It’s a Harry Potter World

Tags

Harry Potter Purse, Purse making, sewing, Swoon Patterns

It’s a Harry Potter World… or at least it will be for my middle daughter next month on her birthday. And dang if I am not super impressed with myself for already having TWO items done! Over a month in advance!! (It remains to be seen if I actually FINISH everything now!)

I have an abundance of HP fabric because Holly requested Carolyn PJ’s a while back. I bought some fabric, and then kept buying and soon realized she would be getting a whole lot more than jammies! So I started with a purse and wristlet!

I used the newly released digital Harry Potter Prints by Camelot Fabrics. They are quite lovely and have a nice selection!

I kinda sorta had an idea in my head for how I wanted this to look and unfortunately it is kinda rough. I started with the Swoon Bucket bag but made quite a few changes, which accounts for the few mistakes I had. Sometimes thinking it through to the end for me is tough!

I cut out all my pieces, interfaced, added the vinyl pieces in where I wanted it and was ready to go.

 

My goal was turning the bucket back into something that looked more like a purse vs tote. I wanted to add vinyl, and that drawstring section at the top. Like I said, I had a picture in my head! My first mistake was in the printing but I did not realize it until well into the sewing and I was not going to give up at that point. My base was WAY too big! Like seriously! I figure I must have printed the other parts incorrectly as the purse is definitely smaller than expected.

But I kept going! I had silver grommets and no brass which may have gone better but I did not feel like going to the fabric store. So they are silver! I did learn that grommets are EASY to put in vinyl! Or I was having a good day!

My second mistake was towards the end- The bag was done, but I had no strap. I SHOULD have inserted the small strap pieces into the stitching as I was attaching the vinyl to the main body. But I was completely done with the “bag sans strap” and no way was I going to remove all the top stitching etc. So, in the effort to be upfront and real… I cheated. I just attached it and used sharpie on that ragged edge. Sigh.

The inside is HP lined as well.

I am SUPER pleased with how my new Bernina performed. It sewed through all the handle and tie thickness with no issues! Thank you Bernina!

Yes, I am a work in progress! Got a little dicey on that X!

I went with crossbody style and made a longer strap so she could wear it easily when she takes the train to school. Less chance of her leaving it somewhere when it is strapped across the body!

Anyway, I am pretty happy with it regardless, and I KNOW Holly will love it. I am going to make her an Harry Potter sunglass case and earbud holder so she can stay organized. Despite the purse turning out smaller than I envisioned I did manage to make a bag that her Kindle would fit into also- her Kindle goes EVERYWHERE with her!

Here is her wristlet. This was a quick and fun little make. I think I may need to make one from each house! Pattern is also by Swoon- Coraline.

I have a lot of traveling to do this month but hope to get things sewn when I am home. I actually just counted and at the end of January I will have spent 17 days in Houston and 14 days in San Diego. At that rate I don’t think I will be sewing piles of items this year! I have finished 6 already though! 🙂 2 button down shirts, a flannel, the above purse and wristlet and my dryer sheets. (Yes, I am counting my dryer sheets!)

The KISS shirt I made my son is AWESOME… Here is a sneakie peak!

Hope you all have had a great start to 2017! I am going for 100 items sewn this year and joined the FB group as incentive. That tallies up to only 8 a month. I should be able to do that? If you are interested, check it out!

Happy Sewing!

~Laurie

Currently watching Shades of Blue…

DIY Dryer Sheets

Tags

DIY, DIY dryer sheets, dryer sheets, essential oils, home, sewing, sewing dryer sheets

On January 1st I was perusing Pinterest and I stumbled on this great idea and promptly added it to my DIY board. Now, I confess I have done VERY few things that I have pinned on my DIY board but this one seemed quick and easy and since I knew we were almost out of fabric softener sheets I decided to get them made up within the first week of the New Year. And guess what? I did! Bye Bye Bounce sheets!

These were very simple and quick! I used this tutorial, although I am sure there are quite a few out there. But this one explained WHY those dryer sheets are so bad for us. I did not realize they were TOXIC until I read this! That pretty much clinched the “I am making my own” stance!

The first thing I did was rummage around in my bag of “too big fabric scraps to throw away” and found leftovers from Kadi’s Carolyn Pajamas and a coordinating polka dot! I know the colors are kind of girly but I like them! I cut out four 8″ squares of each.

These are the supplies I needed. White vinegar and an essential oil. (Not pictured- measuring cup.) I have quite a few essential oils as my daughter sells them. Since I am sharing these with my brother I let him pick his favorites. I ended up with 3 to choose from… Lavender, Eucalyptus, and Thieves Oil which is a blend.

