Sewing, Anyone?

Well, I got some instant gratification sewing done in the last two days.  Last summer, I cut out six or seven dresses and a couple of nightgowns for my daughter, and then left them in a pile in my sewing room, unstitched.  Worried that she may have outgrown them, I checked the pattern measurements, but to my relief, they were still the right size.  I guess I was thinking ahead last year!  Anyway, I decided to actually sew them up this weekend.  Yesterday, I worked on and finished a nightgown for her.  The fabric had, of course, a Disney princess on it--Ariel, with friends, printed with a tropical feel in teal, red and yellow.  Bright, but for bedtime, perfect.  The way it worked up, it reminds me of a Hawaaiian muumuu!  However, little girl loved it, even though it was too big in the neckline and kept falling off her shoulders.  I corrected that by running a 1/8" red ribbon through the neckline (it had a narrow bias facing) and tying it in front with a bow.  Now it fits perfectly, and she's thrilled.  Wore it all morning!

Today, I didn't know where to begin, so I asked Ella to pick which dress I should make.  The one she chose was white pique embroidered with a pink and green floral border that I purchased a few years ago from Farmhouse Fabrics on clearance.  I got a second one, but I'll make that up later.  The pattern was very simple, the sleeveless sundress pattern from Kari Mecca's Sewing With Whimsy.  It worked up so fast (no hem!) that I had time to get halfway through a second, similar dress.  Ella absolutely loved this dress, and couldn't get it on fast enough.  She danced all over in it, and wouldn't take it off until bedtime.  I consider that a pretty good indicator that she liked it.  In fact, I had a hard time making her stand still long enough to photograph her in it!  You can see that she's got plenty of room in it, and the hem hits her at about mid-calf.  The camera angle is a little high, so it looks long.

The second dress I'm working on is sooooo cute!!  I got the fabric at JoAnn's one day...a mother and her mother were getting some fabric cut out, and I thought the print was cute, so after she was done with it, I got it from her!  I'm using the same basic sundress pattern, but I'm also using some wide ric-rac on the neckline, armscye, and as detail trim on the bodice.  The skirt uses three different patterns, tiered.  I'm very excited to finish it, because I know that Ella's going to love it. 

Well, going to go downstairs to play a little Lego Star Wars with the husband...if he's in the mood.