My Sewing Space

We celebrated my younger daughter's 8th birthday in January. Eight! Sometimes in my mind she still looks like this . One of the things she wanted for her birthday was a bean bag chair. Her brother got one for his birthday last year and she likes to use it whenever he isn't. I used Dana's Rollie Pollie pattern to make a bean bag chair that was a bit more interesting than one I could purchase. This was not my first time using this pattern. I initially purchased it last spring and used it to make a bean bag chair for a school auction. We used fabric paint and put the students' hand prints on the cut pieces and then assembled it after they were dry. It was a good project and brought in more money than I was expecting. The pattern and instructions are both good. I'd suggest reading through all of the instructions before starting - some things seem a little out of order to me, but it's all there. The only real change I made was to put a zipper in the insert an...

My younger daughter had her sixth birthday in January. I purchased some clothes for her as a gift. One of the items was a pair of jeans and they were a terrible fit. We took them back and tried a different size, but they were all bad. She was bummed about that, so I told her I would make a new pair for her. Awhile ago someone gave me a few cuts of denim. They're all too short to be used for me and I don't really care for the finish of most of them, but they're great for kids' clothes. The fabric I used for these jeans does have a bit of stretch and a very soft feel, making these actually quite comfortable. I used Jalie 2908 and am really happy with the result. The only modifications I made were for length (adding some), leg shape (straight vs. boot cut) and the waistband. I wasn't impressed with the waistband the last time I used this pattern , so this time I did my own thing. I made a pattern piece to match the circumference of the top of the assembled jea...

One more new niece needed me to make something for her. Her older sister received this coat , and I suspect she will also wear it when she's the right size. So, I thought it might be smart to make something else for her. There is no shortage of Ottobre things I'd like to make, so it was just a matter of picking one! I love this little hooded shirt jacket and wanted to combine it with this corduroy fabric ( also seen here ) even though it isn't a knit as called for in the pattern. The piping helps define the yoke seam and makes the sweet gathers a little more noticeable. I was not intending to line the hood until I started putting the hood together and realized it wasn't going to look that nice with the wrong side so visible. Thankfully, I had this broadcloth that was a pretty good match for the piping. The skirt is a scaled-down version of this one , made from a dark purple ponte knit. I scaled it down too much the first time, so I had to add an e...

It was beginning to seem like my siblings and in-laws only knew how to produce girls. Then I did get a nephew thrown in the mix earlier in the year. Since I didn't think he would appreciate a little girl's coat, I had to come up with an alternative. I went straight to Ottobre. I loved this little jacket! This is the tenth (TENTH!) pattern I've used from this issue (1/2010) - the very first one I bought. I'd say it's a winner. I chose to make it in this khaki-colored wool rather than the sweater knit recommended. It'll fit smaller than the pattern suggests, but everything still worked. The wool was really lovely to work with. Those little semi-circular pockets are my favorite detail. The seaming is pretty sweet, too. I left off the collar tab. I like how it looks in the diagram, but I really had a hard time getting it to look good. The inner collar is quilting cotton, but the rest is a heavyweight poly satin (but not too shiny because it...

I'm not one to mess with a good thing. Ottobre 1/2010 #14 has worked well for me to give to new nieces (See here . And here . And don't forget here ). The nieces just keep coming and I'm happy to come up with some new looks from this pattern. Truth be told, I'm rather behind. The niece receiving this coat is almost 18 months old already. I did trace off the pattern again, a couple sizes larger than the other versions. Said niece is above average in many ways for an 18 month old, most notably in size. The fabric is a dark red wool that I picked up at a thrift store awhile ago. It is beautiful fabric, but the piece wasn't large. It isn't a coat-weight wool, so I lined it with a quilted lining. I really like how it makes the inside of the coat look, but it was not fun to sew with. The fabric is quilted to a very light batting and then a layer of foam. That foam is super grabby and would not go through the machine. To make it work, I had to put a stri...

Awhile ago I saw a picture of a Wonder Woman apron and knew immediately that I wanted to make one like it for my friend's birthday. I started with the pattern I made for this apron and modified it slightly. After I had the pattern how I wanted it and settled on the other details (logo and waistband), it was a pretty quick project to sew up. I found the logo through a Google search and adjusted the size to my preference before transferring. It is fused on and then appliqued with a satin stitch. The waistband is stitched on top of the apron front and the ties extend from the ends of it. The neck strap is adjustable with D-rings. This is a good thing for this version - I think the bodice is rather short. If I make it again, I will make it longer. The outer red part is a cotton twill and it is lined with a lightweight broadcloth. I'm happy with how this project turned out and it was a gift well-received!

