He's here!

Sooner than expected, we were able to welcome our newest son, Rafe David, into our arms! He was born at 9:09 AM on Sunday, March 6, weighing 7 lbs., 8 oz. and measuring 20 inches long. He was the earliest of my babies, born at 37 weeks and four days, but obviously none the worse for it with his healthy weight and size!

[Sweet Rafe at one day old]
Douglas took the following week off of work and I was able to have a nice lie-in with Rafe, resting from the birth, bonding, and nursing around the clock. I even had time to do some reading(!) -- I re-read Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson, which makes for very pleasant post-partum reading material.

[Three weeks old -- getting quite a bit chubbier!]
All of the older siblings are over the moon about having a baby brother to cuddle, especially Edmund. I'm constantly fielding the request: "Can I hold him?" And if one child gets a "yes," the other two will start clamoring, "I want to hold him, too!"

[All the children dressed up for Easter]
It's been a sweet three weeks of getting to know Rafe and adjusting to life with a newborn again. I've always wanted to have a spring baby, to watch our new little one growing right alongside the life that is growing and blooming outside! God is good!

[Daffodils for Rafe David]

Hello!

Wow, the time has flown since my last update. It's probably not hard to guess part of the reason behind my blog silence. I'll let pictures speak for themselves:

[L to R: 15 weeks; 21 weeks; 29 weeks; 34 weeks!]
We are really looking forward to meeting our fourth child next month! Between pregnancy and homeschooling and a camera that is dubiously working, keeping up with my blog has just become too much for me. I've decided to shut it down, although I will hopefully pop in with a birth announcement before that happens!

Thank you for following along all these years! I have met so many lovely ladies through my blog; it has been such a blessing to me! Please feel free to e-mail me at any time if you would like to keep in touch. I will miss this space but I know it's time to stretch into a new season and different priorities. May God bless each and every one of you!

Vintage Simplicity 3939: Seersucker

Lavinia is getting to the age where she enjoys wearing dresses, so I'm happy to oblige by sewing up a few! I happened to have this vintage pattern in a size 3 in my stash, so I used some cotton seersucker (also from my stash) and whipped this up for her.


The original pattern calls for tucks and rick-rack to add a little interest. I can't buy any rick-rack in soft, vintage colors locally, so I used the white rick-rack I had on hand. It doesn't "pop" very much, but adds a subtle touch of interest. I ended up taking out the bodice darts called for in the pattern -- I think it's pretty typical for a three-year-old's waist measurement to be the same as her chest! No shaping needed!


Fifties dresses for girls are fairly short, and Lavinia is fairly tall, so I lengthened the skirt by three inches. I didn't actually have enough fabric to do this, so I made a faced hem out of some scrap fabric. This is exactly what it sounds like -- instead of folding the fashion fabric up into a hem, you create a facing as a hem. Since it's a straight skirt, I also used my machine to make a blind stitch hem. This is my favorite quick way to do hems on straight skirts!


Vintage buttons down the back from the stash. Magnificent bridal wreath bush courtesy of my parents' yard.


Happy girl. More made-by-mommy dresses are in your future, Lavinia!

A rosy day in February

Yesterday our baby Rosamund turned one year old! At breakfast, she opened some handmade cards from her siblings and a gift from Mommy and Daddy.


She has been in danger of getting very attached to a very soft, but very ugly, orange plaid throw blanket that we have. We gave her her own soft pink baby blanket from Berkshire Blanket. See those fingers in the mouth? That's a sign of contentedness. I think the switcheroo will go unnoticed.


She also received the felt rose hairclip, which I battled to keep in place all day long, and some new chocolate brown leather shoes made by me. I'll post about those soon.


I asked my mom if we could have the birthday luncheon at her house, so she provided the beautiful table while I contributed the food. We had tomato bisque and a variety of small, savory sandwiches and crudités, with cake and tea for dessert.


Mom set the table with vintage dishes belonging to Rosamund's great-great-great-grandmother. I sure hope Rosamund loves roses as much as I do, because the rose theme is not slacking off anytime soon!


For her first birthday cake, I used our champagne blush wedding cake recipe, which I've not tasted since our wedding. I thought the recipe was lost, but when I mentioned it to my mom, she found it for me. Whew!


Happy day celebrating a precious little lady. We love you, Rosamund!

