Custom kokoleo bed sheet sundresses

I compiled some photos of custom sundresses that I currently have the fabric to create.

 Since the fabric and bed sheets I use are vintage and hard to find, I have a limited supply of each print. Often, I've found, when customers peruse my sundresses they find a pattern they love but it's in the wrong size. By custom-making them, I can save my fabric for those who really want it and can make a dress in size six months to six years. This way, customers can choose their favorite trim and buttons and get a true one-of-a-kind that they helped design. Check them out in my Etsy shop or email me if you're interested.

Custom kokoleos

Whoa! December already? I've been so busy with commissions that I haven't had time to write any Christmas craft tutorials or post holiday photos. It's nice though. After a year of wondering where kokoleo was headed, I'm grateful for a steady stream of commissions that keeps coming my way. I never know what I'm going to make next, and I kind of like it that way. I used to worry about cranking out one-of-a-kinds and hoping they would sell but I'm finding now that custom one-of-a-kinds are where it's at. Here are a few recent commissions:

I have a few smaller Power Puff Girls dresses in my Etsy shop but this customer needed one to fit a 6 year old who loves Bubbles. Since I had some Power Puff fabric in stock, I obliged and even customized it with yellow buttons and trim to match Bubble's blond hair.

Around the same time I was working on this dress, I got an email from a customer who had purchased my Monster Tail pants years ago. She mentioned that her son loved those pants but was outgrowing them and she asked if I could make a larger pair. Luckily, I had some flame fleece on hand, and I was able to whip up these:

I hadn't made a pair of these in years so it was nice to read that the ones I made years ago have been well-loved. I decided I should start making them again, and I'm now offering custom-made Monster Tail Pants on Fire in my Etsy shop.. I love seeing McKenna run around in Sage's old pair - the first I ever made - and they're always her first pick if they're in her pajama drawer.

Around the same time, I got a commission for a custom plush (also now available in my Etsy shop) based on this child's drawing:

and I came up with this:

  

So that's what I worked on last week. On one of the days when McKenna didn't have preschool, she came into my studio to draw and play with the vintage Little People. After intently sewing for a while, I turned around to find that she had gathered up my scraps and arranged them like this:

 I love it because it contains bits and pieces of things I was working on that week, but mostly because it's totally her style. Her smiley faces always have snaggle teeth, so the choice of pom poms for the mouth was perfect. After all the monsters I've made, I've never thought of that.

This week, we put it together in plush form.

and she named it RockMiss, the Lady Rocketship.

 Yes, I think I will be handing the kokoleo monster making department over to her very soon.

Made by Monday - a slew of sundresses

My sundress stock has dwindled recently (yay sales!) so I thought it was time to stitch up a new slew of them. Here's what I made this week:


Awww, Bambi. I'm getting near the end of this sheet and I'm going to miss it when it's all gone.

But guess who's back! Raggedy Anne!


I made a series of these a few years ago but ran out of the material. I'm saving as much as I can by having contrasting backs.


They're so vibrant and bold. I love it.


Speaking of sheets I love, here's one:


I had these sheets (well, not these in particular, but ones exactly like them) when I was little. They sure do make for a beautiful spring sundress.

I'm working on a series of Space Needle stuff (I'll save them for another post) and came up with this:


Before I got hung up on bedsheet sundresses I used to do lots of applique. I think I need to get back into it.

And finally, something a little different... SpongeBob!


It's rare that I work with a material that's not vintage, but McKenna convinced me that it would be all the rage with her crowd. It was originally a pillowcase and the other side had Patrick Star on it, so there's a Patrick dress in the works too. I added some vintage buttons and trim to make it a true kokoleo. It turned out nearly as obnoxious as his voice.

The Etsy Rain Spring Handmade Craft Show is in 5 days! Back to the sweatshop.

Spring-Line-O-kokoleo-Sundresses

I get on these kicks where I manically make a bunch of one thing. This past February my thing was sundresses.  Last year at some point I spent a lot of time cutting out sundress parts but never assembled them so I made it a point to tackle that pile and turn them into wearable kokoleos. Here's one, made from my favorite long gone Smokey the Bear fabric: 

 

I even got inspired to seek out some new fabric and cut out and sew some more. One day, during a thrift store adventure, McKenna pulled a Disney princess pillowcase off the rack and said, "Will you make this into a dress for me?"  Disney princesses used to make me cringe in feminist horror and though I still try to limit the amount of it that comes into our house, I couldn't deny the fact that graphically, that pillowcase would make a rad dress. So I relented and made her this:

and then made this one to sell.

and then I made a couple of these. 

Disney will probably sue me soon, I'm sure, since they seem to have a thing against their clothes and toys being manufactured in America. I can't deny the fact that little girls love princess dresses though, so I want to give them an alternative to the Made in China kind.

When I was McKenna's age, I was into Sesame Street:

(Made from my all-time favorite fabric that I blogged about here.)

and Raggedy Anne:

and Holly Hobbie:

She likes them too, but off all the sundresses I was making in my studio last month, when she saw me sewing these:

she asked if she could have one. Of course I said yes and now she's good to go in the kokoleo sundress department for a while. The rest can go to other little girls. 

To see the rest of the dresses, check out my Etsy store I'm in the process of moving all my inventory over there. In the past couple years they've grown by leaps and bounds and created a very user-friendly handmade hub.   Don't forget to become a fan of kokoleo on Facebook for sneak peaks, studio news, and discount codes!