Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Rey and BB-8 Family Halloween Costumes

As we started talking about what the kids want to be for Halloween this year, I decided it was time I shared the fairly elaborate family Star Wars costume theme we pulled off last year.

Louisa (8) was Princess Leia, Leo (6) was Luke Skywalker, and Lottie (2) was BB-8. I was Rey, and AJ was Kylo Ren.

First Communion Dress

Louisa celebrated her First Communion on Saturday, and somehow or another I managed to make her dress.

I used the Oliver + S Fairy Tale Dress, view B, size 7 bodice, size 8 skirt. I added some pintucks to the bodice and lace to the arm binding.

Brooklyn Bridge Fairy Tale Dress

As most of you know by now,  I love New York. We lived in Brooklyn for a few years and I have a lot of attachment to the bridge, as a symbol of Brooklyn, a beautiful national landmark, and because of my fond memories of crossing it in my old Volvo 240 while in labor with Louisa to get to the hospital in Manhattan.

So, I had picked out this Leah Duncan fabric for something special long ago, and I finally completed this dress for Louisa in October. She actually wore it for school picture day, although it hadn't yet been hemmed, because I just had to go to bed at some point (circle skirts—phew!).

I used the Oliver + S Fairy Tale Dress, again with a slightly lengthened bodice. This time I included the sleeves and collar, which I kind of regretted leaving off her Easter dress.

I modified the skirt to make it a circle skirt, using measurements of the bottom edge of the completed bodice to determine the circumference. Even though I tried to compensate for the stretch of the bias, it still ended up a little too big, so I pleated it with small box pleats at each of the bodice darts so that everything lined up.

Hermione Granger Costume

Louisa loves Harry Potter and so do we. She is reading the Sorcerer's Stone for the 4th time right now. Hermione is so smart and brave and I was very happy that she chose her for Halloween this year.

I made the robe, the blouse and the skirt.

Upcycled Hummingbird Dress

My mom recently offered me a dress from another era of her wardrobe to be used "for fabric." Wanting something simple I could make for Louisa while keeping the skirt intact, I immediately thought of the Hummingbird Dress by Rabbit Rabbit Creations (which I had seen Erin make before).

Here is the before, as seen on my dining room floor:

Not adequately pictured: legit shoulder pads. And how 'bout those poofy sleeves?

And here is the after:

Since the bodice uses barely any fabric, (I used Kona Cotton in candy pink, leftover from other projects), it only cost me the price of the PDF. Which is nice, because often my sewing projects tend away from "budget friendly"... whoops. Yay for fabric shopping!

I suggest using the RTW sizes for this pattern, because going by measurements, I started out making a much-too-small bodice for Louisa, who is an average sized 7 year old. In the end, I cut a 6 and it is actually still a little snug I think.

Also, I overcompensated on the strap length, thinking I was adjusting for Louisa's above-average height, and unfortunately the bodice ended up a little too low-cut as a result.

I used this popular technique for encasing the waist seam and finishing the elastic. A+ tutorial.

I kept the original dress skirt whole--hand-picked it from its bodice, preserving side-seam pockets and hem--and re-gathered it. Since the original dress buttoned up the front, and I flipped it around for Louisa's, the pockets are now angled the wrong way, which makes them even harder to find in all that fullness. I don't think she minds though. Pockets are very, very important to her, as is twirl.

It was so nice not to have to hem it when I was done. She wanted it to be longer, but oh well. Maybe I'll make her a proper maxi-length version next summer.

I made this back in July, and had wanted to photograph it at the beach, but this is how far we got off the beach house steps...

Happily, however, she is still rocking it in October with this sweet cardigan my mom knit for her.

Thanks for reading!

Sen Ritsu Bedford Dresses

FYI, indie pattern designers, your blog tours totally work.

I liked Brooklyn Pattern Co. immediately from her launch. (Yes,  I am biased—I love Brooklyn, our old home, and I ♥ NY. Plus, it is where Louisa was born!)

I fell in love with the Bedford Dress when I saw this version (by Andreia of In a Manner of Sewing) during the Henry & Bedford blog tour this July. I bought the Bedford right away and ordered a bunch of nani IRO (always on my wish list) to make a total copycat version.

Fairy Tale Dress and Matching Bow Tie

As I mentioned before, the "big kids" were also dressed in Palos Verdes voile for Easter. I made Louisa an Oliver + S Fairy Tale Dress.

