Because every little girl NEEDS a full tulle dress =)

I hacked the recently released Sugar Ruche dress by Candy Castle Designs into a very full tulle dress and lived to tell the tale! 

If you are looking into making a georgeous tulle dress for a little one that is simple (at least as simple as tulle dresses can be =p ) then read on!

So this is the ruched version of the pattern in dress length. The outer fabric is very soft tulle and the inner fabric is slinky and soft rayon.

I'm going to tell you how I hacked the pattern to achieve this look! But first, you need to purchase the pattern here!

Now that you have the pattern, here's what you do:

You are going to need 1 front ruched piece in tulle (This version i made is using the exact dimensions provided. But seeing as it is tulle and therefore very light, my suggestion for an even prettier ruched look in the front bodice is to double or even triple the height of the bodice front)

You also need 2 front linings. Preferably in something really soft and thin. Rayon works great or thin cotton lawn wld be perfect (and easier to sew too) 

For the back, you are going to need 1 back bodice piece in tulle and 2 back bodice lining pieces.

I skipped the strap pieces, choosing to instead use 2 pieces of lace that is cut to the length indicated on the pattern cut chart.  

For the skirt piece, you will need skirt pieces in both tulle and lining (the number depends on the size you chose to make, for my girl who is a 12m/18m blend, she needs 2 pieces in tulle and 2 in rayon) You will also want to follow the height for the skirt pieces but use the entire WOF. For bigger sizes, I would make sure to at least double the width of the skirt pieces for the tulle. For ease of gathering, I also added additional seam allowance at the top of the tulle skirt so that i can gather further in from the edge of the tulle. This is optional if you are really good at gathering tulle!

You will follow the original instructions for the bodice exactly with 1 exception: sew the back bodice tulle piece to one of the back bodice lining piece together on all four sides with a seam allowance of 1/4 inch. Treat that as ur "back bodice main". 

Now that your bodice is done, let's talk about gathering tulle. (This is not as bad as you may think!) 

Candy Castle Designs has very clear instructions on how to gather ur skirts and there's not just 1 or 2 methods, but a total of 3! My preference was to use the dental floss/zigzag method that was described in her instructions. Here's a photo of how that looks like... 

What I liked about this method is the ease at which i can adjust the gathers without worrying about the thread breaking which frequently happens for the normal long stitches, high tension gathering method (especially when u have long long pieces to gather!) 

After gathering both tulle and rayon skirt pieces to the correct length, u can simply sew/serge them together at the top first, then attach the skirt to ur bodice. (go slow here, The skirt is BULKY!) 

You hem the rayon skirt lining but not the tulle so the tulle will be longer than the lining at the end. And that's it! 

A beautiful tulle dress perfect for the Ball. She's looking for her glass slippers here 😆

Now who wants to give this tulle dress a try? =)

More photos =)

Because it is going to be National Day soon...

Every year on August 9th, Singapore celebrates National Day. 

If you don't know this already, I'm a teacher so every year, on National Day, I would always dress in the Nation's colors (Red and White) to celebrate our Nation's birthday with my students. 

But actually... Red isn't my color. Not really. I find that I tend not to wear red anything, but I mean, it's National day!

So this year, I'm really quite excited to be making my own red and white outfit. At least it's going to look nice and conform to my aesthetics 😆

I'm also incredibly lucky to be given to opportunity to be a guest sewist for Sew PDF Showcase. This is a really cool source of pdf patterns by small independent pdf companies. They showcase a pdf pattern every week and this week's PDF showcase is by Buttons and Bib! (this new pattern company is very promising! You should go check out their stuff - many of the dress patterns are lovely!) 

I shall be using their Summer Staple Dress for my National Day dress - yay~

This is a knit bodice, woven skirt dress and it's my first time ever putting woven skirts on knit bodices! I used clear elastic to gather the woven skirt - so easy! and then serged the bodice and skirt together after. 

This whole dress was ensembled in record time too. The woven fabric i used for the skirt is crepe so there's a lovely texture that contrasted very nicely with the stretchy, very smooth poly-spandex knit with a slight sheen that I bought in "wine red" that i used for the bodice. 

At first i was slightly concerned that if i attach a woven skirt on a knit bodice the waist area might not stretch enough to go over my head. But my concerns were unfounded as the clear elastic gathering method really helps ensure that the waist area is still very nice and stretchy and the waist is still cinched in enough to not look baggy. 

And yes... did i mention pockets? Pockets always! These pockets are huge! Big enough for my galaxy note! 

One interesting thing to note about this dress is, unlike many knit dresses, the waist actually has positive ease. That means everything there is nice and relaxed, not tight and figure hugging. Just thought some of us may appreciate a pattern like that for days when we are feeling bloated or perhaps... for BUFFET days where we aim to eat alot and don't want our tummies to feel restricted 😆😆😆

If you would like a good deal on this pattern it is now ON SALE. Only at Sew PDF Showcase for 1 week! 

Pajamas for the little one!

I'm always on the lookout for comfortable pajamas for my little ones and there's always a need for comfy PJs in this house. 

I recently got to test for Sew a Little Seam's latest pattern Nightingale and can you tell this little one loved it?

The Nightingale set is designed for knit fabrics and there's a top, knee and maxi version. There's also shorts and pants to mix and match the PJ sets! 

The one above is the ruffle sleeves but there is also long, short, tulip, gathered and sleeveless tops. The bodice has a ruffle and gathered or colorblock option and there's even optional plackets and bottom ruffles. 

I think it would take me forever to finish making all the options! Don't you love it when there's so many options in one pattern tt u buy?

The pattern includes sizes 3 months to 12 years and plus sizes 4-12 years. You can choose to buy just 1 size or the bundle. 

Baby Camilla

It's been a long while since we can go out and explore our parks and play outside. To commemorate going out for some exercise, I made a summer dress for the little one.

 This is Camilla by Simple Life Pattern Co!

Don't you just love the straps and the scalloped back? I used a discontinued print by Laura Blythman that I bought from Spotlight. (Recognise it? I used this to make a backpack for the girl!)

The dress comes in top, vintage and dress length and has tiered skirts too. I made mine with a sweetheart neckline but there's also the classic scoop neckline.

Some people worry about sewing scallops cos if not done right, it just doesn't look as good. Here's what I have learnt: clip clip and clip ur seam allowance! Especially at the corners, really take ur time to clip the seam allowance down to make sure that it turns out right, using a chopstick to poke at the curves. Then iron it crisp so that it stays in that shape and top stitch!