Tag: kids

Sunday Snapshots (of the zoo with Daddy)

Marie HaighLeave a comment

Elly and I have been to the Philadelphia Zoo together 3 times since getting a membership. Last Sunday, Dan came with us for a family outing.

How is the zoo experience different with Daddy around?

Well, Elly gets to spend a lot of time up high on Daddy’s shoulders.

Other than that, it’s about the same. Zoo trips involve a lot of keeping up with Elly as she bounces from animal display to animal display.

Ell’s excitement hasn’t been dampened by our frequent trips to the zoo. In fact, I think she was more excited this past time than she was in the beginning if only because she got to show her Daddy all the cool snakes, lizards and frogs in the reptile house.

Elly’s 2nd Muslin

Marie HaighLeave a comment

Ever am I glad that I chose to make a 2nd muslin for Elly’s (untraditional) flower girl dress. Though the belly darts still allowed for a perfect fit around the waist, Elly had grown so much (since March!) that the bodice was ridiculously short on her. The 1.5 inches I had taken out of the straps had to be let back in.

With the wedding 3 months away, I am terrified that Elly will shoot up again and the dress will once again be too short for her.

I don’t want to wait till the last minute to sew Elly’s dress. My nerves will snap under the pressure. I know me. I’m likely to make some stupid error and weep in despair.

I also don’t want to use buttons for future growth such as you would see on overalls. It would take away from the elegance of the dress.

At this point, I plan to leave a generous seam allowance and just check the fit a week before the day of the wedding. A week should be enough time to make a quick alteration. Another option would be to make the next size up, the size for 7-8 year olds. It just seems absurdly large for my daughter who will only be 2.5 years old. Elly is a big girl, it’s true, but she’s not that big!

Is there a better option? I’m open to suggestions!

Excited and Nervous

Marie Haigh2 Comments

My sister-in-law just announced that she is getting married in September. Her fiance is a good man. I’m so happy for her.

I’m giddy for me!

Within minutes of Dan relaying the news to me, I had dress ideas spinning in my head. Two days later, the ideas have been cemented, patterns decided upon, stash rooted through and missing fabric and notions purchased. Would you like to see?

I’m so excited!

Elly’s dress pattern was taken from Sewing Clothes Kids Love.

It’s the Manhattan Special Occasion Dress.

I just love the twirly skirt, ribbon lacing and sweet collar.

My dress pattern is Simplicity 1910.

You’ll notice that it has some of the same elements, like the ribbon lacing and the full skirt.

Here’s where the nervousness comes in. The fanciest dress I ever sewn was made a few years ago. I wore it recently on our Disney cruise.

Here is a better picture of the dress.

It’s fully lined, but other than that it’s a very simple design.

The dress patterns I have chosen have 4 skirts. 4! They have an overskirt (lace), the main skirt, an underskirt (tulle) and a lining. OK. So the patterns don’t call for all those skirts, but I think they’re essential in creating a fun party dress. The bodice of Simplicity 1910 uses boning. I’ve never used boning. The Manhattan dress has enough pieces to make your head spin. Ack!

But, I think I’m more excited than nervous. I would love any advice you have on dressmaking. I already picked up Couture Sewing from Amazon to guide me through all the rough patches because I know there are going to be several.