17 Games For Families With Older Kids

I love games.  I love interacting with my family and friends and having a good conversation over a board or some cards.  Games work in all sorts of situations and can create some great family memories.

I have heard that old saw "there's a reason they call them bored games."  Her, her.  And while I understand that games aren't for everyone, if you are bored playing a board game it's likely you're playing the wrong one.   There are hundreds of games out there for every interest and game playing style.

Most game wrap ups are aimed at families with young children.   While we all love Candy Land and Uno there comes a point where your family has outgrown the classic children's games.    Here's a few games for families with pre-teen and older kids.  Kids who don't want to play Clue for the bajilionth time and SkipBo isn't bringing them to the table either.

Even though I've provided Amazon links (yes, they are affiliate links) for all these games, I recommend you buy them from a local game store.   Just about every town over 30k population has a game store these days.   They offer a huge variety of games (way more than I can list here) and can recommend new games based on the games your family already likes.   A good store will also have open box games you can try out in their dedicated play space.   Make sure you have plenty of time for your first visit so you can look around and try out a couple of games.  It's even a good idea to make going to the game store a family activity so everyone can try the new games and give suggestions. Talk to the employees; they will be able to offer you good advice and help you learn how to play new games as well.   Most game stores are helpful, but if you find one that feels a little exclusive and doesn't seem to welcome novices, try a different one.

Games for Mixed Aged Groups

If your family has young kids and teenagers, it can be very hard to find a game everyone can play.   Teens want more complexity.  Young ones need simplicity.   These games balance the two needs to bring you a game for everyone without having to get out the Uno cards yet again.  

1.  Quirkle

Out of box play: quick
cost:  $$
competitiveness: low
age range:  6 and up
number of players: 2-6 (with four being manufacturer's recommendation)


Quirkle is a tile matching game.  You build sets and arrange them on the table crossword style,  similar to the way tiles are arranged in a scrabble game.  You can build on other people's lines and you score based on how many tiles you lay down.  Scoring is simple, but the game can be made even more young kid friendly by doing away with the scoring altogether.   Kids are ready to learn as soon as they can match tiles and sit through a 15 minute game.  They may need to lay out the tiles so you can see them and coach them through the game the first few times.  Older kids still enjoy the challenge and bring an extra level of complexity with their defensive play.

2. Dixit

out of the box play:  quick

cost:  $$

competitiveness:  low to medium

age range: 6 and up

number of players: 3-6

Dixit is gorgeous.  Each card is a different fantastical painting with planets in trees, strange dice, knights, toys, and more painted in bright colors that appeal to all ages.   Dixit is a rotating judge game like Apples to Apples, but with much less subjectivity from the judge.  I've yet to find anyone who doesn't love this game.   Young kids may need help understanding the rules, but they will  love the cards.  You'll be surprised how quickly they get the concept.  Games can last up to 30 minutes, but you set the number of points to win at a lower value if you need a quicker game for impatient young ones.  

3. Takenoko

out of the box play: medium set up

cost: $$$

competitiveness: low to medium

age range: 8 and up

number of players: 2-4

Takenoko is frankly adorable.   There's a panda.  He eats bamboo that you grow for him.   What's not to love?   Well maybe all the pieces?   There's a lot of pieces to this game and it takes longer to learn than the other games I've suggested for this age group.   This is for a child who understands more complex game play.  You build a bamboo garden for the panda together.  You get points by making things in the garden match the cards in your hand, like growing bamboo to a certain length, making patterns with the colored garden tiles, and getting the panda to eat certain colors of bamboo.   The manufacturer recommends ages 13 and up, but I've had kids as young as 5 do well with this game.  They do need more help, but it's worth it.   I've recommended it for ages 8 and up because it does take longer to play and it can be hard to get younger kids to focus on the game and not the cute pieces to the game.  Older kids will quickly figure out how to play defensively and make it much more about strategy than luck.  

Games for kids who love complex games

If your kids are bored with easy games, you're in luck.   With the booming market for family games, there are dozens of fun, complex games to play, games that really make you think and work hard for the win.  

4.  7 Wonders

out of box play: medium to long set up

cost:  $$$

competitiveness: medium

age range: 10 and up (and 10 is pushing it. Save this for older kids.)

players: 2-7 

7 Wonders has complicated instructions, but once you figure out the game play, it's fun and quick to play.   If you know someone with the game, invite them over to teach you. If you have a kid into Magic the Gathering, they will be ahead of the game.   My son, the Magic player, tells me that 7 Wonders is a draft deck style game.  Decks of cards are passed around the table.  You take one and add it to the group of cards in front of you.   Points come from which cards you choose and how you combine them.  You can ignore everyone else and just play for you, or you can get aggressive and play cards based on what will screw other people up.   This game is different every time you play it.  I have kids who hate it, but if you have kids who love complex card games, this is a good one to add to the family game cupboard.  I also love it for how many people can play.   When you have a big family, being able to include lots of people makes game night more fun.    

5. Settlers of Catan

out of the box play:  long set up

cost: $$$ (if you get into the extensions expect to spend $$$$)

competitiveness: medium to high

age range: 10 and up

players: 2-4 (up to 6 with the expansion pack)

No game list is complete without Catan.  With it's varied game play, extensive extension packs, and unique set up, it's become a classic.   Teenagers love this game.  Adults love this game.   It's a great balance of strategy and luck.  Add the expansion packs, like the 5-6 player expansion, Seafarers, Cities and Knights, and others for even more fun.   This one is better to learn from someone who's played before, so invite an experienced Catan friend over to teach you the game.  

