F is for Fish

Clover didn't get to wear her "F" dress (no expletives intended) last week because she was sick, but she's such a good sick patient, that it wasn't hard to have her at home.  She never really complains when she's sick.  I had to ask her frequently if her throat was hurting and she would say, yes...it does, like she hadn't really noticed.  Too busy doing everything else a four year old does.

I had a friend who spends the majority of her sewing time quilting.  She called me up one day, saying she had gone through her fabric and had a stack she was getting rid of and wondered if I'd be interested.  Need she ask?  Not really, but she didn't want to be presumptuous.

One of the pieces was this Michael Miller "Carp" fabric.  She said she bought it with the intentions of making herself a big muumuu (yes, I had to look up that spelling) to lounge around in, but never did, and now she didn't care for it.  I told her I would use it for F week!

I would have never bought this fabric in the store, but as I began working with it, I was sad that there wasn't enough leftover for a skirt for me, I fell in love with it so much!  It is so soft and flowy, so it probably would have made the perfect muumuu.  I will keep that in mind when I'm itching to make one.  I made the dress (my own design) a little bit longer than I wanted because I didn't want to cut off too much of the pattern of the waves and splashing water, plus it might last a bit longer for her?  

Another fun thing about this was that my ric-rac got to come out and play...no, party!  I don't use a lot of ric-rac normally, but I knew I needed to play off the design of the waves on the fabric. (I promise this was pressed and wrinkle-free before we started.)

The large ric-rac came from Pick Your Plum, and that shade of blue was perfect.  I've also seen this larger size at Hobby Lobby.  The smaller sizes you can find at any fabric store.

I cut the sleeve longer than normal since adding the ric-rac will shorten the length. 1-Fold the sleeve where you want to add the ric-rac and press. 2-place the ric-rac along the fold. 3-Pin it in place. As you sew through the middle of the ric-rac, hold it in place against the crease with your fingernail. 4-Open the sleeve piece and edge stitch on the right side, choosing if you want the waves facing up or down.  I did all of mine up except for the last one.  I folded the sleeve hem under and just pinned the ric-rac on the inside and stitched in place.

The only thing I wish I would have done differently was make them a bit shorter and more of a bell shape, but I do like how they turned out.  I also didn't make both sleeves the exact same, with differing amounts and sizes of ric-rac.  What made me positively giddy about this whole dress was how the back seam just happened to match up exactly! so no fish had to be faceless or tail-less.  Whew.  Animal cruelty neatly averted.

Was the fishtail braid too cheesy? I couldn't resist.

After Clover was freed from the photo shoot she got to go pick some golden tomato morsels.

Some of you have asked if the other girls feel jealous of all Clover's new threads, and I am surprised (though I should have more faith in them) that nobody has complained, especially since I've been squeezing in a bit of Halloween costume sewing.  I am realizing what a large wardrobe this little girl will have by the end of preschool and debating if I want to put some of them on ebay (I'm saving my pennies for a special purchase) or if I should just hang onto all of them for posterity's sake.

Olive did say last week, as I was measuring her waist, I love it when you sew for me and measure me!  All of my friends are buying their costumes.  I asked her if she wanted to just buy hers, secretly hoping, with fingers crossed behind my back.  No!

I plan to enjoy it while it lasts, this acceptance of handmade things from their momma.  Good girls.