Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky!

SONP Guest Post! Bethany from The Glamorous Housewife: Part 2!

2013-06-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

I had to laugh when I saw the teaser image from Bethany below. She's already shared the first part of her experience of making a dress with us, and today she's showing us how it's going. Here's Bethany:

About a week and a half ago I mentioned I was sewing a dress from scratch for the first time in 15 years. It is part of the Summer Of No Pants project going on over at Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky!. In part one I had made a muslin bodice and had repatterned the bodice cups. I had planned on finishing the dress and modeling it for you this week, but unfortunately I ran into a few issues. It turns out making a dress from scratch is really difficult!

Jump over to The Glamourous Housewife to read the full post

SONP Guest Post! Jess from Me Sew Crazy!

2013-06-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

Good morning, No-Pantsers! I think you're going to love this next guest post! She was one of the finalists in the Project Sewn competition, which she finished off with a beautiful dress made from Liberty of London fabric that was gifted to her by her husband on Valentine's Day (What?! Who has a husband like that?!). I'm so lucky to have actually met Jess in person a couple of times. I'm inspired by her drive an passion, not to mention her considerable talent and skills! I'm thrilled to introduce her here today! Here's Jess:

Hi, I'm Jess Abbott the Sewing Rabbit, author behind the Me Sew Crazy sewing blog. I was so excited to meet Marigold at Alt Summit last year, and was even more excited when we had the chance to room together over Fabric Weekend a few weeks ago! I pretty much think she rocks, and am honored to be able to guest post for her Summer of No Pants Series! After all, only Marigold could get me to take my pants off for a blog post...ummm...ha! Thanks for allowing me to be here today, and hop on over to the blog for the full post!

SONP Giveaway! Five $20 Gift Certificates to Pink Chalk Fabrics!

2013-06-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

It's the last week of The Summer of No Pants sewing challenge and time for one last big fabric giveaway! The lovely folks at Pink Chalk Fabrics will be giving five (yes FIVE!) of you each $20 to spend on their online fabric store. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

SONP Guest Post! Mie from Sewing Like Mad!

2013-06-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! We've made it to the last week of the Summer of No Pants sewing challenge! The first day of summer is this Friday, and then those pants come off for the next three months!
To kick off our final week of sewing, my guest today is Mie of Sewing Like Mad. I got to meet Mie during Fabric Weekend 2013 (did you enter the massive giveaway yet?). She was such a joy to be around, and her sense of style really stood out in the crowd! Mie was the Judge's Choice winner of the 2012 Skirt Week Challenge in the A-line Skirt category, and I'm so happy to have her here today. Here's Mie:

Hi, this is Mie from Sewing Like Mad. I am Danish, have been living in the US for almost 5 years and I have a sewing degree from Denmark. I used to have a very small women apparel company but closed it down when I became pregnant with my first child 6 years ago. I am married and have two girls, aged 3 and 5. When I just started my blog around a year ago I made a pattern drafting tutorial for this full (and a less full version) elastic waist skirt with pockets. And I thought a full sewing tutorial for those skirts would be fitting for SONP.....so head over to my blog and knock yourself out in photos overload. The pockets in the pattern drafting tutorial and the sewing tutorial are different but I will tell you all about that in the post on my blog.

View the full post on Sewing Like Mad.

SONP Guest Post! Aubrey from Homegrown & Healthy!

2013-06-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Today's guest is Aubrey from Homegrown and Healthy, which is a fantastic blog that celebrates healthy eating and the handmade life with simple recipes, tips and projects. Now, if you plan on wearing skirts and dresses allll summer long, you're probably planning on shopping in addition to all that sewing you've been doing these past few weeks. Aubrey is here to show us how plan ahead and avoid some buyer's regret. Here's Aubrey:

Have you ever fallen in love with a dress at a store only to have it sit in your closet for months with the price tag still on it? Look, it's not your fault. Well, actually it is. It all has to do with a lack of preparation. Buuut with just a little bit of guidance and (fun, I promise) homework we can fix it so that it never happens again. Today were gonna talk about an easy way to determine your style and vision ahead of time, preventing impulse buying and unnecessary purchases. Keep reading to find out how to actually have fun prepping for your next shopping trip saving you loads of time, money, and stress when you hit the stores.

View the full post on Homegrown & Healthy

SONP Guest Post! Jenny from The Southern Institute!

2013-06-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

My guest today is..how do you say? Ah, yes, Awesomesauce! Jenny is the creative mind behind The Southern Institute, one of Babble's Top 50 Craft Blogs, and just one of the nicest women I have never actually met (someday!). I asked Jenny if she could use her considerable mad skillz to review The Angie dress pattern by the Scientific Seamstress. You'll love what she did with it! Here's Jenny:

Hi, I'm Jenny from The Southern Institute. How excited am I to be a part of the Summer of No Pants Series? I think Marigold is doing the world a great service by putting on this series... I mean, think of how much beauty you all are bringing to summer! I for one love a great summer dress. I think they are way cooler during the hot summer months. Can you say ventilation? So when Marigold asked if I would like to try out The Angie Dress pattern and share the experience with you, I jumped at the chance! Thanks for letting me share with you all today!

