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So I finally finished up my daughter’s costume. Remember, she wanted to be this. Well, I was not going to pay $69 for it so I went out, bought all the material, and made a modified version.
I added hot pink sequins to the ears just to jazz it up and also added a ruffle collar. I had added another layer of ruffles and was going to add some ruffles to the bottom of her sleeves when I realized that stitching them on the shirt prevents the shirt from stretching. Not a good thing when the shirt is suppose to be form fitting so it does not give at all. Cute idea…out the door.
Her skirt, I LOVE! Added the hot pink bow to match her ears. Tail is a skinny boa that I wrapped around pipe cleaners to give some shape.
TOTAL COST: $14
Can I just tell you how happy that makes me? and if you really want to get technical, she could wear the shirt all winter which would bring down the cost from $14 to $9! woot! woot! Personally, I think it’s cuter than PBK’s 
Hey, but that’s just me!
I also purchased some ALOT of extra tulle to make a skirt for myself. NOT BY CHOICE. My sweet daughter SO wants me to dress up as the “mommy cat”. I had purchased everything awhile ago and only started on my skirt this weekend. To my horror, I ran out of tulle and wouldn’t you know…so did Joann’s. I freaked out a lil bit before realizing that if I cinch the elastic some more, it would hide the bare spots. Hopefully, I’ll be able to breathe but whatever! I only have to be short of breath for a few hours at a time! (I will wearing this to our mommy and me preschool and Halloween evening. I hope to not pass out from lack of oxygen!) I am so excited that Halloween is finally here! Cannot wait to get the kids all dressed up. My husband (who is SO not the type) even said that he was going to dress up as Woody (son will be Buzz) but alas, he was not willing to spend $90 on a vinyl one piece. Personally, I think he’s happy that he doesn’t have to get dressed up! and my son didn’t have his heart on having a partner-in-crime which saves me from making a costume for the hubs. phew! So all is good in the world. at least in ours! Goodie bags have been made, tags have been attached. Now the only thing I have left to do is bake and make some homemade treats. It’s a lil sad b/c the school is being very strict on not bringing homemade food to school. I understand but still… So I will be the one standing outside the door of the school with my basket of goodies and pleading to the parents to take a treat.
big sis
Gosh, it was not this hard with my daughter’s sundress. It took alot of concentration and ALOT of researching but I finally finished my sundress. Perfect, now that the weather is so cold here! ugh! Us SoCal people think 70 degree weather is a bit on the chilly side (or is it just me?) Anyways, it turned out just the way I had envisioned but it went through many trims and cuts (and a lil bit of swearing)! So the biggest thing I found while researching this pattern/dress was that people wanted more instruction than the one provided. And while I had good intentions (as always), my tutorial may not be as thorough as desired Let me tell you why and then we’ll get started.
1. this pattern is not made for a skinny minnie. I’m on the thinner side and the X-small pattern just did not cut it for me, despite cutting it a half inch smaller. You’ll know what I’m talking about in a bit.
2. b/c of #1, once I completed the dress, it looked a bit like a muumuu…not the look I was going for. So I took in the sides and shaped it a bit more…just so I didn’t look like I was wearing a tent.
3. lastly, damn the shirring! I swear that my daughter’s dress smocked more than mine but after a few attempts, this is the best I was able to get it.
For all these reasons, my frustration got the best of me and at some point, I stopped taking step-by-step pictures 
NOTE: This tutorial is on the dress WITHOUT the pockets. Also, I will be using the words “smocking” and “shirring” interchangeably.
So here we go…
Step 1: Print the pattern. I tried to “tile” it, as suggested, but never worked. Took it to Kinko’s and had it printed for $5.71. Worth the labor of trying to piece together 20 sheets of paper, I say.
So here is what I was talking about above. The dotted line represents a size XS-S but I figured I would need to go a bit smaller than a “generalized” XS-S. Afterall, that is a big range, in my opinion. So I cut it a 1/2 inch smaller. I was going for an above-the-knee length so I immediately trimmed the bottom as well.
Step 2: After washing and drying your fabric, I folded my fabric in half, placed the pattern sheet on top, pinned it, and cut it.
Do this step twice.
Step 3: Pin the dress right sides together.
And you should end up with something like this.
***make a mental note of this picture as I will be referring to it later in regards to the shape of the dress***
Step 5: Sew sides together. I used a 1/4 inch seam. And if you are lucky enough to have a serger, serge away. And if not, you can zig zag stitch like I did. I found that pressing your seams after helps keep everything nice and tailored.
Step 6: With fabric wrong side up, turn and press with your iron the top raw edge 1/4 inch to the wrong side all the way around, and then again. Don’t sew yet as you will be attaching straps at the end.