Felted wool baby shoes

OK, OK, I didn't think I would do it, but I did! I'm giving baby shoes a shot. It is so hard to find classic, sweet shoes for little girls that don't involve pink, cartoon characters, and glitter. Rosamund is outgrowing her winter shoes (hand-me-downs from Lavinia) and the next sizes in girls' winter shoes that I have just aren't working for her. She is just on the verge of toddling so I want to continue to put her in soft-soled shoes, the better to walk on her own.

These are a "dipping my feet in" version of the free pattern available at Darling Diapers (brought to my attention by Shannon, who has already made and shared several pairs of adorable leather shoes on her blog! Thanks for the inspiration, Shannon!) These ones are made of felted wool, with leather (wrong-side-out, for texture) on the bottom. I sewed the wool parts on my sewing machine, but I don't have any leather needles for my machine (yet -- they're on their way, thanks to Amazon Prime) so I hand-stitched the uppers and soles together. Let's just say my hand-stitching could use a great deal of practice.

I made the 12-18 month size, but they are a tad snug on my almost-one-year-old, so for my next version, I will size up. (EDIT: I think I made a mistake while printing, so that's why the sizing was off!) These practice ones are not very feminine so I am mulling over some ways to "pretty" them up while still sticking with neutral colors.

Mei tai in action

I find I am using baby carriers more and more with each successive child -- it becomes more necessary to have hands free when you've got other children to care for. I've actually tried three different "traditional" baby carrier styles over the years -- a ring sling, a mei tai, and a moby wrap. They each have their pros and cons but the one I've ended up using the most is the mei tai, made from Sew Liberated's mei tai baby carrier pattern. I haven't used my sling since Edmund was a baby, because the uneven weight distribution just tends to make my neck and shoulder ache. My sister-in-law lent me her moby wrap when Lavinia was born, and even though it's the most complicated to get on, it's my favorite for the newborn stage because of the great head support. However, when my babies get old enough to hold up their heads on their own, I favor the mei tai because it's easier and faster to put on than the moby.


This is a typical scene you'll find around our house on any given morning -- Rosie riding on my back in the mei tai while I'm doing housework. She is not-so-content to play on her own while I'm busy, but she's very content to hang out back there while I do dishes. I also frequently use the mei tai when I'm out and about. I almost always wear Rosie in the front when I'm grocery shopping, which leaves one kid in the cart and one kid walking beside me (or both kids strapped into one of those ridiculous, un-maneuverable two-child carts at places like Walmart or Target -- why they like to ride in there, I have no idea).


[I do have to put my hair in a stylin' side pony because Rosie LOVES to pull it otherwise!]
So anyway, about the pattern. I made it a long time ago, when I was pregnant with Lavinia, but here's what I can recall: first off, I managed to make it out of 45" wide home décor fabric, and less than what the pattern calls for. I think I did this by rotating the layout of the straps 90 degrees. Unfortunately I can't remember exactly what I did, but just a head's up that you don't have to go with what's recommended in the pattern -- play around with the layout and see what you can come up with. Also, you could totally omit the patch pocket on the front of the mei tai. I never use it; it's just not handy.

All in all, I'm happy with my carrier and it's held up well after nearly three years of use (although the fabric has faded quite a bit).

And we're off!

[first day of school]
Just like that, we started our "official" homeschooling at the beginning of the month. I'm doing three subjects with Edmund right now -- Bible, reading/phonics, and math/numbers. For Bible, we read a chapter each day, work on memorizing one verse each week, and learn a new hymn or psalm each month (Lavinia does this with us and enjoys it, too). For reading, I am using "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" and reading various books aloud, as time permits (right now we are on "Farmer Boy" by Laura Ingalls Wilder, having already finished the first two books in the series earlier in the year). I haven't quite gotten my act together for math yet (planning to order a workbook at some point), but I've had him do some counting and sorting activities and practice writing numbers.

He thinks it is all simply wonderful.

Purple bunting

I made this bunting out of purple fabric scraps as a decoration for Lavinia's birthday last May. I just now got around to hanging it up in her bedroom (we switched rooms with her and Rosie this summer), along with a few other wall decorations. Her toddler reaction when she saw her room: "This is amazing!!" A good reminder to me, don't waste time feeling bad that my kids' bedrooms aren't Pinterest-perfect... just decorate them with a mother's love and they will be so happy.

To make the bunting, I cut out fourteen triangles (two of each fabric that I had) and backed them with a similar color. Sewed right sides together, clipped and turned right side out, then edge-stitched. I centered the triangles, tucked the raw edges up inside the (pre-made) bias tape and sewed it shut -- easy peasy!

That lavender eyelet in the foreground of the picture is left over from the birthday dress my mom made for me when I turned six.

