nadine at home kids.jpg

Hi.

I'm Nadine. Thanks for stopping by. The floors are creaky, the kids are loud, but the door's always open and the coffee's always on.

Make yourself at home.

For The Birthday Girl: A Geranium Dress

Stats:

Pattern: Geranium Dress by Made by Rae Fabric: Leftover gingham rayon from making this dress Buttons: Free! (The fine folks at The Make Den let me rummage through their button jar.) Size: 18 months

I do this to myself every single time: I decide to make a dress for an upcoming event, and then stress out that I don’t have enough time to finish the dress for said event.

I made a bridesmaid dress. And was stressed out. I made a skirt for a wedding. And was stressed out.

Last month, I made a dress for Ursula to wear to her birthday party. It had buttons. I had never used a buttonhole maker before. It was the night before her party and her dress was buttonhole-less.

I was stressed out.

Fortunately, all’s well that ends well. (Translation: I read the manual. Matthew helped with troubleshooting. And then he took Ursula on some errands while I sewed on the red buttons.)

The pattern is a relatively straightforward make for an advanced beginner — or almost-intermediate, as I'd rather consider myself — with multiple options for the bodice, sleeves and skirt. I’ve already planned the next one: pleats instead of gathers, flutter sleeves instead of cap sleeves, the skirt a different fabric than the bodice.

So even though I had a few “Why am I doing this to myself again?” moments, I’m totally anticipating doing this to myself again soon.

It felt good to sew again.

Up next: Facing my fear of the serger.

Take Your Baby To Work Week

Picture Book Fashion: Mama Bear