Sewing for Kindergarten: It Calls Me
It’s happening, guys. This day that seemed SO impossibly far away the day I took that little tiny baby home from the hospital is actually here. The first official day of school. Ahhhh! How can my baby be in school already? It doesn’t seem real. To mark this occasion, I did what any normal sewing mom would do; I made her an outfit. And of course signed up for a blog tour (wait, other mom’s don’t do that?). If you need a little back-to-school inspiration, check out the other stops on the Sewing for Kindergarten blog tour.
Sewing For Kindergarten Blog Tour
Here in Florida, school starts with Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten or as 99% of people refer to it, VPK. It’s basically all about teaching them how to write their letters and numbers. It makes sure that when the real deal gets here, they are ready. The fact that my four (almost 5) year old can already write her name is amazing to me. My heart keeps screaming that there’s no way she’s old enough for that. For real, I can’t cope.
If you have any young girls around this age, you are probably very familiar with the Disney film Moana. My girls probably watch it once a day and try to insist we play the soundtrack in the car everywhere we go. Both my girls will proudly scream sing the song “How Far I’ll Go” at their top of their lungs at any given moment. So when I asked Bella what kinda outfit she wanted for her first day of school, without hesitation she asked for a Moana Dress. What a shocker. Luckily, I had just the custom fabric for it from Christy’s Cute Designs. It was begging to be made into a BSD Sahara…
I swear her with her little backpack kill me! It swallows her and looks adorable. I also included some Bow Tie Leggings (sans bow ties) under her dress to keep her modest while she plays. In hindsight, I should have made the shorter version, but they do what they need to which is cover her.
This obviously does not show off her clothes, but what is a first day of school post without the honorary #momshot. And yes, my almost five year only really is only 32.8 pounds. She’s a tiny little thing. Anytime I shop ready to wear for her, I remember why I choose to make all her clothes.
Now if you think I could have gotten away with only making one Moana dress, you are mistaken. Baby sister had to have one too despite not going to school this year.
Once we got to the classroom, Bella was so excited about all the toys that she barely said goodbye to me. I expected tears, and I got them. They just weren’t from Bella. Yes, I’m that typical cry-on-the-first-day-of-school mom. Don’t judge me. If I am being completely honest, her dad confessed to me later that day he got a little teary-eyed too. (Sorry, honey! I just outed you on the internet!)
Apparently, Bella going to school made the whole family sad. Baby sister Lilly was so sad. Soon, little one. Your day will be here soon. And mom will probably cry for that one too.
XOXO,
Melissa
First I cut out new neckline on the pattern using a curved ruler. I tried to make the center of the neckline fairly even with the shoulder strap width. Then I made sure the back was even with the front. After doing a full bust adjustment, I sewed a quick muslin. Sewing muslins aren’t much fun, but they are so essential if you want to get a nice fit. All bodies are shaped differently, and I would much rather waste $2 a yard muslin fabric than my hoarded $$ a yard designer prints. In this case, I’m glad I did a muslin. While my full bust adjustment was a success (yay! My boobs fit!), when I altered the neckline, I didn’t remember that with the boatneck design, the shoulder would have to be brought in more. See that little excess fabric in the neckline? I would have been sad had I not done a muslin first! Most of the time when I do a muslin, I don’t finish the edges or anything unless I need to for an accurate fit. The more experienced you get with fitting, the quicker you can sew a basic muslin to figure out how the fit will be. 
Altering the neckline was an easy fix. I re-taped my pattern piece to a piece of tracing paper, moved the shoulder in a set pre-measured amount, and I was all set. Now I should have made a new muslin, but since I had measured the amount the shoulder needed to be moved, and because as a designer I am very used to making these types of adjustments often, I went for it with confidence (and the knowledge that I had enough fabric if I made a mistake.) The end result was pretty spectacular: 
This is by far the most favorite thing I have ever made myself. The pictures (taken by my less than enthusiastic that he was forced to stop working our 
I almost forgot to mention my other secret hack. One you would never notice on the outside, but makes me want to jump with joy… LACE! If you’ve looked around here for half a second, you will know that I’m addicted to the stuff. So when I decided to do a blind hem on the dress, I added a little lace trim on the hem. Pretty, huh? What’s a birthday party without PRESENTS?!?! I have to admit, when I heard about the prizes for the giveaway for this blog tour, I was kinda sad I couldn’t win them myself. Check out the info below on how to enter, and be sure to check out some of the other bloggers and their fabulous creations! Oh, and all 