6. Discworld

out of the box play: medium set up

cost: $$$

competitiveness: high

age range: 12 and up

players: 2-4

If you love Terry Pratchett's books, you'll love Discworld the game.  (If you don't know the books, you can still have fun. You just won't get why your neighbor keeps giggling every time she draws a card.) What makes this one complex is that each player has a different win condition.  What you have to do to win the game may be different from what the other players have to do.   So not only do you have to keep track of your game, you have to watch what the others are doing so you can try to stop them.   There's a lot to keep track of, but that's what makes it a great game.   In the mean time you can laugh at how appropriate the cards are for each character from the Discworld books.  Everyone from Death to Captain Carrot to Mrs. Cake are here and ready to help you win the game.    

Games for families who love card games

If board games aren't your style, but you love cards, give these games a try.  

7. Machi Koro

out of the box play:  medium set up

cost: $$

competitiveness:  low to medium

age range: 8 and up

players: 2-4

In Machi Koro you buy cards to build a city.   It's the perfect blend of strategy and luck.      The set up is simple and the game is easy to learn.  You can be an expert after just a couple of plays.  That doesn't mean it gets boring quickly.    Using dice makes each game very different.  The competitiveness is going to depend on the group you play with.   There are a couple of cards that make it a bit more aggressive;  some groups will go for those cards first and some groups will ignore them.  

8. Munchkin

out of the box play: quick

cost: $$

competitiveness: high

age range: 8 and up

players: 2-10 or so

Munchkin is wild.  It's easy to learn and great in large groups.  The "Deluxe" edition only plays six because you have a board to keep track of score with.  Keep track of score on paper and you can play as many players as you have cards for.  More than 10 can get unwieldy and long, though.   Munchkin is good for kids who have played fantasy type games like D&D.  It's pokes fun at genre tropes in a great tongue in cheek way.   The additional decks can be added to your original or you can skip the starter sets and just play with the expansions on their own.   There are over a dozen now and it seems they come out with a new one every year.  You can send monsters to each other to keep people from advancing levels or winning the game, so be sure your family can handle the aggressive play before you bring it home.

9.  Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot 

out of the box play: quick

cost: $$ (expect to feel the need to add $$$ as you buy the expansion decks)

competitiveness: high

age range: 8 and up

players: 2-10 depending on whether you have expansion decks

Killer Bunnies is crazy.  It's mean.  It's complex.  It's addictive.   I highly recommend playing this with an experienced player the first few times through.  The expansion packs add new bunnies and more fun to the game.   When I say it's competitive, I mean it.  You attack other players; they attack you.  It's the game.   If your family loves highly competitive games, they will love Killer Bunnies.  

10.  Love Letters

out of the box play: quick

cost: $

competitiveness: medium

age range: 8 and up

players: 2-4

Love Letters is a simple, well designed, and pretty card game.  There are only 16 cards in the deck and it comes with it's own little velvet pouch, making it very portable.   I actually keep this one in my purse.   The game is very easy to learn and quick to play.   It's not going to be everyone's favorite game, but it's a great choice when you only have a few minutes to play or don't want something more complex.  

Games for story tellers

Do you have a child who loves to talk?  Do they argue passionately for their side of things?  Do they have three different notebooks full of stories squirreled away that they work on constantly?  Story tellers and imaginative players will love these games that give them free reign to go wild.   

11.  Story Cubes

out of the box play: quick

cost: $

competitiveness: very low

age range: 6 and up

players: 1 or more

With Story Cubes you roll the dice to tell a story.  Each player takes a turn telling a piece of the story based on the symbol of the dice.   Younger kids love this one and it's a great one for mixed age ranges.   Kids with great imaginations who love to write or tell stories will love story cubes.  They are also a great educational game, teaching narrative and cause and effect among other things.  The manufacturer recommends 8 and up for this game, but your kid can play as soon as they can follow and tell a story.  This one is great for a large group.

12.  Gloom

out of the box play: quick

cost: $$

competitiveness: high

age range:  9 and up 

players: 2-5

Gloom is dark.  It's depressing.  It's so very, very fun.   Do you know someone who takes great pleasure in telling you how awful life is and how bad theirs is specifically?   This game takes that idea, turns it on it's head, and pokes  fun at it.   Everyone has a family that they try to make horrible things happen to before they kill them off.  The other players are trying to make your family's life better.  The person with the absolute worst family life wins. Good story telling makes this one even more fun because you are supposed to tell the story of the miserable event you just laid down on your card.  The better the story tellers, the more fun you'll have.  

13.  Snake Oil

out of the box play: quick

cost: $$

competitiveness: high

age range: 10 and up

players: 3-10

Snake Oil is another great game by the makers of Apples to Apples.   This one pits players against each other as they try to "sell" their crazy product to the "customer."   Watch out for players talking over one another; this one gets loud as the sellers get more impassioned about their products.   My kids love this one.   It's great for large groups.

14.  The World Needs More Jet Pack Unicorns

out of the box play: quick

cost: $$

competitiveness: high

age range: 8 and up

players: 3 and up

In Jet Pack Unicorn players argue with one another to prove their what if scenario is the coolest, weirdest, or worst.  The game is easy to play and pretty portable.   This one gets crazy and loud. The better at BS you are, the better you will be at this one.  This makes a great party game and is good for big families.  

