Wedding Sewing

  My older brother is getting married to a very good friend of mine in June... and I will be a bridesmaid (bridesmatron?). But before then, I have a lot of sewing to do. I'm sewing boleros for three of the bridesmaids, as well as adding length and a neckline modesty panel to dresses for the same three bridesmaids. In addition, I have to do extensive alterations to my dress (I will be almost 8 months pregnant!) and sew a flower girl dress for Booper.

  Here's what I've finished so far:

  It looks uncomplicated, and the pattern really is pretty simple, but you know I went and complicated everything up. First, I added a lace overlay, which required basting every lace piece to the corresponding underlining pieces. Second, I decided against using a lining, since I was already quite a bit over budget in the fabric department. Skipping the lining meant that I needed to use some other sort of seam finish on every seam, and since these are for a wedding and I really want them to look nice, I sewed every seam as a French seam:

   
  And finally, since I'm not using the lining I have to finish the outer edges of the bolero very differently than the pattern suggests. I am thinking bias strips as a facing... I haven't sewn this part yet. I'll need to sew them on the inside by hand to avoid topstitching, which I think wouldn't really look good with the lace. I also need to hand-sew the sleeve hems. So, a lot of work, and this is only the first of three!

  Booper's dress will be fun though. I don't have the design fully planned yet, but I know I want tulip sleeves, a square neckline, and pick-ups throughout the skirt. I'm using white satin overlaid with hunter green lace for most of the dress, and hunter green satin for the sash. For this, I bought lining.

  Isn't that pretty?

  Initially I couldn't find green lace in any of the fabric stores around here, so I ordered it from Joann's online... and let me just say that was a mistake. I ordered the color on the left, and the light green on the right was what I was sent:

  They aren't even close to the same color! And while both are pretty, I really needed dark green to match the wedding colors. I had given up on the lace overlay and went to Joann's in person to look for dark green satin, and was surprised and delighted to find just 3 yards of the hunter green in store... so it all worked out, except that I have to either find something to make with 3 yards of bright green lace or pay the extra to ship it back. Any suggestions?

  I'll share photos of the dress alterations when I'm finished, as well as a modeled photo of the bolero. And you know I won't be able to resist showing you the flower girl dress... I'm excited about it. =)

And now I must be off to sew... I have only 7 weeks to finish everything, and I'm not nearly fast enough at sewing yet!

Thanks for stopping by,

Negroni Shirt- Finished!

  I did it! I finished the shirt for my husband. Here's what it looks like:

  Doesn't look like much for how long I spent working on it, does it? But I assure you that it has a lot of details to it.

  Details which, unfortunately, I could NOT get a decent photo of. I tried 3 separate times. Here is a blurry cuff-and-placket photo though. Please ignore all the lint... that is what happens when I leave something on my sewing table for several weeks. =)

  I loved the placket instructions, but I hated the way the cuffs were sewn on to the shirt... the instructions have you sew one side to the sleeve at 1/4", then edgestitch the other side down...but since you baste that edge down at 3/8" when assembling the cuffs, it's impossible to sew it down neatly, without either pulling the seam of the cuff to the front, or having your former stitching show. I picked them out and sewed them my own way, and I like the results a lot better this way.

 I'm also not fond of the facing. I put so much effort into flat-felled seams and lined back yokes, that it's not really great to have this right at the front:

 It doesn't show unless you lift it, but I still don't like knowing it is there. I think I would have preferred a traditional button placket over a faced one, a regular button-hole at the collar instead of a loop, and a stand collar instead of convertible. Those are really more style preference, but overall I won't be using the pattern again as-is. I may alter it and make another later though, along with some sizing changes... the sleeves are too long for even my long-armed husband, and the waist too slim, although the fit everywhere else is very good.

  I'll see if I can convince Joshua to let me take a photo of him wearing this when he gets home... he hasn't seen it since before I finished the cuffs.

 Edited to add: Despite his dislike of being photographed, Joshua did let me take this one... just because he loves me. =) It would appear that those pounds gained last week were lost this week, and the waist now fits. =) Sleeves are still too long though.

