Pages

Monday, July 29, 2013

First Day of Kindergarten Jumper

I just finished up Bella’s dress for her first day of Kindergarten.  I also sewed up some little legging shorts to go underneath.
Here is a sneak peak of the jumper.
IMG_2029
I used the same pattern I had previously used for Bella’s 4th of July dress, which was the first item of clothing I had ever made.
Back then I had cut the pattern to a size 3, now I needed to tape everything back together and I cut out a size 7.  Maybe that should teach me not to cut out the smaller sizes on children’s clothing, since they grow so quickly!

Monday, July 22, 2013

Stripe Foldover Clutch Tutorial

There are other tutorials out there for a foldover clutch.  I liked the idea of adding a stripe down the center and adding some fun leather and stitching details.

IMG_2017IMG_2023

If you would like to sew up one yourself, keep reading.

Materials I used:

Main body was a neutral colored 7oz. Duck Canvas

Stripe was a non-fray synthetic suede

Lining was a cotton scrap

Leather accents were from a used purse, but could also use any scrap leather or leather from craft store.

Craft weight interfacing

10” zipper in coordinating color, I used mine from a old purse.

Coordinating thread, I used a extra strong thread strength, this made the thread thicker which makes it show up better in detailing.

IMG_1922

First you need to cut out all your pieces.  I find a rotary mat and cutter work great for square/rectangular shapes.

In your main color fabric cut:

(4) 4 1/4” x 14” strips

In your coordinating suede fabric cut:

(2) 2 1/2” x 14” strips

In your lining fabric cut:

(2) 10” x 14” strips

In your leather fabric cut:

(1) 8”x4” strip, (1) 1 1/2” x 11” strip

In your craft weight interfacing cut:

(2) 8” x 10” strips

IMG_1925

Sew your main body strips to your suede strip with right sides together using 1/4” seams.  You are making two panels one for the front and one for the back, each one is identical.

Iron your front and back panels with the seams toward the main body color, as seen above.

IMG_1924

Make sure you test your fabrics on an iron first before you iron the finished product, as you can see above, the suede I bought did not take to the iron and shrank up. 

IMG_1927

Top stitch 1/8” from center stripe, on each side of strip, on both front and back panels.

Now we are going to create the hand strap.

IMG_1928

Take your strip of leather and fold it in half, right side together, sew along the long length.  Turn leather right side out, put seam to middle back of tube.  I left my small edges raw, since the fabric did not fray and I knew I would be sewing those edges onto the front panel.

IMG_1929

Edge stitch on each side of the leather strap. (Unlike my picture above shows, do this step first before you sew the strap onto the bag).

IMG_1933

Sew leather strap onto front panel, creating a rectangular pattern on each end.  Make sure you have enough room to comfortable fit your whole hand through the strap.  Center the strap and bring it down approximately 5” from the edge.

IMG_1930

After I sew on the strap I tested it with my hand and realized I needed to make the spacing smaller, so I sewed on a couple more lines of stitching on each end.

IMG_1934

Next we are going to sew on the zipper.  Pin the right side of the zipper onto the right side of the front panel (make sure you line up the edge of the panel closest to the leather strap you just installed on the front). 

IMG_1935

Place the right side of the lining onto the wrong side of the zipper, but right side of the front panel, pin through all three layers and baste stitch as close to the zipper as possible.

Pull the fabric away from zipper that you just sewed to expose the opposite side of the zipper and repeat these same steps on the other side of the zipper to create the back panel.

IMG_1943

Iron on your fusible interfacing to the exterior front and back panel on the bottom edge (opposite the zipper).

Take your 1 1/2” x 11” leather strip and cut out the center 1/2” of it so that the zipper would peek through (as seen below).

IMG_1945

Sew your leather strip as close as possible to the zipper on both sides, you will be sewing through both the exterior panels and the lining on each side.  Then sew again on the out edge of the leather strip, do not sew down the short sides as this should be overhanging the fabric.

Next step you can do either of two ways.

1.  Make sure to have the zipper open and sew the front panel to the back panel with right sides together, do not sew the lining together in this step.  Sew along both sides and bottom, making sure to not sew in the top leather strip over the zipper that overhangs the sides.  Sew the lining together with wrong sides together and trim seems with a set of pinking shears or zigzag the stitches to keep the cotton from fraying.

or

2.  Make sure to have the zipper open and sew the front panel to the back panel having the lining attached, so the sewing sandwich should be wrong side of lining to wrong side of back panel, right side of back panel to right side of front panel, wrong side of front panel to wrong side of lining.  Sew all four layers of fabric together on the sides and bottom.  When near the top make sure to not sew in the top leather strip that overhangs.

In each of these scenarios you will have an exposed stitching in the lining, but as shown below the bag is so deep you will not be able to see it.

