Between Seasons Vintage-Inspired Blouse

So I know I wasn't supposed to sew anymore kids clothes for awhile but I kept being bothered by this image of a vintage blouse with pleats on one shoulder (darn you Pinterest!) And I've also been planning fall wardrobes for the kids and I wanted to make something for the transition between and hot and cool weather, thus the name "between the seasons."

Then I ran into this beautiful, floral tapestry print vintage fabric while thrifting and I just could not keep myself from sewing a little something for K! This is the beginning of her fall wardrobe and I'm sticking pretty close to the colors and vintage style seen here for the rest of it as well.

The pictures don't do any justice to the fabric at all but it truly is very pretty. It just got done raining out as well so it was very gray outside.

I attached some vintage eyelet lace trim at the bottom and the blouse has an elastic waist. The next version I make, I will probably leave that part out to see how it looks hanging loose.

I drafted the pattern myself using a basic bodice piece that I keep on hand to create tops for her. The shoulder pleats are hard to see because of the print- next time, I will use a less heavily-patterned fabric. The 3/4 length sleeves are perfect for going from summer to fall.

K calls this the "backwards shirt" because the buttons are on the back. I used snap buttons for easy on and off but when I make a dress version, I will probably use a zipper. And yes- I'm so gonna make a dress version because look how cute it looks below!

It looks like a dress already! We paired it with her lace bubble skirt I made back in spring. And the blouse looks super cute with her striped paper bag shorts as well! Wish I had remembered to ask her to change into those for a quick pic! 

I love versatility and this blouse can be dressed up or down and still carry a cool vintage vibe! This girl will be glam in pre-k this fall, haha! 

So, wanna make your own??? I'll have a tutorial in a separate post because there are so many pictures! That post should be up by tomorrow so come back for that if you wanna know how I made it!

Hope you got some fall inspiration with this post and I'll be posting up more fall-inspired clothes for both boys and girls in August as we prepare for not one, but TWO kids going to school! Two kids in school means you-know-what, right? Wink wink- more time with my lovely sewing machine! Woohoo! 

The tutorial for this blouse can be found here!

A DIY Mermaid Skirt

In a couple of weeks, there's going to be a fun Bubble Guppies birthday that we'll be going to and I thought it would be fun to outfit the birthday girl (my niece) in something befitting of the theme and the location at a beach. If you don't know yet, Bubble Guppies is an animated show about mermaid boys and girls- but that's about the extent of my knowledge that I can share with you. 

I wanted an outfit that would be great for the beach, to get wet and run around in and still fit the theme. At first, I sketched up a very complicated dress and then kept simplifying it about four more times before I went to bed at one in the morning. Then, at about 7am that very morning, while still half asleep, the light bulb turned on and I knew exactly what I was going to do. Inspiration truly does strike at the oddest moments for me!

I envisioned a bow bandeau, or bow-deau as I call it, with a knee length mermaid-esque skirt. I wanted to keep it a quick-sew project since I'll be making three of them so I decided a few randomly placed scales would be better than attempting to attach scales to the entire skirt.

And I came up with this adorable outfit that I think the girls will all love. I plan to make them in different color combinations for all three girls and this is the first version I made.

I put together a quick and hopefully concise tutorial so you can make one for your own girl. It's sized for about a 3T/4T but because of the elasticized waist, can fit even more size ranges. I'll put together a separate tutorial for the bow-deau a little later this week! Enjoy!

I used a stretch satin charmeuse in teal for the skirt with a matching tulle. I think the satiny fabrics work best for a shiny, oceany effect. I'm definitely making up a bunch of new words as I go but you totally get what I mean, right? All right, other than fabric, you will also need:

-3/4" elastic

-coordinating thread

-iron

-scissors and/or rotary cutter and mat

Ok- let's get going!

Cut your skirt fabric in a rectangular shape. Mine was 12.5"x33". I wanted the tulle to flare out right above the knee and still be roomy enough inside to walk or run in. Measure your wearer from waist to knee to make sure you get the right length.

Cut your scales out. Mine were various sizes (3"-4" wide) and I did not use a pattern for it. I was lazy so I just freehanded these. Once they're sewn, it won't even matter if they're cut crooked! 

Once you've got them pinned where you want them, sew them on.

Set your skirt aside and pull out the tulle. The tulle I used was folded down once already, creating a 27" width and two layers of tulle. I believe that's how it came on the bolt. So I just folded down the 27" tulle until it created the length I desired for the flared tulle at the bottom of the skirt. I wanted 6" of flared tulle and knew I would need to trim the raw edges so they aligned better so I cut it at 7". 

I don't have a picture of the skirt being gathered, but it is gathered at the bottom hem and should match the size of the tulle as well.

Pull out the gathering stitches in both the tulle and the skirt before moving on to the next step.

Pretty easy, right? If I was unclear about anything, let me know in the comments and I will try to explain as best I can. I do have to make two more of these so if I come up with something I forgot to mention here, I will return to update this tutorial. 

I gotta admit, she is pretty darn cute in this! I love the bow-deau but I think it's gonna need straps to go around the neck! Running around at the beach in it will surely cause it to slip! Stay tuned for the tutorial on that one!

KCW Wrap Up

Whew- the past week has been a sewing frenzy for me and everyone else participating in the KCW Summer challenge! I don't normally sew this much this quickly and surprisingly, my house is not too messy, my kids have been well-fed, and the sink has been cleared of dishes most nights. I'm no superwoman, but dang, sure felt like it this past week- ha!

So I just wanted to share a quick visual summary of what I made for this first ever summer challenge. I'm really happy I was able to include at least one outfit for each of my boys. I don't sew as much for my oldest because he has plenty of clothes that still fit him. He's been wearing 4T for about two years now- slow growth or permanent midget, I'm still not certain! But my daughter has been on a steady growth spurt for a year now- going steadily from 3T to 4T right on target for her age.

I'm already planning their fall back-to-school wardrobes and it's exciting to plan new and different styles for a different season. I'm all summered-out sewing-wise, how about you?

My only sewing project that I've got planned until I start on that is a mermaid-inspired birthday outfit and I'm super dee duper excited about the outfit I sketched up last night! I can't wait to share it with you once it's complete! So stay tuned for that and some party decoration ideas for that particular party!