Cooperative Games

If your family loves to work as a team or just needs a break from competing against one another, cooperative games may be for you.  In a cooperative game you work together to win the game, making it a great game when you need to build family unity or include a child who might be too young for another game.   It's great for teaching strategy to younger kids and making everyone feel included and important.

15.  Forbidden Island

out of the box play: medium set up

cost: $$

competitiveness: low

age range: 8 and up

players: 2-4

Forbidden Island pits the group against a sinking island.  You each have a different skill that helps the group.   The game mechanics include methods for making the game easier or harder depending on what you feel like playing that day.   We've also found that if we take out one of the "waters rise" cards we can play 6 players.  It puts the game at the experienced player difficulty but it's nice to get everyone around the table for a game.  If you do this, make sure everyone is discarding unneeded cards quickly to make the discard pile as big as possible.  It's also best to play several times with just four to get the hang of game play before you try to add in additional players.   The designer also has a game called Forbidden Desert that plays very similarly.  

16.  Pandemic

out of the box play: medium set up

cost: $$

competitiveness: low

age range: 8 and up

players: 2-4

In Pandemic your group must save the world from four viruses that are sweeping through the population.   It was also developed by the same game designer as Forbidden Island, so some of the game mechanics will feel familiar if you've played that one before.   It's also possible to make this one a six player game, but it's much harder and you have to go for the win quickly.   There's several expansion sets for Pandemic, a couple let more people play and one does add a "bad guy" who's working against the group.  

17.  Elder Sign

out of the box play: medium to long set up

cost: $$$

competitiveness: low

age range: 12 and up

players: 2-8

Elder Sign is a great game for your teenagers.  The game play is based on HP Lovecraft so if you've got a Cuthulu fan in your house, they will enjoy this game.   The game play is pretty complex, so even though it's cooperative, it's best not to try and play it with younger kids.  

This is only a very small list of the available games out there.   There is a huge boom in table top games right now.  There are games for all interests and play level.   Don't limit yourself based on the theme of the game.   If you base your choices more on what style of game play you enjoy, you are more likely to find a game you'll play often.  That said, don't limit yourself either.  It's good to branch out and try new things.

You may have noticed a few popular games I didn't list, like Ticket to Ride and Apples to Apples.  You can tell me what I missed. What are your favorite games?

Bling, Baby!

I've been doing a bit more sewing for pay recently.  Mostly just repairs, but a couple of months ago I was asked to make a blessing dress for a baby.   A blessing dress is for an LDS baby.  LDS baptize children at eight, but we still have a small tradition of introducing our child to our fellow church members by having the father give the child a blessing during our church service.  It's usually the baby's first blessing from the father.    A blessing is when the father places his hands on the child's head and prays for them.  The prayer gives the baby's full name, and then asks for the blessings the parents want for the child in their future life, things like having God's spirit with them, finding a good person to marry, blessing the child to make good choices and have happiness in their life. It's very special and sweet.  Traditionally in the US, babies are blessed in a special white outfit purchased or made for the occasion.

This little dress was made from her mother's wedding dress.  I took apart the skirt and had plenty of fabric and lining to make this lovely little number.  The rhinestone accent is straight off the wedding dress.  Luckily they were originally sewn to a small piece of sheer fabric, so I was able to reuse them in the exact same design.    They are even in the same place they were on Mommy's dress.

I'm very happy with the final outcome and it's even prettier in person.  The mom is thrilled and honestly, that's the best you can hope for when sewing for someone else.

Christmas Jammies

Thanks to our new son in law and his vowel initial our Christmas Jammy Weasley shirts (my kids names for them) spell the most appropriate word ever:  Jammers.    Pretend that we have a second M in there ok?  I have about five years before we can add another initial in there.

The shirts were super easy.  I cut the letters using the Cameo.  They are all done in the HP font available at dafont.com. I did have the adjust the settings on the machine to the heavy fabric setting.  The flannel did not want to cut nicely.   I don't use Silhouette's special fabric medium.  I just use standard Heat n' Bond.   I left the paper on the back to cut and then "R" did the ironing for me.  I did a super close zig zag applique with my sewing machine.  The whole project took me two days.  One day to cut out and one day to do all the sewing.  I did get some help from the kids on the shirts and cutting project.   "M" tried to help with the sewing.  He did two seams on "A"'s pants before he decided it was too big of a project for him.

The fabric is all JoAnn black Friday flannel.  It's not the greatest quality, but it wears well for pjs.   I am having a harder and harder time every year finding more grown up prints for my kids.   The boys prints are the hardest.  There are always a few that work for my girls, but the boys prints all seem to be for boys ages 1-5 or boys into sports.  Neither works for me.   Some nice neutral plaids, fantasy themes (swords, armor, magic etc.), music, books, etc.  would work for all my kids and it would be great to see them.

Leather trim houndstooth skirt

I took these pictures back in November, but I wasn't happy with them, so I delayed posting.  I have now admitted to myself that I will not be getting great pictures of this skirt.  This is it.  Sorry.  It is a great skirt though.

 It features a faux leather yoke and wool houndstooth skirt.  The skirt has five deep box pleats across the back.  And it's very fitted.  I finished it up after she left for college so I didn't have her to test the size for me.  If she were home when I sewed it, I would have let out the pleats a bit so it wasn't quite so tight.  But then that's how a lot of women's pencil skirts are being made these days, so whatever.  (by the way, the boots do look great with the skirt in real life.  The black and tan of the houndtooth blend more in photos than they do in person so the undertones in the colors are different.)

