Georgia Vintage Dress Pattern from The Cottage Mama: Now Available!

Can I tell you how hard it is to keep a secret from you all? It's the hardest because I just love, love, love sharing with you. I have been working really hard these last several months getting my next collection of sewing patterns ready to go and today I am thrilled to share my first of four new patterns with you! I will be releasing the four patterns over the next several weeks in PDF form and they will all be available in printed, hardcopy form by the end of June.

This first pattern, the Georgia Vintage Dress, is probably the pattern I am most proud of creating since I started designing sewing patterns. I hope you love it as much as I do!

The Georgia Vintage Dress

SIZE 6 MONTH - 10 YEARS 

DESCRIPTION: The Georgia Vintage Dress was inspired by a favorite dress worn by my mother in the late 1950’s. It is a dress with many possibilities and options, yet has timeless classic appeal. View A, the Georgia Vintage Dress, features a piped bib front bodice finished with decorative buttons and sweet pointed collar. The skirt is double layered for extra fullness and has a waist sash that is gathered on the sides for a large bow tied in the back of the dress. Dress closes with buttons on the bodice back. View B is the Georgia Vintage Dress without the bib front. View C, features the Georgia Vintage Dress without the ruffle sleeve and View D, mirrors View A, yet features a single layer skirt. There are so many ways to use this pattern and you will have many opportunities to make it your own.

All design variations have a fully lined bodice and include French seams in the skirt for total comfort for your little one. This is great pattern for confident beginner sewers and offers many ways to get creative with your design!

There are four official variations included in the pattern, but there are so many possibilities! You can mix and match the different pieces to create a truly unique, one-of-a-kind look.

This is my little Matilda modeling the Georgia Vintage Dress, View A in Size 4T. When I photographed her in this dress, she just felt so special and pretty. I could tell by her demeanor. It was a sweet time for us. 

View A, B and D all feature a sweet flutter sleeve. And View C is a sleeveless option that is perfect for the older little ladies or those that aren't a big fan of ruffles.

The front bib detail is trimmed out with piping on the sides and three sweet buttons down the front. You can choose to use any trim you would like in place of the piping or eliminate the trim completely. I can't wait to show you some of the pattern testers versions with different trim options. The sweet, pointed peter-pan collar really adds to the timeless, classic appeal of this dress.

All design variations feature a large bow that is tied in the back of the dress. It is gathered at the sides and makes this dress as sweet in the back as it is in the front.

The Georgia Vintage Dress Pattern is now available for sale in PDF form. If you aren't familiar with PDF patterns, they are patterns that you print on your home computer, tape the pieces together to form the full pattern sheet. The beauty of PDF patterns is that they are available for instant download, so no need to wait to get sewing and you can print them out time and time again (no tracing)! Plus they are a little less expensive then the printed version and you avoid paying shipping. The four patterns that are releasing over the next several weeks are also formatted for our international customers to print on A4 paper. Like I said above, the patterns will be available for sale in print at the end of June, so no worries for our printed paper pattern fans!

I have worked for weeks with an amazing group of pattern testers perfecting this pattern and throughout this next week I will be showing you some of their incredible Georgia Vintage Dress creations. I am always in awe of the talent that surrounds us here in the online sewing community and I think you will definitely be inspired by some of their adorable little dresses.

If you would like to purchase a PDF version of the Georgia Vintage Dress Pattern, you can find it HERE.

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Matilda's Easter Dress

We are flying down to Texas next week for Spring Break / Easter and I've been working on the kids coordinating Easter outfits so they are all ready before we leave. I decided to start with Matilda's dress and use a pattern I've been dying to try!

This dress was made using the Harper Dress pattern by the Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop. I changed a few things here and there, but for the most part followed the pattern instructions and design. I love how this dress came together. There are so many different elements that I think are so sweet for a little girl.

The Harper Dress pattern is PDF printable pattern (size 3 months - 8 years) and was very user-friendly and easy to follow. I would say this is an intermediate level pattern. I probably wouldn't attempt it as one of my first dresses. Like I said, the instructions are fantastic, but it will be a lot easier if you have some of the basic skills down such as buttonholes, applying bias tape and gathering fabric for ruffles. Once you feel like you've got those skills down, then I would definitely give this pattern a try!