IMG_1953

Turn the bag right side out through the zipper.  Sew down the small sides of the top leather strip, making sure you tuck any exposed edges of front or back panel, so that they will not be seen once you sew the sides together of the leather.

IMG_1949

Now go on and enjoy your new bag that you accomplished yourself!

IMG_2019

IMG_1950IMG_1951IMG_1952

Friday, July 19, 2013

KCWC–Day Four

Pajama set for Oliver.

We did an impromptu photo shoot this morning just as he woke up.  I let him wear the pajamas last night, but since Mom and Dad went out and the babysitter put the kids to bed, I wasn’t around to take pictures or post last night.

So here he is just getting up.  He looks so big in his crib.

IMG_2002IMG_2003

Here are the shorts I finished up yesterday.  I made a boxer brief style short for him. 

IMG_2004

If you notice the pink pillow, it once was Bella’s and I have been meaning to recover it in a boy fabric.  Just hasn’t made it to the top of my to-do list yet.

Check out the crazy bed hair!

IMG_2000

IMG_2006

Done with the pictures yet mom…it’s time to go downstairs.

IMG_2007

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

KCWC- Day Three

I tried a new process today.  It’s called a reverse applique, where you cut away from the main shirt to show a coordinating fabric behind, which reveals a design.

I was working on a pajama set for Oliver and decided to do a army/tank theme.

After 1.5 hours this is as far as I got.

IMG_1998

The reverse applique took me a lot longer than expected.

IMG_1999

It was a fun process to try though.  I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.  It’s not perfect, but I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. 

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

KCWC–Day Two

I said I at least wanted to finish the shorts to Bella’s pajama set.

Well, that’s all I got done.

I promise to do better tomorrow.

IMG_1983

It’s hard to tell while she is wearing them, but I made them bubble shorts.  I think that particular style looks cute on her, since her legs are so thin.

IMG_1987

Monday, July 15, 2013

KCWC–Day One

Today was going to be pajama Monday.  I had lofty plans to finish a set of pajamas for each child.

What actually got accomplished was sewing up one tank top for Bella’s pajama set.

IMG_1977

The print is little fairies that I bought on clearance a year ago from Fabric.com.  It looks great for a pajama print.  I used an existing pair of pajamas that were getting to small as a pattern to make the new set.

Here is Bella modeling the shirt (with non-matching shorts) getting ready for bed.

IMG_1979IMG_1980

Now let’s hope I can at least get the bottoms finished for her pajamas tomorrow…and if all is going well, a set for my son as well.  At least tomorrow we don’t have doctors appointments to compete with my small amount of free time.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Kids Clothes Week

This lines up nicely with two things. 

First I was going to sew up a bunch of kids clothes for the upcoming school year, and with school starting a month away, it was time to tackle the job.

Secondly for Summer Challenge Week 5 I was going to sew my daughter a shirt.

So that brings us to.

button-300square-summer13

Hopefully in this next week you will be seeing me churn out a bunch of new clothing.

Inspiration for Oliver-summer 2013

Inspiration for Bella-summer 2013

You will notice that the inspiration pieces aren’t really summery.  I will be sewing some simple t-shirts, but mainly I am filling a need for my kids and that includes fall pieces, especially for my son, Oliver.

And no, I don’t really expect to finish all those pieces in the next week.  I will definitely have to narrow it down to the time I have available.

Wish me good luck!

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Summer Challenge Week 4

The clutch is finished…here is a sneak peak.  I liked the way it came out, so I plan to do a full tutorial soon.

folder over bag

Here is the bag I finished up.  As you can notice, I ditched the polka dots and decided to go with a stripe.  I also ditched the crossover straps and added a handle.

IMG_1949IMG_1950IMG_1953IMG_1954

Friday, July 12, 2013

Trying a Trend

If you haven’t noticed I love maxi skirts.  I hate my legs – maxi skirts completely cover legs – it’s a match made in heaven.

I have been seeing quite a few pictures of t-shirts being tied when wearing maxis.

tied shirt maxi skirttied tshirt with maxi


I didn’t necessarily want to show any skin, but I liked the idea because it gives the look of a cinched in waist when you are wearing a simple t-shirt.

So I thought I would try it.

IMG_1969IMG_1965

I think even on me it looks better.  Just need to be careful to not lift my arms in public!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Down on the Farm–Knit & Gingham Shirt

I forgot to show you the little shirt I sewed up for the birthday boy himself.

He is in a stage where he likes to say cheese and smile real big!

IMG_1942

I added a pocket and the back yoke with the gingham to mix it up and look a little more country.

IMG_1710

It’s a pretty comfortable shirt, that works great for the summer.

IMG_1917

Notice in the background is the supplies for the fold over clutch I plan to make this week.

IMG_1918

I’m recycling an old purse for parts along with new fabric I bought specifically for this project.  I’m about halfway through sewing it up, so it might be next week before you see it on the blog.