A Toddler Peasant Dress Tutorial

I'm in love with sewing. I have no time, but I try to make time for this hobby. My only problem is that my project to-do list is ten times longer than I could possibly complete in the short time I have. These dresses were for Evelyn's second birthday party. I wanted to create a cute, 3/4 sleeve dress for the girls to wear.

My friends don't believe me, but I'm a very amateur seamstress. I don't know how to follow a commercial pattern, so blog tutorials are my saviors. There are so many blogs out there that detail almost any project in layman terms. With these tutorials, I don't need to figure out all the jargon on the pattern... I just cut my fabric and sew according to the pictures and easy directions. I think that once pattern companies figure this out, it will open a door to all of us amateur seamstresses to be able to really put together some fun projects.

I suppose my one redeeming quality is that once I do something one time, I usually figure out how I can change it to create what I want. This dress is basically my Valentine's Pillowcase Dress with sleeves. The best thing about this dress is that I already had the fabric cut out from the extra fabric squares I had from my cloth napkins from my sister's bridal shower.

Here is how I did it...

Valentine's Pillow Case Dress with Ruffles Tutorial

There are some things I love about pillow case dresses and some things I hate. I love the neckline. This part of the dress is really easy to make and I think it looks really cute on. What I hate is how boxy they look. Just because they're cute little girls, doesn't mean that all of the sudden straight and boxy is cute.

So, i decided to create an A-line pillowcase dress that is lined with ruffles on the bottom. I also took this opportunity to learn how to applique with an embroidery machine- much easier than it looks! This dress was much more time consuming than a normal pillowcase dress, but I think it turned out 1000 x's cuter! Now that I made this one for Elsie, I will make a few alterations to Evelyn's- namely adding pockets and I don't think I'll attach the outer dress to the lining on the sides, just under the arms and at the neckline.

When Elsie saw it, she said, " Mommy, it's so beautiful, I'm going to cry!" With rave reviews like that, how can I not keep making her more dresses?

Here is what you'll need...

Tulle Petticoat Tutorial

October is a busy month for me! I have two birthday parties and a bridal shower to host. I have several different projects underway for each event. Elsie's birthday outfit is first and this petticoat was actually going to go under the first skirt I made, but I decided that it was too cute to go under a skirt. So, I switched gears, added a flower and some leggings and a birthday outfit was born!

Elsie has been twirling non-stop since she's had it on. I'm so glad she loves it so much! Here is how I did it...

Toddler Jumper Tutorial

This morning was a really gloomy morning, so it was a perfect day to do a sewing project. I bought some fabric with the intent to make the girls this jumper that I found on pinterest. I made a couple changes to better suit my needs. Evelyn's turned out a little better once I knew how I wanted to do it.

So, here are the instructions to this adorable little jumper

Dinosaur/ Mohawk Hoodie

I saw this idea on Pinterest before Christmas and I instantly knew what all my little nephews were getting from me. These little dino hoodies are adorable and very easy to make.  I made a Mohawk hoodie for my 7 year old stepson because he loved them, but I thought he was a little old to be a dinosaur.  Over a month later and Logan still tells me it was his favorite Christmas present.  Best part about this, was that it cost me about $7 and only 30 minutes of my time for some really great presents.

Elmo and Cookie Monster Tutu Dress Tutorial

For Elsie's second birthday, I made tutu dresses for both Elsie and Evelyn. I got the brilliant idea of using a crocheted headband as the waistband from a friend of mine and it worked beautifully. By using this, making a two layer tutu was a breeze.

Supplies: one headband and 2 spools of 25 yard tulle for each tutu, Felt for faces

For the Elmo tutu, I purchased on spool of orange and one of red as well as a spool of sparkly orange for a couple accent strips.

Christmas Tree Onesie

I made this onesie for Evelyn for Christmas Eve to go with the ruffle bloomers. This was a little more time consuming than the bloomers because I had to cut each ribbon at a different length and position them perfectly. Because of this, I needed to do each row separately, sew it on and remeasure the next ruffle. When cutting the ribbon, cut the ends on a diagonal to help shape the tree and burn the edges to stop fraying.

Ruffle Butt Bloomers

I made these bloomers for Evelyn to go with her Christmas outfit. They were very easy to make and I think they turned out fabulous. Now, I'm need to try to figure out how to incorporate them into her first birthday outfit that's coming up in a few weeks.

To start, I purchased a pair of plain bloomers from hobby lobby. You can find them near the plain onesies and t-shirts.  To make the ruffles, I purchased 4 types of ribbon at varying widths and styles. I had the tulle on-hand from making Elsie's Santa dress.

Santa Tutu Dress Tutorial

I love tulle! Elsie has had something made from tulle for every Christmas and birthday of her little two year old life. My only issue is how it bunches up. I'm going to experiment with spray starch on my next one to see if that helps.

This dress was made from 2 1/2 25 yard spools of tulle, a small white crocheted headband, small feather boa, black satin ribbon- 1" and a rhinestone buckle.