. . . And the second

I finally got Lauren's costume done last night. The coat was done in time for her party on Sunday, but she was unhappy not to have the hat or boot covers.

The picture that she referenced was this one, Pokemon Trainer Dawn. I decided that a basic double breasted pea coat was the way to go:  Simplicity 2534.

I had hoped to use fleece, because it's easy to work with and pretty warm. And although the vest pattern suggests fleece for the vest, it suggests denim, corduroy, or wool for the coat/jacket. I realized that's because you need to interface the front of the coat/jacket, but not the vest. You can't iron interfacing onto fleece.

When we went to get fabric I realized that there is a dearth of light pink wool/cord/denim at JoAnn's in October. Go figure. Lauren said that the color was the most important part, and I saw her point.  There was some light pink quilted fabric, but I thought it would be too bulky in front, it was $10/yard, and I didn't have any coupons. Finally, I thought, "I'll use that sew-in interfacing I have down in the basement." We grabbed the bolt of anti-pill pink fleece (already 50% off, score!), and were on our way. Since fleece is so wide, I only had to get two yards.

When it came time to put it together, I managed to get most of it done in about three hours. Cut it out, sew the side seams, gather and attach the bottom, put on the front, put in the sleeves. Then I stopped. I decided I wasn't going to line it. I still had to put in the front facing, top  stitch it, and do the buttons & buttonholes.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to that last bit until a few hours before the party. Attaching the front facing was fine, and top stitching was fine. Then I got to the buttonholes. I have an automatic buttonhole foot, and it worked fine for Sarah's coat, although it took me a while to remember how to use it. But when I tried it on two thick layers of fleece, it wasn't working. It wasn't moving smoothly over the fabric, and got stuck.  I hate having to rip out button holes and start over--it's hard on the fabric, and it's hard on me.

Gotta catch 'em all!

I remembered that I had some Velcro left over. I sewed it in, and then sewed the buttons on top. It's not as nice as if it had proper button holes, but it was DONE, and we could go to the party. Of course, then there was the issue of what she would wear under it, and as it turned out, she took it off for most of the party anyway.

Yesterday, I stopped to get some white fleece for the hat and boot covers, I thought. I forgot that the boot covers were supposed to also be pink. It was a very near thing, but I had just barely enough pink scraps left to make rough boot covers. The hat is a simple tube; I hand stitched the designs on the front, and also hand stitched the back closed. I think the back looks a little odd, but Lauren says it's right for the picture. OK, she's happy, so I'm happy. And I'm done with Halloween this year, so I'm VERY happy.

One Down . . .

and one to go.

That was a bit of a stretch for me.  The directions for the pockets was weird, I've never done a proper lining before, and organza made me nervous. I didn't follow all the directions exactly:

•  I didn't properly turn the sleeve lining & the main lining and hand stitch them together. Instead, I basted them together and then serged the seam to clean it up. It's not as nice as if I'd done it properly, but at least it's done. My hand sewing is garbage anyway.

• I didn't do a "narrow hem" on the edges of the organza. Instead, I serged the edges and then turned them under twice. I knew that if I just pressed it and sewed it down, it would be terribly uneven. From a distance, it looks kind of like a ribbon edge. Up close, I've decided it looks like "faux lace."  I would love to have a rolled edge foot for my machine, because I think that would be the nicest finish of all.

•  I topstitched all around the outer edges. I wanted to make sure that lining stayed in place, I didn't want to slip stitch the opening where I'd turned it, and I think it gives it a nice finished edge. 

Detail on the pocket.

• I did NOT make the fabric loops on the back and the tie to go through them. I hate making teeny narrow bands of fabric that I have to turn right side out.  I used satin ribbon instead, and I like the contrast in color. Also, I only did six instead of ten. Seriously--ten. No way. I didn't even bother with the measuring tape to make sure they were evenly spaced.

I did hand sew the collar on, using invisible thread.  I think it adds a great flourish on top.

