Monday, March 31, 2014

Making Shift

When I saw this babyGAP tulip shift dress, I knew three things. One, I wanted just such a dress for Rosa. Two, there was no way I would spend $33 to acquire said dress from GAP. And three, the solution to my dilemma would be to create my own version!

So far, this is a close as I've gotten:




The difficulty with trying to recreate an exisiting garment that you really like is that it's a bit disappointing if your version isn't identical. But, I'm reconciling myself to "semi-failure," because I actually like how it turned out! It's not quite the chic, casual dress I was trying to recreate, but that's okay. Because Rosa looks sweet in it, anyway.

The fabric is from my stash (I don't buy new fabric for trial runs!). I love the tulip sleeves -- they look much better when filled with chubby toddler arms, by the by.




The back of the dress is a simple button-up-the-back kind of deal. No plackets, no fuss. Five pink buttons from my "button hoard," salvaged from an old shirt and just waiting for this project. 




I'm still brainstorming ways to make my pattern a bit more like the original GAP dress (squarer, narrower yoke? A little less A-line? Longer, deeper armscye?), but for the time being, this works for me.




Does anyone have a quick-fix for "can't-stop-making-clothes-for-my-daughter" syndrome? 'Cause so far I haven't found any effective remedies...

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Brought to You by the Color Pink

Sometimes I have a vision of what I want -- a project materializes in my mind, and I go on a stash hunt (or a fabric store hunt, if necessary) for the corresponding materials. Sometimes, inspiration comes later. When I found a too-long, too-small, but oh-so-cute shirt at the thrift store, I plunked down a dollar and crossed my fingers that I could come up with the right design. 

A dollar's not much of an investment if it all goes "south," but this investment turned out to be quite rewarding. Rewarding, in the sense that I got to scratch my sewing itch and Rosa got a new dress (not that she needed one... *cough*). 





The original shirt had a pink band at the bottom, raglan sleeves with pink sleeve bands, and a wide pink boatneck collar. I just love the perfectly pink-and-white stripes! The fabric is super soft and flowy, too -- which does make the dress look a little odd when it's not being worn. Trust me, in real life the fit is perfect. 

I improvised the pattern, using a size 18 mths tee that I'd also picked up at the thrift store. I added to the sleeves to make them puffed, created a yoke, and added a slightly gathered skirt. Having all of those solid pink bands was so helpful in creating my own bands! I did have a hard time squeezing the bodice out of that oversized collar, but it all turned out fine.




Apparently I need to work on my gathering skills with knits, but fortunately it's a pretty forgiving fabric. I'd show you a picture of the back of the dress, but it looks virtually identical to the front! Which reminds me, I need to start putting "direction" tags in some of my garments. 




And that's that! Much as I love the cold weather, it's nice to be doing a bit of Spring and Summer sewing for the littles (and myself).

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Strapped

I made this camera strap cover quite a while ago, but having omitted to photograph it before replacing it on my camera, I was left in a bit of a quandry. Apparently, it is virtually impossible to take a picture of your camera strap while it's on your camera. Oops. I was in no mood to remove the camera strap, and thus it has gone "unpictured." But no longer. I had to remove the strap when I sent my camera in for repairs, so the first order of business when my camera returned was to take a picture of the strap!




I browsed endless photos of camera straps as I pondered this project, but just couldn't find the right look -- I liked some of the more girly straps, but didn't want to totally embarrass my husband every time he used the camera! In the end, I found some slightly stretchy grey suiting in my stash, and paired it with a bit of raspberry corduroy. I suppose pink is still a bit girly, but at least there aren't any flowers or lace! Oh, and my other requirement was that I wanted a cover, so that I wouldn't destroy the original strap.

The cover was easy to construct -- fold under the edges of the corduroy, run a pair of gathering stitches, topstitch the corduroy onto the suiting, and stitch the suiting into a tube. Once turned inside out, I fed the tube onto my existing strap, folded under the raw edges, and took a few stitches on each end (through the strap) to secure it in place. I can easily remove it if I want, with no damage to my original strap. Now my neck doesn't feel chafed every time I hang the camera around my neck (seriously, Canon, what's up with that?), and my camera's a bit more personalized. It's the little things, you know.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Rosa's First Purse

While it's certainly been amusing to see Rosa trying to lug too-big bags around the house (one tiny arm hiked up in a vain effort to keep the strap on her shoulder), I decided to make her a bag more fitted to her diminutive scale. And while I'm not the girly makeup/nail polish/frou frou sort of mom, it was fun to sew my baby girl her very first purse!





The purse fabric is actually a Waverly print I bought at Wal-Mart almost a decade ago, and the solid pink is from a set of dresser scarves that my mother-in-law passed along. It's nice when I don't have to go digging in my purse to make one for Rosa!