I went with Thieves Oil. 😀 Next, I serged the edges of my 8 squares. The hardest part of this was changing my thread to white. I hate changing my serger thread but know it must be done! I had black on there prior to this. Black would not have been pretty!

All serged and ready to go! I added 1/2 cup of the white vinegar and 10 drops of essential oil into my jar. Simple!!

Next, I folded up those 8 squares and into the jar they went! I seriously spent less than 20 minutes making these. Voila- Dryer sheets!

I am pretty pleased with this simple DIY project. These are completely re-usable and after use can be put back in the jar. When the vinegar and oil mixture runs low I will just add more! I can’t wait to do a load of laundry and try these out!

Do you have any simple DIY projects you love? I would love to try some more for around my house!

Happy sewing!!

~Laurie

 

2016 is So Yesterday…

Tags

2017, Bernina, Rennaissaince costumes, sew exhausted, sewing

And 2017 is so today!

Warning– Long post… because it has been a while since I have blogged. Whenever I start a post like that (and it has been more than once), I feel as if I should repent.

“Forgive me readers, for I have sinned.”

My intentions have been good, but the actual doing has not always been on par. Ah well… 2016 and poor blogging are all in the past! 😉 Here is to a new year!

I had a pretty decent year! I have adjusted to life in Texas and actually find I like it here. There are things I miss about my life in CA… great weather, real tacos, the beach, real tacos… but I don’t mind. It has given my kids a chance to grow up and me a chance to do more of my own thing!

The only really major change in 2016 I have experienced is that I quit my job as an executive assistant in N. Houston, and now work virtually again for an old boss. I LOVE working virtually, especially since I drove an hour each way every day. That got old after a while!  But now, since my old boss who is now my new boss is based in San Diego I get to travel to my old stomping grounds. I actually spent 3 weeks there between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And am heading back in less than a week. I guess I kind of have the best of both worlds now. A better cost of living here in Houston AND I get to spend time with my friends and family in CA regularly- and eat tacos!

About the tacos- Mexican food in San Diego is different then Mexican food in Houston. Here, whenever I go to a Mexican restaurant they want to dump queso (melted cheese) on everything. Don’t get me wrong, queso has it’s place but I miss the good carne asada and carnitas street tacos I used to get. I have not found food like that here- although I am not saying it doesn’t exist!

Mmmmmm… Street tacos and a Craft Beer!

That said- there is plenty of good eating here… Really!

One of the best times I had this year was the Renaissance Faire I attended in November. It is touted as being one of the best in the nation- and I believe it! I had a fabulous time. I made my costume- I wanted to be an Elven Warrior and embrace the mystical side of the Renaissance.  I went all out and am happy I did. I can’t wait for next year! I have to share some of the photos I took- although I am having fun I did not think about taking actual GOOD photos of the costume so please forgive!

This first fellow Renn Faire attender was an Elf Murderer. (See the string of ears?) But he allowed me to keep mine!

The last pic is my brother- all decked out in a kilt. The best thing about this Renn Faire was there were quite a few people in amazing costumes, lots of hilarious shows, and one place that had craft beer! Woot woot!

And last but not least- one of my favorite photos is me with a Storm Trooper. The weekend we attended was Scottish weekend and we came across a group of Storm Troopers all sporting plaid. Pretty cool right?! (Damn, I am such a nerd!)

That’s a bit of my personal life in a nutshell- but how about my sewing life! Sewing is the real reason I come here to write. 🙂

I made these super cute pajamas for my girls. All they wanted for Christmas was matching Christmas jammies. I used the Carolyn PJ bottoms for all three- although Juliette wanted shorts w/ ruffles so instead of cuffs I added ruffles. Juliette has a boxy version of the Carolyn Top w/ 3 quarter sleeves for the top. They were a hit!

Two new machines came and joined me in my sewing room. Both are brand new and both are pretty exciting! I got a coverstitch machine- YAY!! Just a basic one but I love it already! I triple stitch hemmed some knits the other day and it was AMAZING!

And brand new to my desk- a Bernina 560E. I am beyond thrilled! It is a huge investment and I am super pleased with it so far. There is going to be a learning curve here but I am certain I am up for it. I will talk about the learning process in future blog posts- right now it is so new I have only sewed a straight line and some buttonholes!

As for sewing- I have been doing quite a bit, and have quite a few stash busting projects lined up. I joined the FB group SewAlongs and Sewing Contests and will be participating in the SSW:DS or “Seasonal Sew Wardrobe: Deep Stash Edition.” I have until April to sew a wardrobe from stash. Since I have LOTS of stashed fabrics and WAY too many stashed patterns I have lots to choose from. I already gathered up the fabrics I will be using.

