Say Grr Sewing

This Little Guy

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 04:21:00 +0000

This little guy was born over three weeks ago, and I'm just now getting to posting about it!

Davy, shortly after birth

I had a lot of Braxton Hicks throughout my pregnancy with Davy, and shopping trips always exacerbated them. So, when I did the grocery shopping the day before his initial due date and started having extra contractions, it wasn't a surprise. But later that night, those Braxton Hicks started feeling more intense and regular, and just before 1 am I decided it was time to phone my midwife. At this point I was feeling very grateful that we'd decided on a home birth, and I wouldn't have to worry about getting to the hospital in time!

1 week old

I woke my husband up (and asked him to wash the dishes that I hadn't had the energy for after shopping) then texted my mother-in-law and mom between contractions. The midwife's assistant arrived at about 1:40 am, and I moved off the bed so she could put some protective padding on it. But before she could finish, another contraction hit, and midway through it I felt like I needed to move to a squatting position.

1 week old

So I did, and since resisting the urge to push at that point was impossible, I pushed. A few seconds later, and I was gasping, "There's the head!" and reaching down to support the baby. The assistant, Lauren, thought it was my water breaking. She asked me if I wanted to lay down, but I was too focused, and stayed in a squat until his head was fully out, then knelt. One more contraction, and Lauren slipped his cord off from around his neck while I caught him and lifted him to my chest.

1 week old

Some time later, the other assistant, my mother-in-law, and my midwife arrived. I'm sure it was a little disappointing to have missed out on the birth! But it was such a special experience to catch my own baby, and I absolutely loved having a home birth. (Aside from the 'lovely' stain in the carpet.)

3 weeks old, and wearing his first mama-made outfit!

Davy was a full 8lb 12 oz at birth- over a pound more than my heaviest daughter! And he was 20" long. And we are very happy he is here. <3

3 weeks old, and wearing his first mama-made outfit!

I'm hoping to post the details about his fox outfit at some point, but with the way things have been going, it could take a year! So the short version is: Jalie 3133 bodysuit, with an applique of my own design, and modified Flash leggings from Jennuine Design. All of the knits for this outfit were from Girl Charlee.

Thanks for stopping by,

Hopscotch Dresses

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 01:59:00 +0000

In a sale some time ago, I acquired the digital version of Oliver+S Hopscotch Pattern in both size ranges. Then, last year I decided to have a pattern with something like 80 pages printed out in large format instead by PDFplotting.com, and since I'd found the Oliver+S patterns less enjoyable to piece together when printed at home than many other digital patterns, I printed a few of the Hopscotch pattern at the same time to maximize shipping. This January, I sewed some up!

I used some cotton/rayon/spandex knit from Girl Charlee for these- I only had 4 yards, and I wasn't sure how far it would go, so I started by sewing Booper's dress from start to finish, which also gave me a good idea of how the pattern fit and any changes I wanted to make.

Since these dresses are cut pretty slim, it actually wasn't hard to fit all four of them on the fabric- I might have been able to sneak in even one more!

Booper's dress seemed like it didn't have quite enough fabric around the hips, so I flared out just a little below the waist for the other three. I also added length to the hems of the three older girls' dresses, but made a straight size 3 for Foof.

Next time I would widen the shoulders a little bit for the three older girls too... that's a change I've been making to patterns more frequently for them!

These sewed up gorgeously- I really liked the pattern, and definitely plan to use it again at some point! The fabric was about a 7oz weight, lighter than I prefer, but worked really well here.

I might use a non-stretch interfacing rather than a stretch one at the bottom of the front yokes before attaching the gathers next time, but even the knit interfacing made those gathers so much neater than they would have been.

This was also the first project I had a chance to use my Christmas present on! My husband bought me a Janome CoverPro 1000CPX (affiliate link). It definitely has a learning curve that I haven't fully conquered yet, and I absolutely recommend getting the clear foot if you want to have any idea what you are sewing, but look at this pretty hem!

The girls wore these dresses rather frequently when the weather was cool enough for them... I only wish I'd made them earlier in the season!

Thanks for stopping by,

Cowl Neck Sweater and Brown Knit Skirt

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 05:55:00 +0000

In an attempt to 'catch up' slightly on blogging, here are two garments I made last year!

The first is a lightweight French Terry sweater with a cowl:

I used my (very modified) version of the Lane Raglan pattern for this and added an almost-rectangle (just slashed and spread a teeny bit to get some drape) for the cowl.

I didn't want to end up with a shawl-type collar like I accidentally did on this sweater, so I was very, very conservative when adding width- I think something between the two would be even better, but I do like how this worked.

Recalling how tight this sweater was, I initially added width along the side and sleeve seams, but I ended up serging off everything I'd added to the side seams. (And then I tried that hoodie on again, and found that it fit! Aside from the sleeves still being a bit too slim.)

I thought I'd switch things up and band the hem this time around, but I wish I'd stuck with hemming it... I really prefer the way the curve of the hem looks on me! I may attempt a looser, curved band at some point though.

The sleeves have cuffs rather than hems too:

I added a pocket- I took the pattern piece for this from the Finlayson Sweater, since I had it out from making a sweater for my brother-in-law and it looked like a comfortable size for my hands. The pocket is my favorite part!

I twin-needled it on, and connected the bottom edge when I sewed on the hem band.

This was a polyester/rayon/spandex blend French Terry from Girl Charlee- it was thinner and had more drape than I anticipated, but still worked for this.

I don't think I'd use it for anything with a zipper or structure though. I actually managed to wash the fabric and sew it into this a mere day after it arrived! That was definitely a first for me!

Now for this skirt- this has been worn so much! And the photos I took of it weren't all that great, but it's worn frequently enough that it's always dirty when I think of re-taking them, so this is what I'm going with!

I realized last fall that I could really use a skirt shorter than ankle-length for exercising in- plus I have chunky thighs and need some sort of legging or shorts to stay comfortable. So I put those requirements together and made a 'skegging'!

I used the free Mountain Pose pattern from Hey June Handmade for the legging portion, shortened to Capri-length. While the pattern isn't ideal, these still fit better than any leggings I've found in stores, when combined with this waistband. The skirt and waistband are from the Syrah pattern- I cut the skirt between the knee and maxi length for this, and slightly tipped the hem to make it more level back-to-front when worn. I unfortunately didn't measure myself, and used the same size as when I first sewed this pattern a couple of years back, so it's a little tight.

I added a pocket to this too!

I used power-mesh instead of swim lining inside the waistband for these, and to make the pocket opening I sewed it in a narrow rectangle right-sides together with the outer fabric, about an inch below the fold-line of the back waistband. Then, I cut the rectangle open as for a welt pocket before flipping the power-mesh inside, top-stitching a zipper in place underneath, and sewing the rest of the waistband. Finally, I stitched a straight line to either side of the zipper from top to bottom of the waistband to keep any pocket contents from shifting. This is where I really wish I had a better photo!

The power-mesh was a bit too strong of a fabric to use as a waistband lining here without sizing up a bit, especially since it ends up double-layered. And of course the skirt being a size too small to begin with exacerbated that problem.

