In love with knot dresses - Simplicity Pattern 2171

I made a knot dress for my daughter using Simplicity pattern 2171. The pattern was very easy to use. It won't fit my daughter until next spring thou. I still don't understand very well how children measurement works. I measured my daughter waist and chest and decided I should go with a size 3. It runs a little bit big on the chest and I did not made adjustments because I would ruin the bodice part. Anyway, the dress turned out to be gorgeous.

This pattern is one of the most populars right now. Moms are using it to create "Matilda Jane" look alike knot dresses and I have seen a few dresses selling at Etsy for over $35 which I am pretty sure were created using this Simplicity pattern. My advice, if you can sew and like the look of this dresses go buy some Calico fabrics and you will love the results. I hope to sew more of this in the future.

Here is the dress I made. I picked up some Calico fabrics and tried to copy the one in the picture. I also made the ruffled pants which I altered so that she can wear them this fall. I will be posting pictures soon.

Simplicity Pattern 2699 - Cute apron!

While I am trying to get my "sewing mojo" back, it looks like all I can do right now is sew for children. It may be because a lot of the children clothes in the retail industry are not fulfilling my needs.

I made an apron which I intend to use as a bib mostly for my two year old daughter. I used Simplicty Pattern 2699. I made view A with a couple of alterations. It was very easy to sew and only took me a coupe of hours.

I recommend this pattern for begginers. It is very easy to understand. So easy that I did not had to be reading the instruction so much when I was doing.

My McCall's Pattern Fall review

I know I might be late for this review since it has been more than a week since the McCall's pattern fall collection was released. I may not be sewing a lot lately but I always check the new patterns and continue collecting them. There is nothing wrong about dreaming about new projects that may never become a reality because of my lack of time lately. Right?

I am not to impressed about this season adult collection thou. It doesn't look too different from last year. I see a lot of 90's fashion influence too. I love the fall crafting projects and the children patterns are darn cute. Here are my favorites.

Can you tell I have a girl? I love this look. Reminds me of Matilda Jane dresses.












Leggings continue to be a favorite this year.




Not loving this look so much because I would have to use knit fabric.

I like this quilting project, if I liked to quilt.

These pants are definetely a must have on my wardrobe.

The Pillow case dress that took for ever

Finally I got to finish the pillow case dress from my last post. I used Simplicity Pattern 2383. It is not that it was difficult to make, it was just that I don't have the time to sew I used to have before becoming a mother of twins. I finished it about two week ago and did not have time to post the picture until now. The difficulty level of this dress is "easy". It shall not take more than two hours to accomplish and what took me the most was deciding if I should use ribbons or rig rag. The monkey embroidery part was not so easy for me because it was my first time doing this kind of work. Next time I will be better at it. I recommend using this pattern even for beginners.

Pillow Case dress Simplicity 2383

I am trying to get my "sewing mojo" back. I am working on a dress for my toddler girl who just turned 19 months. For experienced seamstress it may be ridiculous to purchase a pattern to make a pillow dress. It is just a rectangle and all you have to do is close it and add a ribbon at the top, right? Well, I have been working on the monkey applique dress picture at the left (view C) for three weeks. When I saw the pattern I liked the fact that it has appliques. I bought some inexpensive Calico fabrics and it is turning out very pretty but slow sewing is what happens when you have a set of twins. First, I was very enthusiastic about the dress and I decided to use some gross grain ribbons. Well, it occurred to me that after sewing the ribbons so nicely to the fabric they needed some ironing and one of the ribbons had painted dots and it melted. After that I decided it was better to used rig rags. The applique part was not so easy for me either because I have never done appliques before, so I had some issues with the embroidery around the monkey. It turned out good but not perfect. Last night I finally closed the seams at the sides and today I will try to finish and take some pictures. I think this pattern is really easy to use and offer so many options to the now so popular pillow dress for children. It is just me who has become a lazy seamstress.

