Colby Riley Designs on Facebook

A couple of weeks ago, I talked to a fellow sewing friend about selling online. She stated that she got more request from FB than anywhere therefore I started a page. I will be selling items there as well as Etsy.

Click on the following links to check out both places.

Colby Riley Designs on FB

Colby Riley Designs on Etsy

Enjoy...

Pillow Case Dress

I made several of these this summer because they are quick and super easy to make. I used Handmade Home as a guide but changed the patter a little. I had to cut a great deal off the top and used it for a baby shower gift (see Baby Shower Gift post).

I like to make these because I can get a pillow case for less than a dollar at local thrift stores. The bias tape cost more than the pillow case.

This pillow case was originally a really light pink with a stain on it. I dyed it denim blue. Sweetpeaizer LOVES it! I will add pictures of the others when I take them.

One Yard Wonder

I bought this book last winter and I LOVE it! I made all of these dress from one yard of material. The three that are the same pattern are super simple to make. Sweetpeaizer will be getting another one soon made out of fall material. All the trims are things I already had and the buttons are antique ones that a friend's mom gave me.

Baby Shower Gift

One of my friends had a baby over the summer and is really believes in reducing, reusing, and recycling (like me). I wanted to do something that I knew she would love. I found the blanket at a local thrift store and the one-sizes are ones that Boss Man outgrew. I dyed them the pink color then stenciled the birds and the letter "A" (the baby's first initial).



A couple of weeks before the shower, I made a pillow case dress for Sweetpeaizer and one of her friends named Double A. I had to cut a great deal off the top and did not want to throw it away therefore it became the birds of the mobile. The pattern for the mobile came from the book "One-Yard Wonders". The ring is something I bought from the local hardware store. I had the ribbon and beads on hand.


I am really happy she enjoyed them.

Quilted Coat

I have been VERY lucky to married into a wonderful family, one of which is an AMAZING aunt. I truly love this woman. Many years ago, she had her own sewing business. Now I am lucky enough to receive some amazing pieces from her.

In August, I received a box via my MIL from Aunt L. It is like Christmas for me because I never know what will be in the box. There was a quilt that I had already been cut but had enough left over for a jacket for Sweetpeaizer.

I used pattern Simplicity 9511 which is a dress, pinafore, shirt and pant pattern from the 80's. I simply used the short dress pattern, cut the back on the fold and made the front into two pieces. I made French seams and added bias tape to all the edges. I am having a friend add two button holes (because I don't like doing them). The buttons are an antique pearly white 1 1/2 inches. I will post another picture when buttons are added.


I will have to do another post with pictures of things I have made from Aunt L.

My First Wedding Party Dresses

A few years ago, a friend said that when she got married, she wanted me to make her dress.... in June, she became engaged!

I have made several things from patterns but I have never changed a preexisting pattern. All the dress are Simplicity 2884. I used the same pattern for the Bride's dress except removed the pleats from the top and widen the midriff. I also added tulle and antique lace to the lining on the bride's dress. The lining to the dress is a pencil skirt therefore I added splits to either side.


The Wedding Party


The Bridal Party

Thank you to Courtney for asking me to make the dresses. I loved doing it for you!

Little Man's 2nd Birthday Party

Little Man is really into cars, planes, and trains. I thought this would be a great way to celbrate his birthday. Everyone brought a dish because it was an evening party. The kids had a blast.
The cake!


The goody bags! The name tags and cup labels were all trains, planes, and cars that I cut out after I trace cookie cutters.


Little Man's shirt. I did not like it after I zig zagged around it... :(

changing colors

The past two weekends, I have dyed things. I enjoy using this that have a little bit of stains that would be thrown away or used as rags. Most of the things I dyed are for baby gifts (I will post pictures after the gifts are given). However, I did dye somethings for my kids. Last weekend, I dyed a white sweater of my daughter's that had some stains on it. It is now a beautiful pink. This weekend, I dyed a white shirt of my son's and two light pink pillow cases, all three had some stains on them.

