sewing – Page 5

The spring sewing itch.

March 29, 2015 Marie 1 Comment

I have longed often to sew my own clothes. I’ve wasted I don’t know how much money on fabric from time to time to attempt one project or another without much luck. Either the item doesn’t work out, or it looks homemade and just… not good.

The husband was gone Friday and most of Saturday for an out of town conference, and I was left with two days to myself to do as I please (well, as much as one can with a baby to care for). I decided to try my hand at the Sorbetto tank – the pattern is just two pieces, with a cute pleat down the front, and some bias tape edging. Also, it’s a free pattern which makes it right in my price range for something that may or may not work out. It’s been quite cold here still, despite it being spring, but I’ve got an itch to trade my heavy winter knits for some light summer clothes, so I figured it was worth trying. Practice makes perfect, after all, and one of these days I might actually get the hang of sewing my own clothes, right?

My pattern printed wrong – my printer tried to scale the page so my 4″x4″ test square was coming up short by about 5/8s of an inch. I tried to accommodate that by cutting out a larger size, but I needed to go up one more (it fits, but it’s snug). I also didn’t think to account for the length being off, so it’s too short. I used some navy/white polka-dot fabric I had on hand, meant for a bag I never got around to, but quilting cotton isn’t great for garments. At least not that I’ve found. I never did the bias tape edging, though I might finish it just so I can get the practice.

I’ve re-printed the pattern today, and I’m going to try another test on some old sheets I bought since they’re also from a project I never got around to. Then? It’s onto sewing with these fabrics I picked up at Joann’s today. Well, 3 of them, at least. That bottom pink is that shirred dress material that you just sew up and hem. It was on clearance and I’m a sucker for maxi skirts with my cropped jean jacket for summer work outfits, so I’m going to make the world’s easiest dress out of it. Two of the fabrics were red tags, the other (the one in the middle) ended up being on sale after I fell in love with it and was already prepared to pay full price for it. Even with all the mistakes on the first try, I’m feeling really confident in my ability to make this tank work for me, which is a first. So we’ll see – if I get confident enough with this pattern, I’m going to move on and try the Wiksten tank! After I saw Soulemama make it I’ve been dreaming of having my own!

Mermaids all over

February 9, 2015 Marie Leave a Comment

mermaid-quilt

I’m told this arrived to it’s intended recipient, so now I can share this lovely thing. My skills aren’t perfect, but I think it turned out quite adorable.

A little peek

January 11, 2015 Marie 1 Comment

While I really love knitting, there’s something more… instant gratification about sewing. It’s some work to cut the fabric and seam it all together, but overall it goes much faster than trying to stitch up a blanket or a sweater. I can’t show you the full finished product, yet, as I don’t want to spoil the surprise for my friend, so for now you just get this little sneak peek.

Easy-peasy DIY pacifier clip

July 15, 2014 Marie Leave a Comment

We’re down to 5ish weeks until the Little Mr arrives (please, oh, please let it only be 5 weeks and not a day more), which means I’m feeling crunched on crafting time to get things finished. You know, on top of the things that actually need finished – like the nursery. I completely admit that crafting for this munchkin is far more enjoyable than stressing about where we’re storing diapers, whether we have everything we need, etc. In the land of crafting I can pretend that everything is peaceful and calm and that this baby is going to enter the world surrounded by handmades and know he’s loved – in the real world I’m freaking out and questioning stupid things like having the hospital bags packed appropriately or if the “coming home” outfit I picked out is the right one (while simultaneously hating myself for even succumbing to the idea of a special outfit for what ends up being a 5 minute car drive home from the hospital).

Sewing has come into play a lot lately, mostly because the things I tend to make are a lot less time-consuming than knitting is. So the project this week has ended up being DIY pacifier clips. I received one at Saturday’s shower and thought having a few more handy might be a good idea. The first one I tried didn’t turn out, but then I realized I was making the whole thing FAR more complicated than it needed to be. And complicated is no good at all. So here’s what I started with:

Ribbon, scissors, measuring tape, and ironing board fasteners. I went with the fasteners because there are 8 on a pack for $4 (though mine were $2.99 on sale this week) whereas the “mitten/suspender” clips were $2.99 for just 2. I’m doubting I’ll ever actually need 8 clips myself, but I know I’ll use the rest up for baby shower gifts in the future.

Measure your ribbon out to 24″ (61 centimeters) and cut. Cut the elastic off your ironing board clip, then fold the ribbon in half and thread the cut edges through the clip. Fold the cut edge down and sandwich it like pictured above. Make sure your back side ends up being on the backside of your clip.

Run your sandwiched ribbon through your sewing machine a few times to secure it and call it done!

This and that

June 1, 2014 Marie 1 Comment

Baby bandanna bibs whipped up last night. I found the flannel elephant print as a remnant piece at Joanns and also ended up with 50% off the price and couldn’t pass it up. I used this pattern.
Basic 3×1 toe-up socks, knit a bit larger than my own foot in hopes that they’ll fit my sister so I can gift them to her for her birthday. I’ve reached the point where I have enough hand knit socks that I don’t really need to knit more, but I’ve acquired a stash of yarn that I really want to get through, so gifting socks seems appropriate.
New trunk I found for $35 at TJMaxx yesterday. I’ve been looking for something sturdy that I can use to store the Little Mr’s handmades as he grows out of them and this one immediately jumped out at me. I’m not sure it will hold all that he will end up with, and I may eventually scale down what I keep and only keep the nicer, more time-intensive knits, but for now it has quite a bit of room.
I started a new Wee Austin Hoodie for the Little Mr. I had to sit in the hospital laboratory for nearly 4 hours Saturday for my 3-hour gestational diabetes test and wanted to make my time there useful. Honestly, I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to bring with me and I have 4 balls of this sock yarn sitting in my stash so I figured it would be a good carry-along project. It turns out that I knit nearly 4 inches in the lab alone!
New fabric for a crib skirt – I didn’t think I wanted a crib skirt until we put the crib up and I realized it looked too bare with nothing under it. My mom purchased one for me at the thrift store for $1, so I’m going to use it as my template and cut my panels to match. I’m really in love with the fabric and how well it matches the blanket I knit, so I can’t wait to get it made and add it to the room.