Nothing new under the sun

My creative space this week is a little like Sesame Street.  Instead of being 'brought to you by the letter "J" and the number "3"' though, I'm bringing you my second Girlify post 'brought to you by the blog "Sew Love It" and the blog "Make-it Love-it".

This body suit was too wide and short for my Newbie.  Not to mention that the train would've had people confused about her gender.  This year's summer in Melbourne has been variable to say the least (winter temperatures, rain and wind today, but too hot and humid for my liking just a few days ago).  A light cardi would be a good addition to her wardrobe, so I got brave and cut the bottom off the bodysuit, turning it into a double-breasted cardigan.

I then set about embellishing it and hiding the train.  In doing so I used:

• The ruffle and gathering ideas from her red ruffle pants to create a ruffle that extends from the top press-stud inside, around the neckline and the bottom edge, back to the bottom press-stud at the front.  I used 1.5" wide fabric strips, with contrast thread for the zig-zag on the edges, and gathered it down the centre.

• The flower ideas I had for the Girlfy pyjamas, but I used eight narrower petals of two separate colours, stitching them together in pairs.

• This idea for covering a button for the centre of the flower

It took me about a week to complete due to the craziness of life in our place at the moment, but the actual sewing time was pretty short.  If you've got a wrap body suit that isn't quite right I'd highly recommend taking the scissors to it!!

Girlify

One of the advantages of having two boys is that I have a stash of clothes for the Kinderboy to grow into. Having said that, at the rate he's growing, they will be wearing the same clothes by the end of the year.

What to do then, with the Newbie?  There are heaps more girls clothes out there in retail-land than boys clothes, but why discard what you can re-use?  Also, 95% of what's available for girls is heavily loaded with pink and mauve.  Not my cup of tea.  I've been through the pile of clothes that the Kinderboy's grown out of, and sorted between 'bin', 'op shop' and 'girlify'.  Hopefully over the coming months/years I'll be able to salvage some hand-me-downs without making my little one look like too much of a tomboy.

Here's the first cab of the rank:

A cute little onesie that's pretty simple, but I thought that the blue might need a little dilution to appease those who think that all little girls should be decked out in head-to-toe pink.

These pins gave me inspiration:

Source: craftinessisnotoptional.com via Jackie on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Jackie on Pinterest

I used the Martha Stewart version, but with six petals of deep red felt, with a mid-blue circle beneath the button.  Because I wasn't sure how it'd wash I attached it to the onesie by press-stud so I could remove it to wash the rest:

Hmmm.  I've decided that its too big and dark.  I made it this size as I needed to cover both the teddy bear and the writing, and although it doesn't look so dark and imposing in real life, I think a lighter colour would have been better.  I nearly didn't post this as a result, but in the interests of transparency...

I have another project on the go, so hopefully it'll be more successful!