Any grime is due to this being a minute-he-walked-in-the-door photo. =)

   I'm just glad it is finished. I do think it came out well, the pattern just wasn't as amazing as I hoped it would be. =) And amazingly, the buttonholes were much less of a fight than I was expecting, although they are a tiny bit too short and you have to fight to get the buttons through. =)

 And now to sew 3 lace boleros, add to 3 bridesmaids dresses, and come up with a flower girl dress, all of which MUST be finished by mid-June. Think I can do it?

Thanks for stopping by,

PS: Linking up at The Train To Crazy

Husband Shirt Update

   No, it isn't finished. =) But I have made quite a bit of progress on the button-up I've been working on for Joshua. I not only finished marking everything but have most of the shirt sewn together. To finish, I need to sew the cuffs, hem, buttonholes and buttons. And considering how scary this shirt is, that's a lot of progress!

  The buttonholes are the part I'm looking forward to the least, since my buttonhole lever still isn't working the way it is supposed to. It's supposed to be entirely automatic but I'm having to do parts manually... I think I'm missing a spring or something. Once I have the time and money, I'll get it looked at, but for now I'll just be extra careful with every buttonhole to make sure it doesn't make giant knots on my fabric.

  Another thing... this shirt is too small. It isn't my fault though! Some weight has been gained in the ridiculous amount of time that I've been working on it, and the waist measurement is now several inches larger than it was when I cut the fabric. Fortunately for the shirt, my husband is working on dropping those pounds again, so there is still a possibility of it being worn eventually.

  There are several things about this pattern (the Negroni, from Collette Patterns) that I'm not impressed with, but I do appreciate the clear sleeve placket instructions and the use of flat-felled seams. It's a little extra work, but it makes things look so much nicer when finished.

 There is a distinct possibility that I will finish the shirt this week... we'll see how things go! And once that is finished, I have a flower-girl dress to get started on, 3 lace boleros to make, and 3 bridesmaid dresses to add to, one of which I also have to alter. I also have high hopes for a shirt for myself, and if I get the perfect arrangement of spare time, a maternity skirt. I wish I was faster at sewing! =)

Thanks for stopping by,

Quick Dress-To-Shirt Refashion

  So I have still been procrastinating on that shirt for my husband... it still scares me. I did get the interfacing cut out, but I still haven't marked everything properly.

  I did finish refashioning this dress though:

  Here's what it looks like now:

  No more waddling due to too-tight dresses! =) It was a pretty simple fix on the length, in spite of having to hem a lining separately. I wanted the front to be a little longer, so I marked where I wanted the dress to hit on the side seams, then laid it out and cut it like this:

  This photo is after cutting... the pin is the mark for side seam length. I don't remember this dress being labeled as maternity when I bought it, but you can tell from the photo that it definitely is! The ruffle wasn't finished, so I cut a curved line to about 1 inch above the hem cut, to allow room for hemming the shirt. I just used a twin needle to hem, although I did use quite a few pins because this fabric is pretty shifty.

  I also changed the neckline a little... I'm not fond of showing my undergarments while walking around town. I used the piece I cut from the bottom of the shirt to mimic the shape of the original neckline and hand-sewed it in place. It didn't come out as well as I had hoped it would, but at least I'm not showing things I don't want to show!

 
  Now you may remember that I said this fit beautifully other than the hips, and you may be noticing that it looks a little tight. The truth is, it is a tiny bit tight now. I gained a few pounds in the past two weeks... normal during pregnancy, but obviously not in the right spot if it is making the sleeves tighter! ;-)

  I think the extra weight probably has more to do with some cranberry-cheesecake bars I made this week than it does with tiny little baby Beckers. (Yes, she already has a nickname.) =)

  Doesn't that look delicious? It's the best cranberry sauce I have ever tasted. =) I'd offer to share the recipe, but I don't want your clothes to end up tight too. ;-)

  So I may not have finished the biggest project on my list, but I did complete something this week!

