Sew Kansas

Orange and Blue Quilt is Finished and entered in the Bloggers Quilt Festival!

2013-05-17T19:19:00.001-05:00

Time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival!

Here's my blue and orange quilt. I sort of made this quilt up as I went along. I started with a plan but it kept changing! This was my first attempt at straight line machine quilting on a large quilt. Let's just say I learned alot!!

Almost Done!

2013-02-02T15:12:00.002-06:00

Almost finished with another quilt!

I really learned a lot on this quilt. This was the original drawing, but it sort of evolved as I worked on it.

Only a little more binding and I'll be done!

I made something for myself!

2013-01-14T08:23:00.001-06:00

I really like sewing for myself, but other projects always seem to be a priority. If I had the time, I would make all my clothes. I did find a little time this month and made myself a vest out of the leftover fabric from this project. I still love this fabric! I used McCall's pattern # 5186. Loved the pattern, love the vest.

Christmas Skirts

2013-01-04T15:39:00.000-06:00

I was a little overwhelmed with the thought of designing and making 6 little Christmas dresses this year so I decided to design one skirt for all the granddaughters! I ordered some Town and Country little diamonds fabric by Dear Stella in three colors and made matching skirts for the sisters in each family. Here they are all finished!

Another Birthday Dress

2012-11-26T16:44:00.000-06:00

Here's Anna's birthday dress.

I used McCall pattern 6594. This dress went together very quickly. I did change the flower on the belt to this flower with a fabric covered button. I also made the belt close with velcro rather than a button.

Cuter Than Minnie Mouse

2012-11-19T11:49:00.000-06:00

We just returned from Disney World so we've seen a lot of really cute mice lately, but I have to say that Darla is the cutest of them all!! Here she is in the mouse costume I made her for Halloween.

I used Simplicity pattern #2506. The main part of the costume was great--pretty simple. The fit of the hat is a little off. The opening for the face should have been bigger and it could have been several inches longer in back. Unlike the rest of the pattern, the hat sizing is small, medium or large. The pattern definitely needs some adjustments.

More Halloween

2012-11-11T13:54:00.001-06:00

I realize most everyone has started thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I'm a little slow! Here's another Halloween costume. Lucy wanted to be a pink cat so I used Butterick pattern # 3238 and whipped her up a costume. The pattern was easy and went together well. Here she is:

Cupcake Costume

2012-11-03T13:55:00.000-05:00

We have a deliciously sweet granddaughter who was a cupcake for Halloween! Her mother sent me this picture for inspiration and here is what I can up with.

This was super simple to make.

1) Buy a t-shirt and slit it down the back

2) Cut a strip of brown felt -- mine is about 14" wide and 60 " long. Next make a pintuck about every inch. I did not measure, just folded and sewed how easy is that!

3) Now stitch the felt onto the shirt, stretching the shirt as you sew. I stitched mine a couple of inches down from the armhole.

4) The pink frosting is just a circle with a scalloped edge and felt circles.

5) Finally, I stitched velcro onto the little dress and frosting.

Here's the little cutie pie (or should I say cake)!

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2012-10-26T08:30:00.001-05:00

I cannot believe that summer is over and that it's time for another Blogger's Quilt Festival. I'm looking forward to some serious quilt inspiration!

My entry is a baby quilt for our newest granddaughter. Here it is!

The quilt is approximately 37" by 44" and was machine quilted. For more information you can check out my original post here.

See you all over at the festival!

Darla's Birthday Dress

2012-10-07T19:45:00.001-05:00

Our beautiful Darla had her first birthday this month! I designed and made this little dress and matching doll for her.

I fell in love with the fabric and went from there! Check out this post for information about the doll.

Norah Has Arrived!

2012-09-28T20:37:00.001-05:00

Our newest granddaughter, Norah, has arrived! She is beautiful! Here is her quilt.

