Thursday, July 8, 2010

A modern twist on an old classic

I have been sewing again. It has only been about 2 weeks since I last put away my sewing machine, vowing to never pull it out again as long as I live. But then I see a fabric I love, and my desire to create something kicks into high gear. And so I drag my beat-up Singer machine out of her short lived retirement once again.

This time I was actually just putting a new and modern twist on an old classic. First I will show you the part that I did not have to sew: these flowers for my girl's hair, assembled with a hot glue gun. Remember back here when I told you all about my love for EmersonMade and all her lovely (and very expensive) flowers? If you have never visited her blog, I would highly suggest spending some time over in her world. It's a fun place to visit, and you will very soon wish you knew Emerson in real life. You will also want to then quickly click on over to Nori's blog Love2Create, where you can find instructions on making your own flowers...which is what I did.

OK. Now that I have you up to speed, I will show you how I added a summer twist to these little flowers that I made for the girl's hair. All you need is a small sea shell and some hot glue. Oh my, how simple and how cute is that!
Now on to the sewing part. One of the first items of clothing that I ever made my girls was a pillowcase dress. As far as clothing goes, it really doesn't get much simpler than transforming a pillowcase, into a dress. You can read instructions here if you have never made one before and you are curious, but I promise you that I did not use those instructions. They are way too complicated for my simple brain. But this time instead of actually using a real pillowcase and a simple ribbon to make my pillowcase dress; I picked a funky, modern print fabric. It was actually a fabric that I originally bought to make something for myself, but then I chickened out and made these "pillowcase dresses" for the girls instead. In place of the ribbon for the shoulder straps, I made a sash out of the same fabric as the dress. For such a simple dress "pattern", it really makes an elegant statement. Don't you think?



Here is another example of a modern twist on the basic pillowcase pattern. This one comes from Lilly Pulitzer and has a $50 price tag. My dresses cost me $12 a piece. The fabric is Amy Butler's Graceful Vine, and each dress required one yard of fabric. Have you ever fancied up a pillowcase dress before? I would love it if you would share by leaving a link for me in the comments below.


Linking up today with...



Amy

25 comments:

Kirsty said...

Is it strange that I want a pillowcase dress and matching flower hair thingy?

Playing Sublimely said...

I know...I want one too!!!

Jemsmom said...

I love pillow case dresses! My mother in law makes them for my daughter. She wears them all the time. She is going to do the one shoulder ribbon next time but I love the one in the last picture with the tie in back! She makes them all different ways. She adds another fabric at the bottom to coordinate so she actually doesn't have to make a hem. She just did one with a ruffle at the bottom. Our last one was made out of Florida Gators material (boooo! but the hubby and Jemma love their team!). She did orange rick rack along the bottom. I love that Jemma wears them all year long as a dress, with turtleneck and leggings, or with a t-shirt! I love the fact that I can have a cute holiday/seasonal dress for cheap! I heart pillowcase dresses!

Anonymous said...

hey amy! wonderful! fun! perfect! that pretty much sums it up! you did a fantastic job! i so want to sew! i even bought a machine oh, over a year ago! i want to make my girl some cute clothes! i need to get on it before she is too old! maybe i could try this? i actually have a playdate tomorrow with my sister to make some flowers! i hope they turn out as cute as yours! wish you were close by to help this girl out! ha!

The Fab Five said...

oh my goodness!! you have wonderful taste!! when will these be for sale? You have beautiful children :)

House Of Aqua said...

Very classic and beautiful!

Rebekah Lindenmayer said...

Sew cute, the flowers and your kiddos!

The Starr Family said...

Froglegs and Ponytails has adorable patterns for pillowcase dresses and more!! She's my fave for boutique patterns (this is NOT a paid ad :)

Your dresses are simply scrumptious... love them!

M.O.T.B said...

Are you taking orders?:) Those little girls are beautiful!!!!!!

randee said...

thank you for visiting my blog & leaving a comment.

i love your blog. what a treat & a blessing to read post after post!

Andrea @ The Dawley Fam said...

How stinkin cute is that!!! I love the starfish you added to the flower! Have a great day! ~Andrea

Elizabeth said...

Super cuteness!!

gretchen said...

Amy,
I linked you on my blog today. I left you a comment in reader but for some reason it didn't show up. Anyway, I love the dresses and the flowers. I am going to attempt them today. Ha! Can you come over?
gretchen

Cat said...

Ummm. LOVE the dresses! you should def sew MORE often. Not less. :)

Crafty Texas Girl said...

Love the pillowcase dresses! You and I are on the same page. I just made these for my girls a few weeks ago. They wore them in our family pictures. Take a peek- http://jeffandsam-theconnerfam.blogspot.com/2010/06/family-pictures.html

meg + andy said...

Hi! So sweet of you to visit and nice to meet you too! :) I'm so happy to have found your blog- very inspiring and encouraging. blessings to you and your beautiful family!
meagan

carolyn said...

Amy- these are darling (the dresses, flowers and the girls!!!

Happy Weekend-

Emily @ Finding My Aloha said...

Those dresses are so darling! What beautiful little girls! So sweet! I am really enjoying you and your blog. Thanks for visiting mine and leaving a little note! :)

Rie said...

Aww, I like you too! :)

And by the way, I'm also married to an engineer who wants to be a carpenter.

Love the dresses and flowers!

Val said...

I'm in love with the dresses and fabulous hair flowers. Gorgeous little ladies.

Anonymous said...

oh so pretty!!!! i'm just starting to sew again and i'm fancying these! ;)

Nicole said...

I LOVE that fabric - beautiful!!! I feel so inspired...now if only I knew how to sew, hmmm! It's on my "list" though! :)

melifaif said...

Love the look! The bows with the starfish...take the cake!!!

Melissa said...

they're simply GORGEOUS!!! oh, i'm so jealous of your filthy habit... i wish you would rub off on me!!!! my machine is sitting all alone, getting older by the day, and feeling pretty snubbed lately. ;)

Jess said...

Those are so pretty! Your blog is too! Thanks for linking to FTF and for the nice comment on my blog!

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