Sunny Wrap Dress - Tigers

Here is my latest project made from the Sunny Wrap Dress Pattern. This one was made non reversible with the tiger print by Fabric Finders and lined with a purple and white check also by Fabric Finders. This one was made as a gift for a little LSU Tiger Fan.

I covered a large button for the back closure placing one of the tigers in the center.

Dee Dee Pattern Customer Creation

I received my very first customer creation using the Dee Dee Pattern. It was made by a military mom stationed overseas for her precious little girl. She is one of the many customers I "met" through sewing and blogging.

Here is what she said,
"By the way, the dress was super easy to put together. With the help of your pleat pattern and a small ruler for my perfectionist side, I was able to do the pleats without any problems. I can't tell you how amazed I was that the dress went together so easy and took less then 1 yard of fabric. The only other dresses that my daughter has with less then 1 yard of fabric are pillowcase dresses and the Dee Dee pleated dress looks much better then those."

Here are some pictures of her precious daughter in the dress she made.

Thanks so much Jen for sharing these pictures. You made my day.

Dee Dee Pattern Now Available on YCMT

The Dee Dee Pleated Dress Pattern is now available on YCMT.

Tutu Addiction

I think I'm obsessed with tutus. Maybe I should join "tutu anonymous". I don't know why but sometimes I make something that I really enjoy and feel the need to make lots more. I did this with the totes around Christmas and am now hooked on making tutus. Besides, it just so happened that Hobby Lobby had the tulle on sale so I had to get some. They are so cute for little girls and so much fun to make. Here is the picture of Ava for her 1st birthday in the pink tutu I showed in a previous post and the beginning of my addiction. I added some small hot pink satin ribbon strips to this one for extra color. The tulle on this one didn't have the shine like th others I purchased but I liked the way it came out.

This one is my favorite. I made this one longer and added the bow. For a small child it can be worn as a dress. You can't tell, but I have strips of tulle attached to the bow to tie around the neck. When they get older, it can be used as a skirt.

This is the LSU Tutu. I couldn't find a darker purple and gold but thought this would work for a little LSU fan. The purple/gold one will be a gift but I think I'll keep the others to add to my "craft" box for little visitors and when I babysit.

Throw Pillows

Throw pillows are easy and fun to make and can add color and style to any room. A few thrown on a sofa, chair or bed can add spots of color. Since they are so easy and don't require alot of fabric, you can replace them for a new look, change of seasons or holidays. These were made for my niece for her bedroom. The theme in her room is black and white with a soft blue for paint color on the walls. It's not done yet but I hope to get pictures to post when complete.

The small square pillow was done using a pillow form. The rectangle pillow was made and stuffed with filling. She wanted trim only along the short edges on the rectangle pillow.

Another Tutu

Here is another tutu I made for Ava's first birthday party. The one I made before just wasn't working (See previous post). Ava's mom found some tulle in a roll and I did an internet search for a tutu tutorial. This was a no sew version that was so fast and easy to make. It turned out so cute and works much better than the first one. Instead of longer, this one was short and sassy and for a little girl, just perfect. Here are some pictures. I'll post pictures of her in it after her party next week.

First Day of School

This year my two girls have another first day of school. This time as teachers. Both my daughters will be teaching at the middle school they attended. My oldest will teach math and science and the younger will be a middle school PE teacher and high school track and basketball coach. It will be fun to see them off to school together, especially since it is very close to where I live. Even though they are grown, I enjoy having them close to home.

Birthday Gift for a 1 year old boy

My daughter ordered a book from shutterfly for Cooper's 1 year birthday. You upload a picture and some basic information and they create a book. The child's picture and name are placed on every page and some basic information. It is very cute and comes in different styles. She got the alphabet book, but there is also a Dora the Explorer & Sesame Street book available.


She wanted something to put the book in so I made this bag. He can later use it to carry his "stuff" around.
This was some fabric I had in my stash that I purchased almost a year ago at a huge home decor fabric store sale. I really liked the fabric and have been waiting for an opportunity to use it in a project.


I don't have an embroidery machine (although it is on my "I Want" list), so I used printable fabric for his name and appliqued it on the front for a personal touch.

Dee Dee Pleated Dress Pattern

My new pattern is ready and available on Etsy, soon to be available on YCMT.


Dee Dee Pleated Dress is an easy pattern that has pleats on the front and back and ties on the sides. The ties can be adjusted to make the perfect fit. The tie is sewn on to hold the pleats in place and is a great place for some decorative stitching or a small embroidery design. Add an extra button to the straps to adjust for growth. Included are instructions and patterns for sizes 1 through 6 along with lots of pictures to illustrate every step.

One of the testers, Bani, is from Germany and suggested I add metric measurements to the pattern for European customers. I added the metric to this pattern and will include the conversion in all of my patterns. Eventually I will revise the previous patterns to include metric measurements also. Thank you Bani for such a great suggestion.


Here is Bani's creation for the testing process. She does beautiful embroidery and applique and added it to the front and back ties as well as along the hem as you can see.

