I just finished my second Oliver and S Lazy Days skirt and I love it! I love this pattern for many reasons starting with that it is free! Then, on top of that it’s super easy and comes out very cute. My 3 year old daughter loves dresses and skirts, so I buy many, and make a few. I really love to make her things, but sometimes its hard to set aside time to get a big sewing project done for her. This is the perfect pattern just for that.
And if you don’t know about Oliver and S, check them out, they make some super sweet patterns- but they are pricier than the run of the mill stuff- scroll thru the blog and see some finished patterns. I have the bubble dress on my sewing table to get to- its been there for a few months, sadly being passed up for some quick projects. I will get to it soon- even if I have to sew with the new baby in her sling!
See the Lazy Days skirts on Flickr.
I finally purchased my first Japanese Craft Book. I had been long hesitant since the copy is in Japanese but after reading countless blogs and reviews that the step-by-step picture instructions were easy to follow, I decided to buy one. I bought the summer ‘08 volume of Cotton Friend with clothing projects for adults and kids sizes. I love to make clothes for my almost 3 year old daughter so I thought it would be great to try out some of these for her. I love the zakka and amigurumi books too but, wanted to try the clothes first, and I also think those might be fun to do with my daughter when she’s older.
What draws me to Japanese craft books and the want to give the projects a try is the cool, funky styling of the clothes and accessories. I often find that conventional US patterns are, well not very stylish. I do end up finding cute patterns here and there (with a lot of effort) or make a pattern tracing and combining clothing items I like, but I wanted to tackle something kind of hip and different. I have to admit I’ve spent hours look at them online, and on flickr, another great place to check out the books and projects. I love flipping thru it and checking out the ideas, including a project that uses and old men’s shirt for the material. I think collecting the books and doing project could become addictive. I haven’t set out on any of the projects yet, but think the first one will be some loose pajama-like pants for my little one. It seems like a good one to start with and I love her to be comfortable and cute, and able to move easily. I do agree the pictures are very straight-forward and easy to understand. The book also comes with a trace pattern sheet, I just haven’t figured out the sizing and measurements with the pattern sheet for the clothes. I will post again with how the project/s turn out. I am hoping if anything, I will become a better sewing problem solver through the language barrier. Have you tried any Japanese crafting books? I would love to hear about your experience or advice.
A few sites to find Japanese craft books:
Traplett at Etsy
A little goodness at Etsy
Simply Contemporary at Etsy
Modern Craft
More on Japanese craft books:
Label-Free
Crafting Japanese
More at flickr
A month or so ago I made my daughter a cute A-line dress. I had really wanted to make her a dress with the super cute Joel Dewberry Pink Sparrows fabric. There is something so sweet about it, the little brown birds perched on the flowering branches set on the light pink background.
So I took to the internet to find a simple pattern that was cute and comfortable. I found one by New Look, pattern 6578. It was so easy and a fun project to do. The pattern had sizes 6 mons. - 4 years. With that I decided to make one for my 3 month old niece as well. The 6 month size is a little big but she will likely grow into it sooner than later. I really wasn’t interested in adding the appliques, so I skipped that and let the beautiful fabric show uninterrupted. I also decides to use fabric covered buttons, which look nice and were quite easy to do and again blend right into the dress. I bought mine at Meeting Street Designs, a supplier and barrette designer on Etsy.
I am hoping to do a few more, there is so much delicious fabric out there to choose from. I just bought this beautiful Amy Butler fabric from the Mid-West Modern collection called fuchsia-fresh poppies which I think will make an adorable dress.
If you’ve made this dress or have another toddler dress pattern you love, please tell me about it! I’d love to try it out.
