Made By Lex

An Easy Way to Add a Pick Up In a Skirt

For my skirt part of my Circus outfit I wanted pick ups in the front.

 I sort of did a short, cheaters method that I discovered and wanted to share it with you. I had sewn all these strips togehter. I got apiece of yarn and wove it through the serger stitch and tied it on both ends to gather it.

It’s a really easy way to do it. If you don’t have s serger, just do a zig zag stitch. 

Have a great week!

My Favorite Children’s Books

Probably my favorite activity with the girls is reading time. Here are a few of my all time favorite books.

I will Hold You Till You Sleep by Linda Zuckerman

Tears.

Everytime.

I am a Little Monkey by Francois Crozat. An animal favorite of ours. We pretend to be monkeys when we read it.

Project Run and Play- Week 2

I’m so happy to have made it through the last round! Thanks, voters! This week we got to work with, what I’m sure is, one of all of our favorite patterns. I have made countless dresses from this Siena Dress pattern. I wanted to take it up to the next level and make something slightly costumey and over the top, which is not something I normally do. I envisioned this dress for a vintage circus themed themed birthday party.  (You can see my inspiration board here) I wanted to incorporate the bold stripes of the tent and the wide front opening, the bunting flags, circus lettering and some black for that vintage circus costume element.

It has rust and cream colored stripes on the skirt with a  grey ruffle around the bottom with pick ups on the front. The top has a sapphire silk initial ‘A’ on it in circus style font. The sleeves are another stripe with pick ups and they have teeny grey bows at the shoulder.To top it off,  a black and grey headband to match.

The back has a big detachable dupioni silk bow. The socks are little bunting flag socks.

What I love about this is you can take it up a notch with a tutu or take it down by removing the big bow in the back and letting down the pick ups. It’s exactly what I  love about this pattern- you can use it for anything! I hope you like this look as much as I do!

Head over to Project Run and Play to see all the other amazing designs and to vote for your favorite.

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Thrift Store Finds

Oh, how I live for 50% off Wednesday’s at Salvation Army. This weeks finds:

This J. Crew sweater and Banana Republic seersucker shorts. Loving these finds!

I can’t wait to wear this oversized GAP sweater with leggings and boots.

I got this sweater and it’s a brand I’ve seen at Anthropologie. I just liked the shape and the pockets.

Call me crazy, but I fell in love with this silk floral blouse. I’m going to wear it with wide leg jeans, clogs and a blazer.

For the children- three  pairs of GAP sweatpants (one not pictured because I can’t pry them off Gigi), a Gymboree sweater, and an adorable skirt.

Last but not least, this junior dress/top that I loved the fabric so I’m going to make it into a dress for one of the girls.

Total- $19.

 I feel like I should be a thrift store spokesperson, but seriously- GO! It’s hit or miss but sometimes you score and it’s worth it when you do! I mean, $19 for all that? I only buy things that are in excellent condition and it saves us lots of money on clothes. It’s worth the effort.

Project Run and Play- Week One

I’m so excited to be a part of Project Run and Play, 2011. If you  haven’t already gone over there, go over and see all the other amazing participants. We have Jen and Autie from  iCandy Homemade, Jessica from Me Sew Crazy, Jessica from Happy Together, Nicole from Coles Corner and Creations, Liz and Elizabeth from Simple Simon and Co. and Leisel from Brown Paper Packages.

Whew! What a great group of creative women!

The first theme was a back to school outfit. Now, my kids wear uniforms so I had to use  my imagination on this one. I kept two things in mind for this back to school outfit. 1. My kids are always mismatched- stripes on polkadots with all sorts of off colors and prints. It’s what I love about them. So  I wanted this outfit to reflect that sort of childish combination. 2. I don’t know about you, but whne my kids start school, it’s still warm, actually probably our warmest months. So I didn’t want to make an outfit too fall weathered, I wanted it to be more transitional pieces. That being said, here’s how we do back to school.

The top has a pleated bodice and goes to a V in the back with several small pleats to create some movement towards the bottom. For the bodice top I made small pleats or you can use a pleater board.  I baste them together then just proceed with your top as you want. I attached the bottom half of the top then the back and added straps.  I’d have Bel wear this over a long sleeve shirt in the winter.

For the shorts, I did a brown linen in a sort of paige boy style with oversized pockets and tabs at the  leg band. The pink buttons feminize it. We happen to love shorts and tights in the winter, maybe paired with some boots, so I knew the brown would transition great into the Fall and Winter months. For the shorts, I cut it from my only other pattern then the Sienna Dress, this Oliver + S  one. I do all my own variations, but  I love the basic shape of this short.  Then to top it off, a frivolous headband.

(headband tutorial coming soon, and I’ve been informed the oliver + s pattern is out of print. I will do a post on how to make these shorts soon)

Don’t forget to accessorize with the perfect dotting of summer freckles.

I love it with the leopard flats. One more print thrown in the mix.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed my back to school look! I’m so thrilled to be a part of project run and play. Head on over to cast your vote for your favorite look. The other women did such great jobs!