Check out the full post on The Southern Institute!

Jenny is also the creator of the Sew Fab ePattern Sale! Which is a bundle of amazing, downloadable patterns by indie designers. The next Sew Fab sale will be a few weeks before Fall Kid's Clothes Week with Meg at elsie marley, just in time for everyone to get ready for back-to-school sewing!

You may also want to check out the Superhero Cape from a T-shirt (one of my favorite, easy cape projects. My kids have five of them :) She also has a genius tutorial for turning a Men's T-shirt to a Ruffle Tank Top, and an Easy Tank Dress if you're looking for that one last project to get you over the SONP finish line!

And we're going to finish this week up with one more giveaway! The Scientific Seamstress would like to give one of you a pattern from her Etsy shop. It can be the Angie, or anything else that strikes your fancy! Personally, I'll be picking up the Tommy and Louie Boxers patterns so my whole family can go pantsless this summer!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fabric Weekend Recap!

2013-06-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, I had the great privilege to attend Fabric Weekend 2013. It was so, so fun to shop and talk shop with over 20 sewing bloggers that I have admired and followed over the years.

Getting to Fabric Weekend proved a little rockier than I expected. I was going to take the Metro train up from Orange County, but long story short, that didn't happen and my husband and Milo ended up driving me up to L.A. where and I managed to catch up with everyone and the tail end of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising tour.

FIDM Scholarship Store. How many sewing bloggers can we fit into this tiny space? Let's find out!

Our first stop was the FIDM Scholarship Store, where the frenzied crowd of sewing bloggers attempted to ease the fabric shopping addiction they had all been jonesing for by jamming themselves into a tiny space to pet as many fabrics as possible. This is when I knew I was way out of my league, because I did not even attempt to shove my way into this!

Michael Levine, inc. located at 920 Maple Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90015

Our next stop was Michael Levine Fabrics. We were given such a warm, kind welcome by the family that owns and runs this business. They provided us with lunch and goodies, and then gave us a tour of the massive warehouses with rows upon row of every kind of fabric you could ever want or need! I was in awe of how well organized it all was and the systems that they had in place to keep their three stores and online business running so smoothly. I love supporting small, family-owned businesses like this, and I could not have been more impressed!

1) The bloggers invade Michael Levine's 2) Behind the scenes massive warehouse tour at Michael Levine
3) Our wonderful and generous tour guide #larrylovesfabric 4) The Loft

What I've made so far with my haul from Michael Levine!
1) Maxi skirt with fabric from The Loft. 2) Self drafted pattern. Read about it here. 3) The Jorna. Read about it here.

And then it was shopping time! My first stop was The Loft, which is located above Michael Levine's Home Decor Store at 917 Maple Ave., Los Angeles. I was more conservative than I should have been here because it was my first stop and I had only budgeted so much for the whole weekend. I had no idea what to expect, and didn't want to end up broke after my first stop. Of course, that was ridiculous because at $2.50/lb. you can score a LOT of fabric on the cheap! I can't wait to go back and really let loose! I then moved on to the main store where I picked up some fabrics that I'm not used to working with. But I was so inspired by the group I was with that I decided that I was going to learn to master knits and other apparel fabrics!

One of the shops in the LA Fashion District with trims precariously balanced
on shelves and strewn all over the floor!

We then moved out and into some of the smaller shops. In particular, I'd like to give a shout-out to the folks at Gold Star Tool were really wonderful and accommodating! I picked up a whole bunch of zippers for my Etsy shop, which I plan to re-stock just as soon as SONP is over. If you need a zipper foot, or any kind of sewing tools or notions this is the shop to go to. That is NOT the shop in the picture above, by the way! That shop was crazy! Stuff was strewn onto the ground and jammed onto shelves...Oh, what we will endure for a great deal!

1. Jen, Bev, Melissa, Miriam and Leanne staying connected. Photo courtesy Jessica Abbot
2) "Thank You Mood" 3) The collective haul from the first day of shopping

The next day we made our way to Mood (of Project Runway fame), and the nice folks there gave us a tour. This was, of course, much higher end fabrics than what we had looked at the previous day! There were beautiful designer silks and rows and rows of beautiful printed knits and wovens. I picked up a pretty deep pink cotton shirting that I hope to turn into a shirt dress soon!

The Whole Gang!
Row 1: Justine of Sew Country Chick, Jen of icandy, Stef of Girl Inspired, Mie of Sewing Like Mad, Miriam of Mad Mim, Melissa of I Still Love You, Andrea of Train to Crazy, Marissa of Rae Gun Ramblings, Sabra of Sew a Straight Line, Bev of Flamingo Toes. Row 2: Jessica of Sewing Rabbit, Melissa of Melly Sews, Caila of Caila Made, Cherie of You and Mie, Abby of Sew Much Ado. Row 3: Leanne of Elle Apparel, Merrick of Merrick’s Art, Marigold (That's me!) Not pictured: Christina of 2 Little Hooligans (probably still shopping :) Photo courtesy of Jess Abbot

My final stop was SAS Fabrics in Hawthorne. I didn't spend too long in there because my husband and boys met me at this shop to bring me home. I did grab a few different wide, brightly colored elastics, though! Then I said goodbye to my new friends and headed home. It was such a great group of women, and I feel so lucky to have been invited! And huge props to our fearless leaders who have (and continue to!) put so many hours into organizing this event: Andrea from The Train to Crazy, Justine of Sew Country Chick, and Bev from Flamingo Toes!

