Tag: Patterns for pirates

Monthly Review · Sewing

Sewing Round Up- 2021

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Sew how did your year go? Was it a creative year, or did you get creativity slumps like me? It was really hard to maintain my sewing habit this year, due to several basement heavy house renos. We’re grateful to have the means with which to fix our house and looking forward to the new windows in March so we have less drafts, but it was a lot to have done all at once. I did still manage to do a lot of sewing this year. I kept up mostly with the 52 Week Sewing Challenge, although I had to utilize the make up threads a little bit.

Here are some of my favorite patterns or makes from the year.

This purse is one of the things I am most proud of making. I always feel that my bags don’t look as professional as they could, even when I do the ironing and all the extra steps. But this bag turned out really well. The pattern is from Linds Handmade on Etsy and is called the H2O to Go Sling. the rose part that you can see with the water bottle is actually a waterproof fabric, I think a thinner oil cloth or PUL fabric. The front pocket has a little pocket and a bunch of card slots. I sewed a little too close to the zipper, so it is a little hard to zip occasionally, but it’s the perfect size for outings and every day. I made it specifically to take on my Wine Hike Trip with the girls and it worked really well. I need to make one with just plain fabric on the inside too for my every day purse. It fits my inhaler, phone, large battery power back and cord, a water bottle, chapstick, a pen… The list goes on, despite it looking very compact.

These are the Briar Shorties from Petite Stitchery and are my favorite sleep and lounge shorts in the summer. I made 4 pairs because I would get sad if I had to wear anything else. My favorite part is that the pattern itself says you don’t need to hem them.

I adore this dress so much that I needed to use a whole collage to show it off. The fabric is a slinky, drapey ITY (Intertwist yarn, I think it what that stands for.) It’s cool to the touch and flows like a dream, as you can see by the perfect drape of the skirt. It looks gathered, but it’s in fact, just a straight full circle skirt. The pattern is a modified Sweetheart Dress from Patterns for Pirates and it has a lined bodice. I dropped the neckline slightly lower as the original one often makes me feel a little choked and made it a slight hi-low hem, so it lines up across my booty and doesn’t look like it’s two inches higher at the back. You can see the hi-low in the side picture of it on Betsy. (Also, the wall which we removed to fit the new furnace in. )

This dress is the Gala from Patterns for Pirates and was part of my capsule collection. I wore it for work pictures and everyone was very impressed. It’s super sparkly! The gala looks flattering on literally everyone who posts pictures of it and although it has a lot of pieces, isn’t overly complicated. I just finished a tank dress version of it too, but don’t have a picture yet. You can definitely dress it up or down.

I made this little sign for my office, but haven’t managed to get a hanger on it or bring it in yet, so I should do that after I finish writing this post. K2 made me the vinyl. I also have it on a shirt, but the shirt shrank in the wash, so I need to iron it again.

I made this shirt for Valentine’s day! Isn’t it just the most perfect shirt for the office? I didn’t have enough to do both sides so I made the back black. This is the Sun Kissed Tee from Peekaboo Patterns. I really like this pattern and made four or five in different fabrics.

I made this quilt with my Accuquilt on a whim and ended up giving it to another K friend and I adore it. I’ve wanted to make a snail’s trail for a while, but it’s a hard pattern to cut out the pieces for and I was excited to not have to do that here. The rainbows make it so bright and happy! It’s really fun to give someone a completely unexpected quilt. (Look, Dad, you’ve gotten three quilts already! You don’t neeeeed another right now! 😉 )

I’m also proud of making swimwear, but definitely need some work on execution. Both suits had their issues. I just bought another pattern that is a swim dress, so I think that will be super cute!

I did learn to make nice pants this year! Pictured below are the Patterns for Pirates SOS Pants. (I swear, this isn’t a sponsored post, they just have really nice patterns!) I think I need to got up half a size, as my seams are straining a little when I wear these, but they don’t make me feel like a sausage stuffed into too small of a casing. I’ve been very intimidated by the pattern for a long time. I did not add pockets on this first pair but probably will add them on other pairs. I used a nice heavy ponte fabric and they look like professional pants and feel like pjs, which is one of my favorite things.

Now that I’ve showed you some of my favorite makes, want to see some of my problematic ones? Of course you do! Where’s the fun in just seeing the good ones? Take this shirt for example. Idea was good, excecution is way off. The neckband doesn’t work, the color is way too pink. The lettering is on my stomach. *headdesk* I can’t even wear it because it’s also clingy in the wrong places and feels awful. I have no idea how to fix it either.

I was rushing for this one and it shows. I’m sad that I essentially ended up wasting this fabric because it’s not very wearable. I made this for my capsule collection for a challenge and it was the last piece I made right before the deadline. I don’t know if I can salvage it, but it’s been banished to the closet where I can’t see it and be annoyed.

This dress, I do want to save! I adore the pop of yellow I used and it has snails on it. The skirt part fits well. The bodice is all jacked up. I can’t raise my arms in it, it has those big wrinkles in the front, and it was so disappointing. I think I jus need to actually make a muslin for the bodice and try again. It is a big 4 pattern- McAlls, I think, so it’s not always reliable or customizable. I graded the bodice up as I have a pattern that stops one size under where I need, but it didn’t work. I’m debating cutting the bodice off, and just putting a waistband on the skirt.

I’m sure there are more, but these were the most egregious errors that I can remember.

It was a fun year of sewing and I’m excited to see what I can do this year. The 52 week challenge changed the format this year and you can up to 4 projects and 4 bonuses per month. It’s been a lot less stressful to sew for knowing I could have done them all at once instead of waiting a week to start a new project and only have a week to get it done. The challenge of course, continues to be not waiting until the last minute to finish!

I hope your year is off to a creative start!

Sewing

Still Sewing!