The waistband is definitely on the tight/structured side! In addition, the power-mesh was a different color than my main fabric, so it shows a bit around the pocket opening, but overall I'm pleased with how the pocket addition worked out.

The brown knit was a 12-oz cotton spandex from Nick of Time Textiles. I really love the structure of it for this! It's thick enough that I didn't include a skirt lining for this one.

This skirt has been worn often enough that I made a variation of it this spring- to be blogged about at some future unknown date. ;-)

Thanks for stopping by,

6 Years Old

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Sun, 26 Aug 2018 21:25:00 +0000

Hello friends! It's been quite a while since my last post... I've been a little bit deluged with life, and blogging has been pushed to the back burner. I'm 7 months pregnant with a baby boy, and along with the general tiredness that goes with being pregnant, I'm homeschooling three kids this year. So, busy. But I have some time today, and while I can't make any promises about keeping a regular blogging schedule, I think I can manage a post! =)

Back in December, Gaiw turned 6!

We went ice skating to celebrate, and of course I made her a gift!

All of the girls had been wearing the knit dresses that I've made for them more than anything else, so another knit dress was an easy choice. I decided to use some BOLT knit, even though the quality is so low, just because I had enough for a full dress and it had no other plans attached to it!

I kept this dress pretty simple- just a plain bodice with long full sleeves and a full circle skirt.

I made the bodice a little looser than I prefer for this style, to account for the lack of stretch in the fabric.

The sleeves are gathered at the shoulder:

I shirred them with elastic at the wrist, then topped them off with some ties. Those ties were such a pain! I initially tried sewing them right sides together and turning them, and it didn't work at all!

I ended up just folding the raw edges in and sewing with a straight stitch, which means the ties have no stretch, so they have to be re-tied every time this dress is worn, and they don't tie easily! But they are cute, so there's that.

The neckline is finished with a band:

And the sleeves and hem edges are lettuce-edged:

Gaiw loved her dress, and loved ice skating as well! She's an interesting little girl- so sweet and shy around most people, very emphatic and loud at home.

She still loves to draw and color, and has become pretty enthusiastic about reading in the past year! She reads out loud, whether anyone is listening or not, and often purposely changes stories on the fly to make them funnier.

She's not ticklish in the slightest, but she always appreciates a good hug! Gaiw is pretty picky about food, but very enthusiastic about the things she does like. And even though a lot of main-course dishes are unpalatable to her, she's generally happy with fresh vegetables, and is by far my biggest fruit-eater!

Very often, I find myself frustrated with her disagreements over trivial matters with anyone and everyone, but just as often, I'm working hard and turn around to find her working right alongside me when her sisters are nowhere to be found. She reminds me so much of myself at this age.

We love this tenacious, imaginative, shy, enthusiastic little girl! In addition to the dress, I made her a cake, but either I didn't take any photos, or I lost them, because I can't find them anywhere.

So that's it for now! Thanks for stopping by,

Blue French Terry Dress

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 05:38:00 +0000

Last fall Booper requested some long-sleeved dresses. I had a floral French Terry that I thought she would like, but decided to a trial run in a heathered blue French Terry first to make sure things fit right.

I started with Jalie 2805, as usual, and widened and sloped the shoulders a bit. I also added a bit of width through the bodice and sleeves to account for the reduced amount of stretch in the fabric.

I had the short sleeves already traced in this size, so I ended up just lengthening those to fit Booper, rather than trying to find where I'd (misplaced) the long sleeve pattern piece.

I measured the bodice height to her actual waist, then added some length because she has a high natural waist, and prefers longer dresses, so it looks more balanced with a longer bodice. I wish I'd added two more inches though, it still ended up looking high!

I went with a half-circle skirt for this one- it's still a little bit twirly, but isn't as heavy or as much of a fabric hog as a full circle would be.

I added a facing instead of a neckband, and chose to leave the neckline at the original line so it would be a little bit wider and more comfortable. I stitched the facing down in a collar shape with white thread- that was much more difficult than I expected, because my usual machine was out of commission and my backup machine's foot pedal doesn't work. I had to use the start/stop button, and found it quite awkward! But it turned out all right anyway, although it's more subtle than I'd intended.

I stitched the back facing the same way. After stitching, I trimmed the facing down close to the stitching so it wouldn't curl up.

I added some non-stretch embroidered lace trim at the ends of the sleeves and at the hem. I wouldn't use it at the end of the sleeves again, because Booper couldn't push her sleeves up, but it worked fine on the hem.

I ended up sewing the hem in four passes- I stitched the lace right sides together with the dress, then serged to prevent the fabric edge of the lace from fraying, then pressed it to the wrong side, edge-stitched, and top-stitched. I couldn't get a twin-needle to work on on the machine I was using, or I probably would have gone with that.

I also added some lace-trimmed pockets.

The pockets ended up being Booper's favorite detail! I would move them down on the skirt next time so it wouldn't drag the whole dress to the front when she shoved her hands in them. ;-)

Although there were a few changes I wanted to make, Booper loved this dress and wore it quite frequently last winter. And I ended up loving this color on her!

I never did get to the floral version though, and I'll have to start with a larger pattern size if I sew it up next year because the armscyes on this one are starting to get too tight for Booper!

I'm still glad I managed to fit this one in though. =)

Thanks for stopping by,

Finlayson Sweaters

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 02:31:00 +0000

A couple of years ago I bought a handful of patterns from Thread Theory in their Black Friday sale. When my brother-in-law's birthday came around last November, I decided to make the Finlayson Sweater for him. I had bought a mystery color palette sweater knit box from Sincerely Rylee about a month before, and it had a lovely thick, soft, charcoal rib knit that I immediately decided was perfect to make something for myself. However, once I decided on the Finlayson for my brother-in-law, that particular sweater knit had to be used for it! So I sacrificed it, and after some hours of working at it, managed to get the pattern pieces all to fit!

I've only worked with unpleasantly difficult hacci fabric before, and not a sweater knit like this one, so I was a little concerned that it would be a beast to sew, but I didn't have any issues with it! It pressed much more nicely than I'd expected it to as well, even though I'm pretty sure it's mostly polyester.

I used a solid black knit for the hood lining, and didn't add the twill tape at the back neckline, because I thought I didn't have any, and didn't want to take a trip to the store for it. I also left off the decorative facing. The hood edge is supposed to roll to the inside more, but since the knit I used for the lining had more stretch than the sweater knit, rolling it more made the hood lining baggy, so I just did a thin edge.

The pattern seemed pretty decent, although not perfect. I added just a little bit of length to the sleeves and hem for my taller-than-average brother-in-law by using a smaller seam allowance- I didn't have enough fabric to lengthen them otherwise, although I probably could have fit the pieces on my fabric more easily if I'd reduced all of the seam allowances to 1/4", then lengthened the sleeves and body slightly.

The way the neckline was sewn leaves a gap to either side of the center at the front crossover. I'm not sure if that's intentional, or if the markings are wrong, but I ended up going back in and sewing past the markings.

