At home by the Baye

Doesn't everyone keep their plastic ziploc bags in the sewing/craft room?

2012-02-01T13:07:00.002-05:00

I was at the tail end of cleaning up my accumulation of patterns and such when I had an epiphany. I was about to make my fourth trip downstairs to get another ziploc bag to hold bits and pieces of cut patterns, directions, or fabric when I decided a box of bags should be IN the sewing room.

Now, there's only one box of these bags in the house which was in the kitchen where other people keep them. However, I only occasionally use them there to store leftovers. For that I can just say, "Honey, run upstairs and get me a zip lock bag, will ya." To the inevitable whining that will ensue about keeping the bags where normal people do, I intend to respond with, "I get enough exercise shopping for fabric and running it through the machine. What are you trying to do kill me? Isn't there some sport on television that you should be watching when we're finished cleaning up here?" The sports line is what will do it. This man has been known to watch curling even before Stephen Colbert made it hip--well, as hip as curling can be.

Sarong Swimsuit Cover

2012-01-31T14:38:00.003-05:00

After the panty purse, it was time to do something I will actually use. With my vacation around the corner, I finally made this sarong I found in a Sew Stylish magazine a while back.

It can be worn several ways. Here are a couple more pics from the magazine:

The article also mentioned folding down the top edge before tying if you want it shorter which is nice with the contrasting fabrics or using it as a shawl.

Here's mine. My usual ~~victim~~ model, Melissa, wasn't available, so this will have to do.

It looks much better on. Unfortunately, I've not figured out how to take pics of myself in an outfit! The photo doesn't do the material justice either, so I'm including a couple of close-ups. It is a Simply Silky design from Joann's.

The sarong is made from two 40x64" rectangles of lightweight, drapable fabric. You can see how the fabric is folded to 32 inches to cut the curve in the second pic above. Then you just sew the two pieces right sides together around the edges leaving an opening to turn. The seams on the one in the magazine seemed to fall better than mine. You can see the slight puff that material has at the seams better in this photo:

My material didn't hang as well. I decided to do a 1/4" top stitch all the way around which I like much better. While I like the fabric, I wish I had more choices available locally. I really need to get down to New York City to check out some of the garment district stores I've read about. I'm a couple of hours away and have never made a fabric run. Anyone with fabric store suggestions please feel free to share with us in the comments!

Yeah, It's a Panty Purse

2012-01-29T19:49:00.002-05:00

My husband's first reaction: "Are you really gonna be whipping that out
of your purse?"

How does one go from posting the elegant little Japanese knot bag to a panty bag in a matter of days? It's Sandra of SuddenlySandra.blogspot.com 's fault because she made some of these that were so freakin' cute I had to give it a try, too.

Look--all lined and everything!

Sandra also nicely directed me to the free pattern and tutorial. It's in Chinese, but Google Translator translates well enough to get the idea. If you've not done a lined, zippered bag before, check out a YouTube video tutorial or two. That should be enough for anyone to give this a try. I enlarged it to use with the 7" zipper on hand.

Before you get started, stop here to see Sandra's versions. She has all kinds of little extras that make these even more special.

Do You Use Dryer Sheets to Clean Your Shower Doors??

2012-01-27T16:37:00.004-05:00

I saw this idea on a blog and thought, "Yeah, maybe your shower doors, but my water is beyond hard. No way that will work for me." I usually have to use cleaners that require rubber gloves, bleach the color out of any clothes or towels within splatter-shot, and smell as though one should be advised to wear a gas mask and have the windows open. I was desperate enough to give this dryer sheet thing a try. On my first attempt I didn't even bother to take before pictures. I was that sure it would not work. It worked.

I took pics the second time I used them. Here's the before:

And after:

Oh, no, that is not with the shower door open.

Look at this shine:

This is what that area looked like before:

I have a certain amount of guilt because of the disposable factor with the the dryer sheets. I try not to use things that are disposable if I can avoid it. I don't use dryer sheet for the laundry! I had to "borrow" some of them from Melissa for my first try. However, those strong chemicals can't be good for the environment either. Another great reason to use the dryer sheets is that I don't have to worry about the strong cleansers corroding the caulk around the tub and the metal fixtures as the labels threaten will happen. Avoiding leaks from worn caulk and extending the life of the fixtures is good for the environment, too.

