Linen Skirt

I hosted a shower for a friend of mine who just had a baby girl. It is her first girl, so I decided to make her a little skirt. This is the first time I've sewn with linen and I'm pretty happy with the result. I did French seams so the skirt ended up being a bit less full than I had expected. It's a 19" waist which should fit 6-12 months. I think it will look really cute with leggings since it's a bit on the shorter side. I had a happy accident when making it. My seams didn't line up exactly in the back so I added these cute buttons to camaflogue it. I think they look cute!

Back with buttons

Front

Introducing Sergette!

I've wanted a serger for the longest time, and now, finally here she is! I got a great deal on a Brother serger with lay in threading. Now I can finish my seams and sell my goods on Etsy and locally as well. I haven't taken her for a test drive yet, but will soon! Welcome to the family Sergette!

The Birth of a Craft Blog!

Happy New Year Blogging Friends!

I have some very exciting news! I am launching my very first ever craft blog finally! It's been a long time coming, but it's here at long last. After designing my kids' clothing line in the past few years I've been brainstorming my next artistic venture. I enjoyed designing and making clothes for the little ones and it was a great stepping stone for my next step. This new year I am revising and reinventing my line.

For a long time I have thought about using recycled fabrics in my designs and now I'm finally going to go for it! My Grandma used to take me thrift store shopping when I was a kid and I loved treasure hunting with her. As a result I can now spend hours looking through clothes at thrift stores! Grandma was way ahead of her time and showed me the importance and joy of recycling. She also taught me to sew and I have enjoyed it since I was twelve. I majored in art in college and love designing artistic creations. For my new line I am going to take old threads I find in thrift stores, garage sales, or wherever I can get my hands on them and up cycle them into practical artistically made goods.

I plan to create practical items we Humboldt folks can use on a daily basis such as: Farmer's Market bags, totes, lunch bags, clothing and the like. My next step will be to create an etsy store and market my goods locally. So stay tuned for the new line of April Diane Designs!

http://aprildianedesigns.blogspot.com/

"Orange Blossom"

Here is my latest creation! I used some cute retro vintage pieces, scraps and a fat quarter - I love how you can make kids' clothes out of such tiny pieces of fabric. My favorite part of this dress is the button loop - love those! The great thing about these little skirts is that they can be layered with tights or even pants for the cooler weather. Look for this one down at Shipwreck soon! I'm planning to make more cords (for girls and boys), so look for these soon too.

"Orange Blossom" Size 2T Made from repro. vintage prints and vintage button.

April Diane Designs Are In Shipwreck!

Just a quick note to say that I took my kids' clothes down to Shipwreck today! They took 8 of the 10 items, so get 'em while they're there! :) I hope to add more clothes in the next few weeks or so: more cords and warmish clothes for chilly weather. So keep checking back in for new designs for the wee ones!

A pic of Shipwreck

Finally Finished!

I finally finished my "April Diane Designs" price tags at long last, and my kids' clothes are ready to take down to the shop! I called today all excited to take them in, but they told me I need to come in on Tuesday...so, Tuesday it is. It feels sooo good to have these all done and ready to go, what an accomplishment!

A group shot of my wee creations: Two months' worth of designing and sewing.

Close up shot of the tags

Gown for Baby Rickstrew

I designed and made a baby gown for a baby shower for a friend of mine, (Tracy.) I made a pattern from a vintage baby gown I had been given for Sarah when she was born. The pattern was easy to make because there are no arm holes or sleeves since it's one piece. The little flap that closes at the front was a bit tricky, but other than that it was pretty fast and easy. I found some super soft flannel with a beautiful vintage print and did an embroidered R monogram on the front. Tracy loved it!

"Holly", "Cowboy", and "Plum"

"Holly"- 2-4T Mama's Helper Apron is made from genuine bandannas and has a vintage button on the pocket. The perfect accessory for helping mom bake during the holidays!

"Cowboy" patch pants, (side view) Size 1T. Made from cords, bandannas, and repro vintage prints. These are the cutest boy pants!!! They look even better in real life.

"Plum" Size 3-6 mo. Made from green repro vintage print, and cool Amy Butler fabric.

These are the last 3 pieces I needed to finish! I love how they turned out. I'll be taking them down to the shop this week!

"April Diane Designs" Logo

Ron designed my graphic logo for "April Diane Designs", my kids' clothing line. I absolutely love how it came out! Going with the vintage theme, he used a picture of a vintage carousel horse. The picture was taken while we were on vacation in Seattle last summer, so it has sentimental meaning to me. I'm hoping to take my clothes down to Ship Wreck this week, so be looking for my logo soon!

Scottie Dog Cords

Have you ever noticed it's near impossible to find cute affordable boy clothes? I've been working on designing cute boy pants because there's nothing cuter than a boy in stylin' pants! I found a royal blue cord and contrasting vintage repro scottie dog print fabric for these. I love how they turned out. It's going to be hard for me to let these go! Justin is a 3T, so he got to model these for me! If you click on the pic below you can see the scottie dog print, so cute.

