Pretty owls summer dress

Hello! Summer is not over yet, so I have taken the opportunity to sew another summer dress for Eva. Dresses have always been my favourite garments to design and sew.

It all started with two fabrics in mind - the pretty owl fabric from "Nested Owls" collection by Addornit (I wrote about it here) and the red mini polka-dot fabric by Sevenberry. I thought they would go well together so I started planning what I could turn them into. They both are 100% cotton and have a little a bit stiffness which is great for adding some volume to a garment.
For a week or so I couldn't decide on the style. I envisaged a little dress, coquette and with an interesting
detail.

For some reason my daughter didn't want to try the dress while still in the making. I would try to persuade her to wear it so I could do some measurements but she wouldn't try. What if she refused to wear the dress once it was all sewn up and ready. It would be a shame to have spent so much time designing, drafting, cutting and sewing something that could never be worn.

Luckily, once the dress was completed, washed and ironed, she willingly let me dress her in it. I was more than happy as believe it or not that little girl could be very stubborn and picky.

To make the dress hang nicely I opted for a decorative finish of the hemline. That was the best I could achieve with my mum's sewing machine (which to put it mildly could be unmanageable at times).

I used snaps to close the side of the dress. They are so practical and easy to sew that I wonder why I haven't used any before. For me one of the most important things to consider when sewing for the kids is the easy wearing of the garment. Because if wearing is complicated, kids quickly get annoyed and they might never want to wear that garment again. I remember when a few years ago my boy couldn't take one of his jumpers off and got panicked so I had to cut through it. After that for a period of time, he was scared everytime he was wearing something through his head.

"Crazy chevron" top

I can finally share with you my completed project "Crazy chevron" top, which would be a present for my niece.
The pattern itself is simple but classic. I think it is the choice of fabrics that makes it different. I love to combine contrasting colours. Unfortunately the photos don't show the exact colours. The dotted fabric is actually pink colour but in the photo it looks coral.

The chevron fabric is from ADORNit and the dotted fabric is from Sevenberry.
As a whole it was an easy project and quite enjoyable as well. The only frustrating thing was that once I started to sew the pieces together, the collar happened to be too short and couldn't go all the way round the neckline. I wasn't expecting this because the pattern pieces were the same like those of the toile. And when I was making the toile the collar fitted perfectly. Anyway, I decided to leave it this way. I don't think it is that bad. I just hope that my niece will like the top as well.

This is little gorgeous Zara, who helped me with the fitting and agreed to model the top, so we could all see how the top looked when worn. Many thanks to her!
I am looking forward to making more tops like this one, but in different colours. I have to start getting ready for summer.
Before I finish a project I already find myself planning the next one. It might sound silly to you, but that process of planning makes me feel happy and excited. Now I am toying with the idea to sew something else for my niece, maybe a dress...

Before finishing the post, I will show you what me and my little boy made yesterday during a visit to the local Ikea store. We went there to buy a fleece blanket which I intended to turn into a cushion cover for my son's bed. He told me he wanted a cushion with a ship on it.
Anyway, in Ikea we were delighted to discover a table set up for painting on ceramics. We had to choose what to paint - a mug or a plate. It was free, but if someone liked he could donate to a childrens' charity. And even adults could enjoy some painting. So we both sat down and that was the result.

 I let my son draw whatever he wanted. I wanted him to do something comletely by himself. Now his drawing (which according to him features a carrot, an egg and a mushroom ???) makes me smile every time I look at the plate, but I think he is proud of it.