Yes, 4 of those fabrics are black. But, I decided since I am happiest wearing black I needed to embrace it! When this wardrobe is done I will have a black skirt, a black dress, a black pair of pants, and a black blouse. It’s kinda perfect in my opinion. ALL those black items will easily flow into other wardrobes I build this year! Along with all that black I am making a solid bright pink blouse, a blouse AND skirt from the floral print, a bring pink knit top, and FINALLY I will be making my “Cityscape” Duster coat. I only have a few patterns chosen so far- A black Sewaholic Davey dress, Floral Sewaholic Hollyburn OR Gabriola, a sleeveless blouse from McCalls 7324 and the Burda Duster Coat. This wardrobe will be my March project. I have been losing weight and want to lose a few more before I make all that awesomeness.

January is “activewear” month for me. I am pulling from my stash again as I have TONS of fabric. Since I have started “running” (I use that term loosely as it is currently more a jog) and going to the gym I want more workout wear. There are quite a few great patterns out now and I have found some amazing fabrics! But I am going to save this for my next post!

I made quite a bit of awesomeness in 2016. I actually made over 30 short sleeved button down shirts for various men in my life. My son is now sporting at least 9, and my brother owns 5. (Minions and Star Wars!) I love making fun/ cool men’s shirts and have made everything from Jaws, Deadpool, Comic Books, and more. ANy cool fabric I can find I turn into a shirt.

Next up in the Men’s Shirt Making Queue- I found KISS fabric… Isn’t it AMAZING?!

It is all cut and ready to sew and will be my first make of 2017! (Typical- a make that is not for me!) I bought enough of this fabric to make myself a purse. I have started making purses for myself- since I want to experience fun fabric as well. I recently finished this Batman purse. If I am not using Batman, I am using my Nevermore Purse. Who needs Coach?!

I have to admit, I could go on and on… That’s what happens when one does not blog regularly. So, I will leave you with this bit of goodness on what has been going on in my life and I will be back soon with a review of my Batman purse, my Activewear plan, and a new men’s shirt or two!

Here is to new adventures, happy experiences and a WHOLE LOT of SEWING in 2017… I wish you all the best!

~Laurie

PS. I am on Instagram where I regularly post. If you use IG you can find me sewing here: https://www.instagram.com/lauriesue83/ … And drinking craft beer here: https://www.instagram.com/beersnobette/

PPS. Our new family member. Puppy cuteness!

Long Distance Sewing and My Commitment to Reducing my Stash

Tags

Advance Pattern, Cynthia Rowley, McCalls 6044, Mens Shirts, sewing, Vintage

I have done quite a bit of sewing in the few months or so- but no blogging. I seriously need to take stock and decide what direction I am going to go in 2017! Well, I have pretty much decided which direction… I have to stop sewing for everyone else and get into some selfish sewing – because what is a sewing blog without pictures? And long distance sewing isn’t cutting it for me! Especially when they don’t take pictures!

Regardless of all that I decided I would share some of things I have made and some of the fun things I have coming up. One of the main things I have been sewing this year is men’s shirts. All short sleeve button downs in fun prints. I use McCalls 6044 and don’t even need to read the directions anymore! I need to take a new count but I am pretty sure I have now made over 30 men’s shirts. My son is a lucky young man, as is my brother! I have also made a few for friends that have asked. Star Wars seems to be a popular choice since I recently made two “Darkside” shirts!

I also recently finished up a Superman shirt for a work friend.

And this last weekend I made my son a JAWS shirt and a Deadpool shirt. I am off to California next weekend for a wedding and wanted to bring him some new additions to his wardrobe. (Just a sneaky peak of these since I plan on taking pics next weekend and doing a men’s shirt post!)

I made a Blue Hawaiian dress for Holly from Simplicity 1607- a Cynthia Rowley pattern… This dress is for my middle daughter Holly and she has it in hand but never sent a picture of her in it so here it is on Dolores!

And boy was I SUPER thrilled when I posted it on Instagram and Cynthia Rowley HERSELF liked my photo. 😀 I even got proof since I happened to be holding my phone at that moment and took a screenshot of the alert!

A few weeks back I whipped up 2 skirts – red for Daughter #1 and blue for Daughter #2.

Again, NO pics were sent to me… sniffle… so here they are AGAIN on Dolores.

Shoot- just realized that pic is buttonless but I did eventually find some to match and added them…

I could not find any buttons for this one so made some. I remember back in the day JoAnns had an amazing button selection- now I think it is greatly lacking (my nice way of saying the button selection at JoAnns sucks!)

One of my FAVORITE makes of the last few months was a vintage dress I made out of a floral rayon challis. I used an old Advance pattern I picked up from Etsy…

I LOVE this dress and wish I had spectacular pics to share with you… Instead I have these tiny ones.

