Day 225

A pic of my current WIP.  It's a wearable muslin. 

Day 198: Plantains galore

I made an upside-down plantain gingerbread cake for some friends' going party.  

DELICIOUS.  

I actually made this cake 3 times 9 days.  I even forgot the butter one time and it still came out well.  I have every intention of perfecting this recipe and making it as often as possible :). 

I made a lame washi tape label for the cake so that I did not have to explain what it was a dozen times. 

For the party, I was feeling pretty funky that day (I'm pretty sure I brought some frenemies back from my trip) and needed a little pick me up. 

So I whipped up this Plantain shirt from Deer and Doe (FREE pattern here). 

I used fold-over elastic (FOE) for the neck binding.  It was the first time I've ever used FOE and while it was not perfect I think it came out pretty well. I also did not hem this shirt at all; another reason to love sewing with knits. It fits well and the tissue knit and the drapey shape are great for the summer heat and will be great for layering in the fall/winter.  Promise I'll take more detailed photo and share. 

Day 196: Thread Theory Arrowsmith undershirt

Hey guys,

Sorry it's been so long since I lasted posted.  I unexpectedly got to Haiti at the beginning of July for my Grandmother's 80th birthday!!! Thanks to my amazing aunt and uncle.

So, while I did not make all of my goals for the free pattern sewing month, I'll still be sharing what sewing I have been up to.

First off, I'm sharing the tank I sewed up for my fella using the FREE men's Arrowsmith undershirt pattern from Thread Theory

So this is maybe the 4th or 5th thing I've ever sewed using knits and generally I think it was successful (except for the part where I forgot to switch to a straight stitch when using my double needle and subsequently broke it :/ ). 

I went with the fella's size as according to the chart but should have gone down a size due to the stretch of the knit I used.  The fella picked out the fabric for a cardigan, but it's a tissue-y knit so that was a no go.  But I ordered it anyways and surprised him with this tank.  

The pattern and directions were generally easy to follow. I just wish that the right and wrong sides of the pattern and fabric were clearly labelled in the directions. I really enjoyed the cutting guide on the printed patterned pieces which made tiling and taping the pieces super streamlined.

(Please excuse the scraggly thread.)  I think I did a pretty okay job lining up the stripes on the fabric too.

The fella was getting bored so he started making silly poses. This one is my favorite.

The Arrowsmith tank seems to be great for the Florida humidity.  He likes it as lounge wear. I'm seriously considering using this pattern to make a ladies tank dress.

Hope you are having a great day!

Haiiroookami Skirt

I made this a little while back and just hadn't had the chance to get photos taken.
So to begin the name of the skirt.  While I was doing the bulk of this skirt I was listening to a podcast of snap judgement, and I really enjoyed the story on the 06 wolf.  (I highly recommend listening to it).  The name translates to grey wolf in Japanese. Put it into Google translate, it sounds just ever so cute in Japanese. 

It's a simple skirt with an invisible zipper and a few rows of elastic in the back. 

A little closer.  The elastic makes it very comfy to wear all day and since I made it based on my measures it hits right above the knee, which I prefer since I have such short legs.

My photographer was getting fed up of my fake smile.  I had a good laugh at that. 

And of course the (photogenic) beast had to be included.

 Hope you're having a great day!

My First Quilt

So a while back I saw this tutorial for a kids sleeping bag; I shared it as a WIP a couple months ago.  While I don't have a child, I do have a dog that is need of a new bed.  I also happened to have all of the materials on hand, and really wanted my first quilt to be stress free (i.e. if I mess up it won't matter, cuz well he's a dog).

It's not perfect but I think it's pretty cute.  It might be a little effeminate but again he's a dog and I like the colors quite a bit.  Like most minpins, the beast  loves to borrow so I thought a sleeping bag would be great.  For now I think it will stay a quilt cause it's terribly hot in Florida right now and the (lazy) beast loves to sprawl all over it.


Check out the back.

I choose to do sets of three lines in a square, getting wider and wider in the center.  

The (snuggly) beast seems to love it.  He plopped down on it as soon as I gave it to him and when I took it out for photos he wouldn't let me get a picture without him in it.  

Free Tutorial Sewing Month

There a TON of free resources on the web to get sewing and to be quite frank.  While most of them are for children, there are still quite a few for the ladies (not so much for the men though).  So, for the next month (i.e. July) I will be using them (and only them) to do some “selfish” sewing (i.e. nothing for children)

My goals for this are:

1.       To use tutorials that either include a pattern or are based off of your own measurements.

2.       To blog more regularly and have more “substantial” posts.

3.       Make my fabric stash more reasonable.

4.       To have luggage to travel with. 

5.       Make 10 items (this will give me three days per item)

6.       Increase my handmade wardrobe.

7.       Decrease my store bought wardrobe.

8.       Get rid of the itch from not buying any clothes for the last 6 months (that resolution is SO hard to keep at times)

I have to make (at least):

1.       One men’s item

2.       One item with a self- dyed/stamped material

3.       One purse/clutch

4.       Two dresses

5.       Two traveling bags

6.       Three items with trimmings (i.e. foe, ric rac, etc.)

7.       Three items with knits

I cannot make more than:

1.       One tote bag

2.       One simple elastic waisted skirt

3.       Two circle skirts

4.       Four Bags in total

Some extra rules for myself:

1.       I can only keep an item if I get rid of one from my closet

2.       I will be limiting myself to my stash and thrifting for all fabrics.   (yikes!)

3.       If it’s not fun, find another project to work on.  Sewing should be fun!!!

Of course feel no obligation to use my rules.  Really the only reason that I have any rules laid out is so that I have to be accountable to stick to this.  (Even if no one reads this.)