The pockets had me so confused at first (that flap!), and I'm still not crazy about the directions, but I do like the final look of them. Still, I've told Sarah not to put anything heavy in them.

I really like the fabric we got--it irons up well (I've ironed the hell out of this thing), and from a distance it looks like it could be leather or suede. Originally, I wanted to line it with some cool print, but the more traditional lining fabric turned out fine. It's not a very warm garment, but I think a more substantial lining fabric could have made it too heavy. 

"Faux lace!"

The buttons were hard to get properly spaced at first, until I hit on the idea to overlay the cut buttonholes and use a pencil to mark the right spot. Yes, I know I'm supposed to use the pattern piece as a guide. That piece was downstairs.  In other words, totally unavailable.

Making the muslin first was a very good idea, because I realized that using quarter inch seams would screw up certain areas, such as those pockets, and I was able to avoid that. I did take the seams down as far as I could along the back though, which made pressing them open challenging. Moral of the story: MEASURE BEFORE YOU BUY.

She's really happy with it, and I have to say I'm pleased with the result. That's a big deal for me--in the past, many of things I've made just don't satisfy me. I liked Lauren's Easter dress, too, so either my sewing is improving or my standards are relaxing.

Oh, and I told her that a character like this definitely needs an original name, so she came up with "Detective Belladonna J. Skipworth." Yep, she's a character, all right!

Sorry it's sideways--I keep forgetting the camera doesn't automatically fix video the way it does stills.

My Dream Sewing Room

My Dream Sewing room would have:

• space for cutting table, sewing table, and ironing board (including enough room to move around all three easily)
• multiple outlets
• light, both natural and artificial, from multiple locations
• ample and easily accessible storage for fabric, notions, and tools
• a metal wall and numerous magnets strong enough to hold fabric and pattern pieces
• a rolled hem foot for my sewing machine
• NOT being in the furthest spot from the bathroom in the entire house 
• phone, TV, computer, and music access
• a self cleaning floor

Month of Crazy Sewing, Part 1

This is the (very rough) muslin of Sarah's coat. No sleeves, and no lining, but it was more to figure out those wonky pockets and check for size anyway.

I had a bad moment where I realized that Sarah, tall as she is, doesn't necessarily fit into the smaller pattern size. I really should have measured her better and looked at the pattern before I bought it; it was a bad assumption. I adjusted by using quarter inch seams instead of 5/8ths. This made it big enough across the back, but meant that the shoulders had to be adjusted, and the pocket flap didn't work right. That's the whole point of making a muslin first, right?  To figure out how to do it right when you're working on the final fabric.  I might make the pieces all a bit wider to give me a little more wiggle room.  And I need to make sure I use the sharp scissors and cut the notches when I do the real thing, starting tomorrow.  I still don't understand how to do the lining at all.

However, she does love it and is excited at the prospect of the finished garment.

Total time so far, spent cutting out pattern pieces, muslin fabric, and sewing 15 seams: about 4 hours. 

Halloween Sewing 2013

Halloween is about a month away, and I haven't started sewing yet. Remember the Week of Crazy Sewing of 2006?  Sub out the word Week with Month and we're good to go.

Sarah is very into Steampunk lately, and she wants the coat from Simplicity 2172, which has some really strange pockets and about 3256 pieces. I have the pattern pieces cut out, have read the directions exactly 14 times, and have some old fabric to use as practice.

Lauren is still big into Pokemon and wants a trainer's winter look. This amounts to a double breasted pea coat, but quite short. I'm planning to shorten Simplicity 2534. I've looked at the instructions exactly 8 times, but haven't cut anything out yet, or even figured out what kind of fabric to use.

I have a couple hours to get a little work in before I go get some coffee with friends, then maybe a little more tonight. I'm going to be right by JoAnn's tomorrow and there's a good sale, so I'll try to pick up some final fabric then, as well as whatever trim I might need.

