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    Little Girls, Big Style: Sew a Boutique Wardrobe from 4 Easy Patterns
    Little Girls, Big Style: Sew a Boutique Wardrobe from 4 Easy Patterns
    Little Girls, Big Style: Sew a Boutique Wardrobe from 4 Easy Patterns
    Ebook290 pages

    Little Girls, Big Style: Sew a Boutique Wardrobe from 4 Easy Patterns

    By Mary Abreu

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    About this ebook

    Learn to create unique, well-fitted clothing for your little ones with this illustrated guide featuring 4 easy patterns and 23 projects in sizes 2-6.

    In Little Girls, Big Style, author and professional seamstress Mary Abreu offers a comprehensive guide to making beautiful clothes that fit your daughter—and your budget—perfectly. Every day can be dress-up day when you mix and match the four basic patterns featured in this book to create hundreds of adorable outfits. 

    Mary makes this guide beginner-friendly with complete instructions on all the basics-finishing seams, gathering, topstitching, hemming, shirring, and more. She also offers tips on how to make each item your own with your favorite fabrics and embellishments. Everything you need to learn is here, from the basic sewing to the stylish finishing.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateNov 1, 2010
    ISBN9781607052043
    Little Girls, Big Style: Sew a Boutique Wardrobe from 4 Easy Patterns
    Author

    Mary Abreu

    Mary Abreu left the newsroom after an award-winning journalism career to pursue sewing. Today she works as a seamstress for movie productions and teaches sewing, pattern drafting and hacking, and costuming for children. She lives with her family near Atlanta.

    Read more from Mary Abreu

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      Book preview

      Little Girls, Big Style - Mary Abreu

      cover.pngtitle.jpg

      Text and style photography copyright © 2010 by Mary Abreu Artwork copyright © 2010 by C&T Publishing, Inc.

      Publisher: Amy Marson

      Creative Director: Gailen Runge

      Acquisitions Editor: Susanne Woods

      Editor: Cynthia Bix

      Technical Editors: Carolyn Aune and Gailen Runge

      Copyeditor/Proofreader: Wordfirm Inc.

      Cover Designer: Kristy K. Zacharias

      Book Designer: Kristen Yenche

      Production Coordinator: Kirstie L. Pettersen

      Production Editor: Julia Cianci

      Illustrator: Zinnia Heinzmann

      Photography by Christina Carty-Francis and Diane Pedersen of C&T Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted

      Published by Stash Books an imprint of C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549

      All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be used in any form or reproduced by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems—without written permission from the publisher. The copyrights on individual artworks are retained by the artists as noted in Little Girls, Big Style. These designs may be used to make items only for personal use or donation to nonprofit groups for sale. Each piece of finished merchandise for sale must carry a conspicuous label with the following information: Designs copyright © 2010 by Mary Abreu from the book Little Girls, Big Style from C&T Publishing, Inc. Attention Copy Shops: Please note the following exception—publisher and author give permission to photocopy pattern pullout pages P1-P4 for personal use only.

      Attention Teachers: C&T Publishing, Inc., encourages you to use this book as a text for teaching. Contact us at 800-284-1114 or www.ctpub.com for lesson plans and information about the C&T Creative Troupe.

      We take great care to ensure that the information included in our products is accurate and presented in good faith, but no warranty is provided nor are results guaranteed. Having no control over the choices of materials or procedures used, neither the author nor C&T Publishing, Inc., shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book. For your convenience, we post an up-to-date listing of corrections on our website (www.ctpub.com). If a correction is not already noted, please contact our customer service department at ctinfo@ctpub.com or at P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549.

      Trademark (™) and registered trademark (®) names are used throughout this book. Rather than use the symbols with every occurrence of a trademark or registered trademark name, we are using the names only in the editorial fashion and to the benefit of the owner, with no intention of infringement.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Abreu, Mary.

      Little girls, big style: sew a boutique wardrobe from 4 easy patterns/ by Mary Abreu.

      p. cm.

      ISBN 978-1-60705-188-6 (softcover)

      1. Girls’ clothing. 2. Dressmaking–Patterns. I. Title.

      TT562.A27 2010

      646.4'06–dc22

      2010014304

      Printed in China

      10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      Dedication

      For my late mother, Anna Abreu, who continues to inspire my crafty adventures. She was the original craft addict; my partner in all things stitched, painted, or made by hand; and my best friend.

      Acknowledgments

      The amazing Lisa Carroccio (aka The Diva) was with me every step of the way. Her guidance, input, and advice were invaluable, and I am blessed to have her as a mentor and friend.

      My friend Sarah Phillips of Intown Quilters in Decatur, Georgia, lets me teach at her store and pick her brain, and she never says no when I need a lunch buddy.