Thanks for stopping by,

Procrastinating

 I mentioned in my last post that I was working on a shirt for my husband. Since then, I really haven't done much on it... I finished multiple washes of the fabric last week, but I've been too scared to cut this out. A woven shirt in and of itself is a big deal to me, and making a proper button-up is more than a little intimidating. I finally cut it out last night:

  Well, excepting the interfacing... and most of the pieces still need to be marked properly. We'll see how long I procrastinate on those parts. By the way, cutting out fabric on a scratchy carpet while pregnant can lead to rub burn on knees, shins, elbows, and forearms.

  Other sewing stuff: I have this beautiful dress that I bought on sale online, no returns accepted. I knew it would be short, so I was planning on wearing it as a long tunic. However, it is ridiculously tight on the hips... waddling tight. The rest of it fits beautifully. I am planning on shortening it into a shirt. The neckline also hits a lot lower than I expected, so we'll see what I can do there. Care to see?

  Also, I am beyond excited not to be sewing at the dining table anymore... we found a folding table for sale a few days ago, and this is the setup I have so far:

  It's right in the middle of the living room, so I'm going to have to make an effort to keep it clean, but look at how much room I have! Enough for my sewing machine AND serger to be set up at the same time! And all of my fabric and other supplies fit neatly beneath the table, so I don't have to go rummage through the garage every time I need to find something. Also, see the thread rack? $23 at Walmart, and completely worth it, in spite of being slightly flimsy. I currently have all of my spools and all of my bobbins on it with quite a lot of empty pegs. The tablecloth is just a length of pretty grey fabric (The same fabric I used for Booper's hat), and is temporary, since I want to use it for a skirt eventually.

  One more thing. =) I bought a gift for a wedding shower but didn't have any wrapping paper for it... so I used freezer paper (not the shiny side), gold craft paint, and a silkscreen to make this:

  I love the way it turned out, and I am really happy that I got the chance to re-use the silkscreens after my Navy and Lace shirt.

And that is what I have been up to, besides all the cooking going on while I procrastinate on sewing.
Thanks for stopping by!

Cowl-Neck Shirt

   I've been gone for quite a while! We moved last week, and it took me most of the week before to pack, and most of this week to unpack. Honestly, I still haven't finished the little daughters' room. And that is why I've been rather absent... I not only had no time to sew, but my sewing stuff was packed up! I can't tell you how nice it is to have a pretty white wall for photographs though... ;-)

  Anyway, today I finished this shirt that I've been thinking about for a while. I've been working on it, off and on, since I posted my Navy and Lace shirt, and I'm so happy it is finally done!

  I used this tutorial from Made with Love to draft the cowl neck using my basic tee pattern, and it worked pretty well. I did notice that the shoulder seams tend to slide backward, but I think that may just be a problem common to cowl-necks. I also didn't have enough fabric to cut full long sleeves, but I managed to eke some trapezoids out of the remainder and added them for a slight bell sleeve.

   I hemmed the sleeves and shirt with a twin needle... and I have yet to press them, hence the waviness. The fabric is a from Joann's, with a nice subtle print on it. It's also nice and thick and incredibly soft... much nicer than the other knits I've sewn with.

  And that is all that I've sewn lately! I did buy the Negroni shirt pattern to attempt to make a button-up that will actually fit my husband, and have printed out and traced the pattern in his size. I need to wash my fabric a few more times before cutting it though, since I am using a lightweight 100% cotton twill, and it shrinks quite a lot.

  I also invented a recipe for what I call 'creamsicle pie', and it was delicious! It includes jello, which isn't on my usual list of ingredients, but was interesting to work with. If anyone is interested in the recipe, let me know and I'll post about it. =)

Thanks for stopping by!

Booper is 3!

   This one turned 3 yesterday:

Scroll down for more information on the hat

  It's a little shocking that my first little baby has already been here for three years! She is a very sweet little person, the first to sympathize with any affliction, and somehow still full of energy and sass. She LOVES playing outside, tossing rocks or just sitting in the sun. She has an invisible friend named 'Gong' who she talks to regularly, and bosses around energetically. Even though her room is always a mess, she loves to put things in perfect rows and in the proper spot. That's my little Booper, my three-year-old daughter. =)

  We celebrated Booper's birthday with chocolate cupcakes, freshly-grilled hamburgers, and some fun gifts at her grandparents' house. She was happy... she loves going to her grandparents' house, and seeing all her aunts and uncles makes it even more fun. =)

  In addition to buying her a set of markers that she has been enjoying all day, I gave Booper a few options for a gift I could make her. She chose a hat, which was surprisingly easy to sew. =)

  I also made her a dress, a size larger than her usual so it will fit all summer:

  The dress was also fairly simple... a pre-made shirt cut shorter and some strategically gathered pieces of fabric added with a waistband and bow.