It feels like I just took my eyes off the toddler for a minute and BAM! He's seven years old! And quite into Lego. Pattern: Ottobre 1/2010 #24 - also seen here in a smaller size.

My youngest child (my baby!) celebrated her fifth birthday in January. I must confess that this sent me into a minor tailspin. I don't want to go back to life with babies, but I'm not sure I'm entirely ready to be done with the "little kid" stage, either. Anyway, my emotional state aside, I wanted to make her some new clothes for her birthday. The big day was a Monday, but we celebrated on Sunday. I made my decision to sew new clothes on Friday afternoon. Since she would be home all day Saturday I only had Friday evening to make it happen. I chose simple things and didn't have any trouble getting the three-piece "suit" all done. Pardon the wrinkles - this has been worn and washed a few times already. I always like the birthday number shirts that Joy makes for her kids and decided to copy her. The "5" is fused on and then edgestitched in place. I stitched over the same line three times to make it a little bolder. The leggings ...

I didn't have a single blog post in December for three reasons: some of my sewing was for gifts, the rest of the sewing was not terribly interesting, and even if I could have made it interesting there wasn't time for blogging. Yet, I did do some sewing and wanted to record it here so I can remember later on. Sadly, there aren't really any pictures (I guess this post is more for me than you). Gifts: linen "picture" napkins for my mom (kids colored on them with fabric markers and I hemmed the edges) a pillow for a friend felt owl ornaments for teachers using this tutorial Other sewing in December was determined by the needs of my family: two tops for one daughter and one for the other - all very basic companion pieces for orphan hand-me-downs fleece pajamas for my son - reducing bulk in the stash four undershirts for The Preacher - he only needed a couple, but I did as many as I had fabric for and constructed them assembly-line style one dress for ...

Hey, thanks for the lovely comments about my coat. I was down and out with a stomach bug for three days this week and your kind thoughts were a very welcome bright spot! Three years ago I made a shirt for The Preacher . At the time I wasn't sure that it was a success, but he really liked it and continues to wear it often and really appreciate it. Decent quality shirting fabrics are really hard to come by locally so I don't do a lot of sewing for him. Okay, that's just an excuse. I bought a nice piece of shirting cotton in NY with him in mind more than 18 months ago and didn't do anything with it until now. It was The Preacher's birthday at the beginning of November, so I did some stealthy sewing and worked on this without him knowing. The sewing was stealthy, I guess, but the idea of this shirt wasn't really. He knew about the fabric when I bought it and had talked about making it a couple of times. I had tried to talk him into a trimmer fit and I thought...

At the end of the summer I shortened a dress for a friend. It was a dress she had worn as a bridesmaid in a wedding. Shortening it meant that she could wear it again and she did - as a wedding attendee. I was left with a pretty good size swath of fabric that was cut off the bottom of the dress. I didn't really have a plan for it, but thought it would be best to hang on to it. Fast forward a few months....and I turned some of the fabric into a matching clutch: I drew up the pattern, but copied the shape of the bottom from one of my daughter's purses. The bag is underlined with a pretty heavyweight upholstery fabric. It gives it some heft and stability. The fashion fabric actually has a lot of stretch. The flap is finished with a bias binding and the bag closes with a magnetic snap. The inside is lined. I actually made this gift using her sewing machine! She loaned it to me when mine needed some attention in the shop. She's a good friend!

I made this knitting needle case for my mom's birthday. It is intended for double-pointed and circular needles and I really like the zippy pouch to hold all the other knitting tools. It folds up in thirds and ties with a ribbon. It's hardly visible in the picture, but I quilted the outer layer with a large diamond grid. The pattern called for fusible fleece, but I didn't have any on hand. Using regular batting worked pretty well. The pattern is from this book, Everyday Handmade by Cassie Barden and Adrienne Smike , which I picked up at my local quilt shop several months ago. The instructions were good and there are a number of other cute projects that I'd like to try, like this lady bug coin purse... This Weird Science lap quilt is actually what made me want to buy the book. Love it! But, actually, I should probably first make myself one of the knitting needle cases. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I had to pull my dpns and circulars out of ...