Back to Sewing

My latest sewing project was a dress for Lauren. She had picked out a great blue seersucker to make into lounge pants at co-op sewing class, but decided she also wanted a sundress from the same fabric. Unfortunately, when we went to JoAnn's they didn't have any more of it, so she picked out a very soft, floaty, summery print. Very different fabric from the sturdy seersucker, and kind of a pain to cut out--it didn't want to stay put.

She picked out option B on Simplicity 1927 (sundress style), which wasn't too difficult to make. As usual, I mangled the pattern by cutting it as a size 10 around and size 14 for length. Even then, I had to take the side seams in a little, and skimped on the hem.

I cringed when I realized there were darts, but got through them ok. Adding the top band was a little funky, and I had to be careful ironing it down so that the wrong side of the fabric from the inside didn't show along the top edge. I added an extra row of top stitching, too.

It only took about a day and a half to make, which is pretty good time.  She likes it a lot, and it's a good church dress. Of course, she's since told me she wanted more of a PLAY dress. . .

Edit: I forgot to say that since the pattern & fabric were both on sale, everything cost about $15 (including thread & zipper).

The Calculus Dress

I've made a lot of things over the past ten years or so with my sewing machine. I've made Halloween costumes, Christmas dresses, Easter dresses, sundresses, pajamas, skirts, tote bags, lunch bags, quilts, and hats. I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting.

But most of those things have been for kids, either my own or others. Last summer, I decided to start making a few things for myself. A lot of this was due to a seriously depleted wardrobe. I'm not much of a clothes horse to begin with, and losing weight left me with a lot of space in my closet. This is certainly a good problem to have, but it's still a problem.

I made a couple skirts for myself, nothing too difficult, and learned a little about what works for me and what doesn't.  But I wanted something a little more challenging.  I found Simplicity 2217 and really liked the wrap style of the bodice. I found a couple yards of a nice heavy fabric in the basement. It's a peacock teal, with a subtle woven effect on the right side, and I thought it would be just right.

Once I got the pattern, I knew I'd have to make a muslin first. I didn't want to cut into my fabric before I was sure what I had was correct. I first measured the pattern pieces, then myself, and realized that the bodice pieces would have to be lengthened. I've actually done that before, so I wasn't too worried. But then I looked at the bodice front pieces, at the jagged line along the bottom (to accommodate the pleats).

Enter the "deer in the headlights" look.  Um.  Well, that's different. I'd never seen a pattern piece like that. A Skype to my mom was in order.  She was trying to explain to me what I needed to do, but it just didn't translate to me, even though I could see her. Without being able to manipulate the fabric, we weren't getting anywhere. The realization hit us both at the same time. I needed to go to Florida so we could sew together!  When my Dad found out about the idea, he insisted on paying for my plane ticket, as a birthday & Christmas present for me. Is he great or what?

I packed with happy anticipation.  I was really looking forward to learning some new skills & tricks and advancing my knowledge.  I realized that sewing is kind of like math. Sarah & Lauren can use the machine to do basics--addition & subtraction, if you will.  I know lots of people that can do "multiplication & division" sewing.  I know a few people who are doing "pre-algebra, exponents, maybe a little scientific notation" sewing.  I'm confident in my "algebra & geometry" sewing.  I was expecting the dress to take me to "trigonometry" levels.  It would be a stretch, but not insurmountable. 

Nope.  Once I got down there and my mom started working on it, I realized that this was a "calculus" dress.  Hell, "ADVANCED calculus." Luckily, my mom has done "NASA-level astro physics" sewing.  I realized that fitting and tailoring are well beyond what I can do, and more than I could learn in the course of a weekend in Florida.  That level of work really needs more of an apprentice like program.

So my mom ended up doing all the heavy lifting on this dress--she determined where the pattern pieces needed to be altered, did all the darts and pleats, put in the zipper, and made sure every seam she worked on was perfect.  I learned how to ease a seam, and how to stitch a facing so it would lay flat--both "trig" tricks if I ever saw them.  I also set in the sleeves and hemmed it.