I felt like the cuffs were too narrow for the sleeves.... there is a secondary piece included for cuffs in fabrics with little to no stretch, by my fabric had a nice amount of stretch (about 45%) so I used the regular ones. The sleeves are wide enough that I think narrowing them would be the best option, instead of using the wider cuffs.

I used the kangaroo pocket for this one... it sewed up nicely!

I haven't sewn a lot of sweaters as gifts prior to this, but I love the idea- it's like a wearable hug!

And I got to see this one on my brother-in-law, so I know that it fit well, and looks significantly better worn than in flat photos.

I liked that charcoal one so much that when my brother's birthday came along a few days later, I knew I'd have to make one for him too. For my brother's version, I left off the kangaroo pocket, and sewed the shawl collar. I used a thinner green sweater knit, also from a Sincerely Rylee mystery sweater box. I had a larger piece of this fabric, so it wasn't such a puzzle to lay out!

I sewed the same size, and lengthened the sleeves and hem the same amount. For this one, I added the twill tape and decorative facing, and I definitely prefer the finished look when those are included! I didn't want two lines of stitching at the outside from sewing the twill tape, so I sewed the first line to the seam allowances only, then folded it down and sewed the lower edge through all of the layers.

I added a tag to the facing... next time I'd move that up just a bit!

I had the same issue with the un-sewn portions at the base of the neckline on this one, and it was a lot more noticeable in this fabric. Once again, I went back in and sewed farther.

I thought the shawl collar looked a little too narrow once I started sewing, so starting from about three inches from the end I reduced my seam allowance to 1/4", then tapered back at the other end of the neckline. I like the slightly wider collar... it's more proportionate to this size.

I used the wider cuffs for this one, but again, I think narrowing the sleeves might have been a better option.

I was very careful not to stretch the knit out at all when sewing the facing down, but I ended up actually wishing I had pulled it slightly, since the facing is woven, and the knit drapes down over it a little bit when it isn't laid flat.

Once again, this one fit nicely!

And my brother seemed quite happy with it, even though I didn't get it to him until February!

Thanks for stopping by,

Painted Mug

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 03:57:00 +0000

Here's another non-sewing gift I made last year- this one was for my brother-in-law, and wasn't as easy as I'd hoped it would be!

I used a silkscreen stencil set for it, and the set was quite pricey (although I did use a coupon!), so I'll definitely have to use it again elsewhere! That part went pretty smoothly, although the margins around the letters weren't the same size from letter to letter, so it took some playing around to get them mostly even.

But painting everything else on wasn't so easy! The slippery surface of the glazed ceramic made things go in directions I totally didn't expect. I wiped several sections off with a damp paper towel and re-did them multiple times before deeming it 'good enough'.

I picked this mug because of the red interior, and the paints I used were Martha Stewart brand. I used red, grey, black, and yellow... I think some were high-gloss and some were satin or matte- I just picked based on color. (I already had the black from this project.)

I picked some titles that suit this brother in law to paint on, then alternated between script, sans, and serif hands in a few colors.

I left the opposite side of the mug blank:

But if the silkscreen set had come with a larger version of the same letters, I would have added a large 'R' there!

The paint seems to stay on pretty well once baked- I don't have a working dishwasher to test it with, but it didn't scrape off with a fingernail, and water didn't harm it either. And that's it for this gift!

Thanks for stopping by,

Vinyl-Decorated Shirts of 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 01:48:00 +0000

I didn't make nearly as many shirts with vinyl designs on them last year as I did in previous years, but I did still end up with a few. Aside from my husband's, which I already blogged about, here they are!

First, one for my youngest brother, in July. As usual, I used Jalie 2918 with a slightly narrowed neckband:

This brother loves to 'geek out' about photography and music, among other things, and he has a slightly sarcastic sense of humor, so I thought this would work for him:

I didn't even end up taking any photos of the back, as it was just plain, but I did get one of that twin-needled hem:

Next, a pair for my sister-in-law's baby and husband. The husband one is Jalie 2918, and the baby one is Jalie 3133. The fabric for these and the prior shirt is grey 12-oz knit from Nick of Time Textiles

I used brown vinyl and a slightly western-looking font for these- I had a hard time striking a balance with size, since the adult shirt has much less text than the baby one, and the smaller the font got, the busier it looked.

It worked out in the end though!

I cut the pattern straight across just above the bodysuit portion of the baby pattern, added a hem allowance, and hemmed it.

I decided to go with the envelope neck even though it doesn't match the crew-neck of the adult shirt as well, because I wasn't sure how well the crew-neck on the baby pattern would go over a baby head!

As with last time, I changed the sewing order so the sleeve would be finished more neatly:

And finally, my favorite, and the one I spent the most time on- one for my sister-in-love. She loves being a mama, and I was actually planning to make a shirt with this design on it for her last year but switched to a dress last-minute. Pink is her favorite color, so I had to use that for the shirt! I was originally planning to use white for the vinyl, but it just didn't show up well enough, so I went with bright pink instead.

I hand-drew the design for the front of this one, then scanned it in and went over it in Illustrator before moving it into Silhouette Studio and cutting it, which is why it took significantly longer!

I added a little heart to the shoulder:

And a pair of them on the back:

I used Jalie 2805 for this one, but went a size up from A's measurements for a more relaxed fit. The knit is from Girl Charlee- I think it's this light pink, but I bought it a couple of years ago so I'm not positive.

I used bright pink thread that matched the vinyl for the hems:

I'm really happy with this one!

And that's it for last year's vinyl-decorated gifts!
Thanks for stopping by,

Wood-Burned Cutting Board and Utensils

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 04:09:00 +0000

I was planning to make some wood-burned utensils for my Mom's birthday last year, but when my friend Becky posted a few beautiful cutting boards that she'd wood-burned on Instagram, I decided that I needed to make one of those as well! I searched for a good cooking-related quote, and came across this one:

It's perfect for Mom, because she really does pour a lot of love into her cooking! I drew the quote out on paper first, then rubbed all over the back of the paper with a pencil, then taped the design on the cutting board and re-drew all of my lines, firmly, to transfer the graphite to the cutting board.

It probably would have worked better with a softer lead, but it was enough to give me a guide to trace over again with pencil.

I couldn't find a wooden cutting board that didn't already have some kind of design on the surface, so I went with this bamboo one. I was nervous about it burning well, but it was actually easier to neatly burn this than the wood things I've tried.

I had to do the wood-burning all at night, after the kids were in bed... that tool gets incredibly hot!

I added little hearts and dots inside the larger letters- I love how that looks!

It's definitely not polished, but I love how this turned out!

Then, to go with it, I burned a set of bamboo utensils:

For these, I just sketched some designs in pencil directly on the utensils, then burned them.

I did different, but complementary, designs on each one:

I added little hearts at the ends of the handles:

The backs of the utensils also have the hearts on the handles, but are otherwise plain:

Again, I really love these! And I learned a lot while making the cutting board, so these are a tad less rustic.

Here's the whole set together- I definitely wanted to keep this!

And here's how I wrapped it:

Thanks for stopping by,

Wood Plaque

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 23:57:00 +0000

Here's something I made for my Dad's birthday last year:

I found this unfinished wood piece at Walmart and wanted to make something with it for my Dad's office.