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I haven’t had a sewing post up for a while because while I have been sewing, it has been erratic. We’ve had so many house repairs done in the last four months, most of which required the basement to be ripped apart. Our last one until the windows was last week and we had to move everything away from the basement windows.

My sewing area is currently spread across the basement, my serger is packed in its travel case, and my sewing machine is upstairs on the dining room table. It’s a mess! Hopefully this week, we can start rearranging. The Husband starts play rehearsals this week, so will be having some late nights again for a few months. I’d like to have the heavy things moved into place at least before that happens. But I have managed to sew some things amidst the chaos. Here’s what I have pictures of at least.

This is my favorite tank, the Itch To Stitch Lago. The fabric is a drapey rayon spandex. It’s super comfy to wear and can be dressed up or down (relatively speaking.) It’s got tiny hearts! I just serged the bottom hem.

This is probably my favorite dress I have made in the past few months! This is a modified Sweetheart from Patterns for Pirates in a super slinky and cool feeling ITY. I lowered the neckline, banded the sleeves, and made the skirt slightly hi/low to better suit my bubble booty. I wore to work and the very stylish people there all liked it! It makes me feel super duper cute, which is always helpful. The skirt was cut in half circles instead of a full circle because it is a directional print. I forgot to put in pockets, but ITY is a funny drape sometimes and this fabric is super thin, so I wasn’t sure how the pockets would hang. It definitely fulfills my twirly skirt dreams!

I love this pattern, but I think I need a full bust adjustment, because although it looks cute here, I cannot raise my arms in it and it pulls very funny. It has princess seams though and is made for woven. This is a snail print rayon voile maybe? I ordered it a while ago, so don’t remember exactly what it is. The skirt part fits me though so I may just try to recut the bodice into a shape that fits better. This one does have pockets!

Now this project was super fun to try, although a bit confusing. It is the H2O To Go sling by Linds Handmade. It carries a water bottle for hikes and is lined with waterproof fabric, so it won’t get the rest of your purse wet! It’s my favorite purse right now and I need to make another with just regular fabric so I don’t wear this one out. I used the card slots in the pocket. I took it on our wine trip and it worked very well!

These are the inside pockets/card slots. It actually fits my inhaler and everything! Funny story, I had this when we went to visit K1 and her family and she gave me a tiny bottle of herbal bitters that I put in the water bottle pocket and promptly forgot about. I’ve been carrying it everywhere with me unknowingly since! I found it again early this week and it’s now in the booze cabinet where it belongs.

I think I have four pairs of the Petite Stitchery & C0 Briar shorts now! They’re so comfy! I made these for a challenge and it took me 20 minutes to cut and sew them! Super easy and super flirty. I made a matching bra top to go with them, but got the band wrong, so have to fix it.

These pants are for K1’s baby, but if I don’t get them there soon, they’re going to end up as capri pants instead! Her brothers have matching pairs and the oldest helped me serge his. He was super excited to help. They are flannel, so they’d be good pj or lounge pants. I used the Walk the Plank Kids PJ Pant Pattern from Patterns for Pirates.

I made these two leggings for me! Both are Peg Leggings from Patterns for Pirates. I love the bright leggings and wear them with my plain colored tunics or dresses so they have the proper focus. I will be wearing them possibly all winter, although they are capri length, so I may not be able to wear them with boots. Maybe just summer and fall. The cacti are cotton lycra and the bright pair is DBP.

I have made two swimsuits this summer! I only have a picture of part of one though because swimwear pictures are not something I’m ready for. This is a set with a Shenanigans Skort and a LBB from George and Ginger with an attached lace part for the belly coverage. It works pretty well. I wore it on our visit to K2 and it held up decently in the water. I think I would give myself a little more top coverage and shorten the straps though. The purple and black are both swim fabrics.

Piggy swam out to “rescue” me and nearly pulled down my top clinging in panic to my shoulders. She’s not so much a water dog it seems. After the first time of swimming out to me (attached to a leash held by the Husband for safety) she swam back to shore and shared K1’s lap with the baby and shivered for a while. We’re going to get her a life jacket before taking her on the inlaw’s boat.

I just made this quilt for a coworker’s mom and I’m hoping she liked it. I’m pretty proud of myself, as this is my second all Accuquilt cut quilt! The sashing got a little bit wonky, but oddly enough, it was wonky in a way that looks almost deliberate. I tried to do something fun with the border, but think it looks weird.

K2 and another friend came over for a tie dye birthday party for K2. I was proud that I got all three of these garments done. I do have a ton of white fabric left over though, so I might try to make a couple more things with the leftover dye. Or maybe just save them for next summer. Who knows? They are- Patterns for Pirates Cocoon Cardi in the big sweater, Petite Stichery & Co Briar Shorties, and the Sinclair Cachet for the shirt. The Cachet just has serged edges as it’s meant to be a swimsuit cover up or pj shirt. The Cocoon has a shawl collar and can I just tell you how comfortable this is? Oh my goodness, I neeeeeeeed one as a cozy fall cardi. I think I have an oatmeal colored waffle and a dark blue waffle fabric that will be shawl collared Coocoons when I get my space back.

I made a doll shirt for my challenge today as I was feeling under the weather. I have two more cut out, but my bobbin thread ran out and I didn’t feel like threading more.

And last, but not least, in my quest to have all the cozy hoodies, is this slightly oversized Ellie & Mac Be Creative Hoodie. It’s made with white printed French Terry and a purply waffle fabric. Waffle is like thermal, but thinner. Still pretty warm though, but doesn’t have a lot of recovery. I may go in and slim it down in the sides and arms a little. But it’s super cozy! I ran out of material for the sleeve, but I think it looks good with two different ones?

