My Sewing Space

Today was a beautiful warm, sunny day - just how I imagined late May would feel back in March when I was sewing these pieces. This year I intentionally sewed spring/summer clothes for my kids ahead of the season. So, I have a number of things to post, but will likely not have too much to say about them (March was a long time ago!). These cropped pants were supposed to be for my older daughter, but they turned out much too small. Happily, they were just the right size for my younger daughter. The pattern is Ottobre 4/2013 #16 and I used an "engineer" stripe cotton (leftover from these pants ). I played with the front pockets a little - cutting them on the bias and inserting a strip of rickrack. I like the small feminine touch it adds. Most of the waistbands I've finished lately have included bias tape. I think it is less bulky and the pop of color and clean finish are fun. The waistband closes with a button, chosen by my daughter. The snap on these jeans frus...

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!

One morning last week my daughter got dressed for school and came out of her room in an aqua plaid tunic and this skirt . Oy. I suggested that maybe they didn't look all that great together and she should change one of the pieces. She looked hurt and said, "But, these are my favorites!" Her favorite top, her favorite skirt...how could they not look fabulous together? She felt beautiful and happy so she went to school dressed just how she wanted. I figured it would be wise of me to make some matching cool weather clothes so the skirt could be wearable through the winter. My daughter is finally outgrowing Kwik Sew 2918 that I have used for T-shirts for her for the last five years. I've been adding lots of length and some width and modifying the fit of the largest size for the last few seasons. It's time to move on.   Ottobre to the rescue. I started with a slim fitting T-shirt pattern (Ottobre 3/2011 #24), changing the short sleeves to long ones. The fabric...

Another new dress for the little girl (who insists she is not little). The dress is a very basic T-shirt dress, made by modifying an out-of-print Kwik Sew pattern (2315 - actually for pajamas). Inspired by her beloved stuffy, I added an appliquéd pair of elephants. I'm terrible at drawing, so this is a rather modified form of an image I found online. The braided tails were a hit, but I think they're a little long. Also, maybe I should add eyes. I didn't think about that until looking at the picture just now. It seems I have difficulty making complete elephants . I stitched a tear-away stabilizer to the skirt piece and fused the elephant shapes on. I opted for the raw-edge appliquéd look and stitched about 1/8" away from the edge all the way around. I stitched around each shape three times to give it a slightly bolder line. The fabric for the dress and leggings came from three XL adult T-shirts purchased from the clearance table at Zeller's. There are...

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We did at our house. Christmas tends to be a busy time for preachers due to extra services, but there are some other areas of responsibility that lighten up at the same time, so both  Christmas Eve and Christmas Day actually felt pretty relaxing here. Later today we are leaving to visit family for a week and we're really looking forward to that. I'm rather behind with blogging. Things have been busy and while I've still managed to squeeze in the sewing time that I need, the blogging time didn't make the cut. I do find writing about my projects helpful for myself, so I'm going to try to get caught up relatively soon. I've been thinking about aprons lately. I really like aprons. It's not unusual for me to wear one most of the day if I'm home. It seemed like it was time for me to have another one. I looked at a lot of patterns, but didn't find one that I really liked. My personal apron preferences: a ful...

These baby shoes are a gift for my soon-to-be-born nephew. I used the Make Them Yourself pattern from Misty Marquardt. This is the only pattern of hers that I have, but I would really like to try the soft sole boots and Mary Janes – especially after going to the Robeez site and seeing their new spring shoes ! The pattern is written for use with real leather. I used Ultrasuede. The top of the shoe is lined with fabric and the sole is made with two layers of Ultrasuede. These are the third and fourth pairs of shoes that I have made and I had more trouble with these than the first two pairs. The appliqués were a little more involved on these than the first two, so that may be the issue. Even with a new Microtex Sharp needle I did get a few skipped stitches. I found the elephant via a Google Image search. I should have scaled it down a little more. I also should have added a tail! Elephants have tails! Somehow I missed that detail until the shoes were all done. I guess these are mutant ele...