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While She Was Sleeping on Special Fabric: National Sewing Month 2013

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It’s Day Fourteen of National Sewing Month! Too see the daily blog posts, projects of the day, and more National Sewing Month details, click here.

National Sewing Month 2013

My name is Jenya. I am a sewaholic. As soon as my little girl goes to sleep my feet take me to the sewing room, my eyes glance over the fabric, and my hands start creating. I like to share about the cute little things I have made on my blog, While she was sleeping. Please feel free to pop over and have a look.

A few weeks ago there was an interesting discussion on AllFreeSewing’s Facebook page about sewing with special fabric. I thought it would be appropriate to share how I treat my special fabric.

My grandma was a very talented seamstress. I don’t remember her ever using a pattern, and yet she could whip up just about anything! I have tender memories of some of the outfits she made for me when I was little. When I caught the sewing bug my mum passed a lot of fabric on to me left from my grandma. We are not talking about just any fabric – gorgeous vintage fabric.

Now, tell me – and please be honest – would you get a cup of coffee plus a cake and just sit there looking at them before leaving without even trying them? Or how about getting a pair of heels you always wanted and never taking them out of the box? To me, having vintage fabric and not using it doesn’t make sense. I am armed with scissors, and I am not afraid to use them… even on precious vintage fabric!

Please let me show you a few of my favorite outfits I made for Little Monkey out of my vintage fabric while she was sleeping.

I made this dress when I was very new to sewing. I used my grandma’s fabric. This fabric is at least 30 years old. Little Monkey only wore this dress for a few months, but to see her wearing something her mummy made out of her great grandma’s fabric was very special to say the least.

While She Was Sleeping While She Was Sleeping

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How gorgeous is this Clydella fabric! A shop assistant thought it was printed in the late 60’s. It is 19% wool and 81% cotton. After sitting on a shelf for many years this soft and warm fabric became a little dress for my daughter. Little Monkey enjoyed wearing it last winter.

While She Was SleepingWhile She Was Sleeping

Some of my grandma’s gorgeous vintage corduroy became this cute and simple pinafore.

While She Was SleepingWhile She Was Sleeping

I am currently participating in a sewing challenge known as Secret Squirrel (sewpony.blogspot.com.au). Participants are required to create an outfit for a child using five ‘acorns’ of inspiration. One of the acorns for August was ‘Tangerine’. As soon as I read that I thought of some of my grandma’s gorgeous fabric and made a little tunic for Little Monkey (pattern by Sew Sweet Patterns). Don’t you just love this color?

While She Was Sleeping While She Was Sleeping

I love making clothes for my daughter. I enjoy seeing her wear her mummy-made clothes everywhere – even at childcare or the playground. Yes, even clothes made out of precious vintage fabrics. Because you see, when I buy a cake I like to eat it 😉

Remember to visit Jenya over at While she was sleeping for truly inspiring sewing projects!

What have you made out of precious, vintage fabric?

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice: 8 Quilt Patterns for Girls

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When I was a little girl, I always enjoyed wrestling my older brothers in the mud much more than wearing the pretty (albeit itchy)  dresses my mother so desperately tried to make me keep clean. That was well over a decade ago. Since then, I’ve given up tackling my brothers in exchange for dressing in my own distinctly feminine style.

Yet, there is still a little part of me that regrets always rejecting the girly outfits and cute bedroom blankets that look adorable in a little girl’s room. Thankfully, FaveQuilts allows me to indulge in my love of all things pink and pretty through their fabulous round-up of some of the most popular quilt patterns for girls. Quilters of all skill levels can choose a darling kid’s quilt pattern by checking out this lovely list of 8 quilt projects to make for girls.

See more free quilt patterns for girls

 

Quilted Blankets for Girls

Borders Baby Rag Quilt — Make this super sweet and quick rag quilt for a newborn girl. As a bonus, the pink and brown flannel will be ultra-soft on a baby’s skin.

Borders Baby Rag Quilt
Sweet Girlie Charm Quilt — Use pastel-colored charm squares and a matching border design to create this cute blocky pattern for a little girl’s bedroom.

Sweet Girlie Charm Quilt
Dolly Dresses Personalized Baby Quilt —  For a little girl that loves to play with dolls, make this quilt with fabric panels that look like her favorite toys. You can even applique a personalized name onto the middle of this playful girl’s quilt pattern.

