A Day of Sewing

Today was a fun day. Norah and I headed over to Grammy's house bright and early to tackle a new sewing project. Grammy and I had been looking forward to this project ever since we read about it on House on Hill Road.

As you may recall, a few weeks ago I made Norah a 4th of July dress from pre-shirred fabric. Well, that was easy enough, but I was limited to the 3-4 pre-shirred fabric selections offered in the store...and that just wasn't enough. Enter House on Hill Road. Erin offered a step-by-step tutorial (with awesome pictures) explaining how to make a shirred dress or top from regular fabric.

The scariest part was using elastic thread for the first time--which turned out to sew incredibly smooth, and gave us nothing to worry about!

The top went together in just a few hours (thanks to Mom's help, and Norah's cooperation) and I was tickled pink at how it turned out. We actually made this one for Norah's friend, Patti, who lovingly handed down tons of clothes to Norah, but their measurements are very close, so I was able to have Norah model it for me so I could be sure it would fit. (Don't worry, I would never leave Norah out--a shirt for her is next on my list!)









Here is the finished product. It's amazing how big it started out, vs. how tiny it finished up...but it stretches nicely and fits well. Norah really seemed to enjoy wearing it, too...let's hope Patti has similar taste in clothes!








Grammy and I were so proud of Norah for being so patient and entertaining herself while we sewed today. She was especially fascinated with Grammy's thread collection, attempting to name the colors of each spool she saw. (Of course right now, everything is initially "blue", but as soon as we would tell her the correct color, she would begin calling it the right thing).

Thanks so much to Erin, at House on Hill Road for being a source of inspiration. I've got 2 more projects lined up and I'm enjoying sewing more than I have in a while!