The Morning After at my local Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft located at 15031 Goldenwest St., Huntington Beach, CA.
Find yours here!

And where do you think I ended up the morning after all of that shopping? Yup. My local Jo-Ann! a.k.a. My home away from home! I'm not even kidding. I have a serious problem. Ignore my exhausted eyes!

It was so much fun! But the fun hasn't stopped yet! Be sure to check out the post right below this one and enter the HUGE Fabric Weekend giveaway being brought to you by the generous folks at GoToPatterns.com, lowpricefabrics.com and Craftsy!

Fabric Weekend Giveaway!

2013-06-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

One GRAND PRIZE winner!

Brother 1034D serger! (donated by GoToPatterns.com)

Four lucky winners will receive $150 in prizes!

$50 to GoToPatterns.com

$50 to LowPriceFabric.co m

$50 for a class at Craftsy.com

Contest Rules:
Giveaway open internationally to contestants 18 years or older. Contestants must enter their email address to be added to the LowPriceFabric.com and GoToPatterns.com email newsletters to win. All prizes are awarded in the form of gift certificates. Winners responsible for paying shipping. Gift certificate value of serger is $210. Contest open from June 11, 2013 through June 20, 2013 EST. Winners will be notified within 24 hours of winning. Winners have 48 hours to claim their reward. New winners will be chosen if prizes are unclaimed. Winners will be emailed their rewards within 7 days of claiming their prize. ONE ENTRY per person. This contest is being held on multiple blogs. Please enter only once. You will be counted only once.
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SONP Guest Post! Adrienne of Adrienne & Co. - Take 2!

2013-06-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

Adrienne is back! Last week she brought us a post all about zippers, and today she is talking about re-vamping your wardrobe with a re-fashion project. Here's Adrienne:

Hello again! While I've been sewing for 20 years now (Mom taught me), I am pretty new to the happy world of refashion! Today, I'd like to encourage you to think about adding the Art of Refashion to your sewing repertoire! I am currently enrolled in the School of Hard Knocks, working on a degree in Advanced Domestic Science. Come on over to my blog, and join the fun!

See the full post on Adrienne & Co.

P.S. Adrienne is sponsoring a giveaway for a $25 gift certificate to Allegro Fabrics. It ends tonight, so hurry up and enter, already!

Dress #3 - The Jorna + Pattern Giveaway!

2013-06-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

Even though I look sad in this picture, I am so, so happy with my third SONP dress! I already know that this is going to be my go-to dress this summer. The pattern is called Jorna and it is by the wonderful and adorable SONP sponsor, Jenna of How to be Jenna. I'll be giving it away at the end of this post, so stick around!
From printing the pattern to completion, it probably took me an hour and a half to make, and the combination of the cut and fabric couldn't be more flattering. Jenna has a 4-minute video of making the Jorna in just 40 minutes. I only made one minor adjustment to the pattern. It is generously sized at the bust, so I brought it in a couple of inches to better fit my...ungenerously sized bust.

This slinky knit is from Michael Levine Fabrics. It is a polyester/spandex blend and it is very slippery and soft. I've never worked with this kind of fabric before, but with a lot of pinning, a ball point needle and a walking foot, it was easier than I thought it would be! It is also feather light, which gives it a wonderful, flirty drape, but if you wear it on a windy day, wear pretty underwear and look out! Because HELLO NEIGHBORHOOD, if you know what I'm saying. I speak from experience! But blustery days and Marilyn Monroe moments aside, the material is light and totally wrinkle-resistant. And if you look at the side of the dress there--the way the Jorna is cut combines with the vertical stripe to kind of form a point that hits right at the waist. It makes my waist look tiny and gives me an hourglass figure. It also stretches around the bust, but then drops down flat in the front and perfectly conceals the two-baby belly pooch. I'm so happy with it because knit tank dresses can be tricky. This dress accentuates all the right curves without being clingy.
If you're looking for a beginner-friendly pattern for working with knits, the Jorna is perfect and it is available on Craftsy here. If you make one, be sure to tag it #JornaPattern on Instagram, or add it to the Jorna Flickr group.
And now it is time for the giveaway! One lucky reader will win a Jorna pattern. Enter in the Rafflecopter below. Good Luck!

pin and instagram this image

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SONP Guest Post! Joy from Frock Files!