I’ll leave you with this picture of Piggy in a shark hoodie. Look, it was on sale and I couldn’t resist. Plus, she seems to actually be ok with shirts when she’s cold. And she’s got a belly skin thing going on, so this helps keep that reaction down when she goes outside. I hope this makes your night end on a giggle!

Sewing

Adventures In Capsule Sewing

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A lot of my sewing groups have been running extra challenges with fun prizes and percentages off patterns, so you know I’ve been abandoning my previous projects like a snake shedding skin. 🙂 For this particular challenge though, I was able to fill a couple of wardrobe holes.

The idea of a Capsule Wardrobe has it’s roots in minimalist culture as a way to get the most out of a few pieces. They are all supposed to mix and match, so you have lots of options. Generally this means picking a focus fabric and carefully thinking about prints.

I called it my “Picture Perfect” Capsule, because I needed a few new work things, especially something for my new headshot. I had planned to sew up mostly solids and did succeed in getting some more made. I had to abandon part of it though, as I ran out of tracing paper.

This particular challenge was sponsored by Made for Mermaids and Patterns for Pirates. They are PDF pattern companies run by two sisters. The vibes are similar. Made for Mermaids tends to be softer and more flowy. Pirates seems to have more sleek things. I have a bunch of patterns from both, so was excited to use new ones. The deal was that you had to use only patterns from both companies and you could mash them together if you wanted to. You had to have 9 items total and could use up to four previously made items.

Mine ended up being almost all Patterns for Pirates by accident. More of them fit into my capsule idea and I ran out of time and tracing paper to include the Eloise and the Lauren from Made for Mermaids. Here’s what my original concept was:

It took me a while to combine the fabrics, as I didn’t start with a main fabric. Once I realized that having a main fabric would help pull everything together, I settled on this one: a floral Liverpool with a navy background.

After that I pulled a couple of coordinating colored fabrics. The purple rayon spandex below really wanted to be an Eloise and I have it cut out, just not finished yet. The glittery blue is actually on a black background and is ITY, which is a cool, slippery feeling fabric. The flamingo is a rayon challis, I believe. The green next to it is another rayon spandex, but it’s thicker and more slinky feeling than the purple. It could possibly be bamboo rayon, but I’ve never felt that, so I don’t know for sure.

The main dress is a Patterns for Pirates Sweetheart Dress. It has a full circle skirt and is very dramatic and excellent for twirling. I may have twirled every time I got compliments on it. 😉

The only thing I didn’t like is that the neckline feels like it’s strangling me. I’m going to scoop it out lower for comfort.

My original pre-made items (we were allowed 4) for my capsule were a pair of grey leggings, a navy floral Brunch Blouse from P4P and a grey cardigan. I switched it up at the end as the cardi didn’t really go and I was running behind on time. I decided that after all the work clothes, I would probably need an after work outfit and used my vaccination outfit as my final two pieces.

This is the Made for Mermaid Penelope dress. I have been waiting a long time to make it, as it seemed very complicated. It has princess seams which run straight down from the shoulders, making it drape nicely and flare at the bottom. It has cap, short, 3/4, and long sleeve options. It also has mini, knee, and maxi length skirt options. My sleeves were slightly longer than the short sleeve.

This is fine in the front for work, but is a bit shorter than it probably should be, due to my curves at the back. I’ll most likely be wearing this with leggings or shorts when I do wear it to work. I really like how it looks on me and will definitely make more.

This beauty is the Patterns for Pirates Gala Gown in the knee length option. It’s made out of ITY, which stands for Interlock Twisted Yarn. It’s silky, slippery, and cool to the touch. It also rolls like crazy and was super annoying to sew! I wore this dress for my professional headshot and it made me feel special and confident. It’s got a fantastic twirl factor too. The pattern is complicated, with many pieces, but not difficult to put together. I did forget to add in the pockets though.

I love it and had a grand time swishing around in it. It also looks flattering on pretty much everyone that I have seen make it. I’m interested to try it with some other fabrics.

This is a Brunch Blouse from Patterns for Pirates. I think it’s rayon challis. It’s nice and drapey to wear. I switched this out for the Eloise.

I made pants to go with it! They are super comfy! I have been irrationally afraid to make the Patterns for Pirates SOS pants for a while, but they weren’t that hard to make. I do need to grade out at the hips. This pair has some pulling in the seams. But I do have plans to make more with my fancy pants fabrics. Excuse the wrinkles, I forgot pictures before wearing them.

Overall, it was fun to push myself to try new and somewhat intimidating patterns. I will make all of them again and it’s boosted my confidence in trying more of my patterns. I should be on a pattern buying ban, but we all know that’ll never happen. 😂

I think I’ll go find some more capsule options and work on filling my wardrobe holes next! Wish me luck!

Sewing

New Year, New Patterns!

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At the very beginning of my blog, I had a pair of slippers that I gave up on because they were too small and I couldn’t figure out the bottom. Well guess what?! I figured it out! They look a little funny still and I didn’t add the elastic on the back yet, but I have made slippers! They are from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross.

I still have not quite figured out the bottom, but I managed to make slippers that are cute and actually fit. They will be perfect for my at home sessions where my feet get cold, but I don’t want to wear shoes in the house.

Speaking of home sessions, I made a lovely therapist cardigan. It’s out of ponte, which is a new material for me. Ponte is structured, with a little less stretch than some knit fabrics. It’s thicker, smooth, and feels a bit squishy, but not unpleasantly so.

It’s a therapist cardigan because it’s an unspoken rule that you must wear a cardi if you’re a female therapist. 😁 This one is a Grandpa Cardigan by Patterns for Pirates. It’s structured and looks professional, but it’s so soft and comfy that it feels like secret pjs. It also wasn’t overly warm. It held body heat nicely, but also breathed. I think I’ll be looking into some dresses or pants to make with it. This was a new pattern, but it was very easy to follow and sew.

I made a tiny doll cardi too, because why not? I think this is the Fleece Fun pattern.

