Zephyr Sundresses: The Dress to Last a Lifetime

I swear when I made the first iterations of this dress, they lasted one MILLION years.  They seemed to fit Camden forever, before we finally passed passed them on to her cousins.

I swear I made two back in the day, but I can't find the other

The Zephyr dress by Figgy's Patterns is a simple-enough make - quicker than the romper version, which I blogged about a couple months ago.

Overall, cute dresses!  I will say that on THESE and the romper, I cut the straps NOT on the bias, which I think it calls for, and I also did NOT make tubes out of the strips before braiding them.  I just braided those suckers.  I was hoping that by not cutting them on the bias, they wouldn't stretch, as was the case with the old Zephyrs I'd made, but they still do stretch, which is kind of sad.

I like this dress for a long look.  It totally works and gets me to use my knits, which I don't often do.

In the last post, I added several photos of our trip to Michigan, but we have been busy since we've been back.  It has been a pretty fun summer so far, though we ARE hunkering down at home during the eclipse, as it will be NUTS here in Central Oregon.

Meeting up with a fun mom in South Dakota!

Camping for the first time in a LONG time!

A little Tumalo time with friends!

More friend times! 

Can't take the heat...so...sleeps in the kitchen

Making daggers, of course

A fun visit!

Deva Sweaters and the Throes of Labor

So...I may or may NOT be in the throes of labor.  Just putting that out there - if this post sounds wack, you'll know why ;)  It's crazy to think that, after FOUR years, I am doing this again!!!  :O  (Meanwhile, the child NOT inside my body is shouting herself some Katy Perry to fall asleep....)

So you all know, I've prepped lasagna sauce, minus the meat (well, who knew this baby would start working its way out TODAY???....I hope it thaws rather quickly overnight!), and I've vacuumed and wiped down the fridge and counters and floors.  We should be good to go tomorrow if this baby pops!  And seeing as how this baby was so kind to hold out while I sewed up through the final buttons today, I should be kind enough to put away all sewing materials and get this house whipped into shape, right?!!

And here is the last thing I had the chance to knit el bebe.  Basic hat (which is likely too big for a newborn, of course) and a pair of longies on Mosaic Moon Woodland Friends.

Anyway, digressions aside.... I love Camden's Deva sweater by Elena Nodel!  Of course, right???  It IS tricky, I always find, to get good pictures of knits - especially a knit with lace work.  I wanted to sneak in pictures fast today - just in case a baby arrived this week...and good thing I did so!  (It's now a matter of somehow sneaking in pictures of two other outfits tomorrow, if I'm not writhing in pain, LOL!)  So, I'm not sure the pictures do it justice, but it's pretty cute - and super bright!

I used Colour Adventures Dia Merino DK (I think that's the base I used!) in Fresh Leaves.  I had a hard time meeting gauge, and I wanted to do a size 4.  I believe I cast on for a size 3 and still ended up knitting larger than a size 4...so, I did the length, I think, of a size 5.  You'll have to forgive my vagueness.  I was quite stressed about not meeting gauge, and that's what is happening with a Saffron I'm knitting right now, so, I will soon do an experiment to see if Karbonz needles help me knit at a tighter gauge.

It was actually warm enough - almost 60 degrees, aha! - to go without a coat for a short time today, mostly indoors, of course.  The only top I've found that I like underneath this sweater vest is a camisole.  We tried to find a long-sleeved white tee, but Old Navy has clearly moved onto summer gear.  Also, I love my little girl reading books at a wee table :)

And a couple more pictures, because you need them!

Staring the day out brrr chilly!

Ending the day with fun times, as it's a bit warmer

Word Up! An Oldie But a Goodie!

For those who love comfort for their children (not that I abhor my daughter being cozy, but I just LOVE wovens!), the Heidi and Finn Cowl-Neck Dress is the way to go.  I've done several of these over the past couple of years, and they're soooo easy and fun!  The beauty of sewing a knit is that you can really pick and choose when/how you hem, and that mistakes don't show AS easily - and it's so FAST.  Like.....THIS FAST.  And the beauty of a simple pattern like this?  No need to read directions!

As many folk know, I'm that rare bird who prefers a paper pattern, but this dress IS a pdf.  As mentioned above, there are a few things I can change up:  I can hem or NOT hem at all, as knits are forgiving like that.  I can roll the hem with a serger, use a cover stitch hem - or use a twin needle on my regular 'ole sewing machine.  I do have a serger that can convert to a cover stitch, but I'm lazy (imagine that!) and often just use my twin needle.  I really need to get better about that.  In the case of both versions of this dress, this time around, I twin needled the sleeves, but I didn't hem the bottom, though I have done a rolled, serged hem, and that's lovely, too.  Some people like to play it up by not doing a simple, rolled hem, but a fancier lettuce (read: wavy) rolled hem.  When I use a twin needle or am in general sewing a knit, I lengthen the stitch to 3.0 and widen the stitch to 0.5 - the slightest of zigzags.  This is in the case of topstitching, as I really do prefer to serge my knits when piecing.

Also, with this particular pattern, it's great with a jersey knit, a double knit (which is a little warmer) or perhaps a sweater knit (I should way try that next time!).  I behaved and perused my stash of knits for fabric, and I found a Patty Young print from the Flora and Fauna line way back when - and then a lovely, thin knit I bought on Etsy at some point.  I found my daughter still fit into a size 3, so, I just lengthened the sleeves and bottom hem almost an inch for longer wear time.

As for pictures, here we go!

Such a silly girl!

This is her, saying, "I'm NOT tired!"