New in the shop {Ric Rac Ruffles}

Find them {here}.

While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.

New for Christmas...

In Red

Or Pink

Find them {here}

Teeny Tiny

How cute are these little darlings?



I got to mail out this custom request, in size 6-12 mos, just yesterday.

Sure made me wish I still had a little one at home to dress.

*sigh*

I'm sure they will get lots of love.

So long little ones. I hope you bring lots of sweet smiles from a little girl delighted by the pretty birdies on her legs

New in the Shop {Brown Stripe Knit Ruffles}

I think these are possibly my favorite pants in our fall wardrobe this year. When I asked Emily to model them for me she said jumping up and down "Oh, goody, I love wearing this dress. It's my favorite!" She loved the pants too. :)



Find them {here}.

Halloween Puppy {New in the Shop}

The perfect not-so-scary Halloween set for your puppy lovin' girl.

just $44

find it {here}

Apple for the Teacher

We have just enough fabric to make two more of our back to school sets.

One in the lime colorway and one in the chocolate.



Find them {here}.

A cheery cherry sundress

Amy dreamt up this darling dress for her almost 1st grader.



It's the perfect amount of embroidery for the older girl.

Not over-the-top-cute...just the right amount of sweetness.



It was also the perfect time for me to sit down and show Amy how to embroider.

I think she's hooked! And so is her daughter, but that's for a later post. ;)



We loved mixing and matching these different prints to give it a classic cherry pickin' vibe.

I love that the red accents don't overwhelm the dress. There is just enough!



This easy halter style would layer well over our {go with everything} blouse.



She even carried the sweet french knots to the end of the ties.

No detail was missed!



And while we were at it, I snapped some photos of 'Lil Miss and Big Brother.

Love those matching dimples!



You can find the dress {here}.

Custom Dress {Vintage Circus}

We've never actually had a design your own oufit, custom listing in the shop. I guess it's because we've always had enough new business to keep us as busy as we'd like to be (sometimes even more than that). I just finished up this sweet dress for a vintage circus birthday and love it.



We were so lucky to find one of what must be only 5 yards left of this fabric in all of the internets. And Moda's Hullabaloo was the perfect compliment to it. Kudos to Amy for sleuthing that one out.



The buttons are a dark steel gray/blue and are just lovely in person (not as dark as they seem in the shade here).

We won't be able to make any more design-your-own customs this summer, but our goal in the fall is to put up a listing in the shop for just that.

Hope you all have a sunny week-end!

New for summer! {embroidered apron dress}

Oh dear, are you in for a treat!

This is our second favorite dress...EVER!
Seriously, only Raggedy Ann can beat this little beauty.

See for yourself...



White eyelet...our new favorite embellishment.

*swoon*



A great big thank you to our dear friend, Jessica, for asking us to
design a dress around the vintage ribbon she found.



And wouldn't ya know, she pairs perfectly with
our red and white striped knit ruffles too. ;)



Find this beauty in our {shop}.

P e o n y S t r i p e s

A warm, sunny day, perfect for outdoor photos.



To show off Amy's beautiful handiwork. This girl rocks the knit ruffles.



Look at those gorgeous stripes all lined up,
and the perfect coverstitching at the waistband and ruffle hem.



Available in full or capri length.



Find them in our shop {here}.

Stripe Knit Ruffles {new in the shop}

We just received a nice supply of gorgeous knit fabrics (we've got more coming too!). We are so excited about them that we had to show you before we even take time to make samples. I've added listings in our {shop} for both colors and if you are ready to get a jump on spring, you might want to order early. Request capri or full length when checking out. Now for the colors!

Love this gorgeous tone on tone pink, wide stripe. It matches our Sweet Tweet collection perfectly.





It's the same wide stripe as the lime ruffles we offered earlier.



And how fun would the red and white stripe be with our Raggedy Ann collection? Or with our Paris Paws pieces...or...the 4th of July...or...order the next size up for Christmas if you're a planner. ;)

Oh the cuteness!!!

This little cutie is on her way to the Easter bunny.

{hop hop hop}



I hope we get to make more TaDollies with glasses.

She was super fun to make.



p.s. Her mom sent us the gorgeous Matilda Jane {scarf} to use for her dress.

Come sew with us, just 3 spots left!

I was so excited when the Eagle Creek Almanac showed up in my mailbox last week. The girls really enjoyed seeing themselves in the "newspaper" too.

Amy and I are teaching a class on how to make the Claire dress, with step by step instructions, this May. If you learn best with hands-on help and like asking questions as you go, this beginner class may be just the right fit for you. But you better sign up quickly. Our class is already half full. Call Eagle Creek today, 952-233-3774, to reserve your spot. There is only space for 3 more! We will be making "view A" which is the peasant dress with attached apron, like our sample shown below. We'll show you how to add some easy appliqued flowers on the apron too.

Feel free to e-mail us any questions you have, tadacreations(at)gmail.com.

Back in the Shop {Raggedy Ann}

Raggedy Ann



red/pink check fabric is out
see description for the easy substitution
the blouse now comes with a pieced hem just like the jeans



find them all {here}

Back in the Shop {Sweet Tweet}

Find it all here.

And how adorable is this little hat?
I came across this tonight and just had to share it with you.



Eeek! It comes in adult sizes too. I know!
I think everyone in my family needs one.

Gather Up a Skirt or Ruffle {Tutorial}

There are lots of ways you can go about gathering the skirt of a dress to the bodice or a ruffle to anything, so I thought I'd share with you the easiest way we have found to do it. Sandi has a great tutorial here as a starting point, but we've taken it just a step further for you.

When you have a large circumference to gather up it can become unwieldy and difficult to get it spread out evenly all the way around. Here is what Amy and I do:

1. Start by marking (with your water-soluble marking pen) half-way points on your bodice, between the side seams, until you have 8 marks all the way around.



2. Do the same with the top edge of the skirt. I used to do this with large pins, but inevitably they would fall out in the process.



3. Next, gather up the skirt. I pull it all from one direction, securing the other end with knots. I usually just sew one basting stitch just inside the seam allowance, but in this case I had already attached the apron on this top and felt it was safer to use two basting lines in case just one would break.

Now you can match up those 8 marks and pin them together (skirt to bodice). Don't forget to have right-sides together.



4. Now spread out the fabric between those pins to get it even.



5. Then add more pins in between to keep it from sliding around while you are sewing.



6. Here is where I quickly turn it right-side out to make sure the gathering looks good and that I didn't miss any obvious spots.



7. Now you are ready to sew your seam and serge it. It's a good idea to cut the basting lines in case you gathered it a little tighter than your bodice. You'll be able to feel what I mean if it's a problem, it will be obvious. Also make sure they aren't visible from the top side. If they are just use your seam ripper to remove them.



8. Now admire your work and finish it up with top-stitching or trim.



And try it on your sweet girl.