My Sewing Space

Sewing for my kids has been pretty minimal the last few months. I told my girls I would make them each a sundress and seeing as how July is just about done, I thought I should get on it. I had these two cuts of striped knit and told them they needed to decide together who was getting each one. They settled that quickly and then I gave them two options for patterns/design. They each picked a different one. My younger daughter picked the narrow stripe and wanted "a loooong dress." I used a tank top pattern (Ottobre 4/2015#26) and extended it to maxi dress length. Then I followed the same stripe placement scheme as McCall's 6559 . I recently purchased a binder attachment for my Baby Lock serger and thought these would be good dresses for trying it out. I got the basics down, but I have a lot more learning/playing to do. I can get it to work great for wovens, but knits were pretty awful. So, these bindings are done on my regular sewing machine with a double n...

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.

I'm not really a pattern hoarder. I'm more likely to be tempted by the potential held in a new piece of fabric than a new pattern. Also, I don't have access to the $0.99 sales here and that is a natural deterrent. But, sometimes I see a new and different pattern that I really want and I make the purchase without a definite plan for it on the horizon. So it was with the Nina Cardigan from Style Arc . Given the currency conversion and the shipping costs, it generally isn't prudent for me to be making impulse purchases from small independent Australian businesses. This pattern was expensive. But, I do like to support the small independent businesses and I also wanted to try out their patterns since they get good reviews. Was it worth it? I think so. I used a lightweight burnout jersey in a grey-blue color that I really like. The pattern suggests leaving the front  edge/neckline and hem raw or "babylocking" them. My fabric curled like crazy along any raw ...

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've been wanting to get this pattern and fabric together for awhile now. The fabric is from my last trip to New York. I used the pattern ( New Look 6071 ) one other time and knew that I'd like to try it again. This is a very comfortable, easy-to-wear dress. It will be very cool on hot days. The cross-over detail on the front is interesting, but really isn't complicated to do. I was surprised how quickly I was able to finish this dress. The neckline is quite low, so I added the modesty panel. A fabric close-up: This is a poly ITY jersey. It was wonderfully agreeable to work with. The neckline didn't stretch out of shape even though I didn't stabilize it with clear elastic. I think I'll be wearing this dress a lot this summer!

So, I've fallen hard for Pinterest . Thankfully, I'm finding it really useful and not quite the time-suck that I feared it would be. Awhile back I saw this skirt and was inspired to copy it. Truth be told, I had just repinned it from someone else's board and didn't bother to check where it was from. The original skirt is from Old Navy , and I probably could have bought it for about the same amount that it took me to make it. Knocking off an expensive designer garment seems like a great idea. Knocking off inexpensive and very accessible clothes initially seems less worthy. But, I'm still glad I made it instead of buying it. More about that later... The skirt is quite simple and could have been adapted from any basic A-line skirt, but I had  McCall's 6438  on hand and since it already has the center front and back seams (and even the bias grainline marked) I opted to use it - View C. On my most recent trip to Fabricland, I was pretty excited to see a selecti...

Now that I'm done with the Christmas clothing sewing, I'm turning my attention back to my Dress Warm project. For my third dress this season, I made a lightweight sleeveless knit dress. Sounds perfect for winter in Ontario, right? Actually, it has been unseasonably warm less cold but still a long way from summer-like. On it's own, this dress is not at all seasonally appropriate. But, I made it with the intention of wearing it with a long black cardigan that I picked up at a thrift store awhile back. I liked New Look 6071 when I first saw it and have been wanting to try it out. I give the fabric pretty mixed reviews. I used a rayon jersey - very soft and drapey and nice to touch. However, it was difficult to sew and I think it will keep growing. This dress probably won't last beyond this season, but I'm okay with that. This is the last piece of this type of knit I had in my stash and I likely won't buy any more. My local Fabricland always has a lot of it ...

When I bought these two fabrics , I thought they would be for a skirt and top. But, I'm enjoying adding casual dresses to my closet lately, so I used the two together in a dress ( Simplicity 2443 ) instead. This is an all together different look for me - different style, different colors. And, I'm not really sure what I think about it. I don't think it's the most flattering shape for me, but I think it's a pretty cute dress. Construction-wise, this isn't executed all that well. There are some ripples under my arms. I did make a muslin of the bodice and felt like the neckline was too low in the front for me to wear it comfortably. But, I didn't want to add a lot to the band since that would ruin the proportions. I debated about what to do for awhile and then decided to raise the neckline a bit by adding (3/8") to the band. I figured that was simple enough, but wasn't enough to make the band width very noticeably different from the rest. I also ...