2013-06-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

My next guest for the Summer of No Pants series is Joy from Frock Files. Joy isn't a sewing blogger, but her lifestyle blog is so darn pretty that I wanted her to come by and share some styling inspiration with you guys! She made the cutest video of one dress styled three ways for us. Here's Joy:

Hi friends! I'm Joy Uyeno and I run the blog Frock Files, which is all about finding happiness through simplicity. Each weekday, I feature simple recipes, gift ideas, and thoughts on friendship. In addition to blogging, I work as a stylist and photographer over at Frock Photography. And this summer, I intend to do it all without pants.

See the full post on Frock Files

No-Sew Bicycle Skirt Guard Tutorial!

2013-06-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to make a skirt guard for my bike for a long time, and what better time than during the Summer of No Pants?! Skirt guards are fairly common in Europe, but you don't see them that often here in the States. As the name implies, a skirt guard helps keep a long skirt (or coat) from getting caught up in the spokes or brushed against a dirty rear wheel.

I shopped around for awhile for the perfect skirt guard, but never came across an affordable one that I just loved, and the tutorials that I found looked like they would work, but were not pretty enough for my gorgeous bike (by the way, if you are wondering about the bike, it is a Nirve Wilshire, and I love it!).

So after sitting in my thinking chair for a spell, I came up with this skirt guard tutorial! It's made from t-shirt knit fabric, but it is no-sew, and you don't have to punch holes in your fender to make it work.

Check out the full tutorial after the jump!

Bicycle Skirt Guard Tutorial

You will need:

A bike with a rear fender

Several old t-shirts or stretch jersey t-shirt fabric

Two metal shower curtain rings

Fabric scissors

Before we get started, please note a few things: For the purpose of this tutorial, I'll be talking exclusively about the rear wheel. The "left side" refers to the side without the chain, and the "right side" is the side with the chain.

Okay! Let's go!

left side (non-chain side)

right side (chain side)

Hang the metal shower curtain rings on the rear wheel nut on the outside of the bikes frame. On the right side (chain-side) of my bike, I have a gear shifter box thingy. I hung my metal ring behind that (I had to open the ring up) but still off of the nut in front of the frame.

Cut several strips of t-shirt jersey into 1"-2" strips. I used a few plain colors, but patterns or graphics on t-shirts could lead to some fun and interesting color combinations.

Loop one strip of fabric around the metal ring and tie the fabric to itself a few inches up from the ring.

top view of chain side, looping fabric under metal ring

Stretch the strip taught and bring it over the front side of the fender and down to the other side of the wheel. Loop under the metal ring and pull the strip up again and over the fender back to the first side.

Continue looping the fabric over the fender from metal ring to metal ring. Stretch the fabric so it is taught, but make sure it is not so tight that you are bending the fender and making it rub against the tire.

When you run out of one strip of fabric, tie another strip fabric to it to make a long, continuous string of fabric. Make sure your knots are secure!

to finish, tie the fabric to itself

Keep looping from one side to the other about 2" apart until your strip is about parallel with one of the metal stays in the rear - usually either for the fender or the bike rack. On your final loop, tie the fabric to itself a few inches up from the metal ring.

completed weaving warp

You've just completed making the warp of your woven skirt guard! Your wheel should now look like something like this. It's time to start weaving! You may want to cut some more strips of fabric.

Tie a strip of fabric to one of the outermost lines of the warp fabric. Slide it down close to the metal ring. Leave a bit of a "tail" on the short end.

Begin weaving in and out of the warp fabric. Weave the loose "tail" in, as well, and make sure to tuck it behind the woven lines.

Continue weaving, tying on new strips of fabric as necessary, and tucking loose tail to the back. Don't weave too tightly! You'll want to be able to stretch this out later.

completed weaving

Weave all the way to the about the rim of the wheel. You can go up a little higher, too, if you like!

Now we're going to stretch the woven bike guard out and attach it to the frame of the bike. Loop a strip of fabric through the outermost warp strip and around the bike frame. Tie a secure knot.

Start looping the strip through the woven skirt guard and around the bike frame. Pull tightly and evenly and finish with a secure knot.

Do the same on the back side of the skirt guard, attaching it to either your bike rack, if you have one, or to the fender stay.

Here's what it should look like when you're done! Now do it again on the other side!

Bada bing! Here it is on the chain side!

And here's what it looks like when you step back. Pretty sweet!
And that skirt? Yup, I made it. And I used some of the left over fabric in the skirt guard, so it matches perfectly when I ride.
If you make one, I'd love to have you share a link to it in the comments!
See you next time!

SONP Guest Blogger! Adrienne from Adrienne and Co.!

2013-06-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! We made it to Friday! And I only busted one sewing machine needle! We are wrapping up this week with the lovely Adrienne from Adrienne & Co. who has rounded up some tutorials and tips on putting in zippers! If you're working with wovens, this is a must-read. Here's Adrienne:

Hello Friends~
My name is Adrienne, I am a Native Texan, and Adrienne and co. is my blog. I am so honored and pleased to be presenting my zipper posts to you! Learning (or relearning) to install a zipper can be nerve wracking the first few times, but you will get the hang of it! Come on over, and I'll show you what I do. =)

See the full post over on Adrienne & Co.