Cleaning the bathroom with little helpers

Here comes a confession. A few Fridays ago, before he left for work, my husband kindly asked me if I would make it a priority to clean the bathrooms that day. Now if Douglas was asking, you'll correctly surmise they weren't in a pretty state. I had neglected them for a long time, due to a lot of factors (hello, new baby). But it really was getting gross. So, I determined that I needed to stop procrastinating and get a system going that would make it easy for me to get the bathrooms clean on a regular basis.

Here's my problem: I want to train my kids to help around the house, to work hard and to appreciate cleanliness. However, it is slow, frustrating, patience-shattering work to train them, so I tend to put it off. Edmund is four and he can be genuinely helpful with certain tasks. Lavinia, who just turned two, not so much -- but I don't want to let her play elsewhere while Edmund works. We're all in this together. I gave it some thought and here's what I came up with to help me in my task.


Before you start, ask God to give you His patience and cheerfulness. If at any time during the process you feel yourself losing it, stop and take a break for a minute. Pray, regain your good attitude, apologize to your kids if needed, and start again. Another good idea is to start the cleaning right after breakfast or after a mid-morning snack, so everyone's tummies are satisfied and there's no hunger-induced crankiness to add tension to the atmosphere. If you like, put on some calming music.

Write down, in minute detail, all the jobs needed to clean your bathroom(s). On my own, I am perfectly capable of cleaning a bathroom in logical order, knowing what to do next and keeping on pace. When I am overseeing two little helpers, my brain flies out the window. It is very helpful to me to have a list to consult so that I don't have to think about what task to do next. You could either put it in a homemaking binder, or laminate it and keep it with your bathroom-cleaning supplies. Mine looks like this:

• put away toys, dirty clothes, throw towels/rugs down chute
• dust surfaces (shelf, cupboard, window)
• wipe down medicine cabinet shelves
• organize drawers/shelves (if needed)
• clean mirror
• spray and wipe down sink, toilet, tub
• clean inside of toilet
• clean soap dish, replace soap if needed
• empty trash
• replace handtowels with clean ones
• restock toilet paper, if needed
• sweep and mop floor
• wash floor rug, towels, and replace when clean

(That is my intensive cleaning list for our main floor bathroom. I also wrote an abridged one for maintenance.)

Gather all your cleaning supplies in one place. I put all the bathroom supplies in one bucket so that I can easily grab it and not have to spend time hunting up various cleaners or utensils from the far reaches of the house. Whatever your stance is on using "green" cleaning supplies, with little kids it is good to use some mild cleaners because I guarantee you will be hearing things like, "I just sprayed my eye!" I have a spray bottle of 50/50 vinegar water that I let the kids go to town with. I also have a shaker full of 50/50 salt/baking soda which is a good abrasive for scrubbing soap scum from sinks and tubs. Cleaning wipes are very handy and if you don't want your kids handling store-bought ones, make your own.

Demonstrate and delegate. As far as the actual cleaning, there are two approaches you can use and they both have their places. The first is to do the work very slowly, alongside your kids, explaining and demonstrating what you are doing with each task as you go. This is good for the first couple of times you are training or for a deep clean. However, if it takes me 3+ hours every Friday morning to get the bathrooms clean, that is a serious bite into our time and I am more likely to not do it. So the other way is to delegate small tasks to your kids, and while they are occupied with that, do as much thorough cleaning as you can, as quickly as you can. In the time it takes Edmund and Lavinia to spray and wipe the bathtub, I could have the mirror, sink, and toilet clean, etc. This is good for maintenance.

Maintain. Fridays are our bathroom-cleaning days. However, the most heavily-trafficked bathroom (our main floor bathroom, which is also the kids' bathroom) can get messy and dirty in a hurry and start looking dreadful before another Friday rolls around (or you may have to skip a Friday from time to time, when other things come up). One good idea I gleaned from the book Large Family Logistics is to superficially clean and straighten up the bathroom while your little ones are playing in the bathtub during bath time. I will often take a used washcloth or a handtowel that's headed for the laundry basket, wet it with water, and just wipe down surfaces that have accumulated dirt or dust. Put away toothbrushes, toys, dirty clothes; pick up trash off the floor; straighten towels; even grab the broom if needed (our kids tend to track in sand from the sandbox).

Since implementing this system, I am a lot more dedicated to keeping the bathrooms clean and it is an easier job. If you have any more suggestions or great ideas, please leave them in the comments!

Spring in the Blue House

Life is flying by. I can't believe it's May already. My sweet Rosamund is now 3 months old, and we'll be celebrating Lavinia's second birthday next week!

