Dress Obsessed and a Tutorial Preview

I've been totally dress obsessed here lately and somehow, I just found out about the Summer of No Pants sewalong.  I didn't officially join, but all this time, I've been playing along and didn't know it.

Summer for me is all about skirts and dresses.

 While working out all the details of my Jersey Dress tutorial, I really came to understand basic, and I mean basic, knit dress construction.  I didn't realize it could be so easy.  I've made a few for the girl.

And a matching one for myself.  As an aside, she actually wanted me and her to wear our matching dresses when I volunteered for field day at her school.  How long do you think that will last?

 A fun black and white chevron version.

 Mustard stripes with a cool back cutout.

 I'm not gonna lie, there are a few more that I didn't have time to photograph.  It's really fun.  Once you've got the basic pattern, you can pretty much cut and finish a dress in 3 hours or less.

 And just this weekend, I figured out, POCKETS!  I think my life may be complete.  Dresses with pockets!

Tutorial coming soon.  

If you haven't checked out my Jersey Dress Tutorial, go do it now.  Then you'll be ready and can make yours with pockets too!

My New Favorite Dress

The girl who said she won't wear dresses......wore a dress! I've had an idea to do this peasant style dress with a tie neckband instead of elastic, but hadn't done it since my 4 year old says, she doesn't like dresses. But recently she's been more agreeable with clothing, so I gave it a shot.....

Sorry about the photo quality, I've been having issues with taking photos in low light lately....which will hopefully be resolved when I get my new digital-SLR this weekend. An early b-day present to myself!

I think it looks really cute. I did have to bribe her to get the photos, and she got a little upset putting it on....a little tight in the chest. But when she got to school this morning, there were many oohs and ahhs from her little friends.

This is my new favorite dress to sew, so.....we'll see how long I can keep the little one off the dress boycott.

Cleaning out the Stash

Over the past year or so, I've dedicated more and more time to sewing. With all the amazing blogs and craft books, I've felt so inspired. But I've learned one thing about myself, I'm a bit scattered and find myself dabbling in different things. I get bored with a project quickly and can't stick to one thing. As a result, my sewing space is full of bins and shelves of different kinds of fabrics and supplies. So, I've decided that I NEED to clean out a little and work with what I've got and try try try to not buy too much new stuff. It's really hard....but so far so good. Here are a few things I've worked on.

I started my craft fair life sewing a simple tunic jumper dress. It's a very fun and easy project, but needed an update. So I added a box pleat to the top and made this cute dress from some red corduroy on my shelf from last Christmas. I especially like the polka dotted facing.

I made another version with a more summery fabric and decided to add a decorative button tab. Can you tell I love polka dots!

Since I've discovered re-purposing, anytime I hit the thrift store, I usually return with armfuls of sweaters for felting and shirts for making shirts for the kids etc. Another new item I've discovered is making onesies from old T-shirts. I love that you can find colors that you might have a hard time finding in a fabric shop. And the elephant applique is really fun!

With all the destashing, I did treat myself to a little bit of new fabric. I bought a yard of this heart print on sale with the intention of making a tunic for my 4 year old, but was also feeling the onesie inspiration. I've got the tunic cut out and should have it sewn up soon....unless I get distracted by another project.....

And now for the shameless plug. All these items are for sale in my esty, shop: www.zaaberry.etsy.com. Click on over and take a look!