It’s been cold again, so I made some more sweatshirts and hoodies. The fabric below was made into a black Ellie and Mac Fall In Love sweatshirt with purple dbp cuffs, neck and waistband. I look ridiculous in the picture because it came out way too big and I don’t have a picture of after I resized it. It’s a cotton french terry, so more like a bath towel than drapey, so it doesn’t have a lot of stretch or recovery. It’s a super comfy lounging sweatshirt though.

Probably my favorite hoodie I have made lately is this Lotte Hoodie by Sinclair Patterns. I used two sponsors from the challenge in it. The panel is fan art of Kaylee from Firefly. She is one of my favorite characters.

The panel is from 5 Ocean’s Fabric and is stretchy cotton lycra. The pink and yellow are thinner, drapey french terry from Girl Charlee. I lined it with more of the french terry, since it was thinner fabric. It has thumbhole cuffs, which I adore. The hood is navy dbp.

I received a bonus entry in the challenge the week I made it because Sinclair was one of the sponsors that week. 5 Oceans is a sponsor again, so I bought another panel to use for that week.

I have a few more things that I’ve made, but I’m keeping them for a separate post. I thought it would be fun to do a comparison post with the same pattern and different fabrics. I’ll leave you with a picture I sent to K2 to make her jealous that I got to snuggle Piggy on Monday before work. Wearing my new therapist cardi, of course! I hope your night is as snuggly as she is!

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Sewing Update

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Hello! A lot of my sewing has been Super Secret Christmas Sewing, but I have made a few things I can share. I needed a grey shirt one day before work, so I made one! One of the perks of working from home, I guess. This is the Sun-kissed Tee from Peek-a-boo patterns. I like this pattern as a simple tee pattern. I did add a thin band at the bottom because the cotton lycra was being a huge jerk and rolling.

It’s lovely and comfy. The fabric is really soft.

Next up is a hat for sleeping or for wearing downstairs to sew. It’s a free pattern from Patterns for Pirates. I used scraps from the triblend and a pink plaid double brushed poly in the inside. It stays on my head very well and is warm, but not overly warm. Excuse the face. Apparently I was tired.

I finally got around to making microwave bowl cozies for us. You have to make absolutely certain none of your supplies are anything other than plain cotton, or they can catch on fire. I don’t have a picture of the bottom, but it is red with bowls of “bassgetti” on it. They are super cute. I should probably make two more for us, in case we ever have company again.

I also made two separate doll wardrobes for different Giving tree or adopt a family gifts. They were really fun to sew and the second one is a smaller doll size. I hope they fit and the kids like them!

These are for a 14.5 inch doll. Even tinier and cuter than the 18 inch one. I’ve had a couple people request I make them adult sized versions of some of the outfits.

I am currently wearing my gnome pants that were originally for last Christmas. I may switch them to tight cuffs at the bottom though, so no pictures yet. It drives me crazy when my pants ride up on my legs at night.

I’ll share the Super Secret Sewing when all the recipients have received their presents, but for now, there’s some almost last minute sewing to do. Have a creative night!

Sewing for Sanity
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Sewing for Sanity

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Considering the fact that I’ve been fighting off panic for most of the day, this title is unusually apt. I’m not sure why my anxiety level is so high today, other than *gestures broadly* everything. There’s also construction in front of my house. They’re repaving, so we cannot access our driveway. We have to park half a block down and walk to an from. Super annoying when it’s windy and raining, let me tell you!

I have definitely been hard at work sewing lately. I have a lot of masks done for the pet themed fundraiser, just have to start posting them. Here’s a peek at some of them.

I wore a rainbow paw print mask today at work actually and it was very comfy.

I sent a couple of gift packages out this weekend. K1 was lucky and got the pair of “jean” leggings I made that ended up not having quite enough stretch. I used the fabric originally to make RAD Pattern Solar Flares that are super comfy. I had enough fabric for the leggings, a pair of baby leggings, 4 pairs of doll jeans, and a pair of doll shorts. My friend from work gave me an absolutely disgusted look when I said I’d made them the day I was wearing them. 🙂 I didn’t grab a picture of the leggings before I sent them. Here’s the shirt that was also in the package.

This is a Tulip Tee from Patterns for Pirates with the optional under/nursing layer. It has three layers on the front. I was especially happy with my floral cascade! It’s DBP and black cotton lycra. Long sleeved for winter. It might be a bit big. This was a new pattern for me, so I wasn’t sure on sizing. I could have gone down one for her. I made a plain black Tulip for me, with just the plain/single layer. I needed a long sleeved black shirt.

The Husband was shocked when he saw I had just made a plain black shirt. Since I’m short, I can actually wear this as a tunic. It hits at just the right spot. I can also pull the band up to my waist and make the shirt a little blousy instead. It looks lovely either way. Maybe I’ll make some more of them next. I banded everything because I have lighter thread on my serger and didn’t want to switch to all black. I may only have two spools of black left. Yikes!

For my second gift package, I made two little baby sets. I used the Bonny Leggings from Made for Mermaids. The shirt is a Kid’s Raglan from Ellie and Mac. This is the faux denim fabric. It feels like secret pjs.

They go with this outfit, which I made a bit ago and then got nervous and didn’t send.

The dino outfit is a Wee Lap Tee from Patterns for Pirates and the Bonny leggings. These are both for one of my other friends with a baby. I hope she likes them and they fit for a bit yet!

One project that I have finally finished and passed along was these napkins for my friend. I owed her for watching Fancy for us for a weekend trip to see K1 and shamefully, didn’t finish them for a while. In total, I think there were 32 napkins. She was quite pleased with them. I just made a double layer of fabric and serged the edges, as she was not picky about how they were finished. It probably would have taken me at least another year to do them if I had to turn and iron all the hems. Yuck. Ironing.

