Dress A Girl Around the World...

Have you heard of Dress A Girl Around the World? It's an organisation which aims to provide dresses for girls who otherwise wouldn't own one. How could a little girl not own one dress? Perhaps hard for us to imagine as we sit in our comfortable homes, blogging and sewing.

Here's some links if you would like to find out more about this wonderful organisation:

• National Website
• Dress A Girl Australia
• Sew Delightful ~ USA
• Sew Scrumptious ~ UK

I've just sent these dresses off to Dress A Girl Around the World, Australia.

The pillowcase dresses are SO quick and easy to make. I've used fabric from my stash, but, as the name implies, they can be made from a pillowcase. You will easily find patterns all over the Internet. Here's a few links to pillowcase patterns:

• Dress A Girl Australia pillowcase dress instructions
• Sew Delightful pillowcase dress pattern
• LBG Studio pillowcase dress tutorial

I decided to try another style for the fifth dress, as I wanted to try out a pattern I had; Butterick 3477. I quickly skimmed the instructions.  It looked easy enough.

I'm not totally sure what happened, but the dress was much larger than I expected. I made a size 5. I know I'm only short, but the dress, without the ruffle, came down to my knees!!! Something went wrong somewhere. Time to properly read the pattern instructions. My mistake; the pattern allowed several inches at the top of the skirt for the gathering. I'm not sure why this much was needed. I just sewed three lines of stitching for the gathering, using less than one inch of fabric. No way was I undo the gathering. I could have shortened the dress and then added the ruffle, but I felt this would be a waste of fabric, so I've left it without. I think it's way too big for a five year old, which doesn't matter as it can be worn by an older girl. I doubt that I'll bother to use this pattern again. There's too many really good patterns out there.

This picture gives you an idea of just how long the last dress is. The template for the butterfly appliqué is from Angel Lea Designs.

Imagine a world where every little girl owned at least one dress...

Sewn Christmas Cards...

I saw some fabulous sewn Christmas cards by Sew and the City and thought I'd make my own. Here's my first one...

Actually, it's my second attempt and my first finished card. Sew and the City suggested putting little dabs of glue on the back of the fabric to adhere the fabric to the cardboard so it didn't move when sewing. I omitted this step in my first attempt and of course, the fabric moved and puckered. I won't show you that attempt.

I decided to use double sided fusible webbing instead of glue and it worked like a charm. This card was so easy to make. Here's how I did it.

Fuse the Christmas tree to cardboard:

• Fuse the Christmas tree to the cardboard using double sided fusible webbing and following the manufacturer's instructions.
• Use an old cloth so glue doesn't get on the iron or the ironing board and to stop the cardboard from burning.
•  Use a low setting on the iron so the cardboard doesn't burn.

Sew the Christmas tree:

• Sew a zig zag stitch around the Christmas tree.
• Sew the green card to the actual Christmas card using a zig zag.

That's all there is to it. If one of my family members is reading, this card may be for you. Act surprised and pretend the card must have taken me hours to make.

Wedding Dress ~ FINAL Transformation

If you are new to Threading My Way, you may not have seen the Wedding Dress I transformed into a smart day dress. That post has generated significantly more traffic to my site, than any other post I have written. I loved reading the comments, as did my daughter. If you were one of the earlier people to post, you may not have seen Tasha's reply to your comments, as to why she wanted to transform this smart day dress into a top.

In short, Tasha doesn't really like wearing dresses. Same as me, she much prefers to wear jeans. How could I argue with her logic. She'd get much more use out of the outfit if it were made into a top to wear over jeans.

So, again Tasha designed, while I sewed. In reality, this transformation was really quite simple and straightforward. Cut the bottom off the dress and make some straps.

Here's how Tasha summed up her thoughts...

So I got to wear part of my WEDDING DRESS again last night. This time to a less formal occasion, an end of year work function. My wedding dress, that was transformed into a formal day dress to wear to a friend's wedding, is now a sparkly top! My ideas were put to my mum, the scissors came out again and straps were added! The best part, is that one day, I will be able to pass this clutch purse on to my daughter. Very special to be able to give my daughter something practical that was made from my wedding dress and recreated into something new by her grandmother!

Tasha is teaching me to think outside the square, to be more adventurous and that it's OK to bend the rules. If you'd like to see more of Tasha's style, she has her own website called Little Ladybird.

FNSI and TTT...

I finished my second Christmas outfit this week. The first one was for a little girl. Here's the second.

Once again I've used the 30 Minute Shorts pattern from Create HOPE Designs. This time I've sewn red topstitching along all seams, (except the inside leg) and above the cuff. I quite like the effect.

I added an appliqué of a star to the store bought t-shirt. Around the outside of the star, I've added two lines of running stitch in red and blue, to make the star stand out a little more.

Another quick and easy project. I still have lots of Christmas sewing to do. Let's hope I don't have to do a last minute dash to the shops because I don't finish all I've planned.

Last week I said I'd create a post on the FINAL version of the wedding dress transformation. Here it is.

Linking up to Friday Night Sew In and Think Tank Thursday.

Sew Mama Sew ~ Giveaway Winner...

I had so much fun for the week of Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day. All in all there were over 500 giveaways divided into six categories. I made it all the way through the Sewing Supplies and entered almost every one. Yes, that took me a while! The best thing is, I've found lots of fabulous new blogs that I'll continue to read.

Our winner has been drawn by Random.org...

Congratulations, Lucija!!! I've sent you an email. Thank you to everyone who visited Threading My Way during the week of the giveaway.

Sew Mama Sew ~ Giveaway Day...