First, I stained the wood by watering down some acrylic paint and brushing it all over, then wiping off as much as I could. I intentionally left the stain slightly uneven for a weathered look. The edges really soaked it up, so I only did one coat on those and double-coated the rest of the plaque.

I tested out some paints with my pointed pen on a little matching wooden tag, but everything was either too thick to write with, or once I'd thinned it, bled everywhere. So I ended up using a calligraphy ink, even though it wasn't waterproof. I still couldn't make regular down-strokes, because of bleeding, so I just did gentle parallel down-strokes to make them thick enough.

After sketching my design on plain paper with pencil, I transferred it to the plaque the same way I did for this canvas, then went over it with the ink. I used the pointed pen for all of the script, and a combination of pointed pen and a small brush for the larger letters.

Once everything was dry, I very, very carefully brushed on a layer of clear acrylic sealer, and once that was dry, a second layer.

It's pretty imperfect up close, but I love the overall look. My only regret is not sanding the wood piece down before beginning to work on it!

I had fun wrapping this one too! I have a compass seal, which I thought went nicely with the verse on the plaque, so I used that along with some black cardstock and thread, brown ribbon, copper wax, and gold ink, to get this:

As you can see from the tag, this one was late. In fact, all but one of the gifts made after May last year were late. I don't think anyone but me minded though!

Thanks for stopping by,

Teal Tie-Neck Shirt

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 04:42:00 +0000

I saw a knit shirt with an off-center bow at the neckline last summer, and loved it. So, when I had a little time last fall, I decided to make one of my own!

I used my knit block, but removed some width from the side seams, partly because that block was designed for a cotton knit, and this is rayon, and partly because I'm a little bit smaller than I was when I made the block.

I marked my usual neckband width and height in the center of my fabric, then widened from there out to the edges of the fabric for the tie. I sewed the tails of the tie up to the marked points, then clipped to the stitching and turned it right side out. Then I sewed the neckband portion on as usual, being careful to keep the tails out of the way. I love the way it turned out!

I used a rayon spandex from Sincerely Rylee for this one- it's pilled up quite a bit with wear, but otherwise worked well. I wanted the bow to drape softly, and the rayon is perfect for that.

I love the color of this fabric too! The closest thread match I could find was slightly more blue than the fabric, but it's close enough not to be noticeable, even with the lettuce-edged sleeves and hem.

I'm really happy with how this one turned out, and I want to make another at some point!

Thanks for stopping by,

Stripes and Florals Dress

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 03:36:00 +0000

Foof turned 2 in September. I usually make tiered skirts for my girls' second birthdays, but Foof was much more interested in wearing dresses at that point. She had a hooded dress that she particularly loved, but that was getting a bit short on her, so I decided to go that route!

I had recently acquired some BOLT knit from Girl Charlee, at what I thought was an amazing price, considering how often I'd heard it compared to Art Gallery knits, and I loved the way the floral and stripes looked together.

I was quite disappointed in the quality of the fabric, however. The print felt stiff and rough, the fabric didn't have a lot of recovery, or as much stretch as an AG knit, and for some reason the stitches kept breaking. That almost never happens on the knit garments I sew, so I'm blaming the fabric. The fabrics faded significantly with regular washing, and the print crocked... even when sewing it! You can easily see where the needles went through the fabric because the color pulled away:

But, I didn't like my other already-available options for a fall dress, so I went ahead with these fabrics. I made a basic bodice, sleeves, a hood, and a circle skirt from the floral, then added details with the stripes, including a self-drafted kangaroo pocket, whose openings I banded with a stripe of the blue.

I wish I'd made the kangaroo pocket openings just a bit bigger, but Foof loved it!

Actually, I felt like I should have made the whole dress a little bit bigger... I'd meant for it to have a slightly more relaxed fit.

I twin-needled the hem of the ruffle- ruffles on circle skirts are huge, and this one was no exception, even thought it's barely gathered!

I love the ruffle around the hood! Next time I would widen it the neckline just a bit- maybe 3/8"?

Foof has worn this dress oodles of times since I made it! I've had to repair it several times due to the aforementioned 'stitches breaking' issue, but she loves it!

This little girl is certainly adored around here!

Most of the time she is eager to please, and willing to listen. But there's also the side of her that angrily declares, "You da baddest mama in da whole world!" when she doesn't get her way!

Foof is a clever little girl, who loves to repeat the large words that she hears, such as 'congregation', and who watches everything her sisters do intently. She loves to mimic them!

Because she's always copying her sisters, she's surprisingly strong!

She can climb onto all kinds of things that I wouldn't expect her to be able to... and can usually get back down safely, too!

Foof loves cuddles, and often asks me if she can snuggle with her big sisters before going to bed.

She's still very much a mama's girl, and rarely leaves my arms when we aren't home.

With all of the doting she receives, it's a wonder she's not totally spoiled!

In addition to making her dress, I made cupcakes. I tried frosting them to look like roses- which was much more difficult than all of those Instagram videos made it look! ;-) I can never seem to nail to balance between 'too soft' and 'not soft enough' with frosting. But I ended up with a few good ones!

Thanks for stopping by,

Dinosaur Shirts

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 04:46:00 +0000

Sometime last year, I came across some glow-in-the-dark heat transfer vinyl. I thought I didn't have a purpose for the vinyl right then, so I didn't buy any. About a week later, I realized that my twin nephews' birthday would be arriving shortly, and I knew they would be all kinds of excited about some glow-in-the-dark shirts! I didn't have enough time to order anything online at that point, so I went looking locally. Unsurprisingly, there was no glow-in-the-dark heat transfer vinyl to be had, but I did find some glow-in-the-dark paint (Tulip brand. Here's an affiliate link for the set I bought, for about half the price I paid!). It's meant to be dimensional, but I brushed it on instead. I cut stencils with my Silhouette, then layered the paint thickly on some grey knit to make these shirts:

I tested the paint out on some scraps first, and the glow was almost unnoticeable on the grey, even when applied according to the directions instead of brushed on, until I painted a base layer of plain white paint, then did a few layers of the glow paint on top of that. The paint seemed to pick itself up with every layer, so it has a mottled texture that I don't love, but it glowed well enough.

This shirt has a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and the words 'Dino-Mite!'.

I painted a couple of layers of the paint on top of the lettering too, but of course with the dark base the glow isn't as visible.

And for the other shirt, a pterosaur, with 'Dino-Soars!' on it.

(I'm aware that pterosaurs are not technically dinosaurs, but for the sake of the pun I went with 'Dino' anyway. I suppose I should have done 'Ptero-Soars!'.)

