01 November 2014

B is for Boynton Book

When the theme "storybook" was announced for Kids Clothes Week I decided to look on the shelf and see what books Cupcake really likes to read.  One of her favorites is Blue Hat Green Hat by Sandra Boynton.  If you have not read this simple children's book, you are missing out.  (To get a general idea of what I'm talking about, go here.)  Most of the book goes something like this: "blue shirt, yellow shirt, green shirt, oops!"  And so I decided to "oops" and make her one shirt with all the colors.


For fabric, I used what I had.  The same red for all the other red projects (the first pair of pants I made and all the 4th of July skirts).  The lime green was used as lining in her St. Patrick's dress and as a second layer on her Bunny Dress.  I randomly received a whole bunch of fabric from my friend's mom which included the yellow with tiny ducks and the small blue gingham.  

I used the St. Patrick's bodice pattern as my starting point, adjusting it slightly and making a round neck instead of square.  The back is my usual loop and button closure, because I have yet to attempt button holes or zippers.  I made my own quilt of fabrics for the bottom, using strips of various widths.  (I've learned that I would not be entirely opposed to a small amount of quilting in the future, as long as things don't have to be super exact.)  The real challenge for this project was the sleeves.  I'd done flutter sleeves, and peasant tops have sleeves, but no proper sleeves.  I was nervous, but followed the first part of the tutorial here and made my own pattern.  And they turned out great!  They aren't too tight or too loose and now I won't be so scared to do them again in the future.

A is for Apron

My little Cupcake absolutely loves sheep, so it just made sense to dress her up as Little Bo Peep for Halloween.  I finished the last of it for Kids Clothes Week last week.

Hat tutorial here and I added extra lace around the brim.  I was worried that it was a waste of time because she never wanted to try it on, but she wore it the entire night of trick-or-treating!

I made the shirt months ago when I was making lots of peasant tops (basic tutorial here).

I tried to be practical with the skirt and made it a reversible circle skirt (found here).  The flip side is Christmas fabric!  Just need to find her a red sweater and her Christmas outfit is done.

Bloomers are the same basic pants pattern I use for everything (originally here).  I used the cutest white eyelet for both the pants and the apron.

And for the apron there is no tutorial because I made it up as I went along.  At first I made the elastic for around the back of the neck too long, and then I cut it and made it too short.  It worked for the night of trick-or-treating, but if I'm going to keep it for future use, I think I'll cut the elastic entirely and make it straps to tie. 

As a bonus, my friend Sherry made her a crinoline.  And Grandma had made her the cloak for her baby blessing two years ago, and it was perfect for keeping her warm without detracting from the outfit.