We used the same basic technique to build this skirt as I did for her wild print deep yoke skirt.   I did use a light fabric for the facing on the faux leather and I sewed down the facing at the top of the waist.  I also sewed down the seam allowance on either side of the seam as well as the darts at the waist.  

For the skirt, we decided on length, subtracted the length of the yoke and added in hem and seam allowance to get the fabric length.  Two pieces were cut.  One the width of the front yoke piece (including seam allowance) and one the width of the back yoke plus ten inches.    

The back skirt has five box pleats.  One in the center and two on either side spaced two inches away.  You could easily do fewer pleats or no pleats altogether.  Just adjust the width of the back skirt piece accordingly.  

It's the details that count

I may have mentioned before that I tend to be lazy.  If there is an easy way to do something, that's the way I'm going to do it.  This means that I do shortcuts. In my sewing this translates into me skipping the details all too often.   I have learned over the last couple of years, though, that those extra steps make a huge difference in the finished project.

For example, can you imagine how boring the peplum top would have been without the piping, bound sleeve, and Peter Pan collar?  

That white contrast makes the polka dots look even better.   The three things added more than an hour to the construction time of the top.  The old me would not have taken the time and I would have hated the final product.  

And how about the pink dress redo?  Remember that ruffle?

It's the ruffle that really makes the shaped hem stand out.  It also pops the contrast stitching.   The ruffle is made up of about 3 yards of muslin that all had to be hemmed and gathered.   Yeah, time consuming but worth it.  (And yes, I've got a thing for contrast bound sleeves. Talk about details that really count.) 

There was also the Burda Jumpsuit with the contrast fabric for the pocket facing and the piping.  Those details took the jumpsuit from cute to fabulous.   The red ric rac and deep contrast band on the yoked skirt I made for my oldest toned down a very busy fabric and made it perfect for a teen girl.   I had to redo the stitching on the pockets on my middle girl's python jeans because I started out with white thread.  It matched too well.  Bright pink top stitching thread made all the difference.  

For your next project, take time to look at the design details.  Is there a place where you can add a trim?  Would contrast fabric make a design detail stand out in a great way?  How about something so simple as contrast buttons?  Piping?   Contrast stitching?  What can you do to make your next project unique and fabulous?

Peplum Top Pattern Hack

With peplums being so hot I couldn't help but make a peplum top for one of my girls.  And if you knew the project would come out looking like this, wouldn't you make one too?

This is my favorite pattern hack to date. Yes, that's a pattern hack, because I couldn't find a peplum top pattern for little girls. There's some great ones for women, but nothing smaller.   It was super easy though.  I attached a flared skirt to a little girls' dress bodice.   the back seam has a gap at the neck rather than the zipper and the zipper was moved to the side seam.  If I do it again I'll go ahead and leave the zipper in the back seam.  I like how it is now, but my girl finds it a little more difficult to put the top on.  

Don't you adore that peter pan collar?  None of my little girl dress patterns came with a peter pan collar, so I drafted this one myself.  My first attempt wasn't quite right, but the second collar fit perfectly.  It's exactly what the top needed.  (This tutorial from Burda Style is pretty similar to the technique I used, just in case your little girl dress patterns don't  have collars either.)  I finished the neck edge with single fold bias tape rather than drafting a facing.  It makes it more comfortable for her to wear.

There is something just so retro about this top and I love that.  I love the white piping at the waist.  That was a last minute addition and I'm glad I did it.  I didn't have any white piping on hand, but I did have piping cord (left overs from a project from many years ago) so i made some piping for it.  I had just enough white fabric to do it.

The fabric is  polished cotton with a nice stiff hand.  the skirt stands away from the bodice all on it's own.  I think that's the secret to a great peplum.  It should have some body to it so you get the full effect.  Something with a soft drape wouldn't quite work here.   Poplin, linen, polished cotton all are good fabric choices.  When choosing the bodice pattern, choose one with a bodice that reaches the true waist and fits somewhat close to the body.  You want around 1 1/2 to 2" of ease.

So how does one go about making a peplum top for a little girl?  It takes some math, so grab your scientific calculator, pencil, and pattern drafting fabric and let's get to work.

We'll be drafting a flared skirt, so we'll need to figure radius from circumference and circumference from radius.  If you don't remember from your high school days, the radius is the distance from the center of the circle to the edge.  Circumference is the distance around the edge of the circle.   The formula you need to know is C=p2r.  Circumference is C and r is radius.   You should know how to find and use the pi button on your calculator.  (You could also use an online calculator like this one.)

1.  First you need to know the exact dimension of the bodice waist.  So get to work and cut out your bodice.  Measure around the waist right at the seam line on both the bodice front and back.  If the bodice front and bodice back are two different lengths, you will need to make two different pattern pieces.  Start with the bodice front waist length. Subtract the seam allowance.  Multiply the result by 2.  This is the circumference of the first circle you will draw.  Plug this number into your calculator.  Divide by pi.  Now divide the result by 2.  This is Radius #1.

2.  Using this radius measurement, draw a half-circle on your pattern drafting paper.  I like to use a string tied around a pencil.  Just tie a non-stretchy string to a pencil.  Measure the string and hold at the radius measurement.  Mark your center point.  Hold the string down with one hand on the center point, and hold the pencil out with the string tight.  Now draw a half-circle with your makeshift compass.   This is the seam line for your peplum skirt.

3.  Now decide how long you want your skirt to be.  We went with a 6" skirt.  It was a great length for a little girl.  Hold a measuring tape up to your girl and decide where you want it to be.   Add that length+0.625 to Radius #1.  This is Radius #2.  (the 0.625 is your 5/8" hem.)

