Sew Grateful

It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Sat, 12 Dec 2015 00:17:00 +0000

Burlap Cross

These Burlap Crosses can be customized - color and size.

12 x 8 Board - $20

12 x 18 Board - $25

+ Shipping if applicable

If you have a special Idea, run it past me.

Snowman - Christmas Countdown

These special guys are counting down the days to Christmas.

The words on the hat can be customized to say whatever you would like.

Large Snowman - 22" h x 16"w - $45.

Small Snowman - (ask for dimensions) - $40

+shipping if applicable

Colors of the hat band can be customized as well.

O' Christmas Tree, O' Christmas Tree

Colors and Sizes can be Customized

Small Tree - about 18" tall

These Trees can be made for indoor or outdoor use.

Medium Tree - about 40" tall

There is also a Large tree (not pictured) around 6' tall.

Small Tree - $25
Medium Tree - $45
Large Tree - $85

The Colors can be customized.

If you have any questions, please contact me at SewGrateful@gmail.com.

Have a Blessed Day and a Very Merry Christmas!

Easter Egg Hunting in Style!

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 00:47:00 +0000

I have been working on the bridesmaid dress for a while and still am not completely done! Well, I am done sewing, but am looking for matching beads for the neckline and bracelets. I did not realize it would be quite a challenge! I am going ahead and sending the dress out tomorrow and will just have to put beads on the day before the wedding!

In these pictures the colors look different, but I assure you they are the same material!

I decided I wanted to make Scarlet a matching dress so we can get pictures taken together in them! So I looked for a dress that would have a similar neck line and found this one! So she decided it would also be her Easter dress. I personally liked it without the bow in front, but Scarlet wanted it in a big bow :)

I also made a cute little spring dress for Scarlet that I do not yet have a picture of! She is wearing it to school tomorrow so I will take a picture and post it next time!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Angie

No Animals Were Harmed in the Making of These Clothes!

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 03:28:00 +0000

I have finally gotten done with the majority of my Mother's new wardrobe! Only a couple more to go!

This a pretty neat piece. It is a Wrap/Shirt. I made it with a semi-sheer material which makes it difficult to hem.

Here is an example of one of the many ways you can wear this shirt. It is wrapped to the back and thrown over the shoulder from the other side. Very cute and can be worn lots of different ways!!

This next piece is similar to one of the jackets from my last post. There are two major differences. The one I posted last week has a 1/2 sleeve with a rounded front, This one has 3/4 bubble sleeves and a squared front. AND...it is not animal print :)

I really like this jacket because it can be made in so many different combinations. There are three sleeve lengths and either the rounded front or the square front. I look forward to making a few more of them.

This shirt was actually meant to be the wrap from above, however when I was cutting the material I messed up...so I tried cutting it again...and well, it just was not meant to be. I took what I could from the material and came up with this shirt. This was the first time I have made just a regular everyday shirt. It really turned out nice and I decided I needed to make myself a few of them. I like the band around the neck and the pleats in the front. It gives it just enough umph to not be considered a T-Shirt...but be just dressy or casual enough for anything.

Every once in a while my daughter just can not understand why nothing has been made for her when I have done so much sewing in a week. So on Tuesday afternoon before Bible study I whipped her up a pillowcase dress. They are very easy to make and simply adorable on. I made this one quite big because she is growing like a little weed. So here was her Tuesday dress.

Well, I still have a couple Jackets I am working on for my mom, but in a few weeks I will be starting my Bridesmaids dresses. So until then I am going to try to get my husband and son's matching shirts done, and my daughters new pajamas as well.

Thanks for stopping by!!
Angie

Animal Print Anyone?

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 15:26:00 +0000

I have been working on some things for my mother. I have made about 4 pairs of pants, a vest, and a jacket...I am working on another jacket right now and my sewing machine is not working. So now I have to take it in on Wednesday to get it repaired.

So here are a couple of the things I made for my mother.
The first thing is the Giraffe Faux Fur vest. I forgot to take a good picture, so before I put it in the mail I had a friend take a picture in the parking lot! :)

This vest is reversible solid brown with giraffe and a solid giraffe side! It turned out really great, however making reversible clothes can be quite challenging. Everything has to be EXACT. there is no room for error when you are making clothes that fit back to back. So this being my first time there was a couple minor incidents with it. My mom says she doesn't notice them though! :) Anyway, I love the way it turned out and for someone who likes animal prints (my mother) it is great!
This next jacket I made for my mother I have really been putting off because I have never worked with any kind of Spandex type of material before and honestly, it plainly horrified me to think about messing with. So I took the plunge the other day and ended up LOVING it!! The material is amazing to work with. Of course there is animal print involved! :)

This jacket drapes in the front and has a short sleeve, half sleeve, and 3/4 sleeve option. I am going to make another one with 3/4 bubble sleeves the next time I make it!

