Sewing: Riley Blake Craft Challenge

by Nichol Hardy on June 28th, 2012 | No Comments »

In April, Jill over at Mom-it-Forward.com approached me about a craft challenge they were having. We had to choose fabric from the Millie’s Closet line by Riley Blake and make something centered around children. Being a quilter, I was instantly intrigued and agreed to take on the challenge, mainly because I absolutely LOVE Riley Blake fabric and I was practically salivating at the chance to have several cuts from the same line in my possession.

My first thought was to make a baby quilt, since I love quilting so much, but I decided to go out of my comfort zone and make a little sun dress. To give a little history, my mom was one of those moms in the 70’s that made all of our clothes. I have vivid memories of her spending hours at the sewing machine making dresses, pants, even my many ballet costumes. I wanted to honor her and try a dress. I want to clarify something, though, I have three boys and my skills at dress making are very rusty. I attempted this dress about ten years ago and remembered it wasn’t too hard. So, I laid out the pattern, which is basic and easy, because it only involved adding several layers of ruffles. The original pattern only has me use three different fabrics, so I made each ruffle half the size and was able to use more of the fabric.

I made the dress from five different fabrics from the Millie’s Closet line by Riley Blake. It is so cute and I really had fun doing it. I definitely see more dress making in my future. (Does that sound too hopeful to you?) I haven’t had any reason to make small girlie dresses, but I am really hoping this last baby gives me reason. As you can see in the picture, there is an adorable little girl modeling my dress. I called up my sweet niece and asked her if I could borrow her little one for a model shoot. Well, this sweetheart is the biggest girlie girl and loves having her picture taken. She was very disappointed when she couldn’t keep the dress on all day. If I have a boy, I will have to give it to her.

This pattern is a simplicity pattern and I’m not sure if it’s still out there, but I figure if a quilter of boys can make it, anyone can. I would like to thank Jill and all those at MomitForward.com for the opportunity to be a part of such a fun challenge. I have to say that my favorite part was photographing my little niece in it. Happy summer! I look forward to more chances to contribute in the future.

What would you make if you had a whole line of Riley Blake fabrics?

Nichol Hardy has been married for 16 years and has three wonderful boys the oldest having severe autism. Nichol has had 15 years of experience with autism, because she lives with it daily. She has been an advocate for autism since 1998 and is very involved with ways to make life better for those affected by it. Nichol enjoys writing, quilting, and being with her family. Each new day is a bright light of hope that she can use to grow and learn from and along the way help others grow and learn too. She blogs at http://adesertquilter.blogspot.com and writes about autism at http://www.examiner.com/autism-and-parenting-in-las-vegas/nichol-hardy