And so I give you (drumroll, please) . . .
The Calculus Dress.

We're on our way to church now!

Fun Project

I'm teaching a basic sewing class at our co-op, and so far it's been crazy but fun. The first week we made t-shirt tote bags. Last class, we made water bottle totes out of old pairs of kids' jeans.  The class always whizzes by, and I'm really glad I have a helper who knows how to sew, because otherwise we would never get done.  

Our next project is a Trapper style hat,  based on http://www.fleecefun.com/trapper-hat.html

I made a practice hat last night, just so I could see if it would work out ok. I made the medium size, and it fits Sarah pretty well, but when I make one for myself, it’ll be a large.  I didn't bother with the optional front piece, because I wanted to keep it as simple as possible. 

I dug around in the basement for leftover pieces of polar fleece.  I knew Sarah would love the lime green, and I wanted the other piece to be purple, but there just wasn't enough, so I used some of the girly camo that I got years ago to make snow pants.

Assembling the pattern pieces and cutting out the fabric was really easy, as was sewing the front and back together.  When it came time to close up the V in a seam, I accidentally caught too much of the rest of the fabric in the seam. After I took it out, I carefully trimmed the seam so there wasn't as much bulk to get caught.

Then I made the tassels, but had a hard time knotting them at the bottom. I realized I should have just gotten another piece of thin fleece and tied it off with that. I'll carefully undo the knot and do that this afternoon. I tacked them to the flap pieces, keeping them turned up and out of the way. If I'd had safety pins, I might have actually pinned them, and I'm still considering that for the class.

Then it's just a matter or putting one hat inside the other (right sides together, of course) and pinning them. I always have my students pin parallel to the seam, so for this, the perpendicular pins indicate where to start and stop sewing.

.

 Once it's sewn together, turn it carefully right side out, then tuck one into the other--it doesn't matter which is which, because this is totally reversible. Make sure the tassels are pulled all the way out, and the seams are nice and even. Tuck the opening in on itself and carefully topstitch around the edge, about a quarter of an inch in. This is the most fiddly part--the stitching shows, and the part on the flaps with the tassels is thick, so it's slow going

The whole thing took less than an hour, even with taking all the pictures and ripping out that one seam, and calling Sarah down to hold the strips while I braided them. I tried it on myself and it was a little tight, but it fits Sarah well--she's been wearing it pretty much non stop.  Lauren already asked if she can have one, and I'll be making one for myself as well. I really hate cold ears in the winter, and when it's windy, I worry about earaches, so those long flaps will be great. In fact, I can see myself making LOTS of these hats in the next few months!

Adventures in Dressmaking, Hiatus

When last we left our intrepid novice seamstress, she had a bodice that was too big for the accompanying midriff band.

OK, enough third person--too much work for today.

I Skyped my mom, who said, that NO, I shouldn't make the midriff band bigger, because it did actually fit.  I just needed to adjust those pleats some more. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to do that. I could use trial and error, but that's a recipe for wasted time & frustration. I was also concerned that the V of the neckline would be too deep--I want to be able to wear this to church, after all. My two solutions--a tank worn underneath or a stitch at the neck--were both vetoed in favor of actually doing it correctly.  Well, if you put it that way . . .

As I was pondering the limitations of Skype and thinking yet again that I wished we could actually be physically together, we both had the serendipitous realization that we SHOULD physically get together.  My birthday is coming up, and I thought that my flight down could be my birthday present, and my flight back home could be my Christmas present.  And it looks like that will hopefully work out, thanks to my Dad. There are many details to work out still, including my crazy schedule, but I think I'll be able to have a girls' weekend down south sometime next month. In addition to sewing, we're thinking about pedicures and sushi.  So there probably won't be too many sewing posts for a while, but once I'm back, I should have lots to share.