People often ask me how I'm adjusting to life with three children. It's hard to know how to answer -- it's not like things were easy, and now they're hard. Having a baby has certainly added a different element to life, but it's no more or less demanding than it was before. I'm still caring for all the needs of my children and household, with some different needs thrown in now.


Rosamund is actually a pretty "easy" baby in most ways, so she is fitting right in to the rhythm of our lives. She started sleeping all night long much sooner than my other two children, which is a great boon to me because if I ever needed good sleep, it's now! I didn't do anything special to try to encourage her to sleep through the night, she just started on her own. She just recently "discovered" her fingers and loves to suck on her middle two fingers, in a sort of inverse Vulcan hand salute. I like to think it's genetic because my dad says that's how he sucked on his fingers, too. At any rate, it's made her even more contented and happy.


I have been working a very part-time editing job from home since a few weeks prior to Rosie's birth. I do my work in the early mornings, before the rest of the household is up, so I get Rosie up for a morning feeding, then she keeps me company while I work (falling back asleep somewhere in there). She is so happy and smiley in the mornings -- it's sweet to have that special time with my baby. The older kids wake up right around the time I finish and then we hit the ground running.


If I'm completely honest, I feel pretty overwhelmed by it all. It is so easy for me to feel like a failure each day because I never accomplish everything I'd like to do. There are so many balls in the air -- cleaning the house, cooking meals, doing laundry, errands, bills, household projects, spending time with my children, spending time with my husband, nursing the baby, getting myself (and three other little people) dressed and presentable, exercising, reading, working, church activities, investing in friendships -- and I haven't even thrown homeschooling into the mix yet (eeeek!). It seems like I can do one or two of those things well, on any given day, but never ALL of them! I know that I'm deep in the trenches of motherhood right now and that things will change and perhaps not get easier, but they will be different, so I persevere as well as I can. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by encouraging voices from family and church family. And I'm always looking for ways to "double up" on those tasks, to get more done, which I may share about on the blog from time to time.

I have not felt like doing any sewing at all. Someday my enjoyment of it will return, I'm sure, but right now it just feels like one more thing on the "to do" list. So I'm giving myself permission to take a break for a while. Instead of sewing, I ordered matching dresses from Boden for my two girls to wear on Easter, and funnily enough, I got asked so many times, "Did you make them?" So why sew when you can fake it?! ;-)

Well, here I sit when there's breakfast to be made, children to be dressed, and a day to start -- until next time, friends!

My grandmothers

I am truly blessed to have so many wonderful, godly mothers in my life -- not just my own mom, but my two grandmas and my mother-in-law as well! My grandmas both raised their families of four children in the 1950s -- Grandma Ackerman (mom's mom) started her family while serving as a missionary in Honduras, and Grandma Marilyn (dad's mom) while living with her Navy husband on the island of Guam. My parents are both the second-born children (just like me).

Grandma Ackerman is probably the most cheerful, most joyful lady I know. Her life is not without trials -- especially losing her beloved husband six years ago -- but I have seen her choosing joy in difficult circumstances. She is full of energy in showing kindness to others. A reputation that's developed over the years is one for good food and hospitality. Serving in the kitchen is one of her ways of showing love and I have many delicious recipes shared by her. Grandma Ackerman is friendly, kind-hearted, and generous.


[Glamorous Grandma A. in 1942]


[Grandma A. with her first two children]
Grandma Marilyn passed on to me her love of books and libraries. She has a taste for beautiful touches -- when she first met my mom, it was on a fancy family picnic complete with glass goblets! She is an artful decorator and flower arranger. She is adventurous, always mastering new technologies as they come (she had an iPhone before I did!). Grandma Marilyn was raised by a single mother who struggled with depression, but has not given in to complaining or bitterness about life's difficulties. She has a beautiful voice and I love to hear her singing.


[Grandma Marilyn with her firstborn son]


[Grandma Marilyn with my dad as a toddler]
I'm so thankful for these beautiful ladies who love God and faithfully proclaimed the Gospel to their children, so that I too could someday know my savior, Jesus Christ! Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations... Deuteronomy 7:9

Saturday tea party

Last Saturday, Edmund was "inspired" by a Tasha Tudor book I read aloud to the children and requested tea and cookies. I told him he could help me make some cookies while Lavinia was napping, and they could have a tea party after she woke up. I have been slowly converting my pantry to be Trim Healthy Mama-friendly (this is my post-partum weight loss strategy -- so far, so good!), which means no sugar in the house! I had coconut sugar and honey but I wanted to make some cookies that I could eat too. :) I did a quick Google search and we tweaked a recipe I found in the THM forums. Not all of the THM recipes I've tried have been "keepers" but these were so rich and yummy I would definitely make them again! I believe these would be considered an "S" dessert, despite the oatmeal, because the amount is so small (unless you eat them all in one sitting, tee hee).

