Finally a Sewing Success!

2009 has not been a sewing-friendly year for me. I have discarded a lot of projects because of fit issues. BUT, just when I was about to pack it in, I had a success!

I have had Butterick 4970 for about a year now. It is a Flirt Girl pattern and one of the few larger size girls' patterns. There are a lot of patterns for toddlers and little girls, but very few after size 6...

Little Miss wanted to wear a dress the first day of school. I wanted her to wear something gym-day friendly. We met somewhere in the middle - She wore a tunic with leggings.

I am especially proud of this tunic because it is my first successful refashion! The Little Miss's tunic started out as these...

Now on to the review.

Pattern Description: Girls’ pullover dress with yoke neckline.

Pattern Sizing: I bought the 12-14-16. I had to make some modifications to the pattern (see below).

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Sort of. The tunic was based on the View C dress. And the gathers were less noticeable than in the pattern drawing.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, the instructions were easy to follow.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? This was a pretty simple pattern. I liked the fact that the yoke neckline is still on point fashion-wise. I also liked the fact that there are only 3 pattern pieces for this view.

I did not like the printed instructions for the yoke construction. The printed instructions kept mixing up the yoke and the yoke facing. Hmm, or maybe it was me…? It's been a while since I followed pattern instructions.

Fabric Used: The tunic in the photo is made from 100% recycled fabric. The yoke is from a sweater tank and the tunic body is made from a women’s linen button-down shirt. Total fabric cost - $3.50.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: I shortened View C by 3” to make it tunic length. (Although I did have to argue a lot with the Little Miss to get her to wear it with leggings.) The tunic posted here is the second go with this pattern view.

For the original, I cut a size 16 in the tummy and 12 everywhere else. That didn’t quite work. I wound up adding 3” to each side to give the Little Miss some wiggle room. For this version, the shirt’s side seams just fit the expanded pattern. The shirt buttons and pocket made for additional design elements on the finished tunic.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I’m not sure if I would sew this again. I might use the neckline again to morph another pattern. This was an easy pattern and would be good for beginners.

Conclusion: View C of this pattern goes together quickly and looks good in a variety of fabrics. Including recycled fabrics.

The Little Miss got a lot of compliments on her first-day-of-school outfit. Even from the teachers! I really enjoyed using the recycled women's tops. And thank goodness I sewed down the buttons! The Little Miss kept trying to unbutton the thing all day...

Summer Vacation and the Beadin's Fine!

Now that the twins are 7, I thought it was the right time to teach them some useful skills – I mean reading, writing, and arithmetic will only take them so far.

DS loves cameras and so I dusted off my old (very old), neon green 35mm and presented it to him. We then trooped off to the library to get a kids photography book. DS did not take too kindly to the lessons...he went back to his Gameboy within a week.

Ah, but DD did not disappoint. She loves to make things, but the thought of handing her fabric, shears, and access to a sewing needle of any sort gave me the willies. Sooo, I thought she might take to jewelry making. The Little Miss already had some kid’s jewelry-making kits from holidays past. So we got a book and got going.

Things didn’t go quite as smoothly as I hoped. DD’s motor skills needed more fine-tuning than I thought. She couldn’t manipulate the beading string straight away. So, we started smaller – actually bigger. The Little Miss started beading with pipe cleaners at first. She really got the hang of it.

Then grandma saw some of DD’s pipe cleaner jewelry and commissioned 2 ankle bracelets. Here are DD’s creations made to order for grandma:

The white and clear beads on both ankle bracelets were recycled. I’m really impressed with how much her fine motor skills are improving. And of course, I had to practice with her…and made 2 necklaces from recycled materials as well!

And DS, who was not interested in “summer enrichment” at all, suddenly changed his tune when grandma paid his sister $10 for the two ankle bracelets…