This was my first time at the pattern, and I really didn't find it too difficult, but I left off the collar and sleeves. I was trying to make it looks a little more modern/grown-up, but afterwards I really wished that I'd kept both. I thought about adding at least the collar towards the end, but decided it was too much trouble. Next time!

Semi-Homemade Halloween: Word Girl Costume

Word up, it's Word Girl!

Louisa decided many months ago that she wanted to be Word Girl for Halloween, and I was actually impressed that it stuck! Never changed her mind at all.

Word Girl is a PBS show that they watch on Netflix... sort of a vocabulary-powered super hero.

Oliver + S Library Dress in Wildwood

I wanted to make something with this fabric line as soon as I saw it—Wildwood by Elizabeth Olwen for Cloud9 Fabrics (which happens to be 100% organic).

I thought the oliver + s Library Dress would show off a few of the prints well. And it does!

Edelweiss Dress for a Six-Year-Old and her 18" Doll

I just realized this is the third year in a row that I have sewed Louisa a summer dress in sarah jane prints! This year it is Wee Wander, Summer Night Lights in Magenta. The bodice is Meandering in Petal.

The pattern is the Edelweiss Dress by hey june of Crafterhours.

I sewed the buttons on the long tab (rather than the left side as written) so that I could move them when she is bigger, but for now the extra width is hidden when the buttons are hooked. The skirt is plenty long so there is room to grow!

Rebecca's Sunday Brunch Jacket

Louisa got an American Girl doll from Santa this year, and it has been fun. After much debate, she requested Rebecca, the Russian Jewish New Yorker growing up in 1914. We've been soaring through the books, especially Kit's series. And best of all, Rebecca's arrival finally got me to unpack my sewing things in our new house.

Mermaid Geranium Dress for A Five-Year-Old

My little girl is 5!

This time, for her annual birthday dress, I made a Geranium, in a mermaid print reminiscent of, although much pinker than, her third birthday dress.

This is view B with the side seam pockets, in size 5T.

Family Reunion Dress for UVA Graduation

This past weekend my husband graduated from medical school. Woohoo! In honor of the occasion, I made Louisa a blue and orange UVA dress. Wahoowa!

This is the oliver + s Family Reunion Dress in size 5 with no alterations.

The fabric is from Jo-Ann, from their "premium quilt fabric" collection, which appears to be significantly higher quality than their regular lines. This is DS Quilts Collection Meadow Lark Circle Tile by Denyse Schmidt. The solids are Kona Cotton in Navy and Tangerine.

Ice Cream Dress

I recently realized that my oliver + s Ice Cream Dress pattern, bought long ago, was still untouched. Since my copy is the 6 month to 4 year size-range—and my little girl will soon be FIVE!—I felt some urgency to sew this one up.

I bought the main fabric, which is from an older line of the Little Lisette Collection from Jo-Ann (also by Liesl of oliver + s), especially for this pattern, so it too had been sitting around a while.

Velveteen Sunday Brunch Jacket

I've been saving this Anna Maria Horner Innocent Crush Velveteen (in "Memory") for a long, long time with another oliver + s Sunday Brunch Jacket for Louisa in mind.

When she was two, I made her a size 2. This time, I made a size 6. She is only four and a half, but I wanted it to fit next year, and now I know this jacket runs small. (It is meant to be fitted.)

Waldorf Style Mermaid Doll

Louisa's number one request for Christmas was "a mermaid doll." I have been wanting to tackle a handmade doll for a while—first inspired by this fabulous one, and then reinvigorated by the Little Amigo pattern in Growing Up Sew Liberated, as well as by recently reading Heaven On Earth (a great book about early childhood by a local preschool teacher and the founder of the Charlottesville Waldorf School).

I didn't keep the doll a secret because I can't usually finish crafts very quickly if I don't work on them a little bit during the day while Louisa is around. Plus it was more fun to involve her in picking the fabrics and yarn.

Holiday Sunki Dress

For Louisa's Christmas dress, I made my first (finally!) Figgy's Pattern... a Sunki dress. I managed to finish it in time for her last day of school before winter break, which is also the day of her school's annual performance of St. George and the Dragon, which celebrates the winter solstice and the holiday season.

I made size 4/5 with Let it Snow in Eggnog Green from the Dear Mr Claus collection designed by Cosmo Cricket for Moda Fabric, which I got from Sew Mama Sew. The green side panels are Kona Cotton in Holly.