Wednesday, December 21, 2011

A Little Christmas Dressing


It's been a little while since I shared some sewing projects, so how about a double dose of Christmas-y Dresses?  The first was this little kimono dress.  I saw this cute nativity matryoshka print cotton and immediately knew I wanted to use it with my favorite kimono pattern.  


My fave, well worn pattern for this style is from the book Sweet Booties by Valerie Van Arsdale Shrader, but with a few modifications.  Since the pattern only goes up to 18 months, & my little girl is a 2T, I extended the sleeves and length by several inches & added an extra 1/2 inch seam allowance to all pieces.  I also used snaps instead of ties so it doesn't easily come open.  Lastly, I lined the entire kimono with fleece so it would be cuddly soft and practical for the cold weather.


I thought bringing out the soft yellow in the print with the butter colored trim & lining would give it a more unique holiday look than the green/red/white combo usually seen in Christmas clothes.  Pairing it with some white tights & the new Reindeer Barrettes I recently made, we'll have a great look for the holiday.


I also had about 5/8yd of some cute gingerbread knit leftover from a previous project and thought I should use it before we reach the day when <1yd cuts aren't enough for outfits anymore.  I also wanted to try out a new pattern book I got, Kwik Sew's Sewing for Toddlers, by Kerstin Martensson (I plan to share more info on my adventures with this book in 2012).  I used it to make a drop waisted pullover dress with puffed sleeves.  The bonus with this design, she'll definitely be able to wear it again next year. 


I also had some plain red knit so I used an old Ottobre Design pattern to make the legging style pants (they're called Lola from a 2009 issue) and for the collar and cuffs of the dress.  The pants are ideal since they go with both dresses and several other items in her closet.  And now she's totally coordinated with her Little Mrs. Claus.  All these items were pretty quick to make just before the holiday season started, so we've been getting some major festive mileage out of them all month long:)



Sharing this with my FAVE LINK PARTIES too so click HERE to check them out!

8 comments:

  1. Very cute! I need to get a dress made for my B if I am going to get that done.

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  2. This is so COMFY COZY and I am thinking I could use one of these dresses.... Thank you so much for stopping in and linking up with me at http://shoprubyjean.com/2011/12/sew-crafty-tuesday-linky-2-and-highlights/

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  3. Awww... really cute little dresses! My daughter is 3.5 months old, and I'm so excited to dress her up. Nice that little clothing doesn't take much fabric!

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  4. oh wow - that is so cute!!! I wish I had skills to make things like that effortlessly. Very cute fabric too.

    Now following you from Favorite Things Thursday.
    http://artpark78.com/blog1/my-favorite-savings-and-deals-of-the-year/

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  5. She is so adorable!! Cute outfits too!

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  6. Extreme cuteness!thank you for sharing and for linking to Thursday Favorite Things blog Hop at Katherines Corner. Merry Christmas Hugs!

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  7. Cheryl, love the fabric...love the style...and your little model is absolutely the cutest!

    With all the activities and festivities of this past week, I'm really touched and appreciative that you took the time to be a part of "A Little Birdie Told Me..".

    Jenn

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