The sheets work great on the sink and tub area easily cleaning off the tub ring, too. One sheet goes a long way. Melissa's were Bounce. I bought Target's brand which worked just as well.

While I still don't like cleaning the bathrooms, I don't dread cleaning them anymore. Try the dryer sheets if you haven't already.

Very Berry Handmade Giveaway

2012-01-26T10:19:00.001-05:00

I've been doing a weekly sewing challenge this month with Sew Much 2 Luv which is about to come to an end. It has been wonderful to have the encouragement to actually get some sewing projects completed, comments from other sewers about my projects, and, most of all, seeing all the projects of the other participants. No housework getting done, but I'm so happy to be checking off a few things on my long list of projects.

In search of more sewing encouragement, I stumbled upon the Very Berry Handmade Giveaway: Resolved to Sew 2012. The fabric for the giveaway is so beautiful, bright, and cheery! There's even some crushed walnut shells for stuffing pin cushions. I've steered away from making pin cushions because I like the rough grains in the manufactured ones. Who knew you could get crushed walnut shells to stuff them?

Check it out and join in! Just click on the link above or here.

Newest Member of the Crew

2012-01-25T22:57:00.002-05:00

That's Kelsey, Kiefer's girlfriend holding one of her Christmas presents. His name is Cooper. Doesn't he look sweet there? Actually he is a little devil who runs around so much it has taken me this long to get a picture of him that doesn't look like this:

or this:

How does he move so fast that he looks like a ghost dog?

Here's the real Cooper:

So, how long does this puppy stage last???

He does sleep sometimes--kind of:

Oh, don't let that sweet little face fool you. He's just worn out from attacking everyone and everything.

Japanese Knot Bag

2012-01-25T22:26:00.000-05:00

After the dragon stuffie, I needed something nice and easy. This pattern is from Helen Heath's blog, Show Your Workings, and it's free!

This is what it looks like opened:

You slide the longer loop handle through the shorter one. You can put your hand through the longer loop and let it hang on your arm or wrist. The pattern at Helen site has pics of her. This was so quick and easy! Check out the pattern. It's such a cool little bag.

The Dragon Has Arrived - Review of DIY Fluffies Yoki the Dragon Pattern

2012-01-24T22:38:00.002-05:00

I'm naming him Skye Blue (Yes, I am name stealing from Beyonce)

My very first dragon and likely my last. This was from a pattern, DIY Fluffies Yoki the Dragon. I paid $9 to find out that I would need to draw in the one centimeter seam allowance on most of the pieces. What an absolute pain that was! Some pieces such as the arms and wings could just be traced onto the fabric with that being the sewing line. Most of the larger body pieces, though, are sewn to other curvy pieces. The seam allowance is not only essential, but needs to be exact. Why create a pattern with sewing lines rather than seam allowance lines??? I also needed to figure out placement of the wings, arms, eyes and nostrils--no nice little dots marked on the pattern pieces. Also no nice little dots to match one pattern piece to another.

After making about 40 stuffed creatures last year, I felt I would easily be up to this, but I found the pattern to be confusing or vague in several essential places. I finally blew the pattern up to twice the size (if I'm going to do this work, I want a good size beast to show for it), ignored half the directions, and improvised. Some of the changes were to make it more kid friendly. The original seems more like a "I'm going to sit on the shelf stuffie" rather than a "I'm going to get dragged around by the ear" one. I started to write up the changes and take pics, but this would have been one very long post. Should you decide to make one and have questions, I'd be happy to share.

This is the third time in the past few years that I've gotten a pattern from a small company only to find that I am going to be doing a lot of work to actually have usable pattern pieces. Too bad we can't see what's inside before purchasing them.

The Butterfly Cabinet, A Novel by Bernie McGill

2012-01-18T13:04:00.007-05:00

I loved this book despite it's dark theme. The Butterfly Cabinet is loosely based on an actual incident that happened in l892 in Ireland. A well-to-do mother is accused of having caused the death of her child. The chapters alternate between a woman, now in her nineties, who was employed in the house at the time of the death and the prison diary of the mother. While the central mystery revolves around coming to understand what really happened that day, much of the writing brings the reader to understand why it happened, what about these characters brought them to their actions on that day.

