even more brave as the future unfolds. Amen? 

If you left a comment on that post and I haven't responded yet, I will! My husband and I had a weekend alone while the kids were with the grandparents (!!!), so I tried to stay off the computer as much as possible. I'm (obviously) back in the swing of things now and will take time to leave replies and send emails. Thank you all, and have a spectacular and CONFIDENT start to your week! 

The comment that made me happy-cry, and last chance to vote

Hello lovelies! I hope you've all had a great week and are getting ready to enjoy a fabulous weekend! First of all, I want to remind you all that today is the last day to VOTE FOR ME over at Sew-Vivor. If you missed my other posts about Sew-Vivor and are thinking "what the heck is that?" check out my posts here and here. Voting closes at midnight eastern time, which is 9:00 p.m. for us West-coasters, so make sure you head over and VOTE NOW!

I'm contestant #5 and here's a refresher for ya:

This outfit is SO FUN, you guys. Gosh, I just love sewing!

OK, now on to the other part about the comment that made me happy-cry. This is the part where I get really honest with you guys and blink back tears while typing this. Here goes...

It was really scary for me to take these pictures. I am so much more comfortable behind the camera lens, which is funny because I used to be the girl with my arms thrown wide in the front row of every group picture. I was an unstoppable posing force. But something has happened as I've grown older and, um, grown in general since having children. 

I try to hide myself.

For example, I almost didn't make this dress. I knew that if I made a dress for this challenge, I would need to photograph myself in that dress and I just wasn't prepared to deal with possible failure. What if the dress looked bad because I'm not the size of a model? What if people can tell how short I am? What if they think the skirt is too short for a girl like me? I'm not tall and thin and leggy by any means.

Oh God, what if I put myself out there and my appearance is the reason this fails?

How many of you have felt this way before? I know it's not a first for me! But I decided something this time around. I decided to make a dress that was perfect for me, and show it to the world unashamedly. I'm not going to be afraid of being a "real woman."

Because the thing is, we are ALL real women. Every single woman out there, on every billboard, and in every magazine, is REAL. Some of us are just extremely underrepresented. 

So as you know, I went ahead and made the dress. I posed in the pictures (my brother helped me feel comfortable) and put them here with butterflies in my stomach. And great feedback started coming in. 

I love this dress, and I would love it even if no one else did, so the feedback that really matters to me can be summed up in this comment by lovely reader Chelle:

I am SO relieved to see such a short dress on such a Beautiful REAL woman, curves and a HUGE Beautiful, Confident Smile! YOU ARE GORGEOUS! I love that dress!

Now, part of me feels really awkward about sharing this comment with you so boldly. I mean, aren't I kind of tooting my own horn? The reason I AM sharing this with you is because--if statistics can be believed--many of you feel about yourselves the way I've been feeling. 

Let me take this opportunity to tell you something TRUE, and POWERFUL, and worth BELIEVING. You are special. You are unique. You are beautiful. I hope someone tells you that each and every day, and if they don't, I'm here to tell you every possible chance I have. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL because God made you that way. As women, we have something uniquely powerful to share with the world and when we hide because of how we perceive ourselves, that message gets lost.

I'm going to try and hide a little less. How about you?

Thank you so much for reading this long spiel. I love each one of you for taking the time to be here today. Now I'm going to go and hide myself under a pillow because I can't believe I shared this so boldly. Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you back here Monday!

Sew-Vivor Challenge One: Emerald

If you're visiting from Family Ever After, WELCOME! I'm so glad you stopped by. I hope you find something you like and decide to stay awhile. I'm a wife, mamma to three, sewist, writer, blogger, lover of coffee, color and the outdoors. I love, love, love to sew!

Ok, are you ready for the big reveal? Today my entry for the first Sew-Vivor challenge went live over at Family Ever After! The theme this week was EMERALD: 2013 color of the year. Below are a lot of pictures and details on my outfit. After reading, please take a moment to head over and VOTE FOR ME!

THE DRESS

Luck Be A Lady dress by CailaMade

The first thing I want to say about this dress is that it makes me feel pretty. It's feminine and soft, but my favorite details are those with a modern feel: the printed gold triangles on the bodice, the black hand-stitching on the neckline, the short skirt. I love combining modern elements with classic femininity.

As you can see, the dress has a fitted bodice (knit) with cap sleeves, a full gathered skirt, and an elastic casing at the waist. I love wearing dresses that are both beautiful and comfortable.

The bodice pattern was self-drafted from my own measurements. I'm like every other women--I want my dresses to emphasize the good and hide the bad! It took a few tries to get it right, but the fit is perfect.