It is a truly beautiful dress and I am very pleased with how it turned out. I even made a belt but unfortunately was afraid to put in the grommets so it is still in my possession!

I am adjusting to Texas summers and actually enjoying the thunder and lightning storms, humidity, and mosquitoes. OK- NOT the mosquitoes but I really DO enjoy the huge storms. I am taking Spin classes twice a week and walking every evening even if it is still 90 degrees F out. I have witnessed quite a few amazing sunsets on my walks!

When the time changes I am not sure what I will do since it will be dark long before I even get home from work!

I have some pretty exciting upcoming plans. 😀

I have a pair of Dr. Who Carolyn PJ’s on the deck for me, and Harry Potter PJ’s for Daughter #2.

I have been invited to TWO Halloween parties and plan on making a costume. I will be Regina, the Evil Queen from Once Upon A Time and plan to use McCalls 6818.

And my Christmas dress is also in the early planning stages. I am thinking about making this dress from Vogue (#1502) in either a navy or emerald.

On a final note, I thought I would share my latest commitment to lightening up my fabric stash. I made a year long deal with my cousin who also has quite the stash. We have to sew FOUR items for every piece of fabric we want to buy. I just finished my 4th item so am entitled to one piece of fabric. I am thinking that will cut down on the stash in record time! Hope I can keep to it!

Happy sewing my friends!

 

Edgar Allen Poe Nevermore Purse- Be Still My Beating Heart!

Tags

Edgar Allen Poe, Nevermore, Nevermore Purse, Purse Sewing, sew exhausted, sewing, Swoon Bags, Swoon Purses

Edgar Allen Poe, writer of mystery and the macabre. Born 1809 and died too young in 1849 under mysterious circumstances. His death certificate disappeared! He is considered the inventor of detective fiction and credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. His short stories and poems caught my attention as a teen. The Raven, The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell Tale Heart. I remember my son reading The Tell Tale Heart in 8th grade and being creeped out! But it held his attention!

Anyway, when I spotted the Edgar Allen Poe Nevermore fabric by Michael Miller from Fabric.com, I knew I had to have some and I didn’t want it to just be added to my stash, or another quilt. (Nevermore is the title of an Edgar Allen Poe musical that I have not had the opportunity to see yet but hope to!) I could not see myself wearing a Nevermore dress- that’s just not me, so, I decided to make a purse. I am not usually a big handmade purse fan. I want my purse,for lack of better words- looking NOT handmade! Haha. Which meant challenging myself to use hardware and leather like accents. Because this was a first venture into purse making I decided against the cost of leather just in case it looked like crap!

I spent several hours deciding on the right pattern and went with the Harriet purse by Swoon. (af link) Some of them still looked a little “handmade” to me but after perusing all the pictures I decided I needed to use a real clasp on the front and rivets. 😀

Best way to make a purse is to gather everything together and cut it all out at once. As a non-purse sewist I also had to do some hardware (ETSY) and Pellon shopping. After a big debate on IG whether to use silver or gold hardware, I went with antique bronze.

Making a purse is not hard. You just follow the directions step by step, keep your seams even, and you can make yourself a pretty cool purse.

One of my favorite features of this purse is the two side zips. If I need more space in my purse I just unzip the side zips and it becomes more of a tote! For this reason I made certain I had a good coordinate. (Which is also my lining.)

I was impatient and kept putting the clasp on incorrectly but finally managed on the 3rd try. So, I advise avoiding being too excited and practicing patience! And reading the directions if you have never put a clasp on a purse before!

One of my biggest concerns was whether my little machine would be able to handle the “pleather.” Single and double folded it actually did! When I made my handles though I needed to use a leather needle and adjust my tension. In my dreams I have an industrial machine- one day!

Another new “skill” for me was adding rivets. Heck, I had trouble BUYING rivets because I had NO CLUE what size to buy and despite combing the interwebs for information on other sewing blogs no one really mentioned what SIZES were good. So, I guessed. I went with 6 mm and bought the tool. I had to buy 100 rivets, but, well, I guess I can make a lot of purses now! I highly recommend you practice!! I broke a few in the beginning and finally figured out exactly how much pressure to put on the hammer. Those rivets help make my purse look less homemade. Fortunately, the 6 mm worked perfectly. Unfortunately, I won’t always be using antique bronze so I just ordered a batch of silver!

I LOVE my purse. Have you ever made or done something that just makes you proud? This did! It is not perfect. I have one issue I need to fix for my next one, but sewing is a learning process right?! The biggest thing that bothers me is I failed to get the Nevermore centered. I was using a paper pattern on the fold- so for future I traced that piece on to see through interfacing as one full piece. That should help me center better next time, and will hopefully help you if you decide to make a purse. Other than that, well… It is pretty perfect and I am pretty pleased. I am searching high and low for an antique bronze raven charm to add to the side zipper but have only found silver so far.

