A Handmade Christmas

Seriously, what could be better?
My husband and I have had a rough year financially and since I have enough fabric to supply a small craft store, I'm makin' gifts this year! My nephews, niece, and niece dog are all getting handmade goodies. I'm in the planning stages as I await measurements from my sister. I need to ask my brother how big his "daughter's" neck is. I might make her a collar or something. As I get stuff done I'll share it here!

Are any of you haveing a Handmade Holiday?

P.S. I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving if you celebrate it. We did and I'm still stuffed!

Sewing for the Boy!

Well, I've been sick for going on 3 weeks now. It's my danged sinuses, and I'm too cheap to go to the doctor for meds. But, I tell ya, it hasn't slowed me down in the sewing room! Besides my test sewing for the book, I've really been on a kick of sewing for Conner lately. He's been going through this stage where he doesn't like his jeans with snaps. His little fingers aren't quite strong enough to snap those buggers. I think most of this stems from bathroom breaks at school and having to schlep back down the hall, pants undone, for his teacher to help him with them. I certainly can't blame him! That sucks. So anyhoo, I had made him up the Dapper Dillingers awhile ago in a twill and he has really been wearing those out. I love the styling with the flat front and all. I think they look more 'grown up' than an all-elastic waistband, too. Here they are:

I decided to make him a pair in denim since it's getting cold here in Kansas. I have some really nice stuff that I've had setting around for quite awhile. I made him some jeans a couple of years ago from it and they outlasted every pair I bought off the rack! They still look good even now, they're just too short. Conner is pretty thin, only a 20" waist, so I made him the size 4/5 Dappers. The length was spot-on, too. I might need to lengthen just a touch next time so they last even longer. I didn't want him walking on the cute cuffs, though. Although, if he did, and the fabric frayed, the cuff would be so easy to replace! For this pair, I drafted a faux fly so they would have the look of jeans. I love how it turned out!



Sorry about the wack-a-do coloration. I don't know what's wrong with my camera. It's almost 6 years old, that's what's wrong! You can find more detailed pictures on my flickr page!

I also made him another pair of jeans. This is from one of my favorite Ottobre patterns. It's from the 1/2009 issue and is design #21, among others (it's the base for several styles in the issue). They are an elastic waist pant and are somewhat slim fitting although it doesn't look it on him! They are so easy to throw together; I swear it takes me about 30 minutes. Plus, it's a blank canvas for all kinds if embellishment: pockets, patches, etc. Next go on these, I will add a faux fly too and maybe a separate waistband.

And last is a Tee for Two! I made this up using some of Patty Young's "clown stripe" knit that was gifted to me by Shelly. It's some pretty lush stuff. I've read about the extreme shrinkage so I washed and dried 2-3 times before I cut into it. He wore the shirt and then I washed it on cold. The second time it was still the same size so I think we're good.

It fits so good and I love the slimmer cut, too. These are a fast sew and they have raw edges so no hemming! Makes 'em go that much faster! I was going to cut out a few more but didn't get around to it. I think this weekend I'll buckle down. He really needs some long sleeve shirts!

It's kind of funny because I just told Millie how my kids were getting to the point where they don't want to wear "Momma Made" stuff. This week Conner has worn at least one handmade garment each day! We even had two days where everything down to his undies were handmade. Love those days, even for myself! So I guess I'm eating those words, Millie! Ha! And I'm tickled pink!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! We have a chance for snow! I think that's a perfect reason to snuggle up in my sewing room!

Happy Halloween

Just a quick post to wish everyone a fantastic Halloween!

This is the first time in 13 years that I haven't had to make a costume. I'm a little sad... but also a bit relieved since I've been so busy. I have no cute pictures to offer either. I'm a slacker, what can I say...

Everyone have fun and be safe!!!

Those Sewing Whirlwind Pics!

Hi! Happy Monday!

First off, I want to sincerely thank each and everyone one of you for your kind comments about my Mother-in-Law on my last post. You all are just such a wonderful bunch of people! You truly warm my heart. That may sound cheesy and cliche, but it's true dammit and I make no apologies. She is doing much better now, thank you. She spent 5 days in the hospital and we found out this all stemmed from a really horrible sinus infection. She feels better than she has in months so we have been wondering how long she's been carrying around this infection.

