Strawberry Sewing

So earlier this summer I sat down with my foe friend the sewing machine and took a try at making a dress for the first time. I looked all over for an easy pattern that I could wrap my pea head around and came out of each one cross eyed and dizzy. So, I took a little dress Naia already owns, laid it out on some fabric, traced it with a crayon (oh yeah, I am a real pro!), and chopped it out with scissors. In short, I winged it. But it fits her, and from a decent distance it looks cute enough, so here it is.

I took my first stab at bias tape. I would have never managed without this excellent tutorial. It was still a challenge though. I think if I had a team of wee gnomes in heavy flat shoes standing along the tape and jumping off as I came through with the sewing machine it may have gone smoother. I know, I know, that's what pins are for, right? But the pins are pokey and not nearly as cute as a gnome. I was sober during this whole process, I swear. 

My pal Nicole made her first pair of pants for her little boy this summer too. We were chatting about sewing for the opposite gender kiddos and how much easier pants are than dresses. But what really tickled me is that Nicole ended up also using a strawberry fabric for her first pants too. Have a look here, now we have matching strawberry babies on opposite coasts.

(Here is a link to the fabric I used, from a seller on etsy.)

The dress is a little short, so I paired it with hand me down bloomers from Zach's best friend Miss T and the outfit it complete. I am not sure I am ready to crank out another dress. Maybe I will keep looking for an easy pattern... or wait until pants season is here again.