Minky, minky everywhere...

A couple months ago, on the day Stella had an appointment to see the orthopedic surgeon, her favorite twirly skirt was dirty. What's a sewing mom to do? Whip out a new one of course! We went to the stash and I let her pick out any knit fabric she wanted (I didn't want to hem or finish edges). She ignored my urgings of one of my more normal knits and chose this light blue minky. Now, I can't blame her, it's incredibly soft and cuddly and the aqua color is gorgeous.

So anyways, I churned this sucker out in 10 minutes. (Don't look at the sewing too closely, speed was important, not quality.) It's a normal circle skirt with an elastic waistband. Here is a good circle skirt tutorial for woven fabrics. For knit I've used the Figgy's circle skirt tutorial in the past (but can't find it now). Both the minky and elastic are from Joann's.

After her surgery I found out that normal sleeves just wouldn't fit, I saw the opportunity to finally sew the red riding hood cape from the oliver + s Little Things to Sew book. I used the minky again and some thinner pink fleece from 'da stash (bought a couple years ago from the Rain Shed) that Stella also got to pick out. I put buttons on both sides so it's reversible. It's lovely! I'm glad I had a reason to sew this pattern.

Stella didn't want to model it, but Charlotte did!

Hey, that's a cupcake. I need to eat that.

Yep. Tastes good.

Often people look at me in amazement when Stella tells them I made something she's wearing and say, "When do you have time for that?" I usually just give a non-committal stutter and say something like, "Oh, well, you know..". The truth is that I make time for it. It's important to me and makes me happy, so I make time for it. I don't really understand why sewing in the evenings when my hubby's at work, or squeezing in a seam here and there throughout the day helps me feel better. You'd think getting adequate sleep would be a better option. Ha. Before we had kids, gardening filled that creative/constructive role for me, but gardening is much harder to do after the kids go to bed (or with the kids awake). I feel like I'm spinning my wheels when all I get done is cleaning a house that will get dirty again, fixing meals that will need fixing again and washing endless laundry. Truly endless laundry. I don't really enjoy that stuff anyway, and, consequently, I'm not very good at it. But sewing? I have great love for the struggle and triumph of sewing.

Where was I going with that? Ah yes, sewing these items helped me cope with my baby breaking her arm and having surgery for placing pins. Man, that would have been a faster way to write that.

(She's doing great now and all healed up.) Here's a couple extra cute kid photos just for fun.

Blurry, but sister love is so cute!

Easter duds: Bess top and Garden Party dress

One more sewing resolution is in the books! I made a Bess top for myself and finished it up the night before Easter. Earlier that day, I decided Stella needed a new dress. Yeah, sometimes I'm irrational. It was mostly done by Sunday morning, but done enough to wear. The ridiculous thing is that one thing lead to another and we didn't even make it to church. Boo! We were running normally late and then Charlotte got into the ashes in the fireplace and made a terrific mess. So we just wore our new duds to the family celebration.

Here's some pictures of my Bess top (there's a mini pattern review at the very bottom):

A close-up of the neat shoulder construction.

A back shot. I had no idea my elbows looked like that. Weird.

And some pics of Stella's late night dress.

And I've started just painting the size on my handmades with fabric paint. As my sewing is getting more prolific, I'm not remembering what size stuff is and that makes organizing it for Charlotte to wear trickier. Tags are needed. I made a bunch of tags by painting (with a toothpick) on twill tape I got from piggy and dirt on etsy, then I realized I could just skip the twill tape step and mimic store-bought clothes. We'll see how it holds up in the wash.

 

 Check out the first thread button loop I've ever made. I liked it as a closure! So delicate.

As with all Oliver + s patterns I've made, the Garden Party dress was pretty wonderful and has a great shape. This one was a fairly fast sew, too. I made a 3T width with extra length and added pockets. The floral fabric was won in a giveaway from Climbing the Willow awhile ago and it just screamed, "Make me into a garden party dress for Easter!" When fabric screams, it's good to listen. Also good to go to bed.

Here's a couple (okay, a lot) of Stella wearing the dress and the girls hunting Easter eggs (actually the the next Sunday. Charlotte is wearing one of my faves (from Ross) that Stella also wore for Easter one year.

 

That is the only way Char would hold her basket. It was so cute.

 

(She's putting more in her sister's basket, not stealing them.)

And a failed family selfie...

Mini pattern review: Bess top from Imagine Gnats

Size made: 12 (I measured a 14 but the consensus from the blogosphere indicated that I might like the fit better if I sized down and it proved true.)

Time spent: Three evenings. One for pattern and fabric cutting, two for sewing.

Fabric and notions: Lisette voile from Joann's clearance rack (score!) and ancient bias tape (I didn't have any matching jersey).