Anyhoo, I finally had some time to snap pictures of my 'whirlwind sewing escapade'! This is a pretty long post, so go grab a cup of tea real quick! ;-)

Okie dokie, Numero Uno is the easy peasy circle skirt. I think this took all of about 30 minutes to make, cutting time and all! I just plugged my measurements into the formula given in the tutorial. The only thing I changed was the waistband. Instead of using wide elastic I used a brown cotton/Lycra and made a band about 14" wide x my waist measurement. I then stitched up the side and folded it in half, wrong sides together. Aligned the raw edges of the waistband and skirt and stitched them together. This makes the very comfortable "yoga waistband" you may have heard of. I can leave it wide or fold it over. For the hem, I was able to use my handy dandy rolled hem foot on my regular machine and voila! A skirt!

The fabric is some I've had in my stash for probably 10+ years. It's kind of a weird color and I have nothing to wear with it at the moment. The fabric is most likely poly and has a touch of sheen. It's sort of a heathered brown/gray with peach... I dunno.

Next, is the bra. This is Merckweardigh BHL15. She now has an Etsy shop and the patterns are in English! Whoo hoo!

 I used some odds and ends to put it together but I like how it turned out. I've made this bra before but I used all stretch fabric and it wasn't supportive at all. That bra is too big now, but I thought I'd try this pattern in a non-stretch fabric. I bought this tricot last year to use for some custom order panties and was dissapointed to find that it was a bonded nylon tricot. Bonded = No stretch, what-so-ever. The shop said nothing of this in their discription, of course, so I ordered it. It worked out fine though because it happens to be the perfect fabric for bras! My favorite RTW Freya bra is made of some similar stuff! Well, anyway, after all that the bra didn't fit in the cups, which is really too bad since the band and underwires fit perfectly!! The lower cup is good but the top squishes my breast tissue in a very unflattering manner. I'm thinking, and if I can get up the guts, I can slice the top cup while wearing it down to the seam and measure how much I need to add then transfer those findings to the pattern. I still haven't gotten up the nerve yet but I may try it.

Lastly, This is my mock-up of Vogue 8546:

 

This first picture turned out all fuzzy for some reason. Sorry 'bout that!

The back shows the wacky fabric a bit better. I really should take a close-up. It's some funky stuff, I'm tellin' ya. I'm forever attracted to the funky fabrics, though. I have a slew of '70's polyester autrocities, but I love 'em just the same. This fabric has a little bit too much body for this jacket. I think it will be much better in something more fluid. That's something I don't have in the stash at the moment, though! This fabric adds too much bulk in front and that's something I really don't need! All-in-all, I really, really like the jacket! It's very comfortable and I'm keeping my eye out on a good deal for some wool jersey. The only thing I'm going to add is a big button, kind of where my hand is in the front view, to hold it closed. 

Now for a bit of exciting news! As you know, I have been a pattern tester for some time. Most recently working with Patterns by Figgy's. Well, the lovely ladies behind PBF, Shelly and Karen, so very graciously asked me to be one of their pattern testers for their NEW BOOK!!! It's coming out next year! Yes!!! Shelly and Karen are writing a book and I get to help test for it. I'm also now an official tester for Wiley Publications. My name will be in the book and on their website and everything! Needless to say, I'm so excited and feel so honored! The only thing that really sucks is I can't tell you what the book is about. YET! As soon as I get the go-ahead, I'll let you all know. I can tell you right now some of you are going to be most pleased...

Well, I guess that's it. I think I have about three posts in one here folks, but it's been building up!

Have a wonderful week!

Feeling the Blahs

Well folks, I really have a lot of stuff to show you and some very cool news, but I feel like shit. I had to put my Mother-in-Law in the hospital on Friday. That was an all day affair, of course, and I've been up there with her most of the day, everyday. Hopefully we'll have her out tomorrow. I haven't got a damn thing done and now I'm really starting to feel like hell. I hope I'm not getting sick but it's going around. Grr, I just don't have time for that.
Conner and I did go get batteries the other day so my camera is up and running. I'll try to post pictures sometime this week of the things I've made. I already had a picture of my brown Schoolhouse Tunic (I forgot about that the other day) so I can share that with you now! Gratuitous dog shots included!

