Just in time

I am excited to be posting today!  I have been busy tending to my niece for the past few weeks, and sewing has taken a back-burner to other things.  Well, no more!  I was able to get my niece's outfit finished for her, and I also helped her with a small sewing project of her own...

First, let me show you her sewing machine.  It is a Brother LS 2000, and it is a great machine for beginner sewers!  It has a basic straight stitch and zigzag, does buttonholes, has free-arm sewing, and sews beautifully! Also, it has a cute design, very appropriate for my niece's age of 8.

We worked little by little, and she was able to finish her sewing cover.

If you will recall from my last post, my niece had her heart set on Mccall's 6019, and we even went and picked out a beautiful cotton knit fabric for me to sew it together.  

Here is the finished project, which took me about a week of small sewing spurts, and was no easy feat.  

I ended up sewing a size 8, which was a little too big, but the dress came out nice.  I hand-sewed the flower trim onto the bodice as well as the headband (upper right corner).  My niece picked out the arrangement of the flowers herself.  I wanted her to feel a part of the whole process!  My only issue was that the side seams are a little off (don't know how that happened, I must have been tired).  

Here is the inside of the dress.  This was my first time working with knits, and along with the help of my walking foot, I must say I enjoy working with knits.  For the underside, I also used my serger some, but did not use it as much as I wanted because I was a little fearful of messing up all of my hard work.  The light blue fabric is a cotton flannel lining.  It was my first time working with linings and facings as well, and I was shocked to get it right = ).

The back has elastic around the top back, and the casing was easier to sew than I thought.  This was my first Mccall's pattern, and I really, really liked it!  I will definitely be trying out more patterns from them!

These are the leggings that go under the dress.  They have a little lace trim on the bottom, and are so cute.  These actually took me no time at all, and they were a nice way to finish off the outfit after taking so much time with the top.

You can't go wrong with a headband, can you?  It just adds a little more cuteness to the outfit!  Again, my niece chose the arrangement of the flower trim.  She created her own designer outfit!

Finally, here is my niece wearing the outfit.  I am thankful that it all came together!  Overall, it was an easy pattern, though I was more challenged by sewing the top than the leggings and headband.  Here are the construction techniques used/learned with this project:

1. how to apply facings (bodice)

2. how to work with linings (dress)

3. gathering (dress)

4. applying trim (leggings)

5. hand sewing, which was not necessary, I just opted to. (dress, headband)

6. elastic casing

7. slipstitching (thank you youtube.com!)

I definitely enjoyed working with the linings and facings.  They add a touch of beauty of the garment.  I won't be as tentative now to try patterns with these.  So, I give this pattern high marks, just be prepared to spend a little more time if you choose view D as I did.

Well, thanks for making it to the end of this LONG post!  Once again, my niece has inspired me to continue in my passion for sewing!  I love her so much, she has really been my muse!  Because of her visit, I tried something new (working with knits) and I love it!  So, needless to say, you all may be seeing more projects with knit fabrics from me!

Hope you are having a great day!

Have a sew-filled day!