Thoughts: This was a lovely pattern to start my handmade wardrobe with! I will certainly use it again, and I'm not pleased with my bias binding skills so I might try the jersey binding technique the pattern recommends. I cut a tunic, but it was a bit too shapeless, so I trimmed it to a tee and like the shape on me better. I think it would be really fun to add a front placket using the nursing top modifications you and mie used.

Thanks for stopping by!

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I made something for myself!

This is the first item of clothing I've made for myself that fits and I actually like and wear!

I bought the Sew Simple Leggings by So Sew Easy last Fall when Indiesew had a promotion going on. I think they were $2.40 or something like that. Regularly $2.95. Hallelujah! And the instructions are fantastic with all the necessary measurements so you can adapt the pattern to fit your body. There's even a video to make sure you measure the right spots.

(See, good for yoga)

It might be a little strange, but I don't have a full length mirror. If I want to see what my shoes look like with an outfit, I stand on the toilet. So getting pictures of leggings meant pulling out this half mirror that we inherited with the house. Unfortunately, there aren't any good rooms in the house for taking pictures, so you'll have to take my word on it that the leggings look and fit like leggings should.

Flirting with herself and proof the mirror was clean when we started. She's holding the evidence.

Baby yoga is cuter.

I really like the whole leggings look and the comfort of them, but the ones I've bought from big box stores hit me right across my muffin top. I've got a long torso, and my baby leftovers have staked their claim on my belly and love handles. (Dieting would probably help with that, but I really hate dieting.) The extra inches on my belly combined with my skinny butt make pants have to fight for their lives to stay up, and I spend quite a bit of time while jogging janking my pants up. It's frustrating, and I don't need any more hurdles to getting motivated to exercise.

A little rabbit trail about body image -- I'm trying really hard to like my body the way it is. I'd like to lose some weight for the sake of fitting into more of my own clothes, but I'm not spending time doing P90x workout videos like I did after Stella was born. I am trying to fit in exercise when I can, because it's important to be healthy and strong, but I'm not stressing about it. My motivation to improve the way I feel about my body is my children. I want my girls (and any future boys) to have an example of a momma who is comfortable and strong in the body God gave her. Who is fine being an XL. A momma who is not denying herself delicious, nourishing food, or making exercising a priority over family time. I get it if it's someone's chosen self-care, but I already have sewing :)

To try to make pants capable of staying up, I lengthened the rise so they would sit at my waist. It feels funny to wear such high-waisted bottoms not pregnant, but they're so comfy.



Highwaisted, underwear lines and fingerprints.

Sewing workout leggings was one of my sewing goals for 2015 and I actually sewed them on New Year's Eve of 2014. (And they are getting blogged about now. Oh well.) But, the first time out jogging they failed! I didn't make the elastic tight enough. So, I cut a couple holes in the waistband and threaded a spare shoelace through. Now, when I go for a jog I just cinch those suckers up and they don't have a chance of falling down. Then I can loosen them up during non-workout wear so I don't lose feeling in my legs if I sit down.  

I love jogging in these. (Okay, that's a lie. I don't hate jogging as much when I'm wearing these.) It's amazing how much nicer jogging is when I'm not afraid that at any moment I will be mooning people.

Pattern: Sew Simple Leggings by So Sew Easy

Sizing: Really extensive sizing chart and they fit well.

Material used: Performance knit from Joann's. A really nice weight for winter. Warm with a comfy brushed interior, but not hot. These also make an excellent base layer.

Notions needed: Elastic and I added a drawstring

Appropriately rated: Yes. Rated beginner and a great beginner project.

Time spent: Took an hour or so measuring and grading the pattern and then another hour cutting, sewing and adjusting. The next pair will be much quicker.

Modifications: I lengthened the rise and added a drawstring.

Comments: This pattern is great and for the price you can't help but add it to your pattern library!

Broken arm-friendly dress modifications

When Project Run and Play announced the Knot Dress from the Sewing Rabbit as the March challenge, I knew I wanted to play along. I actually bought the pattern as part of a sew fab pattern bundle a few years ago, but it was re-released as a free pattern last month. It hadn't been on the top of my sewing list simply because there are just so many things on my sewing list, but then Stella broke her arm (falling off the couch - so original) around the same time the challenge was posted.

You might be wondering why those events are connected, but I soon discovered that only tank tops would fit over her cast, and only a couple dresses. A dress that fastened at the shoulder? Perfect!

So I printed the pattern and picked out some fabric from the stash (flannel shirting from Joann's), and geared up to sew. I already knew I would omit the back cutout and knot to make it more Pacific NW spring weather appropriate, but then I completely changed my mind. I started thinking about the tulip sleeve from the Oliver + s Fairy Tale dress (blogged here), and the lapped shoulders from the Figgy's Sunki dress I just made. And couldn't stop thinking about it. The construction could be really fun. Plus, I felt like a short sleeve would be truly more weather appropriate. That's the wonderful thing about sewing, you get inspired and then adapt to your needs!

