Halloween Birthday Party Costume

I don't think you can have a truly awesome Halloween Birthday Party without a truly awesome costume. So when Cordelia asked to be a "blue and pink fairy" for her party I did my best to go all out.

We ordered these really awesome soft wings from Amazon (I think they might be the best thing I have ever bought Cordelia because we break wire wings in three days and she can wear them in the car which has saved us soo many tears) and based the rest of the costume around them. It was a challenging pink to match, but in the end (and with the help of my nephew who wanted to cry because I was soo indecisive at the fabric store) I am really happy with how it came out. The bodice is a calico cotton, and the skirt is a couple layers of metallic blue dress up fabric, teal fish scale organza, dark teal sparkle tulle, and pink shinny tulle. 

I was tickled to find flowers that matched soo well for the crown and the waist- and this is the first flower crown I have ever made! 

I did not make the wand because I ran out of time, so I was very happy when the pink glitter I used to recover an old worn out pair of shoes helped to tie the wand into the theme! 

The most fun I have sewing is when I can make Cordelia something that I know I would have loved to have as a kid. Sometimes Its hard not to feel that she is soo totally her father's child- but fairies, princesses, magic and fabulous dresses? That's totally our thing. 

A Rose in the Garden

With as warm as it was for Christmas, it was equally as cold at the beginning of December when I was trying to take photos for our holiday cards. The photo of Cordelia and Pig I ended up using was taken inside because she doesn't look very happy in these. As I was editing I kept telling Brendon "these are perfect blog photos but they suck as Christmas cards!". He didn't quite get it, but I had a vision!

That being said, I do love these photos- Cordelia did  good job rocking this dress like a very prim Alice hunting in a garden for the white rabbit. 

I used Simplicity 1508A with the side swoop option. I'm really digging the side swoops but I ran out of fabric so the back underskirt pattern is half as big as it is supposed to be. I don't think you could even tell that I shorted it but one day I want to make the full version to compare. 

She picked out a simple strand of jet beads and a teal hair bow to go with her dress. I made her wear the long sleeve shirt underneath so she didn't freeze. 

The fabric is from Joann Fabrics, I bought it on a whim because I had an extra coupon and I fell in love with it. I kinda want to go back and buy more so I can make myself a dress as well. It reminds me of the costumes from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. The roses are so vibrant and surreal and the blue is very soft. I kept making the comparison when talking to my sister about the dress and she didn't see it so I admit that it might just be in my head- but that's ok. I was thinking Tim Burton when I picked the black and white diamond trim. Lastly, I added ball fringe to the swoops because Cordelia and I have a ball fringe obsession- and wanted to make those swoops really stand out.

Cordelia will always be my little Alice in Wonderland with her never ending imagination and curiosity.  

Christmas Sparkle

I really enjoy making special occasion dresses for Cordelia. I love a good theme, so normally I'm pretty traditional. Hearts on Valentines day, shamrocks for St. Patrick's, bunnies on Easter, velvet and sparkles for Christmas. Originally I had planned on green brocade for Christmas, however Cordelia has been really into long dresses and I wanted to make her some that she could wear every day and give them to her as Christmas gifts. I figured that once she opened these she might not want to wear her "special" Christmas dress. SO I ditched the original dress idea and just made these two.

Taking these photos with Cordelia was a lot of fun. We took them on the 26th of December and we had unseasonably warm weather which made everyone really happy. Cordelia was singing at the top of her lungs and dancing the whole time. 

This dress is made of 100% cotton Batman print fabric. Batman look especially aggressive in this print so I wanted to balance that by adding a lot of girly princess like details- like the puff sleeves and the ric rack. The appliqued Batman logo is Her favorite part of the dress. I used a commercial pattern- Simplicity 2463 in a size 3 with a size 5 length. The dress has a pretty hefty sized hem in it because she grows out of the length of things sooo fast. I followed the pattern pretty close except for adding the sleeves and a side patch pocket. Over all it's a pretty nice pattern- the instructions are clear and easy, but the neck is a little low for my taste. 

I was very anxious to see which dress she would pick to wear first. She picked Batman, which is the one Brendon thought she would go for- because it's fancier. 

The second dress is a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle print gown. Also made from 100% cotton- but I can't give you a link because it looks like it's out of stock. This dress is kind of the opposite from the first in the fact that I wanted it very simple. The print is pretty active and I wanted her to be able to accessorize it however she wanted, without it being way too loud and crazy. 

I used Simplicity 1508 A in a size 4 with a 5 length. I don't have nearly as much to let it down but I have more in the body so I might have to make this a short dress before it gets retired. I pretty much kept to the pattern except I didn't line it I just used bias tape to hem the neck and arms- and I added a pocket because every girl needs a pocket! 

I love the fit of this pattern- the higher neckline just seems easier to wear, and the waistline is just in the perfect place. 

I tried and tried  to cut down on photos so this post wouldn't be crazy long! But alas, I failed and so here is one more.

Sew Geeky: Epic Fantasy, Alanna the Lioness

Hey guys, it's my favorite time of the month- time for Sew Geeky! I had to bow out last month because Cordelia changed her mind about what she wanted to be for Halloween, and I ended up with nothing to contribute! Making me extra excited for this month's post.

November is Epic Fantasy month, and it was soo hard to pick just one thing to sew- and I only had time to sew one outfit! I love epic fantasy- Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, fairies, dragons, wizards- I love it all. Really my love goes back to when I was eleven and asked my mom to buy me a book called Alanna: The First Adventure, written by Tamora Pierce. 

Alanna is a girl who doesn't want to be a proper lady, she wants to be a Knight- but girls aren't allowed to go for Knight training. Unhappy with the situation Alanna disguises herself as a boy, trades places with her brother (who wants to be a wizard and not a knight), and becomes a legend. There is magic, sword fights, and talking cats. I was hooked, and I remain hooked. I still read every new book Ms. Pierce puts out, and I re-read the entire series whenever I am particularity stressed and need a "vacation".

Alanna is fierce, independent, and determined. All qualities I see in Cordelia, so it was fun to tell her stories about Alanna as I was sewing this outfit for her. (She isn't old enough for the books yet, but I can't wait to read them with her)

Cordelia's leggings are self drafted out of brown velour, and some sort of stretchy gold velvet-ish fabric (I've never worked with anything like it, and I should have written the name down). Her tunic is an upcycled burgundy sweatshirt , with more of the gold fabric- to emulate armor. The tunic I made using the Bimaa Sweater.  I sized up to account for the limited stretch in the sweatshirt fleece, and I sloped the hem to make it longer in the back. This is my first Bimaa, and I'm convinced I put the cowl on backwards, so I'm anxious to try another one to see if I can do it correctly! 

The cover art for the books often show Alanna wearing gauntlets, and plate armor shin guards, and so I thought the color blocking was a nice way to give that look. Stitched to the front is Alanna's signature Lioness- not my best stitch work, but I think it still sort of looks like the picture of her shield.

Cordelia especially enjoyed sword fighting with a giant- using the awesome crocheted sword my sister made her. She lost some fights. . .

and won some! Taking these pictures were soo much fun!


As always please go check out the other amazing women sewing this month- you won't regret it because they made amazing things!

Kat, Annika and Kelley