I have been FLOORED by the number of you all who want a tutorial for a shirred bishop. FLOORED. I am so excited to let you know that the tutorial is complete and it is now available for download. You can purchase it over on this post. Not convinced that you love this dress? Let me list a few of its attributes: Placket and button free (hello independent kiddos, they can put this one on by themselves!) Most sizes (up to size 5) can be made with only 1 yard of fabric. Use almost any weight of fabric-batiste, broadcloth, poly/cotton blends, knits, pique, etc. If that doesn’t convince you, check…
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Banded Pants Tutorial
How to redraft pant’s patterns to add a banded bottom Every fall, these adorable banded pants fill my inbox and Instagram feed. They’re often paired with appliquéd knit shirts, Peter Pan collared shirts, turtle necks, or sweatshirts. Made for both boys and girls they seem like the perfect cold-weather staple. I love the look of them, comfortable, versatile and classic. This year I decided to make them myself. I used Spechler Vogel corduroy from Farmhouse Fabrics. I found that I was able to make two pair of pants for the price of one of these pair. After watching the Children’s Corner Sew Along on banded Parker Shorts it occurred to…
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French Seamed Sleeves
This post demonstrates the technique used to set in boy's sleeves using a French seam.
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Children’s Corner Bishop-Sleeveless
In this blog post I explain how to use a Bishop Pattern to create a sleeveless bishop. This dress ties at the shoulders and would be considered expert to intermediate level sewing. Knowledge of smocking and pleating it required to understand this post.
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Children’s Corner Taylor and Katina Bubble Mash-Up
Recently, one of my favorite facebook groups issued a “mash-up challenge.” The challenge was to take two Children’s Corner Patterns and mash them together to create a new one. I love a good mash-up and was quite excited to do this one. I absolutely love the Children’s Corner Katina and the Children’s Corner Taylor so these two patterns seemed like a great pair for a mash-up. To create clean lines and corners (for some reason they’re more “boy-ish” to me) I redrafted the Katina bodice to look more like the one seen below. The pattern pieces I used are in the image below. The front and back of the Taylor,…
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Creations by Michie 123 Hack: My Favorite Sunsuit
The Sunsuit…. it is one of my favorite garments on a baby. As y’all are well aware from previous posts, bubbles (more specifically sunsuits) are a personal weakness. Prior to learning to sew them, I swooned over The Beaufort Bonnet’s many sunsuit options. Some of my favorites for boy (or girl) can be see below. These can be found and purchased on their website here or at any boutiques that carry Beaufort Bonnet. Side note: Beaufort Bonnet is opening their first flagship store in Lexington, KY soon and you can bet this mama will be there. Not crazy about the colors they have to offer? Or the price? Here’s how…
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Add a Pleat to a Yoke Dress or Bubble
When I sat down to make my plan for Spring sewing, I had a hard time ignoring this adorable little dress from The Proper Peony. Its’ new twist on classic lines are so visually appealing. The yoke dress is a favorite of mine, throw in a pleat and I’m basically drooling at the possibilities. I had to figure out how to make this happen. I consulted with several, far more experienced sewists and walked away with a couple of different options. I will be describing the option that I felt allowed for the least bulk at seams while adding the fewest steps. ***One disclaimer***When I was taking the example pictures,…
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Children’s Corner Katina Modification:Spring Flowers
Heirloom Children’s Corner Katina
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Deer Costumes
If you’ve been following along for some time you probably know my husband is hunter. A serious hunter. We have a giant elk hanging in my “sewing room” (basement) as proof. Because of this, my daughter is quite convinced that deer are the greatest animals on earth. She’s also convinced that she’ll be “getting a big buck” every time her dad goes hunting. This little lady is going on year two of being a deer for Halloween. Last year I made her a Children’s Corner Lee in brown velvet, picked up deer antlers and a tail from Target’s Dollar bins, est voila, we had a deer. I was able to…
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Collar Tips and Tricks
My mom started sewing before I was born. She continued to sew throughout much of my childhood. Watching her sew was most likely the impetus for my interest and desire to learn about sewing when I had my own child. She ended up having four girls (enough work in-and -of-itself, let alone while sewing!) and put up her sewing machine for about a decade. When I began sewing for my own little girl, my mom helped me whip up a bonnet, Bishop, Jamie, and learn the basics. Her re-entry into sewing has been incredibly eye-opening for me, as we’ve both improved our skills through dramatically different ways of learning and…