I am in the middle of another jacket (my machine broke) and a dress for Scarlet as well as a couple of shirts. I will then be starting on bridesmaid dresses for a wedding I will be in on June 11th. Looking forward to making myself a beautiful dress!

Matching Hats and Scarves

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 01:08:00 +0000

I got my order of Surgical hats done and they loved them! I made 6 of this (elastic) style, 5 mens hats, 3 Tie style hats!

I charge $10 for the women's hats and $7 for the mens hats!

I was introduced to the Loom not too long ago. So I have been making some "knit" hats. I love the faux fur, but have been experimenting with all types of yarn! I only have pictures of 1 set I have made even though I have made tons!

My daughter loves to pick out the yarn and has started trying to learn to sew and be crafty like me :)

I am trying to finish up a vest, skirt, a couple of shirts, and some jackets for my mother! I will hopefully have them done soon and have them posted on here! It will be a challenge with both the kids home for Christmas, but No later than the first couple of weeks of the new year!

thanks for coming by my page and have a Merry Christmas!

Surgical Hats... Surgical Hats... EVERYWHERE!

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 18:26:00 +0000

Now that our wonderful Thanksgiving week has gone, it is time to get to work. I have 14 hats to make asap! Luckily, these hats are fairly easy to make and I enjoy finding the material to use. I am making a Zebra print with Turquoise trim, a few Christmas patterns, and from there I will just have to find some more cute patterns!!

Here is a picture of the hats I have made so far!

There are two styles, one just elastic and the other ties in the back. I am working on a third style and will post pictures soon!!

Other than hats, I am working on a vest for my mother. I have never made anything from Faux Fur, so this is my first experience working with it. Will let you know how it works out!

Something New!

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 04:19:00 +0000

A friend of mine is a surgical tech at a hospital here and she (and her co-workers) has had the paper "shower cap" style hats made with cloth that they have worn in the past, but have not been able to find any recently. So I have been asked to make some! I tore a couple of old ones apart and made a couple! The cloth ones I have made are unique because they said you can usually only buy them in teddy bear prints, or solid colors, so I have made some fun ones for the girls and want to make some more fashionable ones for them. Needless to say my friend is pretty excited about them.

When my mother came in to town last week we went to Denver Fabrics, she found some material she LOVES. She loves her Chico's pants (the spandex/acetate fabric) but she can never find them in anything but black. At Denver Fabrics they have every color under the sun in this fabric. This is the first time I have ever worked with this material and I have loved making pants out of it! However, it does not iron well and will be difficult to make a Jacket/ shirt out of it when the time comes! She bought a TON of fabric to keep me busy for the next few months! I will post pictures as I get them done!

So this is a little dress I made for Scarlet about 2 months ago. It is a bubble skirt or you can make it without the bubble. I have made it both ways and it is just adorable. She can wear a long sleeve shirt under it now that it is winter...so it can work for any season!

I don't know why I did not tie the ribbon in a bow, but of course it makes a pretty bow in the back!

Right now I am working on one more interesting project...a friend of mine is having a Masquerade party for her birthday and she found a wonderful dress but felt like it was just a little too plain. So we decided it would be fun to give it a jagged (Tinkerbell) style hem. The dress is silk so it is proving to be a challenge but will be absolutely adorable!

There will be a lot of pictures in my future post as I get all these projects done, and I am starting my easter dress collection soon. Let me know if you have a princess in need of a beautiful, one-of-a-kind Easter dress!

God Bless and have a great day!

Angie

The Revolutionary War Dress

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 02:23:00 +0000

I finished the Revolution War style dress.

I could not find a pattern to fit the mold of what I figured a revolutionary war dress should be, so I had to modify a "Little House on the Prairie" style dress and make it a 1776 era dress.

The pattern I went by had the dress with a high collar attached to the bodice, so instead of adding the yoke, I simply left it out and sewed the bodice front to the lining and left the yoke off. I then had to make an over-skirt and figure out "where" to put it so that it would lay straight in the front center. I added the lace to the edging of the over-skirt and bottom. I then took a scrap piece of white material I had and measured it to fit over the shoulders. At first I was going to sew this in to the bodice, but after contemplating for a little while, I decided that it would be better to just keep it separate.

The girl I made this dress for will be doing a Civil War report next year that she will need a dress for. She wanted to know if we could use the same dress. Therefor, I left enough material at the hem to let it out up to 2 inches, and I made the dress a size bigger and then fit it to her (without trimming the excess) so that next year I can let out the hem and the bodice as necessary. I plan on making a lace yoke to fit under the bodice and maybe taking the over-skirt off and simply turning it opposite, cutting length off of it to make it a bow in the back with a draping in the front. I want to make a big hoop skirt to really bring the skirt around like Civil war era dresses. I might have to add some trimmings too.