 

Sewing Whirlwinds Are the Greatest!

Wow, this is my 200th post! How about that?

Well I had a nice sewing whirlwind of a weekend! No homework is the greatest thing ever. Ever! I made no less than 4 garments! And guess what? My damn camera is out of batteries so I have nothin' to show! Yet. Anyhoo, here's what I made:

1. Panties for a custom order. (I can't show these 'cause they're all packed up to be shipped.)
2. My Brown Schoolhouse Tunic (which I love and have worn twice already)
3. A super easy circle skirt for me, a la MADE.
4. A BRA for me!  (Can you believe it?)

I'm also working on Vogue 8546. I've been wanting to make the jacket/cardigan up for quite some time now. When I saw that Debbie was working on it the spark was renewed. I don't have many large pieces of fabric in my stash that would work but I found a crazy double knit from the '70's that was long enough. It's a bright cherry red and kind of obnoxious. I'll post a pic of that too!

After I pick up the li'l mister from school, we're going on a battery run.

School House Tunic #1

Happy Friday to ya! I finished up my toile or "wearable muslin", if you will, of the Schoolhouse Tunic from Sew Liberated this morning. I gotta say, I LUV it!

It may not look like I like it here, the sun was in my eyes...

Before I cut into my brown fabric, I wanted to test this baby out. This style of front, empire seam to be exact, is not always my friend since it's almost always to short to cover the girls. I think the style itself looks pretty good on me, when it fits.

I did a kinda-sorta tissue fit. I just held the front piece up to get an idea of where it would hit on me. It was fer sure too short. I guesstimated that I needed about a 1 1/2" FBA. I use the method from Fit For Real People for adding a dart to a dartless top. It should be noted that the fabric is not really the right kind of fabric for this tunic. It really needs something with more drape. This is a stretch poplin that I've had in my stash for awhile. It was a long enough piece so I just went for it. It just has too much body so it kinda sticks out from my body when I wear it, and boy does it wrinkle like a mofo!

Back. Wrinkles. Meh.

Belted. I really like this look. Helps cut down on the poof factor.

My little ham. He wanted to get in on the action. He made sure I said "cheese".

Here's one before I did my hair and makeup. It shows the lines a little better.

And another. This shot is to emphasize the poof factor with this fabric. I'm not pregnant. You can see the bust dart I added here better, too. On my next version, I need to raise the point up about an inch because this one doesn't point to my apex. I also don't really like the elastic in the sleeve. I think I'll just take that out.

All-in-all, I really like this top. I've worn it all day and I've been very comfortable. There are lots of styling options, which is a bonus. When I was working on this last night, I tried it on over my jeans and that looked pretty darn cute, too! I hope to get my brown version done this weekend since I ended up not having any homework. Woot!

Have a Happy Weekend!





Fall Sewing

Fall has to be one of my favorite times of the year! I love the crisp air. I love taking the kids to the pumpkin patch. Just the general feeling and smell of Fall. I don't know how to describe it. One other thing is wearing layers! I'm not fortunate enough to have a beach bod so tanks and shorts are not really my thing. Jeans, sweaters, skirts with boots, and long sleeve tees...that's my thing. I just splurged on this pattern from Sew Liberated:

I see this becoming a staple in my wardrobe. The tunics I've seen made from this look really good. I have this cute brown rayon I picked up at the thrift store the other day, 4 yards for $4, that I think will work nicely.

If you've made this, let me know what you think of it!

Another award!

Holy crap! Clio just awarded me with this lovely little award! Wow, two in the space of less than a month. I'm feeling awesome. I just 'found' Clio's blog recently. She makes beautiful things and she is venturing into sewing lingerie. You all know I feel about that! Anyhoo, the rules for this award are:
1. Tell us what you like about your own blog.
2. Then send the award to 10 other blogs that you read.

