sewing for fall

These are my latest two sewing projects. The first was actually completed some time ago, but I hadn't taken any pictures & more importantly, hadn't convinced my model to put it on for a photo shoot. I love the material I chose (Hobby Lobby) and it was pretty easy to work with. The pattern is Simplicity (easy-to-sew) #5936. I really wanted to include a panel at the bottom, but couldn't find a coordinating fabric in weight to the corduroy I picked out. I initially imagined this would go over a long sleeve shirt, but when I put the jumper on Kate by itself -- I thought it looked pretty cute. So, I guess she could wear corduroy because its September, but no shirt underneath because it's hot.

Two new things in this pattern were zippers & bias tape. The bias tape went well, but the zipper was a bit onerous. As you can see from the close up picture, I didn't achieve an even look in the back, but my zipper works!

Sewing Project #6

Close up of the dastardly zipper! I just noticed that the seams of the back "yoke" don't match up either. I thought it was a last minute mistake in how I tucked in the top seam, but now I see that I probably made a mistake in pinning & basting. Well, live to learn another day!

The adorable model in her new HUGE Sunday shoes. Somehow Carter's Size 6 are about 2 sizes larger than Gymboree sz 6. Go figure! (I paid $3 for them, so it doesn't really matter!) Also, unlike the pattern prescribed, I did a blind hem, which takes up lots of extra material, so it's not really as long as I wanted it. Of course, as a summer dress, this length looks adorable, so maybe I'll let it down once we get to winter time!

My second project was completed this morning. I love my fabric choice (Hobby Lobby, again), but I'm not sure I LOVE the style of the dress. I tried to customize the fit a bit more this time; but the dress still ended up too large all over. So, maybe it'll be a better fit in the Spring or even next Summer. Funnily enough, the thing that gave me the most trouble was the pocket. I just couldn't understand their directions & didn't know what the end product (the inside of a pocket) really looks like. Now that I know, I'll be adding pockets onto everything! The collar went surprisingly smoothly, and once I remembered how my buttonhole foot worked; the buttons went as smooth as silk. I even have a button foot that helps me sew on buttons! Now that is a tool every one of you should invest in. Well, everyone of you who hates hand sewing, that is! (I stink at it!)

Sewing Project #7

I also made the bow! Now, it wasn't that hard, but it doesn't look that great & I'm not convinced that it's cost effective. The true test will be to see if it lasts (wear & tear) as long as a boutique bow.

I think I'm going to try to make a purse with the remnants of the corduroy & this paisley fabric. Wish me luck!

sewin & swimmin

This summer, Kate & I have been working on some skills. I have been working on sewing. Below is my third project. I can't tell you how pleased I am with the outcome. This project was so brain consuming that I didn't have time to take pictures of any steps other than the finished product. Can I just say again that sewing can be forgiving? This dress has some unsightly parts on the inside, but the outside is cute as a button. The funniest thing: When I showed Josh the finished product, the first thing he does is look inside. Then again, when I showed it to Kate's grandma, great-aunt, and great-grandma, they too, all looked on the inside. Jen observed, "Why is that the first thing sewers always do?" I wanted to ask, "Why was that the first thing Josh, NOT a sewer, did?" The project took a day and a half, and I did a lot of ripping out seams & stitches. Cutting & marking were challenging, especially since I changed the size I was cutting half way through and had to re-cut & mark some pieces. It would have been much easier if I had known how little I would use the marks. When push came to shove, I did most of the alignment by eye, because in the end, that's what matters! I sewed & seam ripped three button holes, which was not very kind to the fabric. In the end, I only ended up w/ room for ONE buttonhole. But, I think sewing is a good hobby for me. I don't mind ripping up stitches & doing it again. My shoulders & back & eyes might mind, but it makes me feel good that I can redo it better. I'm excited to try the next project now that I understand some of the rudiments of garment making. I will say, though, that with the paltry selection of cute, modern fabrics at Joanne's does not inspire me! I'm not sure whether the time, effort, and money I put into a dress could possibly work out to cheaper than I could buy a cute one at the store. I am going to keep going because it's fun, and I want to get better at it! I also have a lot more respect & charitable feelings for dress prices. It used to make me gag myself when I turned over a tag in a store like Gap or Gymboree to see a $30 or $40 price tag. Now I know why! Fabric, finishing, patterns, everything costs more money than I thought. :-)

Katherine Boo has been working on lots of skills -- the most remarkable of which is swimming! We finally figured out a configuration that lets me relax when we go to the pool & lets her have the most amount of fun with the least amount of water in the mouth! She loves to paddle about to all of her favorite relatives. She stands on a ledge inside the pool and says, "three, four" & then jumps (really) into the pool. She's been practicing putting her face in the water to blow bubbles in the bath tub, and it's actually paying off in the pool.
We started off with just the innertube connected to a tank. But, she kept dipping into the water if she got off balance, so then we added......

swim wings & she's good to go!