4.  Hold the string from your compass at the center point so that the string is the Length of Radius #2.  Draw another half circle.   This is the cut edge of your circle.

5.  Subtract 0.625 from Radius #1.   Draw yet one more half circle with this length radius.  It should be 5/8" inside the seam line half circle (the first one you drew.)   This is the inside cut edge.

6.  You should have a basic half circle.  Now we are going to add the side seams to your pattern.   On the flat sides.  Extend the  circumference of your circles by 5/8".  Draw a straight line connecting these.  You should end up with a pattern that looks something like this (not to scale, obviously):

7.  If your bodice back and bodice front have two different waist lengths, go back and draft the bodice back using the same steps you used for the bodice front.   

8. If you want to put the zipper in the back seam you will need to add a seam to the back center peplum piece. On the bodice back, fold the pattern in half.   Draw a new line right at the line of symmetry (the fold line.)  Extend the circle out 5/8" on each cut edge and connect them with a straight line.  You should have a pattern that looks like this:

If  you are going to do a side zipper, you do not have to put the center seam in the back peplum piece (step 8.) When sewing the bodice, follow the original pattern directions but do not sew the left side seam and leave the top 3" of the back seam unsewn.  Sew a button right at the neck and a little elastic loop on the other side.  Sew the right side seam of your peplum.  Sew the peplum to the bodice (be sure to sew piping to the bodice first if you are using it.)   Now install an invisible zipper in the left side seam.  It should be long enough to start less than an inch from the under arm and stop two to three inches into the peplum.  Finish the side seam and hem the peplum.  

If you are going to put the zipper in the center back, follow the original bodice instructions.  Then sew the peplum side seams and sew it to the bodice (adding the piping to the waist seam before sewing in the peplum if using.)  You should have an unsewn back bodice seam.  Install an invisible zipper long enough to reach from the top of the back seam to three to four inches into the peplum.  Finish the back seam and hem the peplum. 

You're done!

PS.  You can use the drafting method to make a true circle skirt any length you like.   

If you make your girl a peplum skirt, please post a link.  I'd love to see it!

Drape neck top and python jeans

I just love the stuff young teenagers can get away with.  They can walk the very edge of the trends because they have such a sense of fun.  Their energy  makes just about everything workable.   Case in point, bright nearly neon python print jeans.

That's Burda 9500 for the jeans.   It was easy to work with and fits pretty well.  It is designed for a younger figure.  My 13 year old started growing her grown up figure this summer so the seat of the pants was a little too flat for her.  We took in the waist, but if I were to make them again, I would cut the back yoke 1/2" taller in the center and grade into that from the sides.  She needed the extra coverage there.   

I asked her to do some model poses for me, which got me a duck face . . . and then a laugh.

 Love it.

 I took the time to do true flat felled seams everywhere I could.  Then I top stitched in hot pink top stitching thread.  Coats and Clark has added some great colors to their jeans threads lately and the hot pink was absolutely perfect for these pants.

I am pretty darn proud of that top.  I designed the pattern myself from scratch.  I used an old book called Debbie Moore's Pattern Drafting and Dressmaking to draft the pattern.  I worked directly from Marilla's measurements and created a basic bodice first.  (The method was similar to this one.) Then I followed the instructions in the book on how to convert it to a drape neck top and add drop sleeves.  I did about three drafts of the pattern and four muslins (good thing I had a ton of knit too small to use for anything else stashed around here) also working from the fact that we found the jersey knit fabric on the same day we bought the denim.  It was in the remnants bin and there was not enough to cut sleeves, hence the drop sleeve.  I'm really happy with how it came out.   My sister even took a tracing of the pattern for her very style conscious 15 year old girl who loved the shirt too.

I love it when my first try at something comes out so great.   

Perfect Pink Dress Redo

Two years ago I found an absolutely gorgeous raspberry eyelet in the clearance section of the fabric store.  So dramatic, so perfect for my girls.  I bought what I thought would be enough for one dress.  When I came home I decided that I could make two with the amount I had.   This is what I ended up with:

The bodice is great.  I love how the border design covers nearly the whole bodice front.  I also love the bound sleeve.  It's cute and perfect.  What wasn't perfect was that skimpy skirt.  It just isn't big enough.  The girls didn't like the skirt either and told me the dresses were hard to walk in.  Naturally, since they didn't like the skirt, they didn't wear the dress.  So I had two dresses made from expensive eyelet just sitting around never getting used.  

Well, my cousin is getting married and she asked my two youngest girls if they would like to help out at the reception.  Since one of the colors is raspberry pink, I thought it was time to get those dresses out and put them through a redo.  

 I took the skirts off both dresses and opened them up.  I cut the longer skirt  to the length of the shorter.   I sewed the two linings together so the skirt was double the fullness of the original dress.  Then I took the lining and sewed a really full ruffle to the bottom.  It's 5 1/2" wide.  Luckily the lining is basic bleached muslin so it was easy to match the fabric.

 Look at that ruffle!  It's perfect.

Next I cut one skirt half up the center so I had a seam to put the zipper in up the back.    Then I sewed all the skirt pieces together.   I layered the the lining to the skirt and basted them together.  I used a couching stitch over lightweight fishing line to gather the skirt.   I sewed the skirt to the bodice and then sewed the zipper back in.

 It's done!  And I'm very, very happy with this redo.  This is the dress I should have sewn the first time!