I am very excited to see a picture of her in the dress. She loved it when we had our last fitting!

Pajama Fun!

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 02:42:00 +0000

The fun thing about making Pajamas, is you can go crazy with ideas. Colors you would not normally wear out of the house or mix together. Patterns you can't think would look good on anything else but Jammies!!!

Here are a couple I have made for the kids.

I like the boys shirt pattern and think I am going to make Dylan some T-shirts. I love the 2-tone shirts like this.

Scarlet's Jammies were fun because I cut one of the kitties out to make an applique for the front of the tank. It says Cat-itude! I added the leopard print because I had some lying around and

It really helped bring the whole Pajamas in to a set!

I finished my husband's work shirt and it turn out great. I have not gotten a picture of it yet, I will post it when I get it. For this week I am working on a 1776 style dress for a little girl who is doing a report on Martha Pitcher. I also have about 100 patches to sew on a girl scout uniform.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Angie

We finally got my sewing area set up!

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 03:22:00 +0000

We moved in June and I finally have my sewing area set up and am in business!

Here in Denver there is a fabulous fabric store called Denver Fabrics, they have everything and great prices. This skirt to the left was made out of scrap fabric that you can buy by weight. I paid less than a dollar for the fabric, and it made an adorable skirt.

This dress I made for a friend in Florida. The dress has pockets where the material meets. The spaghetti straps criss cross on top and is very cute. I am hoping to get pictures soon of the dress on the girl I made it for!!

This dress can be made longer or shorter, with solid straps, sleeves and as seen!! I chose the contrasting prints but would look real pretty with one material choice.

I made this dress before we moved, I found the material to match her vans and could not help make her a cute dress to match them.

I like having the ties versus straps because it allows you to adjust the size you need them to be. As they get bigger you can easily put leggings under this dress to get a few more wears out of it!

I also put long sleeved shirts under it to make it a winter dress. Of course she grew out of her shoes, but still loves the dress.

We went to a Sock Hop a few weeks ago and I made some poodle skirts for some of the girls. We debated making the petticoats but were afraid the girls would not wear them due to being itchy and just too much! So we opted for good stiff felt and I ended up sewing some Thule on the bottom to give the illusion of a petticoat.

I made two of these shirts. They really turned out cuter than I thought. In the group picture, the two girls in the middle have the shirts I made on.

I have also been working on a tote bag for a friend, it turned out cute.

I used the material I had left over from some of the other totes I had made, and although the tote was different, I used the same material Combination.

I added a flower petal at the top of the strap for just a little flare. The tote has an inside pocket and is very comfortable carried on the shoulder or across (over the shoulder) style! Very flexible and plenty of room. It can be made to be reversible, although because of the flower petal, this one is not.

I am working on Pajama Sets right now for boys and girls, a wool/leather vest for my mother, and work shirt for my husband. These will all be in my next post.

Thanks for visiting my post and have a great day!!

Angie

TuTus for my Ballerina!

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:09:00 +0000

Scarlet started dance this year, so naturally I had to learn to make TuTu's. Then I learned how to make bows to match the tutu! Fun and exciting!

This is a simple knot tutu around elastic alternating black and orange.

I then learned that using ribbon (instead of elastic) would give it the extra style plus...they tend to look better because you do not have to deal with the elasticity. I found with elastic, because it stretched, it was difficult to

make sure the size was right and I used more Tule than I had to. With a ribbon you are able to measure the size and make it fit, and as they grow add or remove if you wanted to! So I prefer the ribbon. You might have some problem if the little girl wearing the tutu has no hips. In this case you could do a combination of ribbon and elastic, just sewing the elastic to the ribbon. This still allows you to make the exact size but gives you some stretchy ability to stay up. I used the Tule as the wrap around for my bows just tie it all together a little more!

Then I wanted to make a little bit fancier one. So I simply made the same knot tutu and added an a-line cut sparkle organza over the tutu. I lined the organza with the ribbon sewing the showing side to the skirt. I then used a fabric glue to wrap the ribbon under, and I used it for 2 reasons. 1st, I did not want to try to make the seam invisible due to the sheer material. 2nd, the glue gives the tutu a certain stiffness to keep it "poofy"!

I added a bow to the back with a hook and eye to keep the tutu closed. Because the ribbon I used is slippery I needed to secure it. Quick Tip: After sewing the hook and eye to the organza, reinforce the fabric with either a dab of glue or fray blocker. And of course the matching bow. I seared the edges of organza with fire...just be careful not to apply too much heat, it sears quick.

I will post some other outfits I have worked on later. I love my tutus right now and have a couple more to make, and then I will be making another outfit to match the vans I bought my daughter.

