Birthday goodies

It was my little one's 2nd birthday last week. I'd actually finished her gifts over a month ago but never got around to blogging about them.

She has about a billion dresses that fit her now, and only a few for next summer, so I decided to make her one for next summer. I bought this pattern on my first trip to Spotlight after I had my daughter, and this is the first time I've opened it.

It was very straightforward and easy. It only took a couple of hours from cutting to finishing. I decided to make it fully reversible instead of just lined in the bodice, which seemed straightforward enough...except I got lazy, as usual. When it came time to sew the two layers together before turning, I thought I'd sew most of the way around the hem and leave an opening for turning. However, when I went to turn it, it didn't quite work...there was no way to get the back part of the bodice through. No big deal- I just unpicked the hem, turn it right side out, pressed in the hem (which was easy- I just pressed along the line of holes made by the stitches I'd just unpicked) and hemmed it. Oh, and while I hemmed it, I freehanded (ie without pinning or basting) some white ricrac onto the hem at the same time. Noice!



Pattern used: New Look 6578

Does it look like the drawing on the pattern/ envelope?
Yes!

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, very. The pattern explains all the steps in detail. It's good for beginner sewists.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Nothing to dislike- it was all great.

Fabrics and notions
The main fabric was left over from my red frock. The star fabric was something I bought ages ago with no particular project in mind. Buttons from a big container that I got from Spotlight a few years ago. Ric rac purchased online.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made
I made it fully reversible, and added ric rac, which isn't really rocket science...

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I would definitely sew it again and recommend it. It's a quick sew- good to whip up for a little girl's birthday on short notice.

Did you use any new skills?
Nope.

Cost
Pattern: Can't remember...probably $8?
Fabric: The floral was from Spotlight- $4/m and I used about $1 worth. The black star fabric- probably about $2 worth.
Notions: Buttons- came in a box of 100 for $2...can't figure out that one without using my brain so I'll say 2 cents each?
Thread: Stash
Total: $11.04



Her other mummy-made gift was a cot quilt cover. My former neighbour gave me a really nice down-filled cot quilt last year, and I bought this cot panel about a year ago to make a quilt cover for it. But I kept not being bothered with it...then I realised that Elizabeth probably won't be in a cot for too much longer, so I thought I should pull my finger out and just make it.

So I worked out how big I wanted the finished product to be. I had the dimensions of the cot panel...all I had to do was work out how big to make my border strips.

Finished size - Cot panel size= size of border strips.

Seemed easy enough. So why on EARTH were the top and bottom strips 10cm too short, both widthwise AND lengthwise? Argh!

I could not be bothered re-cutting (have you noticed yet that I'm a very lazy sewist?) so I just made the whole thing slightly narrower and shorter. Unfortunately this means that it's now too short for the quilt...by about 10cm! Och well, I guess I can just fold the top of the quilt down.

It's still very cute, and Elizabeth loves it. She uses it on her bed now, but without the quilt inside as it's too hot for a quilt.