dressapalooza!

it has been so freaking awesome to sit at the sewing machine and crank out some fun projects.  this weekend alone i tackled the bean's summer wardrobe and managed to finish three separate dresses for her.

the first one was a total revamp of that disastrous puffy-sleeved mess from last week.  yi-hi-kes.  i decided to chop off the entire bodice and work with what i had left, and dug out the tutorial for that spring ruffle top i made for myself last year.  after a little backtracking, a bit of seam ripping, and not too long at the machine, we had this:

she looks much happier in her refashioned frock, yes?  and oh, how i love the hand-on-hip pose.  and then she thought of something. 

"mommy, can you make my ni-hao kailan dress now, please please please?" 

we'd picked up some fun fabric at joann's featuring one of her favorite nick jr. shows, and i'd promised to make her something to wear with it.  i hadn't yet made one of those simple "pillowcase" dresses, and i thought it would be a pretty simple style to throw together.  using this tutorial, she was wearing this in less than an hour:

please excuse the messy hair and sullen expression.  it also cracks me up to no end that every time i ask her to model an outfit for me, she runs right into the table-less breakfast nook and wedges her little body into the corner to pose.  i swear, i don't ask her to do this - i ain't puttin' baby in a corner.  and hey, at least the lighting's decent.

anyway, i decided that i didn't really love that yellow ribbon tie, so i went back to the machine and sewed together a little non-bias tape strap out of a scrap of the fabric.  much better - both hair and dress:

in the tutorial, the blogger adds a lovely contrasting sash to make it less potato sack-like.  but i think i'm going to change it up a little and add a drawstring waist to it.  that yellow ribbon will look nice in there after all, i think.  we'll see what i come up with.

and last but not least - i think this is my most favoritest dress i've ever made for the bean (so far, anyway).  i totally fell in love with this adorable "mod sailor dress" and was stoked to see a tutorial for it.  i've come to really like making my own patterns using current measurements, and just happened to have some pretty, summery pink striped seersucker in my fabric stash.  it was amazingly easy to cut out and sew together.

i made a couple of adjustments for this one - i did a french seam for the sides of the dress.  i also inserted the little button loop as i sewed the top instead of having to rip out a few stitches and do it last.  plus, rather than use a piece of elastic or twill tape, i made my own out of a bit of seersucker:

yeah, it's not too easy to see in that picture.  but trust me - it's totally cute and adds a little customized touch.

this sewing thing is super addicting.  i seriously can't stop - i already have two more projects all cut out and ready to go.  woohoo!