Have a blessed day!

Taking a Break!

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Fri, 01 May 2009 01:16:00 +0000

The fashion show went well! After all the stress of preparing, I decided to take a week off of sewing...yea right! Since what I do to relieve stress is sew, that was a confusing day or so! :) lol

Although I actually have not finished anything since the fashion show, I have been working on a few things! I realized I have not posted all the stuff I showcased! So this blog entry is just to catch up on a few things!

I truly love sewing totes. It really is a lot of fun!

This tote is similar
to the flower and
polka dot one I did,
but it is taller and
more narrow and
the opening is a
little bigger.

This tote is way too cute! you take the long handle and slip it through the short handle and carry it by the long handle! It is obviously a little smaller than the other 2, but is super cute!

This is a half apron! I think it is so cute! I had this material given to me and I was clueless as to what to do with it until I thought of making an apron. The black gives it such an awesome "edgy" look to it! I am so glad I did not have any of the other colors that matched it just sitting around. Although, White might look really good too! I unfortunately only have enough material for one more of these...maybe I will make it with white!

I had a friend of mine try on the full apron, so here is a picture of it! I posted this in my last post, but not when it was actually on someone! It was a weird picture in other words!
OK, so here are a few of the things I made for myself. I never posted them and I said I would. I have had a lot of people ask me why I never posted them. I plainly just forgot! Sorry!

This is the same pattern
as the polka dot shirt from
an earlier post, but I did this
one two-tone.

This shirt hangs funny
on a hanger, but looks
pretty cute on.
Of course Polka dot, my favorite!

This is a really cute shirt but
the interfacing I used on the
black collar is too stiff, of course
now I know next time not to use
an interfacing with any stiffness
what-so-ever!

Again with the two-tone shirt
This one turned out a little
more on the dressy side. It
actually would be a perfect
business casual. The Gray top
is a little bit shimmery grey.
I get A LOT of compliments
on this one!

So that is all for now! Next post will be some new stuff I am working on right now.

Getting Ready to Show It Off!

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:25:00 +0000

Wow, a friend of mine talked me in to showing my stuff at our church Fashion Expo! So I have been crazy getting ready for this event this coming up Saturday!

This pillow is part of the door prize I am giving away. I have embroidered a bit in the past, but nothing that needed to actually look this good! I was pretty excited about how it turned out! I was nervous for a minute! I found that by accenting the pillow with some flowers around the words would take the eye away from any imperfections in spacing of the letters. Although, I think I did OK! :) Using a good fusible interfacing helps to smooth out the lumping in the poly-fil also. I wish I would have used it on both sides! So now I know for next time!

This tote turned out so cute! Above my expectations. This will also be part of the door prize at the expo! This tote called for a piece of card board to be placed in the bottom of the tote, but instead of just placing it, I chose to sew it in to the bottom piece of the tote instead! It was kind of tricky because you have to sew the bottom on 3/4 of the way and then slip the cardboard in before you sew up the last end. The reason it works better to do that is because with the card board in it becomes too stiff to manipulate and sew on.

So then a friend of mine called me about the tote and wanted to know if it was reversible because she LOVED the lining as much as the material. So In order to make this tote reversible I made casing for inside edge and now it is reversible. I do not have a picture yet! I also made me a "Sewing Tote" out of this material I had sitting around with nothing to make out of it! A friend of mine gave it to me and I could not figure anything to do with it! So it makes a great tote for me to show off!

This is an apron (it is hard to take a picture of an apron with out a model) This will also be given out as a door prize in my basket of goodies!

Even though I think this apron turned out pretty cute, it took me WAY too long to make because of all the casing and straps you must make. It might not take me as long now that I know exactly what I am doing! There were a few things I had to improvise on when making this because I was unable to understand the instructions! Regardless, I want one and have a few friends that I will make one for also! :)

I have had this material and pattern FOREVER! I have been wanting to make it for almost a year, but haven't partially because I was afraid of it! The collar just freaked me out! Much to my surprise, it ended up being pretty easy to make! The hardest part for me was to be Attention-to-detail enough to get them even! I loved the sleeves with the elastic on them to give them the distinction between a girls top and a boys top.

This outfit was fairly easy to make, the top button-hole was hard to make due to the collar, I think next time I might make that button-hole before I place the collar on the dress!

This is another outfit I have had FOREVER and not touched because of the straps! I made an outfit a while back ago with straps, and royally messed it up! I did not understand how to make the straps cohesive to the outfit. So this outfit was put on the back burner! So this winter I made an outfit for a friend of mine who was having a baby that had straps. I figured out how to make them a way that worked so I decided to give this one a try again! It turned out ok...although the straps ended up being too long for my daughter, so now I have to adjust them! UGH!

