Fall BurdaStyle Baby Dress

One of the best surprises about moving to Chapel Hill was finding local fabric shops in the area.   I could never find an indy shop in DC, so this is a real treat for me.  The local apparel fabric shop is called Mulberry Silks and Fine Fabrics. I made sure to make a trip there in my first month in the area and bought my first BurdaStyle magazine--for half off!

What I'm Working on Wednesday, September 10

I've got a ton of projects going on right now, so I thought I'd give a sneak peek of a few of them.

Summer Baby

A few months ago,  I was able to go fabric shopping with my boyfriend's mom.  It's so much fun going fabric shopping with other people.  At that time I bought the fabric that made the failed dress shown here (it ended up being far too big and I haven't finished it).  She, on the other hand, picked out some adorable fabric to make some spring/summer clothes for her 18 month-old grand-daughter.

Some things came up and she wasn't able to finish the clothes; so, she handed the pieces off to me to finish up.  I couldn't have been happier with this task. When I got the pieces, the fabric had been cut out for a top, pants, and a dress.  There was an additional piece of fabric as well, which I turned into another dress.

I finished up the items in a few evenings after work.  Baby clothes are so gratifying to make because they are so quick, and adorable.  It can be tricky to work around such little curves (armholes are so small!), so I tried out a few different techniques to get the finishes as clean as possible.   On the purple dress I used bias tape to finish the neckline and arm openings.  On the blue top I used a tiny hem around the openings.  On the green dress I lined the bodice so there were no edges to finish.  I also played around with french seams on the skirt panels for some of the pieces. 

Despite being made out of different fabrics from different patterns, all three pieces have the same blue buttons.  Does this make them a "collection"!?

Babies grow fast, and Emilie is no exception.  Hopefully these dresses will fit by the time they arrive for her!

Abstract

Pattern: NewLook 0156 and Butterick 5017

Fabric: Floral seersucker, green polka dot quilting cotton, purple shirting, all from Joann's

Cost:unknown

Time: Approximately 8 hours

Baby Pinafores

This weekend I finished the 3 baby dresses I mentioned in my What I'm Working on Wednesday post. These dresses came together quite quickly, as each is just 3 pieces for the inside and an identical 3 for the outside.  It didn't hurt that I've used this pattern before, either. 

I made these assembly-line style.  First I cut out all of the fabric, then I put them all together, then I put in all of the buttonholes, assembled the buttons, and sewed them on (while watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics). 

Each dress, or pinafore, has an interior fabric that complements the exterior. I was fortunate enough to have some cute and baby-appropriate fabrics in my stash to use for most of the dresses. The purple gingham below was in my stash.  I have no clue where it came from.  The interior blue floral fabric came from a vintage pillowcase. 

Purple gingham with a vintage blue floral interior

The pink floral fabric here was leftover from a dress that I started in the summer.  It's hanging in my closet 90% finished. I think the print is adorable for a little dress, but am not so sure about how it looks on me.  Maybe I'll share more on that later. 

Vintage pink floral with tan interior

Back view

This orange printed fabric is leftover from a dress that I finished over Thanksgiving and absolutely love.  It is springy, so I haven't worn it out in public yet, but am looking forward to the opportunity to do so!

Abstract orange print with polka dot interior

And there you have it. I am back to making full-size clothing now and promise that my next make will have a picture of a real person wearing it.  

Abstract
Pattern: Smashed Peas and Carrot's Little Girl's Crossover Pinafore
Fabric: Various cottons
Cost: About $5 (mostly for the buttons)
Time: 1 week of sewing after work

What I'm Working on Wednesdays

This is my first post in a weekly Wednesday series on my current in-progress projects.  Normally I work on one project at a time, but right now I'm working on three different projects. Here's a sneak peek at each:

Couture Dress

As a Christmas present, my dad enrolled me in an online class on Craftsy called The Couture Dress.  This class teaches high-end couture techniques using a Vogue pattern (my first Vogue pattern!). By the end of the class I'll have a custom-fitted dress made "the right way" with no shortcuts. So far, I've gotten as far as making a muslin, a test-run if you will.  It's made out of plain white fabric and has markings all over it.  Here's what it looks like so far.

Front (Sorry, the lighting in my apartment is terrible)

Back

Wrap Dress

The second project I'm working on is a knit wrap dress.  I've had this pattern for a while now.  I made the shirt from the pattern before, but this will be my first time making the dress.  The fabric is an abstract print with black, brown, blue, white, and orange.

McCall's 6519

At this point, I've cut out my pattern pieces and need to put them together.

Cut-out pieces

Baby Pinafores

Last, but not least (except in amount of fabric!) I'm working on a series of dresses for little girls.  There are three different dresses, each with two complementing fabrics. The dresses are pinafores because they are open in the back.  The pattern I'm using is from another blog, Smashed Peas and Carrots, complete with tutorial. 

So many colors!

These dresses are for friends of a friend, and should be finished this weekend! 

So, that's what I've been up to.  I'm hoping to make a lot of progress on the wrap dress and baby dresses this weekend.  I'm a little stuck on the couture dress, because I just can't decide what fabric to use!