The fabric for this dress was from 'ABC 123' by American Jane for Moda. This sweet little flowers just stole my heart. American Jane always has such adorable fabrics with a slightly vintage vibe.

 

I decided to use a 1/4'' bias binding instead of a 1/2'' just because I thought it would be little and sweet. Also, I chose to use six buttons on the top of the dress instead of the four shown in the pattern.

I made the bias binding from a green gingham cotton fabric from Fabric Finders. I have a handy dandy little bias tape tool that you use with your iron, but it did take me a little bit of time to make all of the bias binding.

I also used the bias binding and attached it around the waistline with a little bow. The pattern includes a wider waistband with button closure, but I wanted something a little more petite. I love the way this turned out. I'm thinking of incorporating something similar into one of my next patterns that will be released in May.

For the ruffles, I used a rolled hem on my serger. I'm not always a fan of the rolled hem. Sometimes I don't think it looks as professional, but because the main skirt is a single layer of fabric, I didn't want the ruffles to be too heavy, so I thought it would lighten them up by using the rolled hem.

I adore this dress. I can definitely see myself making more of this one. Often I make a pattern and never make it again, but I think this sweet little pattern will be used again for sure. I have some visions of other fabric combinations that would work so well with this design. If you've never visited the Peek-a-book Pattern Shop, you should head over there a take a peek, they carry so many cute patterns!

PS: Peek-a-book Pattern Shop is running a 25% off site wide sale through 3/23/13 on all patterns with the coupon code: DRIPDROP. Click here to check it out.

Here's what's up next on my Easter sewing to-do list........

 Can you guess who's outfit this will be?

Yep, next up.......an outfit for the little man.

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Rainbow Unicorn Birthday Party Dress

This weekend we will be celebrating Savannah's 5th birthday with a Rainbow Unicorn party. This little lady likes rainbows and she likes unicorns, so we decided to combine it into one magical birthday celebration.

The majority of the parties that I like to plan are inspired by fabric (remember the Heather Bailey fabric inspired Garden Party or the Anna Griffin fabric inspired Tea Party?). So first I searched for Rainbow Unicorn fabric and decided that was not going to happen. Talk about cheese ball central, not really my style. Then I decided to focus on rainbow colored fabric. I searched around for quite sometime for the perfect combination of colors. I'm not quite sure what I was looking for exactly, but a lot of fabric lines just weren't the right 'rainbow' feel that I wanted. I know, what you are thinking.....really, Lindsay........you were agonizing over finding the 'right' rainbow fabric? Yes, yes I was indeed. The fabric was the whole foundation for the party, so it definitely had to be right.

Finally, I was looking through the Riley Blake Designs site at a newer line called 'Hello Sunshine'. I brought Savannah into the studio and we looked at the fabrics online and decided they would be perfect for her party. Granted there was no unicorn on the fabric, but I knew I could solve that problem.

I have a really nice new sewing machine that I haven't gotten to show you all (Baby Lock Unity) with all of these fantastic embroidery capabilities, but I haven't had a whole lot of time to utilize all of the wonderful things it can do. But this dress was my chance! I purchased the digital unicorn applique file from Planet Applique. I downloaded it to my USB card and then plugged it into my sewing machine. Presto! The applique design was ready to roll. I won't go into too many details about how I did the applique, but if you are interested, I can do a tutorial for that on another day.

For the dress, I used a new pattern (well new to me) from my friend Jessica over at Me Sew Crazy. It is her Madeline Dress Pattern and I thought it would be perfect with all the different coordinating fabrics. I know I design clothing and have my own line of patterns, but I absolutely love trying out new patterns from all of these amazingly talented designers. I learn so much every time I sew something from a new pattern. It's really interesting to see how each individual designer constructs a garment or how they explain certain aspects of sewing.

The Madeline Dress Pattern was really well written and came together beautifully. It comes in size 2 through 6 and it's steal at $6.00 for the PDF pattern (you can find it here). I made the size 6 and the fit was perfect in the bodice. As for the length, it was a little too short on my tall girl, so I decided to make a pair of pants to go underneath. When I make this pattern again, I will probably add a good three inches to the skirt length to have it fall more at / below the knee. But that's just my personal preference.....the dress is designed to be worn shorter.