With that in mind I will do a few round-ups of free tutorials so that you can take your pick and maybe follow along.   I’d love to see anything you’re working on. 

Colette's Negroni

So here's what took me 15.5 hours. 

My first men's shirt.

   

This was the muslin and luckily I made one because it's too small for the fella's shoulders. 

I got the fabric super cheap from an estate sale.  The "light" interfacing I used was waaaayyy too thick making it really hard to get the pearl snaps to fasten to the shirt. I think I will take it in at the waist and fix the pearl snaps.   That way I can justify spending so much time on a (semi-failed) project. 

All in all it was still really fun to make, but it was very difficult getting those flat felled seams right but I think I did better than mediocre.   

This is an intermediate pattern is from Colette pattern's Walden line.   I'm afraid to see what their advanced patterns involve.  I found the pattern very helpful and also used the sewalong from male patterned boldness.  I have to say that I cant wait to start on another one (in a bigger size) with different pockets and lighter interfacing.   

Sharing over at Make- it and Love-it

-Nique

Humor me, please.

I know this may seem to be a rando question, but do you think cupcakes have gender?

Are there rules to (platonic) gifting of cupcakes (i.e. can a man give a man a cupcake, can a man give a woman a cupcake, etc.)?

Both my classes thought so--this is a topic of conversation that has come up with 3 distinct groups over the last month and I would love to know what you think.


On another note.  I'm in love....with a skirt

It's got a nice large yoke, which I love.  

And the Crescent skirt (non-affiliate link) (pictured below) went on sale this weekend (happy birthday Tasia).  I've had my eye on this pattern for years and constantly find myself wearing skirts similar to it.

What do you think of using this fabric for it ? 

-Nique

turban headband tutorial (with a bow option)

So, I made a circle/square skirt for the munchkin.  It's her Christmas present from last year (i.e. 2012 ).  I know, but better late than never right?

Anywhozers, I had some left over fabric so I decided a super cute matching headband would be a great way to prevent me from adding anything to my scrap stash.

(please ignore my frizzies)

Cute, huh.

They are really easy to make and if you have a knit that does have a right and a wrong side, there is very minimal sewing to do.

What you'll need

• 10x24" scrap of knit fabric 
• scissors
• needle/sewing machine
• thread

1. Begin by making some strips.  Mine were 5x24".    If you have fabric with no apparent right side you can skip the next step.

2.Sew one strip right-sides together along the long edge.  Flip right sides out.  Repeat with the other piece of fabric.

You now have  two tubes of fabric.


3. Cross your tubes like so

4. Now fold your strips so they are linked, matching the short ends (looks like a certain chromosome, no?)

5. Try on the headband and see where you need to sew.  Make it as tight as you need it.

6. Sew the short ends together.

Now if you'd like the bow option.

6. Sew one pair of (opposite) bands together).

7.  Knot the other two (opposite) bands together

8.  If your ends are too long, clip them.

Now you have a beautiful headband.

-Nique

McCall's 6560

So, a little while back (i.e. 1+ yr) I decided that using patterns would be a good idea since I wanted to learn more about clothing construction.  

Well there was a $1 pattern sale and I picked this up

McCall's 6560

And I had this great quilting cotton

Let's call it blue farm fabric.  I really think this fabric is lovely.  I mean, come on, it has a farm wind pump on it.  

Pondering?

This took quite a bit of time for me to finish.  It's been a while since I've induldged in some selfish sewing so this sat untouched for a year.  (*shrugs*)

I may or may not of been overly ambitious in adding self drafted pockets and may or may not of forgotten how much skinnier wrists are compared to palms.  But with the help of my handy dandy seam ripper and a good chunk of a Radio-Lab episode, all ended up well. 

The back of the dress is pretty cool.  with criss-crossing straps and buttons.  The dress also features darts, gathering (self-added), and pleats.

close-up of back

~~~please ignore the stray threads and difficulties with the top of the invisible zipper, losing the last page of instructions might be the issue here~~

I think I will make this one again.  It was good practice for fitting (thanks Phyn) and learning to pay attention to how much ease a pattern has.  It's so comfortable and suits a fun print pretty well. 

As an added bonus I got a lovely gift all the way from England.  (They are not sold in the US)

From the junketer  :)

The Fella and me :)

-Nique