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...

A week or so before I made my dress, I worked on these two pieces for my younger daughter. My older daughter had an idea of what she'd like for new Christmas clothes and I found something similar enough on sale, so we nabbed that. If she had needed me to make hers as well, I'm pretty sure mine would not have happened. Both the vest and the dress are based on Ottobre patterns, but they're so significantly modified and mashed up that I'm not even going to name the specific patterns. The vest was very easy to construct, but the fake fur fabric was quite a nuisance. I'm pretty sure I spent more time cleaning up the fur fuzz than I did actually making the vest. It's fully lined and only has one hook and eye closure at the base of the collar. The dress is also quite simple. The main fabric is a semi-sheer polyester woven with sheer polka dots. It isn't as sheer as chiffon, but sheer enough to require a lining. I handled the dress and lining as one piece...

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...

My older daughter is 10 years old now. That puts her in the "tween" age category. When trying to come up with sewing plans for her, I felt a bit stumped. This is new territory. Combining her preferences, my "guidelines" (leggings are not pants!), and this new age category in a successful way is a challenge. We talked through some options together and looked at fabrics together and we have a bit of a plan. This dress was the first part of the plan. We had an idea of what the dress should look like and then combined a couple different Ottobre patterns to get what we wanted. There was a fair bit of basting and fitting as we went and in the end, we both think it was successful. She picked out the fabric - a purple pique knit. It's pretty stretchy with very good recovery, so it wasn't too difficult to handle. The black trim is a cotton/lycra jersey. I added the keyhole at the front neckline for interest. The binding was done on my sewing machine with a ...

Since moving back to the US, I've done some experimenting with ordering fabric online. I had only dabbled with it while living in Canada because of shipping costs, duty charges and the nuisance of return shipping. As expected, it's a bit of a mixed bag. Some purchases are better than expected and some are disappointing. The corduroy for these pants was the former and the chambray for this shirt was the latter. The chambray is nice fabric, it's just different than what I had envisioned. I went ahead with it anyway. This shirt is for my son and is the partner piece for these pants. I like how the shirt looks with the sleeves rolled up. He will have none of that. The pattern is just a classic collared button-down shirt from Ottobre (6/2012 #37). I like the two-piece collar, the lined yoke, and the properly scaled front pocket. Breast pockets that are "off" (to my eye, anyway) in size, scale, or placement really bug me. I used a plaid shirting for co...

It happens every September. You'd think I would catch on. The air feels especially chilly on a Sunday morning and my kids still only have their summer clothes for church. Find some tights! Do you have a decent looking sweater? Put a shirt under that! And off we go, looking kind of patched together. Seriously, every year. That was last week Sunday. So, last week I was busy getting some dressier clothes together. I started with my son because I find his clothes takes longer to make. It's easier to squeeze in the faster dresses at the eleventh hour. I always have success with Ottobre patterns for my son, so that's where I started. This is pattern #38 from issue 4/2011. They are called "Algebra corduroys." Ottobre pattern names are always interesting. I like the narrow legs, the curved yoke and the angled pockets on the front. They are a bit rumpled from being folded up waiting for their shirt partner. All of the topstitching is done in tan thread. I copi...

My kids start school tomorrow. The first day at a new school. They're all excited. It seems like I'm the only nervous one. The backpacks are packed, the lunches made, the clothes laid out. Everything's ready to go! These two little items are the only back-to-school sewing I've done this year. My younger daughter and I worked on this pencil case together. She sat on my lap and did some of the steering while we were sewing the seams. The fabric choices are hers. This is a boxy zippered pouch made with this pattern, A Little Duffle Do It . The pattern gives cutting dimensions for four sizes, but I needed one to fit a set of colored pencils and based the dimensions on that. So, this one is longer and thinner than any of the four given choices. I quilted the outer fabric and lining together with fusible fleece in between. The pattern gives good instructions for cleanly finishing the inside seams using binding, but I was trying to be quick and just zigzagged them...

July was a busy month for our family. We moved back to the States and have been busy getting settled in our new community. It's been a good move so far but the changes and adjustments have consumed a lot of time and energy. I am very grateful to once again have a dedicated sewing space and have that all unpacked. There is still some arranging to do and things to get to make the space as efficient as I'd like it. That will come in time. After not sewing anything for six weeks, I was honestly a little stumped by the question of what to sew first. My older daughter needed some more warm-weather pajamas and I could do that with stash fabric, so that's what I did. I used two Ottobre patterns for this set, both of which were designed for knits. To make them work for this woven poplin, I sized up before cutting and then had to do some tweaking during assembly. The top is Ottobre 3/2011 #33. I like the envelope-style neckline and I loved doing the bias binding. The yell...