Other new skills:

fingerpainting & coloring. Literally overnight, she holds a crayon correctly & gets some pretty good marks out of them. she loves to color & paint & asks me for these activities with frequency when we're at home.

building with blocks. Also, overnight, she no longer solely wishes to destroy towers of blocks that mommy builds. She delights in building & stacking & fitting together.

talking. Her language is exploding. She uses sentences a lot & we're starting to work on some Spanish words. Her first Spanish word that she used all on her own was "agua." She knows where her nariz, boca, and manos are, & can pronounce them, but doesn't use the words on her own. She says nasis for nariz. Sometimes she says agua water. It's amazing how quickly she can pick up a new word or phrase. Some of the hilarious 'adult' things she says are "ashy" (actually) and "I think."

playing w/ dolly. She recently began mothering her baby doll & wanting dolly to be with her in the crib at all times. preferably with her baw-tul. She's quite good at finding the dolly's mouth & putting the bottle on the mouth, after I explained that a baby bottle doesn't go in the eye.

singing. Another exploding skill. She knows many words in Jesus Loves Me & You Are My Sunshine. She knows almost all the words in the first verse of Holy, Holy, Holy. . So cute. She has a special sing-songy voice that she uses, too.

My next post is newish, too, folks. I know, when it rains it pours!

I couldn't post links in my comments, so here are two links re Jennifer's questions.

Similar inner tube at Target & Babies R Us. The one at Target has a crotch strap which looks potentially uncomfortable, but could solve the problem that Kate's has, which is that it rides up if she doesn't keep her arms down. That's one of the reason's the swim wings help. They make her arms fat & keeps the float down. Also, I saw that same float cheaper elsewhere online. The Babies R Us is a whole swim suit with a tube in it. I like the ease of Kate's over the head design. Easy off & easy on. Somehow I can't find one like it online, but I really think I've seen them in stores at Target or Babies R Us, somehow, just not online. Or find it used at a consignment or resale shop, like I did!

Pattern is Simplicity Easy to sew, #3511

pillowcase dress

Attempted & completed! I cannot tell you how excited I was about this project. I chose this plain blue pillow case to be my guinea pig before I attacked an embroidered pillowcase which was my grandmother's, but I think my first try turned out pretty fetching, if you don't look too closely at the stitching. I used the pattern & directions from this website. Next step: a dress from a pattern. I have everything picked out, but I forgot the interfacing. It is a real bummer that the closest fabric store is 20 mins from my house, and that I have to use the expressway! BTW, if any of you buy fabric online, drop me a note about where.

adventures in sewing

Every once in awhile I would receive accusatory glances from my idle sewing machine. It had been sitting on my desk for almost two years, and it was beginning to feel lonely. The reasons for its neglect are many and sundry. Too little time, too little knowledge, and no inspiration for an idea I could tackle. I had set a goal for learning about my sewing machine this summer. Do or die, you see. Well, yesterday I actually DID! And boy, it was an adventure.

The first time I threaded the machine, it took me forever! I couldn't get the bobbin thread to come up using the manual dial (which is what you are supposed to do!). Anyway, I got that sorted out and here's are the results of my adventure yesterday!

My learning set up. Easy access to internet help & the tutorials I was using. The idea I used came from Microbes of Unusual Size and some of the modifications of it from my cousin-in-law's blog Nothing, an inapt description of its contents.


The concept is simple. Buy one bath towel, one hand towel. The hand towel is cut smaller down to 16 x 26 in. Then, the cut sides of the hand towel are sewn together to make the hood. This just shows the two towels laid out.


One of the coolest thing about my machine is it has so many special stitches. This was a type of overstitching that apparently is similar to serging. It worked great for sewing up the rough ends of the hand towel!


I loved Jennifer's idea of making it a curved hood. I traced a round object on a piece of paper, then pinned it to the hand towel, cut, and then made that same overstitch. It worked like a champ!


When I started sewing the hood (hand towel) to the bath towel, I hit a major snafu! I think that word came from sewing. Doesn't this just look like a snafu? I think I was attempting to use too small of a zig zag stitch & the fabric just couldn't move through. Unlike Jennifer, I didn't have a lot of trouble getting the thickest part through.

boo - hoo!

I laughed when I turned the bath towel to the inside & saw the result of my stitching. Most of it was pretty straight, but hee hee. I guess I still have to learn a few things. :-) I did pin the hood to the bath towel , but I was trying to pin the hand towel UNDER the bath towel, so I couldn't really see where that pesky hood had gotten to. Anyway, I reflect, it's good that at least in sewing, what it looks like underneath doesn't HAVE to affect what the finished product looks like!


Ta-Da! Pending bathtime, you'll get a shot of this cute towel ON Kate. :-) Thanks a billion, Jennifer!
I think I'm going to take it to a place that embroiders and have Kate's name put on the back. Too bad I don't have Kelley's mom's sewing machine. :-)