Avery Dress

I bought some gorgeous fabric from Spotlight the other day to make my girls a new dress each.

Although I already own A LOT of dress patterns I felt like buying something new.

I have been drawn to the Avery by Mod Kid since it came out, so that is what I decided on. 

I thought that using the floral fabric would have been too much to use for the whole dress

so I used some light weight denim for the collar and the skirt.

I just love the little puff sleeves. 

The pattern also comes with the option for long sleeves 

which will make it ideal for winter use too.

I made a little headband to match this outfit.

I used a pattern from this Japanese Pattern Book.

I found the fit of this dress Spot On!

I was a little worried as you do not choose the size of dress by measurements, 

instead using the size you would buy from the store.

 I would recommend this pattern to anyone looking for a versatile dress that is well designed, 

easy to sew and that is totally adorable! 

Halloween 2015 - The Grim Reaper

 This year my girls asked for witches costumes and my 

little fella wanted to dress up as the Grim Reaper.

I had heaps of fabric left over from the girls dresses 

so I didn't need to buy any for my sons costume.

If I had to buy more I would have bought a more suitable fabric, 

that was not shiny and probably a little bit heavier but why waste what I had.

I used Simplicity 1582 but had to reduce its size by A LOT!

My 8 year old is quite small and the pattern is designed for adults.

I had other ideas for the mask too.

I was planning on using a paper mache mask painted black but Spotlight 

had run out of them. I picked up this glow in the dark mask instead.

I don't love it, it kind of reminds me of E.T. 

 I think my boy is pleased enough with the result :)

It's Halloween 2015 - Little Witches

 I asked the kids what they wanted to dress up for Halloween this year.

My 7 year old told me that she wanted to go as a sailor, something like this, 

but she changed her mind when my 4 year old said she wanted to be a witch.

"Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, 
    Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing"

"Double, double toil and trouble; 

Fire burn, and caldron bubble"

I used the same pattern I used for last years Halloween costume,

instead using version B, the wicked witch, from Simplicity 4139

They both decided on the colour they wanted.

It was a pity that the purple stockings weren't as bright as the orange ones,

but they still look ok.

The dress closes with a zip in the back and it has a removable peplum belt.

I thought this outfit would be great to keep the girls warm during trick or treating 

but we are having a very warm Spring that they were melting during the photo shoot.

Lets hope Halloween night is a little cooler.

I was very pleased with my fabric purchase for these costumes.

I found a bulk buy on ebay and I was worried that the fabric would not 

be suitable for costume use, but it turned out ideal and very economical. 

I even had enough to make my boy a costume out of it (blog post here) 

Although I can sew pretty well, it turns out that I am rubbish at applying make up.

My poor little girl look like she has a couple of black eyes, haha.

Happy Halloween everyone!