I can't stopppp!!

There are just too many ideas for pretty girly clothes churning around in my head! She currently has about a dozen handmade dresses/skirts/tops to wear in her size, but somehow I keep itching to make more. The last couple of items turned out a little large, so she already has stuff for the next couple of sizes too!

 

I made this dress during KCWC (post here). She fits it now, but I had to modify it a bit. I sewed some elastic into the seam allowance of the top tier to bring it in a bit. It was rather wide on her - now it's perfect! Should fit her for the rest of the summer/fall.



This little sweater is from the KnitPicks pattern Baby Ruched Cardigan and the yarn is Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool. I find it a touch boxy - I wish now that I'd added an extra two rows to each ruched section to make it a bit longer. If I ever do this one again, I think I'll also go down another needle size for the garter sections between each ruched part.

I made the skirt to match from fabrics in my stash (you may recognize the fabric!), but it's too big for now. I didn't follow a pattern, just cut and sewed till it looked right. I like the sort of paper-bag style waistband, but not so sure it works on a very little girl...



I don't know why, exactly - this next little dress reminds me of picking berries in the summer! I love it. It was kind of an experiment. I started with the Sweet Little Dress pattern in 12 months. I took the sleeve pattern and drafted a pattern piece following the top curve but about 2.5" top to bottom. Then I cut those and the dress front/back and sewed them together as per the first steps of the pattern. Then I sewed a 1" casing of the red floral all the way around the top of the dress, centering it over the sleeve pieces evenly around. I put the elastic through the casing, folded the armhole edges under, and then sewed up the side seams of the dress and hemmed it. Her neck is pretty short, so the ruffle looks a touch long there, but other than that I love the effect!

One thing I might change if I do it again is to make the elastic longer. I used the SLD length, but that's for closer to the neck.



 

ETA - I forgot to add this one! It was a bit fiddly to figure out the exact tension to get the "flowers" to form in the jacquard yarn, but it was worth it.  It's Bernat Baby Jacquards and knitted from their pattern. Here are my notes:

Tried as pattern, but wasn't happy with the messiness of sewing down the waistband, so I frogged it all. Started again, top-down, with an invisible cast-on over an extra cable needle. Knit an inch of ribbing flat, then joined in the round and worked one round purl for folding. Knit another inch of ribbing in the round, then folded the waistband and worked the provisional cast-on together with the live stitches. Knit skirt to 8" before starting pleats. Inserted elastic through opening inside waistband and stitched it closed.

Skirt length from top of waistband: 10.5". Hips unstretched: 24". Waist with elastic: 17"