Spring Letters

I was bored the other day so I finally got around to finishing my Spring letters that I bought at Crafty Wood Cutouts. Utah is the land of unfinished wood products which is really fun. I didn't have anything fancy lying around to decorate them with so I just painted them and modged podged some scrap paper on them. Then for the bird I made a tiny rosette from some scrap fabric and then glued it onto some pretty ribbon Matt's mom gave me. It was fun taking a break from sewing and decorating these letters. 

Lace Dress

I started this dress in December as my News Years dress, but just finished it last night. I didn't finish it until now because I've been really busy training for my new online teaching job and I encountered some major problems with this dress. I swear everything that could of gone wrong on this dress did. I ran out of fabric, I had to unpick the zipper twice because it wasn't lining up, the length was way too long so I had to shorten it which caused the layers to be off making hemming difficult, and the sleeves didn't look good.

I won't even show the dress without the cardigan because it just isn't that flattering. I don't really like the sleeves and the neckline is way too high for my body type. I wouldn't call it a fail because it looks cute with the cardigan. I used Vogue 8766 in a size 12. The pattern was easy and the fit was good, but if you are making it I would suggest lowering the neckline which is why it didn't look good on me.

Even though it was a very frustrating project I'm glad I did it because I learned a lot. I figured out a trick to line up zippers so it will line up every time and I learned the best way to hem a circle skirt is by hanging it on a hanger so you can see how it falls naturally.

Little Girl Patchwork Skirts

I made these little girl skirts a long time ago, but am now just blogging about it. Awhile ago I was at a quilt shop and they had charm packs for 1/2 off so I couldn't resist getting some. I used this tutorial and whipped up these skirts in one night. Actually I convinced Matt to help sew some of the squares together for me to save me some time. He is the best! I absolutely love these skirts and really want one in my size. I wonder how many charm squares that would take?

Winter Letters

Over Christmas break Matt's mom and I decorated these letters together. Unfortunately I wasn't able to snap a picture of hers although they were very cute as well. I got these awesome unfinished wood letters for my mother in law and I at a place in Utah called Wood Connection that my friend Rashael told me about. They have great selection and it's resonably priced. We also used Martha Stewarts glitter paint for the first time and I've got to say I love it.

Christmas Dress, Kate Middleton Style

Awhile ago I picked up this white and red polka dot fabric for super cheap, but struggled to know what to do with it since it was Jersey. Jersey is not something I've worked with before. I came across Simplicity 2145 and laughed because it was a knockoff of kate middleton's engagement dress (shown below). So I decided to use this fabric with this pattern to make a Christmas dress. The dress doesn't photograph well, but it does have the wrap around the front like her dress.



I made a size 12 and it fits pretty well. Not as well as my other dresses I've made, but pretty dang close. This dress fabric only cost me $8 so I'm very pleased about that. Like most dress patterns this pattern was too short. Must I always add 4 inches to every pattern? Ugg! The other thing I changed is I took the sleeves in by 5/8 of an inch since I was drowning in them. I probably should have taken them in even more, but laziness struck.

Overall I am pleased with it and it's really comfortable. A lot of people liked it at church and said they liked the retro feel about it.

Gingham Dress Knock Off

I saw this dress at Net-A-Porter and thought it was cute. When I saw it, I thought it looked similiar to the dress I just made. So once again I used Simplicity 2549 and just used gingham fabric this time. I learned how to do a blind hem on this dress. I used this tutorial and it looks great. I also added a sash for the bow. I'm thinking I might make another sash in red so I can wear it different ways. I love this dress and it's my favorite thing I've made so far.



I modeled it with my red purse Matt got me for my birthday last year. Yep he is a keeper! Matt kept telling me to put my purse higher so it would fit in the picture, but this made my arm look weird. I'm in no way a model so forgive me for my akwardness.

The original dress cost $343 and my dress cost $18 so I saved myself $325. Wow, I really need to become a dress maker because they make a killing!

Lace Skirt

About a year ago I saw a cream lace pencil skirt at New York and Company and fell in love. The problem was it cost $64 and it was too short. My solution was to finally make one. I grabbed some cream lace and lining from Hobby Lobby and got to work.

I took a pencil skirt that I had from Gap, traced the shape onto wrapping paper then added seam allowance to that to make my pattern. Then I serged the lace and the lining together. Sewed a facing for the waistband. Sewed the side seams and added a side zipper and wah lah a new lace pencil skirt. I am in love with it and I'm really proud of myself for making up my own pattern. I had to make tweaks here and there, but it ended up being a perfect replica of the jean pencil skirt I was copying.