Adventures in Dressmaking, Part 2

I recut the front bodice piece this morning, and it went together much better. You can see the old piece in the background and the newly cut one in the foreground.

I realized there was another issue, though--the midriff band is suddenly about two inches too short on either side. I realized that since I'd extended the bodice, the band would have to be extended as well.  I didn't bother with doing that right now, because it's just the muslin and I'm trying to see how the overall fit is. The sides are still sewn together, so I can check how it fits.

Except I can't. I can't check on myself because I can't see myself and adjust on my own body.  It feels like there is a LOT of extra fabric in the back, far more than would be necessary to accommodate a zipper, but I can't tell for sure. My plan is to Skype my mom with it on and have Sarah pin the back for me, and do the best we can with that.

I did have some mental whining about wishing my mom was actually physically up here, but Skype is certainly better than doing this just over the phone. 

In zucchini news, I made the quiche, and it was good, but the caramelized onions were the best part. And nobody else had any of it. Next time (yes, there will be a next time), I'm going to skip the crust. The delicious, flaky crust is just extra work, extra fat, extra carbs, extra calories.  Yes, extra delicious, but that's not the point.  I'll also shred the zucchini & squeeze out the extra water--even though I sauteed the veg first, the center of the quiche was a little soggy.  I can do better, and I don't really need a recipe for it. 

Adventures in Dressmaking, Part 1

I never did get to the quiche, but I've got onions going in a big pot right now, and if I manage to run out and get some eggs, I might make it tonight.Then again, maybe not. I have to leave for work in just a few hours, and there's still a lot to do around here.

I've had my eye on Simplicity 2217 for months. I like the wrap style of the top especially. I found a couple yards of a pretty teal fabric in the basement, and since Simplicity patterns were on sale, I picked it up, along with some thread and a zipper. Man, matching teal is hard.  One color makes my fabric look very green, and the next makes it look more blue. I got the closest I could find.

I knew that getting the right fit on the bodice would be the most difficult part, so I decided to make a muslin, or test bodice. On my mom's recommendation, I also did a little pre-cutting measurement. The front bodice piece measures 16 inches from the top of the shoulder to the bottom. When I put the tape measure up to myself, that 16 inches went from the top of my shoulder to just under my bust. It would be just right, except for seam allowances.  I decided to add an extra inch and a half to the bottom of all the pieces.  This was fine for the back, and the bodice side. The bodice front, where the pleats are, was much harder because it's not a straight cut, but I thought I did ok.

The first step was to get those pleats in. I'm not good at pleats, but I managed to get them in. I attached the side bodice to the front, then realized I'd done it backwards. Notches are our friends; don't ignore them!  Basting stitches are better friends, though--I ended up using my seam ripper a lot already, and those big stitches made it so much easier.

Once the pleats were in and the bodice & side bodice attached (I didn't bother with the facings since it's just a muslin), I overlapped the right & left sides of the bodice and basted them down.  And there was the big problem. I realized that when the pleats are in, the bottom edge of the fabric should still be straight. It wasn't. I decided when I started this that I was going to be as meticulous as possible in order for it to turn out right. So I took out all the pleats, which was disheartening--the very first steps of the project are off to a rough start.  I'm going to do them over either later this afternoon, tonight after work or tomorrow morning. I don't have any kind of deadline on the project, but I don't want it to languish in the basement forever, like so many other things have. 

Expectations

Will post basement results soon.

Since my mom is in town, I've been thinking a lot about sewing. The other day, I took a bunch of fabric over to her and we played, "What should this be?"  I got some great ideas and it was a lot of fun. Yesterday, she came over for a few hours so she could help me with some more concrete things, like taking in some shirts and making some skirts.

I tried on the last skirt I made, the blue six-gored. She immediately said, "It's too big." and we discussed how to make it better. It'll mean taking the waistband off, but I should do that anyway since I did a pretty sloppy job of it. I'll take the gores in at the top, but leave the bottom as is. I'll also make the elastic smaller.

