Kokeshi Tea Party

I finished the Oliver + S Tea Party dress last weekend. I bought the pattern from Duckcloth, who are closing down their online store. Their Oliver + S Patterns are 40% off. This only cost $15, which is a bargain for such a well drafted pattern.


I originally purchased this fabric from Spotlight, quite some time ago. I loved it because of the Japanese Kokeshi Dolls and the slubs give the fabric awesome texture. I kind of wish I had bought a co-ordinating print when I got it, but I didn't have any specific plans. I have a feeling there was only black there at the time, which is probably why I never bought it. I have seen red and I think navy as well. I am sure if they had those I would have got some?


So once I decided that this was the fabric I was using for this dress I went off to my local quilt shop to find something to co-ordinate. I really wasn't sure if they would work or not. I really liked the way the red, floral fabric matched the Kokeshi Doll fabric, but wasn't sure about the purple. The purple against the red was a little scary, but there were little hints of purple in the Kokeshi fabric that I wanted to exploit. In the end, I decided to just go with it.


I hadn't really planned what to do about buttons. I saw there was two buttons in the list of items that I would need to complete the dress, but for some reason, I didn't think of them as being important. I envisioned some decorative buttons somewhere, completely forgetting that I would need them for the straps. I don't know what I was thinking? Anyway, I remembered that I had a little pack of self-covered buttons from Pack It In that would do nicely, especially since I had the ideal fabric to use, with tiny motifs that fit the buttons perfectly. I put a bit of interfacing on the back to help reduce the shine-through from the button. I KNOW I have seen this suggested on a blog somewhere, but I can't remember where??? If someone knows, can they please tell me so I can credit it? The blogger may or may not have suggested wadding as well??


I love these little buttons so much, I may need to make some more...


For this project, I used some fabric from my stash as well as some that I purchased.
SYST13 Running totals: in = 176, out = 58, total = +118

Mad Hatter!

Okay, so I'm getting a little bit excited about making bags and hats. I made this hat today, with left over fabric from Rachel's "Margaret Bag". To make things more exciting I have added some yoyos to the side. The pattern is Nicole Mallalieu's Kids Hats pattern.

The fabric is West 22nd Modern Dot as the main fabric. The Lining and one of the yoyos is West 22nd Candy Dot. The other yoyo is West 22nd Floral Delight. The fabric covered buttons are also covered with Floral Delight. I purchased all fabrics at Spotlight.

Way easier the second time around.