I sewed up a Geranium tunic for Corinne last week and finally cut into some much-loved AMH little folks voile.

I love how my last Geranium turned out for Ellery, and I love how different this one is.  This fabric is so nice and light, i thought it would make a nice breezy top. I’m happy that she can wear this now right on into the Springtime.

(Seriously, Spring.  Get a move on it!)

So, I added long sleeves here – not an option in the pattern, but I figured it would just look super cute and couldn’t be too hard.

For the sleeves, I used a pattern piece that I already had handy- from the baby in the hood jacket (from this book) that I made a couple of years ago for Grant.  I added an elastic casing at the cuffs.  I did trim my sleeve pattern piece down a little bit along the sides, but I wish I had left it as wide it was- I think this shirt would be perfection if the sleeves were just a teensy bit roomier.  But, it’s totally wearable, and I’m loving it on her, so no biggie.  Next time, next time….

Here’s “Coco” (as she is affectionately known around here) and her bribery snack of choice: baby Mum Mum crackers.

Anyway, to attach the sleeves, I didn’t really have a plan of attack since I’ve never sewn sleeves to a lined bodice.  But, I remembered Rae’s tutorial and video for adding sleeves to a Washi dress, so I followed that… I’m sure there are other ways to add sleeves to a lined bodice, but the girl knows what she’s talking about, so I let her guide me through it.  And it went very well… even though it looks all kinds of crazy when you’re sewing it up!  No really… check out that video to see what I mean.

  That’s what I love about sewing- sometimes you just have to trust the instructions in front of you and forego your own thought processes.

I always learn something.  Always.

I made the 12-18 month size for my almost 11 month old!  11 months already?? what??

Instead of using 3 buttons as the pattern suggests, I decided to use 2 here just because I liked how it looked.  I’m really digging this pattern and have seen so many great variations in the flickr pool.

Action shot!

Corinne has been walking since just after her 9 month birthday, and I really feel like she’s in the mix with the other *big* kids because of that..  but it’s funny because she still looks like such a baby to me… I took her to an open-gym today with tons of other kids and she had no problem leaving my side to cruise around after balls, crawl through tunnels, and at one point even walking up to some random boy on a bike and planting the biggest slobbery open-mouthed kiss on his face.

He liked it.

C’mon, wouldn’t you?

-Erin