Hmmm...what do I like about my own blog? Well, I love writing about sewing and it's such a thrill to see that other people enjoy it and hopefully learn from me. I get emails with questions and I'm so happy to help other seamsters out. I've "met" so many wonderful people through my blog, too! In the area I live there is not much sewing activity. Sure, there are the quilters but they are really clique-y and I've yet to find someone who makes their own clothing. If I do find someone and try to engage them in a conversation their eyes glaze over for some reason so I just shut up. I don't get it. Anyhoo, it's wonderful to have this seemingly unlimited supply of sewing friends!

Okie dokie, on to my nominations! I read a LOT of sewing blogs! These 10 are just a very small sampling of blogs that I enjoy reading, get tons of inspiration from, and/or the ladies behind the blogs have become darn good friends (in alphabetical order):
1. Beangirl
2. Big in Japan
3. Cheap and Picky
4. CreaBH
5. Featherty Sews
6. Figgy's
7. Just Keep Sewing
8. Kadiddlehopper
9. One Girl Circus
10. Quality Time

The only thing I hate about these "chain letter" kind if awards is I'm seriously leaving a whole bunch of blogs out! Gulp! I mean really, take a look at my sidebar and how stinkin' many blogs I have listed. Also, I'm sure several of these ladies have been nominated for this award before. If they have then they're off the hook...for now.

Well, that's all I have for you lovelies today. I have been sewing, A LOT, but it's not something I can talk about yet. Are your curiosity juices flowing? Good!

I have been sewing...really!

Yes, it IS true! I have actually been sitting down at my machines and sewing stuff! First, I want to apologize to any of you who had trouble posting comments. I've had a couple of people email me and say they couldn't. I think I got it fixed so let the commenting commence. I love hearing from all of you!

This picture is as good as it gets for now!

Okay! First sewing project is McCall's 5893. I finally made myself a maxi-dress! Better late than never! The fabric was bought last summer and I never got around to it. This is supposed to be an easy one hour dress but it has taken me like a week to finish. I cannot place any fault on the pattern though. It's been all me. The fabric I used was pretty thin and stretchy so I decided to add a lining to the bodice. I just used the outer fabric and cut another bodice piece for this. For some dumb reason I thought I could stitch the neckline and armhole and then it would all turn inside out perfectly. Well, no that didn't happen. No matter how I twisted and turned it just didn't work! I tried and tried to figure it out but since I basically had two tubes attached by two big pieces of fabric it would never work. So, I spent over an hour on that little gem before I realized I was just going to have to rip the armhole seams out. There was no question. Dammit! Amazingly, I found a tutorial on how to do this type of bodice with a lining just in the nick of time but I'll be damned if I can't find that blog now! I may have to do up a tutorial myself on it 'cause it's a pretty handy technique to have stashed away in the ol' noggin! If anyone is interested in a tut let me know and I'll get to work on it.

I also did a 1.5 inch FBA and it turns out I didn't need it. The fabric stretched sooo much I ended up taking out 4" on each side. Yes, a total of 8"! That's just ridiculous. I *almost* started ripping the bodice and skirt apart and then I smacked myself back into reality. I just cut that sucker apart and re-sewed it. This ended up being a very good thing since the bodice and the skirt were both too long and now they're just about right. The bodice is still a bit long.

Another thing I changed was I didn't make a casing at the bodice/skirt seam as directed. I hate doing that and think it looks really sloppy. Instead, I just measured the elastic to fit around me just under my bust. Then I stitched it to the seam allowance just as you would a waistband; quartering the elastic and dress, stitching with a zig-zag while stretching the elastic to fit.

Wow, that doesn't make a lick of sense but you understand now why a one hour dress turned into a 1 million hour one.

Next up is some more sewing for the little girl I used to babysit. She's turning three so I wanted to make her some new outfits for fall. I've only made these little pants so far. I used Ottobre 1/2009 design #21 for the base. I adapted it into one piece instead of two so you just cut out, sew the inseam and crotch, hem, and make the waistband casing and yer done! Love that!