Contrary to the Husband’s belief, I can indeed make solid color items. I just don’t all that often. They can be boring. I made this grey dress from a nice rayon spandex fabric. It’s a CKC Amy, of course, with fun umbrella pockets. It’s been very helpful as it’s a neutral color. It will be extremely useful in winter when I can wear it with boots and any of my fun leggings.

The jacket pictured is a Kimono cardigan by Halla Patterns, I believe. It’s made from a stretch chiffon, possibly. It was a remnant at Joann’s and I had just enough. The sleeves and neck are purple cotton lycra. It’s very fun to wear.

Also very fun to wear are my latest “never thought I’d sew those” socks!

I blame K2. She was sewing them and they are a great scrap buster. Plus, they appealed to my prepper side that insists I should know how to make literally everything I wear so I can do it if the apocalypse comes. Which now, seems oddly relevant. Regardless, I can make comfy socks! I don’t know that I’ll make a lot of them, but it’s good to know. I now have a pattern for ankle socks too, which is what I typically wear. I know. So weird. But also so comfy. 🙂

I made this shirt on the night of the Presidential debate. I thought it was better for my mental health to not watch the circus, so I sewed instead. It is super comfy. The pattern is a Relaxed Raglan from Patterns for Pirates. I made it a tiny bit too short by accident, so added the band to cover it, but I really like it the way it is. I used a new method to band the sleeves. Really, I just folded the sleeves down on themselves and serged the folded area. It cuts the excess off and seals the edges all at once.

The snowflakes are DBP from Purple Seamstress. Aren’t they lovely? I liked them because they were so different. So overall, I’ve had fun. I’m going to start to work on some Christmas presents, so will have to balance out the Super Secret Sewing with regular sewing.

Well, now that I’ve written about sewing, I actually want to go sew more fun things. I’ll be sure to show off what I come up with next! For now, enjoy this 3rd quarter collage from my 52 Week Sewing Challenge!

Sewing Up A Storm
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Sewing Up A Storm

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My dresser drawers are getting full of clothing I’ve made and I’m finding myself being in me made outfits from head to toe more often than not. Today it was about half and half for work. I still have nice store bought pants and sweaters that are in the rotation, but I wear so many me made things now that everyone at work just assumes I made whatever I have on. 🙂

Speaking of work, one of the biggest things I’ve sewn lately has been this quilt that I essentially finished in a weekend for my director, who got married! She’s always elegant, so I thought this color palette would be nice and not overly girly for her husband and family. I’ve been told that everyone loves it, even the dogs! 🙂

It’s a little wrinkly from being wrapped up. This is the second Jellyroll Serger Quilt I’ve made, after taking the class in the winter at Decorative Stitch with my MIL. This time, I remembered to add the sashing! I think it turned out super cool. I have enough leftover fabric to make a baby quilt to gift when needed. The featured picture is a close up of one of the unicorn squares. Had to have a little whimsy, after all. Isn’t it so vibrant? The quilt was actually inspired by the fleece blanket that I used for the back. I had bought one of those no sew fleece blanket kits, but hate how the fleeces feel when you tie them and they are the perfect size for quilt backs.

I’ve been batch sewing a bunch of Lago tanks lately, as they are my absolute favorite tank so far. I have pictures of three of them, but have made two more too, a purple one and a long one for a night gown. The night gown used the rest of the black skull and hearts fabric from my purple skort. Here’s the ones I do have pictures of in a handy collage.

The pink one is a little, very soft and cool feeling, rayon spandex night shirt. The bicycle one is also mostly for sleep, as it can be a little more sheer than I’d like, but could be worn for every day too. The mint one was for my friend with the little boys. I’ve had this fabric since last year for her, but couldn’t figure out what I wanted to make for her with it. She liked this one a lot, so I think I made the right choice. It’s tunic length, so could also be a sleep shirt.

The Husband was traveling for work near where our friends live, so he was able to drop off a little box for them and get us two pints of the best (and pretty much only) maple syrup I will eat. There may have been some nerdy LOTR references made when she told me we could get it in pints. 😉 Yum!

I made a Patterns for Pirates Sweet Tee for her as well.

I was pleased with how this one turned out. I have a couple of Sweet Tees myself, so was pretty sure she’d like it.

The boys got shark themed outfits for Shark Week, which is coming up August 9-16th. I mean, we all know what I’ll be doing that week, but now the boys and I can match!

I hope the boys like their outfits! I made sure to send pants this time, as the older boy last time was slightly perturbed that he had only a shirt. 🙂

I made some more doll clothes for the office, but have pictures of just a few of them. The rest are at work and have been used already by the littles.

The button shirts have been seen before, but the snaps all came out, so I used velcro or snap tape the second time around.

Masks are not freaking me out as much to make currently, although they do hurt my hand, no matter which tool I use to cut them out. I have a bunch of pet themed ones started to do a fundraiser for Fancy and Piggy’s rescue. I found the most ridiculous cat dating site fabric for some of them and it cracks me right up. I’ll be sure to take a close up picture of that one. In the meantime, here are some of them.

The flamingo with the camper mask is staying with me, of course.

A few of these are going to work with me too, for anyone who wants to take them. The papery masks make me itchy and are super uncomfortable, so I wanted to offer them if other people were having the same issues. I figure if I get a set number of them ready, I won’t be inundated by requests and will be able to calmly get them out. I’m not taking custom requests or selling more than I have made up.

I used the camper/flamingo fabric to make Linen Lounger shorts, but need to go back and add a taller waistband, as I forgot to increase the back rise. I added pretty pink lace though and think they are super cute. I added pockets too.

Another victim of not enough rise, are these pants. At least I think that’s what’s happening? They’re also a weird length, hence the sad face.