Step 7: It is suggested in the lil girl’s version to start marking smocking lines 1 inch below the edge of the pressed crease. However, I started 3/4 of the way (personal preference). I continued to mark lines 1/2 inch apart until it reached 5 inches. At that point, I tried on the dress to check visually how much I wanted the top to be shirred and adjusted accordingly. The pattern suggest anywhere from 6-8 inches (again, personal preference)
Step 8: The oh-so-fun part! Loosely wind your elastic thread around your bobbin. The difference between my daughter’s dress and mine was the color and make of the elastic thread. Now, I don’t think that it could have the color itself that would have affected the shirring…I’m wondering if it was the different brand???
Here is where I start to lose it a bit. After pulling out the first line (b/c I thought that it should smock up a bit more), I gave in after 2 tries. It was either the different brand or the cotton that caused the “less smocking”. The instructions do not state how to end off at each row. So here’s what I did…when you get to the end, I overlapped a few stitches, left a tail, and then knotted it with the starting tail about 3 times.
Step 9: The fun part. Spray the smocked area (really wet it) and with a HOT iron, press the smocked area. The stitches should shrink up further.
Step 10: Press the bottom hem, just as you did for the top.
Sew the hem. NOTE: you should probably pin your hem but I just went for it
Step 11: I purchased bias tape b/c I didn’t want to make it this time around and it saved me so much time. Since I opted for halter staps, I left my bias tape in one piece, folded in half, tucked it inside the top edge hem and sewed it. Wish I had a picture to go along with this but here’s what the end result looked like.
This part was tricky b/c the area was so thick. I had to go real slow to make sure I caught the bias tape, plus the folded hem.
Here’s what the front looks like.
As mentioned above, it looked a lil muumuu like so before I sewed the bottom hem (which I had to trim and adjust as well), I took in the sides. I think that if you were using a soft jersey type cotton, the pattern itself would be perfect. And although my fabric is lightweight cotton, it just didn’t drape the way I would have liked and it seemed big on me. After taking it in (I took it in almost a 1/2 inch starting from the bottom of the smocked area and almost 1 1/2 towards the bottom) , it’s a bit more form fitting but flowy, if that makes any sense.
And here is my Mendocino Sundress. I am officially ready for Hawaii. We are leaving in less than a week and this was my project to complete so I could throw it over my swimwear!
special thanks to my 3-year-old twins for taking this picture (this was the best one). Otherwise, you would have never seen the dress in its entirety!
LAST NOTE: I wore this dress around the house today and the smocked area was just too loose. Despite the straps, it just did not feel secure. So I ripped the top apart and made spaghetti straps. sigh. MUCH better. You better believe this dress will be the only outfit I take…after all this work! sheesh! Here’s the revised top.
Aloha!
big sis
So for all of you who don’t have a sewing machine OR don’t know how to use one OR too lazy to pull yours out of the closet but would love to make a tutu for your lil girl, lil sis and I did all the research and found a great tutorial on making a “no sew tutu”. I am all about tutorials with lots of pictures and step-by-step instructions. There are tons of versions out there but we really liked Plumtickled’s “how-to”.
Lil sis is currently working on her daughter’s 1st birthday invitation, and it’s a ladybug/garden theme. So, here is lil Lila in her no sew ladybug tutu.
She used black elastic for the waistband with red tulle and made the black pom poms out of yarn which were then glued on. You don’t need a sewing machine or a pom pom maker tool to make this, so it’s not too late to make your daughter a Halloween costume or a “just because” tutu. So SO SOOO adorable. She even made her a ladybug barrette. The plain black long sleeve shirt is from Walmart. Lil sis added the tuxedo frills by cutting black strips from an old black shirt and gathered them using the long stitch, similar to previous posts on gathering. She then sewed them on to the shirt – the middle strip being two inches longer than the side strips. Just a lil something to turn a plain black shirt into something frilly.
Thankfully, my daughter decided not to be the risque cat (I would have toned it down much MUCH more. Pu-lease, no need to start them off on this path THIS early or EVER, for the matter). After perusing through the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, she insisted that she will be this (and hasn’t changed her mind for the past few weeks)…
{via PBK}
$69. WHAT! I better be getting that cat treat bag, the ballet slippers, the white picket fence, pumpkins, you can forget the crow. So, I decided to piece the costume together, starting with the tutu skirt. PBK’s skirt was a lil blah so I used the no sew tutu method and fluffed it up a bit!
Ok, so you know how I’m a bit impatient? Couldn’t wait for my daughter to wake up, try it on, take pictures, load them up, post them in blog SO…that is me, holding up the skirt, taking the picture on timer-mode. gotta love me! It won’t be that full on her (don’t think I didn’t try to put it on myself!). I promise to show you her complete outfit once I’m done.
