Preview!

What I've been doing in the studio these days? 

Here's a tiny preview of what I've been busy working on!

I'm so excited to tell you alllllllllllll about it! 

 

xx Abi

Sewing Lessons & Her Perfect Play Day Dress {a tutorial}

 

 Learning to sew was super exciting for me and my three sisters. Mom and Nanny made it that way. When one of my favorite little girl people called me (on Christmas Eve, in fact!) and asked me to help her make a dress "next time you come to my house", I was so thrilled and so humbled. I got to thinking right away about what style of dress to make with her, so she wouldn't get bored with the sometimes-too-time-consuming-even-for-me-little-girl-dress-patterns. I immediately thought of this simple, but sweet, t-shirt dress. We've been making them for our little friends for years now, and every kind of little girl loves them.

When you make this dress with your own little girl, (niece, cousin, friend, etc), use this time to teach her safety around the sewing machine, iron, scissors, and pins. Let her choose her own favorite color t-shirt and the fabric she wants to use. Even if the combination is a little off, she'll be so excited with the finished dress, that you'll forget about it not matching! Just have fun!

Her Perfect Play Day Dress Tutorial

Instructions following pictures, left to right. 

1. Help her choose her t-shirt and fabric. 

2. Measure 8 1/2" -9" down from the shoulder seam.

3. Cut excess off tee.

4. At 1/4" sew bias tape around edge of raw tee.

 5. Measure your girl from the back of her neck

to where she wants her dress to finish. 

Subtract the t-shirt's 8 1/2" to find your skirt length. 

Cut that length plus 2" x 2 fabric widths.

6. Cut a few inches of excess off selvages.

7. Sew sides seams of skirt pieces right sides together (not shown). 

Run a gathering stitch around the top of your skirt piece. 

(Method used here is shown and explained

in my book, Modern Prairie Sewing!)

 8. Put t-shirt inside skirt piece, right sides together. 

Match at side seams and pin in place.

9. Gather skirt piece to match width of unstretched tee.

Disperse gathers and pin in place.

10. Use a finishing stitch (preferably, a serge stitch)

at 1/4". Make sure you didn't catch any

of her t-shirt. Trim off slight excess.

11. Finish her dress with a simple hem. Folding the raw 

edge in and over, encasing the raw skirt edge.

 

Her dress is done! She's happy and you're happy. Time well spent!

Patience and I had so much fun sewing together! And she looked absolutely

beautiful in her own little Perfect Play Day dress!

(This little dress model is going to Patience too!)

xo Abi

Sophie.

Sophie is my super sweet and talented friend. She's a photographer. 

An amazing photographer!

She took these pictures just for fun when we spent a couple fun girl 

days together. 

If you are looking for someone to take family, personal, birthday, wedding

photos, Sophie's the girl for you! 

She won't disappoint you. :)  

xx Abi

Review of Modern Prairie Sewing by Generation Q Magazine, Winter 2014

"Oh, just look at the cover! We can feel the wildflower-scented breeze as we are frolicking with these happy-go-lucky ladies, strolling the gorgeous prairie. For us Little House on the Prairie fans, this book evokes a feeling of contentment and playfulness. (And the great news is we can get our hot little hands on this historic charm without foregoing our mod cons, such as central heating!)Abigail Long's book features a fine chapter on sewing basics and some of her secrets. Subsequent chapters are filled with bag, clothing, and home projects. The photos are lovely, but for those of us who are - ahem - challenged by written-only instructions, there are detailed full-color diagrams, too.There are seven (!) bag patterns we can't wait to try with sweet girly names like Belle and KittyJo. The Maggie bag is nice and roomy, and features a fun, floppy flower. Clothing projects range from skirts to shirts to belts, and are perfect for a new garment sewist (not to mention they're breezy and very country-chic.) The Leeway Apron is sweet and simple, too. Definitely a book we want to stash in our log cabin!" (Generation Q Magazine, November/December 2014)

Oh my!  I'm was completely surprised when this review popped up.  But I have the magazine to prove it, so I'm not pinching myself too hard! 

Y'all have a phenomenal Friday! Mine has been awesome and very productive.
xo Abi

friends behind the scenes

I love to look at something special and think about everyone who made it that way! It's like that when I flip through my book. Some of my very best friends modeled for me and it makes me happy to think about all the stages that we went through to get to the finished picture. When I see this picture (which, confidentially, is one of my favorites!), I smile because it's Faith; one of my best friends. What you may not know about this picture, is the story behind the fabulous truck that's being used. It belongs to Joe, Faith's brother. I had always loved it and when I realized we'd be photographing at our friend's house, I had to ask Joe if we could use it. He was super nice about it and his truck was there when it was time to take pictures.

My favorite things about this picture aside from the girl herself?  The truck's rust spot (lower right corner) and the crooked floor mat.  Of course. Thanks, Joe!

It really doesn't take much to make me happy! 

xx Abi

Another Modern Prairie Girl! {Becky}

This girl. She's adorable, happy, fun, lovable, joyful, sweet, and she's one of my very best friends! 

Meet Becky! 

Of course, you've already seen her make an appearance here through the 

marvelous modeling she did when we were shooting the pictures for

Modern Prairie Sewing. 

Beck made herself a Simple Wrap Scarf from Modern Prairie Sewing!

She did a terrific job on her scarf and made one

for a friend too. 

I can't wait to hug you, Becky!!!!!

Lots of Love & Hugs, Abi