Much like I did for my son , I quickly made a handful of T-shirts for my daughter to meet her clothing needs for the season. They were all fast and easy. Ottobre 3/2013 #32 Ottobre 4/2012 #28 Ottobre 1/2014 #28  (I thought I could just eyeball that button placement. Yes, they are crooked and no, I probably won't fix it). Ottobre 3/2013 #39 (Birthday shirt!) My sewing room has been packed up for a couple of weeks now. We're moving next week. So, this space will be quiet for awhile (intentionally this time!) until I get my new sewing space unpacked and set up. 

My son didn't have major wardrobe needs this season. A quick assessment showed that a few T-shirts would do it. Last week was a busy week and T-shirts were about all I could handle in the sewing room. I finished four (from two very basic Ottobre patterns and stash fabric) and hemmed a pair of pants with holes in the knees - one project for each of the weekdays. The navy stripes are fused and then topstitched. I just eeked this out from an old T-shirt of mine. The neckband had to be pieced. I love this little gecko. It's from an Ottobre pattern. Back view: Finally, a new age number T-shirt. I like the baseball style shirt, but the sleeves ended up an awkward length. The pattern had narrow bands at the hem. I left them off and added length to compensate, but it isn't quite right. Still wearable, though.

More spring kids' clothes! It sure has been nice having these clothes done and ready for the warm weather. Beautiful new clothes that are ready to go make warm, sunny days all that much nicer. These two pieces are for my older daughter. I modified Jalie 2908 slightly for these cuffed capris - straightened and shortened the legs and curved the waistband. Sadly, I don't have a picture of them on my daughter, but they fit great. The fabric is pretty lightweight and stretchy. It looks like denim, but my daughter finds these more comfortable than regular denim would be. These were actually a pretty quick project. The fabric was easy to work with and I just used regular thread and a standard straight stitch for the topstitching. I'm happy with how all the details came out. The insides are PINK! Pink fly guard, pocket bags, and waistband binding. I really like the flower print on the fabric also - a little abstract and stylized, but still feminine and fun. It...

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...

My older daughter does not always sit appropriately when she wears a skirt or dress. She doesn't loooove skirts and dresses like my younger daughter does, so when she wears one, it's usually to church or another setting with a dressy/formal feel. To say that she does not appreciate my reminders to sit appropriately is quite an understatement. When it was time to make her new Easter duds, I gave her some choices. I told her I didn't want to continue on with the reminder/scowl exchanges anymore so she could have a new dress if she would sit appropriately or she could have pants. To my surprise, she chose pants. And I think it was a good choice! I wanted to only work with stash fabric, so we came up with this combination. The blouse/jacket (pattern:  Oliver + S Music Class Blouse ) is one of those notorious linen-look fabrics with an all-over embroidery pattern including a scalloped border. The photos aren't great, so you can't see the texture of the embroidery. ...

For my younger daughter's Easter dress this year, I used the new Oliver + S Garden Party Dress pattern. I'm always tempted to buy the new Oliver + S patterns when they come out, but usually resist unless I have a real "need" for one. An Easter dress seemed justifiable. I found the bodice shirring very appealing and a bit different than many of the girls' dress patterns out there. I used an embroidered chambray fabric that I had in my stash. It is soft and lightweight and very easy to work with. The combination of an "easy" fabric and an excellent pattern made this dress a pure pleasure to sew. The dress looks more complicated to make than it actually is. The instructions are excellent and the methods used make it easy to get a good looking product. Rag curls! Boing, boing! I slightly altered the pattern pieces to make it work with the border print - mostly just straightening out the side seams. I expected that the dress would hav...

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...

Shortly after Christmas, I got into a bit of a pajama-sewing blitz. The pajama options for all three of my kids were pretty bad - way too small, woefully mismatched, etc. Pajamas aren't ever my first choice of things to sew (which is why the situation had gotten so bad) but I found there was a lot that I liked about this round of pajama sewing: The kids were really appreciate of new pajamas and that always makes the time and effort worth it. I find it really easy to leave the perfectionist tendencies behind with pajamas. "Good enough" is the name of the game for details, finishing and fit. Because they're pajamas! Sometimes I feel conflicted when I need to choose between being resourceful and frugal or getting it exactly how I want. Use the serviceable buttons already in the stash or go buy the ideal ones? Does this ready-made piping "go" or should I make my own out of newly-purchased and perfectly coordinating fabric? When it comes to pajamas, the reso...

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...

After botching the jacket part of the "jacket and skirt outfit" plan, I figured I'd still go ahead with the skirt as planned. Until I can make another nice jacket or top, my daughter can wear something she already owns with the skirt. To keep it versatile, I made the skirt out of denim. I will likely make her a nice winter dress in a couple of months and wanted this to fill in the gap now and also hopefully work into the spring. To guard again growth spurts, I made the pattern quite a bit longer than as drafted. Honestly, between that and other changes, it doesn't look all that much like the technical drawing! (Pardon the wrinkles in all the pictures. My daughter was snuggled up with a book on the couch when I pestered her for these pictures. She wasn't really pleased at all. Hence, no faces in the pictures!) I used buttons instead of the recommended ring snaps. Because of the added length, I had to use five rather than four. It looks like I should move ...