See those gold triangles? I printed those by hand directly on the fabric, using a stamp made from a rubber eraser. It worked like a charm and was quick and easy!

I'm a sucker for details, so I also added box pleats to the cap sleeves  for a little something extra.

I also hand-stitched the neck binding using Alabama Chanin's techniques and this particular stitch is called the "cretin stitch." It's a stretch stitch so the neckline stretches like the rest of the top. I love this part! It's my favorite detail on the dress and I think the black embroidery thread really ties the top and bottom of the dress together.

The skirt is gathered and made from rayon with a supple drape. The colors are so perfect with the top! An elastic casing brings things in at the waste and gives the dress a comfortable feel. In most of these pictures I'm wearing a belt, but it looks great without one, too.

With cap sleeves, a hand-stitched neckline and full skirt, this dress is my new fave!

Full skirt, fitted bodice, scoop neck, hand-stitched neck binding, cap sleeves with box pleats. (Shoes: TOMS from Nordstrom. Necklace and belt: Francesca's).

THE ACCESSORIES

I had a lot of fun picking out the accessories for this dress! The shoes are platform TOMS from Nordstrom. Since I'm only 5'2" I really appreciate a good pair of platforms. These are comfortable and trendy, so it's a win-win. Plus, they are yummy!

The necklace and belt came from Francesca's, which is pretty much my favorite store right now. When I went into the store I took the dress with me to see how the whole outfit looked together. GUESS WHAT?? The sales associates made my day by thinking the dress came from Anthropologie! They were so complementary, and so excited to talk about dress design and sewing with me. Thank you for your kind words, Francesca's ladies!

And thank YOU for reading this post and VOTING FOR ME! Please head over to Family Ever After to cast your vote. It only takes a few seconds, and I'd love to try my hand at the second challenge. I can only advance if I don't get "kicked off the island" like in Survivor, so vote to keep me on!

Thank you, everyone, for your support. I'd love to hear any of your questions or comments in the comments section below. You're such awesome people! Love you all!

UPDATED: I forgot to mention, because I was sleep-deprived when I wrote this, that my awesome and hilarious brother took theses photos. His name is Kyle Cowgill and you can watch his comedic adventures on YouTube! Thank you, brother!!

LINKING UP WITH:
Make it Wear it Thursday at The Train to Crazy
Creative Juice Thursday at the Momnivor's Dilema
You. Inspired at The Girl Inspired

Seeing Green

1. Emerald. Original source here, pinned here.
2. Vintage bathroom Decor fine art print by Alice Gao Photography.
3. Necklace by Bauble Bar, pinned here.
4.   Ship. Original source here, pinned here.

Lately, I've been seeing GREEN. Don't worry, I'm not being eaten alive by jealousy. The first challenge for Sew-Vivor is to sew something EMERALD, so green thoughts have taken over my mind while I sew.

I'm happy to report that my contribution to the competition has safely been submitted and now all I have to do is sit back and wait. Voting will begin tomorrow, so I'll see you then for the big reveal! It's pretty exciting! Eeeeeeeeeeee!

California Calling

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Saint Patricks day and wore lots of green! I'm busy getting ready for the first round of Sew-Vivor which will post on Wednesday, so today I'm bringing home my Sew in Tune post from a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy! I'll see you all back here on Wednesday for something Emerald and truly exciting. Thanks for stopping by! 

*****

Before I get started there's one thing you should know about my family: We live in California. On the water. And all my kids are blonde. Yeah, we are totally stereotypical. Haha!

We love California for the weather (of course), the beach, the mountains, and especially the kick-back attitude. I guess those Beach Boys really did know what they were talking about in the song California Calling when they sang,

"If everybody in the U.S.A

Could come with us to Californ-i-a

We could take 'em to a place out west

Where the good sun shines everyday."

California Calling, The Beach Boys

Well, the sun certainly shines out here almost every day, there's no denying it! So, with my little California girl in mind, I created a tribute to this bright, sparkly, and beautiful state.

The first thing you'll notice is a big ole' drawing of the State of California on the front of Abby's dress. The outline was created by tracing the State of California onto some Transfer Artist Paper (TAP). (BTW, I found the California image by simply doing a Google search for "California line drawing"). Then I grabbed a pink marker out of the kids' craft drawer and colored in the outline directly on the TAP, making sure it looked like a colored picture--not perfect. The heart was added in purple marker over the general area where we live.

I love this little detail!

