The Sequel - More of Last Summer's Projects!

I have to admit that I find it a great deal of fun to sew for my daughter...and not just sew, but to make hair ribbons, crochet hats, etc. The options are just so much more abundant for girls than boys.

Last summer, I saw several "apron skirts" and I thought that they were just adorable. I decided that for my daughter's birthday outfit, I would make her an apron skirt with an appliqued shirt. I also decided that I would buy some beautiful fabric from our small town fabric shop. However, this fabric is not cheap. I pride myself on getting a good bargain...and this shop really has no opportunities for getting a better deal than the listed price. However, I loved the fabric and was willing to make the comprise. Before I cut into that expensive fabric though, I decided that I certainly needed to test my skills on fabric that I did not deem to be quite as important.

So practice, I purchased some fabric on clearance (at Wal-Mart). I was not really fond of the fabrics, but again, the price was the deciding factor for the "test" pattern. I found a tutorial (which does not seem to be working any longer) that I would use for the skirt and came up with a simplistic pattern for the shirt. I used Wonder Under to iron on the fabric to the shirt and then zig-zagged around the patterns on the shirt. I also attached "ruffles" to the tank/shirt, which I thought was a very cute addition to an otherwise plain tank. Even though I was not overly fond of the fabric at the beginning, I ended up really liking the final products. I attached a orange ribbon to the bottom of the apron piece. That same ribbon was used to create a hair piece for Gracie (which you can barely see in the picture..and has since been lost).

Given that I was happy with the results of the "test" pattern, I then used the expensive fabric to make Gracie's birthday outfit. The skirt is basically the same, however I used three colors in the skirt this time around and attached a piece of lace to the bottom of the apron piece. I adored the skirt. I appliqued a shirt for the birthday outfit as well, but it was a short sleeved shirt instead of a tank this time. I was at a loss as to what to applique on the front of this shirt. I ended up cutting out designs in the fabric and using the same Wonder Under process and zig-zagging the fabric on the shirt. This shirt was not was not what I had envisioned. I still am not satisfied with this shirt - but Gracie loved her outfit and had a great birthday!