To me McGill's is descriptive writing at it finest. With some authors, you see the descriptive writing. It jumps out at you. It is distracting. I'm usually thinking about the fact that the the author is working at being descriptive rather than focusing on the story. In this book, however, you see the story. It unfolds tugging your emotions in countless directions. Just when you think you know a character, McGill gives you more information forcing you to rethink your previous conclusions.

The only negative for me was that the modern day story (well, if you can call 1968 modern;-}) is hardly developed. The book is comparatively short. There was certainly room for showing how these past events affect later generations. The main story line, though, is well worth the read.

It's a great choice for a book club because McGill does not force answers on the reader. She presents the information. We decide--and it's not as easy as it sounds. It's the kind of story you think about long after finishing the book. I don't often push for books in my book club, but this is one I'd love to delve into with others. You can click on the book cover below to see what Amazon reviewers have to say. If you do read it, let me know what you think.

Hood from Simplicity 5857

2012-01-14T18:55:00.001-05:00

This is what you do when your resident model is still sleeping and you
want to get a photo of the new hood. Kinda creepy, isn't it?

This hood is from the same pattern I used for the beret last week. I wanted this to wear with a couple of my jackets that don't have hoods. I love both hats and hoods, but I tend to lose my hats when shopping. With this I can just push it back while I'm at the mall or getting groceries.

The pattern called for fleece, but I went with a corduroy and silky lining. I wanted it to lie flatter when I push it back. While there is no give when sliding it over the head, there was more than enough room for me to get it on and off comfortably. I will admit to having a bit of a pinhead, though. If you try the pattern in a material that doesn't have stretch, do a muslin first to be sure it will be okay for you.

Here is it on the in-house model, Melissa.

I love this fabric! It's from Joann's. Those embroidered bits look so much better in person. By the time I went back to buy more, it was gone! Maybe it will be back next year--I do hope so anyway.

Beret from Simplicity Pattern

2012-01-09T14:17:00.001-05:00

You have no idea how long I've been hanging on to this pattern (Simplicity Accessories 5857). This month's sewing challenge from Sew Much 2 Luv has given me the push to actually accomplish a few things. All the waiting to do this and it took about an hour from reading the pattern to finishing the sewing. I used a small piece of leftover fleece from last year's scarf.

Thanks to Melissa for modeling for me as always. There she was trying to eat breakfast, and I have her posing for me. (How does someone look this good right after getting up in the morning?)

You can join the challenge any week this month. No need to do it every week. Give it a go if you have some sewing project in the works or just go see what everyone's been up to. I've gotten so many great ideas and found great new blogs while wandering through the entries.

The Gym Bag is Finished!!

2012-01-05T17:42:00.006-05:00

I'm trying to do the after Christmas sewing challenge with Sew Much To Luv. I did NOT think I'd pull this week of, but I did it! This is from a Mackerilla Design pattern called Cruzer and Little Cru. This is the Cruzer version.

I love this bag! It has an open pocket divided into two on this side. And the other side has a zippered pocket--first time I've sewn one. Not hard at all.

There are side pockets for my water bottles/glasses/whatever-I'm draggin'.

You can see the zippered top flap and lining in this pic.

This is a great pattern on so many levels. It's a great bag with all kinds of pockets. It can be used as a backpack or over the shoulder. The instructions are simple and detailed enough even for the pattern-challenged like me. This pushed me into trying new techniques and working with new materials including a couple of stabilizers. (It doesn't require multiple kinds of stabilizers. I just wanted to try a few out.)

The only problem I had was finding the hardware. Heads up: go find the hardware before cutting the material for the straps. Changing the width of the straps to accommodate what your sewing center has available is much easier than trooping off to every possible store and combing the internet to find the right size. I could not find 1-1/4" loops or sliders. I could have purchased them online, but the shipping charges were outrageous. One inch sliders worked, but I couldn't get one inch loops in the same color. I finally used one and a half inch loops that are fine. I'm sure that no one will notice that the loops are slightly too large and wider than the sliders but me.