Once my drawing was complete, I simply flipped the image over onto the dress and ironed it on. If you've never used TAP before, I recommend using Leslie Riley's Transfer Artist Paper specifically, and following the tips I share here. The three most important things to do are:

1. Print or trace your image as a MIRROR IMAGE, otherwise the finished product will be backwards.
2. Follow the directions for your specific kind of TAP.
3. Cut away all excess TAP from around your image so no extra sticks to your project.

It's really so simple and an easy way to customize any product! I use it all the time!

Now, about the actual dress. I started with Made by Rae's Flashback Skinny Tee pattern and color-blocked by using different fabrics for the sleeves, bodice, and skirt:

As a salute to the great sport for which California is best known--SURFING, of course!--I used fabric repurposed from surf brand clothing. The brands Roxy (as the skirt) and Rip Curl (as the cap sleeves) are represented. Hollister fabrics make an appearance in the neckband. Did you know Hollister is a real town along the coast in California? And I can't tell you how much I love that Roxy chevron! (The blue is an organic cotton jersey knit I purchased at Fabric.com).

I was able to preserve the Roxy symbol along the bottom hem, although I forgot to get a picture of that particular detail. Roxy always uses the highest quality knits in their clothing, and as a result, this dress is so soft I could snuggle up with it and go to sleep!

"There's a touch o' California

in anyone who's ever been out this way."

And there's a touch (or two) of California in this dress, too! I particularly love the song, "California Calling" by the Beach Boys, because of how they pronounce the word "Californ-eye--aye." Listen to it here to see what I mean! I've always loved pronouncing California like that, and I'll just blame it on them. It's cool if the Beach Boys did it, right?

Well, there you have it: Abby's Color-blocked California Calling dress! My favorite thing about this outfit is that it fits Abby's particular style (bright and girly) and our lifestyle, which is influenced greatly by the great outdoors and sunny weather. We don't stay inside at this time of year if we can help it!

*****

Thanks so much for having me, Melissa! I really enjoyed pushing myself to create in this way. And thank YOU, for reading! To see more of what I've been making, visit my blog, CailaMade. You can also find me on Pinterest, Facebook, and Flickr. Bye for now! 

Roxy-Blocked Hangout Hoodie

Hey everyone! Today I'm the last stop on the Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop's Spring Tour. What a week it's been! There have been some great patterns sewn by talented ladies, and I'm honored to be among them. If you're visiting from Naptime Crafters; welcome! I hope you find something you like and stay awhile. Be sure to scroll to the end, because we have a HUGE GIVEAWAY going on!

Check out Naptime Crafters to see more of the Spring Tour, and some truly wonderful Spring outfits!

Now, you may have noticed that I've been on a California Style/Roxy kick lately. A's California Calling dress was a repurpose project made entirely from surf-brand clothing. I love that dress on my girl! It's so fun, and so perfect for this sunny state in which we live.

So when Amy asked me to sew up a pattern and participate in the Tour, I knew exactly which fabric would come into play. It's from a Roxy dress, of course! What else? You know how I love all things Roxy.

I color blocked the sleeves and hoodie using fabrics from a t-shirt from Nordstrom, and another from Express. The best thing about buying tees from expensive-ish stores is that they last a loooong time and still look good! The body of the dress comes from the afore-mentioned Roxy dress. Don't you love that pink and orange? Mmm.

This pattern was just released for the Spring line and is called (obviously!) the Hangout Hoodie. It comes in both a dress and t-shirt style, so the boys don't have to feel left out. Seriously, Hudson is already asking for his own t-shirt version!

I think this hoodie is absolutely perfect for beach wear! My girl spent the whole day in her swimsuit, but once evening approached and the cool air blew in from the sea, she put the hood right on and wouldn't take it off. In fact, we have a hard time getting this hood off her anytime, ever.

I don't know why my kids love hoods so much, they just do. Are your kids like that? Or is it just my little sillies?

"The sun is in my eyes mo-om!"

If you're ready to start sewing for Spring and Summer, I definitely suggest picking up the pattern. It's available for purchase here, and you simply print out the pieces, tape them together, and cut out the correct size. I sewed A a 3T (she's three years old) and it fits perfectly with room to grow. That's my fave kind of sizing!

Don't forget to check out what else the Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop has to offer! I particularly like their skinny jeans, the new Starboard Jacket, and these summer pjs. Click on the photo below to visit the shop!

Thanks for reading, friends. I hope you liked A's Hangout Hoodie! Have you started your summer sewing yet? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!

But wait, don't go yet: You all have a chance to enter a fantastic giveaway! Two lucky winners will receive one of each patterns on the tour. That's 10 patterns! Just enter below and cross your fingers. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Linking up with:

Sew-Vivor Here I Come!