After her costume is done, I will have to price things up and see how much I saved
TUTU TIP #1: After a test run, lil sis found that it was really bare when using one layer of tulle so we both used 2 layers of 6 inch pieces. The lengths obviously differed. She wanted Lila’s to be really fluffy so she used 2 layers all around. I wanted my daughter’s to be less full so I alternated between 2 layers, then 1. Hope that makes sense.
TUTU TIP #2: The tutorial calls for 2 yards of tulle, but lil sis and I used almost 4 yards (from the doubling of layers).
Next on the list of things to do? I will be adding some sequins to her cat ears headband and spicing up her black shirt.
big sis
First day of fall has come and gone, and it sure doesn’t feel like it’s fall here in socal. The temperature read about 88 degrees in my car today! Gotta love the weather!
I’m getting the itch to decorate for the holidays. I bought my first pumpkin carving kit, and I can’t wait to take Lila to the Pumpkin Patch to start carving those pumpkins. Along with planning her bday party and getting ready to stock up on inventory for our shop and such for the holidays, I’m hoping I’ll have some time to decorate our home after being inspired by some of these photos.
{via Country Living}
{via Pottery Barn}
{via Martha Stewart}
{via HostessBlog}
{via TinyPrints}
-lil sis
As mentioned before, we get such great ideas from our buyers…the only problem is we do not always have time to bring them to fruition. Yes, even with 2 bodies at full capacity (meaning, neither one of us is preggers), our current inventory is the most we can do for our shop. We recently completed a custom request and what a great idea it was…
personalized linen zipper pouches for her bridal party
Measurements: 5.25″ wide by 4.25″ tall. Perfect size to put in one’s Christmas stocking, no?
big sis
No need to spend money on fancy scalloped paper for scrapbooking or for making a garland because it’s pretty darn easy to get the same look by making it yourself. All you need is:
*Plain paper (I just took a piece of paper from my printer – 8 1/2×11)
*Scissors
*Round shaped object to make your scallops (I used a spool of thread)
*Paper for tracing the scallops
1.) Fold your plain piece of paper into a strip. I didn’t do accordian style. I simply kept folding over. You can make your scallops wide by folding into larger strips or make them thin by folding into smaller strips.
2.) I had some extra paper remaining that I just cut off.
3.) Trace your round object on the edge of both sides of the strip. If you don’t have a spool of thread, you can use any object around the house – Tylenol Bottle, bottom of a vase, nail polish bottle, etc. Look in your bathroom…I’m sure you’ll find something!
4.) Cut your scallops
5.) Your paper will look like this
6.) Begin tracing the scallops on your clean sheet of paper.
TIP #1: I didn’t trace directly on my scrapbook paper because I wanted to do a trial run first. I traced on a thicker piece of paper that I now use as my template.
Tip #2: Do not trace on the edges of the paper. Leave enough room so that you can trace the scallops on the sides as well.
7.) When you are ready to make the corners of the scallop, first make a line somewhat down the middle of the last scallop on your pattern (see my line on the white paper). That line should match up against where you stopped your tracing. This will be your guide to make the corner a perfect rounded circle. The corners are tricky so experiment. Maybe use a pencil instead of a pen?
8.) I made a 7×7 square template to make a photo garland.
The end.
P.S. I cut out circles with a scalloped edge as well for the garland, but I just made a template by drawing free hand. I used my square template to guide me, so I don’t really have a tute on that. After her birthday, this bad boy is going straight to her room!
lil sis
**Preview of the treat bags still in major progress**
lil sis
Here’s another project inspired by Dana and Pink Picket Fence.
Here is the original skirt. Here is the revamped version by Dana. Lil sis completed Pink Picket Fence’s version while I attempted Dana’s gathered tutu skirt. Now, since I’m still learning how to make clothes, step-by-step instructions with pictures are. so. very. helpful. I attempted to create a “visual” tutorial based on the 2 ladies’ instructions but I made some mistakes along the way so my measurements created a skirt perfect for a 4-5 year old The good thing is that my daughter does not know the difference and still loves it! And believe me, she will be wearing this skirt for a few years!
What you need to make a skirt for a 3-5 year old (if you are interested in my measurements, let me know)
1 yard of lightweight cotton
1 inch elastic
1 yard of tulle (you may or may not need all of this depending on much you want to gather your tulle)
3/4 yard of contrasting tulle, if desired
Step 1: you will need to cut 2 pieces for your waistband, 2 pieces for each layer of your skirt. I used Dana’s 15 X 4 waistband since it worked for my daughter’s market skirt. For each layer, you will need to add to your width. This is where I made the mistake. I only added a few inches to each layer but at the end, the skirt looked like a poodle skirt and I ended taking out stitches, shortening layers, and spending MUCH longer on the skirt! Here’s what you should end up with.