She's very happy with it.  She's been super picky about her dresses lately and won't wear anything with tulle in it because "it's itchy."  This dress gives her another option.  It's comfy cotton and there are no itchy spots anywhere.   Of course, now I only have one dress when I used to have two, but it was worth it.  Now I just need to figure out what to do with the other bodice.  ;)

Shirtdress for my girl

So I've been sewing.  And teaching.  And getting a girl graduated from high school.  (What's that?  I don't look old enough to have a kid in college?  thank you.  That's very sweet and my profile picture is eight years old.)

The girl and I sewed this together to be her graduation dress: 

That's the recently out of print Simplicity 2403.  A Project Runway pattern, a line we've had very good luck with. (I don't know how long that link will be good.)  It's still available on line.  Yes, it's another Simplicity, and I do know how much I complain about their sizing.  They are super cheap though.  Every other month JoAnn puts them on sale for $1 a piece, so it's worth it to stock up and deal with the sizing issues.  Once we figure out the correct sizing, they fit my girl beautifully with very little alteration.  Their fit model must be an hourglass figure like my girl.

(I also would like to be clear that although this picture has been put through a few filters, she has not been photoshopped.  Girl is that skinny.  It helps that she's 5'2". I teased her and told her that she can't gain the freshman 15 and still wear that dress.  She laughed.   )

Sarah sewed most of the bodice including the ruffles on the bodice and the button placket.  She's not an experienced seamstress, so I'm impressed.  I couldn't have done a better job with it myself.  Then she ran out of time and had too much school and work to finish before graduation.   I did the skirt, which has pockets you can't see in the pic because we were that good matching the plaid.

I've been doing a lot more sewing lately.  I've made a t-shirt for myself I love, a dress I hate, another Burda jumpsuit for my youngest, and even helped youngest with her first sewing project.   It's been a big sewing month and there are more projects on the list.  I guess I'm just in a sewing frame of  mind lately.

The Prom Dress!

Sorry for the exclamation point.  I'm just excited to have it done and worn.  We had some drama Friday night where it looked like the dress wouldn't even make an appearance.  But here it is, right before she headed out to the dance.

The fabric is a champagne colored brocade, but it looks a little on the pink side when a flash is used.  Sadly it was after dark, so flash is all I had.

You can see the bustle on the side in this shot. It's a full circle of fabric, folded in half and pleated on at low hip height.  The center of the circle hangs lower than the skirt so she could have that high/low look that's so popular these days.   It looks a little dead here in the pictures, but the fullness of the bustle gave it a lot of movement and life, really adding so much to such a simple dress.

See what I mean?  She twirled for me.  She loved how it had so much drama when she moved.

And here it is from the back.  There is just a teeny little bit of netting under the bustle right at the top to give it some fullness and make a prettier drape.

And a detail shot.  I do a lot of hand sewing with these formal dresses. The bustle was hand sewn on so I could make the stitching as invisible as possible and have more control of the pleats.  You might notice there's no zipper on the back of the dress.   We moved it to the side so it wouldn't interfere with the bustle.  It made getting into the dress slightly tricky, but it worked.

 And a last shot straight on from the front.  There's a couple of changes I would like to make here.  We have a rhinestone accent that I didn't put on before her dance and looking at the pictures I would say the dress needs it.  I will probably do it before she wears it for her friend's prom . . . if he gets himself ungrounded by then that is.

You can see my daughter loved it.  She's a lucky girl getting these custom dresses for Prom. This one wasn't quite as elaborate as last year's dress, which from the seamstress's perspective was great.   She still looked lovely and had a wonderful time and that's all you can ask for from Prom.

Sneak Peek--Prom

The fabric is hard to photograph because it's so shiny.   The dress is done, but we haven't had time for a photo shoot yet.  I'm hoping for something tomorrow.  We will definitely do it on Saturday.  We have an early prom around here.  It's crazy.

Next up:  a clutch to match.  It's lime green.

Quick Vinyl Project--Guitar Fret Markers

Got a kid learning guitar?  You might try this:

My husband gave a guitar lesson to our youngest son's best friend this evening.  The boy was brand new to the instrument and his guitar did not have fret markers on the edge of the neck.  A five minute session with my Cameo fixed that little difficulty for him in a way that would not permanently mark the guitar.

The numbers are Ahoroni font and I believe that one comes with the program.  They are about 1/4" tall.  I was surprised how well the Cameo cut numbers that small, but it was super quick and they came out great.  It took just a couple minutes to apply and a quick hit with a warm blow drier and a credit card will get them off quickly and cleanly when the boy learns his chords.

A 25 cent skirt

So I went to a children's clothing resale clearance sale with my sisters a couple of months ago.  About four times a year this store has a huge clearance.  They rent another retail space for the weekend, set up banquet tables and throw all the unsellable clothes out in huge piles.  The public gets to dig through and try and find the gems. Every item of clothing sells for a quarter, so it's often worth your time if  you have young kids.  My kids are all too old to find much at these sales.  My sister was shopping for a new baby on the way, and I was helping her find the cute girly stuff.  We found several large bags of things for her and this for my middle girl: 

 It's a cute dress, no stains and in a fun border print.   She wore it once as is but decided it was too little girl for her.  She's 12 now and the style just wasn't grown up enough,  however, she loved the skirt part and the ruffle at the waist.   So I did this to it:

I cut off the bodice about 2" above the waistline all the way around.  Since it was a lined bodice, I was able to turn the top edge in 1/4" and sew it together.  The back buttoned together, so I left the last button at the new waist.  I also slipped elastic into the new waistband on the backside and left the sash.  Then I sewed it a simple cotton slip because that sucker was way too translucent.   (Rectangle 3 inches bigger than hips and 3 inches longer than desired length.  Sew the side seam. Hem it.  Sew a casing at the top for elastic.  Bam.  15 minute slip.)  It wasn't a huge change, but the jumper to skirt change was just what this piece needed to go from little girl to big girl without veering into "trying to hard to be a teenager" territory.  This Sunday she wore it with a white t-shirt and a cropped jean jacket; she was quite stylin'.

