Addicted to ruffles - prt 2

 McCall's 6270...I love how girly and sweet this is. BTW - This is Gracie in modeling mode!

Addicted to ruffles

I already had hot pink thread in the machines, so I pulled out a roll of chiffon and got busy last night. This is the end result.

I made one of these last year, but I didn't achieve the desired level of gathered fluff and I wrestled with a so-so ruffler foot. This time, I took a simpler approach. I gathered by bunching the fabric as I pushed it under the presser foot. You know what? It worked pretty well!

I put the teddy bear in it late last night so I could get a picture from the top.

I use the instructions from Kari Mecca's Princess Pettiskirts pattern.

The satin for the yoke is crepe-backed satin from Joann's. I hate costume satin - too slippery.

The chiffon was purchased in rolls, and I had so much fun making this I just might order some more...

The Ottobre Woman bathing suit

This is actually my second self-made swimsuit. I like the first one (made from a Kwik Sew/self-draft hybrid), but I wanted to do even better with the bra. I had two bras that had hook issues but were otherwise okay, and I'd been saving them for just such a purpose...

I had the fabric in my stash for awhile and had been waiting for the right pattern - thank you, Ottobre!

I did the bikini-style bottom and the lower portion of the top straight from the pattern, but I went renegade on the bra portion. This is what I did:

I cut off the hook sections and where the straps connected in the back. I also slit the front center. Since the fabric was very sturdy, I just reinforced the bottom of the slit with a few stitches. I attached plush back elastic to each strap end and to where I trimmed off the hooks. I lined the suit top with swimsuit fashion fabric (the lower part and bikini bottom are lined with nude swimsuit lining). Essentially, the bra is floating in the top of the suit, but it stays in place well since it is connected to the suit in four places and the back overlap and elastic provide a good fit.

I really like the shirring on the side - very forgiving. I need that after four kids!

I'm glad I engineered the bra in this - made it very comfortable and supportive for swimming and playing at Myrtle Beach this weekend!

Speaking of Myrtle Beach, have a peek at my other beach sewing:

 

All of the boys' shirts are Ottobre with embroidery designs by emblibrary.com.

SWAP progress - giraffes, and dragons, and sandcastles - oh my!

Benjamin's beach trip ensembles are complete...he just doesn't know that his beach dragon really will get to see the beach!

Next up, I'm going to make some more beach-inspired kids' outfits. My oldest son has given approval on several surf-themed designs. I just need to put the designs and fabric together.

Fabric P@rn

You may now drool...j/k.

All of these pretties came from the Patsy Aiken/Chez Ami Outlet in Raleigh, NC and they are so nice! They get the best quality stuff and sell what they no longer need at excellent prices ($3-$5 a yard, mostly in two yard pieces although sometimes I score smaller tidbits on the clearance shelf. I also got several zippers for 50 cents each. They have nice trim bags, too, but none that I wanted this time.

My oldest son requested the brown and royal blue stripe and the royal blue twill. ;-)

I also picked up this Moda twill at Elegant Stitches:

This is destined to be a skirt or maybe capris for Gracie - mostly likely a skirt.

On a more serious note, the reason I had a chance to hit my favorite fabric haunts on a Tuesday afternoon was that we were on our way to an education rally across from the NC Legislature. My kids are good little protesters (and got camera time behind the interviewer!): One Voice: Rally for Education

One of the reasons I sew is that I can have nicer things for my family than what my teacher salary buys if I make them myself. It's a shame that education has to fight for funding and teachers have to fight for basic dignity in our jobs. Children have no place in any fight, yet, my kids were not the only ones enthusiastically holding up signs and chanting with the crowd. Today is National Teacher Appreciation Day...kind of ironic.

Thank you for indulging my brief digression away from fabric. We will now return to our regularly scheduled fabric obsession. ;-)

SWAP for the beach!

Last weekend, I found an offer for my favorite place at Myrtle Beach, SC, and (easily) convinced the husband that we should go. Soon...while the deal was good, the weather is already beautiful, and it's right before the stressful season of End-of-Grade testing, something as a teacher I HATE. (Shhh! The kids don't know we are going the weekend after Mother's Day...)

So, using this as a motivator, I am Sewing With A Plan (SWAP). I already made Gracie a darling beach monkey dress several weeks ago. She also got the surfer girl t-shirt. She may get one more thing, but for now, I am focusing on the boys and me.

First up is Benjamin - he just turned six and he's cute as can be...and I want to enjoy "cute" on him as long as I can. He loves giraffes, so I bought this giraffe print fabric a few weeks ago with the purpose of a summer shirt. I'm doing matching shorts in a brown cotton-lycra twill and embellishing the pockets with applique giraffe heads.

The second giraffe, which I am stitching out as I blog, is mirror imaged so the little guys will be facing each other on the pockets. Both pieces of the outfit are designs from the newest Ottobre. (What the little guy on the left is wearing...fantastic issue, BTW!)