"Scottie Dog" size 3-4T. Made from cords, repro vintage print and vintage buttons

Ma Ma's Helper Apron and "Daisy"

Here are some of my latest makins'! When I was around 12 my grandma taught me how to make apron patterns. I never forgot how to do it, so I constructed this 2-4T apron and it was quick and easy. I like how the color combo turned out, and the contrasting button pulls it all together.

I fell in love with this daisy print fabric for these little girl pants! I found vintage buttons that look like they were made to go with the daisy print fabric. These are number 7 & 8, so I only need 2 more items and I can take them down to Shipwreck, wohoo!

Ma Ma's Helper Apron. Size 2-4T. Made from recycled paisley print fabric, contrasting batik fabric for pocket and waistband/strings, and vintage button.

"Daisy" Size 1T. Made from daisy print fabric, pink polka dot print fabric, and pink vintage flower buttons.

"Hyacinth"

I finished #5 of the 10 outfits I need to take down to Shipwreck to sell. I'm half way there, wohoo!

Did you ever wonder how clothing patterns are made? If so, you get the "April" version of how it's done, right here on my blog. First, I get the measurements for the size I need, (in this case 3T), then I usually find a pattern similar to the one I want to create in the same size. Using the measurements and shoulder/under arm measurements from the pattern I pencil a rough sketch of the pattern out on newspaper - (see bottom pic.) I'm always sure to add in the seam allowance, and I pin the pattern together to make sure I have a good fit. Usually I end up altering the pattern about 3 times before I get it just right. That happened today, and I ended up needing to actually take the bodice of the dress in after I had sewn it. (I got to try the dress on Justin since he's a 3T, lucky guy! I was glad I had a model who was the size I needed today, that's a rarity!) This isn't ideal, and usually I'm able to get the measurements right when I make my pattern. Then, I add my embellishments, in this case pillow case lace and a vintage button. That's all there is to it, you should try it sometime! It's a fun process, and when you're done you have the satisfaction of knowing you designed your very own pattern.

"Hyacinth" Size 3T. Made from repro vintage fabric, vintage pillow case lace and a vintage flower button.

Bodice close up - The blue flower button is so sweet. (click on the pic to enlarge.)

Here's what I started out with today: repro vintage fabric, vintage pillow case lace and button, and a newspaper pattern.

Pants for Riley

Justin's friend Riley had his third birthday party today. We went to the party and BBQ out at Sequoia park in Eureka and had a great time! Riley's mom Tracy likes hand made things, so I whipped out these cowboy pants the other afternoon for Riley. I found this adorable horse and cowboy themed embroidered brown cord fabric at the fabric store and knew it would be perfect for his pants. I was looking for brown pin striped fabric but couldn't find it, so I got brown and blue stripes instead and I really like how it compliments the cords. I improvised the button loops and thought they would be an interesting detail. The small details like this really add a lot to kids' clothing in my opinion. I can't wait to see a picture of Riley in his cowboy pants!

"Violet"

I just finished my latest creation, it's a cute spaghetti strap sun dress. I fell in love with this Amy Butler fabric and knew I had to do something fun with it! I had this vintage embroidered piece and thought it went well with the fabric. I create my patterns, and this one was a bit harder than I had thought. The bodice is completely lined - lots of work, but it turned out well!

"Violet" Size 2T Created from Amy Butler fabric and vintage embroidered piece.

I'm a designer now...sort of! & Justin's quilt

I've been contemplating creating a vintage style kids' clothing line for a long time now. Well, the time has finally come. I recently checked out an amazingly cool store in Eureka called Shipwreck. This is my kind of store! It's like etsy, only you get to see and feel the items first hand! The store has all kinds of cool vintage things from pottery to suit cases. It also features local boutiqueish hand made items. The store owner told me she is always looking for new sellers, and after thinking about it I decided I would go for it. Honestly, the store was what inspired me. I believe in supporting the local artists and local stores here in Humboldt, and what better way to do it than to create a kids' clothing line and sell it locally? Here are a few shots of my first creations. I appreciate feedback, so let me know what you think! I'm working on dresses now, and pants will follow....

"Bluebell" Size 18-24 months. Made from repro vintage fabrics & a vintage embroidered napkin.

vintage embroidered napkin detail

"Apple Blossom" Size 2 T Made from repro vintage fabrics & vintage pillow case lace.

Cargo pocket detail

Justin's Quilt

Justin's quilt is finally done at long last! I worked on it from when he was about 6 months old, and finished it around his 2nd b-day, so it took about a year and a half. It is my first pieced quilt ever and I had it machine quilted at Scottie Dog Quilts (Thanks Liz!) Now that I have two kids there just isn't time for things like hand quilting any more! Justin loves his quilt although he insists on using it as a floor mat, (I think the reason for this is that I had it laid out on the floor for months while I was designing it.) :)

I love my new floor mat...I mean quilt, mom!

At Ron's suggestion I put the colors in diagonal rows, a boy quilt must have male influence I say.

Close up of the quilt block, these took forever to cut and piece, but the end result was well worth it!