Turning a dress into a skirt is a super simple switch.  Most of the time you can retain the existing zipper or closure mechanism and a simple piece of elastic or tightening up the side seams will bring the waist in.  It's a quick change that makes it easy to freshen up an old piece.

(I've turned an old dress into a skirt before with even better results.  Check it out here:  Old dress makeover)

What does a geek family do with a Cameo?

This!

That's a Rebel Alliance flag (Star Wars) made with heat transfer cut on my Cameo machine.  I used the SVG file I  found on Wikipedia.  (A quick Google image search brings up lots of options if that one is not your cup of tea.) I did lengthen the black stripes a bit and enlarge the entire image to fit how I wanted it to look on my husband's shirt.  My whole family is clamoring for one of their own, but daddy gets the first one, because he bought me the new toy for Christmas.  Now I need to order more black heat transfer vinyl so I can do everyone else's.  

I have really enjoyed my Cameo.  My favorite part has been converting files from my Dover Pictura books I bought many years ago when I designed scrapbook paper.  (Just one line from a very small company. But it was really fun while it lasted.)  I have several books and many of them have files that convert beautifully to cut files.  I still need to work on print and cut  and sketch files for a few others.  It's the main reason I wanted a Cameo:  freedom to design for myself.  Love that so much. 

I've done other stuff that I've been wanting to post, but I'm really thinking through this whole blogging thing.  What I want from it.  How I want to do it.  What is it's purpose, etc.  I may write a long, thoughtful post or I may just jump back in posting when I can and let you figure out what I decided.  Depends on whether I can make my thoughts interesting.

Burda 9491: Girl's jumpsuit

I've been sewing again!  I love this little jumpsuit. You can't tell from the picture but the fabric is actually very thin pink and white stripes. It turned out just like i pictured it in my head, which is really quite rare.   I'm very glad I did the contrast fabric in the pocket yoke and the brown piping and those cute brown buttons.  My daughter loves it and wanted to wear it two days in a row to school.  

The pattern is listed as average difficultly and that seemed about right to me.  The pin tucks and standing collar were a pain.  The pattern has you cut two rectangles, add the pin tucks to those and then cut the yoke from those.  The pattern does not specify exactly how small the pin tucks are supposed to be, so you get to guess.  When I used my pin tuck foot (that gives me very straight pleats) I ended up with too small a piece to cut the yoke from.  I had to start over and cut new rectangles that were quite a bit bigger.  I figured something around 9" wide was a nice, generous size to work with.  

Once I got past the yoke hurdle, the rest went together pretty quickly.  The techniques were pretty standard.  In fact, the construction technique was really educational.  My older girls are very jealous of their little sister's jumpsuit.  I think I can take a button up shirt pattern and a basic shorts pattern and put them together to create a jumpsuit pattern for them using the techniques from the Burda pattern.  We'll see if I can get that done sometime soon.  I have a lot of other sewing to do in the immediate future.  Summer vacation starts in a little over a week, so I need to get busy if my kids are going to get the shorts they need!

Chevron Clutch--the prototype

I haven't been posting as much lately because it seems that just when I'm going to finish a project something comes up.  I have about five things I want to post on my blog that I can't post because I haven't managed to do those finishing details yet.   We've found and painted a light for the new sitting room.  We've built a 6' DVD case that holds (almost) everything including Wii games.  We even punched through the wall in our family room to put in a component shelf under the TV so we could finally get rid of (what remained of) the entertainment center.  I love all the projects but we've managed to just live with them 95% done.   That is the fun of having a blog.  It makes me finish things I would otherwise just live with.

Just for fun though, I'm going to show you an in progress project.  I'm working on the pattern for a large clutch.  The prototype looks promising but there's a few things I'll be changing up in the final version.

I like the chevrons.  I like the size, 12"x6".  I even like the button.  I'm not too happy with the fabric, but it was free, so I'm not sweating that.  The thing that bugs me the most is the way the flap does not lay down smoothly on the sides.  That will have to be worked with.

The back side has two more chevron stripes.  I think the stripes are cute and I do like the way the fabric is fraying.  It made it super easy to sew the stripes on, as well, so bonus!


I do love the interior of this clutch.  The great big zipper pocket was easy to put in.  I have just ID/credit/membership card pockets on the other side.  Of course, these days I'm not sure if 9 pockets is enough.   Between the library card, the zoo card, the museum card, the grocery store loyalty cards, the clothing store loyalty cards. . . there may actually not be any space left for my driver's licence or debit card.  hey! This clutch saves money!  Obviously I can't drive anywhere or spend money when using it.   It's the budget clutch!

I'm going to work up a final version of this one soon.  Hopefully I can figure out how to make digital patterns as well.   From the numbers on my blog, an Etsy store with just the ruffle bag patterns in it would do pretty well.  I'd put other stuff in it too, of course.  Two products would just look silly.