Dolly Dresses Personalized Baby Quilt

 

Quilted Clothes for Girls

Charming Patchwork Baby Dress — This baby dress showcases your most feminine scrap fabric while keeping an infant girl feeling comfortable. This guide includes directions for making a dress to fit sizes 6-9 months, 12 months, and 2T.

Charming Patchwork Baby Dress
Little Girl’s Patchwork Skirt — Every toddler girl will look simply beautiful while she frolics in this patchwork skirt. Follow this detailed tutorial to sew a simple skirt in bright summertime quilt patterns.

Little Girls Patchwork Skirt
Strip-Pieced Pleated Skirt — If you want to design a patchwork skirt with more classic color scheme, you will love this jelly roll pattern for a strip-pieced pleated skirt. Little girls will look precious in this refreshing yellow and green quilted flower pattern.

Strip-Pieced Pleated Skirt

Applique Patterns for Girls

Girly Turkey Applique — Sew this funky applique pattern onto a shirt or placemat to put some girl-power into your next Thanksgiving craft!

Girly Turkey Applique
Applique Hearts Quilted Wall Display — For even more adorable applique fun, sew this heart pattern onto a wall quilt banner to show a little girl how much you care. This wallhanging quilt also makes a great Valentine’s Day gift.

Applique Hearts Quilted Wall Display

Whether you want to make quilted clothes for a budding fashionista or a cute pink blanket for an infant girl, these feminine kid’s quilt patterns are sure to put a smile on her face. If you enjoyed this post about quilt patterns for little girls, check out our previous post about free quilt patterns for boys.

 Flowers, Butterflies, or Hearts: What kind of patterns do you like to use for girl’s quilts?

 

 

The Top Five Sweetest Summer Dresses to Sew

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If you’re like me, you check the weather multiple times everyday. I check it when I wake up, and I check it less than an hour later before I get dressed and leave for class or work. And I most certainly do not go to sleep without checking tomorrow’s weather at least once. This probably seems obsessive (okay, it is obsessive), but I do my best to be dressed weather-appropriate before I head out for several hours. If there’s one thing I can tell you from the numerous weather reports I’ve recently read, it’s that it’s time to break out your summer dresses because the warm weather is on its way.

What’s in style is ever-changing, and perhaps you’re ready to add some new summer dresses to your wardrobe. Let’s be honest, who has ever said they couldn’t use another great dress for the summer? If you’re ready to update your closet, check out these five sweet summer dresses that you can sew to get ready for some fun in the sun.

Easy Breezy Summer Dress for Girls

Easy Breezy Summer DressNothing says “summer is here” like a great floral print dress. You can sew this little number for your little girl in just a few easy steps. Check out the summer dress tutorial to see how you can make this adorable outfit full of ruffly fun.

 

 

 

 

 

Stitch in Color Summer Dress

Stitch in Color Summer DressThis sweet summer dress is full of bright, eye-catching colors and features the ever-popular overalls design. Your daughter will love playing and twirling in this soft and comfy outfit you sewed just for her.

 

 

 

 

 

Super Easy Summer Dress

Super Easy Summer DressA great summer dress is just a few stitches away with simple patterns like this one. This strapless dress is so easy to make, you might even want to try it in a few different colors. Grab your favorite fabric (or two, or ten) and give this pattern a whirl.

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Dress

Summer DressYour next summer dress can be a low-budget, upcycling project. Grab an old plaid shirt and sew away using this dress pattern. There’s no need to spend big bucks when you can sew a sweet dress with recycled materials.

 

 

 

 

 

Easy Summer Halter Dress

Easy Summer Halter DressThis sweet summer dress is perfect for any beach getaway. All eyes will be on you when you wear this ensemble, and you’ll love knowing that your great dress was made from your very own handiwork.

 

 

 

 

 

Which of these dress patterns do you want to try?

Video Tutorial: How to Sew a Pillowcase Dress

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Pillowcases aren’t just for beds anymore! You can use these everyday linens to make pillowcase dresses for your little girl. It’s an easy sewing project that is super simple and cheap. Transform a pillowcase into an adorable dress that your daughter or granddaughter will love playing in. Best of all, you don’t have to worry about it getting ruining, if that happens you just make another one! Get creative and use different patterned pillowcases or decorate them with ribbons. Learn how to sew a pillowcase dress with this free video tutorial from our friend Maureen Wilson from Made by Marzipan.

How to Sew a Pillowcase Dress 

Be sure to check out these other pillowcase dress sewing patterns:

Have you ever made a pillowcase dress?

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