Monday, November 26, 2012

Leaf-Print Fall Dresses

  I was in the middle of sewing a dress for my friend last week, in the middle of baking pies for Thanksgiving, and for some reason I can't remember, I decided that both girls NEEDED new dresses for Thanksgiving. Also, in the midst of my enthusiasm, I couldn't just use plain fabric... it had to be leaf-printed. So I pulled out some knit scraps, a leaf stamp, and some paint. Amazingly, I managed to finish both dresses without staying up past midnight! =)

  I used Rae's free Itty Bitty Baby Dress Pattern in the toddler size for Booper, and downsized it a little for Gaiw (although I didn't downsize it quite enough, width-wise).

  I wanted the fabric to have a natural fall leaf look to it, so I started off with cups of acrylic paint mixed with a fabric medium in a few different colors: a green (that I mixed myself), crimson red, yellow ochre, and vermillion.

  For each leaf, I would lay the stamp out, face up (The stamp is from Hobby Lobby... it came in a set with several other leaf shapes and has a cling backing):

  And brush on a thin layer of a couple colors:
In this picture... vermillion and a touch of crimson
 Then I would flip the stamp over, press it firmly on the fabric:

 And voila!
Okay, so I didn't press firmly enough on this leaf, but you get the idea, right?
  Every leaf is unique, and I love that. I didn't worry about brushstrokes either; I felt like they just added to the natural feel. I do wish my green had been a little... greener. Less blue.

  Also, I think it would have been better if I had cut the pattern pieces first, and stamped second, because now I have odd-sized scraps of printed knit that I have no idea what I want to use for. It would have meant a lot less stamping too. =)


  I used a thrifted knit skirt for the brown contrast... I didn't actually make piping with it since I wanted to keep the stretch, so the waist section is just a 1.5 inch wide piece, folded in half and sewn in in the seam.
I love that I caught Gaiw pointing in the back of this picture. =)

 

  I am super-happy with how these turned out... the print came out just how I had imagined it! And I am very happy that I finished these up in time, and the littles got to wear their new dresses at a lovely Thanksgiving dinner. =)

Thanks for stopping by!
 
PS: If you have never tucked a bit of Nutella in some pie crust dough, baked it, and ate it, you have missed a delicious piece of life. Try it!

Linking up at Make It Wear It

10 comments:


  1. You did a wonderful job..Outfits look awesome
    Question: Is it washable? G'ma Judy

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    1. Thank you! And yes, it is washable! When it is mixed with the fabric medium you just let the paint dry, iron it to set the colors in, and you are good to go. I've already washed these dresses once. =)

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  2. Beautiful! I love these! The print is so well organized that you can't tell it is home crafted. And the colors are wonderful too!

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    1. Thank you! I really loved stamping the fabric like this... I would love to find something else to make with this technique. =)

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  3. These are so cute! I've seen several projects recently that involved painting fabric, and I really want to add a painted pattern to the bottom of a dress. I'm glad to hear that the paint stands up to washing. I wouldn't have thought of using regular acrylic paint with a fabric medium. Is there a specific brand of fabric medium that works best?

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    1. Thanks! The brand I'm using is Liquitex, but I've also heard good things about the Martha Stewart fabric medium. Good luck with your project! =)

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  4. OH! These are amazing!! I love love love the print you made. The pattern of the dresses themselves is perfect, too. And VERY cute girls.

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    1. Thank you! The print is by far my favorite part, although I'll probably re-use the pattern at some time... maybe I'll try it out with a woven fabric. =)

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  5. Who can look upon those fetching dresses with floccinaucinihilipilification? Marvelous job.

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    1. Thank you. They are certainly not valueless to me. =)

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