Wowzas! Friends, I have exciting news! Last week I submitted my Bias and Buttons dress to audition for the Sew-Vivor sewing competition hosted by Family Ever After, and today she announced the Top 10 sewists who will be competing:

I MADE IT INTO THE TOP 10!!!!

Can you tell I'm excited? Truth be told, I'm a little nervous about competing against so many talented ladies, because I'm not naturally a very competitive person. But I do recognize that competition has always brought out my best qualities and abilities, so I welcome the chance to improve my skills, make new friends, and generally just have a ton of fun!

Will you follow along with me? I would appreciate your moral support through the competition! Now might be a good time to follow CailaMade if you're interested in seeing what I come up with. You can follow either by RSS or Google Friend Connect on my right sidebar. Or, you can follow through Facebook, Instagram (@cailamade), or Flickr. I'll be posting regularly to all of these.

Thanks so much for your support! In the meantime, here are the challenges I'll be facing over the coming weeks:

Courtesy of Family Ever After

The first challenge is due in a week, so I'd better get crackin'! Thanks for reading, friends, and I'll see ya in a couple of days with something unrelated to Sew-Vivor. Love you all!

Pink and White Party (Abby Turns 3, Part II)

Awhile ago I posted about A's princess party, and promised pictures and details on another party we threw over her birthday weekend. Yes, count them there were two! Our first party, the one I'm sharing with you today, was her family party. Although we were having little friends over for the princess gig, I just couldn't give up having the whole family over to celebrate her turning three. If you know our family, you understand why. They are just the most awesome people ever.

Throwing two parties isn't as hard as you would imagine. I used the same decorations and simply set everything up once. The food and cakes were different, of course, but the muscle-work of decorating was done only once.


Can I tell you guys something? I love, love, love setting up a party table! It gives me so much joy, it really does. Every time we throw some kind of celebration (which was almost every week for awhile) I load this table up with beautiful things and tasty goodies. Our kitchen table is the centerpiece for every affair and makes everything--especially the birthday girl or boy--feel so special.

As you can see here, I love vintage table linens. They add just the right amount of vintage style, and for no cost, because these were passed down from my mother. I tied some hot pink tulle around the table cloth to add some flare. You know how my girl loves pink!

I think my favorite pieces on this table are my green egg cups (purchased from World Market). The other glassware we already owned and habitually use. I think the easiest way to decorate for a party is to pull beautiful items from around your house and put them all in one location. Honestly, it's cheap, easy, and effective!

A's cake for this year was a very simple creation, unlike last year. I'm no fancy-pants cake baker, so I just mixed up some Fun Fetti cake mix by Betty Crocker and cooked it in a 6" round cake pan, discarding the extra. The icing is a cream cheese frosting also by Betty Crocker (not as white as I had hoped). I decorated the cake with pink jelly beans which were purchased from the bulk bins at Winco. So simple and precious.

I wanted the cake to stand taller than everything else, so I layered my cake stands. The white cake stand and pink plate were purchased at World Market, the glass cake stand is a hand-me-down from my aunt. Cake stands are always a good investment, in my opinion. These get used ALL THE TIME.

See the delectable cake pops below? These were made by my beautiful sister-in-law, Melissa. She's my partner in crime and my partner in Baily's after every party. She also brought the framed "A" you see on the table. Gorgeous, right?

And because I know you want to see the birthday girl, not just the birthday things, here is my Abby-girl with real pom poms from her Aunty Mel:

And here are a few pics of her birthday dress, which is another of my Summer Whimsy dresses:

I do plan on offering the instructions for this dress as a tutorial sometime in the next couple of weeks. The steps are written and I just need to finalize photos. Sometimes this stuff takes way longer than I expect! Maybe I just need some encouragement, like you telling me to get off my duff and work on this thing already. Anyone?? ;)

One last thing about parties before I go: I feel the need to tell you all that I used to be the least crafty person on the planet. I had no clue how to decorate anything, crafty anything, or sew anything, and yet here we are today and this stuff makes me come alive! Isn't it amazing how we can grow and change over time?

If you're interested in cakes, check out some of my more detailed creations:

For girls who love Rapunzel: Rapunzel's Hair Cake

For boys who love Outer Space: Space Shuttle Cake

Cake Decorating with fondant for beginners

Other Birthday Parties:

Space Birthday Party

Princess Tea Party

By the way, I am just a girl who likes to make things my kids enjoy! I'm no expert at this stuff!