I cuffed the pant legs which again was a first for me. When I looked at this picture I took they looked uneven, so I measured them and tried to figure out why they looked like that and realized, I just had them on the hanger kinda crooked and did not have them presses down enough! I assure you they are even...after ALOT of measuring and inspecting I can assure that much! :)

This is a little girl I made a dress for and she loved it. I am pretty sure I have posted another version of this dress on my blog, but in case I did not, I am going to recap what I have learned. When I first made it, I did not sew the front belt to the dress, I just had it hanging in the front. SO, I learned that if I sewed it on to the dress that is would not hang funny and no matter how big or small the dress was on the little girl wearing it, the dress would keep its form. The hard part about sewing the belt on the dress is keeping the thread line invisible.

These pants were so simple to make!
The pattern comes in Shorts, Capris,
and Pants - Short, Medium, and Long
Skirt!

So I will be showing pretty much most everything I have made. I will have a slide show of all the outfits I have made! Wish me luck! I have ALOT of work to still do before Saturday!

Infant Carseat

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:57:00 +0000

As some of you know, I will try anything once.

A friend of mine wanted to know if I would make a car seat cover for her car seat she already had. So I ripped the existing car seat cover in to lots of pieces, panicked that I did not know how it went back together, and made a cover!

The material is real silky with the velvet finish in the middle. Very plush...Some of the covers I found online had elastic around all the edges and fit generically. So in the future that is what I will probably do, this way I do not have to deal with the padding because then you just use it as a cover. It was a great experience and really enjoyed doing it!

Spring is in the Air!

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:11:00 +0000

My favorite time of year! I love the colors and patterns of Spring!
The kids (including my niece) are all getting pictures taken professionally in a field of Bluebonnets (flowers) next month, so my sister-in-law and I thought it would be cute if the two girls had matching outfits. However, it is not like they are twins, so we thought if we could find the same print with different colors, that might be cuter!

I also made little hair bands out of the ribbon!

Another little spring outfit I have made was for my daughter!

I don't know what that pose is, but she was eating a piece of bacon while modeling! At first this dress looked funky on her because the waistband kept sagging. I thought at first I should make it a little tighter, but after thinking about it I realized it just needed to be tacked down! So I sewed around the middle white edges and it laid down the right way after that!

I said in my last post I had started making some of my own shirts. Well I did not go too Polka Dot crazy, but here is a picture of me in the first one I made. It is my favorite shirt and I wear the heck out of it! I used a stretch knit!
I love the sleeves on this shirt, it has drawstrings with bows and looks really cute in 2-tone!

I have a friend who just gave me A TON of material. I will be very busy trying to figure out cute things to make with it all!

February already and only my first post of the year!

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:57:00 +0000

What can I say, I am a horrible Blogger!

First I am just gonna post a few pictures and I will tell you what they are for!

These pillows turned out awesome! A friend of mine called me one day and said she had bought the bedroom set for her soon to be baby's room and there was a valance that she could not use and asked me what I thought we could do with them! So we came up with the idea of buying some matching material and making pillow cases out of them. So we tore off the panels of the valance and sewed them on top of the material and made little pillow cases.

If you have never made pillow cases before, it is truly one of the easiest things you could ever do! You just place the pillow on the ground and with a measuring tape measure from one side of the pillow to the other by touching the floor with the tape on each side, then you cut the material that size. This will give you plenty of room for seams, and makes a customized size pillow case! See, I told you it was easy!

Another thing I was working on before Christmas was matching dresses for a little girl and her doll! They turned out adorable. Although I have not gotten a picture of them in it yet that I can post, The dress it self is cute!

It has little ladybugs on it! This is the back view with a
small little bow. Now I have never sewn a ribbon on to
a dress, wait I am lying! I have sewed ribbon on, but
never silky shiny ribbon. It is a lot different than a
textured ribbon because you can see each little stitch.
The challenge is just being consistent with it! Keeping
the ribbon in place and the stitch line even! Phew! Rough! :)

This next outfit is a Baby Shower gift. You know, I always kid myself when I look at a picture of something I want to make. I do either one of two things, I think it looks easy and ends up being confusing...or think it is going to be SOOO hard and it ends up being SOOOO easy! This was one I underestimated! It ultimately was very easy to make until I got to the lining and skirt attachment. You have to keep right on the previous stitch line from the right side of the material while attaching what is underneath. In other words, you are sewing something you can not actually watch to make sure it is attaching. I have done this before on shirts for myself, but never for such a small little outfit that turned out to be quite a challenge.