My second tester, Coleen, added an apron to the front of her dress. Even though they used the same pattern, you can see how these changes and the different fabric choices make each dress a unique creation.



Thanks to Bani and Coleen for helping me test this pattern. I appreciate all the great comments and suggestions.

Thanks to my adorable models for the cover and to their mom for taking the pictures. Check out her blog, J Chustz Photography.

Tana Tutu Dress - Customer Creation

Here is an adorable customer creation from the Tana Tutu Dress pattern. I love the dark brown constrasting ribbon against that pretty tourquoise/brown check fabric. Thanks Heather for sending me these pictures.

Here is another view from the inside.

Tutu for a 1 year Birthday Celebration

My friend's daughter, A, is having her first birthday party soon. Isn't she adorable. She is one of my youngest models for my pattern covers. She was on Emily and Betsey/Joey Shorts Pattern covers and will be on the cover of my new Dee Dee Pleated Dress Pattern along with her older sister. Her mom is a photographer, J Chustz Photography, and will be taking the cover pictures for the new pattern.


I made the tutu for her to wear for the 1st birthday celebration. Here are a couple of shots her mom took of her to use for the party invitations.

This was my first attempt at making a tutu and I was unsure how much tulle we would need. She purchased 3 yards of each color. I cut strips and overlapped the colors using almost all 6 yards. She wanted it full and full it was. Once she tried it on, she realized that it may be too full because it was getting in her face and would probably be annoying for her party. The next decision is whether we cut it shorter and leave the fullness or remove a couple of layers. Anyway, we have a couple of weeks to decide but either way, as cute as she is, she will look adorable no matter what, don't you think?

Amazon gift card from Mamma Roar's Giveaway

Mama Roar had a giveaway recently in celebration of her 400th post and her birthday. I was the lucky winner of a $30 Gift cArd from Amazon.com. I used my gift card to purchase these items.

1. A dome Simplified Monthly Bookkeeping Record Book. I used this system many years ago for a business I had and am considering using it to keep up with my pattern making business.

2. The Altar and the Door CD by Casting Crowns. I love this group. I had their Lifesong CD (My favorite songs from this one are Praise You In This Storm and Does Anybody Hear Her). I've been wanting their new CD mainly because of the song East to West but have really enjoyed all of the songs on the cd.

3. The Shack by William P. Young. Leigh Ann at Mamma Roar recommended it and since I love to read decided to give it a try. WOW. What a great book. Although it is a fiction book, it presents God in a very interesting way. I would recommend it to everyone but particularly those who have had something devastating happen to them that caused them to questions God's power. There's a website setup about it with a forum for discussion.

Here is a summary of the book from the back cover:

"Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.

Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.

In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant The Shack wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everone you know to read this book!"

Eco Friendly Grocery Bag - Free Tutorial

Those plastic grocery bags we get at the grocery store and other stores along with garbage bags, ziploc bags etc have many bad effects to the environment. They release toxins into the ground water from landfill sites, they take hundreds of years to break down, they get into the food chain through animals that ingest small plastic particles and kill thousands of marine animals each year. Some countries have banned their use.

One solution to this problem is to make our own reusable bags. Bring them with you when you go shopping to use instead of the plastic. They are easy and cheap to make and can be washed if needed.

I recommend using a heavier fabric such as denim or canvas. Here is a tutorial for making your own reusable grocery bag. I made this one large but you can make different sizes.

For this bag you will need the following:
1 rectangle of fabric - 18" X 36"
2 rectangles of fabric - 4" X 12" for handles.


With right sides together, fold the fabric in half. The fold will be the bottom of the bag.

Stitch the side seams. Either zig zag edges or serge if you have a serger.

Fold the ends of the handles in until they meet in the middle.

Do this for both pieces and press.

Fold the pieces in half again and press.

Stitch a seam along the folded edge about 1/8" from the fold.

Stitch another seam along the folded edge 1/8" from the fold.

Zig zag all four ends.

Fold bottom corners to form a triangle as shown.

Stitch a seam about 2 1/2" from the point across the triangle.

Trim excess fabric

Zig zag or serge the edges.

Turn inside out. Sewing the triangles formed the bottom of the bag.

Fold over 3/4" and then again 3/4" along the top edge of the bag and pin.

Place one end of the handles about 4 1/2" from the side seam.

Place the other end of the handle about 4 1/2" from the other side seam as shown.

Stitch a seam along the edge about 1/8" form the fold. Stitch over the handles a couple of times to secure.

Stitch another seam along the top edge of the bag about 1/8" from the edge. Stitch over the straps.

Here is what it will look like.

Your done! These are so fast and easy, you can make several in different sizes.

Fill them with your groceries instead of using the plastic bags.

By using these reusable bags instead of plastic, you can make a huge difference to the pollution problem. Statistics say that each person uses about 83 bags a year. For a family of four, that is 332 bags less every year that will be used.

If you would like this in pdf format, send me an email address and I will forward it to you. You can leave it in the comments section or email me: nanoo1125@hotmail.com