Now I just need to find some fabric to go with this rosy coral! I'm having a really hard time. None of my knits go with it, unless I use white, so I'm probably going to have to use a woven. I have some more knit tops to make and maybe some jeans. I'll share those when I get done!

Looks like lots of back to school sewing has been going on around the blog-o-sphere. I love to see all the cute stuff people are making. The weather is starting to turn cooler and the trees are starting to let go of their leaves. I love this time of year!

My first Award!

The totally awesome Big In Japan nominated me for this award and I feel pretty honored! She's cool, a rock star, and has a bunch of awesome lookin' tats. I have to admit I have a bit of a girl-crush on her too(Shhh...don't tell).

Anyhoo, since I'm the recipient of this mighty honor I'm required to tell 10 things you may not know about me! I'm pretty boring so I don't really know how entertaining this is going to be. Just fair warning to you all.

1. I got married right smack out of highshool. Well, about three months after graduation. I was 18 and he was just barely 20. We celebrated our 16th Anniversary on September 1st!

2. If I could be anything, I would be a dancer. Not an "exotic" one, although my husband would probably enjoy that for his eyes only, but a serious Dancer.

3. I used to want to be a tattoo artist. I had the machine, ink, supplies, and everything but it just didn't work out. I thought we were going to be able to move to a larger area so I could try for an apprenticeship and then the economy tanked. Now I'm just glad my husband has a job!

4. I think you all may already know this, but I'm going back to school. I never went to college, so it's been pretty exciting for me. I always wanted to go, and it's a bit of a dream come true.

5. I have a dark side (really, who doesn't?). I don't show it very often but it's there. Dark, fetish-y, underworld-y stuff is intriguing to me. I imagine the really gross aspects of my nursing career will be more fascinating than appalling.

6. I was only 21 when I had my first baby. Many people thought my husband and I got married because I was pregnant. Ha! We showed them!

7. I always have dreams where I'm back in highschool and I don't know my locker combination or my class schedule. I'm always the age I am at the time, too. Since when do 30-somethings attend highschool? What is up with that?!

8. The older I get, the more I'm becoming a germ-a-phobe.

9. I watch cartoons. On purpose.

10. I'm painfully shy. Seriously, if I know I'm going to meet new people I get really nervous and kinda sick. People probably think I'm a snob but I'm really just trying to hold myself together! LOL! Maybe when I dig deeper in my Psychology class I'll learn more about why I'm like that.... Once I get to know someone I'm pretty silly and loud.

Oh! Thank goodness that's over. I had a hard time thinking of stuff! This is more difficult than I thought!
Now it's my turn to nominate! Several of my blog friends are already nominated so these may be duplicates for some. I'm suppose to nominate 5, but I'm doing 6! All of these ladies are just plain awesome!
Millie
Kelly Hogaboom
K. Line
Tina
Shelly
Katie

School's in Session!

I had my first day of school today! Well, just one class actually, Psychology. I was so nervous walking in there! My heart was pounding and I got the dreaded sweaty upper lip. LOL! My teacher seems really nice. She's upbeat and I think she'll be great. My husband had a Psych. teacher that had this low, monotone voice that was the worst! I'm so glad that's not the case with me. Let's hope my English teacher tomorrow is great too.

I've been sewing a little. I'd like to try and get a few things made for myself. I need to figure out some sort of schedule so I can fit sewing in with my classwork and Mommy duties. If anyone has any hints let me know! In school as a kid, I was the one who always got in trouble for "not using time wisely"! Unfortunately, I'm still that way. Ha!

My camera is busted so I have no pictures to share. I'm searching for my daughter's but have had no luck!

Well, I'm off to read the handouts I got this morning!

Have a great week!

Lookie...

lookie!

Got these in the mail yesterday! One of the perks of test sewing for PB Figgy's is all of us testers got copies of the final patterns we tested! Isn't that sweet?! Way more than I was expecting. I'd say this is a pretty good gig! :-) Kelly's kids are featured on the front covers and I though that was pretty darn cool! On Patty Young's blog she has a little excerpt from the 2010 Bernina University Fashion Show and it features the Beach Bum Hoodie and Board Shorts!