Join in the challenge! Click here.

Storing the Christmas Tree

2012-01-02T09:18:00.001-05:00

Do you know how many years I spent sorting all the tree branches into piles according to the color on the tips before I could set up the tree? I'd tell you but it would be embarrassing. Now I do this:

When I take the tree down, each color set of branches is tied together with twine.
All the red branches are together, all the blue, and on and on.
So much easier to set up the next year. Tie it with a bow so that it is easy
to undo next year.

So get out the supplies:

You all do have your string in a nice little plastic container with a hole in the
top already, right? If you're smarter than me, you will only need to
do this once. You will store the string in the empty box for reuse
when taking down the tree rather than misplacing it.

Press all those branches together so they store compactly. (You are going to have to fluff them out next year anyway).

Make sure to fill the sides of the container not just the middle! Push the set in there to the side and squeeze in the next set.

See all that wasted space? Press this one to the side and put the next one in
that space. They will hold each other in place.

Let's talk tree storage container now. We used the original box for our first artificial tree for a couple of years before it fell apart. Then the hubster built a beautiful scrap wood and particle board box. That was great until the pipe broke and flooded the basement. Wood and water are not a good mix. Now we use two large plastic boxes. You need to be sure at least one of the boxes (if you need more than one) is long enough for the longest piece of center pole. Remember, though, that the pole pieces can go in diagonally up and down with the branches stuffed in around it. Measure the inside of the box inside diagonally before buying it.

If you have a minute, let me know when you take down your tree in the comment section. I've been accused on doing it too soon. I try to have it down by the first. Too soon???

Storing Christmas Lights

2012-01-01T13:03:00.002-05:00

Often Christmas light come crammed in little boxes that will never again hold them. I bought more lights this year, so I thought I would show you my solution for keeping them tangle free:

Take one of those many corrugated boxes that are left from the holidays and
cut out a nice square that is strong and not bending. You want it to be pretty
solid. Mine are about 15x10 but they can be a little longer or shorter. Be sure
they are not so long that they bend, though. Then cut two slits about
2-1/2 inches long on each end.

Now fold those center flaps you made under on each side. I don't cut them off
because I don't want to chance weakening the edge pieces.
The edges will keep the lights from falling off the board. You certainly
could cut them if you prefer it.

Cut a small slit into one of the uncut long sides, and slide the beginning of the
light string in it.

Now start rolling in that center cut section. Just walk around the tree and roll as
you go. You can fit quite a bit on.

Once it's full, make another small cut in the side and slide in the end piece. I
have it marked with"start" to make it easier to know where to begin unwinding when hanging
lights the next year.

They may look bulky, but they unroll easily. When I'm putting the lights on the tree,
I unroll a bit and stick the cardboard piece between the branches until I'm ready for more.
Hopefully this will make the "undecorating" just a bit easier for you!

Wishing You a Happy Holiday Season!

2011-12-24T15:43:00.000-05:00

I love my tree this year, but then I love it every year. If you noticed that the manger is sitting in a massive amount of fake snow, I take no responsibility for it. The kids helped me decorate this year. The youngest is about to turn 21 next month, and, still, they manage to act like, well, children. The only difference is that they now bring their mates to join in their shenanigans.

Wishing You a Exciting Holiday Season

and New Year!

The Newest Apron

2011-12-17T21:29:00.000-05:00

I've finally got some sewing finished. This is a late birthday gift for the younger son's girlfriend--only a little late, though.

Kelsey is in culinary school, hence the culinary queen. I had to go look up my own apron tutorial created when I made my other son's fiance's apron. So nice to have a blog to keep all these things. It's a quick and easy project if you want to try one. The tutorial is here.

We also got Kelsey a bead for her Pandora bracelet. That's what is tucked in the little pocket. It's the ladybug bead in red. Pandora has made my life so much easier. I can always find a new bead for the girls to add to their collections.

The Stuffed Animal Tree Skirt

2011-12-16T11:51:00.002-05:00

Wondering what to do with all those stuffed animals and dolls that the kids have outgrown? You might want to pack them away. They make a great tree skirt. I packed away the stuffies and dolls that my kids especially loved and, at some point, started putting them under the tree at Christmas. There is nothing better during the holidays than listening to my kids reminisce about them.