I also tried to make a hat. Now this was my first sttempt at making hats! I can say I failed miserably and had no desire to try it again. Much like quillting, it takes way too much prescision and concentration that I do have! I wish I did but I do not. The hats brim was very uneven so I just chose to not give it to her! :)

My newest adventure is making clothes for myself. I LOVE POLKA DOTS! So you might get a little dizzy looking at my next post, I am sure it will be full of them!
:) See ya next time!
Angie

Christmas Cutie!

noreply@blogger.com (That Guy) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:09:00 +0000

I had some material I never used for around 5 years. I only had a quarter of a yard so I was very limited on what I could use it for...then I thought it would be adorable in this dress with black tights, a black long sleeve shirt and pink boots! So that is what I did, and My daughter loves her "puppy dog" outfit! Finding the buttons were quite challenging...where I am from there are only a few stores that carry a good selection of buttons!

Way Behind!

noreply@blogger.com (That Guy) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:58:00 +0000

I just have to say Blogging is more work than I know how to handle! I am trying to get in a routine of getting this done but I am just way behind!

I have been working on ALOT of projects lately and I am LOVING it!

My first project since I have gotten done with the Drill Team was Halloween Costumes for the kids! First I made a Cute dress fro my Daughter. The cloth was Hello Kitty and I used a Thick orange ribbon to line the bottom! Out of the left over cloth I made her a little purse and used the ribbon as the handle. She loved it!

After that I thought I was going to get off easy with Halloween costumes and boy was I wrong. Dylan saw the pattern for and Alien costume...and all I have to say is they turned out pretty well considering I did not even think I would be able to make them! I do not have a great picture of them both together, so here is the best one I got. I can replace it once I get some better ones from my sister-in-law...but you get the idea. They did not have the head pieces on!

After that I had an old friend of mine ask me if I could recover some cushions on a little couch of hers...this is something I have never done before so I said Sure...why not? I tore the cushions apart to make the pattern and sure enough, we now have cushions. I learned a lot about order of sewing...in other words, which pieces to sew together first. They turned out good, maybe not as perfect as I would have liked them but I think I am just being too hard on myself. No one else can really see what I see! HeHe!

So now I am starting work on 2 outfits for 2 girls and we will see those later...they are Christmas presents and I do not want to spoil any surprise in case they look at my blog!

See ya next time!
Angie

What a Summer!

noreply@blogger.com (That Guy) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:52:00 +0000

I have truly slipped up this summer keeping up with this blog. For good reason, I have been "sew" busy with orders and such that I have not had much time getting on to blog!

Well, lets get down to what I have been doing! First is the Drill team I coach...our uniform order got messed up so we chose to make some...which of course left me to make them. I also had another lady help with half the work because it was too much for me to handle!

We decided to do a simple circle skirt, easy enough right? NO...then we decided we wanted to use Lame! Can I just say Lame has to be the most difficult material to work with in my experience! The Blue Lame was actually ok, but the Silver was a nightmare. It snags horribly! So my battle was that if I interfaced it, it would either be too stiff or too heavy. If I did not then of course we were going to have a snagged mess. BTW, these skirts are two-sided and reversible! SO...What I realized I was going to have to do, is outline the skirts with 1/2 inch strips of interfacing. I used a fusible interfacing which of course I had to iron on through a cloth because lame will melt with any contact with an iron. But after all was said and done...They are beautiful!

Getting Creative

noreply@blogger.com (That Guy) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:55:00 +0000

We went shopping this weekend and got the kids some new shoes. Little did I know that the shoes I got for my daughter would be such an inspiration!

We found the cutest pair of Vans Cherry slip-ons. I knew she really did not have much to go with them since she does not wear alot of black or white. So I went to work on a new outfit.

The cherry material was actually a part of a dress I already had that she has grown out of. So I cut off the bottom section and luckily it fit to the pattern of the new shirt. So we have recycled our old clothes to make new!

As for the pattern, it looked so simple to me until I tried it, and all of a sudden I realized I underestimated it's simplicity.

My Son, the Model!

noreply@blogger.com (That Guy) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:19:00 +0000

My Son absolutely wanted to be a part of this sewing/picture taking action. So as my daughter poses in her latest outfit my son wants to know what he can try on so that I can take a picture of him also.
Of course I went straight to the store and found a pattern so I could make something for him. I found these really cute cargo pants that were easy to make and turned out realy cute!
I had never really thought about how to make a cargo pocket, and now I know. I will attempt to make him a button up shirt next. He is so excited and such a goofball!! :)

Reversible Dress

noreply@blogger.com (That Guy) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:10:00 +0000

I had a pattern that required a lining of material inside. So I started thinking about how you could use that to make a reversible dress.
I used the same material on both sides, I just reversed the layout of material. The thing you should remeber when making this outfit is the buttons; you have to use smooth buttons so that they will not scratch her when turned either side out!
There are a couple of things I love about this idea. The first is that if your daughter eats and gets the outfit dirty you can then just flip it over and not have to worry about shoes, bows, or any accesory matching. I also like the idea that you are buying two outfits for only a small price more of the price of one.
Let me know what you think and I will post another picture of the reverse side later!