I have this really pretty, batik-y looking rayon in blues & white. Very summery, very drapey. I was thinking circle skirt. My mom said the for a circle skirt to really look right, it needed a proper waistband and a zipper. I've been putting off working with this fabric since I got it weeks ago, because the thought of a circle skirt was intimidating to me. I didn't want to deal with all that bias finishing. She suggested a slightly gathered skirt. I could get it cut out of one piece (selvedge to selvedge), with one seam, an elastic waist, hem, and done. I've made skirts like that a bazillion times before and knew I could whip it out in my sleep, so I got started.

I made it, and tried it on.  It looked nice, but not the full, drapey, flowy, girly skirt I'd had in my mind. And therein lay the problem. I had an expectation of what this fabric should be, and this wasn't it. It's not bad; it just isn't what I want for this fabric.

So my time with the seam ripper is going to be longer than I thought. I don't really mind taking it apart. I have enough left over to add to it to make another six-gored skirt, which I know will be flowy and drapey and girly the way I want. I'll even be able to use the measurements from the one I already made once I get it fixed. This also gives me time to bite the bullet and get the Serger fixed.

The ironic thing is that I have a plaid seersucker that I love (used it to make golf shorts for the girls a couple years ago) that will be perfect for a simple gathered skirt. I will easily have three new skirts next weekend.

Of course, I have no idea what I'm going to wear to church this morning.

More Sewing

Some good, some bad.

First, the good. I have a bunch of shirts that are 2X from last fall that are now too big & rather sloppy. I decided to see if taking in the side seams would help any.
Example #1:

I turned it inside out, and drew a new line, then cut and pinked the edge. I just eyeballed it to see how it would go. 

Example #2:

Pretty much the same thing, but with a knit/t-shirt instead of woven/button down style.

So far, I was pretty pleased. I had taken two shirts that I never wear and turned them into items that I could wear to work or church. My wardrobe is pretty limited, and my budget is very limited, so I was happy to get extra use out of these things.

Next, I wanted to re-purpose a particular skirt. It's a long, somewhat A-line, very light & floaty fabric, kind of an ethnic print. Very nice for summer, and would go well with that orange top above. I carefully pulled out the waistband, and took out the side seams, then took it in along the sides and reattached the now reduced waistband. I had considered just using the fabric itself to make a totally different skirt, but decided to keeping the original style was the most expedient thing. I was hoping to be able to wear it to work tonight.

I'm not wearing it to work tonight. The hem is a mess--very uneven--and the waistband is still too big. I Skyped my mom to get advice, and she said that the issue is that I still don't know how to properly fit things. I agree with that, but the real issue is that I wanted to get a skirt done today. I've put it aside and will try something with it when she's here in July.  This is a better alternative than chucking the whole thing in the garbage, which was the direction I was heading.

I do still have plans for other fabric, though. There's the new stuff I bought at JoAnn's, and I have an actual Liberty Print from Nassau. I think I'm going to make a circle skirt for myself out of that one. I also have some blue that looks vaguely like denim. Short/skirts are what I really need right now, because I only have three pairs of shorts, and two of them are a bit too big.

In the meantime, I need to go find something to wear to work tonight.

Sewing Day

(Note: I don't know why my pictures are all on their sides--I edited them so you don't have to turn your head, but blogger is ignoring that. Sorry!)

I really wanted be able to take all day yesterday for sewing, but distributing the mulch out front took all day Tuesday, and distributing the peat out back took all day Wednesday (also, the kids had Field Biology at U of M Dearborn). So no sewing until today.

First, I started with some cool fabric that Sarah's been in love with forever. I don't even remember where I got it. It reminds me a little of the Russian nesting doll design. It was very easy--a seam up the back, being sure to line up the border part of the print. Then I put in an elastic waist, and she was done. I didn't even need to hem it, because the print ran all the way to the selvedge edge, so I used it. She's very happy with it.

