Another Nightgown

The first version is a firm favourite so another had to be made. If you missed the other one it is here. I stuck with woven fabric again but this time went for a soft flannel with a pretty small scale rose print. The nights and early mornings are still quite chilly here at the moment so all things brushed and snuggly are staying out for now!

I wasn't impressed with the quality of the trim I used last time and went looking for another supplier. I found this crochet cotton trim on ebay and am over the moon with the feel and the quality of it. It sewed on so smoothly. I will be ordering some more that's for sure!

I really wanted to do the lace trim around the bottom this time, but was heartbroken to discover I was short by about 12" and so had to hem it again. I only turned up a single hem of 1/4" and decided to do a fancy machine embroidery stitch to liven things up a bit.

It just about catches the hem in regular enough intervals to hold it up and doing it this way didn't take off too much length. Which is what I was trying to avoid.

So now I have two blog posts in a row about the same pattern. Have I been doing anything else in between you ask?!

Well yes of course I have! I recently made a birthday present for a friends little girl who turned 4 last week. I chose the big and little versions of the Oliver + S Tea Party Dress. The dolls version is from the Little Things to Sew book.

 I only bought a fat quarter of the heart print fabric and it was just enough to do the dolls dress and the bodice of the big girls size 4 dress. I lined the larger dress with some white dobby print cotton. There wasn't enough to do the contrast hem on  either dresses but since I lined the big dress anyway, there was no need for the hem piece. 

I think you have to make matching versions of this pattern at least once in your life. It was a lot of fun and the birthday girl looked happy!

A Girly Nightgown

I am going all out and saying that this is one of the nicest things I have ever sewn. It was a joy to make and looks so pretty. 

Sometimes when you embark on a sewing project, little memories of the time spent making it stick with you. I once made a pair of Finch shorts on a horrible rainy afternoon, while I was making them my daughter watched a Barbie movie in the background and we all had hot chocolate. I think of those things every time I see the shorts.

I will always remember that my husband stole a look at my ebay watch list and sneakily put a bid on this fabric while I wasn't looking. He bought it for me when he got the winning bid. He is a sweetheart sometimes.

The pattern is Kwik Sew 3105. There is a long sleeved version (which my daughter poo-pooed immediately) and this sleeveless style. This is the one which sold it to me.

I have never sewn with a Kwik Sew pattern before and I love love love how the pattern sheet is not made of flimsy tissue paper but sturdier pattern paper. The instructions were very clear and the illustrations made perfect sense.

The yoke has a beautiful curve to it which I like a lot.

The lace I used wasn't the best quality and it didn't sew in as smoothly as I would have liked. I have found some more crochet cotton lace which I will use on my next version, hopefully that will make the trim look a bit neater.

I missed off the lace trim from the bottom ruffle and folded a small hem instead.

My daughter was inbetween the Small and Medium sizes but I made the smaller of the two anyway as I wanted it to fit her now. It fits her really well and is roomy enough to last for a while so it was a lucky decision.

She loves the idea of wearing such a girly nightie and kept asking if she could REALLY wear it to bed. Really mummy? That's great!!

I don't think it will be hard getting her to bed tonight!