   She's a little messy because she wore the dress all day before I took a picture of her... =)

  I added a little fabric flower to the hat to match the dress:

  I used this tutorial from I Heart Jenny's Art, with a couple modifications.... I added a couple inches to the band length so I could add elastic in the back, and I used fusible fleece to stiffen the brim, since I couldn't find transparency film in the stores I usually visit... it is still stiff enough, although a little more stiffness wouldn't hurt. =) My final band size was 24x2", and the diameter of my circle for the crown was 8". On the inside, instead of serging I pressed the edge of the inner brim in by a scant 1/2" before sewing.

  I also changed my brim slightly from the hat I used to trace, since this hat was for a little person and not an adult. In case you don't have a hat to trace and want to make this, I scanned my pattern in so you can print it out: Kid-Sized Hat Brim Pattern (Oh, the joys of having a printer!) If you do use it, just make sure the white space inside the small square is 1" square when printed, and cut on the inside of the black lines. =) Anyway, I definitely recommend this tutorial! It was really easy to follow and I love the finished hat. I'm thinking of making one in my size. =)

  Happy birthday to my sweet and spunky, clever and obstinate Booper!

Thanks for stopping by,

Linking up here:

Navy and Lace Top

  I've been playing around with alternative ways of adding lace texture to things lately, and not many of them worked. Lace as a stencil with fabric spray paint made too soft of a texture, and with fabric paint pounced or brushed on the details were too muddy. I bought this set of silkscreens at Michael's the other day though, just to try out. I wasn't sure if it would work at all since it is marketed for use on glass and ceramics, but look!

  The small butterfly is from another set. I did have to play around a lot to get the fabric paint I used to the right thickness... too thick and some spots have missing paint, too thin and it seeps underneath the silkscreen and ends up muddy. And I know, the painted lace on the yoke is crooked. On my first attempt at that yoke the paint looked great at first, but spread as it dried and ended up being solid white. I had to wash the fabric out completely (which took a while!) and dry it before trying again... and apparently I didn't line everything up right the second time. The silkscreen piece was a lot narrower than my shoulders, but it worked out alright to line up the edges and add the paint for the second half next to the first, even though there isn't a good repeat to line up. =)

   I added a couple butterflies on the back... the one on the shoulder is missing some spots from too-thick paint.

  Also, I accidentally painted the back of one sleeve instead of the front, and didn't have enough fabric for a re-do so I cut the painted piece off and sewed it back on in the right direction, then sewed a seam in the other sleeve to match.

  I used MadMim's tutorial to draft the tee from my measurements... mine didn't come out perfectly the first try, so I was glad I'd used scrap fabric to sew it up. This tee is after a couple small alterations. I used knit leftover from this dress, and it was a real stretch getting enough pieces out for this shirt! In fact, I had to use the pillowcases from the set and unpick their hems to get pieces long enough. =)

  I didn't end up using a knit binding around the neck because I had some pretty picot elastic that was too perfect not to use... I just stretched it slightly while serging it on, then top-stitched with a twin needle. I used another rolled hem to add some sweetness to the bottom of the shirt, stretching it slightly for a lettuce-edge. Overall I'm pretty happy with this shirt, in spite of its imperfections! And I'm happy to have the lace silkscreens to use on other projects. =)

Gratuitous Blinking Bump Photo!

  I already have another knit shirt for myself planned out, but I need to test out some more pattern alterations first. =) I should sew more knit stuff for the little people, since most knit projects are so quick and easy... I have a feeling I'd get a lot more sewn for them if I did.

 Speaking of little people... it's a girl! Daughter number three is due in August. =) And from her ultrasound, she is adorable!

  And more big news, we will be moving to a town about 30 miles away sometime in the next month... so I have a lot to do!

Thanks for stopping by!