New Projects

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been cutting fabric for almost 1-1/2 weeks. Not continuously (got to preserve whatever sanity I have left!), but as time and energy permits. (I am on Prednisone for chronic hives and it does quite a job on me. Great medication, lousy side effects, including inability to sleep, mood changes, weakness, headaches [probably from not sleeping] . . . you get the idea! I have seven more doses.) Cutting out fabric is, by far, my least favorite part of sewing, so I try to do a lot of it at one time, thus affording me the pleasure of completing projects without having to think about cutting anything else out.

First up is Kwik Sew #3396, a wonderful apron. I first saw this on Candle~by~Night's blog (sorry, I can't seem to access anything more than the latest page, so I'm not able to give you a link to the exact posts) and decided I must have this pattern! Here's the pattern front and the fabrics I chose.

The lighter fabric is for the body of the apron, and the darker for the straps and pockets. I'm making view A. I was feeling lazy the day I bought the fabric (from WalMart, I might add -trying to take advantage of their fabric department before they eliminate it . . .) I bought the bias binding instead of making it.

Next, we have a pattern by Indygo Junction called "Pocket Perfect." I love making purses, even though my husband thinks I have plenty. One for every outfit, right? I have a feeling this one will turn out a bit smaller than I prefer, but I can always scale up the pattern for subsequent purses. I've done this quite successfully with other patterns.

The fabrics I chose were from my stash - simply leftovers from other projects. The light blue with the lovely large roses is the main fabric; the magenta is for the handles, and the smaller blue and pink print is to be used as piping around the outer front pocket. I believe I also cut a second pocket for the back as I've discovered one is very handy for things like JoAnn Fabric ads.

"Laura's Zippered Tote" was picked out by my 17 yo dd after seeing a sample in a fabric store. At the time we were there, I couldn't find the pattern, and I didn't feel like asking, but when I went back a week later, there it was. The woman who cut my fabric that day told me that the inside of the bag isn't finished very nicely, so I will be aware of that when I stitch it together.

Again, these are lefovers from my stash, as I thought I should make one up before having my daughter pick out fabrics. The fabric in the middle is the main one; I'm not sure which pink is for handles, and which is lining and inner pockets. I'll figure that out when I sit down to sew.

This wonderful jumper, for my 20 yo dd, is a Common Sense Pattern from Kathy's Modest Sewing Patterns. These patterns are simple to sew, fit well, and are available in any (yes, any) combination of (usually) three consecutive sizes. For example, if you want a 6-8-10 or a 10-12-14, you can order them that way. This is the Women's Empire Jumper; you could easily drop the waist a couple of inches as well. Sarah found fabric last spring (on sale, of course), and we're finally getting around to using it.

The color in the picture isn't totally accurate, but close. I love the embroidery on the fabric - it takes an ordinarily mundane fabric and makes it pop!

Also for Sarah is Simplicity 4177. She chose the orangy one and is using this pretty pink fabric. The background, unlike the photo, is also pink.

Hang on just a bit longer . . .

This is a Lois Hinse pattern (#5305). I've mentioned her patterns before (see my Monday, September 24, 2007 post), so I won't go into great detail here. This particular pattern is her "Tank Dress Group", which offers a sundress/jumper with or without a gentle elastic gather below the bust, as well as two tank tops (one with round neck and another with scoop neck, seen here) and a body fitting camisole. Since I'm testing this pattern, I chose some cheap purple broadcloth from WalMart, and am making the round neck version. If it fits well, I will wear it, but if not, I'm not out much money! I first saw this in the Nancy's Notions catalog; the sample jumper had machine embroidery on the bodice, which was very attractive.

This is apparently Creative Keepsakes' best-selling pattern - their smocked gown and robe. The sleeves are interchangeable (cut simply from blocks of fabric). I'm making a nightgown out of a lovely blue and white fabric (it didn't photograph well), and using the elbow-length sleeves. I will smock with a deeper blue, then probably add some flowers (pink?) I am finding the patten to be rather confusing, but I hope as I go through it step by step, it'll make more sense. In particular, the directions cautioned you about dips in the hemline because it's a bishop, but the blocks for the front and back were not scooped at the neckline. I'm confused!

This final pattern is self-explanatory. I found a deep purple fleece at (where else) WalMart for $4.00 per yard! The pattern pieces had to be the largest I've ever seen! I also saw this in the Nancy's Notions catalog. I liked the fact that it has a hood (I know that young people don't wear them - they're not cool, but I like one when it's very windy or blowing snow.) I'm not sure how easy it will be to drive with it on, but I'll deal with that when I have to!

Here's my tip of the day (hey, maybe even the year!): I put my cut out pieces, interfacing, zippers, buttons, etc., along with the original pattern, in Ziploc bags. I'm forever "losing" buttons or other notions, so this has been a great way to store my projects. And, if you're like me, and it sometimes takes a l-o-n-g time to get to something, you don't have to rely on your memory (which is getting worse as I get older.)

Happy sewing!!

Organizing & Sewing

I went crazy on Saturday - I decided to organize some of my fabric. Whatever possessed me, I don't know. I have four large tubs of fabric scraps, plus any number of piles in various places in the house . . . I had to drag the tub up from the basement, then I proceeded to dump the contents on the great room floor (in view of the TV, of course.)

This is the mess I had to contend with. I folded and folded until I had to go to bed. After three hours, this is all I had to show for my time:


Three neat piles of fabric folded into 6" x 13" rectangles, and balanced precariously on one another.
And this much is left to sort and fold, which I worked on Sunday evening, but I was tired and didn't get much done. The mess still sits there, gathering dog fur!


I had planned to finish a shirt on Friday night, but discovered that I had sewn one sleeve in upside down. It's hard to tell the right and wrong side of the fabric, but still, I should have noticed that the notches for the front and back weren't in the right place. Of course, I had serged the seam - it rarely happens that mistakes are found before doing so! Today I decided it was time to undo that seam and finish the blouse, which I did. Here is the finished shirt.

I've made three other shirts from this pattern, and have one to go. The pattern is by Lois Hinse - the CasaBlanca blouse, pattern #5707. What I like about Lois's patterns is that they fit well and are relatively easy to make; in addition, they can be made from a variety of fabrics. For this shirt, I've used cottons and silky fabrics. One change I did make is to use bias tape on the neckline instead of serging the edge, folding it over, and top stitching it. I discovered that was nearly impossible when working with silky fabrics. The bias tape gives the neckline more stiffness and I think it looks better.

The next blouse is pink, and I want to do machine embroidery around the hemline, or at least part of it. I have some ideas from the November/December 2004 issue of "Designs in Machine Embroidery." (I bought that issue when I was trying to determine which machine embroidery magazine I preferred. I finally settled on "Creative Machine Embroidery" after realizing that "Designs in Machine Embroidery" assumed that everyone owns a top-of-the-line embroidery machine, which I don't.)