      Thank you to my awesome pattern testers: Jessica Chapman, MaryAnn Lopes, and Hayden Thornton. Y’all rock!

      My life is filled with such an awesome cast of supporters and cheerleaders. Special thanks to Amber Hartenbower, Sheree Schattenman, Jenn Cristy, Amber Turnbow, Tess Wiebe, Kristina Milling, Anna Garner, Tricia Estes, and Bari Ackerman.

      Angela Shimada and Katie Moore helped me get back into sewing after a lengthy break, and I owe them so much for it.

      The beautiful little girls wearing these clothes hold a special place in my heart. Thank you, Charlotte, Ella C., Ella J., Kayla, Sarah, Tatum, and especially Liesl.

      A big thank you to my C&T/Stash team for helping make my lifelong dream a reality.

      Thank you, Michael Miller Fabrics LLC, Timeless Treasures Fabrics Inc., Robert Kaufman Fabrics, and Intown Quilters for providing many of the fabrics used throughout this book.

      Dad and Jo, thanks for believing in me and being the loudest fans any girl could ever want.

      I could not have written this book without the support of my family: my husband, Matt; my sons, Joshua and Garrett; and my daughter, Liesl. Thank you for putting up with my obsessions, the deadlines, the constant hum of the sewing machine, and the incessant stream-of-consciousness chattering about this book. I love you.

      Contents

      PREFACE

      THE BOUTIQUE LOOK

      What is boutique?

      Choosing fabric

      Embellishments

      Handmade vs. homemade

      How to use this book

      THE BASICS

      Tools

      Techniques: A to Z

      THE PROJECTS

      The Basic Bodice

      Barely Basic Top/Dress

      Knotty Apron variation

      Sunshine Halter

      Side-Tied Smock

      Perfect Party Dress

      Pocket Pinafore

      Ruffled Peek-a-Boo Jumper

      The Peasant Top/Dress

      Classic Peasant Top/Dress

      Ruffled Empire Peasant Top/Dress

      Tiered Twirly Peasant Dress

      Flutter-Sleeved Peasant Top

      Ruffled-Neck Peasant Top

      The Pants

      Essential Pants/Capris

      Ruffled Pants

      Racing Stripe Pants

      Lace-Edged Gauchos

      Tiered Pants

      The Skirts

      No-Hem Skirt

      Treasure Skirt

      On-the-Border Skirt

      Apron Skirt Variation

      Double-Layer Twirl Skirt

      Twirly Girly Skirt

      RESOURCES

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      PATTERNS

      Preface

      I spent much of my childhood watching my mother whip up anything and everything on her 1967 Singer Touch & Sew. Skirts, dresses, overalls, T-shirts, Halloween costumes—there was nothing she couldn’t make. I was always so proud to show up on the first day of school in clothing she made especially for me.

      When I was expecting my first child in early 1991, I dreamed of the day when I could sew clothes for my own daughter. After two boys and nearly 14 years later, I had a little girl of my own and could begin to make my sewing dreams a reality.

      Thankfully, sewing is cool again! The range of fabrics and notions available is mind-boggling. It’s not unusual for me to spend the first twenty minutes in the quilt shop just wandering around to get a feel for what’s new (and to see what fabrics start calling my name). I love it so much—I’ve even been known to help other customers pick out just the right fabrics for their projects.

      Push aside all the trends and popularity, though, and you’ll find that sewing fills a need to be creative, to make something useful, to experience the type of satisfaction that comes with knowing, I made that!

      I used to be embarrassed to admit to someone that I’d sewn my daughter’s outfit, unable to accept the compliment. Luckily, I’ve gotten over that and am now very proud to show off my work. I hope you find that kind of inspiration here and make the kind of memories for your daughter that my mother gave me.

      Happy sewing!

      4-1.jpg4-2.jpg

      What is boutique?

      Children’s boutique clothing is something of a grassroots movement. Although the word boutique may bring to mind pricey European clothing brands, the children’s custom boutique market is actually more of a homegrown industry born out of creativity and necessity. Think thousands of at-home seamstresses designing, sewing, and selling their work in limited quantities to an eager audience searching for unique clothing that’s always a perfect fit.

      Hallmarks of this cottage industry are high-quality quilter’s cotton fabric, appliqué, coordinating accessories (hair, shoes, jewelry), themed apparel, made-to-match ready-to-wear garments, and often one-of-a-kind designs.

      The mother who buys or sews custom boutique clothing wants her child to not only be well dressed, but also to have her (or his) individuality shine. It’s less about following the pack and more about setting the trends.

      Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of boutique is always having clothes that fit perfectly. One thing that launched me on the path to sewing boutique clothing for my daughter was her hard-to-fit measurements. Any pants I bought that fit in length were always too wide in the waist (and

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