Check out the sides! Isn’t it fantastic? In reality I will probably never need a bigger sized purse. I have been carrying a small cross body style purse for the last two and a half years. It barely fits my sunglasses, cell phone and a case for my ID and cards. I like having a tiny purse! But I still like the contrast of my new one and suppose I can carry my Kindle in this one now!

Here is a peek at the insides. There is one small zipper pocket. I think I would like to add an extra panel inside to separate and add another section. But this will do!

After this successful purse project I have decided that I am going to become a Bag Lady… I have already planned out a Batman, Minnie Mouse, and Snow White purse. And that is just the beginning! I also have an 80’s style leather coat my mom gave me (those 80’s shoulders make it unwearable!) that I can re-purpose the leather for. (Once I get it out of storage!)

If you are in the mood for a short, dark story here is a link to the Tell Tale Heart. I finished up this purse watching the latest episode of Wayward Pines! LOVE that show. The first season was pretty creepy. I hope they can keep up the creep factor!

~Laurie

~Listening to Jimi Hendrix

Star Wars Emery Dress

Tags

Emery Dress, sew exhausted, sewing, Sewing blog, Star Wars Dress

There are a few things pretty obvious based on my sewing choices and blogged posts.

#1- I love sewing for others… namely my kids. Mostly because they look really cute in the clothes I like to make! Way cuter than I would look!

#2- I love sewing vintage… and the challenge of making a vintage pattern wearable today.

#3- I love sewing with character fabric…

I have made a Pac Man dress… Walking Dead and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle button downs… Marvel comic dresses… Pikachu PJs (not blogged yet) and more. I LOVE themed fabric and enjoy using it in my garment making. And the choices we have! At this moment I have Batman, Batgirl, Dr. Who, Marvel, BB-8, Superman, Wonder Woman and more lurking around in my stash waiting to be made in to something cool.

The biggest challenge is taking that fabric and turning it into something wearable. I don’t want to make a crazy Dr. Who dress that gets worn once (COULD be fun though?) which means I pick wearable patterns when I sew!

Last year I made my eldest daughter a Star Wars dress and my son a button down. They both get worn a lot! But my middle daughter truly wanted a Star Wars dress too so in January I finally got busy making one for her.

Holly is a size 2. I do NOT enjoy using the Big 4 Patterns (McCalls, Simplicity, Butterick and Vogue) when I make her clothes because there is too much to alter. If you look at the B ig 4 patterns many of them don’t have anything smaller than an 8. Why? Indie patterns on the other hand usually go to a 0… YAY! This means I have the general measurements at least and just need to make some minor changes (like a sway back adjustment.)

I made an Emery dress by Christine Haynes for Kadi several years back in red linen. She wanted a dress with buttons up the back and it worked beautifully. (You can see it here.) I love the simplicity of the dress and knew it would be perfect for what I had in mind. PLUS, the sizing fit my needs with very little changes!

As you can see the Star Wars fabric I chose this time around was the Millennium Falcon fabric. It was a tough decision since there is Star Wars fabric galore to choose from but I liked this one because the color would look great on Holly AND it was old school Star Wars. 😀

I widened the neckline slightly on this version. I like the neckline to be a little more “boat like.” I also wanted to make her something with sleeves. She has quite a few sleeveless dresses now.

Unfortunately I only have mediocre pictures of the dress- Candids taken with a phone by my friend… Which I appreciate since they are better than nothing! If only I could fly to California with every dress I make and do a photo shoot. Sigh…

The Emery dress is a simple make. Bodice with darts and a gathered skirt with added pockets. I made very few changes- the wider neckline, a sway back adjustment, and I always line the bodice versus facings. I prefer it that way! My biggest challenge is making a dress without the “body” being present! I like to be able to try it on through out the process. But I think I managed a pretty good dress without having Holly near by.

 

While I was at it I made Holly’s BF a matching shirt… There is nothing better than matchy matchy right? 😀

He was pleased to get a new shirt! I used McCalls 6044. I have made 15 men’s shirts with this pattern and feel like a pro now. 😉

Lots of sewing going on at my house. And Craft Beer drinking. A new brewery opened here in town and since my brother is an investor and his best friend is one of the owners it is becoming a good place to hang out and finally meet people here! I even got to pour beer one day right after opening since they needed help. That was a fun experience!

Hope you all had a nice Spring Break… And maybe you are well into your Spring sewing? I have my LIST all prepared! I will have to share what I am up to next time.