Then I started on Lauren's skirt with some fabric she found in the basement this morning. I don't know where I got that from, either (this is a continuing theme, apparently). I was talking with a friend the other day about circle skirts, so I decided to give one of those a try.

I've never actually made a circle skirt myself, but I understood the general principle, and my stepmom made a few for me when I was in college and I loved them. I looked up a couple youtube videos, and started cutting. After I cut the circle and shook it out to show Lauren, then refolded it , I noticed that there was some overlap, so it wasn't truly a perfect circle. I didn't want to start trimming and trimming, though, because I was afraid that before I knew it, I'd have a micro mini circle skirt, and that's really not what I was going for!

I cut out the waist circle, had her try it on, and then shaved a tiny bit more off because it was a skosh tight going on. I really wanted to avoid making it too big, though. I used bias tape to bind the waistband, then added elastic inside it. I used more bias tape to bind the edge. I thought about turning it under, but I kind of like the border look to it, and it went much fast that way. I had a bad moment where I was sure I wasn't going to have enough. Seriously, it had never occurred to me that a brand new package (3 yards!) of bias tape might not be enough to run around the hem of this little skirt! Luckily, I had just enough left over from the waistband to finish.

After she tried it on, I realized that it really is quite uneven. It isn't noticeable if she's got the longer part in the back, but if it's off to the side, she looks a little cockeyed.  If (oh, who am I kidding? WHEN) I made a skirt like this for myself, I'm going to be very careful to make sure my circle is absolutely perfect. But Lauren likes it, and it's a nice play skirt--very twirly! 

Craft Hope Project 16

I love Craft Hope's concept, and I've wanted to do many of their projects, but I have a terrible time with getting things to the post office. I think their latest project is something I need to kick myself in the butt to do.

For Project 16 :: The Littlest Warriors, we will be collecting handmade beanies and bags for kids just like Pierce who are fighting cancer.

We need BEANIES for babies through teenagers. All noggin sizes. They can be knit, crochet, fabric. You name it. They can be embellished with flowers and bows. But don’t forget about the boys. They need hats too. It’s very difficult to find adorable hats and we think this community is the best place to get them. There are a hundred and one patterns online for beanies. If you have one you’d like to share post it in the comments and I’ll put up a post to share with everyone.
And…
We need BAGS for the kids to take with them to the hospital. They can be simple tote bag style or whatever suits your fancy. And if you are so inclined fill them up with goodies for the kids. Some ideas are books, puzzles, crayons, coloring books. The opportunities are endless.

 I think I need to get another sewing day rolling at church. And I think this is good enough reason to shell out the $ to get my Serger fixed. The deadline is March 12--I need to get going on this!

Brownie Bag

Lauren made her Brownie Tote Bag today, and did a pretty good job with it! I did the ironing, and a few seams at the end, but other than that, she did all the work herself, and is very proud!Tearing fabric to make strips for the shoulder strap--much easier than cutting!
Sewing the body of the bag.
Attaching the strap.Modeling the finished bag!

Details: this is a very basic bag. No lining, no interfacing. I did have her square the bottom seam, and I did sew along the vertical seams on the edges, but other than that, it doesn't have much shape. It's downright floppy! I somehow cut the strap very very long, and by the time I realized, it was already attached to the bag, so we just folded it over on itself and now it has a little extra padding over the shoulder.

The best part? She loves it, it holds all her Brownie stuff, and I don't think she'll forget it, ever. Bonus: monkeys & cupcakes are cuter than the Absolut logo!

Quilting Lessons

I'm making a t-shirt quilt for someone at church, and it's been a true learning experience. I'm hoping to make some more, even as a home business. As a first try, it's turning out ok, but I plan for next time to go a lot better.