Adrienne is also generously sponsoring a giveaway for a $25 gift certificate to Allegro Fabrics. Be sure to visit her blog and follow her on Google Friend Connect! Thanks for the great giveaway, Adrienne!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dress #2 - Craftsy Draping Class Dress + Giveaway!

2013-06-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

My second dress is from a pattern I drafted from taking Paul Gallo's Fashion Draping Class on Craftsy. I was really excited to take this class because I have had a dress form for a long time, but I've never used it to it's full potential because I just had no clue how to drape. I'll tell you more about the class in a minute. First, let me tell you about the dress.

The fabric is from Michael Levine's Loft and I bought it on my recent trip up to the L.A. Fashion District for Fabric Weekend 2013. The Loft has bins and bins of fabrics and you buy it by the pound. It was intense! The orange fabric is a textured knit with eyelets all over it, so I also made a red tube dress to wear under it from another Loft find. Together, they make for a bright, comfy outfit.

Fashion Draping is the first Craftsy class I have taken, and I have to say, I was really, really impressed. I was expecting something that I might be able to find on YouTube, but this was much more involved, detailed and had professional production value. The class was broken down into 10 lessons ranging from about 10-30 minutes each. Paul Gallo was excellent. He has a very relaxed style and goes through the whole process from start to finish very clearly and in great detail. I love that you can also ask questions throughout the series and he will answer them himself. You can also see questions previous students have asked and see his responses. As a self-taught sewist who is also a busy, working mom, Craftsy's online sewing classes are an ideal way for me to hone my sewing skills. I will definitely be taking more classes with them!

So I made this dress from a knit fabric, mostly because I needed to finish up quickly and get it posted! But I do plan on going back and playing with the pattern some more to make myself a more detailed dress from a woven fabric. I feel so much more confident in my ability to make and adjust a pattern after taking this class. My mind has been spinning with possibilities!

Also, I don't know if this would apply to everyone, but the class worked well on my smart TV, so I was able to watch it in my living room and spread out a little bit. It also worked well on my Kindle Fire HD when my kids kicked me off the TV! And each time I changed devices, I was able to pick up right where I left off.

And now, Craftsy wants to give one of you guys a free enrollment into the Fashion Draping class! Contest ends June 12th at 5pm PST.

Enter to win Paul Gallo's Fashion Draping class!

Good luck!

I hope you are all enjoying the Summer of No Pants series so far! In case you missed it, you can enter to win a Bernina sewing machine by entering the Pinterest Contest. My kids suggested that I should find some fabric with flowers and my face on it and make a skirt out of that, and that might win the contest. I told them that as awesome as that sounds, I am one of the judges, so I'm not eligible to win. However, you probably are! Please see my previous post for details on how to enter!

SONP Guest Blogger! The Glamorous Housewife!

2013-06-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

You know how sometimes you meet a woman and she just has a presence about her? I met my next guest poster at Alt Summit and was struck by the way she carried herself with such grace and class. And she had the most amazing style! When she told me her blog was called The Glamorous Housewife I was like, umm, OF COURSE it is! Today she's bringing you Part 1 of her two-part series on making the Craftsy Bombshell Dress. Plus, a Craftsy giveaway! Here's Bethany:

Hi ladies, my name is Bethany Herwegh and I am The Glamorous Housewife. I have a blog dedicated to the art of being a homemaker including fashion, cooking, entertaining, home decor, and inspiration for living. I am excited to be bringing you two posts on my adventure in dress making and a review of a Craftsy sewing class for this Summer Of No Pants celebration. I hope you enjoy it!

Visit The Glamorous Housewife for the full post!

(She's giving away a Craftsy class over there, too!)

Be sure to check out the Fashion section of The Glamorous Housewife for loads of retro inspired fashion tips. Bethany has a great series called "Back to Basics" and I especially love her post on the different silhouettes of women's fashions from thw 1940s, 50s and 60s.
And we'll see her back here in a couple of weeks to see the final results of the dress!

SONP Guest Blogger! Corey from better with june!

2013-06-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

Corey is a writer and a pug lover. She chronicles her many misadventures and love for all things pretty on her blog, better with june. Visit Corey on her blog at www.betterwithjune.com, follow her (sometimes) witty comments on twitter @lovemyjune, see pictures of June on Instagram at betterwithjune, keep up with the pretty things she likes and makes at http://pinterest.com/coreyjenna/ and send funny jokes and stories about dinosaurs to cmorrow310@gmail.com
Here's Corey:

Hi everyone! I am fairly new to this sewing thing and have never ever sewn clothes before. Never. I wanted to be a part of SONP2013 and my first project was a super easy maxi skirt. I am still amazed that I actually created an article of clothing and hope that I can inspire beginning sewers to give it a whirl!

See the full post on better with june!

Week 1 Roundup from the SONP G+ Community!

