Bow Girls!

A few years ago, I bought this cute bow print thermal knit from Girl Charlee. It took me forever to finally sew it up!

My original plan for this fabric was a sweatshirt style top for me. I wanted something comfortable just for hanging out at home, but even at home I like to be cute.

I wanted a sleek fit and I thought a dropped shoulder would be fun. I started with the Kitschy Coo Comino Cap top, which I love the fit of, and just drafted a semi-fitted sleeve. Instead of a band at the neckline, I bound it with my coverstitch, which made the neckline a little bit higher.

I love the slightly scooped back neckline of this top. It's so pretty. You can see the dropped shoulder a bit better from the back. I think it's a fun detail. It nods to the wide shouldered 80s trend without the linebacker shoulder pads.

Since the Comino Cap Top is so economical of fabric, even with long sleeves, I had a ton of fabric left over.

Myra got the bulk of the leftovers. I pulled out an Ottobre raglan tee pattern I've made for her twice before. It is from the 04/2013 issue and has a nice fitted shape with a bound neckline. I made the sleeves 3/4 length, as Myra has trouble keeping long sleeves out of messes. And because her cute baby-chubby wrists slay me.

When I showed Myra her new top, she immediately wanted to know where Teresa's was. Ooops. Back to the sewing room! I was initially trepidatious about this print on Barbie, since the scale is rather large, but it worked out nicely with a single motif centered on the front of the tee, and at the sleeve hems. Teresa got a bound neckline too. The pattern is a blend of Simplicity 4719 and 4702.

So, between sewing a trio of thermal knit tees, and this weekend's extremely pleasant weather, I think I'm ready to start sewing for Fall and Winter. Bring on the wool! I'm ready!

School Spirit Refashion

One of our neighbors has a daughter who has just moved up from the Elementary School (where Myra and Logan attend) to the Middle School. She passed down a couple of tee shirts to Myra, but they were a bit too large...

I considered just taking them in at the side seams, but the neckline was slightly off the shoulder and the logo was weirdly placed on her chest, so I decided to completely remake them.

I thought a baseball style tee would be cute, so I used Ottobre 04/2013-12, which I've made for her before. I accented with white to make the logo stand out.

For the main body of the shirt, I sliced the original shirt at the sides, then removed the sleeves and cut the shoulder seams. I did my best to get the fabric on grain, which was impossible in front since the logo has to stay level, but I think I got the back pretty close.

The white fabric is Chez Ami interlock. It makes great binding fabric, since it is so stable and has excellent recovery.

Since I didn't need the sleeve fabric for Myra's new top, I decided to use them to make Summer a tee, along with a tiny scrap of white rayon jersey so she and Myra could match.

Summer's top was made using Simplicity 4702. I lengthened the top 1/2 inch and slimmed it about 1/4 inch at the side seams. Summer has a Model Muse body, which is taller and slimmer than Barbie's Belly Button Body. I also made Summer's Bermuda shorts, using a tracing from the pants the Divergent/Tris doll wears. I shortened them to hit just above the knee and slimmed them slightly at the side seam, again to fit the Model Muse body.

Myra likes her new shirt very much, and especially loves that she can match Summer! She told me that she wants me to make all her dolls new shirts. Sadly, there are no more sleeves! We'll have to wait for the next Myra make.

Ottobre 04/2013-12 Raglan tee: Mermaid style

When I bought this Mermaid fabric from the Kitschy Coo shop, it was for ME. So naturally, here it is on Myra...

Smug, isn't she?

Not really. This is actually the scraps left over from a project I shall soon reveal. Fortunately, there was just enough of this adorable Mermaid fabric for a half sleeve raglan tee. The white is a nice Chez Ami interlock.

The pattern is Ottobre 04/2013-12, which appears in several variations in the magazine. Other than shortening the sleeves, I made no changes to this one. It's a basic raglan with a breast pocket and bound neckline.

The pattern included this cute little ribbon detail at the neckline and I happened to have this perfect pink fish ribbon.

The pocket is just the right size for important things like Princess Twilight Sparkle's magic book. I love that the Mermaid fit perfectly there.

A straight cut raglan could have very easily veered over into "boy clothes", which Myra doesn't tolerate at the moment, but an injection of hot pink, Mermaids and cute ribbons definitely makes this all girl, and Myra loves it.