Things I've learned:

• make a point of cutting everything very accurately
• cut the interfacing a lot bigger than you need; it's easier to trim it after than not have enough
• make sure edges are even before you sew them together
• go ahead and pin, even if you don't think you need to (see previous)
  
• iron seams as you go
• don't bother with iron-on batting--you won't save any time or effort over pinning in traditional batting (from now on, I'm getting Warm & Natural 100% cotton)
  
• buy twice as much thread as you normally would
• tear, don't cut, the selvage edges off

Will post a picture of the finished quilt once it's all done!

Obstacle Removed

Our Christmas program at church this year is "Christmas Around the World." We already have most of the costumes we need, but we need kimonos for 4 little girls, including Lauren. That's convenient--Lauren already has a kimono from Halloween 2008.

But that still leaves us needing three. A kimono takes a ridiculous amount of fabric--over three 1/2 yards, even for someone as small as Lauren. Blame those crazy sleeves. Brocade fabric is at least $8/yard, even on a half off sale. Um. Yeah, no. I can't expect the church to shell out $75 for three little robes.

I decided to look around for a cotton fabric, more of a "summer" kimono instead of such a formal one. Still, the only fabric I could find was $6 - $8/yard. And if I was going to use cotton, I'd have to make four. It wouldn't be right for Lauren to be in a very luxurious garment, and all the other girls in something noticeably cheaper. This isn't "The Princess and the Peasants."

So I was stumped. It was seriously giving me a fair bit of stress, to figure out what to do. This morning, I went into the costume cupboard and found a huge length of really pretty floral fabric. It would definitely pass for a summer kimono and there was enough to make two for the smallest girls, if I was really careful on the cutting.

I was talking to the Choir director about what she wanted, and the grandfather of one of the little girls overheard us. He said, "If I just give you $30 for fabric, can she keep the kimono when it's all done?" My mouth fell open. "Um. Sure!" I mean, really, why not? It's not like a size 5 kimono is something we're going to need on a regular basis anyway. I talked to another girl's parents, and they're willing to kick in. too. The last girl wasn't there today, but I'll call her parents to find out what color she likes and her size.

So now I only need to make three (if they're all brocade, Lauren can wear hers, of course), and I can get the fabric that will really make it work. Now I need to figure out how much I need to get of each color.

And I need to rethread my Serger. Again.

Cop Out

I bought fabric to make shorts for the girls weeks ago. I wanted them to have something to wear to golf with Grammy & Grandpa. Well, today was the last day of golf, and they finally had their new shorts.

My original plan was to make a pattern from scratch, using http://patternsthatfityou.com/frshortscl.htm as a guide. I think it would have worked, but in the end, I had neither the time nor the inclination. JoAnn's didn't have any patterns on sale, so I went for See and Sew 4161. Of course, I still had to alter it, making it smaller in the waist and longer in the legs. I'd still like to make a shorts pattern from scratch--maybe next summer.

Since the fabric is plaid (come on, they're for golf--what else would I use except plaid seersucker?) I tried to match up the pattern, at least the horizontal stripes. Didn't come out perfectly, but it was ok.

One of the issues I have with making pants & shorts is that it can be hard to know which is the front and which is the back. With little kids, it isn't always that much of an issue, but since I knew I had some tags, I decided to put them in. Sarah told me she really likes hers, but that it's itchy, so I might have to sew it flat or take it out or something.

Oooo, for the future I'm going to get fabric tape for my Dymo label maker! That would be awesome!

Ready to Roll

I finally got the two things I needed to accomplish two projects.

1. I found the Wonder Under left over from an applique project I was working on last summer. Now I can make the sandwich bags I've been wanting to do for a while. Snack Bag Tutorial I'm sick of wrapping sandwiches in plastic.
2. I got the green light to post flyers/promote the Resume Writing Workshop. This must be my big project for the rest of this week. If I don't get students for this, I have to find another way to bring in some income. I'm nervous. Excited, but really nervous.