(sorry about the lighting, taken late in the evening)
Step 2: Gather your layers. Dana gives a great tutorial on how to gather. Do this for each layer. Make sure you zig zag stitch or serge your seams!
(as you can see, my seams do not line up perfectly. but no worries, your tulle will cover it all up!)
Follow her directions on creating the casing for the waistband as well as the hem. WAIT to put your elastic band in until the end. Another mistake I made. Still doable but will make the project a bit time consuming.
Step 3: How to gather your tulle. I cut 2 inch pieces in the fuschia pink and 1 inch pieces of the light pink. Place them on top of each other and gather the tulle just like you did in step 2. For this skirt, I placed the light pink on top of the fuschia b/c I knew I was going to use purple thread to topstitch the tulle and wanted the colors to pop.
Now, here’s where you make a big decision…how much do you want your tulle to gather? The more you want it to gather, the more tulle you may need. If you are unsure, I would DEFINITELY recommend that you leave yourself “thread tails” (yes, I just made this up), i.e. pull your top and bottom thread about 10 inches before you start gathering so you can adjust your tulle and not have your stitches fall apart.
Step 4: Make sure you change your settings back. Lay your gathered tulle somewhere in the middle of each layer and begin sewing using a reg stitch. You could get technical and measure exactly where that center is, if you’d like. When I got to the end of the row, I overlapped the tulle slightly, backstitched, and then cut the excess off.
And without further ado, here are the girls in their tutu skirts!
big sis
Update: No Sew Tutu can be found here.
So the winner of this cutie patootie recently sent us an e-mail and we thought it was so sweet that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to “chronicle” it on our blog.
As you probably imagine, this cutest of the cute doll was for my special little one, and this was her reaction when she received it!:
1. What! A package with MY NAME on it!??!
2. Help me open it.
3. Oh, how cute a little card!
4. Wrapped in brown paper with twine! OHHHH
5. OHHHHH again- this is so cute! It looks just like ME!!!!
6. (reading card in little waist pocket on Maddie) Ooooh, and she has a pump case like me too!
7. HER SHOES AND HAT COME OFF!
8. (running to craft supplies, returning with pipe cleaners) Make her some glasses please, like mine! (I did)
I am so happy, but Marie is THRILLED. I told her that Maddie is like a little new friend for her, she says, AWWWW hee hee hee
Thanks so much, be assured that your creations really brighten people’s days and give kids new little friends. You make a difference!
And sweet Marie did not stop there. A few days later we received this!
Thank you Tricia and Marie! So thoughtful of you and we cannot tell you how happy it made us
As you know, I am in love with Dana’s blog. And I finally made some time to cut one of my husband’s dress shirts to make my daughter a dress. Now you know if I’m making something for my daughter, my son is right behind her asking for something too. You think it’s b/c they are twins? On his checklist? a “batman belt”. Must I?
before
after
Dana’s tutorials are THE best and I cannot tell you how easy it was to follow her steps. My daughter and I (AND my husband!) are so happy with the way it turned out.
husband’s dress shirt with a denim belt = too cute for words!
big sis
Things have finally calmed down. Custom orders have been completed, classes for the twins are completely over, and I can now take a break before mommy-and-me preschool, swim class, and ballet for my daughter begin in a few weeks. To celebrate my mini break, my husband and I are FINALLY taking an overnight trip WITHOUT the kids. I repeat…WITHOUT the kids. We contemplated for some time about when would be the perfect moment but let’s get real, there is NO perfect time to be apart for 2 days from your children. We waited this long for various reasons but mainly, I know how challenging it is to care for two kids who are developmentally at about the same level and whose needs need to be met pretty immediately before meltdowns occur. I was not ready to place this wonderful burden on someone else until now. They are 3, my husband and I have not taken a trip by ourselves for 4 years, and my in laws are ready and willing so…PERFECT TIME. But I must admit, I am a bit worried, a lil sad, and excited all at the same time. I’m sure this will all go away once I am roasting in the sun, drinking cocktails, enjoying a quiet dinner where I can actually chew and taste my food, perhaps watch a movie, and the most exciting part…SLEEP IN PAST 7 AM!
I’m just a tad bit worried…will they miss me? will they cry b/c they want to see me? will they NOT? How sad would that make me!!!???
Anyways, I will be back in a few days. hopefully a bit red (b/c I don’t tan that easily), refreshed, and ready to sew!
in the shop.
See you in a few!
big sis