Keegan's beloved Jeremy Fisher frog,

Kiefer's Bunny and Julia for whom I had to make up countless stories for bedtime,

And Kyle's cowbunnies that I made during his cowboy phase are all part of the collection. The cowbunnie hats didn't survive but they still have their bandit scarves. These were bad cowbunnies complete with black hats.

Who remembers Lamb Chop? There is a well-worn puppet version and one from Macy's (obviously with the name right on the hat!) under our tree.

There are couples under there:

Families:

And this menage a trois that resulted from a misunderstanding about who was buying what. Now that I have seen Sister Wives, I refer to this set as Brother Husbands.

As the collection grew, I realized the tree skirt was wasted--you couldn't see it at all. The toys became the tree skirt. They all squash down nicely in a plastic box for storage taking up surprisingly little space, too. Besides, the original tree skirt while nice, never stirred up fond memories and got everyone talking.

What are all those holiday tins under the tree? I started using the too-cute-to-discard holiday tins to store delicate ornaments before packing them into the big boxes. The ornaments get unpacked and hung, the tins are scattered in with the stuffies, and they are right under the tree when it's time to put ornaments away. I know I could refill them with home-made treats to give others. However, I love baking about as much as I love cleaning toilets. No, I'd rather clean toilets really. Holiday baking just ain't happenin' in my house. Now that I've said that I am reminded that I promised to make another gingerbread house this year. Why do I do these things? Must get back to work.

Experimenting with Glitter Ornaments

2011-12-03T09:26:00.003-05:00

How cool is that!

I've been filling clear glass and plastic ornaments with glitter using Mop & Glo floor wax as the adhesive. I bought a giant pack of Martha Stewart's glitter. This one to be exact:

I like the solid colored balls such as these:

but I decided to try mixing it up as I did with the painted balls such as this on in previous years.

Here are some of the results.

This is with two colors dropped in carefully on each side before
shaking. I used a funnel at first as most tutorials suggest,
but found that the glitter drops in pretty neatly with the bottle
top off.

This had a number of colors placed in separately.
I like the swirl that resulted.

This had much more of the purple with another color.
Again. I put them in separately.

Then I took the bottles with just a bit of glitter left and shook them together in a bottle before putting the glitter in to see how that would work. Here are a few of those:

These look much better than they appear in the pics. Some of these are just two colors. Others are a mix of four or five that show clearly up close.

I was a bit worried about doing this with the plastic balls, but they worked out great. They have some give when you press on them, but the glitter stays on perfectly.

Some tips:

Mop & Glo works great! I found that rolling the wax around for a minute, draining it completely, and putting the glitter in immediately provided much better adhesiveness than letting the wax sit even for a short time.
Very fine glitter works best. I'm sure it doesn't need to be Martha's. Martha does, however, have the best color choices. Michael's and Joann's carry it. With their coupons, you can get it for a great price. Of course, if someone knows of another company with 24 colors including lapis lazuli, peridot, yellow barite, and fire opal, I'd love to know about it.
I found that letting the finished balls sit for a half an hour before putting the tops on carefully was sufficient. I didn't have one incident of glitter being scratched off.

I'm feeling a need to get back to making more sock creatures now. Hopefully I will be able to post about that soon!

The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women: A Portable Mentor by Gail McMeekin

2011-11-13T09:14:00.001-05:00

Bloggers and blog readers are creative people. They just have to be. Bloggers share their thoughts and ideas and readers are looking for inspiration. Often readers are bloggers or would be if they had more time. Time. Therein lies the creative dilemma for most of us. Finding time, using it effectively, overcoming the guilt we often feel for doing something creative when we think we should be doing more "useful" things. Who hasn't had this problem?

Gail McMeekin's book, The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women, is filled with explanations of how we can nourish our creativity effectively. McMeekin looks at many things that affect our ability to unleash our creativity including the innate differences in male/female thinking and cultural influences that are so ingrained we may well not realize how they are affecting our decision-making. Through the lives, thoughts, and experiences of many women who have succeeded in creative endeavors, McMeekin offers countless ideas for setting up our lives to encourage our creative talents.