I used some cute Riley Blake fabrics from the Fly a Kite collection and the very simple Building Blocks Baby Quilt pattern from the Moda Bake Shop! I did make the border a little wider and used some of the scraps for the back and binding.

Happy Birthday Lucy!

2012-08-27T13:54:00.002-05:00

Our beautiful little Lucy turned 3 last week! I made both Lucy and her new doll seersucker dresses to celebrate.

Because summer is almost over I had a little trouble finding some easy care seersucker but finally found this pretty blue to match Lucy's eyes! I used New Look pattern #6884 and made absolutely no changes! What a surprise! The dress was simple and went together beautifully. The only thing I would change if I were to make it again would be to cut the sleeves on the fold and make a casing for the elastic rather than using seam binding. Finally, I designed a matching doll dress. What fun!!

For pictures of this dress in action, here you go!

I'm Back

2012-08-13T13:02:00.000-05:00

I have been neglecting my blog while vacationing and entertaining family and friends. It has been a very nice summer, but now it's time to get my mind back into serious work mode! I have been sneaking in some fun sewing. Here's our little Ellie's birthday dress.

Sorry, I know the picture is horrible!

I started with New Look Pattern # 6958 then changed the direction of the pleats and add some fabric trim.

Quick Neckline Change

2012-06-08T21:07:00.003-05:00

Here's a quick way to change a straight neckline into a sweetheart.

It's a little hard to tell from the picture, but the dress above started as a strapless gown with a straight across neckline.

1) Measure to find the center of the dress and then measure down 2 to 3 inches.

2) Start at the bottom pin and using a heavy duty thread, take a running stitch up to the top of the dress.

3) When you get to the top, pull the thread tight to gather and then run your needle back down through the gathers. On a dress like this --thick and sequined-- I would sew through the gathers a second time.

4) Tie a knot and then make a chain with the remaining thread and tie another knot

5) Here's what it looks like all finished:

There are several other ways to get the same look, but I find this method is quick and effective.

Pillows

2012-06-04T15:05:00.000-05:00

I spent last week trying to catch up on work so that Rick and I could take a quick trip to Kansas City. I did, however, take a few minutes to spruce up the pillows in our living room. KC was a nice break from sewing. A visit to the new temple, dinner with friends and a Royals game. What more could you ask for?!

I'm Back!

2012-05-28T15:03:00.001-05:00

Finally a fun project!! This is an outfit for Macy who had a birthday last week!

I used McCalls pattern # 6059. Super cute and super easy!

Bloggers Quilt Festival

2012-05-18T08:07:00.002-05:00

My entry in the festival this spring is a quilt I made for our granddaughter, Darla. I fell in love with the Meadow Friends fabric by Deb Strain for Moda Fabrics and knew I needed to make a baby quilt with it. Here's what I came up with!

I love this quilt. The only thing I would change is to use a different batting so you can't see through the back.

High Low Hem

2012-05-07T17:01:00.001-05:00

I had a request to show how to do a high low hem so here at last are the instructions:

1) Pin up the hem. You will probably need to cut off some of the extra fabric in front.

2) Place the dress on a flat surface. Fold the dress in half with folds along the front and back seams. Pin along the side seam. Now you can make sure both sides of the front are even.

3) Once everything is even, hem away! Easy as pie!

How To Make a Thread Eye

2012-03-31T17:11:00.000-05:00

If you ever need to make a thread eye to pair with a hook, especially at the top of a lapped zipper, here's how it's done.

Thread your needle with a double thread--you will end up with four strands. Tie a knot.

Take a small stitch in your fabric

Repeat

Slide your needle under the stitch you've just made

Bring your needle up through the circle you've created

Pull the thread tight toward the top of the stitch. Now repeat until the stitch is covered in little knots. Tie a knot on the wrong side of the fabric

All done!!

Horsehair Braid #3

2012-03-13T14:11:00.001-05:00

I've done a couple of posts on hemming a lined dress with horsehair braid here and here. This is how I shorten a dress with braid and no attached lining.

1) remove the braid from the existing hem.