Early this year, I thought it was about time I found out what blogging was all about. Through my RSS feed, I subscribed to a few blogs. I read everything they posted, but I didn't ever participate by commenting.

In May of this year, along came Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day. There were SO many prizes that I wanted to win. In order to be in the running, that meant I had to comment. I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive about doing so. However, my desire to win something was stronger. I was like a mad woman, reading and commenting.

It was all worth it, because I did win something; a pattern of my choice from Little Lizard King. More importantly, though, I found lots and lots and lots of fabulous blogs that I wanted to read and so I began following them. This in turn led to me starting my own little blog.

So, here I am participating again in Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day. Not only do I hope to find more fabulous blogs, but this time I'm giving away something as well. I'm hoping I'll be lucky and win something like last time.

With further ado, here's what I'm offering to one lucky reader......

1 yard of fabric: Paper Dolls by Sheryl Rae Marquez,  # 28118, from Windham Fabrics. 

To give you an idea of size, these gorgeous little paper dolls are 2 inches in height. Aren't they just adorable?

What do you have to do to win?

• Leave me a comment telling me what you would make from your Paper Dolls fabric, if you win.
• I'll need a way to contact you if you win. If you are a no reply blogger, or if you don't have a blog, leave your email address with your comment. You can write your email as...
  

That's all you have to do... leave me a comment and a way to contact you if you win.


Bonus entries (not mandatory):

• Follow Threading My Way and leave me a separate comment below. The GFC box is in the sidebar at the top of the page.
• Like Threading My Way on Facebook, then come back and leave me a separate comment below.

Three chances to win!!! Leave separate comments for each.

• Giveaway is open to international readers.
• Giveaway will finish at 5pm PST, Friday 16 December (That's about 9am EST, Saturday 17 December in Australia.)
• The winner will be chosen by random.org

Have fun during the week of Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day. I hope you find lots of blogs that you will want to follow and good luck winning something.

Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to reading your comments and I hope to see you again.


Edited to add: In replying to comments, I've found a handful of commenters whom I couldn't contact. If I can't contact you, then you won't be able to win this giveaway. If you are a no reply blogger, please leave an email address with the comment. If you are unsure whether you are a no reply blogger, it might be best to leave an email address with the comment.


This giveaway has now closed. Winner announced here.


Congratulations, Lucija!

FNSI and TTT...

Do you remember the wedding dress that I transformed into a day dress? The dress has undergone another transformation, although not quite so drastic a change this time. Last night I finished the alterations, but I didn't have time to take proper photos.

Later on this week, I'll do a full post on the FINAL version of the garment!!!

That's all I did this Friday night; not a lot, but a finish never-the-less. As soon as I write this post, I'm going to begin sewing a couple of dresses for the Australian branch of Dress A Girl Around the World.

Then, I have lots of Christmas sewing still to begin. Only 15 days left!!!! I'd better get a move on!!!

Linking up to Friday Night Sew In and Think Tank Thursday.

Christmas Outfit...

This little outfit was so quick and easy to make. Once again I used the 30 Minute Shorts pattern from Create HOPE Designs. It really is so quick and easy to make up. It's the perfect pattern for a beginner sewer.

Instead of a cuff this time, I added three, little pleats at the front and at the outside side seam. On top of that, I sewed a strip of navy, grosgrain ribbon.

The t-shirt is store bought with an appliqué of a Christmas tree added. Can you tell I'm addicted to appliqué? I'll do a post soon showing how I appliqué on a t-shirt.

It was late at night (actually, it was in the early hours of the morning), when I was ready to appliqué the Christmas tree. As I didn't want to wake Mr TMW (and because I'm impatient), I thought I'd experiment with appliquéing by hand. I've just done a blanket stitch around the edges of the tree. Even though it has been fused to the t-shirt,  I don't know whether it will fray with washing. Anyway, I like how it looks. To make the tree stand out more, I've added a simple row of running stitch around the tree. I know it looks a little puckered, but it's not. I really should have ironed the t-shirt before I took photos. I tried stitching a star above the tree, but it didn't work. To finish it off, I added a few navy buttons. To my eye, the top button is in the wrong position. It should come down a tad. If it annoys me enough, I'll move it

To complete the outfit, I've made a couple of hair ties, once again using this tutorial for a flower headband by Cass Can Sew. I've secured the hair tie to the flower with ribbon. It's very easy, but next time I'll take photos, if you would like to see how it's done. As you can see, the buttons are upcycled.

That's it; a very quick and easy little outfit to wear for Christmas...

Surprise ~ Pay It Forward

My friend, Tanya, from  Craft Couture by T. C. wrote a post that attracted my attention today. That's not surprising, as Tanya sews the most gorgeous things. However, today's post was not about a sewing project she had done.

Tanya is offering to make something for the first three people to comment on her post. Sounds like fun! I was the first to comment, which means Tanya will make a surprise for me. I like Tanya's style, so I just know I will love the surprise gift that she makes.

As part of accepting Tanya's offer, I will make a little surprise gift for the first three people to comment on this blog post. There are conditions to signing up. Please read the conditions before you comment.


1. I will make a little something for the first 3 people that comment on this post. It will be a surprise and may arrive at any time in the next 365 days. (Yes, a year. Good things come to those who wait!)


2. To sign up to receive a gift from me, you must play along too. Pay it forward on your blog by promising to send a handmade goodie to the first three people that comment on your blog post.


3. You must have a blog.


4. After commenting on my post, you will need to post this (or similar) on your blog. If you haven't posted in 48 hours, then the next commenter will be chosen.


If you would like to receive a surprise gift sometime between now and December 2012, leave me a comment...