• 1/4 c. Truvia + sprinkles of NuNaturals Pure Stevia Extract to taste
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup all-natural peanut butter
• 1/2 tbsp. vanilla
• 1 cup unsweetened, dried coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oatmeal

In a heavy saucepan, bring to boil the sweetener, cocoa, butter and almond milk. Let boil for 1 minute then remove from heat and add peanut butter, vanilla, coconut flakes, and oatmeal. On a plate lined with waxed paper, drop mixture by teaspoonfuls, then stick in the fridge until cooled and hardened. Makes 1-1/2 dozen.

The Tiniest Rosebud

Our precious second daughter, Rosamund Irene, was born right on her due date, February 3, at 2:37pm! She weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces and is 21-1/2 inches long. We are so thankful for this beautiful little blessing in our lives.


I didn't mean to neglect my blog so much in January, but we ended up having quite a month. In the middle of week 37 of my pregnancy, I came down with a case of respiratory influenza -- fever, chills, cough, sore throat, congestion, laryngitis -- the whole shebang. Thankfully my fever didn't last more than a day or so, but I lost my voice and had a bad sore throat for close to two weeks. My voice gradually improved and by the middle of week 39, I felt well enough that I could handle the thought of going through labor! So it was truly an answer to prayer that Rosamund stayed in the womb longer than my other children, to give me plenty of time to recover.

Now I can say I've done it all -- birthing center, homebirth, and hospital birth! Rosamund was my first baby to be born in a hospital and I'm thankful that all went well and I was able to have a natural birth. The laws in our state are not favorable toward homebirths or midwives, so options are limited here. When I became pregnant, I began seeing the only practicing midwife in our area for prenatal care, with plans to give birth at the hospital under her care. However, when I was seven months along, I learned that she was leaving the local practice to work 2-1/2 hours away. We were torn about what to do but eventually decided to continue the local care with a female OB who was sympathetic to my desires for a natural birth.

I still wanted some naturally-minded support at the birth and one morning, God gave me the idea of using a doula, something I have not done before. He even planted a specific person in my mind -- my friend Hannah from church. I didn't know her that well, but I knew that she had attended her sister's birth and supported her in a difficult labor, and that she had had natural hospital births herself. I approached Hannah about it and was delighted to find that she truly has an interest in helping women give birth, as a gifting from the Lord! This was to be one of the biggest blessings of Rosamund's birth. Hannah was so helpful, calm, and encouraging to have with me at the hospital; honestly I'm not sure how I would have gotten through my toughest labor without her support.

I was expecting that my third labor might be the quickest yet, but it wasn't. I woke up at 2:30am with contractions and labored through the night at home. We decided to head for the hospital around 11am and I got checked in about half an hour later. When the nurse gave me an exam, she proclaimed me to be 9cm dilated with a bulging bag of waters! We all thought the birth was imminent, but it ended up taking another three hours of hard labor before she was born. My water just would not break. Eventually, I decided to ask the OB to perform an amniotomy because I knew, based on my past births, that things would go very quickly for me after that. As we were waiting the 45 minutes or so for her to come, Douglas prayed that my water would break soon. When the OB did arrive, I was going through an intense contraction so she waited, instrument in hand, ready to break my bag of waters. Mid-contraction, I felt that familiar gush and an urge to push! One more pushing contraction and our daughter had entered the world. I couldn't believe God's amazing timing!


[Roses for Rosie -- one of a dozen sent to us by a friend after her birth]
I'm used to recovering at home so we decided to stay just 24 hours and then head home. It was nice to have the staff to wait on us, but it was hardly a restful environment to recuperate with lots of nurses in and out, plus construction on the floor above us and outside our window starting promptly at 7am! I'm so thankful for yet another smooth, complication-free birth and a healthy baby. I am recuperating well and enjoying cuddling a newborn again. Edmund and Lavinia love having a sister and we're all adjusting to life as a family of FIVE!