I used 12 oz grey knit from Nick Of Time Textiles and Jalie 2918 to make these shirts. I went a size up from what the twins were wearing at the time. I forgot that I usually narrow the neckband on this pattern- I dislike how it sits when made according to the pattern, as these are:

I twin-needled the hems:

And the backs are just plain:

Then came the fun part... trying to capture the glow in a photo! I ended up with a flash strapped to one leg of my backdrop stand, diffused with several layers of white tissue, and my camera on my semi-broken tripod, propped up with a tied-on sewing ham. I auto-focused with my overhead light on, then carefully switched to manual focus without bumping anything. I ended up setting the camera to Auto, which gave me a long exposure that I activated with the self-timer to reduce camera shake. (A remote would have been better, but mine decided not to work that day). So I would press the shutter button, turn off the overhead light while the self-timer counted down, use the flash once the camera shutter opened, and wait until the shutter closed. It took quite a few attempts to get it right, and I only have a 50mm lens right now, so that made things even more complicated, but check it out- it glows!

Isn't that cool?! I also tried it without the flash- they appear to glow more brightly in the photos than they actually glow in person!

Anyway, I wasn't particularly enthused about how the shirts look in daylight, but the glow-in-the-dark effect was perfect for a pair of 5-year-old boys! I still want to try the vinyl too.

Thanks for stopping by,

Firefly Hat and Tie

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 05:01:00 +0000

My brother's birthday was in June last year. At the time, he was working in pest control, and I thought it would be fun to make him a bug-themed tie. Most of the fabrics I found were pretty juvenile, but eventually I came across this firefly fabric... it's stretching the theme a little, because fireflies aren't usually considered pests! But I ordered a chunk, and some coordinating orange cotton broadcloth. (And about a month later I found a perfect fly print, but it was too late!)

Then I proceeded to make a tie! It took a lot longer to make than I expected, because it's almost entirely hand-stitched.

I used a free pattern from Purl Soho but I really don't recommend it- mainly because the tie stiffener, if cut according to the pattern, is both too narrow and too short. The tie itself is on the narrow and short side too, and the pieces don't fit together quite right, plus the sewing method adds unnecessary bulk. Next time I'll find an old tie to take apart and make a pattern.

I added one of my labels to keep the tail of the tie in place, but it pulled the tie a bit at the sides and formed a slight indent- and when I tried to sew it more loosely it bubbled away from the tie It probably wouldn't have been a problem if I'd interfaced the main fabric but since it's a pretty thick quilting cotton I skipped that.

The tail barely fits in the label anyway, so next time I would just leave it off.

Anyway, even though I wasn't delighted with the pattern or the addition of the label, I think it turned out okay!

Then for my nephew, the same brother's son, and whose birthday is also in June, I decided to use the same fabrics and make a bucket hat:

This is also a free pattern, from Oliver + S, and is a beautiful contrast to the tie pattern. The pieces are well-shaped, the instructions are professional, and everything fit together perfectly!

I decided to make the orange side the lining, and added a label, but the hat is normally reversible.

I admit to being a bit tired of hand-stitching at this point, so instead of hand-stitching the lining crown down, I stuck it down with wash-away wonder-tape and top-stitched from the outside. It's not as neat as hand-stitching it would have been, but definitely faster.

I used red thread for the top-stitching, and I love how it looks:

I like how the seam allowance at the top of the hat is edge-stitched to the sides- it really helps keep everything neat!

I'm really happy with how the hat turned out, and am definitely planning to make another at some point! My daughters were pretty impressed too, but since they have a small box stuffed with hats that they almost never wear, it will more likely be for another niece or nephew than for them!

Thanks for stopping by,

Canvas Lettered Art

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 04:30:00 +0000

Here's a gift I made for my sister-in-law's June birthday!

I knew I wanted to do some kind of painting for her, and eventually settled on lettering Joshua 24:15. I wanted it to last so I used acrylic paints and a canvas board. This is the largest lettering piece I've done so far- I believe the board was 11" by 14"

I sketched out my design on plain paper first, painted the canvas tan, then transferred my design with tracing paper. The stuff I used is Singer brand, and is meant for sewing- I looked in the stores for carbon paper but couldn't find any. And the sewing stuff didn't leave a very clear mark, so I had to go back over it in pencil.

I chose the colors and style based on things I've seen this sister-in-law wearing, and a couple of glimpses I saw of her house on social media (I haven't seen it in person) so I'm really not sure if it fit her decorating style or not, but she seemed to like it!

I had totally finished the painting in solid colors, but when I stepped back they looked incredibly dull together. So, I took some gold acrylic paint I had on hand (Ceramcoat glitter gold- and the rest of the paints were DecoArt) and went back over all of the brown with a thin, rustic layer, and it really helped to brighten everything up.

It does shine from an angle, but it's not noticeably metallic from straight ahead, which is what I wanted for this piece.

I happened across the frame at Joann's and just left the glass out so the canvas would fit- I'm glad I found it!

I find it really difficult to letter prettily with acrylic on canvas, but I think this turned out okay anyway!

I'm hoping I get some more practice working with acrylic paints in the coming year- speaking of which, Happy New Year!

Thanks for stopping by,

PS. I totally forgot to share the photo of how I wrapped this one... I love the wax seal trend that I've been seeing!

Art Gallery Dress

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 05:20:00 +0000

My sweet, shy, and sassy Beckers turned 4 in August! I made eyelet dresses for both of her big sisters' 4th birthdays, but they just weren't worn as often as I would have preferred, so I decided to go a different route for Becker's dress. Twirly dresses are always a favorite, and so is knit, so that's what I went with!

I'd bought a single yard of an Art Gallery knit to test out from Imagine Gnats on Black Friday last year- the Sprinkled Peony Serene from the Garden Dreams collection, and 1.5 yards of the solid knit in 'Tender Green' to go with it, and when I searched my shelves for just the right fabric for Becker's dress, these two were perfect! Like everyone says, Art Gallery knits are really nice- not quite as thick as I prefer, but really soft and stretchy, and they've worn really well. (Although my solid had a small flaw in it that I didn't notice until I'd cut my pieces, and I didn't have enough to re-cut.)

I was originally planning to make the entire skirt out of the print, but 1 yard just isn't enough for a full circle skirt on this lanky little girl, so I had to add length with the solid. And the solid wasn't a perfect match for the background of the print, but I had a few yards of dark magenta knit from Nick of Time Textiles that made gorgeous flat piping. I really love the effect- I'm so glad I didn't have enough of the print!

I also used strips of the magenta between the skirt and bodice, and around the collar, as well as making the neckband and sleeves from it. I decided to do a neckband as well as a collar because my attempts at collars on knits haven't gone well in the past... I don't love the look, but it is an improvement over previous attempts. I really wish I'd interfaced that collar though!

I gathered the sleeves to bands- also a change for me, since I usually lettuce-edge them and gather them in with elastic thread. But I wanted a bit more of the magenta in there. =)

The pattern is a very modified Jalie 2805... it's often much quicker to just modify a basic pattern like that to match the idea in my head than to search for a new one!

Beckers loved this dress! And still wears it every time it's clean, even after staining the bodice with dry-erase markers. (I really dislike dry-erase markers- we've lost quite a few garments to them, and all of my attempts at stain removal have been for naught.)

Beckers is such a fascinating little girl- she's a perfect mixture of sweetness and sass, and has some pretty strange ideas sometimes. She's so enthusiastic that sometimes I forget how shy she can be, and how much she loves her alone time, and just how many hugs she really requires.