I chose coordinating fabric and thread for the unicorn applique and decided it should go front and center on the dress bodice.

 

My favorite part of this dress is the back! It is so unique and like no other pattern I have ever used before. I decided to change up the buttons on the back of the dress and did a loop closure instead of a regular buttonhole. Why? I don't know, I guess I just can't leave well enough alone and I've just really been loving button-loop closures lately.

Also, I added in a pink and white striped piping along the back panels and the bottom curve of the front of the dress. The pattern does not call for the piping, but by now you know how I feel about piping.....it is my absolute favorite clothing detail! I really like how it brings out the pink and the white in the fabric and in the unicorn applique.

For the bottom hem, I added a blue medium size rick rack to complete the look. Even though I'm getting away from selling much clothing in my shop, I still add my garment labels to everything I make for this kids for that added special touch (find out more about my garment labels here).

We are really looking forward to the Rainbow Unicorn Party this weekend. It's going to be so much fun and I can't wait to share the party details with you all next week!

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Upcycled Boys Dungaree Tutorial

It's been awhile since I shared a boy project, right? Well, this is a project that I shared a little while back over on Cheri's blog, I am Momma Hear Me Roar. My husband had a pile of clothes sitting in our bedroom that had just shrunk or gotten kind of wonky after being washed tons of times. Being the good husband that he is, he knew to save those clothes for me and I could probably use them to make something for our little man, Caspian Finn.

Caspian is on the move these days. After having two girls, I had no idea how active boys could be. When I put pants on Caspian, I often find that they have slipped off his waist are are left behind in the dust. So overalls and one-piece outfits are great for him. I love vintage style fashion, so these are my modern take on traditional boys dungarees.

I used two pairs of my husbands pants as well as a small piece of one of his old flannel shirts. I lined the front of the bib with the flannel as I thought that would feel good as a lining.

Today I thought I would show you how I used an existing pattern to come up with these dungarees. I actually used my own printed sewing pattern called the Run Around Romper:

I knew I wanted a similar fit to the romper, but I wanted more of an overall feel. Using an existing pattern is a great place to start, especially if you know that the fit works really well on your child.

I folded down the top of the Run Around Romper pattern to use for the bottom half of the dungarees. The romper is typically lined, but for this version, I did the pants un-lined with a traditional hem. So I just cut 2 of the front and 2 of the back.

I cut two of the pants pieces out of each leg. If you were making these for a larger child then you might have to check to see if the pant legs of the adult pants are wide enough to accomodate your pattern pieces.

I noticed that the back of the pants already had an encased waistband which is perfect for the elastic back for the dungarees.

I simply cut the waistband off of the adult pants and cut it the same width as the back of the two romper pieces. The ends were left open for threading the elastic. I cut a 8" piece of elastic, threaded it through the back waistband and sewed some reinforcement stitches on both ends to hold it in place.

For the top of the dungarees, I used one pant leg and cut the piece on the fold. I used the top of the romper pattern.

I wanted to change the shape of the front of the romper pattern piece, so I just changed the curve on the top a bit. I also cut this piece out of the flannel shirt for the lining.

For the knee patches, I just cut two ovals out of some of the corduroy pants.

The straps were cut 11" long x 4" wide. I didn't have any pieces of the pants that were long enough, so I had to include a side seam, but I kind of like the look. To sew the straps, just place them right sides together and sew down one short side and one long side, leaving the other short end open. Clip the corners, turn right side out and press.

So here are all the pieces prior to constructing the dungarees. I also used the tab pattern piece from the Run Around Romper pattern. It's really fun to change up an existing pattern that you all ready own. And you want to know what's even better? These dungarees were essentially free since I used clothing that we already own!

I used two wooden buttons that I already had and the two smaller buttons on the tabs were cut off from my husbands' pants.

Caspian has been wearing these a ton and I really wish I had a picture of him modeling them. They are way cuter on than on the hanger, but the way that guy moves these days, I can hardly keep up!

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