2013-06-03T17:58:00.002-07:00

If you have not joined the Google+ Community for SONP, then you are missing out on half of the fun! The community is where we all get to talk to each other and share our progress. It's a great place to cheer each other on, ask for advice and to bitch when you realize that you put wrong sides together instead of right sides together and now you have to rip out that whooooole side seam....
It is also a place to find SONP blog posts that you may not otherwise get to see. A lot of the No-Pantsers are also incredibly talented and creative bloggers and they have been sharing their tutorials and projects in the community. Here are a few of the awesome tutorials that have been shared:

Jenelle from TrashN2Tees shares a tutorial for a super simple no-sew skirt tutorial. You won't believe how easy this one is! Visit TrashN2Tees for the full tutorial.

Devorah of Studio Fabric Shop made a great tutorial on turning a pair of jeans into a pleated skirt. Visit Studio Fabric Shop for the full tutorial.

And the last tutorial comes from Jenna of How to be Jenna. She shares a hack for her easy pattern, the Jorna, to make a stretch lace version of her easy knit dress. Visit How to be Jenna for the full tutorial.

The Bernina + WeAllSew Pinterest Contest entries are starting to come in! Check out the official Pinterest board and repin your favorites to vote! Remember, only re-pins from the official board count, so make sure you are sharing and voting from that board! The Grand Prize winner of the Bernina bernette 46 will be chosen by a panel of judges, but we will take your votes into consideration, and a People's Choice winner will be chosen by popular vote.

Have you signed up for the SONP Newsletter? See past issues and sign up here.

And, finally, here are some of the skirts and dresses that were shared in the SONP Community for Week 1. Swing by to see more and to join us!

SONP Guest Blogger! Marissa from Rae Gun Ramblings!

2013-06-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday, everyone! Welcome to Week 2 of The Summer of No Pants! If you have followed me for awhile, you probably have seen my next guest here before. I "met" Marissa of Rae Gun Ramblings years ago through out blogs (and maybe Craftster?!). This January we finally met in person when I went to Alt Summit in Salt Lake City, which happens to be where Marissa lives! And then just this past weekend we met up again for Fabric Weekend. Which I would not have even known about or been invited to if it wasn't for Marissa, by the by, which is why she's double awesome. Today she is bringing you a super simple, super cute 30-minute skirt tute (I'm a poet, and I know it!). Here's Marissa:

Hi everyone! I'm Marissa from Rae Gun Ramblings and I'm so excited to be participating in SONP again this year. I blog about all thing crafty, delicious, and bookish. I also run an Etsy shop where I sell handmade baby clothes and fan stuff for YA readers so I sew all day long. As soon as the weather heats up I'm in skirts and dresses I just think they are WAY more comfy. So, I'm super excited to share my new favorite (and speedy) skirt tutorial with you!

Check out the full tutorial on Rae Gun Ramblings!

And now Marissa is being triple awesome by giving away this great fabric bundle!

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SONP Guest Post! Kelley from Casa Crafty!

2013-05-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

My second guest for SONP is Kelley from Casa Crafty. I discovered Kelley's blog during the last SONP. Every week, I would go through the skirts and dresses posted in the SONP Link Parties and Flickr pool and choose a few to feature, and every week I would click on her projects. So this time around I had to reach out and ask her to come on as a guest poster and was thrilled when she agreed to share an upcyled dress project! Here's Kelley:

Hello my Hideous, Dreadful and Stinky friends! I am Kelley from Casa Crafty. I love to make. All things and all styles but I mostly sew. I am a great fan of recycling and therefore do a lot of re-purposing and refashions. I am super excited to be back here at the Summer Of No Pants with a an easy DIY men's dress shirt to shirt dress refashion. I also added an ombre twist to this and pockets! Come on over and check it out!

Visit Casa Crafty for the full post!

Dress #1 - Modified Shift Dress!

2013-05-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

Ahh, the Summer of No Pants! My favorite time of year for silly poses. Milo said this one was the best. Well, actually, that's not 100% true...

He thought this one was the best. But since it didn't show off the dress at all, I went with his second choice.

Okay, back to the dress! I used a pattern for a super simple shift dress (View A) from the book Stylish Dress Book, which was originally printed in Japanese, but was remade for Western audiences and figures. Don't let those Asian eyes of mine fool you, folks. My mother was a teeny, tiny Filipina lady, but half of my genes are thick, hardy Wisconsin genes. Built for long winters and farm babies, with ample room in the hips and buttocks!
So when I got the book, I was pretty discouraged by pictures like this:

She looks like a sad Edward Gorey character in a potato sack. In one of the pictures she is holding a lamp. But the book had 5-star reviews, and when I searched for projects made from it, I loved a lot of what I saw. So I decided to bite the bullet and make this dress. And?! It made me look like a sad Edward Gorey character in a potato sack. Not really. I mean, it actually would have made a super, super cute dress if I was 32 weeks pregnant and it was 1955. But the color was so pretty, and I liked the gathered neckline with the thin chocolate trim that I decided to try to save it.

So, I slashed away some of the extra fabric bagging out the sides and added darts to the front and back, and it looked better, but still not like one of those cute, barely-body-hugging shift dresses that I had envisioned. I made a sash and tied a little bow in the back, and that finally gave it some form.

