Sewing class results

Recently, I took a sewing class. We could bring whatever we wanted to make. I had bought this pattern in IL and wanted to make the monkey backpack for our nephew Dave for Kindergarten.
This class was at Sandbox Rebel, a cool store in Valley Village that sells edgy and modern children's clothing. I learned some new techniques for applique, while making this monkey face from felt. I chose a stiff cotton plaid for the body of the backpack.


There is a zipper that goes across the top from ear to ear, so it opens really wide and is fully lined.

I took am earlier sewing class back in May at Pintucks in Pasadena. Jennifer, the owner/teacher, is more by the book than the Sandbox Rebel girls, so I had a full pattern brush up. We marked every dot, made every notch, pressed every seam. Here is the result:


This dress had darts, facing, a zipper, and ended up needing to be brought in a few inches- so I learned alterations too. All in all, I don't really like the dress too much, but i learned a lot in the class. The fabric was cute, until I cut it into a dress shape, then it seemed like too much. (Note- that awesome sheep painting is one of Caleb's creations.)
I plan on making more of these cute backpacks, but probably won't make another one of these dresses.