UPDATE: Just came across this site with excellent tips about sewing on pre-ruffled fabric. There are two parts to the tutorial so scroll down to part 1 before reading part 2.
The color is really a coral, more like the photo below.
I’m trying to make my granddaughter Laurel an occasional contemporary garment. At eight years old, she sometimes balks at wearing the smocked or heirloom dresses I lay out for her to wear for homeschool or church when she is with us.  This little outfit is my attempt to step into the “cool” zone of kid couture. If it’s not quilting, smocking or heirloom, I am totally out of my comfort zone. But this should placate her for a while.
The skirt kit was purchased from my favorite on-line sewing source, Farmhouse Fabrics.   But it looked easy enough and it really was. The kits are so convenient. Farmhouse has several other similar “Skirtin’ Around” kits (scroll down to second page)—lime green ruffles with zebra striped elastic, tropical flowers with black elastic and more. The kit comes with instruction for construction.
I love the flower, but it seemed to be too much with the embroidered shirt. It might end up on hair clip. The leopard kittens are from Amazing Designs Morehead 7, Baby Animals Two by Two 2. Aren’t they just adorable?
 It has been too long since I sewed anything for Laurel. With this out of the way, I’m back to baby sewing. Hurrah!
This weekend we celebrated my dear husband’s birthday. Both children and their families were here and we had a grand time. Rebecca spotted this ruffled skirt in the sewing room and commented, “You would NEVER have let me wear something like that!!! It’s borderline Hoochie Mama!” Times have changed, I told her. But she loved it. There is a lot of fabric left over, making me wonder if I might make something for Baby Girl–after I make all the smocked and heirloom sewn daygowns, of course.
The little guy had called earlier in the week begging me to make him a Super Suit, as seen on The Incredibles. Instead, I found one on-line and had it delivered 2nd day so it would arrive his first day here. He was thrilled and so was I.
Superhero Alastair The Incredible, backed up by his canine companion Rastus
That saved a lot of time and bought me a lot of hugs and kisses! He wore it all three days he was here–to the grocery store with Granddad, playing in the sandbox and even taking his naps.
I squeezed in time to make 22 cot covers for Alastair’s preschool class. (See tutorial) Did you know that the law requires preschools to provide cots for children’s rest time? And each cot requires a sheet of some kind. When Alastair brought home his nasty, slightly-better-than-cheesecloth sheet (commercially made) to be laundered, his mother asked the teacher if Alastair could bring his own personal sheet which his grandmother (that’s me) would make for him. Rebecca, like her mother, is a bit of a textile snob and sleeps best on pima cotton. The teacher’s reply was a request to have his sewing grandmother make cot covers for the entire class.
I was happy to do this, as it would meet the parental requirement to volunteer for 10 hours or pay $300. Each cover was 24″ x 48″, serged on all four sides. The corners were folded under and stitched through an 8″ elastic loop, like many mattress pads.
I dug into my stash and found some darling Michael Miller prints in the Dick and Jane style, with cowboys, firemen and train engineers. All the sheets used two fabrics, one for the body and the other for a border across the top. I used the print in one place or another with a coordinating cotton gingham. They really were cute and felt so much better than the cheesecloth.
Now, I’m off to embroider a bassinette skirt with lots of lambs. What are you sewing?
P.S. Have you seen Brother Sews Facebook page?
“Like” it for lots of ideas, lots of pictures and lots of information. Check it out.
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