The bow looks cute around the front, too, but that makes it feel more like a special occasion dress, and maybe too cutesy for me. I also have a thin, brown leather belt with gold studs that makes it feel a bit more casual. I think a jean jacket or cropped cardigan on top could make this into something I could wear for everyday. Ultimately I think I ended up with a cute, versatile little number. And it's pretty comfy, although a little stiff. I hope that after a few washes it softens up and drapes a bit less stiffly.
I'll leave you with Milo' third favorite pic:

I think it makes me look like I'm doing the pee pee dance, but he says it's awesome. What do I know?

Fabric Weekend 2013! Los Angeles!

2013-05-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

In a couple of days I am heading up to L.A. to attend Fabric Weekend! I'm so thrilled to be included in this fun event with some of my ~~fellow fabric junkies~~ favorite sewing bloggers for a full weekend of shopping in the L.A. Fashion District. Even though I have lived in Orange County since 2006, I have never been up to the Fashion District. I am not down with L.A. traffic, so I only ever go up there with my husband/chauffeur and the kids. Dragging two little boys (and one big boy) from fabric shop to fabric shop sounds like a total nightmare, so it has just never happened. But this weekend it is TOTALLY happening!

I'm really excited about checking out Michael Levine, a staple of the Fashion District with their main storefront, upholstery shop and The Loft where legend has it you can buy fabric by the pound. They are generously sponsoring this event. If you can't (or won't) make it out to L.A. you can find them online at lowpricefabric.com

And thanks also to Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Stores for sponsoring Fabric Weekend 2013. Even in a fabric heaven like Los Angeles you still know you can find exactly what you need at Jo-Anns! And you don't have to sit in crazy traffic for hours to get there! Jo-Anns is also sponsoring a Girls Night Out for the bloggers on Saturday night. Unfortunately, I'm going to miss it because Saturday happens to be my 12th wedding anniversary, and I figured I should spend at least part of the day with Steve!

Even though I'll miss the tail end of Fabric Weekend, I know it's going to be a blast! And I'm especially excited to meet some of the SONP guest bloggers that I've been emailing back and forth over the past few months!

I will be all over Instagram @stinky_crafter with pics from Fabric Weekend, so be sure to follow along!

SONP2013 Guest Post! Sarah from Our Daily Craft!

2013-05-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

Good morning, No-Pantsers! Welcome to Day 2 of The Summer of No Pants! I hope you all had a lovely Memorial Day weekend! My first guest is Sarah E. White. Sarah is a is a professional crafter, writing mostly in the knitting genre for sites at About.com and CraftGossip.com. She also writes on her personal blog, Our Daily Craft. Today she brings you a post about sewing for yourself, especially if you are used to only sewing for kids, plus a really easy skirt tutorial. Here's Sarah!:

Hi, everyone! I'm Sarah from Our Daily Craft, which is all about crafting with and for kids and encouraging women to be more creative. So really a partnership with SONP is perfect, because its all about encouraging women to take the time to sew for themselves. If that's not something you're used to, this post is for you. I talk about why its so important to make for yourself and give you some ideas about how to take baby steps into sewing for adults. You'll also find the simplest no pattern "pattern" for a women's skirt you've probably ever seen. So grab some fabric and start sewing for yourself!

Visit Our Daily Craft for the full post!

Giveaway! Online Fabric Store $50 Gift Certificate!

2013-05-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

Let's kick this thing off right with a nice, fat gift certificate from Online Fabric Store! OFS has a great selection fun cotton prints from designers like Amy Butler and Joel Dewberry, Michael Miller. They also carry my favorite solid color broadcloth, Robert Kaufman's Kona Cottons. In fact, my first dress is made from that material, and you'll see that project later this week!
You can win a $50 gift certificate to Online Fabric Store by entering the giveaway below.
This giveaway is open to legal residents of USA, Canada and all countries Online Fabric Store ships to (please see OFS International Shipping Policy or call 1-877-781-2967 for details) who are 18 years or older. Please read the complete Terms & Conditions before entering. This giveaway and all Summer of No Pants giveaways can be found here. Good luck!

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The Summer of No Pants Starts Now! Quick Start Guide!

2013-05-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

THE SUMMER OF NO PANTS IS HERE!
Welcome to The Summer of No Pants 2013! Woohoo!

Over the next four weeks, Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky! will be your hotspot for a frenzy of skirt and dress making awesomeness. I have terrific guest bloggers to inspire you and generous sponsors who want to give you free stuff! And new this year, we are taking it beyond being a personal challenge and throwing in a Pinterest Contest (more on that later!).

Right now, I want to give you a Quick Start Guide: everything you need to know in a nutshell with links on where to find more info if you want to delve a little deeper. Here we go!

WHAT IT IS!

The Summer of No Pants, or SONP, is an annual skirt + dress sewing and wearing challenge hosted by yours truly right here on Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky! Along with my readers, I sew four skirts and/or dresses in the four weeks leading up to the first day of summer. Then all summer long we swear off two-legged apparel and wear only skirts and dresses until the first day of autumn. Read more about it here.

