Bluebird Original

There is something special about a little boy in overalls. Overalls are so cute and sturdy-looking and make a little boy seem ready for any adventure. A couple weeks ago I was in the mood to sew overalls so I pulled out a beautiful piece of maroon corduroy fabric that I've had stored up for a couple years. I love the texture of corduroy and I love this rich colour. I'd been waiting for my toddler to get big enough to wear such a heavy fabric without it overwhelming him. As winter is approaching fast, I knew this was the time to use it! I loosely based the overalls off of New Look 6970. This pattern has rather full legs due to some gathering around the waist. So I removed the fullness from the waist and slimmed the legs down. I also extended the legs so they reach down to the ankle. The shoulder straps were lengthened too to make the front bib section sit a bit lower and give a more traditional overall look. I removed the snaps that give nappy access in the pattern. This change ...

At the end of last year I was feeling in need of some fresh sewing projects, so I decided to sew dresses for all of my nieces for Christmas! A friend at church had given me several large pieces of fabric some time earlier and though the colours were ones that I loved, I wasn't sure how to use them. This was the perfect opportunity! I decided to design up a simple pinafore with a waistband that was elastic at the back. To prevent the shoulder straps from slipping off the sides, I included a tie in the back of each pinafore to hold them together. The skirts were A-line in shape with little pockets on the front. A couple of the girls were similar in size, so I ended up drawing 3 separate patterns. For the blond girls, I decided not to use the black fabric, but put in a white print with little pink flowers instead. The 5 dresses all turned out quite nicely, but I was very tired of sewing the same dress by the time I finished them! Sadly I don't have any photos of them on the girls.