A hat for "Sunday Best"

The other day, I had a little time so I made up a fancy cloche hat for Lavinia, once again using the toddler cloche pattern from the Etsy shop eVINTAGE Patterns. This time, I used view C with the scalloped brim (you can see my first version from last Easter here). I cut the hat from cream-colored wool from my stash and lined it with some leftover duchess satin from my wedding gown. The ribbon flowers and leaves are also leftover from my wedding gown -- ones I made but didn't use in the final design -- and I thought they added a pretty touch. These hats are so easy to make (cut out two pieces, sew seven short seams and do a little hand-stitching, and you're done!).

"Mama's favorite maxi dress" tutorial

Here's the tutorial for the dress I designed to be useful for maternity, postpartum, and nursing -- but it's easily customizable! If, for example, you want a nursing dress but not maternity, just lessen the width of the skirt pieces for less ease. If you want a maternity dress but don't plan to nurse in it, you can make the top however you want. The shirring under the bust helps give your waist some shape if you are postpartum, but easily stretches to accommodate a baby bump, too. And, I really think this dress works year-round -- just throw on leggings and a cardigan in cold weather! I could not ask for a more versatile piece of clothing in my wardrobe for this season of mothering. I hope it's a blessing to some other moms out there.

For the sake of brevity, I'm going to assume that you are familiar with the basics of sewing knits and the extra sewing techniques I outline in this tutorial. I wish I had the time and space to explain everything in detail, but if you have questions about anything, please don't be afraid to ask for clarification or help! Just leave a comment or send me an e-mail (address is in my Blogger profile). Also, although I proofread this tutorial thoroughly, if you come across any mistakes, I would be deeply grateful if you would let me know!

Supplies Needed:

• sewing machine
• 3 yards of light- to medium-weight knit fabric (For your reference, I am 5'10" and normally a US size 8 or Medium, and I made this dress out of 3 yards of 66" wide (though badly off-grain) fabric with barely any leftover. If you are much smaller or larger, you'll need to adjust yardage accordingly.)
• 1/2 to 1 yard of lightweight knit for underlining the bodice front, if your fashion fabric is lightweight
• matching thread
• pins
• sewing scissors
• chalk or other marking tool
• tissue paper or pattern-making paper
• clear elastic (optional)
• 1/8" wide elastic
• elastic thread
• jersey needle
• twin needle(s) (I used both 2,0 and 4,0 sizes)
• dress form or someone to help you with fitting

Also, all seam allowances are 1/2", unless otherwise noted.

OK, let's get started!

First, you need to take five measurements. Measure yourself around your underbust (A), measure from underbust to desired hem length (B), measure from the middle of your shoulder seam, passing over the apex of the bust, to the underbust (C), measure from the base of your neck, across your shoulder seam, to approximately where you'd like your cap sleeve to end (D), and measure across your bust front, from apex to apex (E).

Cutting out the skirt

(When I have made this dress, I drafted half the skirt straight onto the fabric using chalk and pins, cut out half, folded the fabric over at the midline, then cut out the other half of the skirt. I then used this first skirt piece as a pattern to cut out the second. If you prefer to make a paper pattern, you can draft onto paper first.)


Take measurement A and divide by 2. Now, multiply that figure by 1.5. Add 1" for seam allowance. We'll call this measurement F. This is how wide your front and back skirt pieces will be at the top (dashed line between the dots).

Lay your fabric out flat. Mark measurement F out on your fabric with pins or chalk, and also mark the center (star). Next, take your measurement B and add around 2" seam allowance (more if you are unsure about how long you want it -- better safe than sorry, and we'll be marking the hem later). From the left side of the top of the skirt, measure down the length of B + 2" in a gentle A-line shape (wider if you want more fullness at the hem, narrower if you want less). Go back to your top F measurement and gently curve from side to center, dropping below the line maybe an inch and a half or so (there's a more scientific way to do this, but I eyeball it and it turns out fine). ;-) From the center, measure down the length of B + 2" in a straight line. Connect the edge and center of the bottom of the skirt with a gentle curve. Cut the half skirt out (solid lines), then fold the fabric over along the center midline (dotted line), and cut the remaining half using the first half as a guide, being sure to match the print if your fabric has one. Using this skirt piece that you just cut as a pattern, cut out one more identical skirt piece. These are your front and back skirt pieces.

Cutting out the bodice


There are four pieces to the bodice: the left and right side of the bodice front, the faux camisole, and the bodice back. To draft the bodice front piece (I do this on tissue paper, since the pattern pieces are smaller), draw a straight line the length of D + 1" seam allowance. At a right angle to the first line, draw another line the length of C + 3" or so (you'll be trimming this later, just make sure it's plenty long to cover your bust and meet in the middle). Along the bottom, draw a line the length of F divided by 2 + 1/2" seam allowance. Then connect the third line back to the first line to form a trapezoid shape.