Check out that giant elbow on the cast. Not sleeve friendly!

So I traced some pattern pieces and adapted them, added some snaps to the shoulder and added the knot dress skirt. The shoulders could probably use a couple buttons to keep from pulling up as you can see in the picture, but I didn't have anything just right in my button jar, so that'll have to wait for the next Joann's trip. I had to slim down the knot straps so they would work in thick flannel (found that out after securely sewing them to the skirt at midnight last night), and rounded the corners so they looked better with the rest of the dress. Flannel was not the most fun fabric to sew this in, but it's really comfy!

 

Love that tulip sleeve!

It's extremely twirly (thank you selvage to selvage skirt pieces) so Stella LOVES it.

You know it's twirly enough when it shows your undies.



The sun came out and I didn't adjust my settings so this photo is overexposed, but this is the best front view.

If you'd like to know in more detail how I made the dress, let me know in the comments and I'll write
up some more details and post some in-progress pics.

I've loved looking through the linky party. So many great creations!

If you'd like to see more of my creations, make sure to Follow my blog with Bloglovin (or the email option on the sidebar). I love bloglovin! It's an incredibly simple way to quickly keep up with a ton of awesome blogs.

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Pattern review: Sunki dress by Figgy's

I bought the paper version of Figgy's Sunki dress and leggings on sale when Fabric Stash remodeled their website and became Urban Sew. I've purchased fabric from them a few times and I'm always happy with the price and quality. A portion of their sales goes to foster kids! (I'm not an affiliate, promise, just like their store and story.)

Then it sat. I took it out from time to time, wondering what fabric to use. One night I read the directions for a little bedtime reading.

Finally, inspiration struck and I realized the modern lines would perfectly balance out the almost too cutesy stretch denim I bought at Joann's over a year ago. Then I looked through my stash to find the right solid to colorblock the shoulders with (because there would be upside-down hearts due to the neat lapped shoulder construction and that wouldn't do) and rediscovered this awesome neon pink. And then the Monday before Valentine's Day, I realized I was making a dress with hearts on it and should hurry up and get it done.

But, I got sick and lost all ability to be productive. Wah wah wah (that's me making an annoying crying sound). The dress got finished on the Sunday after Valentine's Day, but it ended up working out because it's too big! I'm putting it away in her box of too-big clothes for next Fall.

Stella definitely had to be bribed to put it on for pictures. Her comments about it were: "It doesn't twirl." "Why did you put hearts on it?" (Because I thought she's love them), and "Can I wear the new twirly skirt you made for me now?"

Pattern: Sunki Dress by Figgy's patterns

Sizing: Chest and hip measurements fell in the 2/3 (barely), but height fell in the 4/5 range. Usually I would cut the width of the pattern pieces to the 2/3 lines and length to the 4/5 lines or add length in the middle to accommodate my daughter's long torso, but I couldn't wrap my sinus-congested brain around how to do that with these pattern pieces. So somehow I thought just sizing up to a straight 4/5 would work. Silly me.

Long story short, I made a 4/5 and added 7/8" in length by adding a hem facing.

Material used: Stretch denim from Joann's and quilting cotton from my stash.

Notions needed: A zipper and thread. I also used double-sided interfacing for the applique hearts.

Appropriately rated: No rating. The instructions were pretty good for a Figgy's pattern, so I think an adventurous beginner could handle it.

Time spent: 5-6 hours after I finally started? Pretty fast.

Modifications: I wanted an exposed zipper, so I followed this tutorial. It was my first! I'll try a different tutorial next time (maybe this one, or this one) as I wasn't very happy with the results.

As previously mentioned, I didn't want to have upside down hearts so I colorblocked the shoulders, and I added a hem facing to add length.

Also, I added a couple appliqued hearts to the hem because the dress told me too.

Comments: I'm not sure how I feel about the dress. It has some really interesting features (pleated sleeves, side panels with pockets and lapped shoulders) and looked lovely on the hanger. I think I will like it better when it actually fits her! Also, this will be a cool pattern for when the girls are older and out of the twirly dress phase.  

Mademoiselle muscle tee flip

Project Run & Play is one of those events in the sewing blogosphere that I like to watch but rarely join in on. This time it worked out to sew along because Stella is rapidly growing out of her tee shirts! Also, it fit well with the flip this pattern challenge over at Frances Suzanne because the challenge this month is to use a free pattern (although I didn't end up using the pattern, so I'm not sure how well it fits).

This month the Project Run & Play challenge was to use the Mademoiselle Muscle Tee from Living with Punks as inspiration. I loved the version she made with the striped neck and arm bands cut on the bias. The pattern is a size 5, so rather than size it down, I used it as inspiration and drafted my own. This is what I came up with.

