Sewing: Mod Shift Dresses for Three

When I made this Mod Shift Dress for Vintage May a couple months ago I was actually hoping to make three of them. I had them all cut out and mostly sewn and ran out of time. Typical. But I did manage to get them all finished in time to take to the beach. So now there are three!

I really love this simple a-line shift. So classic. Reminds me of vintage Lily Pulitzer and Florence Eiseman among others. And I'm enjoying the bright, bold print. Not my typical and it's fun to be a bit more bold.

I also think it's fun to dress these three identically sometimes. I more often like to make things that are coordinated but I couldn't resist. (Maybe it's something about the beach because I did make these matching Apron Wrap Dresses for the beach last year!) Plus, it works for Tess, who wants to do everything just like her older sisters. "Too!" "Too!" she is always saying...

So, we had a great time at the beach, despite the mommy-mandated photos. Now it's back to swimming lessons, summer parties, and other projects.

I hope you are enjoying the summer!

If you are interested in making a similar dress I have a tutorial here which I used with this Ruffled Chemise for Girls pattern.

FYI: Happy Fourth of July (and Skirting the Issue)

Happy Fourth of July, to you who are celebrating Independence Day today!

I hope your day is filled with friends and family, parades and barbecues, and good will to everyone. It's a great day to appreciate what we have and think about how to act more graciously. "Today, as never before in the free world, responsibility is the greatest right of citizenship and service is the greatest of freedom's privileges." Robert F. Kennedy

Speaking of good acts, I was invited by the fabulous women of Simple Simon and Co. to participate in their Skirting the Issue series. Are you sewing along? It's such a great cause! Today I'm sharing a tutorial for this Kangaroo Pocket Skirt for Girls. Check it out at Project Run and Play.

My "FYI" posts share news or a perspective about something that's been on my mind. You can read them all here.

Crafting: White Button Frame (Tutorial)

The girls and I were at the fabric store and saw all these white buttons, and I thought it would be fun to make something with them--the buttons and the girls. So in a few minutes we made a white button picture frame.

This quick project required a simple picture frame (flat face), which spray paint, a hot glue gun and a bunch of buttons. We used white but this would be fun in multi-colors or monochromatic. Maybe we'll have to make some more.

First I took the glass out and spray painted the frame. When it was dry I spread out some paper on a table and plugged in the glue gun.

And then I let the girls help me place the buttons. They picked them and I dabbed the blue and then they placed them.

I might have massaged the spacing a bit....

And there it is. Our button frame. This would be really cute for Father's Day or Mother's Day, or any day really.

Sewing: Mod Shift Dress (Tutorial)

As many of you do, I love love love vintage patterns! I don't know what it is exactly, but I often find myself late at night trolling for patterns on Etsy and eBay in a nostalgic haze--a combination of good memories of sewing and visiting pattern shops with my mother, and the more idyllic times the patterns suggest--times when little girls dressed like little girls and their mothers dressed like ladies. The question for me when Jessica invited me to participate in Vintage May at Craftiness is Not Optional a few weeks ago was what sort of vintage clothing to sew...

Vintage Zoo Dress

I have sewn a lot of dresses for my girls from vintage patterns of the 40s and 50s. Lots of smock stylse and full dresses with Peter Pan collars. And it seems much of my sewing from contemporary patterns or those I've designed have a heavy vintage influence. I just love classic styles.

Dog Skirt with Piped Pocket

So for something just a little bit different I decided to go for more mod than classic and chose the 60s as my inspiration: the simple a-line dress with or without sleeves, plain or with applique, or rufflle or inverted pleat. And of course a few inches above the knee! This basic silhouette has a lot of possibilities.

Then I saw a little dress in Mini Boden and decided to do a tipped and rick-racked version of the mod shift dress in a bold print. Reminds me of the bright pop art of that era too. And, even better, I had the right fabric in my stash: Michael Miller Punchy Pique. So here it is, my Mod Shift Dress:

The perfect dress for warm summer weather in cool treat colors!

I like it so much I may have to make two more for a set of three! It just says "play" to me, especially with a pair of shorts underneath. And it would make my girls easy to spot on crowded summer field trips.

Want to go mod? I've got a tutorial to show you how to add tipped neck and armholes and rick-rack trim to an a-line dress pattern.

Crochet: Ruffled Summer Scarf (Pattern)

A summer scarf? I think if it's cotton then "yes." Especially if it's ruffled cotton. This Ruffled Summer Scarf uses a mercenized cotton in a finer weight and the bright white just screams summer. To me anyway.

This is a different take on the Spring Frills Scarf of last year, with more generous ruffling and a bit more "air" in the stitches. I like it. It's feminine but also a bit ropey which makes me think "nautical" too. I love the texture and I think this would be gorgeous with white on white on white...

It is about two yards long and can be worn many different ways: wrapped a few times loosely with the ends pulled through,

...or wrapped and left long...

...or even piled cowl-like. I'm sure you could come up with others!

This is a great, easy project for using double-crochet. (See my how-to on double-crochet if you are learning crochet.) If you're interested in the pattern it's in my Etsy shop. (And, you may remember from this post, that I am running a coupon for 20% off everything in my shop to celebrate June. You're got just a  f e w  m o r e  d a y s....)