Baby gifts for a friend..

If you would like to order something contact me... burp cloths are $8, shoes are $10, and pants are $10.

No Internet at home

We no longer have internet at home however I will continue to update my blog when I can but as of right now I can not upload pictures from my phone. Please check back with here to see if I added anything new.

Ballet dress from "One Yard Wonder"

This weekend, I decided to sit down and make Sweetpeazier a couple of new dresses for summer. She would rather wear a dress than shorts. The pattern came from the book "One Yard Wonder". I love this book. The dress 2-3 hours to make depending on how many times I had to stop and restart again.

This dress is made from some material that I had. It was just under a yard.

This was a fitted sheet that one of my friends gave to me. I was able to make her daughter and mine matching dresses. I tried to make pants for my daughter and son but I messed those up.

Baby Gifts

Almost two years ago, one of my cousins had a little girl and recently had another little girl in March. I made the girls matching skirts. The skirts are made from a baby bed skirt. I used the seams that were already there for the hem and split in the back. The bloomers are made from the center section of the bed skirt. I used a small section of the bed skirt to make an A and C to embroidered on the bloomers and to make the matching shoes for the baby.

Etsy

A few months ago, I opened an etsy account but I just now put my first thing for sale on it. Check out my shop at ColbyRileyDesigns.etsy.com. I just have one thing currently but will have more soon.

April Birthdays...

There are three very special little girls whose birthdays are in April. These little girls are friends with my daughter and son. Two of the girls are four and the other is 2. I made these bags for the three girls and my daughter. I will make one for my son when he gets a little older.

The pattern is from an amazing book I bought a couple of months ago called "One Yard Wonders." I can not wait for the sequel to come out. I made the bags out of some canvas I had here. The stencil is from a book called "Simple Sewing for Babies."


The bag on the top right is for the two year old. I out in a slide so that the strap would be adjustable. The top left is the front of the of the bag. The bottom bag is turned inside out. The pocket is cut from a bed skirt that I purchase from a local thrift store. I used it because I thought the colors worked well with the canvas and stenciling. The bird on the inside of the flap is actually a mistake but instead of throwing it away and cutting more, I used it. I thought the bags turned out great. I hope the girls enjoy them.

Simple wrap skirt for Sweetpeazier

As I was checking the blogs I follow, I found a simple wrap skirt from Prudent Baby. I have been wanting to my Sweetpeazier a skirt from a baby crib skirt all week but did not know what to make. Earlier this week, I separated the skirt into the original five pieces: 2 short, 2 long, and the center. I made two gifts, which I will post pictures later after they have received them. One side I will use for little things such as baby shoes, embroidering, mending...
This is what I made today. I started off by cutting one on the long sides in half because it would be to long otherwise. I hemmed the cut side, then added the bias tape to the top. Sweetpeazier loves it.

My 3.75 shirt from Goodwill

The other day while looking at www.oneprettything.com, which shares many different ideas from different people daily, I can across a skirt made from a men's dress shirt. Here is the blog from the instructions came from http://cubicdreams.blogspot.com/2010/04/skirt-from-shirt.html

Yesterday, I went to Goodwill to buy some clothes that fit and are nice enough to wear to work. I found this shirt. I love it. I will try to post the before picture. My four year old daughter took the after picture. I will try to get my husband to take a better after picture but here is my version of a skirt made from a button down shirt...

Upcycling a crib bed skirt

I found a really cute crib bed skirt for a little girls room yesterday at a Goodwill for 3 dollars. Last night I ripped all the seams so now I have 2 short pieces, 2 long pieces, and the middle white piece. Today will the kids are napping I will cut out bloomers from the middle and start to embroider something on the hinny. I will post pictures when I am done.

Easter Baskets

After a couple of years of buying Easter Baskets for the Sweetpeaizer, I decided that I was going to make a couple of cute baskets for both kids. They are based on a basket I saw in a magazine picture I saw but of course could not find when I wanted to make it. I don't remember which magazine it was. This is my own rendition of the basket. I am posting a picture of the chicken basket but will take a picture of the rabbit and post soon.