I drafted the pattern myself, after searching in vain for a free tutorial or pattern online. I stuck with simple shapes and measurements, and it turned out just fine (though that curved "yoke" piece was a beast to attach to the main body of the purse!).

A little wooden toggle serves as a closure (though I doubt Rosa will be able to manage it for several years!).




For the straps, I went simple -- two strips sewn together and tapered at the ends, and tied in a double knot. I know, I really shouldn't try so hard. *wink*




Now Mama's stash is smaller and Rosa has the perfect receptacle for her little books and toys. That makes two happy girls!

Monday, March 17, 2014

Little Messenger

The kids have been commandeering my bags lately for their own purposes (namely, toting random items around the house), so I decided it was time to make them bags of their own in a more appropriate size! Here's Little Man's:




I used Zaaberry's Kid's Messenger Bag Tutorial, which was excellent. This is a simple design, but not having to figure out the proper dimensions myself was delightful! And it's the perfect size for my three year old. I only made two modifications -- one was to the strap, which would have been far too thick with my heavy denim and a double layer of batting. I opted for a single layer of batting and less denim, creating a slightly narrower and thinner strap. The other was to add a simple magnetic closure to the bag, which I thought Little Man might enjoy. Oh, and I did add a metal ring to the side, which he might enjoy attaching things to.




I bought the patch many moons ago -- Little Man spotted it during a JoAnn shopping trip, and was so excited that I couldn't resist buying it for him. He does love "Cars!" I wish I'd placed it a little lower on the bag, since I didn't account for the flap needing to cover the bag opening -- but c'est la vie. Little Man hasn't complained about it! *wink* I applied it with an iron, but also sewed over some of the existing black lines for added security.




I managed to find a suitable lining fabric in my stash, which meant I didn't need to make a trip to the fabric store to complete the project. I love it when that happens! Taking a cue from the lining color, I did all of the topstitching in a pale green. 




Other than a few kinks (like my sewing the strap in backwards -- not a big deal, but annoying enough to me to unpick it and put it in the right way), this was a remarkably smooth and satisfying project. Little Man seems to approve, considering how much he uses his "Mater bag." The first day he had it, he apparently thought it would be a great idea to place all of his wooden puzzles pieces in it. All of them. Boy, was that a fun mess to sort out! Since then, he's opted for his entire matchbox car collection, and other sundry bits and bobs.

Rosa's bag is up next!


Thursday, March 13, 2014

Da-Minion

Realizing that Little Man's collection of bibs was being quickly outgrown, I decided it was time for a new one. As a matter-o'-facto, I have never made him a bib in the 3+ years of his life. All of his current bibs were gifts from friends and family. 

And thus, I began to brainstorm a bib design. I wanted to do something fun, since Little Man is actually very fond of his bibs (each one has a "name," based on its design, and he gets to pick out which bib to use for dinner). 

It wasn't long before I came up with the perfect design:




A Minion bib, of course! Ironically, Little Man has never seen either of the "Despicable Me" films (and Pablo and I have only seen the first). He does, however, love watching clips of the Minions -- particularly the "Bee do" scene. And the Minions, with their crazy, mischievous antics, remind my husband and I strongly of our little people (especially their love of bananas!).

At any rate, I managed to pull out all the necessary "ingredients" from my stash -- denim for the bib (reminiscent of the Minions' overalls), tan terry for the backing, navy bias for the binding, yellow fleece for the minion, grey knit for the "goggle," black linen for the mouth, white cotton for the eye and teeth, and some black grosgrain ribbon for the goggle band. Even more miraculously, I actually had all the necessary thread colors. The design was easy enough to draft, since Minions are comprised of rather simple shapes.




And thus, I set to work. There was a lot of Wonder Under and applique involved. Lots and lots and lots of zigzag -- I really felt quite dizzy by the end. *wink* Quite honestly, once I started, I couldn't stop! It's a good thing my husband was out of town when I made this, because I didn't wrap up until well after midnight. 

I filled in the iris area with brown thread, and added a flat black button for the pupil. And, of course, a bit of black zigzag for some "hair."




Sadly, my camera was broken when I finished it, so the pictures you see here are post-laundering (i.e., not exactly pristine). And yes, I admit to photoshopping a spot of syrup on the eye! 

It was quite a fun, if rather involved, project. But my efforts were well rewarded -- Little Man has picked this bib for every single meal since I made it. So much for increasing his bib collection! 

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

A Little Bit of Vintage

While reading the packaging on a card of vintage ric-rac, I came across this little advert:




What a charming solution for otherwise wasted clippings. Can you imagine how delighted a little girl would be to receive a "generous" package of trimmings for her dolls?