HOW TO JOIN!
Make yourself some skirts and dresses and post them on your blog. Then link up to the SONP Google+ Community under the appropriate category. (Don't have a blog? That's okay! You can upload pics directly into the G+ Community!)
You're going to want to:
Join our Google+ Community!
Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter!
Hashtag #SONP2013 across social media!
Grab a blog button to let your friends know you're a No-Pantser!
Follow me on: Facebook ! Twitter ! Pinterest ! Instagram ! Google + !

THE GIVEAWAYS!
You can find the Official Rules for all giveaways and contests here.
I will also keep a list of all giveaways, where to find them and the start and end dates here.
If you lose this post, you can always look at the menu bar right below Hideous, Dreadful and Stinky up there ↑.

THE PINTEREST CONTEST!

Bernina and We All Sew are generously sponsoring a Summer of No Pants Pinterest Contest. One of you lucky duckies will be chosen by a panel of judges to win the Grand Prize of a Bernina bernette 46 sewing machine! A second People's Choice winner will win a prize package of goodies. (Psst-grab a "Vote for Me" button to post on your blog!)

To enter, you will need to pin the skirts and dresses that you make during SONP, May 27-June 21, and share the link to your pin in our SONP Google+ Community. Need a tutorial? Well, you're in luck!
The Official SONP Contest Pinterest Board is here.

Get more details on We All Sew and read the complete rules for entry here.

START SEWING!
And that's what you need to know about the Summer of No Pants! I hope you're excited! Are you joining us? Do you need some fabric? We're going to kick it off with a fabric giveaway from Online Fabric Store. Come on back here at 9:00AM PST and enter to win a $50 gift certificate!

How to Enter the Bernina + We All Sew SONP Pinterest Contest!

2013-05-25T18:17:00.001-07:00

Here's a quick guide on how to enter the upcoming SONP Pinterest Contest.

You will need:

A Pinterest account

To join the SONP Google+ Community (Note: the SONP Google+ Community is a public, moderated community. You will need to request permission to join the community and be approved by a moderator before posting. Sign up now so that you can post your submissions right away!)

To submit an entry (up to four entries per person):

1. Make a skirt or dress during the Summer of No Pants (May 27-June 21, 2013) and pin it to your own Pinterest board. Then copy the URL of your pin.

2. Go to the SONP Google+ Community and paste the pin's URL into the "Share what's new..." box. Select "BERNINA & We All Sew Pinterest Contest Submissions" from the drop down menu below the preview of your pin. Click the "Share" button.

3. Your post will appear on the G+ Community wall. Make sure that the category (located under your name) says "BERNINA & We All Sew Pinterest Contest Submissions." If it doesn't, hover over the small down arrow and the list of categories should appear and you can re-categorize it.

4. Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky! will +1 your post once it has been added to the official contest Pinboard. You will see Stinky () in your +1 list at the bottom of your post within 24 hours. Once your pin has been pinned onto the board, you can start asking for votes for the People's Choice award. 1 repin = 1 vote. Only repins from the official board will count! You may post one of these buttons in your sidebar and link it directly to the pin to encourage votes.:

150 px

250 px

Contest runs from 12:01am EST on May 27th thru 11:59pm EST on June 23, 2013. The complete contest rules may be found here. Good luck!

Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky!

SONP Guest Post! Bethany from The Glamorous Housewife: Part 2!

SONP Guest Post! Jess from Me Sew Crazy!

SONP Giveaway! Five $20 Gift Certificates to Pink Chalk Fabrics!

SONP Guest Post! Mie from Sewing Like Mad!

SONP Guest Post! Aubrey from Homegrown & Healthy!

SONP Guest Post! Jenny from The Southern Institute!

Fabric Weekend Recap!

Fabric Weekend Giveaway!

One GRAND PRIZE winner!

Brother 1034D serger! (donated by GoToPatterns.com)

Four lucky winners will receive $150 in prizes!

$50 to GoToPatterns.com

$50 to LowPriceFabric.com

$50 for a class at Craftsy.com

SONP Guest Post! Adrienne of Adrienne & Co. - Take 2!

Dress #3 - The Jorna + Pattern Giveaway!

SONP Guest Post! Joy from Frock Files!

No-Sew Bicycle Skirt Guard Tutorial!

SONP Guest Blogger! Adrienne from Adrienne and Co.!

Dress #2 - Craftsy Draping Class Dress + Giveaway!

SONP Guest Blogger! The Glamorous Housewife!

SONP Guest Blogger! Corey from better with june!

Week 1 Roundup from the SONP G+ Community!

SONP Guest Blogger! Marissa from Rae Gun Ramblings!

SONP Guest Post! Kelley from Casa Crafty!

Dress #1 - Modified Shift Dress!

Fabric Weekend 2013! Los Angeles!

SONP2013 Guest Post! Sarah from Our Daily Craft!

Giveaway! Online Fabric Store $50 Gift Certificate!

The Summer of No Pants Starts Now! Quick Start Guide!

How to Enter the Bernina + We All Sew SONP Pinterest Contest!

$50 to LowPriceFabric.co m