I need new capri’s and pants though, so I’ll keep trying things out. I did make knit shorts from this cool zipper pattern cotton lycra. They’re very comfy and have pockets. I used the Solar Flares pattern by RAD patterns. The theme last week for the sewing challenge was Pants or Shorts.

I also made another skort! This book fabric was a custom fabric from Peekaboo Fabrics and they don’t have any more. I had just a half yard of it and it worked out perfectly. The shorts underneath are a blue anti-microbial athletic fabric that apparently runs easily. I may switch it out for a plain cotton lycra at some point. It is very comfy though and looks tidy enough that I do wear it to work on days when I have mostly kids.

Well, that’s all the sewing I have pictures of, so I guess I’ll sign off for the night! I’m definitely relaxing in my zipper shorts tonight. The house got pretty warm when we were all out of it. I’ll leave you with this picture of Piggy, because if it doesn’t make you smile, I’m not sure what will.

Sweet Dreams!

Thready Tuesday
Life Posts · Sewing

Thready Tuesday

LSiehLeave a comment

I had a wonderful, relaxing day last Tuesday! I took the day off work to go to a Jellyroll Serger Quilt class with my MIL.

A jellyroll, in quilter terms, is not a cake, but a roll of 40-42 pre-cut strips of fabric, typically measuring 42 inches long by 2 1/2 inches wide. I would show you a picture, but I made my own! My MIL has a die cut machine that chops all your strips to the correct width. (I’m pretty sure it’s actually tiny gnomes because it’s so magical.) We were both determined to use what we had at home, at least for the blocks. I think we both ended up getting additional border fabric and she got some additional sashing fabric.

Here’s one of her blocks in a very pretty blue colorway. Her quilt turned out much more scrappy than mine, as she had more variety of strips. Mine is more planned, which is weird for me, but I like where it is going.

My blocks were based of a stack of fabrics I got a few months ago at the same place we took the class. You can see all three of the original fabrics in this stack- the dotted pink at the far left, the watercolor looking birds three in from the left, and the leaves next to it.

Here is one of my finished blocks.

I’m super excited to see what it looks like all put together. I’m using a light grey for the frames around the squares. I have a different colorway of the birds for possible borders, but I have to see if they look okay or not. It’s more green than blue. If not, I’ll find something else lovely to use, I’m sure. All of the block fabrics are from my stash!

The quilt pattern looks super complicated, but it’s actually really easy. Just a lot of sewing strips, cutting, and turning them. For the record, I was using my travel iron, so it’s not as powerful as a big iron and didn’t get all the wrinkles. I still have to buy a new regular iron after the tragic demise of my current one. 🙁

It was actually a big sewing weekend for me, as I vended at Detroit Raqs- a local bellydance fundraiser. I made my table extra fancy this time.

I did sell a few things, but sadly, none of the leggings I made specifically for this show sold. Here’s a close up of most of them in the baskets. Those polka dotted ones may end up in my drawer. They are sooooo pretty! They are all the Patterns for Pirates Peg Leg pattern.

The leggings fulfilled two weeks of the 52 Week Sewing Challenge for me. I made the olive and rust ones last week, along with a pair for my friend. I don’t have a picture of her leggings up, but they are a black background with white grid lines and hot pink roses. They are really fun! I didn’t follow the challenge of doing something for the kitchen last week. This week, I made stripes match on a pair of leggings, which is one of my sewing fears, so accidentally fulfilled the theme.

It looks like they don’t because the net is see through in between the stripes. They are super fun though. Since I now have a serger, I’m more confident in making things for other people. There’s much less of a chance that these will split along the seams!

I have finished a couple of projects that I had in my UFO bin. These two shirts just needed a couple of extra touches to be done. The purple one needed sleeves, so I added this mesh type fabric and I think it looks cute. I can wear it as a work out shirt or as a regular shirt. It is the Fall In Love Sweater pattern from Ellie and Mac, with modified sleeves.

This one is a Sweet Tee from Patterns for Pirates. I have a long sleeved shirt in this fabric as well and like it so much that I used the remnants for a short sleeved one as well. It’s triblend, I think, so soft and cozy. It’s a mix of rayon, cotton, and spandex.

I just serged the bottom hem and it looks good. I did grade out at the hips for both of these shirts. I’m shorter and hippier than the models/pattern blocks for this pattern.

I also dove into sewing my own underwear! I know! I was shocked at how easy it is and how much I like them. Every time I try to wear store bought underwear now, I just have to take them off. They are so uncomfortable.

I used a whole bunch of different patterns to find ones that I liked. Here’s the links, in order of how much I liked them. Fair warning, there’s butts ahead. Not mine, but butts in the pattern links. 🙂 Feel free to skip ahead if you’d like!

1. Ellie and Mac Feeling Frisky Panties https://www.ellieandmac.com/products/feel-frisky-panties-pattern?_pos=1&_sid=f15442949&_ss=r

1A. RAD Panel Undies https://www.radpatterns.com/product/panel-undies/

These two were my favorite patterns. They are pretty true to size, although they look alarmingly big when you make them, but trust me and try them on first. The panel undies allow you to use smaller pieces of fabric, but are a little confusing to put together at first. I also changed how I added the liner because I hate extra steps and don’t care if my edges are exposed. Honestly, if someone is examining my underwear that closely, they will shortly have some other, potentially lead coated things to worry about coming their way. Or a barky thing with teeth, depending on who’s home.

I also add the leg elastics with the pieces laid flat. It’s so much easier than trying to stretch them with everything sewn together already. I have used picot/lingerie elastic, fold over elastic (which I left flat, not folded,) stretch lace, and made fabric bands for waistband and leg bands. I may have ordered enough fold over elastic to last until doomsday, so I have been mainly using that. I found elastic with all sorts of fun prints including planets, pitbulls, narwals, piano keys, printed lace, and a ridiculous amount of other cute things. Several Etsy sellers are super happy with me right now. 😉 Mary Supplies, Once Upon a Stitch, and Fluerisy are all the sellers I used. I have been quite pleased with the quality and pricing. My underwear drawer will never be boring again!