 

It's far from perfect and barely long enough to be functional, but I'm proud of it anyway. It's the first clothing item I've drafted from scratch! I could have used a bodice pattern I already had, but I wanted it to be free, and I've wanted to try my hand at drafting a pattern for awhile anyway. I grabbed one of Stella's knit dresses to trace for the bodice and then I freehanded the sleeves and peplum. It's an awful lot like several patterns I've made, but after awhile they all are. And it turned out okay! (The arm bands could have been a couple inches shorter.)

Stella hated it. As in, even though I told her it was just a shirt before putting it on her, she ran around screaming that it wasn't a twirly dress! Sometimes she makes sewing a little less fun. Also, I think I probably need to start letting her have a little input into the design for it to be fun for her.

One last totally unrelated thing. I ran across something awesome on my facebook feed last night. It's the non-profit organization Days for Girls, that delivers handmade (by folks like you and me) reusable pads to girls in developing nations that don't have access to tampax and always. Without them, they end up staying home from work or school when it's their time of the month. I have a bunch of leftover PUL from making diapers and I'm adding this to my sewing resolutions this year. A way to make a difference using my sewing skills? Awesome! If you have leftover PUL or are just curious, go check it out!





 

Pattern testing and how I sew with knits (and break the rules)

Over the past month, I've had the pleasure of testing a new mini collection of patterns for Jenn of Jennuine Design.

The Havens Acre Blouse, Dressage Leggings and Sweet Pea Hat (sized newborn to 12 years) are perfect together and are all on sale this week! 20% off through this Sunday, February 15th. The patterns were tested extensively, so you can be sure you are getting a terrific pattern! Jenn was great about answering questions, too.

The blouse is really unique and so very romantic. I think I'll make these in every size until Stella grows out of the pattern range. I loved the keyhole and the sleeves and the gathered waist and the flounce. Adorable. It came together really quickly, too. The construction was really well thought out! Definitely one of those easier-than-it-looks sew. I used a really lightweight cotton from my stash for my first version and a cotton/poly jersey without much stretch from Girl Charlee for my next version(doesn't look like they have it in the same color anymore, but they have it in other colors). Both fabrics worked well for the blouse.

The dressage leggings are so fun and the directions include a flat-felled option to make them look even more like the real deal. A basic legging pattern is also included. (I think everyone needs a good legging pattern. Yes, you can hack a pattern from an existing pair of leggings, but this takes the guesswork out!) I used two ponte de romas, again from Girl Charlee, and while I would recommend sewing these up with a ponte, I wouldn't recommend these. They pilled terribly, even though I hung them to dry. Has anyone found a source for ponte de romas that don't pill?

The hat was also adorable. This was made for Stella, but she refused to wear it after I made it. Ugh. So nevermind that it doesn't fit Charlotte, and that she's making that face. It was surprisingly quick to sew, and I loved Jenn's tip on improvising a tailor's ham. I used corduroy from an old pair of cords, and scraps from my stash. I used Pellon 72F for interfacing the brim, and it was sturdy enough for me.

Now a few words and a picture about how I sew with knit fabric. After a couple tries, I wasn't satisfied with how my garments looked with the zigzag method, didn't like how difficult it was to keep the top and bottom fabrics feeding through the machine at the same speed and I hadn't gathered the motivation to learn how to run my serger yet. Then I stumbled on a blog post (maybe on Burdastyle? I wish I'd saved it) that said to use a long straight stitch and just stretch the fabric as you go. Since everything I'd read said be careful not to stretch the fabric I dismissed it and carried on with the dissatisfying zigzag method. Finally, I tried it. And I love it.

Guys, I sew my knits with a long straight stitch while stretching the fabric.

Crazy, right? Well, I've been doing it for 6 months and many pairs of leggings, a coat and a few shirts and it's been fine. No popped stitches and it looks so nice. (I also lower the presser foot tension and use a ballpoint needle as generally recommended.)

The seam stays stretchy because when you pull on the fabric (about as much as it comfortably stretches, just sew a pair of leggings to get the hang of it), it makes the long stitch on the stretched fabric that then gets shorter when the fabric is at rest. It looks like this on the backside.

See how the stitch is all wobbly? That's where the ease in the seam is. (And, by the way, I sew with regular polyester Coat's thread.) The topstitch looks normal, not wobbly at all.

I have discovered a downside: The stitches can get really short depending on how much the fabric needs to be stretched and it's a paaaain to rip the stitches out if anything needs changing. I would recommend zigzagging to baste a seam if you aren't sure about fit. Another caveat is that I haven't tried this method with extra-stretchy lightweight knits and I imagine those seams could get a bit wavy.

Let me know if you try this method out or have any questions! And don't forget to check out the Haven Acres Collection and the other blogs (Annika and Chelsie) on the tour today.