I don't know how I missed this book before! The one I just got is the tenth anniversary edition. There is so much inspiring, profound, and just plain useful information in this book. I'm getting copies for all the females in my family for Christmas. How great if the young ones begin their adult lives knowing they deserve to take the time to nurture their creativity. What great things might come of expanding our views of women's roles in society and what great new cultural traditions we might pass down for future generations.

.

Review of Uptown Coat Pattern from Favorite Things

2011-11-06T08:12:00.004-05:00

I have a beautiful jacket almost completed. I'm right down to the buttons and hemming. Unfortunately, I just cannot make it fit well. I used my measurements to decide on the size which turned out to be too big on the muslin piece. I made the next size down, and it still does not look right in the chest area. It looks great on the hanger--just not on ME.

I do need a better camera. These fabric look so much richer in person.
I have no idea why those white spots are there in the photo either!

Other reviewers said it was not for beginners, but I've had luck with a few clothing pieces before. I am not skilled enough, however, to know how to make the shoulders narrower without changing the rest of the fit down through the chest area. I also think I would also need to put in darts to get rid of the slight bunching in the front armpit area. Again, I don't know how to do this. I could probably start playing with it, but I really don't want to put this much time and effort into altering patterns.

I'm going to finish it and give it to the Goodwill shop. Someone out there may have the figure for it! For now I need to get back to my other sewing. I owe someone an apron and still have lots of dish towels and cloth napkins to get ready for holiday gifts.

Hand Washing Dishes is Dangerous

2011-10-21T21:42:00.000-04:00

Who knew washing dishes was a dangerous job! My dishwasher died, and I was a tad too zealous handwashing one of my glasses. It broke in my hand leaving a gash requiring seven stitches. Everything is taking at least twice as long to do including typing this.

There were some news shows a while ago saying that the "so-called poor" had luxuries including refrigerators, stoves, and air conditioners. Some even had automatic dishwashers! I'm not sure when stoves and refrigerators became luxury items, nor am I sure an air conditioner could necessarily be considered a luxury for the very young or old in a southern city in the summer months. Now I'm thinking I'm going to have to tell those news guys that automatic dishwashers not only save water, but may also prevent injuries. That dishwasher is looking less and less like a luxury to me.

Do Your Kids Ever Amaze You?

2011-10-16T10:50:00.002-04:00

Each of my kids has done things that have left me wondering how on earth this bright, creative, inspiring being came from me. With my son Kyle, it is often his writing. I know I said I would not post until my jacket was finished, but I have to share my son's short piece of poetry that author Claudia Ricci put up on her blog here.

Kyle sometimes shows me his work and sometimes not. This is one I had not seen before. It's the kind of writing that makes you stop and think about how you respond in certain situations, how you feel when you are in those situations. I don't think I will ever look at a dropped glove the same again. Stop and take a look. If you, too, can empathize, feel free to leave him a comment!

Sadly this is the ONLY picture I could find of Kyle where he wasn't posing in some outrageous way.

Now back to that jacket.

A Good Reason to Keep a Fabric Stash

2011-09-25T17:01:00.002-04:00

Most of the time I feel a bit of guilt when buying fabric that I really don't have a specific use for like this one.

My stash does tend to get out of control cuz while I'm often short of sewing time, I always manage to have shopping time. However, there was no way I was passing up this beautiful lining fabric at $1 a yard. There were two pieces of the same fabric, both marked "as is" $1 for 3 yards. I've checked the fabric over several times and have not found any flaws, though.

It's been sitting in the stash for over a year. Yesterday I found the most beautiful corduroy that would work perfectly for a jacket pattern that had been sitting here for about two years. Even better, the lining matches the corduroy! Yes! It was a great idea to buy it--not feeling any guilt now. Keeping a stash does pay off. These two were made for each other.

And the paisley and blue cords HAVE to be together in this jacket.

The paisley will just be on the bodice. No more computer until this jacket is finished. That should give me some incentive to git-er-done.