2. Made for Mermaids Mama Vicki Hipsters https://www.madeformermaids.com/product/mamavicki/

The Vicki was a surprise hit and is self lined, so is sometimes easier. It does require a longer length of fabric.

The ones I really didn’t like, which I was sure that I would like, were the Stitch Upon A Time Bunzies. They fit all wrong and I was not happy with them at all. I might try going up a size, but in all honesty, I will probably just stick to the patterns I actually like. I have a couple more to try too. It has been super fun to pair up fabrics and elastics into new combinations. I used a bunch of the legging scraps too, so I have a whole drawer of silly and pretty undies.

Okay, I know I said I wouldn’t post pictures of my underwear, but I never said I wouldn’t post detail pictures for the ladies. 🙂 So here goes!

Thanks for sticking with me this far! I haven’t really been sewing much outside of vending and underwear, but am hoping to branch out again soon. Have a great week!

Sewing

Sergers And Thread And Doll Clothes, Oh My!

LSiehLeave a comment

My tendinitis has died down a little and I have figured out a system for managing the pattern cutting, so I have been sewing again. It’s super exciting to be sewing regularly again! I do have to take more breaks and only cut a few things at once. My rotary cutter doesn’t like very stretchy knits, so I’m a bit annoyed by that, but I’m getting better at cutting neatly around pattern shapes.

I made a bunch of new doll clothes, as my kid clients have been requesting new warmer clothes for the office dolls for winter. Another request was more school books, but I just made those quickly with construction paper. Both the new clothes and the books have met with approval so far.

Forgive the working picture, it was the brightest one. Isn’t this an adorable dress? I’ve decided I just need to preview my wardrobe combos in doll sizes first. They turn out so cute!

This is the Vada Doll Dress from CKC Patterns. I thought I should try some of the other patterns I had and this one was super easy. I have some more sweater scraps that will be used for a couple more of these.

Another outfit that I probably will duplicate in my sizes is this yoga set.

A couple of friends have approved this idea. I got the yoga fabric from K, as she had gotten an end of bolt deal and was generous enough to share. It’s a bit thin for pants for me, but I think a tank would be cute and I have blue leggings material too. It just made me giggle over how cute it was.

I also used a Love Notions doll pattern, the Laundry Day dress to make these two dresses. Because I was not looking to sell these, I just serged the edges. It was much easier!

I used a tried and true shirt pattern for these shirts. It’s the Ellie and Mac Simply Sweet doll shirt. It’s very easy and looks cute. I used a couple of sweater knits for the mint one and the purple swirly one.

I used the fabric scraps from a cardigan to make this adorable winter skirt and scraps from a matching leggings set from my other K friend. These are both the Bonny skirt from Made for Mermaids.

I used more scraps from the checkered material to make more Doll Bonny leggings. You can never have too many leggings, after all.

I also made a capri length of leggings and a matching leotard, as apparently both of the girl dolls need one. The leo pattern is much easier once I decided not to try turning all the edges. It looks much better without the turning.

I had a request for another book bag too for the dolls. Apparently they all needed their own to take to school, so I made this little sparkly bag out of tiny scraps of fabric and ribbon.

It was very well received. When you’re 8, the sparklier the better apparently!

I still have a pile of scraps to use up with new doll clothes and less feelings of silliness about learning how to make them after doing some more research on pricing. They’re a really quick, fun thing to do when discouraged too.

I mentioned on the garden post that I had attended a bellydance event and vended at the same. I have a lot of stock currently, so I didn’t really make much more. The green skirt just needed tassels and the gold skirt was a fabric that I bought intending on making a shirt with it. It was too thin for me though, so hip skirts it is!

Sadly, I didn’t really sell anything, but the dancing was good. I’m invited back for the winter one in February too and will hopefully be able to build more interest. This event was pretty last minute.

These leggings are pretty comfy, but there’s something weird happening at the waistband. The fabric isn’t as stretchy one way as the other. They work, but they are a little less comfortable than my other ones.

I just loved the quilt square aspect of them.

Another fun print I have been working with is this sewing machine print, which I made into a hoodie! I tried a new pattern and despite looking complicated, it is super easy.

It is the Ellie and Mac Undercover Hoodie. You can technically make a hidden pocket, but it hits me at kind of a weird spot and I don’t really need a pocket all the way across my stomach. This is the second hoodie I made and I added thumbhole cuffs and reduced the hood size. The first hood falls down over my eyes. 🙂 These are both cotton lycra fabric, so not super warm, but very comfy. The magenta is from Purple Seamstress and the sewing machines are from Seweird Fabrics. It was a custom print and was too cute.

Here’s the first one, made with two french terry fabrics. The hexies are very stretchy and feel more smooth with very low loops. The blue is more sweater like.

It is great for lounging as it’s more drapey than the machines. I love them both though and have been wearing them constantly. The aerial yoga instructor almost fell over when I told her I had made this one. She didn’t realize how much K and I actually are able to sew. 🙂

The pink fabric with the machines is actually the same fabric I used to make the leggings in this outfit.

The floral fabric is a cotton voile, very lightweight and lovely to wear. I made a Brunch Blouse from Patterns for Pirates. For the hems, I used a fancy rolled hem stitch on my serger and it was lovely! A rolled hem is an easy way to finish a seam properly while using the smallest amount of fabric. It doesn’t look like much, but I felt very accomplished! I now can hem slippery or sheer fabrics much more easily. Here’s a picture of it.

Since it’s gotten colder lately, I’m not sure how much I’ll wear the top, but the leggings will be very helpful all winter.

