Sewing: Game Day Jersey Sleeveless Dresses

I don't know about you, but we are still occasionally faking summer. The temperatures warm up for a few days to justify sleeveless dresses so I took the opportunity to snap some photos of these.

I sewed a pair of Game Day Jersey Dresses for two of my girls in this reversible striped fabric from Jo-Ann.  (It's got polka dots on the other side.)  It's extremely soft and stretchy and I love playing with the direction of the stripes on this pattern.

These dresses remind me how much I love this pattern and all it's possibilities. I need to pull out some Fall knits from my stash and sew some long-sleeved Game Day Jerseys and dresses!

You can find this pattern in my Etsy shop.

Sewing: Rock Star Game Day Jersey Dresses

Does it get more sporty? These two girls and all their energy.... They have so much fun together. Kids find fun wherever they go....

And I'm still finding fun sewing The Game Day Jersey pattern. These dresses may be my favorite yet! They were sewn with Znok Rock Stars organic jersey. My favorite is the version on Tess with the solid bodice and white yoke and sleeves--and stripes! But I also have a pattern extension in the works because the ideas just keep coming, so these may not be the final word on favorites...

You can purchase The Game Day Jersey pattern in my Wee Muses Etsy shop.

Sewing: Foxy Pink and Red Game Day Jersey Dresses for Valentine's

Since we're nearly to Valentine's I thought I'd share some lovey colored Game Day Jersey Dresses in one of my favorite combinations: pink and red. I have loved these two colors together since I was a little girl so I immediately fell for this cute Swafing "Freddi" organic knit. (This shop has it in stock.)

I found the bubblegum pink knit at Jo-Ann for a perfect match.

I decided on a Game Day Dress for Scarlett and a skirt and Game Day Tee for Tess. This skirt is the same I sewed for Scarlett in the launch post for this pattern. I think I'll turn it into an official pattern because it's so quick and easy and I love the options afforded by the panels.

Sewing: Waldorf Doll Wardobes (Part II)

In addition to some cotton Summer Sets, every girl, or doll, needs some comfy clothes to wear so I sewed these little Waldorf dolls some knits! I started with a version of my Bateau Neck Top pattern, with a boatneck and boxy cut, which makes it possible to pull on a soft bodied doll without any closures.

I have to admit I love the possibility of matching outfits for my girls and their dolls! I used scraps from clothing I've sewn for Audrey, Scarlett and Tess, just in case they want to match.

I thought some wide-legged knit pants would be fun with these tops. These pants would work well with a woven fabric too so I plan to try that soon.

Then I made a knit set with skinny pants and altered the Bateau Neck Top to create a tunic with a curved hem. A "flower" cut from bright pink knit scraps (similar to the flowers I made here) was the perfect embellishment.

Finally these dolls have something to wear with the cardigans I knit for them!

(I talk more about these cute nesting chipboard suitcases in the first Waldorf Doll Wardrobes post.)

Pajamas are my girls' favorite thing to wear so bed clothes were in order. I should make some knit skivvies for these dolls, but first I made some nightgowns to match the Baby Doll Baskets I made last year with Dana's pattern.

I made a tiny version of my Angel Sleeve Dress pattern with a snap closure in the back and added some rickrack trim to the hem. Cute! I'll need to make some more of these dresses. (You can find a free pattern for the Doll Angel Sleeve Dress here.)

While I was playing with the Angel Sleeve Dress pattern I thought it would be fun to make something even dressier for these dolls. I thought with a wrap style modification the Angel dress could become a Goddess Dress! Pretty fancy, right?

F.O.E. (fold-over elastic) is the key to these dresses, which lends itself to all sort of fun trimming possibilities. 

I love this dress for Scarlett's doll in white ruffle knit fabric and glitter gold FOE. The dress can be tied in front or in back.

I found some great pleated fabric at Jo-Ann and paired it with polka-dot FOE for Audrey's doll. This dress has a bit of an Asian feel, don't you think?

And for Tess's doll, I used the stretch crinkle panne velvet to make a dress similar to Tess' own favorite: her Out of Africa dress from the STYLO 03 shoot.

I have a whole pile of fabric pulled together to make more doll clothes because it's so much fun! I'd like to make the patterns available too. And maybe grade them for other sizes dolls. But then there's the list of things to sew for my girls. And maybe myself. So we'll see.

Sewing: Flutter Sleeve Bateau Neck Tops for KCW (Free Pattern)

Summer seems to be speeding by. It's hard to believe it's closer to the end of July than the beginning. The hot, lazy days of summer. I've been enjoying them so much I don't want to see them end. But there is still a lot to look forward to this summer so I won't get too sentimental about it, at least until it's August!

It's the second day of the Kids Clothes Week summer challenge and I feel like I could just keep sewing casual summer clothes for my girls. It's been so satisfying, and quick, and deadline free (except for my own challenges to finish).

This time I've made some Bateau Neck Tops for Scarlett and Tess with a new sleeve variation: the Flutter. This was inspired by a Bateau Neck Top Dana sewed for STYLO 2 earlier this year with a little ruffle on a sleeveless version.

I fashioned a full sleeve so it can be set in just as you would with the original sleeve, with the addition of some gathering (pattern and instructions follow below). I decided to leave the sleeve hem "raw," or unfinished, since that's an option with knits. In fact, I left the hem on Tess's top raw as well because I like the way it curls. (If you prefer a small hem on this flutter sleeve you can easily add a hem allowance to the pattern.)

I love the combination of the boatneck and the flutter sleeve!

Tess is sporting some new floral leggings with her Bateau Neck Top. These were self-drafted and sewn with this floral fabric from Etsy. The aqua polka dot jersey is Riley Blake.

Scarlett's Bateau Neck Top was sewn with knit fabric I purchased from Girl Charlee last year and she is wearing it with some Kid Shorts I made when I attended Dana's sewing workshop at SNAP! conference a few months ago. I love the racer style in the Kid Shorts pattern (which I lengthened a tad) with the binding. And my girls love wearing them!

If you'd like to add Flutter Sleeves to a Bateau Neck Top or Bateau Neck Dress (the dress would be so cute!) click through for the free pattern and brief tutorial.