Peasant Top/Ruffle Pants Outfit

I was inspired by this from etsy. So cute!

I found a free pattern for a peasant top here, and the pants are a free pattern from here.   Peasant tops are pretty easy to make.  You would think pants were too, considering they were the first project we made in my sewing class in college, but these here pants did NOT want to be made.  They fought me the entire time!  But I showed them whose boss and they got made despite their protesting.  Okay who am I kidding.  I'm an idiot and sewed the ruffles to the top instead of the bottom, not only that but I cut them out all wrong, among several other idiotic mistakes.  I had to run back to hobby lobby and buy more fabric because I messed up so bad!   Pathetic.  As soon as I start thinking, "hey, I'm getting kind of good, maybe I should start my own Etsy account" something like this happens.  I'll take it as a hint that I should NOT start up an Etsy store anytime soon.   

Regardless, this is one of my favs on her.  I love the shirt and I love the pants, even though they were a beast to make.  I love the 3 ruffles, I would make her more pants like this but now I'm scared of them...ha.  Sorry for the crappy pics, but you get the idea, she's definitely a little fashionista in this:
 

Price? Let's see: $2.50 for the shirt (1/2 of a yard of Hobby Lobby's fabulous fabrics) and $3 for the pants.  Okay really $6 since a screwed up.  Still, under $10 for this adorable outfit, not bad!

Ruffle-Back Dress

 Let me just start off by stating that I love Hobby Lobby.   Okay, now we can continue...


I stalk Etsy to the point of obsession, but I justify it because once in awhile I'll come across a few gems now and again.  Of course I am too poor to buy them so I just make them instead.  One of these gems includes this fabulous dress:

Adorable, right??  It's from here. Too bad it's $79 + shipping.  Yikes.  Well, going back to Hobby Lobby (a store that I LOVE), they have the most amazing selection of fabrics.  And not badly priced either.  They have a permanent 30% off sale on most printed fabric, and I cannot resist buying it!! So a month or so ago I spoiled myself  Elisa and bought some very striking and cute fabric.   Here is my version of the above dress in the Hobby Lobby fabric:

SUPER CUTE.  It came together fairly easily, the ruffles did take some time but all in all it wasn't too bad.  It's a tie-back dress with an elastic casing in the back bodice.  I love the colors, and the ruffles make it all the more striking.  Total cost?  Let's see: I paid $3 each for the lime and pink fabric (with about 3/4 of a yard left over), the black was already in my stash, and I got 1/2 yard of the print fabric so it was about $2.50! Okay so less than $10 for this dress, even less if I would have bought just 1/4 yard for the ruffles.  So one could make this dress for as low as $6. Awesome.  Oh and I got a hair bow as well!  I love Hobby Lobby.

Elisa's Christmas Dress

I know I made this dress WAY too early  (I actually made this dress several months ago), but in my defense, I was not planning on making it for Christmas--I accidentally made it a little bigger than I wanted so there is not much choice. 
I bought this fabric at Joannes a while back.  I really can't remember how much it cost!! I need to post more often so I don't forget! I'm quite sure it was no more than $10 for everything.  I used polyester costume fabric, lace, and tulle.  
This was another experimental dress that turned out quite well.  I wanted a lace-up back and a gathered bodice, and of course lots of pouf, lace, and gathers.  I think everything was exectuted pretty decently, though I would have gone about the bodice differentyl now that I (kind of) know how to make a gathered bodice. 

Isn't she stunning in her pretty red dress?  She looks like a princess.  I can't wait till she wears it, she'll turn heads for sure. 

Sew Tweet!

 Joannes had a sale a month or so ago--50% off of all remnants, which are already 50% off the regular price! Not only are remnants cheap, but they are also perfect when sewing for small children and if you're planning on mixing and matching fabric. The selection can be pretty pathetic sometimes, but luckily for me I found this cute cotton bird-print fabric.  The bodice and bottom layer are made from cotton broad cloth.  It's cheap, only $3/yard at hobby lobby.  It is quite thin, but not a problem in this dress since the bodice is lined.
I had a lot of fun making Elisa this cute little dress. I couldn't resist making a little birdie on her bodice. It is machine-embroidered on.  I only wish I would have put it on higher so it sits more on her chest instead of her tummy.  Oh well.   After the bird was done, the dress came together quite quickly.  What I love must about this dress is that it will grow with her so she can wear it for at least another year!

I'm not sure of the exact price, but I can tell you for sure that I paid no more than $5 to make this dress!