The pattern is still out there if you want to see it: http://www.favoritethings.net/patterns/wearables/uptown_coat

Sweatshirt Redo

2011-09-22T12:15:00.008-04:00

I'm loving this "new" sweatshirt! I need to get a dress form. This looks much better on, but I can't take my own pic without getting that annoying flash in the mirror.

I had one sweatshirt that was too tight on the bottom with rough, scratchy cuffs and one that had bleach marks on the arms. Being ~~cheap~~ frugal, I used the best of both to make one nice sweatshirt.

How to get an unusual sweatshirt with lettuce edged finish?

I took one sweatshirt and cut it off just above the point where it started getting tight. I also removed the cuffs on this one that were too rough and did a lettuce edge on the sleeves. I used my serger to get a slight lettuce edge effect on the sleeves, bottom edge of the top piece, and bottom of the added band. However, you can also do this with a regular machine by using a close, wide zigzag as you would when appliqueing. You MUST pull the fabric taut from the front and back while sewing this on a regular machine to get the effect and to keep the material from being pulled into the machine. Practice first!

Section cut off bottom of one sweatshirt

The 8" band added to the bottom was from the mid-section of the bleach-stained shirt that just happened to be the same shade of navy blue as the lettering on the first shirt and a good 4" wider. I cut this band so that it would flair out slightly toward the bottom. The band is the same width as the top piece where they meet and gets wider toward the bottom. I slanted my line out an inch on each side. It doesn't show well in the next photo but you get the idea, right? Gotta remember those hips. In fact you might want to have the back hang slightly longer if you are blessed with a...um...nice butt.

Just because I find it easier, I used Stitch Witchery ironed about an inch down from the top of the right side of the added band to hold the two pieces together rather than pinning. The Stitch Witchery goes on the outside of the added bottom band so that when you iron the two pieces together the right sides of each piece will be facing you. I hope this part isn't confusing. Let me know. Really, you are just sandwiching the edge of the added band with the adhesive ironed on inside the top shirt, straightening it out as you would like it and pressing according to the Stitch Witchery directions. Then you can sew the two pieces together. I doubt that Stitch Witchery is up to permanently holding the pieces together.

If you try this, you will have to determine how long you want the band to be based on the length of the top piece after you cut it and where you prefer the bottom to fall. Remember the band needs to be about 2 inches under the upper piece. You will sew about 1/2" down from the top of the added band. That way, you will not be sewing on the Stitch Witchery which could gum up your needle. It will also leave you with 1" of fabric that will be loose on top section so that the lettuce edge has room to "ruffle."

That's it! I might try something similar on some of my slightly shrunken t-shirts. Taking out the existing hems and ruffling the edge should be just enough to make some of them wearable again.

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That Baby Dress Really Needed this Hat, Didn't It?

2011-09-12T12:16:00.004-04:00

The finished dress from my last post was screaming that it needed a matching hat. I found a free pattern for this one on Prudent Baby.

Did I make changes? Of course I did. The pattern is designed so that the hat can be reversible, but I decided I wanted something at the top of the hat when it was finished. It needed more cuteness. My fabrics on each side were so similar that I decided to go for it. I put a fabric yo-yo on top:

I also wanted ties which the pattern didn't have. Since I originally planned for this to be reversible, I decided on buttonholes with knotted silky cording. You can see in the photo below that you can pull the cord to have the knot on either side. Does that make sense? You knot both ends of the cording. Then you can pull the ties so that one of the cord's knots will be on the outside when you reverse it and one will be at the loose end.

Make sure the buttonholes are tiny--big enough for the cording to get through, but not for the knot. I made a few practice ones and tried it out. You all know that you need to put some tape on the ends when you cut it to keep it from fraying, right? The stiffness of the tape is really helpful in getting the cording into that little buttonhole, too. I'm going to try thin fabric ties with knotted ends on the next one. I think that would look great, too.

In retrospect, I think I should have put the buttonholes up a bit higher. That would allow the sides to flare out a bit more for sun protection.

All in all this is a great pattern--soooo easy and cute even without the yo-yo really. If you read through the comments on the Prudent Baby post, you will get some idea on sizing. The pattern can be enlarged or reduced to fit your needs.

Now don't they look just perfect together?