She's been listening while I've been teaching her sisters, and it's amazing sometimes just how quickly she picks things up- like memorizing a poem that her sister was working on, when it looked like she was totally engrossed in drawing! But she can also forget the name of something 20 times in as many minutes.

Beckers and Foof are best frenemies, sometimes traipsing all around the house hand-in-hand while playing pretend, sometimes fighting like cats! But always giving each other the sweetest hugs and saying, "I'm sorry," when reprimanded.

And oh, Beckers has such an imagination! She's always telling stories and playing pretend, and just generally dreaming up new things.

She's a very active little girl, and loves to come up with new 'exercises' to show me. She taught herself how to do a headstand (against a wall, or very briefly in the middle of the room) this year, and it seems like she's upside-down every time I turn around!

We just love this mischievous, adorable, wonderful, little girl!

Beckers begged for a party this year, so we planned to meet some family at the park a few days after her birthday, and I was supposed to bring cupcakes, but I also wanted cake for her actual birthday. So I tried something new and made ice cream cake! It has three layers of homemade ice cream- chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla- on top of a chocolate cookie base (that I definitely overcooked and that was quite the job to saw through once frozen!) all covered with semisweet ganache, then decorated with swirls of whipped cream and chocolate-covered almonds.

Beautiful and delicious!

Although again, seriously difficult to cut! This was the prettiest slice I managed:

I'll do something else for the crust next time, but will definitely make ice cream cake again. ;-)

Thanks for stopping by,

Bear Backpack

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 04:45:00 +0000

Have you seen this unicorn backpack from Sew Much Ado? I came across it earlier this year, and I kept coming back to the idea of a simple animal face backpack for my nephew's 2nd birthday. He was a roly-poly, adorable baby, and everyone said he was just like a teddy bear, so that's what I went with:

I followed the general method shown in the tutorial from Sew Much Ado, but came up with my own pattern pieces, sized to fit a two-year-old. I had the two corduroys on hand already, the tan leftover from Christmas dresses last year, and the brown from when I was trying to find a good match for the plaid of those same dresses. I decided to use a zipper I had on hand too, but I wish I'd bought a longer one as the opening is a bit on the small side this way:

I used some buttons I had on hand (I see a theme emerging) for the eyes:

For the nose, I used a scrap of black leather (also on hand...). I was worried about damaging the muzzle with a leather needle, so I just used the leather needle and no thread to pre-punch holes on the leather only, then hand-turned the wheel with a regular needle to sew into those holes.

I embroidered the mouth with six strands of black floss and a backstitch:

I didn't feel like I'd have time to hand-stitch the muzzle on, and wasn't sure it would be sturdy enough if I did anyway, so I did a 'cheater' stitch and used that as a guide for pressing the seam allowances under, then edge-stitched the muzzle onto my interfaced and flex-foamed main face portion. I was really happy with how well that worked!

I did the ears the same way, but didn't include flex foam in them because I didn't want them to end up bulky. I top-stitched around the outer edge of the ears before sewing them to the main backpack, to give them a bit more rigidity. I shaped the ears so the base has the same curve as the top of the head when upright, but sewing the opposing curves with the foam in the main was pretty difficult, and I ended up with a couple of puckers.

The fusible flex foam was easier to work with than I'd expected, once I figured out which needle to use to prevent skipped stitches, and my only issue with it is all the wrinkles in the backpack from turning it right side out. No amount of pressing removed them... possibly a wash and tumble dry would have, but I wasn't willing to risk making it worse! The flex foam was pretty expensive, but this backpack didn't use much- definitely less than a yard!

The straps though... those were a bugger to sew, with all the layers of corduroy and interfacing. The length of the straps went decently, but my machine just didn't want to deal with the bulk when attaching the sliders, and I broke several needles there:

The sliders were another on-hand item... I bought these years ago, intending to make a purse for myself, and never got around to it!

I didn't have rectangle rings to match, and couldn't find any in the right width or color when I was buying the fusible flex foam, so I used some o-rings instead:

These lower attachment points were also a pain to sew in this fabric. I might try hammering them next time to see if it helps cut down on the bulk at all.

The whole back:

I used some fabric leftover from backing this quilt as the lining, and sewed in a tag. I didn't really like how the lining hung down from the zipper inside... I think some piping or interfacing on the inside to give it structure would have helped.

Once it was all done I had to try it on my own toddler!

I think I would bring the straps closer together at the top next time, but my nephew has slightly broader shoulders than Foof so it worked a bit better for him, and hopefully will grow with him a bit.

Foof was reluctant to take it off- I think my little adventurer could use her own backpack. ;-)

Isn't that adorable though?! I'm so happy with how this turned out!

Thanks for stopping by,

Modal Nightgown

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Thu, 16 Nov 2017 04:04:00 +0000

I don't typically wear pretty pajamas! But when I planned to stay with relatives for a week in June, I knew I'd need something nicer and with a bit more coverage than my usual. So, with that in mind and inspired by one of my daughter's, I made a nightgown:

I used my knit tee block as a starting point, and lengthened it to floor-length, as well as giving it a slight a-line. I cut a line just above my bust and added width to the lower section for some gathers. Gathers in this fabric, a dusty rose modal knit from So Sew English, were even more of a pain than gathers I've tried in other knits. I want to try interfacing the flat portion before adding the gathered piece next time. This knit is not as lovely as the black stuff I used for this shirt, but still nicer than your average rayon knit, and with a better drape than a cotton knit.

I added two rows of wide gathered stretch lace to the upper front portion, one zig-zagged on:

And the other tucked into the neckband seam, with both tucked into the shoulder seam.

I split the back piece at around the same level as the front, and added an un-gathered strip of lace to the upper portion- I did a narrow zig-zag along the top edge, and tucked the lower edge into the seam.

I also used this seam to adjust for the pooling I get at my lower back, and added some length to the bottom of the lower piece to compensate.

I made the sleeves longer than wrist-length, and widened them at the hem slightly (not enough) then added gathered lace there too- I serged it on, and used a zig-zag to top-stitch right at the seam so it stay pressed toward the sleeve. The sleeves are extra-long so the lace almost grazes my knuckles, which is fun and totally impractical.

I gathered the sleeve with elastic thread at the wrist- it's a bit too gathered there, but was still wearable.

And finally, because it clearly wasn't frilly or feminine enough yet (I'm sure you can imagine how much my husband hates this nightgown) I added a bow:

I had a lot of fun with this, and it was perfect for that relative visit, so I'm glad I made it, even if I can't wear it at home! ;-)

Thanks for stopping by,

Rayon Challis Alma Blouse

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 03:58:00 +0000

Ever since making this shirt for my mother's birthday last year, I wanted to make one for myself, and had some fabric set aside for it. I just kept putting it off because I needed to muslin it, but didn't have a fabric I wanted to use for that. Eventually, I decided to just make the changes I'd noted when I tried my mom's on and sew it up without a muslin. That wasn't a good decision.

It's technically wearable, but that fit needs some work! I adjusted for a gaping neckline, which seemed like it worked okay, although I think I may have overdone the adjustment a bit. I should have widened the shoulders a tad. I raised the underarm seam, which I might do again, but a bit less, and I'd double-check the sleeve-to-armscye ratio, because it definitely wasn't right afterward! There's a ton of pooling at the lower back that would have been evident in a muslin.