The kids are spending the week at my parents so I'm getting ready for a garage sale this weekend. Not exactly what I enjoy doing but it's so much easier when they're not around and sifting through everything. Usually there are whines of, "you caaaan't sell thaaaat!!" So, it's best to do this sans kiddos. Then I'll be gearing up to sew some back-to-school clothes. I did get the Riff t-shirt from Ottobre 3/2010 made Sunday night but Conner wore it to Grandma's and I didn't get a pic of it yet. I used a striped knit and didn't do the guitar applique this go 'round. It was incredibly easy to sew and I did most of it on my regular machine. I just used my coverstitch for the hem and to sew the neckline and armband seam allowances down. Also, the bra I made, the Kwik Sew 3300, ended up being fit for the princess so I see a few more of those in store. She actually said it was comfortable! Holy crap! Now, if she was just telling me that...I dunno. I have tons of pretty fabrics and lace so she should have a nice collection here pretty soon. I so desparately need new ones myself but I'm waiting a little while to see if the girls shrink anymore. I'm planning on amping the ol' excersize routine once school starts and I have more time. Both of my classes are in the morning so I'll have extra time in the gym before I pick up Mr. C from school.

Y'all have a great week!

Some Bra Sewing At Last!

Surely you all must be amazed! It has been entirely too long since I've SEWN a bra, let alone posted about sewing them. So, what the heck happened?! Well, I got kinda burnt out and also miffed at the above bra. Um, remember this bra that I was making for a Pattern Review contest? Yeah, that was back in freakin' February! I just finished***read: slapped together*** it yesterday and when I put the damn thing on it was too BIG!!! Damn! Well, no worries. It has been stripped of every part that I was able salvage. The outer fabric (the sparkly stuff) is soooo stretchy that it just looked like crap anyway and that's what got me pissed in the first place. There were poofy bits every where and wrinkles. Oh, and it gave me NO support so "OFF WITH HER HEAD!!" or in this case straps, elastic and hooks and eyes....

This little cutie is a bra I started for my daughter several days ago. I finished it up yesterday, too. Miz M has been asking for a nude bra to wear under a white tank top. The pattern I used is Kwik Sew 3300 and as with most KS patterns, it was a breeze to sew up. I used plain ol' nylon tricot for the cups and powernet for the back. We had some fitting issues that had to be worked out but all-in-all I think it turned out really cute. Well, really the only problem we had was the band being way to short. I added about 1 inch to either side behind the hooks and eyes as you can see below. I tried a couple of different methods. Neither of which I like. Ahh well, it looks pretty craptastic but does the trick.

The cups fit her perfectly! Rejoyce! My lovely model is not a very good representation of what it looks like on my daughter. M has a wider ribcage. Everything else was good but I think if I make this again I'll widen the back band quite a bit. It's just too narrow for her build. Now we'll just see if she actually wears it. When we first tried it on it was a little tight (to her) and she got all whine-y and meltdown-y, like only teenagers can do.

Here's a funny/interesting little tidbit for you: A lady on one of the sewing groups I belong to mentioned her husband had been on a business trip to China, I believe, to a bra making factory (he worked for Bali). Well, I guess the lady laid her fabric out on a cutting table and took a sharpie and marked out all the pattern pieces, freehand. FREEHAND?! Isn't that amazing? It also explains why one bra might fit and another does not even though it's the same size, brand, style. That's another reason why women should NOT go by their perceived "size" and just go by fit. I believe bra sizing charts to be written by the devil, himself.

I'm going to cut this post off here. We'll have to talk some more about bra fitting sometime! I hope you all have a great weekend! I'll be packing since my kids are going to be spending next week with my Mom and Dad. It'll be quiet yet oh-so-nice....

Take it easy! 

Flyin' by...

to say "Hi"! I have a bra post in the works (*GASP*) I know it's shocking, isn't it?

Also, just got notification that Patterns by Figgy's is releasing a limited number of their new Fall patterns for purchase! Sweeeeet! Hurry to snap 'em up! They are AH-dorable!

Be back soon with that bra post!!!

xoxo,
H