This sweater is my newest favorite cozy sweater with thumbhole cuffs and a funnel neck, which is really just a looser turtleneck. I wanted a full cowl, but accidentally cut the first piece wrong, so had to go to a funnel instead.

I do need to redo the cuffs, as I accidentally made the stretch go the wrong way, but they still fit, I just can’t fold them down, which is inconvenient. I have new ones already cut, just have to redo them. This fabric absolutely was meant to be a sweater in this style. I used the Relaxed Raglan pattern from Patterns for Pirates. It’s a very easy, but can be fancy pattern.

So that’s what I have been sewing lately. I should probably go fix those cuffs. My coworker saw my post on Facebook about it and asked why I wasn’t wearing it today at the office. 🙂 Have a cozy night!

Sewing

Just Keep Sewing! Just Keep Sewing!

LSiehLeave a comment

I feel slightly like Dory lately, from “Finding Nemo” and “Finding Dory,” in that I seem to have a short attention span for sewing projects lately and lots of indecisiveness for what to actually make.

I do need to get my shark themed outfits done for Shark Week, which starts on July 28th! I have three more things to make, I think, and then will be able to wear shark or ocean themed outfits all week! Oddly enough, I don’t think anyone will actually notice. My teen clients last year mostly just rolled their eyes at me when I told them they should be watching it, but I have hope this year, as I have some younger kids who do like sharks. I have to have someone to talk to about it after all! The Husband can only take so much. 🙂

I didn’t sew any shark themed items this week. I was focused on tank tops for part of it and workout gear. I did make a sleep tank top out of the scrap material from my SIL’s sweary panda shirt, but out of deference to my Mom, I won’t show it.. 😉 It’s got a cute panel on the front with the pandas and pink cotton lycra along the sides and back. It was really cute for my first time color blocking a pattern.

I hacked the Bonus Tank from George and Ginger to make it. I have used this pattern four times now, as it is a free pattern and has only three pieces. It includes actual pieces for the neck and armbands and it’s been nicer than having to measure them out. I’ll show you two other versions, but the third one isn’t done yet. It still needs bands and adjustments.

This one is from a remnant from Joann’s. It was actually the smaller of two cuts that I bought. The bigger one will be a skirt, I think. I believe it is rayon spandex, but I keep forgetting to take a picture of the end of the bolt with the info. It’s lovely, soft, and very light, even in the heat. It also goes perfectly with my blue chambray shorts I made last year.

This one is from a performance fabric, I believe nylon and spandex, also from Joann’s. All the performance and printed knits were on sale for $7.99 a few weeks ago and I stocked up. They are normally $13-20 a yard. I also had coupons!

It’s a bit of a different fabric that I normally use, but is supposed to be moisture wicking and all that fancy stuff. It’s soft and comfy. This was the first one I made and I have since narrowed the shoulders a bit as they were a tiny bit too big.

I also made these leggings with cutouts that I think are super trendy and cute.

They are just black cotton lycra with these panels and I don’t have a good picture of them on. I still have to take about two inches off the bottom of the leggings, but it won’t affect the panel at all. I am short, so the Capri length are actually somewhat closer to ankle. Chances are good I won’t want air conditioning in my leggings in the winter! The Husband thought they were cool too.

Since it has been so hot lately, of course, the best thing to do is to make a sweater, right? 🙂 I actually pulled this out to make because I knew exactly what I wanted to make with it, so it was something I could do quickly. I think it looks cute on me and this pattern has some magic that makes me feel cute, even in a slimmer cut. The fabric is a double knit and was from the Discount Fabric Outlet, which sadly, has closed. 🙁 I had just enough to make it work. The neckband is navy cotton lycra, as the blue floral doesn’t have enough stretch to work for that.

It’s the Fall In Love Sweater from Ellie and Mac. I love it! I have made a black and rose sweater in this pattern too and probably will end up with a couple more for fall and winter. It’s the perfect professional sweater pattern.

In a more seasonally appropriate direction is this dress, which is the Brunch Blouse from Patterns for Pirates extended to my actual dress length with a slight High/Low hem.

If you remember, this is a pattern I have made before, but forgot to add more to the skirt portion when I shortened the torso and ended up with a lovely tunic instead. Joann’s came to the rescue as they had almost perfectly matching bias tape and thread to finish the edges. It is made from rayon voile, which I bought after seeing the fabric on clearance online. I have not worked with this fabric before, but it is so smooth and floaty that I want all of it now. It works perfectly for a little summer dress! I have worn it belted to a friend’s birthday party and with a cropped jean jacket for work (which I thank the same friend for making me buy it every time I pull it out.) It looked lovely both ways and makes me feel super stylish and cute. I plan to make more of this pattern as well.

I have been finding a couple of stash busting hashtags on Instagram that I’m hoping will help inspire me to keep evaluating and adjusting my wardrobe. I’m finding that my style is really emerging and I’d like to keep up that momentum.

This weekend I have fun plans to try tie dying some white cotton lycra to see how it works and I will have some cute things to make after that. For the summer, all the online fabric places have really cool tie dye fabrics and my friend and I decided to try to make some on our own. And of course, my list of projects grows ever longer. For example, how cute are these patterns I found at the bag sale at my local quilt store?

I blame my MIL for part of them. It’s okay though, she got similar fabric (the water color looking ones) to me and blames me for that.

It’s dangerous when we shop together. Also, she has the ruler I need for the Twister Gnomes, so how could I not get it? And and iron pattern called “The Irony?” I mean.. I’m their target market on that one. (By the way, everyone may get a gnome themed table runner this year. Hope you don’t mind… 😉

To distract from more fabric purchases (although they do have a purpose- a quilt with the watercolors/batiks and a skirt or shirt with the floral,) I’ll leave you with this derptastic picture of Fancy on a car ride.

I hope it makes you smile as much as it did for me!