I also have a more beach-y outfit in the works for him. I stitched out the cutest dragon making a sandcastle (from emblibrary.com). The t-shirt is a raglan sleeve (which will be the green and white stripe) and a second layer peeking at the bottom (same stripe). The green rib knit will be used for the collar and sleeve bands. It will be paired with the plaid in a pair of shorts. Both of these pieces are also from Ottobre (different issues) since that's about the only exciting place to find nice things for boys.

For my two older boys, I also plan to make a shorts and t-shirt set for each of them. I spent time with the ten and half year old looking at some cool surf-inspired graphics (among other things) and now have a short list of tween-boy approved embroidery designs and a request to give some sewing lessons this summer.

I also plan to sew up that awesome bathing suit in the newest Ottobre Woman for myself. I have some pretty bathing suit fabric from Reesy's Co-op group that I have been holding onto for quite awhile - time to use it!

Super Saturday Sewing - 4 complete pieces!

 Saturday was a very productive day! I cut and sewed V1224 (Tracy Reese knit dress), cut and sewed Ottobre 3/2011 #7 & 8 bloomers and Pineapple Whip dress for Gracie (with Designs by Juju kitty embroidery), and sewed a skirt, Burda 7384. After church and lunch, we had a little fun modeling in our backyard. You can see why Gracie needs bloomers!

Crepe - made reversible!

For my second foray into Colette Patterns, I made "Crepe," a dress with a back wrap and sash, but no other closures. I don't mind zippers and buttons, but this was a fun change of pace.

I love the print - very sophisticated for Fabric Finders. I saw this recently made up in a little girl's dress and I didn't care for it. This one is for the big girls. I was concerned about an unlined white dress, so I decided to line it, which evolved into making it reversible.

I also chose to use black for the sash since it would provide contrast on either side of the dress. While I definitely prefer the print, it's fun to have options.

It wasn't too difficult to make this reversible. I applied the same technique I have used with things for Gracie. I constructed the floral and the lavender bodices, stitched them together along the entire wrap/neckline and the sleeves, then pulled everything through. The seams were then top-stitched.

The skirt sections were joined to the appropriate bodice before I sewed them, with right sides, sash, and bodice on the inside. Once right side out, It was easy to close the final seam during the process of top-stitching. Do this, I have a completely finished garment and didn't have to mess around with all those facings. The only downside is that this dress is TEN YARDS of fabric (when made reversible).

Where the magic happens

This is where I sew and serge, a small desk between my living and dining rooms that was once in a school classroom and likely held a typewriter at one time. I have some miscellaneous items piled on the end table between it and my couch.

You can see I have some creative use of space here.

The tall cabinet came from the same used furniture place that my sewing desk did. It is chock full of patterns, books, and even a little overflow fabric - often fabric I plan to use in the near future. There are several baskets stuffed with patterns hidden in the lower cabinet. On the floor, my biggest pattern basket has taken up residence.

You may notice in the cabinet behind the pattern basket are scrapbooks. Well, yes, I have another dirty little secret: I scrapbook. I've been an avid (rabid!) scrapbooker for a long while, so let me introduce you to my other creative space: the Scraplab. This small room off the main entrance to my house is home to my desktop computer, my Bernina Deco 340, and my scrapbook stash. You'll notice I still have a baby gate. My kids are not allowed in this room. The baby gate will only come down when we get some French doors installed...

Immediately to the right in the Scraplab is a TV and the tower of paper. That's all cardstock. The white drawer units hold various embellishments.

Next we have the computer and the Deco. I used to scrapbook on this desktop, but when I redid the room last year, I made a new work surface for that. You can see I have loads of paper, ribbons, containers of small embellishments...

Moving left of the computer/Deco, I have a section of countertop and base cabinets that I use with craft projects - esp. hot or messy ones (like heat embossing), a collection of rubber stamps, paper flowers, pages waiting to go into an album or three, and my lovely wall rack of thread. I have an IKEA TV table under the window that houses two mammoth tubs of paper and various other scrapbook supplies.

This shelf/desk combo is from IKEA and holds my idea books, small tools and embellishments, and my main work surface. I keep a large rotary cutting mat as a desk blotter since I often use it for measuring when I create scrapbook pages (or use the surface to hoop embroidery designs). There are two Iris scrapbook carts holding 12x12 tubs underneath it. The cross stitch picture of a cat (along with others that may be visible in random pictures) comes from a previous hobby life before I discovered scrapbooking and sewing.

So where's the fabric stash? Come into my garage. There's a second huge set of these shelves right behind it with an equal amount of stash.

Then I have a little more on a third set...just the bottom two shelves (4 big tubs). Finally, I have a double set of plastic drawers for my small fabric scraps that may be useful in other projects but are too small for a project on their own.

So, that's where it all happens. It may not be the most attractive arrangement, but it's colorful, fun, and MINE!

Finished objects

It was my last day of Spring Break...screw the laundry; I sewed.

Laundry is overrated anyway...I still have one skirt cut and ready to go for me, but I did have to give in top the lesson plans awaiting me since school is in session tomorrow. Blech! 

We do have a trip to Myrtle Beach to look forward to in a little less than three weeks - time to start working on the Ottobre swimsuit from the 2/2011 issue.