Plan for the upcoming Holiday!

noreply@blogger.com (That Guy) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:21:00 +0000

I have started my business now and I am in full swing of dead-lines and a line-up of things to do! It is awesome, but wait...4th of July is coming up and my little girl can't just wear a store bought outfit!
I was in Hancocks the other day and had a thought for what I think is a really cute outfit. So with a week to go for the 4th of July I put together the outfit and emailed all my friends! I now know that will be one of the challenges with marketing my items. Thinking ahead! Anyone who knows me knows I am more of a spur of the moment type person and planning for upcoming events is not my strong point!
So I started brain-storming on things I can do to keep me ready for the next big thing!
First, I have entered all the major Holidays in my Outlook calendar on the computer (which is always open) and gave them all a Three Month reminder. This will keep me on que!
Second, as I was walking around Hancocks looking for the right material for my last minute 4th of July outfit, I realized they are the best reminder! They have a whole marketing team reminding you to get an early start on Holiday goodies! They even have Christmas stuff (probably all year around!)
Third, I simply made a commitment to myself, I have to start thinking like a business if that is what I want to be!
It is hard to plan when you have 2 kids, a husband, a dog, a house to clean, and any life outside the house! So as someone starting out it can be challenging but the best advise I would give is to set up the calendar and look at it every day or week to get your thoughts straight!

I lost weight but I LOVE THESE PANTS! What do I do?

noreply@blogger.com (Angie) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:23:00 +0000

My husband and I have been getting in to shape and loosing some inches around the waist. With the cost of living up, who can afford to buy a whole new wardrobe when you still have weight to lose. We can't look sloppy at work and so he has asked me if I can make the waist and hips smaller on his pants.
I thought this would be such a challenge when I first thought about it, waistbands are a pretty important part of the pant and I have very little expierience with them.
But I am confident in my ability to figure things out and sew on!
What I have decided to do is take the waist band off on the left and right side (not all the way, just enough to take in what is needed) and to sew them the appropriate amount that way! This will prevent the pants from fitting crooked or having any offset to them. The challenge here to me will be having them sit right with the rest of the pants!
Second I will have him put them on inside out and pin the amount he wants taken off the side and I will stich them the appropriate amount. The thing I am worried about here is the pocket and how it will need to be altered! Dang pockets!! :)
I have yet to do a pair so I will let you know how it works out!
Wish me luck!

Starting A Home Based Sewing Business

noreply@blogger.com (That Guy) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 01:43:00 +0000

Hello, I am Angie and I have decided to start a sewing business out of my house. The lavender dress at the top was my first sewing job and I must say for not having sewn in more years than I would like to admit, it turned out good! This little girl was having a princess ball for her 4th birthday and her mother did not want her to have just "any" dress. So we went on the search for some material and this is what happen! The other outfits were the first things I made for my daughter! They are truly adorable on her!

My husband bought me an awesome sewing machine for mothers day and I decided to use it to make some extra money for our household. I was doing some looking on the internet and found some good information about starting this business. The article posted below was found at: http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol38/sewing.htm Written by Jenny Fulbright This article gave me the necessary basic info to get some ideas on how I want to go about doing this home business thing.

Getting Started

The first step is to decide what type of sewing you would enjoy most. There are numerous sewing businesses to choose from:

Custom sewing, also called custom clothier or custom dressmaker. Your task is to sew garments for individual clients.

Custom Designer. A designer is a step above the dressmaker, as you sew for individual clients using your own designs, rather than sew from patterns. A custom designer may have wider market as you can sell your designs to stores and boutiques.
For both the custom designer and custom clothier there are numerous areas of specialization they can enter: formal wear, children’s clothing, men’s wear, dance wear, costumes, choir robes, women’s wear, high couture clothing, intimate apparel, plus-sized clothing, sewing for handicapped individuals, and the list goes on…

Sewing for Weddings. Bridal business is big business. Many seamstresses make very good living focusing on the creation of wedding gown and wedding accessories.

Sewing for the Home. Home decors and accents also provide a big market for the home sewing business. You can focus on sewing custom window treatments including draperies and curtains, slipcovers, specially-made pillows, shower curtains, bed covers and other bedding materials.

Sewing Crafts from shoulder bags to toys.

Alterations. From sewing a seam to replacing a zipper. Alterations can be a profitable business as many people have something hanging in their closet that needs repair and they have no idea how to do it.

Sewing for pets. This is a growing segment, and you can create horse blankets, clothes for dogs and other pets.
In choosing your niche, determine the area of expertise that you are most comfortable with and has the biggest market. While you may be quite accomplished and comfortable in several different areas, avoid spreading yourself too thin by taking on many different tasks.

