Tiny Sakura Paper Fan Dress for Little Momo (and Me!)

I was hoping I would get a lots of sewing done this spring, but it is just not happening.  I have several patterns I want to try, but I do not have enough time to try them all.  So I picked one pattern that I REALLY wanted to try.  This dress pattern is Ana Maria Horner's Paper Fan Dress.

The dress has large pleats in the front, and small pleats in the back (though it is hard to see them in the photos...dark color and small flower print do not help either).  The cross-over back has buttons, making the look of the back very interesting.

I used the Japanese fabric I bought online.  It has tiny Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) all over it, accented with gold outlines.  

Size 3T is a little too large for Momo.  Momo weighs less than 30lbs, but I made it in 3T so she can grow into it.  I do like the length of the dress.  I attached the buttons where the pattern indicated, but I should have moved them further apart for Momo.  I will probably attach a small snap button so the dress will not flip open.  

The pattern and instruction was clear and easy to understand.  There was a step telling me to sew dot to dot...but I could not find the dots on the pattern.  Watching the highlights video helped me to work on that step..

A duck jumped out of the water, came to say Hi...(not really...Momo had a small bag of gummy candies in her hand, and the duck thought it was his treat...we actually had to run away from him.  Aggressive duck!!!)

I wanted to make a matching dress or skirt, for "Mommy and Me" look.  But when I wrapped the fabric on myself, I realized the tiny flower print with gold accents was not for me.  It just was not flattering.  So I made a top instead.  I used SImplicity 2594 pattern, view C minus the tie belt.  I skipped the belt because I knew this top was not going to be very long.  I was thinking to re-size it to fit my body better, then realized I could not because I was not using a stretchable fabric. Because of that I also made the armholes larger, otherwise I could not have worn it... So the fit is not really good...but I am willing to try the patter again, using stretchable fabric next time ;)

As usual, Momo wanted to dance...she does not care if we are in public ;)  Momo's favorite movie right now is Beauty and the Beast, and she likes to pretend to be Belle while making ME the Beast...  Well for my little princess, I will be the Beast.

                                                                                     

Denim Pillowcase Dress for Little Momo

Every year around this time, we enjoy driving country roads looking for bluebonnet flowers.  Then we find some areas with good flower patch, get off the car, and take pictures.  That is just what Texans do...especially when you have little ones.
I love dressing up my daughter and taking her pictures.  For this year's bluebonnet photos, I wanted to add even more Texas feel to them...by dressing up Momo in a cowgirl hat and the boots.   Cowgirl hat, boots, and bluebonnet...how much more "Texas" can you get???

I needed a simple dress, something that will not stand out, because I did not want the dress to "speak loud" in the pictures.  So I made a simple pillowcase dress using denim.  Pillowcase dress is very simple, and there is sort of old-time sweetness to it.  And since I have been so busy lately, a pillowcase dress was all I could make at this time :)

I did not want typical bandanna prints associated with cowboy/girl images.  Instead I used gingham check ribbon to decorate the dress.  This ribbon is elastic and I got it from HobbyLobby long time ago, thinking to make a headband for Momo.  Well I never made a headband because Momo did not like to wear a headband.  Finally I got to use the ribbon here...I simply sewed them in 3 rows.

Momo was not happy when we decided to get off the car to take pictures.  So I did what I had to do...I gave her a bubble bottle.  Then she was a happy girl  :)

We got the hat when we visited Fort Bend when Momo was just 1-year-old.  At that time she HATED the hat.  Now she is 3 and since she has watched Toy Story movies, I tell Momo this is "Jessie Hat" and she is happy to wear it :)

Traces of the bubble water on Momo's dress...I think she had enough bubble fun at this point ;)

I think Momo ended up having fun, after blowing bubbles, running,  and sitting up on a tree.

I think Momo got annoyed with me, because I kept telling her not to step on the flowers.  I realized I have become one of those parents that keep saying "Don't do this, Don't do that" to their children.  I have heard using too much negative sentences affects children negatively, so I wanted to be careful with that.  Well in reality, it is so hard not to use the negative sentences!  Especially when your little one makes you repeat the same thing over and over...

                                                                               

Crochet-Trim Refashioned T-shirt Dress for Little Momo

Here is the latest re-fashioned T-shirt dress for my daughter, Momo.  This T-shirt was again from Target's clearance section ;)  I got the T-shirt last year, I think I paid about $3 for it.  The crochet neckline and the color of the T-shirt caught my eyes, but I did not think the T-shirt would look good on me.  However, it had a great potential to be a cute little girl's dress.

Here is the original T-shirt.

I was right  -the re-fashioned dress looks cute on Momo!

As usual, I cut up the T-shirt into 4 pieces, front piece, back piece, and the sleeves.  I re-sized them in Momo's size and sewed them back together as an A-line dress.  

The dress already had the pretty crochet neckline, so I did not have to add much to make it pretty.  I only added a small lace to the hem.

Lately Momo likes to strike a pose like this...

This was a beautiful day to be at the park.  Momo enjoyed playing bubbles, and we enjoyed listening to the birds singing.  To thank the birds for their beautiful singing, Momo made bubbles just for the birds, and told us not to catch those bubbles...

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