Jumping on the bandwagon....

I've discovered the joys of ribbon.  Sigh....some ribbon is just way too cool, and then I'm not really sure what to do with all of it.  I make key fobs with some, and I put some on an Ava Knot dress for my niece, but a girl really needs some more options!  Especially when there are minimums for ordering ribbon from the coop, and sometimes you really only needed maybe a yard, but now what do you do with the other four?

Enter the Izzy top from Climbing the Willow.  This is a free pattern, complete with tutorial, and it is now available in sizes from 18m to 12 years.  People have been going crazy over it, and there are about a gazillion pics posted in one of my FB sewing groups - which is how I heard about it.  And when I saw the first photo, I thought, "That'd be great for a ribbon trim!"  

I had bought some lavender hearts ribbon, specifically intending to make my niece a dress for Valentine's Day.  Something appropriate and cute, but not necessarily screaming holiday.  And when I saw this pattern, I thought that might be even better, considering that it's winter, and this would work great for layering.

Since this was my first try, and my niece is not readily available for sizing, I went with the 2T (she's 2) for the "Valentine's Day" top.  Both fabrics are from the keepsake calico section at JAF.  I wanted a nice purple to go with the ribbon, but I couldn't really match the colors close enough, so I decided that separating them with a coordinating color might work well.  And if you click on the photo, you might be able to see that there are heart outlines in the pink fabric.  I thought it turned out really nice!

My sister-in-law loves horses, so when I saw this horse ribbon, I had to buy it.  I decided to make a second top in the 3T size (I cut both out at once), in case the 2T was snug - this one could be worn longer.  So I took the ribbon with me to JAF and walked around holding it up to fabrics, until I found a nice brown print that went well with the ribbon. :)  I really liked how it turned out, and I hope my niece loves it.

This was a relatively quick and definitely easy sew, and I would definitely recommend it.  I'm hoping to hear back that my sister-in-law likes the tops - if so, once I hear back on sizing, I'd be happy to make a few more.