Spring projects

Can't find the picture of the envelope to show you guys the shirt I am working on. I think it is probably an out of print pattern now. Anyway, since I don't have time that much to sew lately I am going to start looking for patterns and ideas to start sewing my Easter outfit. Any suggestions?

Goodbye Buddy.

No words can describe what a pet owner may feel when the animal passes away. It was a cold Saturday morning and Buddy went out as usual and returned feeling dizzy and tired. Maybe the cause was that the temperature was still in the low 20's. I had to go out to buy some presents and took my daughter with me. I asked him "what's up Buddy and patted him on his head" while he moved his tail. An hour after I received a call from my husband asking me to come back so that he could take Buddy to the vet. While I was driving I had a weird feeling and some tears came out of my eyes while in my mind I apologized to Buddy for neglecting him love in the past months due to my busy schedule as a new mother of twins. Buddy was our baby before the babies were born and he slept in my room and was very spoiled. When the babies were born there was a change obviously, but he was also jealous sometimes and I was scared of him doing something to the babies. I started treating him like a "dog" sometimes. Still, Buddy always loved me and waited for me in the mornings and greeted me happily when I came home. I loved my dog.

When I got home, Buddy was already in the car and my husband did not let me see him. He was already dead. I knew he was dead because my husband looked so sad even though he tried to hide it. He took Buddy to be cremated. I called my mom in tears and told her that Buddy died. Around 7 pm my husband told my mother in law and people started giving me their condolences thru facebook. He passed away at 130 pm, just a few minutes after I left. He was born in Virginia in August 2000 and went with me and my husband to many places. He died on December 18, 2010 in Virginia.

Failed project

What could I say about this pants? Do not attempt to do them. Yes, it was an easy to follow instructions. I used a very nice black and white flower printed fabric that later I regretted using on this project. I found the pants interesting to sew because there is no zipper required and I thought they looked very cool on the pattern illustration. The final results for me where very baggy pants that made me look like I was five months pregnant. Very unflattering! So, I did not bother to take a picture and sent it to my aunt in Panama who is a size 16. For what I heard, she was very happy with her new pants. Para gustos los colores!

Simplicit 2304 Tottler Halloween Costumes

I used Simplicity pattern 2304 to make my twin babies first Halloween costumes. My baby boy was a pumpkin and the girl was a bee. I think they turned out pretty good, but it was very hard to have them stay still so that I could take good pictures. Anyway, I am posting some pictures and a brief review.



I used this pattern because I wanted them to wear similar costumes and I could not find anything at the store that would match, since I was looking for a boy costume and a girl costume. Also, I do not like costumes that look like stuffed animals because I think children can get overheated in areas where the weather is not so cold.

Here is a family picture.

Here is the "little pumpkin" running.

Both of them playing with the door.

I used an orange suede fabric and to make the jack-o lantern face I used crafting felt. The hat was very easy to make. I also used crafting felt to make the leaf and the stem.

For her costume I used a yellow suede fabric.

I purchased the shirts and leggings at a popular children store.

This pattern is great for beginners. You can read my complete review at Pattern Review.

Witch dress Simplicity 2324

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween celebration. This year I made costumes all the family. Well, kind of. For my husband I did some alterations. Anyway, I will start by reviewing Simplicity Pattern 2324 which I used for witch costume.
As you can see in the illustration the girl is wearing fishnets which I decided not to wear because it was cold. Also my dress is longer than hers.

I used leather leggings. I think they worked fine.

purchased a witch hat and decorated with the same fabric I used for the dress.

This Simplicity pattern was easy to sew but it is not a beginner pattern because the instructions stops after the dress is assemble. It does not says anything about terminations. I knew I had to use binding at the collar and the sleeves, but will a newbie to sewing figure that out? Also there is a zipper at the back and an overlay which some people may find difficult to handle. In general, instructions where easy to follow. I like this pattern so much I am keeping it for the future. To read the complete review go to patternreview.com