Friday Morning
After an exhausting week of touring daycares, I finally had a few moments to myself to think about this project. With my niece's party on Saturday, I knew I didn't have time for anything complicated. Besides, I didn't want anything that might frustrate her two year old fingers. So I turned to Pinterest for inspiration and found a few surprises.
Next, another great freebie from We Wilsons. This pattern contains two very easy to sew patterns- one for a pull-over shirt and another for a pair of pants, making it easy to mix and match fabrics for a variety of looks. Since my darling niece loves Jesse from Toy Story, I knew right away I wanted to create a cowgirl outfit.
Friday Afternoon
I spent a little time selecting fabrics and inspecting my sewing stash. As my first official sewing summer project, I was running a little low on supplies, and I needed to run to JoAnne's to stock up on a few basics, such as thread, velcro, and elastic. By 4:00, I was finally home, my projects were cut out, and I was ready to roll! Just as I was about to sew my first stitch, the lights blinked off once, returned, and then blinked off again. I looked out my window- not a cloud in the sky. As the minutes turned into hours, I realized my present probably wouldn't be finished in time.
With no power in the house, my husband and I decided to go out for dinner. When we returned around 7:30, the power still had not returned. No need to sulk; it was time to throw in the towel and clean up my sewing space. But all of a sudden, the lights flashed back on. I quickly turned on the iron and began to sew like the wind, feeling the pressure of the impending deadline. Every few minutes, my cell phone interrupted my thoughts with weather bulletins. Severe thunderstorm watch... severe thunderstorm 50 miles away... severe thunderstorm warning for my neighborhood. My sewing wasn't as neat as I would have liked, and I never took time to change out my white thread. I heard the rumbles of thunder in the distance, and just as I finished my last stitch, I saw the first bolt of lightning. I was hand sewing the velcro when the lights flashed off again. No problem... I could finish that in the morning.
Saturday Morning "Party Day"
We still didn't have power the next morning, and neither did a million other people who were affected by Friday's storm, including my sister. By the end of the day, I learned a new word: derecho. But despite the insane 100 degree heat, we celebrated anyway, and the party was a great success. Because of the storm, I didn't have a chance to take many pictures of my creations before I gave them away, but overall, I was pretty satisfied with the final products. When we finally got home Saturday night, our power was back; the a/c welcomed us with open arms. Unfortunately, our neighbors weren't as lucky...
The diaper pattern was so easy to sew! With three little nieces under the age of four and a little girl of my own on the way, I have a feeling I will be using this one for years. I highly recommend this one as well as the Simplicity dress pattern. The shirt and pants were... all right. The pattern was designed with a novice sewer in mind, and I didn't particularly care for the way the pants were constructed. The best part about this pattern was no buttons, snappers, or velcro. With only elastic, it is very easy for little hands to dress their baby dolls in this outfit. I am not dying to use this pattern again, but I will probably give it a second chance in the future.
Patterns Used in this Project
Diaper Pattern from Skip to My Lou
Shirt and Pants Pattern from We Wilsons
Dress Pattern from Simplicity 3572 Doll Clothes(S-M-L)
