Roly Poly Pinafore Tag-a-long

Seeing as I'm not officially part of the Roly-Poly-Along blog tour, I decided it wasn't right to make it seem as though I was. So tag-a-long it is!

I was so sweetly gifted this pattern, The Roly-Poly Pinafore by Imagine Gnats, by someone very dear to me, so how could I not jump on this bandwagon and sew one up right away?!

First we have the cutest look: The winter wardrobe...complete with summer flowers in the background!

She LOVES the pockets!

Pointing at pretty flowers so that I could capture the back.

Eeeek! Mommy there are BEES!

Then we decided to show off the reverse.

The reverse with a little pair of denim shorts. Perfect for the hot Texas weather that's come to town lately.
And just in case you are wondering, those are full sleeves of fake tattoos!

The back. Nice and airy, yet still covered enough to be appropriate in public. And you can see her back piece peeking out at the top!

And finally with a skirt.

The last look. A pretty little girlie in summer skirt and pinafore.

I followed the recommendation of choosing the size to sew by Missy's measurements instead of her RTW size. The size 4 will fit her now and all through winter as well. She usually wears a 5T, but the 4 fits perfectly!

I did overcast the hidden side seams and pocket edges, as I just couldn't bring myself to leave them raw. I used iron-on interfacing on the areas that would receive buttons and buttonholes. I added it right before turning the pinafore right side out. It adds strength to those areas and lessens the chance of Missy ripping the straps, like when she's rough-housing with her brothers.

She LOVES her pinny and it's pockets are a hit with her! I think it'd be fun to make a few print corduroy ones for the winter, to wear over some basic, solid color, long sleeves. Over even some solid pinafores to wear over bright or print knit shirts! 

All in all it is a very cute pattern and I am sure you'll enjoy the end result as much as I do!

The Big Reveal!

When Jessica S, the winner of the giveaway, said her son liked trucks I searched through my stash, flinging fabric aside as I dug through the piles. Okay, so maybe I didn't really fling fabric around, after all, isn't my to-do list long enough, without adding "re-fold all fabric" to it? But many fabrics did get shuffled around, and what I discovered was.....I have a serious shortage of truck print fabric!

I peeked around at Joann, but I wasn't really feeling like what I found was the perfect fabric for the job, and I certainly didn't find a good solid to go with anything that I did find.

What's a girl with a deadline, no truck fabric, and no hoop for her embroidery machine, to do?!

The answer? Applique, of course!

Honestly. I have only done applique work about 2 or 3 other times, so I was a little nervous giving it a go on some of my best striped fabric (Michael Miller). But the many silent little prayers along the way were answered, and I am actually very happy with the finished product!

I didn't have any co-ordinating solids, so I spent ages painstakingly matching every single stripe, right down to the arm and leg bands!

I dare not let Little Man see this set, lest he decides I need to add a pair for him to my to-do list!

A few links from today's project:
The pattern: The AMAZING Lazy Days Lounge Set by Fishsticks Designs!
The applique: Truck and Tools by Angel Lea Designs on Etsy
This was my first time purchasing from Angel Lea Designs, and it was a great experience! I bought a 3 applique template bundle deal, and despite us being in opposite time zones, the files her sent extremely quickly! They are well designed, simple enough for a newbie like me to put together, and beautifully presented. I'll definitely be back for more!
What was the third template I bought in the bundle? Why an absolutely cool Pirate Ship, of course!
The clothing labels: They're satin, foldover ones from my absolutely favorite label source, Night Owl's Menagerie on Etsy!