Laurie

xox

~Listening to Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl

All Things Kadi…

Tags

sew exhausted, sewing

Today my daughter Kadi turns 24. I have to say it isn’t just a celebration for her… it is also a celebration for me. I mean I deserve to take SOME credit for the wonderful young lady she has turned into, right??

To celebrate I thought I would post some of the things I have made for her. I wish her albums weren’t in storage because I have actually been sewing for her since she was a baby. Confession- my first baby dresses I was afraid to do button holes so I used VELCRO… And I still have them as proof. Another confession- the 90’s were the heyday of Daisy Kingdom dresses… and my daughters had quite a few- fluffy skirts and all!

Warning…Picture heavy!!

I have made Kadi more than three costumes over the years but here are the ones I have access to!

Spanish Guitar Solo

Another solo costume. This one was very modern and danced on stage to NO music. She told the story with the “word scarves.”

Two Beds and a Coffee Machine… Earned many awards and 1st places on the competition circuit. NOT because of the costume but because of the choreography (Thanks Heather Dale) and dancer.

 

I made Kadi at least a half dozen of these “Hip Hop Hammer Pants.” Animal print pants outta control…

Downton Abbey Inspired Nightgown

Hudson Pants by True Bias

Vintage Mail Order Pattern

Sunflower Skirt and Burda Top

Skirt Simplicity 1200 and Cynthia Rowley top

Star Wars Dress

Emery Dress by Christine Haynes

McCalls 6834

Vintage Simplicity 7895

I do enjoy sewing for Kadi… however now that we are 1600 plus miles away I don’t get to do fun photo shoots. 😥

 

I made her a pair of Carolyn PJS for her birthday… she should be opening it in a few hours! Here is a sneaky peek! She is a child of the 90’s hence the Pokemon theme!

Happy Birthday sweet daughter of mine! ❤

If you are interested here are some of the items I made that have a corresponding post…

🙂

Links to POSTS:

Animal Print Pants Outta Control

Downton Abbey Inspired Nightgown

Hudson Pants by True Bias

Vintage Mail Order Pattern

Simplicity Sunflower Skirt and Burda Top

Star Wars Dress

Emery Dress by Christine Haynes

McCalls 6834

Vintage Simplicity 7895

Sunflower Skirts and Stash

Tags

circle skirt, sewing, Simplicity 1200, sunflower skirt

We are just about 2 weeks into 2016 and I hope they have been productive weeks for you. I have 5 1/2 things made already, and 3 all cut out waiting in the wings. 😀 I decided to cut out 5 things at a time this week and see how it went. I am well into 2016 but the outfit I am about to show you was made in 2015. I never really had the chance to write about it but it is one of my favorite makes from last year. (As evidenced by my banner!)

I made this outfit for my eldest daughter Kadi for Easter.  I never got any other pictures but here is the skirt (shown with Cynthia Rowley’s 0574).

Originally  I was supposed to make a sunflower skirt but when I went to lay out the pieces on the fabric I realized I did not order enough fabric and had to put it aside. Kadi waited not so patiently – and I eventually got to it! (I am sure you know how that is!)

The skirt is super simple. 2 pieces and a waistband. The trick is in ensuring you have the correct size waistband and cut the skirt based on that. I tried to go by the sizing but you know how that is with the Big 4. I ended up measuring her waist and the waistband piece and allowed for seam allowances and went from there.

On the first skirt I put in the zipper and overlapped the waistband with hooks and eyes. Kadi did not like that feature so in the sunflower version I put in an invisible zipper. As you can see I had a tiny bit of trouble at the top but she likes it much better.

For the top I used Burda 6795 and a polyester knit. If you ever make this pattern watch the armholes! They were quite large and I had to make some changes to avoid the dreaded underarm bra visibility. Other than that, this pattern is another simple make!

Simple and wearable! Kadi has asked for a few more of these skirts. I guess I can work them in to the rotation!

I had a job interview on Monday. I am 99.9% sure I will get it. The job itself is going to be great but I am very depressed about the drive and it keeps me from being excited about it. I will be spending an hour on the road to get to work and an hour to get home. I know LOTS of people do this, but I have not had to ever drive that far for work. I wonder what it is going to do to my sewing life because I will be working, driving and sleeping during the week! Does anyone here drive that far? I am afraid I will hate my job because I dread spending 2 hours in the car!!

Anyway, because I figured I would be going back to work soon I needed to get organized. My brother was out of town and my youngest is back in CA right now so I had the house to myself! Woohoo!! I pulled all my stash out of the garage and took over the family room.

Step 1- bring stash inside. 

Step 2- dump it all out and organize by fabric type.

