Saturday, September 12, 2009

Sew Cute!!

After hemming and sewing ribbon onto Kaylee's princess dress late last week, I got the idea that I could make some dresses for her, too...how hard could it be, right? And maybe save some money at the same time? Sure! Thursday morning I impulsively went with Kaylee to Joann Fabric Store and bought a dress pattern and 3 different fabrics. Of course I stupidly went with her just before lunch, so she was getting cranky and wasn't happy to sit in the shopping cart. Oops. I bought what I had, but didn't get zippers or anything else (ribbon, etc) to go with the fabrics. I looked at the pattern again once I got home and decided to see if there was an even easier one (i.e. no zippers, elastic, buttons, etc. needed) online. Score! The pattern said it was about a 3T size...of course Kaylee fits into outfits/dresses that are anywhere from 12 months to 3T (mostly 24mo/2T) at the moment, so I wasn't sure how big it would actually be, but figured if she can't wear it now, maybe by the spring (it is more of a spring/summer dress anyway). So I started it last night and finished it tonight. Not bad if I do say so myself!! I still have the other two fabrics, too, and I think I will probably just use this pattern for those as well. The dress does look a bit big for Kaylee for right now, but I'll try it on her tomorrow and see for sure -- a lot of times lately I'll see a dress/outfit and think it'll be way too big, then it either fits now or is too small! Yikes - she's growing so fast I can't keep up.

Here's the dress, and a closeup of the fabric's pattern if you're really interested. :)


As for the saving money part of this project...not so much! I mean, it's a cute pattern and I'm not sorry I'm making them, but I usually shop at consignment sales/shops, discount stores or sales - in general $10 for an outfit is usually pushing it for me! I usually spend more like $2-3 on outfits and $5 or so on dresses for Kaylee. Sure they're used, but how many times do kids really wear clothes when they're this young? So as far as the cost aspect, I'm spending more than I usually do, but probably less than a dress like this would go for in a retail shop. (I could have hunted for cheaper fabrics, but these were $3.99 to 8.99/yard - so not super cheap!) Timewise...obviously way more time and effort!

I just got her some bloomers to go with dresses she already has, but also just for whatever she might have in the near future, too - they're all white and I had stuff put on them. There are 4: a red K, her monogram (KCJ) in pink, Kaylee in black with a gold/yellow bee, and Merry Christmas in red with a green tree. The red K bloomers will be cute with this dress (why I chose a red and white fabric). The other fabrics are a ladybug pattern and pink/red/brown retro dot pattern.

These are from breakfast the other day. Breakfast! And she smeared yogurt all in her hair!! She got to take a quick shower later that morning... By the way, as you can sort of tell, she sits at the table with us now and seems to enjoy it more. (She did sit by the table before, but with the tray attached, so her food was not on the table.) She really loves climbing up into the non-highchair/booster chairs and sitting at the table all on her own for snacks, but she often bonks her head on the table because she doesn't always pull the chair far enough away before climbing up.

4 comments:

  1. Julie - is there anything you can't do? :) I can sew a button and that is about it! The dress looks awesome! At least you know now that you can do it so if there ever comes a time when you need a "special" dress and you can't find what you are looking for in the stores, you can just make one!

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  2. Love the dress!! Sewing really isn't that hard and dresses are fun to do. I didn't have to worry much about fabric costs for your outfits because Ebo was forever finding "bargains" for me to use. I also love Kaylee's Spa Treatment for the hair! Maybe yogurt will spur growth??? Gramma Parker

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  3. I have to echo Stephanie - is there anything you can't do? That's so incredible that you made that beautiful dress for Kaylee.

    Where did you end up ordering the bloomers? Etsy?

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  4. Oh yes - lots I can't do!! Trust me, this pattern was SUPER EASY. If you can cut fabric and sew a straight line, you're good.

    Mom - no more growth spurts! We already buy clothes like crazy. I'd rather she just wait and fit into the dress in the spring. :)

    Diedre - not etsy. There's a little monogram shop near us that sells them. When I checked etsy, the lady you ordered from was (and still is, it seems) on maternity leave and I can't find anyone else who monograms in that "love" font. I really like those letters, so I'm checking back occasionally to see about ordering some soon. She said she's doing a few custom orders by special request, but it's not that important...yet. hah!

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