I added length, at the hem because I prefer a longer shirt but my torso length is average, but I didn't add any width to accommodate my hips. I made shorter sleeves with a cuff, but I made the cuff just a bit too slim, and I should have widened the sleeves by at least an inch. And the darts aren't right either! They are too wide-set, although the height is fine. And unfortunately unpicking and re-sewing in this fabric leaves holes. So yes, the fit needs work.

I do really like how these fabrics look together! They are from Imagine Gnats sometime last year- I think in their Black Friday sale. Both are rayon challis, although the solid is unpleasantly thin and shifty, and wrinkles with a glance, while the floral was much more manageable to sew with, and stays smooth a little better.

I really love the look of the shorter sleeves with the cuffs! I definitely want to try that again- but wide enough. ;-) I used some cover buttons and the solid to button the cuffs- and I actually sewed buttonholes for them, since I had a cam for my buttonholer that fit the buttons!

I under-stitched the neckline again, and it made a huge difference in how the collar sat. I also used a very light interfacing that played better with the hand of the challis than the lightweight Pellon stuff I usually have available. I've lost a few pounds since taking these photos, and the shirt fits a tiny bit better now, but aside from occasionally trying it on, I haven't worn it even once. I really should have made that muslin!

The skirt turned out a bit better though! It's a half-circle knit skirt with the waistband from the free Mountain Pose Pants pattern, because who wouldn't want a cute overlapping waistband?

I do wish I'd gone a size smaller with the waistband though, and interfaced the inside of it instead of the outside, as the knit interfacing stretches oddly. I might remove the waistband, overlap it more, and sew it back on the other way around at some point. This has still been worn a lot more than the shirt though!

I used black 12oz cotton spandex knit from Nick of Time Textiles for this. It's a nice weight for this, and that's about all I have to say about the skirt! (I just noticed how much better the shirt looks tucked in than un-tucked. Maybe I should try wearing it that way.)

Thanks for stopping by,

Knit Sunflower Dress

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 05:02:00 +0000

Back in May I saw quite a few cute versions of the free Dulcie Dress pattern from Sewpony. I had plans to make some without modifications for my own daughters, but first I tried it out with a few small changes for my youngest niece's birthday!

I used a sunflower knit, bought years ago from Girl Charlee. (I used some of this for a birthday gift last year too!) I paired it with a mustard cotton-spandex knit, also from Girl Charlee. Because I used knit, I removed some width from the back bodice piece and cut it on the fold.

I wanted to line the bodice in white, but wanted the cuffs in yellow, so I made a separate cuff piece, and used some bamboo (I think) buttons to hold them in place. I added flat piping to the shoulder seam.

I also piped the pockets. I sewed the pockets on with a twin needle. They really wanted to shift around and stretch out- a walking foot probably would have been helpful!

I added some knit interfacing under the pockets, before sewing them on. The fabric didn't seem sturdy enough for the pockets without it.

I stabilized the waist seam too, with clear elastic. And I managed to get it in without creating puckers or waves! Not really sure how I did that. ;-)

I actually made a size 2T, but when it was done it looked quite a bit too big for that size, so I tried it on my youngest, who was wearing a size 24 months at the time. And it was definitely over-sized (so if you make this dress in knit, it would probably be a good idea to go down a size!), and quite a bit too long. I shortened it slightly and added a vinyl 2-3T tag for good measure. ;-)

I lettuce-edged the hem- this fabric lettuce-edges quite nicely!

And here's how I packaged it all up:

I was planning to give the pattern a bit more thorough of a test and try it in some woven fabrics, and even went so far as to cut two dresses and partially sew up one, but life got in the way and everything else has taken precedence to finishing them. Hopefully I'll get a chance to finish them before they are outgrown, even though it's the wrong season for them now.

Thanks for stopping by,

Raccoon Baby Shirt and Knit Pants

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 04:19:00 +0000

My sweet sister-in-law had a baby boy in July! I had seen this post a few months prior to that and knew immediately what I wanted to make when I was invited to her baby shower. However, when I went back to re-read the post, it turned out that my memory had changed the raccoon significantly from the original, and I ended up preferring the version in my imagination, so I came up with my own template for it. I cut out layers of freezer paper to stencil it on, and used acrylic paint mixed with textile medium to paint it.

And of course, I made sure to include the tail in the back! I only cut one piece of freezer paper for that, and free-handed the stripes for a furry effect. I love how it turned out!

I stenciled these on some navy blue knit from Girl Charlee, and used Jalie 3133, version A in size 3 months, to make the bodysuit. I haven't been entirely happy with any of the onesie patterns I've tried, but this is the least offensive of the bunch so far.

The only change I made was to only partially sew the bindings on the sleeves until after the side seams were sewn up (mostly because I'm a perfectionist, but also because my machines don't like sewing over a big lump of binding like that).

I like how this pattern has a separate rectangular piece for the snaps, although sewing it to enclose the front was a bit more difficult than a regular binding would have been. I used KAM snaps for the closure.

I want to try stretching the binding even more around the curve at the bottom next time, as it doesn't lie perfectly flat.

The way the binding is sewn doesn't leave a good spot for a tag, so I cut the size from a scrap of white vinyl and ironed it on in the back neck area. Of course, it didn't occur to me that I'd have to do that until after the shirt was finished, so it's a tad crooked. Fortunately it's not visible from the outside!

I'm delighted with how this little shirt turned out!

To go with it, I made a pair of knit pants using a heavily modified overall pattern.

I used some grey and black checked fabric, from Girl Charlee but no longer available, for the cuffs:

As well as slipping a bit in at the pockets:

The waistband is just plain black knit, and the main fabric is solid grey. I was really happy with how the fabrics worked together.

Next time I'll see if I can find a knit pant pattern instead of modifying an overall pattern, but I think they worked. I never actually got to see them on the baby, so I can't be sure!

I wrapped this all up with some more of that plaid- it makes a darling bow!

Thanks for stopping by,

Bow-Back Striped Floral Shirt

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 04:21:00 +0000

I love this shirt! This is pretty high on the list of favorite things I've ever sewn. It's funny that I like it so much, because the bright pink brings it well out of the color palette I'm usually comfortable wearing- but those details make me so happy!

I started with my knit shirt block, and divided it at the waist to make a peplum (actually, a bit below my waist, because I like the proportions better that way). I took a small piece out of the back above the waist for fitting purposes, and added that much length to the bottom of the back peplum. If you look closely at the stripes just above the waist seam you can see how it curves up a bit.

I added ties to the front- this is the only part I don't totally love, as they tend to gape a bit at the top. I still like the concept though- maybe some interfacing would help.

I moved the shoulder seam forward, and widened the neckline slightly, then bound the front neckline only with a strip of pink knit (from Girl Charlee, also used here). In the back, I added a partial second layer (and third, because I lined the second one for a clean edge, although binding would have been a better choice) and cinched it up to give a bow effect. I really, really love how that bit turned out!

