More Owls!

I seriously love this free owl pattern!

 

I posted about this cute little guy 2 weeks ago, and now I have more to share!

  

I whipped up several more owls, but sadly only got a picture of these to show you.

 

This Hot Pink and Navy owl was shipped off to my high school friend, whose wife is expecting a baby.  To make this owl a little more 'girly' I cut out little eyelashes in the hot pink felt backing of the eyes.  

 And I was just dying for an excuse to use Riley Blake's new Rainbow Dot fabric, which is how this owl came into being.

Again, thank you to Emily for the sharing your tutorial with us!

Owl Tutorial

Fabrics:

Riley Blake Black Medium Chevron

Michael Miller Zap

Riley Blake Hot Pink Medium Chevron

Children at Play Navy Dot to Dot

Riley Blake Medium Rainbow Dots

Riley Blake Small Red Dots 

Pattern Review: Izzy & Ivy Addie Jo Skirt

This could be the easiest, fastest little twirly skirt I've ever made!

I decided to test the Izzy and Ivy Addie Jo skirt pattern.

This pattern has 5 different options.  I tried 3 of them: the middle view with the big bow in the back, the far left view showing 2 layers, and the far right view, which is just a single layer of fabric.

Each of the 3 options took about 1/2 hour to complete.  Now seriously, how can you beat that? 

Skirt #1 is the basic skirt on the far right of the pattern.

We're talking a waistband piece, a skirt piece and elastic.  Super easy!  My daughter wanted this for church, but loves it so much, she has been wearing it every day for play.  I LOVE how the Ombre Dots are darker at the hem and then fade as they reach the waist.

Fabric: Riley Blake Designs Ombre Dots

Skirt #2 has two skirt layers.  Because these are sewn to the waistband at the same time, this option didn't take any additional time to make.  I did decide to hand pleat the skirt rather than use gathers.  This is something I choose to do once in awhile to save time and because I really don't like making gathers!

Fabrics: Top layer is Michael Miller Spa Scallop

Bottom layer is Heather Bailey's Welcome Road in Pink

Skirt #3 features the big bow in the back.  This skirt is essentially made in the same manner as both skirts 1 & 2, except that the bow is sewn into the side seams.

Fabric:  Riley Blake Designs Hot Pink Ombre Dot

So that's the scoop!  I give this pattern an easy 2 thumbs up.  You get instant gratification with a quick, easy project and it's so darn cute, the lucky recipient will absolutely LOVE it! 

 

Pincushion Ring Tutorial

I am guest blogging today over at Riley Blake Designs, where I am teaching you how to make this super cute, super easy, super quick Pincushion Ring.  

This is the perfect project for all those scraps you've been hanging on to.  Stop on over to see how it's done!

 

Not Your Average Polka Dot Dress!

This dress...

...is not your average polka dot dress...

It is made with Riley Blake Designs Hot Pink Ombre Dot fabric.  LOVE!  Ombre is a French word meaning "shadow" or "shade."  Notice in this dress how the dots are very saturated in the center and then fade out to a lighter shade at the edges.  This is the ombre effect.  I mentioned in a previous post my newly rekindled love for all things Navy Blue.  Here I made a navy blue piped trim to contrast with this gorgeous, youthful pink ombre dot.  

I also added piping to the front sides and waistline to really give the garment substance, structure and POP!

For this dress I used a vintage Simplicity 3811, circa 1950.

The tricky part when working with separate front, side bodice, and skirt pieces, while using a fabric that fades in and out like this was making sure to allow for the seam allowance on the skirt and bodice so that the fading/shading matched up just right with the center front piece.  It was important to match up the shading on the sleeves as well.

Ooookayyy, It seems our little model is done now - silly girl!  What do you think?  Now I'm thinking how cute this dress would be in orange...or aqua...or green...all paired up with navy blue trim, of course!

My shop is well stocked with this lovely ombre, so pop on over!