And by 'nifty,' I totally mean 'lazy cheater-pants.'

I've been churning out leggings by the truckload around here. I should have learned by now that little girls grow. Often very quickly and without warning. So, while she's still the same size *around* she is not the same height!

And I had all these adorable dresses that I made that still fit, they are just a wee bit shorter than makes me comfortable. I have issues with little girls in dresses that hit higher than the knee. Call me a prude if you must, but that's just how I am about that!

So, being the lazy sewist that I am, I really did NOT want to have to re-thread my serger every time I made a new pair of leggings! I also did not want to have have white thread showing at the bottom edge or hem after I'd sewn up the legs. That last bit is because the leg/arm holes for Elizabeth's clothes are always WAY smaller than my machine without the tray on.

Cue cheating! This is how I handle this set of challenges.

First, I hem. I hem before I ever start putting a leg together (or a sleeve, for that matter.) Turn it up, press it, hem it. My double needle and I are on the outs right now, so I just used a narrow zigzag instead. Then, when I start serging everything up, I start just at the top of my hem. Just skip the inch or whatever the pattern calls for and start above it. Once it is all together...

Starting just in from the bottom edge, stitch up from the hemline, backstitching to lock your stitch. Stitch all the way up into where you serged, backstitching to lock the stitches there too.

Trim everything up, repeat on the other side and TA-DA! No need to change thread, have goofy white thread peeping out the bottom, or try to sew that hem without stretching it. Sit back, and admire your work!

Wow, did things get crazy around here in a hurry!

But, when you decide to move furniture, there always seem to be some unexpected consequences. Like now, Elizabeth can get back to our bathroom. I totally didn't see that coming so there was a considerable amount of time spend re-hiding things that we'd hidden in there.

I've come to the conclusion that this child has far too many balls. Far. Too. Many.

So other than a couple of more pairs of leggings (one red, one black velvet) which I'm not taking pictures of (due to booooring) here's what I've been working on!

PJ pants - two pairs and both flannel. See, naps here are pantsless things, but it has been quite cool in the afternoons. Enter the pj pants! The pink ones were a Hobby Lobby (maybe?) remnant and the blue was an old flannel pj top. The pattern for both is Rae's B3Ps and the blue had to be pieced.

 I really love this pattern. But piecing it (like piecing anything, really) is a lesson in head-scratching. It is awesome otherwise. I've been making the 2t size for about a year now and just adding in extra leg length. It is going to be great! Next year, she'll likely have the potty thing down and they will still fit! I have a pair of black cords that I'm shooting for three winter's worth of wear out of.

And the blue ones are so crazy long, Elizabeth will be taking them to college with her. Okay, not really, but they may get three years of wear from now.

The other item is another Go To Signature Dress. See?

 Please excuse the horrible picture. I say that a lot, and I'm still learning the camera but this was really about the best I could do! I'm thinking that the morning sun on the balcony isn't agreeable at all. So you get a pic of this dress slouching and looking pretty awful on a hanger in a prison. Well, sort of.

The fabric was on the Red Tag table at Joann's and when I saw it, I sorts had to have it. And add in that the Red Tag stuff was on sale for 50% off, that just cemented it. 2 yards and $7 later, tada! The neck posed a HUGE problem, tho. No matching rib and I didn't want a contrast neckband. I'd already cut the front, so a cowl was out. The fabric itself has a silver glitter to it, so I didn't want a lining out of it and a contrast lining wasn't making me happy either. So, I decided to try a turtleneck!


The first one wouldn't go over Elizabeth's head. Much screaming ensued and I re-made the collar. I have no idea if this one will work, but it will come closer. It's a full inch bigger. I left out the outer pleats on the front and actually did some math (GASPSHOCK!) and altered the back to not need to be pleated. Then I cut a piece of the fabric four inches tall by 13.5 inches long. I seamed it together on the short side, then folded it in half and stitched it to the neck. It actually looks pretty good!

This fabric is the Devil. Pure and simple. Demonic. From Hades. This is the Devil's answer to strawberries straight from the patch. It will not hold a press and is capable of breaking needles on it's printed on dots. No joke! I broke both a sewing machine needle and a serger needle on this thing beause lines of dots lined up and the needle couldn't go through both.

But it is done and I'm not doing anything else to this dress! I do love it, tho. And Elizabeth calls it her 'eggy dwess' and says 'oooo, spawkee!' about it. Of course, wearing it will be a different story. I hope the itchy factor won't doom it.