I've been trying to make a tutorial for a doll dress (above), to share.  But, I haven't gotten it finished yet, so I will share a couple of other things that I've done recently that include tips that I hope someone else who has a little girl to sew for might like.

 Below are some illustrations of an upcycled dress I did, from a store-bought one I'd had hanging in my closet several years and only worn a couple times because I didn't like how it looked on me, although I loved the fabric.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to take pictures of the original dress, before I cut it up.  The blue dress below is pretty similar.  

I cut off the skirt, shortened it a bit and took a few inches out of the width. I cut a new bodice, from a pretty standard-style commercial pattern, and put a black satin ribbon belt on it.  It turned out beautifully and she loves it!  Its quite big, so it will fit her at least one more year, but the belt helps disguise how big it is.

Another thing I have been doing is lots of pillowcase dresses, mostly for charity, but a few for Ashy.  I made a couple with a lace ruffle on the top.  I just sewed the flat lace onto the top part and then let the elastic or ties gather it. (Pillowcase dresses can be made with the ties going all the way through the casing on top, or with elastic inside the casing and the ties just on the edges and I've made them both ways.)  Those turned out OK, but I wished the ruffled lace would stand out more.  So, I decided to try making it about half again as wide as the top and gathering it, before sewing it on.  Then when I put the elastic in, it was gathered the amount I wanted, but stood out more than those I hadn't gathered before.  The picture doesn't make it look like it! stands out as much as it really does, but here is an example that I like so much that I have it hanging on my wall, for now.  I just find it cheers me up to look at something beautiful I've made.

Well, I need to take all the bedding from the bassinet and wash it, so it will be ready for my new grandson, who is scheduled to be born tomorrow.  I'm SO glad my grandchildren live close by!  I think of my grandparents, and how hard it was for them, always having us so far away.  My mother was their only child, and she married a career Marine.  They had a farm outside of Walla Walla, Washington.  Dad was usually stationed 2,000 miles away, or more.  My parents managed to get us up there about two out of every three years, and Grandma and Grandpa sometimes visited wherever we were, but they still averaged seeing us only about once a year.  I've never had to go more than 10 days without seeing either of my grandchildren and I start to miss them terribly after about 48 hours!