To succeed in this business, you must have the sewing expertise for your chosen field combined with adequate knowledge. If you are focusing on draperies, you must know the best materials, the latest styles and fabrics to create the drapes your client wants. If you intend to start a bridal gown sewing business, you must know everything about wedding gowns.

Your sewing skills must be excellent, if not the best. If your work is less than superior, keep improving and constantly learn all the newest methods. When you are serious about your work, and prepared to go the extra mile, you will succeed!

Like any other business, you should also take time to research and test-market your product or service ideas to determine whether your venture has a market potential. Writing a business plan, even if you are not seeking outside financing, is a crucial step to help you focus and think through your business. The exercise will force you to determine your client base, identify their needs and find ways to reach them. You will have to answer questions such as: where and how will you sell your products or services? Who is your competition?

You will also need to find out about business permits, traffic considerations, sign regulations and lots more. Check if there are any zoning restrictions in your area that prohibits hanging a sign on your own property. Given that this is a people business where you really need to see your customers (e.g. fittings, consultations, etc), determine the rules in terms of traffic. Your neighborhood zoning rules may prohibit constant comings and goings of people in your house. In some cases, even though you think you are operating within the bounds of the law, your neighbors may find your business to be a disturbance and complain.

Costs

To launch this business, you need a reliable and versatile sewing machine and other sewing equipment. If you don’t have the equipment yet, buy the best you can afford, even if it is second-hand. Good equipment goes a long way in making work easier (and more fun!) and in assuring good results.

Your major investment for this business is the sewing machine. Sewing machines cost anywhere from $129 to $6,000, depending on its features. Check out the different brands and models, and what they can do and how well they function. There are now advanced computerized sewing machines that accepts floppy disks or embroidery cards to create embroidery designs. Some have automatic needle threader, LCD touch panel, and machines that can create 5 different button holes.

You may also need serger machines, which allows you to create decorative and construction overlock stitches on all types and weights of fabrics. This machine can cost anywhere from $300 to $1600.

Other equipment you will need are measuring tape and rulers, shearing and cutting scissors, pattern markers, needles, threads, and others. You also need to purchase a full-length mirror to check on an individual garment and keep you aware of what looks well and what does not.

Pricing

Potential earning will depend on tasks and garments. Check out your competition or the prevailing rates in your neighborhood. You do not want to price yourself out of the market, yet you should strive to compensate yourself properly. Avoid giving your work away or pricing it too low. Charge enough that you are receiving a respectable hourly wage for your time plus a profit.

For alterations you may want to charge anywhere from $5-$30 per garment. Specialize costume creations can sell for up to $1,000, although prices vary for custom clothes. Evening gowns can start at $200 and wedding gowns can sell as much as $5,000, but children's clothes may sell from $10-$50.

The two most important considerations in setting your price is the time you think you will spend to complete the project and the cost of materials. Be sure to discuss all costs with your customer prior to beginning work, from the kind of fabric to be used, to the buttons and zippers. If you are making draperies, measure the area accurately and discuss with the client the amount of fabric that would be needed. Some clients provide the fabric, while in some cases you will be tasked to choose the material. Consult with the client every step of the way to avoid conflicts and unsatisfied clients. Draw up contracts for costly jobs.

Potential Income

Once you line up enough business to keep yourself busy, you can expect to earn $20,000 to $35,000 per year. An experienced seamstress with a solid client base can earn as much as $60,000. You can exceed this range if you hire employees to do the work while you’re out marketing your business.

Finding Customers

Word-of-mouth advertising is often the most effective way of spreading the word on a sewing business. You do a good job for one client and the word spreads. It will be slow at first, but once you get going, you will begin to get repeat work and referrals.

Other ways to advertise include running your yellow pages ads or posting on community boards. You can also leave your business cards and/or flyers in fabric shops, beauty salons, grocery stores, resource centers, senior centers and cleaners. Contact charity organizations and lend your sewing talents to charitable events. Get in touch with local theater groups that may require your services for any costumes or set designs. By attending craft fairs you will be able to network and meet potential clients.

You can also establish partnership arrangements with your neighborhood cleaners. In the past most cleaners kept an on-staff seamstress or tailor, but now most cleaners farm out this task to sewing services. To reach retail cleaners, you simply call around to find out who needs your services. When you work with a cleaner, you will need to schedule regular times each week (probably twice per week) when they can expect you, so customers who need alterations can meet you at the store.

The sewing business is creative, enjoyable, but stressful. There are deadlines to be met, and difficult customers to deal with. Some jobs may require a great deal of attention to detail and time and your income potential is hampered by the number of outfits you can produce in one day. For this business to grow and allow you to earn more, you will need to hire additional workers. Nonetheless, sewing can be a fun and rewarding business for those who loves to sew.