I like tops and dresses with a racer back, but I don't have any. Recently I picked up both Simplicity 2443 and Kwik Sew 3703 to change that. The Kwik Sew looked about as complicated as a T-shirt, so I started with that one. I'm pretty sure that this is a good pattern and the fact that it turned out badly is all my doing. The main problem is all the puckering and puffiness around the neck and armholes. I may have not quartered the holes and bands properly (which is embarrassing - how hard is that, really?) resulting in needing to stretch the bands too much in some spots. And I think I probably sewed the neckband and armhole bands on in opposite directions, giving the shoulder straps a bit of a twist. I did press the seams after I stitched them, but they really would prefer to stay puffy. Thankfully, I set out intending for this to be a test garment. I'm considering making View B of the pattern with this navy striped fabric and a solid navy for the contrast pieces, ...

I believe that I made this dress right after this one , which I was so happy with. Knit dresses are great for summer and I don't have very many (I have plans to change that). But, not all knit dresses are created equal. This black and white one isn't nearly as nice as the brown and white one. I picked up the fabric, a rayon jersey, when it was deeply discounted awhile back. But, the quality isn't that good. I won't be surprised if it doesn't make it past the end of the summer. I stabilized the neckline and armholes with strips of interfacing in an attempt to prevent them from stretching out. To avoid a ripply hem, I fused it in place with a lightweight interfacing before twin-needle stitching it. I found the technical drawing on this pattern appealing. I thought the belt was caught in the midriff seam, but it isn't. It's just twisted a couple of times and caught in both side seams. I didn't want the dress to be tight, so the belt on my version doesn...

This batch of simple summer clothes finishes with a very basic T-shirt dress and leggings. I had every intention of adding "something" to the dress to make it a little more interesting. Maybe another applique? Or some novelty pockets on the skirt? But, all the sewing I did on this was done in tiny bits of time between other tasks. Stitch the shoulder seams. Reload the washing machine. Attach the neckband. Get the pan of cookies out of the oven. Gather the sleeves. Settle a sibling squabble. Insert sleeves. Check the clothes on the line. And on it went... That really isn't an ideal way to sew for me. I had the dress complete and then remembered that I was going to add something. I still could, I suppose. But, I won't. Because it feels done to me and I have a very hard time going back to fix something that feels finished. Silly, I know. But, it's the truth. The dress is a very modified Kwik Sew 2918 . The jersey is very stretchy in both directions, so I didn...

For the top, I used Kwik Sew 2918 (heavily modified). I was inspired by this top . Or was it this one ? Hard to remember... The jersey fabric was dirt cheap when I picked it up a couple of years ago. I intended to use it for muslins because I wasn't so sure I liked the color. It did serve the muslin purpose well a couple of times, but I recently noticed that it matched this quilting cotton that I had in my stash and an outfit possibility was born. The shorts are New Look 6884 , again lengthened to meet school dress code approval. Next Up:  Simple Summer Stuff, Part 3 (of 3. For now...)

I'm going to resist the urge to use my sewing blog to whine about not sewing. Let's just say that I'd have more to say on a yard work blog than a sewing blog these days. Driven out of necessity, I have made a few very simple things for my daughter. She needed tops and shorts and even though I tried to get it taken care of quickly by buying things, RTW (ready-to-wear) clothes just doesn't fit her well. Shorts that fit in the waist are way too short to wear to school. Stash fabrics and TNT (tried-and-true) patterns to the rescue! I used Burda 9549 for the top and New Look 6884 (with added length to meet school dress code) for the shorts. I do love seersucker in the summer! The ice cream cone applique came from a clip art search. Pretty easy to do, but adds some interest. Next up:  Part 2 of Simple Summer Stuff

Lately I find myself in a bit of a philosophical quandary regarding my daughters and their clothing. Who should decide what they wear - me or them? If it's them, should anything they choose be okay (within the bounds of modesty, safety, etc)? Do they need to be taught some guidelines about matching or should they go with whatever they think is beautiful? If they need guidelines, how do I teach that without squashing their own style? And how do I know if my guidelines are the best for them? My definitions of matching or coordinating are different from others. Maybe they resonate with someone else's personal style much more than mine. It seems pointless to try to instill "rules" about what to wear based on social norms now and then try to encourage dressing for self without regard for what others think later in life. Hmmm. I realize that in the grand scheme of things, clothing choice isn't a huge issue, but all these questions were on my mind while making these East...

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...

Another new style for me… The fabric is a bamboo jersey that I think works pretty well for this design – very soft and drapey. I would have guessed that I wouldn’t have liked all that fabric between my arms and my body, but I didn’t really notice it. Before cutting the fabric, I added 2” in length to the sleeves and 1.5” in length to the bodice front and back. While  putting the top together, the only sizing change I made was to decrease the circumference of the cuffs by 1.5”. They were much too big for my wrists and slid down over my hands, looking very sloppy. I wasn’t all that impressed with the neckline of the top. I bound it instead of applying a neckband like the pattern suggests, but I’m still not very excited about how it sits on me. It shifts around and I feel like I need to readjust it too much. When I wore it with a scarf, it didn’t bother me. The skirt in the picture at the top is also a recent make, but I’ll have more to say about that later.