Quick and Easy Baby Gift

Got a baby shower coming up?   How about whipping up a couple of onesie dresses.  They take less than half an hour each and they are as cheap as you can buy a onesie.  The skirt is scrap from other projects and the ribbon is from my I'm-really-going-to-use-it-someday ribbon collection.

 (Ok, so the photography on this one is horrible.  Sorry.  It's February and the light was just horrible that day.)

I started with an inexpensive 6-9 month sized onesie.   This one is pink and white stripes but the horrible photos mean you can't really see the stripes.  It really is a cute little outfit, I promise.

I laid the onesie down flat and measured across the center.  It's about 18 inches around.  

This measurement lets me figure how much fabric to cut for the skirt.  I decided to do a 1.5 times gather so I cut a piece of fabric 30"x8".   The fabric has a lot of body on it's own, so it looked ok.  Next time I'm going to do a full double gather at least (that would have meant cutting 37"x8" for the skirt.)  The fuller fabric would look really cute. 

I sewed up the side seam with a fake overlock stitch.  I don't have a serger or I would have used that.  This seam is going to show and get a lot of wear so make sure it looks nice and won't fray.  I'll be doing a French seam on the next one of these I sew. 

Do a narrow, folded hem (again, looks nice.  won't fray.)  I also sewed a coordinating ribbon about an inch from the hem.  It really added a lot. 

Gather and sew with a stretch stitch to the onsie.  You can see my seam here.  This doesn't have to be quite as pretty but do make sure you are using a stitch that will move with the baby and stretch to go over her head.

Press the skirt and wrap it up for baby.   These are also cute with a little applique on the front of the bodice.  You could do a heart or a crown.  Try a simple iron on design or a ribbon rose.

These little dresses are great summer wear for babies.  They can go out in a lightweight onesie but still be dressed up and cute.   If you've got a good pattern for them, you could make a pair of fabric booties to match as well.   Babies always have the cutest outfits.   Lucky babies.  I haven't gotten to wear a onesie since I was 19.   (If you remember we called them "body suits" and they were cool.   I also had the body to get away with shirts that tight at the time.  Lucky 19 year olds.)

Pattern Alteration: Simple box pleats and my first Giveaway!

I've said before that I like to alter patterns I already have to get a style I want.  This particular alteration is super simple to pull off.  Today we're adding two box pleats to the front of a basic A-line skirt.

This skirt is my 1st grader's.  She loves to wear it with wild patterned tights.   When I made it, I accidentally cut out two (you know how you are supposed to fold the fabric in half most of the time when you lay out a pattern?  yeah.  Not this one.) oh well.  My loss.  Your gain.   I'm going to sew my extra skirt up for one person who comments on this post.  One entry for commenting.  One extra entry for linking to my blog in your blog.  Let my know in the comments that you've linked.  I'll let my little girl draw a name out of a hat.  My teenage daughter likes hats.  We have several around here these days.

This skirt is a size 4-5 with a finished length of 12 1/4".  I can sew the waist to whatever measurement you wish. 

You need to start with a basic A-line skirt pattern. It's best if the front of the skirt is flat rather than gathered or with an elastic waist.  The back can have the elastic waist though.  This technique works with any sized skirt, for little girls or grown women.  First decide how deep you want the box pleat to be.  For a little girl, like this skirt, a 1" pleat is fine.  I did a box pleat skirt very similar to this for myself with a 3" pleat.

So, how deep is the pleat?  Quadruple that measurement and add that amount to the skirt front.  For this skirt I wanted  1" pleats, so I added 4 inches.  1x4=4.

If the front piece is laid on the fold you'll push the pattern piece back  from the fold half the added amount.  If you are adding 4" to the skirt front you want the pattern edge 2" from the fold.   Be sure to measure both at the top of the pattern piece and the bottom.

If your pattern has a full piece for the skirt front, you'll need to split the pattern down the center.   Evenly spread the pattern pieces apart the amount you want added to the skirt front.  In this case the pieces had a 4" gap between them.  Do be sure you keep the pattern piece lined up with the grain line in the fabric for both front pieces.

Now cut out the skirt front.

The box pleats should be centered over each leg, so you need to mark the fabric piece.   Measure in 5/8" from each edge and mark that with a pin.  Now fold the fabric in half and mark the center with a pin.   Do this at the top and bottom edge of the skirt.   Bring one side over toward the center, lining up the side pin with the center pin at the top and bottom.  Press flat.  Mark that fold with a pin at the top.  Measure down 4 5/8" from the top edge and mark that with a pin.  Do the same thing to the other side.

Sew from the waist to the pin the width of your box pleat.  I wanted a 1" pleat, so my seam here is 1" from the folded edge.  If you were sewing a 3" box pleat on an adult sized skirt you would sew 3" from the folded edge.   By the way, you can sew it down farther.  4" is about 1/3 of the finished length and that's about right for a sewn pleat.  If you were sewing a skirt that was 18" long you might want to sew the pleat 6 5/8" down. The 5/8" is to account for the seam allowance at the waist.  (Yes, if you win this skirt there will not be any white thread.  I plan to pull that out and redo it in the right color.  The white was just to make the seam easy to see.)

Press the pleat flat with the folded edge centered over the seam. 

Now you have a finished front with pleats.  Continue sewing the skirt using the directions that came with your pattern. 

Have fun and be sure to comment if you want a skirt like this one for your daughter/niece/granddaughter/alien  child/next year's Halloween jack o' lantern.  Leave an email or sign into a Google account so I can contact you if you win.  Thanks!