This pattern is now a three-peat for me. Lucky me - I have another new niece, so I made another version of this very sweet coat! The first was in denim , the second in corduroy , and now the third in a tweedy wool blend. The pattern was all ready to go, so it came together pretty quickly. I lined it with a quilting cotton featuring a lavender motif (not fireworks as suggested by The Preacher). For extra warmth, I added a layer of flannel to the bodice and skirt pieces. I used a traditional lining for the sleeves to make getting them on and off easier. I had this ribbon on hand that matched really well and added that at the neck for a hanging loop. The sleeve tabs might be my favorite part of this pattern. I really like this pattern. One of these days I may just have to sew a coat for one of my own kids!

This year I wanted to make coordinating clothes for the whole family to wear at Christmas time. I have no idea why. I've never wanted to do this before. And right now I'm having serious doubts about whether I still want to do it! When I explained my idea to The Preacher, he gave me a please-tell-me-you-are-kidding sort of look. I'm not sure he's on board yet, but that's okay. I'd say the project is 90% complete and I'm hoping to be completely finished by Saturday night. I started with my older daughter's jumper. She had a piano recital last weekend so I used that for an early-ish deadline. I chose a pretty simple pattern from Ottobre 3/2011. This is a summer issue and the pattern is shown as a sundress, but it worked just fine as a jumper. I cut the bodice on the bias and added piping around the top and at the waist seam. The piping at the waist seam made the jumper stand away from her body like she had a hoop in there. Not a good look (but really ...

A couple of years ago my mom gave me this kit to make a quilted Christmas wallhanging. This year I was determined to get it made up so I can enjoy it. I bumped it up on the to-sew list over some other things that had definite deadlines. The sewing wasn't at all complicated and assembling the top went very quickly. I followed the layout guide as exactly as I could. Some of the fabrics included were different than those used in the diagram. The red for the ornament was different from the blue and green, so I put it in the middle. But, I didn't consider how that would affect the border blocks. There is a lot of green in the lower left hand corner that I didn't notice until I had it all together. I haven't put the binding on yet, but I really like the candy cane stripe fabric included for it. The ornament tops are machine appliqued. I started hand embroidering the hooks, but it was taking a long time and wasn't looking that great so I ripped it out and stitched...

Right after I finished this coat , I made one more just like it for another new niece. I really liked the pattern and having it all out and being familiar with it made it come together very swiftly. For the second version, I used a corduroy fabric that I have been hanging onto for awhile. I really like the fabric - both the print and the very soft feel of the corduroy - but I was having a hard time knowing what to do with it. This coat pattern seemed like a good match. I used covered buttons on the front and the sleeve tabs. The lining is a lighter shade of the pink flowers in the corduroy. You can see some of the lining fabric used for the under collar to reduce bulk. Ideally, that wouldn't peek out. Oh, well. Such a great pattern. I'm sure I'll come back to it again sometime. What? Another coat that fits me but isn't for me?!? Oh, the injustice...

My youngest daughter turned three yesterday. So hard to believe. I mentioned in this post how she only likes to wear dresses, skirts, jumpers and nightgowns. So, I made her another dress (because I thought she would like another and because I thought I would like fewer tantrums when there are not any clean dresses in her drawer). Both the dress and the leggings are from Ottobre 1/2010. The bubble sleeves are unique and the pleats on the leggings are a nice detail. In order for the outfit to be a surprise, I did all of the work while my daughter was sleeping and I was nervous about how or if it would fit. The leggings are a little looser than I would prefer, but they are a good length. The pleats don't match up well because I was in a great big hurry to finish them. The dress turned out to be a pretty good fit. I used size 98 and added 0.5" in length to both the bodice and the skirt. The neckline is gathered with an elastic casing. It looked too loose when I was making i...

After making the changes that I mentioned here , I made another apron. This one was a belated birthday gift for my mom. I didn’t get any pictures of it on, so it is hard to compare to the first one, but I like it better. The reverse is a blue/green/yellow stripe. Similar to what I did for this project , I made some other kitchen goodies to go along with it. For the potholder, I used the wonky log cabin tutorial from Quilt Dad . This was a first for me. I’m pretty sure I over-wonked it because the center square should still be in the center, but mine isn’t. I’m pretty sure a large (12.5”) square quilting ruler (which I don’t have) would prevent that sort of thing. The apron fabrics and the yellow flower print in the pot holder and tea towel were purchased at a new quilt shop in town. I’ve been there a couple of times now and I think it holds a lot of promise – a good selection of traditional and modern prints. My Christmas stocking held a gift certificate from The Preacher s...