Kimono Slippers

 The leaves are changing color and the air is crisp and cool.  It's officially slipper season.  

Every year I feel like it's a bit of a struggle finding the perfect, cozy slippers.  Duh, why not make my own.

 I settled on this pattern.  I love the instant gratification of a PDF pattern.

 Mine came out cute and cozy, but not nearly as cute as the ones pictured.  The pattern is fairly easy to follow, though there were times I could have used a little more detail.  I read a review that said the pattern ran small.  I cut a size 7, which is my size, and found that for me, the pattern ran way big!  I had to alter the sizing quite a bit.

 To make the insole, I ended up sandwiching Peltex between 2 layers of fleece, cutting it to size, and then sewing a zig zig stitch all the way around. 

I also used some grippy fabric for the bottoms for functionality.  Not so cute, but comes in handy when chasing kids around the house.

Overall, I like the slippers and I like the pattern.  I'm looking forward to making another pair for me and maybe some for the kids.  The pattern isn't sized for kids, but I think I can figure out how to size it down.

 

Do you have a favorite slipper pattern?  I'd love to hear about it.

My Favorite Lady Skater Dress

 And probably my last....for now.

 The fabric is a medium weight cotton lycra that I got from the Fabric Fairy a while ago.  I've been trying really hard to use fabric from my stash before buying anything new.

 The weight and stretch of the fabric is perfect for this dress.  Though I did end up having to redo the skirt.  The original was too full and the fabric didn't drape properly.

 Sewing for myself has been really fun.  At first, I really hated taking photos of myself.  But truthfully, the more I do it, the more at ease I feel.  I still don't love looking at photos of myself and wondering why I'm making silly faces.

But, it can be fun to play around with the kids and the remote which sometimes spurs some cute candid photos.  And, the boy is still wearing his Flip Vest from February.

Now that I'm done with sewing for myself for a while, I might have to make him a new one.  The next Kids Clothes Week Challenge is coming up in a few short weeks.  Are you joining in?

My Lady Skater Dress

I'm finally getting around to posting my Lady Skater dresses.  Before I talk about how much I love this pattern by Kitschy Coo, a few disclaimers. 

1.  I'm having trouble with my camera, so my photos are grainy.  I'm trying to balance taking large photos so I can edit and space on my computer.  So far, it's a loosing battle.

2.  on this particular day, my son has had a stomach bug for 1 week+, we've been to the pediatrician for what they thought might be appendicitis, and my 7 year old daughter has thrown up all over my car

 So, my photos are grainy, my dresses are wrinkled, and I'm feeling kind of grumpy.  Now that I've set the tone, on to the dresses.

 I love, love, love this pattern.  It's super easy to sew, and though I was skeptical, it really does flatter most body types.  I perused the Flickr group before I made mine to see what other had done and was really impressed.

 I was also really inspired by the dresses Delia and Sophie made.

 The orange dress above is a medium weight, cotton Lycra blend that has a really nice weight and drape (similar fabric).  The contrast band at the bottom is a charcoal ponte knit.

 For my second Lady Skater I wanted something more neutral that I could pair with a colorful scarf and boots.

 So I used the same charcoal ponte knit from the band on the orange dress.  The problem is, the ponte has much less stretch. 

 It looks okay on, but it's a bit tough getting on and off.  I still love it and will definitely wear it. Next time I'll be a little more aware of the stretch.  The pattern has great guidelines for choosing fabric and how to test the stretch.  So I definitely I don't have a good excuse

 Lastly, here's my super ugly muslin.  I was really glad I did a muslin because for my body, I definitely needed to make some adjustments.

I cut a size 4 initially, but ended up blending the upper body to more of a size 1 or 2.  I also cut the armscye in a bit based on my own t-shirt pattern and made the neck a little wider.

I think I've got at least one or two more of these in me.  

How many dresses is too many?  

My closet is becoming dangerously full.