For the back bodice, draw a rectangle. The long sides will be the length of F. The short sides will be the length of C + 3" (or whatever you added). At the top of the bodice back, mark the center (star) and cut out a slight curve for the back neckline, around four inches across (it will be turned under 1/2" for a total of a 5" wide neck opening -- measure a knit top you already own if you want to double check how wide to make it for you personally).


For the faux camisole, simply copy the neckline curve of a tank top you already own and like. Add a bit of length to the straps and draw straight lines down to the bottom edge (make it about as long as C + 5" -- we'll be trimming and fitting all this later). The width of the faux camisole should be slightly wider (maybe 1" to 1-1/2") than the apexes of the bust (measurement E). This is to minimize the visibility of any lines -- if they ran straight over the fullest part of your bust, where the bodice fabric is pulled tighter, the edges of the faux camisole might be more obvious.

NOTE: The second version of my dress was made of a more lightweight knit and so I decided to underline the bodice front pieces and the faux camisole for modesty's sake. My fear was that the edges of the faux camisole would show through the bodice pieces, and I don't want it to be obvious to everyone that I'm wearing a nursing dress! If your fabric is also on the lightweight side, I would recommend underlining as well.

Sewing the bodice

Bind the neckline of the faux camisole. To finish the long edges of the faux camisole, I used my serger but didn't turn under and stitch or anything -- you want this part to be as unobtrusive as possible. Drape the faux camisole on yourself (or your dressform) where you want it to be positioned (fig. 1), and then carefully place the bodice front pieces over it (fig. 2), lining up the top of the bodice front with approximately where your shoulder seam will go (don't forget to allow for seam allowance) and aligning the bottom edges at the middle of your underbust, forming a deep V with the neckline. Pin the straps of the faux camisole in place, then baste in place and trim excess fabric off the straps as needed.


[Sooooo sorry about the horrible iPhone photos! Hopefully you get the idea!]


[Straps of the faux camisole pinned in place after fitting on myself; ready to baste in place.]
Lay out the bodice back piece right side up. On top of this, lay the bodice front (from now on including the faux camisole which has been basted to the right and left pieces) right side down, matching up the shoulders at the neckline. Trim the bodice back as shown below, to line up with the bodice front (it's trimmed on the right side, not yet trimmed on the left). With right sides together, stitch shoulder seams (I would recommend reinforcing these seams with clear elastic or self-fabric strips). Try this on and make sure everything is laying OK, then pinching under your arm, decide how much of an opening to leave for your armhole (my armholes were a total of 16", or 8" down from the shoulder seam).


Next you need to hem the sleeves, and lucky for you I messed up this part so no photos! Just my hastily drawn diagrams, which are probably clearer anyway. :) Laying the bodice flat with the shoulder seam at the top, measure down the desired length of your armhole opening + 1/2". From there, baste (1/2" away from edge of fabric) the side seams together to the bottom of the bodice. Go back to the top of the basting and make a 1/2" snip to the basting stitches (fig. 3).


Then turn the sleeve holes under 1/2" and stitch with your double needle (I used the 2,0 size for arms and neck; 4,0 for skirt hem). Go back to the bottom of your armhole and stitch from the edge of the hemmed sleeve to the bottom of the bodice, curving in about 1-1/2" under the arm and then angling back out to meet edge at the bottom of the bodice (represented by the red stitching line in fig. 4). Trim excess fabric.


Almost done with the bodice, which is definitely the most complex and time-consuming part of the dress! Just turn under the neckline 1/2" and stitch with a twin needle. (It will be a little tricky to turn under the curved back neckline, but just stretch the fabric as needed when you pin in place. I do recommend reinforcing the back neckline with a self-fabric strip or clear elastic as you're stitching it in place.)

Try on the bodice and align the front bodice pieces to meet in the center of the faux camisole under your bust where you want the underbust seam to be. Pin in place, remove bodice, and then baste front bodice pieces to the faux camisole at the underbust line.

Try on the bodice again and wrap a measuring tape or ribbon under your bust, distributing the fullness of the fabric evenly and making sure the side seams run down straight under your arms. Have a helper pin or mark the underbust line for you. Remove bodice, straighten up the markings, add 1/2" seam allowance, and trim excess fabric, making sure your trimming is symmetrical (do this by laying the bodice out flat and matching the side seams, then cutting through both layers of fabric starting from the middle of the bodice front and ending at the middle of the bodice back).