Step 3- Count the pieces. I am so impressed by everyone that actually measures all their yardage but that bored me before I had even reached 17 yards and decided to just count the pieces. I have 231 pieces of fabric. Ooops.

I also found I had several quilts in progress I never finished. Like this “Lucky Quilt” I started a long while back!

And this Star Quilt I started in the 90’s!! I was not sure if I should keep it but decided some day I may want to finish it!

I learned I must have a thing for Rayon Challis…

And I have PILES of knits. Two containers are filled- one with solids and one with prints.

I am not sure what kind of a “stash goal” I want to make this year. I think I better wait to see how much sewing time I am going to have once I start my new job. But it is all organized and I am ready to “rock and sew!” The unmarked container at the top is the fabric I pulled out that I will keep in my sewing room and hope to use sooner rather than later. The rest went back to the garage.

Do you have any stash busting goals for this year?

~Laurie

~Listening to Brothers Osborne

 

 

 

Cherry Bomb for Christmas

Tags

cherry dress, cherry fabric, Ginger Dress, Indie Patterns, sew exhausted, sewing, Violette Fields

For the week of Christmas my 3 California kids came to visit. (Youngest was here in Texas.) It almost didn’t happen! Between them they have ONE safe car that would make it 1600 miles. The day before they were set to leave my eldest daughter was stopped behind a lot of traffic trying to get off the freeway at the mall. (Who goes to the mall at Christmas time?) Anyway, an SUV did not see the stopped traffic soon enough and slammed into her which pushed her into the car ahead of her. Thankfully she was ok- sore muscles and back and shocky but the hospital checked her out and said she would be ok. The car though- totaled. I was relieved she was wasn’t hurt but heartbroken because there was no way we could afford airfare the week of Christmas for three people. But my brother, who travels weekly for work, very kindly used his points and flew them out here last minute so Christmas was back on! (Without the stress of me worrying as my kidlets drove those 1600 miles!)

Christmas was GREAT and I was able to get a little sewing done for them while they were here. I have found it is much harder without their bodies for fittings but while they visited I took measurements and made a good fitting bodice for each to use. My son is easy- I just use the same shirt pattern! (Guess I should get a little more creative!)

That was a long intro! Now for the fun! I made middle daughter a cherry dress while she was here using the Violette Fields Ginger Dress. I love the vintage feel and Holly can totally carry off these styles. Plus, she wears every dress I make her! Heck, she loves every dress I make her and wants a closet full! Easy to sew for, easy to please. I am down with that! I named this dress Cherry Bomb… Yep, after the John Mellencamp song and well, it’s covered in cherries!

Violette Fields Ginger Dress

I actually got this cherry fabric at Walmart. It is a fun cotton print and fairly decent quality. Initially I was going to use solid red as the accent but found the green mini polka dot on a Joanns visit and changed my mind.

Seam in skirt

The dress was simple to make and I completed the sewing part in one day. The skirt is a circle skirt in 2 pieces. My fabric was not wide enough so I actually sewed two pieces together. I did my best to match up those cherries but it is slightly off. On a positive note I doubt very much ANYONE will notice. 🙂

The bodice is fully lined and I used my trusty serger to finish all of the inside seams. I debated on the zipper, but decided to go with a regular zip vs. invisible because I had one in my stash that would work. I have a shoe box crammed full of zippers and need to use one when I can instead of buy. Does anyone else have zipper stash?

Pockets!

I put pockets into everything now because Holly loves them. Sometimes I think she is more excited about the pockets then the dress! 😉 The pattern comes with pockets so it wasn’t any extra work really.

One of the things I love about Indie patterns is the sizing. Holly is a tiny girl and whenever I make her a Big 4 pattern I have to do quite a lot of fitting. They don’t even make her size it seems! Many of them start at an 8, some at 4. She is a 0-2. This bodice fit her PERFECT right out of the envelope.

I did change one thing on the dress. The actual pattern is halter style with the straps tied behind the neck. When she tried it on I decided to make them into straps for 2 reasons. #1- Stability- this bodice isn’t going anywhere! #2- I could place them exactly to hide her bra straps.

All in all I would say this is a highly successful dress. I can’t wait to make her another! Too bad it is rainy and cold in CA right now though. It will be a while before she can wear it!

I also made her a quick pair of PJ bottoms while she was here. And I added pockets! Holly is a girl after my own heart- we both love Dr. Who so I used Tardis flannel.

I did not tell her but I have JUST enough left to make a pair of jammie shorts too. I am going to make a knit top to go with them and mail them to her for her bday. Shhhhh….

McCalls 5791 with a few changes

I have completed 4 items in 2016 already. All baby dresses for family members. I miss making baby dresses so these were pretty fun! I used McCalls 5791 but added the ruffles and waistbands.