A better picture

No sewing lately....

I have not been sewing lately because the rest of the family and I are doing MAJOR spring cleaning of the house. I hope this will allow me more time for sewing and make things more efficient...

My machine is also in the shop getting a good cleaning...

Two Shirts...

Over the past week, I have made three shirts however one I messed up the sleeves. About a month ago, I was subbing at the local middle school when I over heard two girls talking about wanting to get some bloomers for their history project. I told them I could make them, that was on a Friday. The following Saturday was the local competition. That week, I made two sets of bloomers and two skirts. I hope to have pictures of these soon. The girls made it to the regional competition and now needed shirts to complete their outfits. I went online to a website, www.burdastyle.com, and found JJ#6009 pattern. A good deal of the patterns on this site are free. Here are the results of two of the three shirts. A lady here, made buttonholes and attached the buttons with her machine. I really like this pattern. I will probably make me a couple.

Dog Bed

Yesterday, we got a brand new little puppy therefore I wanted to make him his own space. In about an hour, I cut and sewed a very simple doggie bed. A couple of months ago, I purchased the book called "One Yard Wonders." In the book, there is a cute and simple pattern for a doggie bed. I made it out of canvas because I do not know how long it will last with an 8 week old puppy. Once he is bigger, I plan on making him a cuter one.

Picture soon to come.

Another Baby Gift

One of my husband's friend's little girl had a very handsome little boy a few months ago. I wanted to make a special gift for him because his mamma has a very special place in our hearts. I talked with her to get some ideas for what to make. I believe it turned out really cute. The bib is reversible. The other side is the same material as the shirt.

Latte Changing Pad

One of my friends here, had three baby showers in three weeks to attend. She had three pre-quilted baby blankets for me to add trim to. She also wanted something else, therefore, I made her three Latte Changing Pads from an amazing book called "One Yard Wonders." I love this book. Here are a couple of pictures of one the Latte Changing Pads but they are not the greatest because they are with a cell phone because our camera died.

Halloween....

In 2004, my beautiful sweetpeaizer asked to be Smokey Bear for Halloween. I did not know where to get one for a two year but I know I could make one if I changed a pattern. The boss man was big enough to wear it in 2009. Also, in 2009, sweetpeaizer wanted to be a fairy. All the flowers were hand-sewn on. I loved being able to make them cute and unique costumes for Halloween.

Babies!!!!

Last year, my Dad's side of the family was very blessed with a handsome set of twin boys and a beautiful little girl. I looked on the Internet for some cute ideas and found at MarthaStewart.com two different pairs of shoes, a kimono pattern, a bib pattern, and a simple hat pattern. Here are my creations...

For the boys... Their Dad (my cousin) played baseball from grade school, through college, and semi pro. I had some vintage material, that I inherited from my late grandmother, that resembles baseball pants. Their Mom graduate from University of AL and is a HUGE fan. I also made a set of hats and hand-sewn two sets of booties for each little boy. Here is what I sent.

I altered the pattern for more of a "boy look".

The bibs are reversible, one side is denim with the Letter A in crimson and the other side is a baseball diamond the the first letter of the baby's name.

I changed the buttons to a baseball bat, glove, and ball instead of teddy bears.




For the little girl, both parents are bike riders. I made the same thing for her but instead of boots, I made cute little slippers.


I hand embroidered a bike on one side and the other side of the bib matches the kimono.

I hand embroidered the letter H on one side and the other side of the bib matches the kimono.

Last Years Easter Outfits...

I do not think I will have much time to make Easter outfits for the kids this year but here is last years. We were heading to my cousin's wedding not long after Easter therefore I wanted to make something really special. I made matching outfits with hand embroidered Easter motif.

Another Blog...

I am starting this blog because since starting the other one, I have been inspired by many many other sites to really start sewing more. I love to sew. I am wanting to share with you all of my sewing projects. I hope you enjoy.