[Back to my awesome iPhone photos! You can see here how I matched the side seams, folding the bodice at the center front and center back, and trimmed about 1/2" below the yellow chalk line.]

Attaching bodice to skirt

With right sides together, pin bodice to skirt top, matching side seams and center front and center back. (If the openings don't quite match perfectly, just stretch the knit slightly until they do -- no big deal.) Baste.

Take a length of 1/8" elastic and run it around your underbust, pulling enough to give some stretch but not uncomfortably so. Cut the elastic with no overlap. Mark the middle of the elastic, then mark the middle of each half. Starting at one of the side seams, pin the elastic over the basting stitches that join the bodice and skirt. Stitch over the elastic and basting stitches as you stretch the elastic so that the three marks align with the center front, opposite side seam, and center back of the bodice (see below). Finish up by stretching the end of the elastic back to the side seam where you started.


Finishing details

Soooo close to being done! Next, with your elastic thread in the bobbin, stitch about 2" of shirring below the underbust seam (you can do more or less depending on whether you are high- or low-waisted). I did eight rows of shirring, each 1/4" apart (see below).


Try on your dress and have your helper mark the hem for you. Trim as needed, then turn up the hem 1" and stitch with a double needle. ALL DONE!

Mama's favorite maxi dress #2 -- stripes!

This is not only my second version of my "Mama's Favorite Maxi Dress" design, it's also a pregnancy update! I was 13 weeks when I posted the first version, and now I'm 26 weeks. How the time has flown and how I've grown! But this gives you a chance to see how the design works for both maternity and non-maternity, since I barely had a bump the first time.

I wanted to choose a very different fabric from the first dress, so I made this second version out of a blue striped knit from Girl Charlee. When the fabric arrived, I hemmed and hawed about whether to use it for this dress because it ended up being much more lightweight than I thought it would be. I waited on the project for a couple of weeks, then decided to go ahead and try to use it. When I laid the fabric out however, I found that it was really badly off-grain. I've worked with a fair amount of knits over the past several years and I've never seen one so warped. I did some online searching to see if there was anything to be done to fix it, but what I found said that 1) off-grain knits really can't be corrected and 2) it's just a sign of poor-quality fabric. I did write to Girl Charlee to politely tell them of my "fabric issues," but never heard anything back. So I probably won't take a chance with ordering from them again -- bummer! Has anyone else had this problem or have you been happy with your purchases and the customer service from their website?

So needless to say, this version was a little more challenging because of the lightweight fabric and the skewed grain, but I once I found the time to work on it, I did manage to produce another dress! I decided to underline the front bodice pieces so that the lines of the faux camisole wouldn't show through, and I'm glad I did. I used some ivory modal knit I had in my stash -- another online shopping bust, in which the fabric turned out to be much too lightweight for the project I had in mind. Oh well, it actually works really well as a knit lining!


I also left the length a bit longer on this version, although I have a feeling I'm going to have to re-hem it... I like the elegance of a nearly-floor-length dress, but not so practical for going up and down stairs while carrying a little one (and usually carrying something else in the other hand!). I'm a little too apt to step on the hem and go flying!

As far as my pregnancy goes, everything is going well and I've been feeling fine this second trimester. I nursed Edmund until he was two years old, but Lavinia ended up self-weaning when she was around 16 months (when I was 17 weeks pregnant), so I'm no longer nursing, although the nursing access on my dress will become extremely handy once again when the baby is born. I'm almost into the third trimester (home stretch!) and am starting to get those physical quirks that make carrying a larger baby uncomfortable. Oh well, I'm grateful even for the discomfort because by the time the end comes, I'm really ready to get that baby out, even if it means going through the challenge of labor and delivery. ;-)

We don't know this baby's sex and we don't plan to find out. And we don't have a name picked out yet -- or should I say, Douglas and I haven't been able to come to a satisfactory agreement yet. Actually, if it's a girl, Douglas gets to name her his choice, but if it's a boy I'm a little more opinionated. We had a bunch of boy names picked out when we were first married, but Douglas has lost his enthusiasm for our secondborn son name over the years. So we're still mulling over choices!

It has been really fun to carry a baby now that Edmund is old enough to understand what's going on. When we first told him we were having another baby, he was so happy and surprised! It's a precious memory. He is excited and even felt the baby kick the other day, when I was sitting on the couch reading to the kids. I'm not sure Lavinia understands the reality of "baby inside mommy" but she is so interested in babies, I know she'll be thrilled when the baby is born. It won't be long now!