Just a little bit of vintage to brighten your day.

Saturday, March 08, 2014

A Colorblocked Izzy Top in Knit

I recently shared my first version of the free Izzy Top pattern from climbing the willow. I changed things up this time by using a knit instead of a woven, and taking advantage of the design for a little color blocking.



When the idea of a coral and grey colorblocked tunic popped in my mind, I had to do something about it ASAP. I knew the Izzy was the perfect pattern candidate, with that curved empire waist and slightly modern feel. The coral fabric is actually leftover from this top for me and Rosa's Owlie dress and leggings. Four projects from 1 yard of fabric isn't too shabby. Fortuitously, the "Owlie" leggings work for this top, too.

The grey knit came from a Danskin tee I'd purchased at Walmart for myself -- I didn't try it on at the store, and it turned out to be cut so horribly off grain that the side seams were impossibly askew. I tried wearing it several times, but it was rather irritating. Oh well. It looks better as a tunic!




My first Izzy was a 2T, but I made this in the 18 mths size. I knew the knit would afford a bit of stretch, and I really wanted something that fit Rosa perfectly right now. I did make a few changes to the pattern, to make allowances for the kind of fabric (knit) and how much of it I had (very little). For instance, the skirt pieces are considerably narrower than the original pattern, due to the fact that all I had to work with was a woman's size small shirt. Because of that, I opted for a single box pleat in front and back, rather than the gathering. It looks right for this top, and there's still plenty of room for Rosa.


All I had to do to reduce the size of the skirt was make a couple of folds in
my pattern piece. Easy peasy!


My other significant change was to omit the bodice lining and cut the bodice back on the fold. I hemmed the sleeves and bound the neckline. Only then did I realize that the neckline was too small to go over Rosa's head! Oops! It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, since the keyhole I added is now one of my favorite features. Granted, the finishing would have been a bit tidier if I'd planned the keyhole (no way was I going to unstitch that neckline!), but I'm not being graded.




A bit of extra knit found its way into a little flower accent, which I stitched to a hair clip. Now that Rosa's hair is long enough for bows and such, I'm having a field day!




And here's a shot of the little lady herself, so you can get an idea of the fit. And yes, this was the best picture I got -- she doesn't like staying still!




The more knit projects I try, the more I love sewing with knit. What once would have seemed a total nightmare now seems quite manageable -- the hardest part is remembering to change to a stretch needle, or winding an extra bobbin for my double needle!

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Joy





Joy

O Christ,

All Thy ways of mercy tend to and end in my delight.
Thou didst weep, sorrow, suffer that I might rejoice.

For my joy Thou hast sent the Comforter,
multiplied Thy promises,
shown me my future happiness,
given me a living fountain.

Thou art preparing joy for me and me for joy;
I pray for joy, wait for joy, long for joy;
give me more than I can hold, desire, or think of.

Measure out to me my times and degrees of joy, 
at my work, business, duties.

If I weep at night, give me joy in the morning.

Let me rest in the thought of Thy love,
pardon for sin,
my title to heaven,
my future unspotted state.



Monday, March 03, 2014

This Little Izzy Went to Market

I'm always on the lookout for free children's patterns -- I'm so grateful that other seamstresses are willing to share their designs! When I saw the Izzy Top pattern by Teri at climbing the willow, I immediately downloaded the pattern (I've learned the hard way that free patterns don't always stay free forever!) and looked for an excuse to make it.




It didn't take me long! I came across a blue linen blend dress I'd picked up at the thrift store, and realized it would be perfect for this project. The fabric is unique -- it doesn't look like a traditional linen, but it's not quite denim and not quite chambray. Whatever it is, I like it! It has a marvelous texture and depth. I had a leftover tie from the original dress, which I tied in a bow and attached to the front. Just a little bit of girly flair to dress things up.





I love, love, love the unique bodice of the Izzy top. The little cap sleeves, the button tab in the back, the curved empire waist, the simple and classic style -- I love it all. The bodice is fully lined, which is great. The pattern is simple, but I found it well designed. Not knowing the sizing, I made it up in a 2T to ensure that it wouldn't be too small. It's quite roomy on my 16-month-old, so she should be able to wear it through Spring, Summer, and Fall (and possibly even next spring?). I can't remember if I lengthened the skirt, but it's perfect for Rosa to wear with some leggings underneath.




The little button in the back is one of my favorite details! I found a simple, natural wood button in my stash, which matches the style perfectly. I'm trying to reduce the number of "just in case" items in my home -- but buttons are an exception! You just never know when you'll need that button. Good thing they take up so little space.




I've already made another top with this pattern, in quite a different style. I'll be sharing photos soon!