12.20.2009

Christmas Dresses Unveiled

First off this is a LONG post mostly with pictures, but the commentary is a bit heavy as well...don't say I didn't warn ya! :-)

I have always loved the tradition of making or buying a Christmas dress for my girls and nice suits and ties for my boys. I even do this for Easter. It is something that I hope to pass onto my children. Not to say "look at me aren't I great", but I hope that by doing this I can show my kids how much fun they are to me and to do what I really love doing.

I haven't always liked sewing. I sewed a little in 8th grade and actually got an "A+" and in 9th grade when I wanted a cool jumper like everyone else was wearing but had no $$$, I pulled a "Martha Stewart" and took my little step sisters brownie suit and used it as a pattern and cut out my dress on black fabric and wore it for quite awhile, but never touched the stuff again until 12 years ago when I asked my mother in law to teach me. After many trials and errors I succeeded in making a blessing dress for my first of 3 daughters and then I decided to make something GREAT for me and it flopped. BIG TIME. So I didn't touch the machine again for a few more years and then of course me and my big ideas and trying to be frugal, I had to sew curtains that ended up having problems on the windows and I stayed up until 2 am because I was determined to win the war, I didn't end up winning. But somewhere along the road I kept at it and was determined to learn and with the help of a few good friends that are AWESOME with sewing, Melissa and Shari, I learned a bit more and now I LOVE it cause I usually know what I am doing now and I would like to think that somewhere along the line of having five kids I have learned a bit more patience. I think one of the reasons I didn't like it so long ago, aside from my slightly a skewed negative outlook on being a woman (from the world's perspective) and considering it too domesticated, is because I was frustrated with the learning process and sewing can be very frustrating. Instead of asking for help or getting more lessons I basically tried to do it all myself, which worked out pretty well overall, aside from a few mishaps. I have learned to love it as I have grown more comfortable in my abilities and I LOVE to create with my hands, put color and textures together and sewing allows me to do all that.

So, the dresses are finally done! I have been working on these bad boys for about 5 weeks now. Why so long? Well...these are old 1950's patterns that I bought off the internet and they expect that you know how to sew "old school" style (thank heaven for my MIL who helped when I needed it). They expect you to know you need interfacing that you cut and measure without a pattern and to know other steps that they don't put in there. It even had an illustration that showed me how to make button holes by hand (so glad for machines), then cheer leading took over just as I was finishing Laney's dress and we have been sick with fevers and stomach bugs on and off for a few weeks now. So with all of that I feel pretty lucky that I even was able to get them done in the time frame I had set for myself. But they sure turned out great! Of course there are several things that I realize I could have done differently and I think with more practice I will excel at the harder sewing, but I am satisfied and the girls LOVE them (and all the attention they get from wearing them). :-)

So here they are in all their glory and of course since it is all vintage, I made the pics vintage to match. Chad is sick and Heath was asleep while I took these, but we will be getting pics of them all together soon.
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The hat that Laney is wearing said it fit 0-12months. Don't know how that is possible, but it is HUGE on her! But it was an adorable hat for a great deal. So naturally I bought it for the look! :)

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I made their jewlery as well and I LOVE little bracelets on babies.

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I loved playing around with their hair and adding the black bow as the finishing touch. Can I just say that I had fun putting all this together?

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I wish I could've taken a great shot of her front pleat that is lined with Ric-Rac...it's so cute!
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I couldn't find slips with pettiskirts around town so I found these cute skirts from Target to use until I order some off the Internet. They aren't as poofy as they need to be, but they ended up working out and the girls get an extra skirt from it so they were happy. I swear Bria goes through tights like there is no tomorrow. I told her several times to change out of them after church, but she being a kid naturally "didn't hear me".
 
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AND of course they wouldn't be my girls if they didn't leave us with goofy faces. I LOVE my kids!

16 comments:

Stefanie H said...

Oh my goodness, those dresses are SO cute!!!

shari said...

I saw the girls yesterday and I had them twirl around for me. I love the vintage patterns and their hair turned out so cute too. You really are a talented woman with great taste!

kg said...

I saw them at church yesterday...ADORABLE!!! LOVE them, you're so talented!!

Kimberly Cone said...

Look at you aren't you great! haha. Seriously, those are amazing. My mom used to make clothes for Brendan and me for Christmas and Easter too. Poor Kendall.

hope said...

So, I didn't read cause I am lurking right now. But I had to comment... they are adorable!!! I love them!!!!

Natalie said...

I am so impressed Sharon. They look adorable. What a project for you, you should feel good, this is a beautiful accomplishment.

Organized Nutrition said...

YOU ARE AMAZING!!!!!! I love them!!!! They will totally love that thier mom loves them THAT MUCH when they grow older!

kmmclain said...

They look so beautiful! I wish I had that skill. Have a wonderful Christmas!

Sarah (and a few others) said...

YOU DID IT!!!!! They look fabulous, and may I say, the red accessories are perfect ;)

Quincy Sorensen said...

IMPRESSED doesn't even begin to cover it. I think sewing is REALLY hard, and to make 3 or 4 or 5 outfits/dresses . . . wow. They really look stupendous.

Sara said...

They turned out great! I forgot that you were doing jewelry too. Remember that I have 2 girls if you ever get some free time.... Yeah, right.

Cindy said...

The girls looked so cute on Sunday. Bria's dress was my favorite.

kellibattraw said...

You are so talented Sharon! The dresses are adorable and the models beautiful. : )

Wendyrful said...

Absolutely adorable!!!!! You did a fantastic job! Good for you for persevering and learning to make such fun things for your kids! They know that you love them!!

snbjork said...

Sharon, awesome job! Beautiful down to every single detail. I love that each outfit was different. How fun!

Shaunte' said...

They turned out amazing and even look cuter on the girls!

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