By the way, I have added a little “scorecard” on the left side of my blog so I can keep track of how many items I sew, how much stash I use, and how many miles I run for 2016. I am actually not sure yet if I am going to count yards or pieces on the stash count though. I started to measure my stash fabrics but got tired after 17 yards so I may just go by piece!

Hope your first week of 2016 has been good! Now I think I will get back to sewing!

~Laurie

~Listening to Big Star #1 Record- (Thanks Leila!)

1954 Mail Order Pattern- A Pretty Dress and a History Lesson

Tags

1954 sewing pattern, mail order pattern, sew exhausted, sewing, vintage dress pattern

In my quest to write this post I wanted to learn about vintage mail order patterns and along the way I learned quite a bit and thought I would share some highlights.

William Jennings Demorest and Ellen Louise Demorest began the home sewing pattern industry in 1860. They held fashion shows in their homes and sold the patterns. Sounds  just like some of the “in home party businesses” we have today like Tupperware, Pampered Chef and Scentsy! This turned out to be the beginning of the Mme. Demorests’ Emporium of Fashion and an fashion empire!

The Demorests published a magazine called “The Mirror of Fashion.” It listed hundreds of different patterns, most available in only one size. One size ladies and gents! The knowledge those sewists must have had to grade the patterns to their bodies! You also had to have some skills- NO directions were included!

Some other little tidbits I learned about William and Louisa… They launched FIVE magazines and started a cosmetics company. They built a fashion manufacturing and merchandising empire from Louisa’s paper pattern business. William ran for Mayor of New York City and was a Prohibition Activist. (I guess he would not approve of my “Drink and Sew” nights!

Ebenezer Butterick was a few years behind the Demorests with their pattern company and in 1870, a Scottish tailor names James McCall started his pattern company. Throughout the years many other pattern companies came and went- and we are left with the Big 4- Butterick, McCalls, Vogue and Simplicity. And several others like Kwik Sew and Lekala… and LOTS in Indie pattern companies. YAY! Wow, we have a LOT of choices when it comes to patterns.

Mail order patterns are just that! you would spot a pattern in a magazine or in a Book of Fashion and order it sent right to your home. Unlike most of the patterns of today your pattern came in one size. The vintage ones I own have no lines… no notches and no markings. Well, they do have large and small circles cut out so you are not completely flying blind!

Now, I am not really here today to give you a history of mail order patterns but I found it really interesting- especially since I love the fashions of certain eras and if I can get my hands on a pattern I am thrilled. I am even more thrilled when I can make it up and wear it, although in this case, I made it up for my eldest daughter.

This is not my first foray into vintage pattern sewing. I made myself this green dress a few years ago for “Fall for Cotton.” The girls thought I looked like Mrs. Teapot. I have also made my middle daughter quite a few of the same dress. My favorite is this floral one here.

What I really enjoy doing is taking a vintage pattern and making it relevant enough to wear today. I really feel like I succeeded with this 1954 Mail Order dress pattern. I find something so special about handling something that was owned by someone long ago. This pattern came from The Baltimore Sun which looks to be a Newspaper. It still has the address of the lovely lady that ordered it and the postmark is pristine. Apr 29, 1954.  Tell me that is not the coolest thing ever!

The pattern had never been used or at least that was what it looked like to me so I was VERY careful. No pins. I just weighted the pieces down and cut out the dress and then promptly put the pieces away. The directions are all contained on one page. One side for directions and one side is basically a sewing lesson.

The dress went together amazingly easy. And it was a near perfect fit! I took it in slightly at the waist and the shoulder neckline area had to be taken in about 1/2″ on each side. Other than that- it was a dream to make.

I used fabric I ordered from Fabric.com. The only issue was it was listed as a challis but I swear this thing is cotton! It is beautiful anyway so I am not disappointed. The birds and colors are perfect for Kadi since she loves little chirpy things and looks great in these colors. (I consider this melon and bright pink!)

I made the dress so it fell right above the knee. Length is important in keeping it young and current in my opinion. The neckline is so very feminine. When I am perusing patterns from this era I see quite a bit of the notched neckline.

I serged the inside- I know I should probably have french seamed it all but I had bright pink thread in my machine and went for it. Challis I would have french seamed- the cotton was thicker than a challis so serging seemed like a better option anyway- and again- bright pink thread was in my machine!

The invisible zipper was SUPPOSED to be on the side but I forgot and put it in the back of the dress. It is a PERFECT zipper if I do say so myself! 🙂

All in all I am SO very pleased with this dress. Kadi is as well! She wore it to her friends wedding the day after completion and has assured me she will get a ton of wear from it. She wants another one soon!

Laurie xo