Future Designer in Training

So, I have a son who, since the time he was born, has been interested in dolls & dresses.

He's constantly taking any available blanket in the house & designing it into a dress.

We, of course, embrace his passion for design &, rather than deter him from an art that may be considered "girly", we've decided to help him explore this further.

(Heck, he could end up becoming a successful designer some day & be able to hook me up with much more hip clothes than I'm currently wearing! Ha!)

Since I was learning how to use my sewing machine, I decided I'd bring him along for the ride & try to teach him some basics (keeping in mind that I'm not sure I really know what I'm doing).

1st we traced a dress we already had, creating a pattern. This, of course, lead to discussions of measurement (bonus).

Next, the pattern was cut out...

... & we compared the pattern to the doll. 

I held the fabric while he traced the pattern onto the fabric.

I pinned the fabric along the lines he traced & then he cut along the lines.

Fabulous cutting!

He was so excited to be in charge of the pedal while I fed the fabric through the machine.

We tested out the sewn fabric on the doll to see if we needed to do any trimming & decided that adding some Velcro was essential (Although I am not a serious sewer, I am a full-time teacher.   So of course I had some Velcro on hand!)

We thought a zig-zag stitch would make it more fancy.

Here we are wrapping her up & checking our handy work.

Here, he's showing other family members his first creation & how the Velcro works. (Smile) 

Ta-Da! Here she is!
(FYI, since this picture was taken the skirt has gotten a lot shorter.  He discovered my pinking shears & just wanted to "give it a trim", but then kept going - ahaha, gotta love an artist at work!)