I sewed it together by capturing the front of the shirt between the back of the shirt and the bow layer- it's a bit bulky, and isn't as smooth as I'd like at the join between the front and back neckline, but it makes up for the lack of stretch in the front neckline. I spent some extra time matching the stripes:

I was happy to have the tie section in the front though- with the shaping of the front versus the back it was impossible to match the stripes all the way down the side seam, and the ties help hide any un-matched bits.

For the sleeves, I added a bound keyhole and a knotted cuff. I love how this turned out!

The striped/floral fabric is from Sincerely Rylee well over a year ago- it was a custom design called Nova and I don't think the shop owner has any plans to run this one again, although I'm hoping I'm wrong!

The skirt is another re-worked dress... although I really liked this grey dress, I almost never wore it, so I unpicked the skirt and waistband from the bodice and finished the top of the waistband, then re-hemmed the skirt a bit shorter. I'm glad I did, as I've worn it quite frequently in skirt form.

And I'm really glad I chose a fabric I wouldn't usually try to sew this shirt, because I am so happy with the results!

Thanks for stopping by,

Soft Pleats Shirt

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Sun, 22 Oct 2017 04:22:00 +0000

Apologies for the unintentionally long break between posts- I feel like I've had barely a moment to myself in months! Here's another shirt I made back in May.

I bought this piece of black modal knit from Sincerely Rylee to try earlier this year, and it's such a lovely fabric- soft, with a heavy, graceful drape (although I've since discovered that not all modal knits are quite as nice as this one). I modified my knit shirt block to add some pleats, off-centered around a small rectangular section, and included a some ties in the sides of the rectangle. This was not the easiest thing I've ever sewn, in spite of lightly interfacing some sections to reduce the stretch! So it's not very clean, but I've yet to successfully seam-rip a knit, so it stays.

I brought the section below the rectangle to a point. I expected that to be rather difficult to lettuce-edge, but it was much easier than I expected- I just started and stopped at the point, and threaded my tails in extra-carefully. I stretched the fabric much less near the point to keep it a bit more defined, but stretched normally the rest of the way around the hem.

I also drew in a curved line on my sleeve piece, then flared the lower portion out to a half-circle and added a point to that as well.

I love how the sleeves feel, although the weight of the knit makes them sit a bit lower on my arms than I'd meant for them to.

I wish I'd tightened the whole shirt up a bit, or added a draped detail to the back of the shirt. As it is, it feels a little bit sloppy instead of graceful.

But I do love this knit, and I really like the way the points turned out. Definitely something I'd like to experiment with more!

The skirt might be a bit familiar- I took this dress, which I only wore a few times, and combined it with the lining from the lace skirt in this post, once that skirt was no longer wearable! Right now this black shirt is the only thing I can wear the skirt with, so it hasn't been worn all that many more times as a skirt than it was as a dress, but I do like it better.

And that's it!

Thanks for stopping by,

Coral Eyelet And Not Chambray

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Sun, 03 Sep 2017 04:08:00 +0000

Earlier this year I bought some fun eyelet knit from Style Maker Fabrics (at the moment there is a small piece left for sale, here) without any real plans for it, other than thinking I'd use it for myself. It's a polyester nylon spandex blend, which isn't my favorite, but I loved the eyelet enough to give it a shot anyway! Eventually, I decided on a shirt:

I made a full-circle peplum with the seam situated below my natural waist, and a dip to one side. (I sewed a pretty decent point in it too- I'm disappointed that it was just barely out of the frame in the one photo I got of the dip!)

I made 3/4 length sleeves and ruched them with elastic:

And I echoed the dip slightly at the neckline with another bit of ruching:

I took a small chunk out of the upper back section at the waist seam, then added it back to the lower edge of the peplum, and it really helped reduce the wrinkles back there! I lettuce-edged the sleeves and hem:

I also sewed a white tank to go underneath, using the last of my white swim lining. But of course I didn't get any photos!

Then, I spent a couple of days drafting a skirt block, making it a-line, muslin-ing it, and adding a tulip-style flounce and pockets. I wanted to sew it up in chambray, but the only piece I had was too small, so I used a slightly larger piece of lightweight denim, wrong side out. Unfortunately, the denim was still too small for the flounce, so I went with an overlapping ruffle instead, and I'm not entirely happy with it. I like the overlap, but flounces are much more graceful than ruffles!

I made a mistake when drafting the skirt block though. I drafted it at the wrong time of month and it's too big the rest of the time, and sits quite a bit lower than I'd intended. Not a problem I'd considered! Also, I wish I'd added half as much width for the a-line flare.

At least it has pockets?

I used an invisible zipper in the back, and a hook and eye on the waistband:

I've worn the skirt pretty frequently in spite of its issues, but early on I forgot that the inside is denim, and dark, and washed a load of laundry- including the coral shirt- with it, and it bled on them. So my pretty coral shirt has darker spots all over it now that I just can't seem to get all of the way out. =( I do have a bit more of the coral- maybe I can squeeze a different shirt out of that!

Thanks for stopping by,

Florals and Solids

noreply@blogger.com (Charity) — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 03:57:00 +0000

Here's another set of clothes I made in the spring- coordinating dresses for these four little girls!

The floral is a rayon spandex from Sincerely Rylee... I think I bought it last year?

All of the solids are from Girl Charlee... aqua, coral, peach, and navy.

I decided to go for a really simple silhouette on these, with a basic short-sleeved bodice and gathered rectangular skirt. I had some issues with the gathering, but then I usually do on knit! And I'm sure it didn't help that I was trying to stabilize it with clear elastic. I found I had to stretch the elastic the tiniest little bit as I serged it in, or the bodice seam would still wave... but I ended up overstretching it in a few places, which caused puckering.

I had thought the floral was opaque enough by itself, but once I'd finished all four dresses it was pretty obviously NOT, so I ended up sewing four simple slips from some swim knit lining fabric, which I hemmed with stretch lace, and after a failed attempt at trimming the necklines and armscyes with lace trim, finished with a shell hem like this one using a machine blind stitch. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the slips.

Since this was a pretty basic design, I used Jalie 2805 and cropped it just above the waist, then added the skirt- I had to grade the pattern down for Foof, but the other girls all fit in the size range now. I did notice that while the grading looks perfectly even, the amount of ease goes up and down as the sizes go up. And the edges aren't quite trued, so things form points or dips occasionally. I still think Jalie 2805 is a better option than a lot of Indie patterns, but it could definitely be improved on!

I hemmed the sleeves and skirt with lettuce edging- I really love the way the lettuce-edging looks in this rayon knit!

I wasn't sure about the navy at first- it's much less of a cheerful spring color than the others, but I really love how it worked in the end!

This is the only photo I got of any of the dress backs, but they are just as basic as the fronts!

These dresses have been worn quite a lot over the summer! I had plans to make more with the same silhouette but I'm quite behind on my sewing list (I still have 5 summer birthday gifts to make!) so that hasn't happened yet.

I'll be back at some point with this outfit I sewed for myself in May! (Hopefully it will be less than a month this time.) ;-)

Thanks for stopping by,