2 pin the braid so that the bottom edge is 5/8" from the new hemline. I have a pin marking the new hem in the picture.

3) Stitch along the bottom of the braid a scant 1/4"

4) Trim excess fabric

5) Turn braid to wrong side of fabric

6) Stitch through all layers close to top fold

7) Here's how it will look from the wrong side

and right side

Horsehair Braid #2

2012-03-03T16:20:00.003-06:00

Last year I posted instructions on altering a dress with horsehair braid in the hem. Go here to take a look. Someone left a comment about an easier way to do it so I thought I would give you some alternatives. I choose how I will do each hem based on the way it was done originally, the fullness of the skirt, and whether or not there is a lining. Here is another method that works well if the skirt is not too full.

1) Open up the hem and remove the braid.

2) On the wrong side, pin the bottom of the braid at the new hem mark (if it's easier, you can press the new hemline in first).

3) Make on opening in the side seam lining.

4) With right sides together, make sure dress and lining are even and then pin through all layers .

5) Stitch about 1/4 inch from bottom of braid through all layers.

6) Trim excess dress and lining being careful not to cut the braid.

7) Turn right side out and stitch on the lining close to the seam. You can access this through the opening in the lining. If the braid is wide, you can stitch along the top edge also.

8) This is what is will look like from the lining side.

9) Now stitch up the lining side seam and you are all finished!!

Next week I will show how to add braid to a dress without a lining.
It's done go here to see it.

Altering Beaded Gowns

2012-02-04T19:59:00.003-06:00

Prom has arrived and has rudely taken over every minute of my sewing time! This time of year I only dream of fun sewing!! For the next few months all blog posts will be work related. Today I had a last minute rush job altering a beaded gown and thought I would show you how I did it.

1) Take a deep breath! Sometimes it's worse thinking about than doing!! Here's a look at the bodice of the dress.

2) Remove the beads that will be in the new seam allowance. Ideally, you would remove all of them, but I usually leave the small flat sequins and just sew over them--every dress is a judgement call.
It will look something like this with the beads removed.

3) Sew the new seam. I use a zipper foot so that I can leave as many beads on as possible and sew right next to them. Hope that makes sense!

4) Here's what it will look like from the right side after the seam is sewn:
I would show how it looks with all the beads replaced, but someone else does that for me this time of year. The loose beads will be sewn back in place and more beads will cover the seam. It will look just like new!

This dress also had a sequined skirt that looks like this:

These are flat sequins that have been machine stitched onto a stretch netting. These sequins are not removed--trust me-- if one goes you are going to lose a lot! I just stitch right through them.

Good luck with any beaded or sequined projects you might have!

Dress #5

2012-01-30T09:46:00.002-06:00

Finally, the last dress! You got a glimpse of the dress here last week. Now for a closer look.

I used Kwik Sew pattern #3921. I added the ruffle at the neck, made the skirt all one fabric, and made a fabric tie to go around the waist. After seeing the dress on Lucy, I probably should have put some little thread belt loops on the side to keep the bow in place!

Dress #4

2012-01-23T07:17:00.001-06:00

Dresses 4 and 5 are matching dresses I designed for Lucy and Darla. Scott and Chelsea took these cute pictures of the girls.

Not sure why I chose yellow and gray to make these dresses, but we think I might have been influenced by Scott and Chelsea's bedroom decor. What do you think?

So here it is. Dress # 4!

I started with McCalls pattern # 5791 and added the belt and ruffles.

Dress # 3

2012-01-16T18:03:00.002-06:00

I just returned home from a wonderful relaxing week in Hawaii! With the exception of checking out a Hawaiian Quilt store, I didn't think of sewing at all! Now I'm home and thinking of nothing but sewing--prom is officially here!

I really love the Lisette patterns for Simplicity, so I finally made one of them for Anna. Dress # 3 is Simplicity #2064. I fell in love with the pattern and found the exact fabric. I think it turned out great. Here it is: