Tie One On Day!

Only a couple of weeks ago, after reading the e-zine , issue # 11,  put out by Schmets Needles, I learned about Tie One On Day !  What a wonderful, wonderful idea! Since our household has both American and Canadian in it, I thought we would participate in this special day.  It's not too late to participate, even in the midst of the preparations for Thanksgiving Day, you can still share.

Being able to give someone a note of encouragement along with something baked or bought, to show you care and are thinking of them, is a wonderful way to start Thanksgiving preparations.

Here are some muffins (made by one of my sons), for a neighbour and an adjustable apron, child sized, for their grandchild when she comes to visit, or for the many other children that come to visit them. :)

This tea towel apron is an old classic with a twist of being adjustable from a size 2-8, but older people can put it on, too, in a pinch, if you don't need or want too much coverage.  This has been a popular item at my Christmas market sales this year.

The prepared gift............

So, if you are able and willing, go Tie One On today........

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

~ Carol ~

Kid's Clothes Week Day 7

I finished off Olivia's butter fly shirt, using the same Women's Metro T-Shirt pattern.  Olivia and I started discussing t-shirt fringe, a few week's back when we were making her a western dress for an AWANA banquet at camp.  We ended up not making t-shirt fringe for that project, but it seemed like the perfect thing to add to a t-shirt.

The fabric is 100% cotton jersey and it's lovely.  This was a left over piece from a Hopscotch Dress I made her 3 years ago.  Do you notice what I did wrong?!  In my hurry to get the shirt cut out, I neglected to put my butterflies in the right direction.  Yes, indeed, I cut out the shirt having the butterflies flying upside down.  I was in quite the hurry as my husband was getting ready to replace the skylight, above where I was working, and I needed to get things done quickly.  We had an awful storm blow through, a little over a week ago and a baseball sized hailstone broke through one of our skylights.  Needless to say, we ended up replacing 5 skylights.  So in my hurried adventure to get this shirt done, I made a big mistake.  Oh well, Olivia didn't notice and neither did her big sister.  The fabric is soft and comfy so it will do just fine. :)

It was fun making the fringe.  I used a small sized rotary cutter to get the fringe cut in a uniform fashion.  We wanted to make the fringe long enough, but not too long as to cause issues with playing and getting caught in things.  We also wanted to make sure her belly was covered and not exposed by the fringe cuts.

For the shirt I used size M/L once again, M through the neck/shoulders and L through the width.  I added almost 2" to the length of the sleeve and 2" to the hemline of the shirt.  I cut the fringe 6" up from the bottom of the shirt and about 3" up from the bottom of the sleeve.  The slits were 1/4" apart.  Olivia is happy with her shirt and I am mostly happy with it.  We are considering making some other fringe T-shirts using some patterned designs.

That wraps up the week of sewing for children......but I'm not done sewing.  It was good once again to be forced to sew each day, for my child. :)  My other children were neglected in the clothing department, oh well.

Happy Sewing.......

Kids Clothes Week Day 6

I was able to finish up the Women's Metro T-Shirt high/low dress for Olivia.  We wrestled with whether or not to put an elastic waist in the dress.  In the end, we decided not to and she has the freedom to use a belt to bring it in, should she want to do that.  This will allow her two different looks in wearing the dress.  She's happy with her dress and I am happy to have another dress made for her this week.

Once again, I used the size M/L, M through the shoulders and L through the width.  I changed up the pattern from the waist line down, making it an A line shape, but then changing the hem line to a high low style.  I am not a big fan of this style hem line, but I am growing to like some dresses made this way.  Olivia is quite pleased with this one.

We are contemplating a couple more shirts to make with this pattern.  One of the ones we want to make is with a cotton knit and lace.  That might have to wait until next week.  Butterfly fabric is next. :) Edit to add, the butterfly shirt is cut and I have started sewing. :)

Until tomorrow......

Kid's Clothes Week Day 5

More than an hour was used for sewing time today.  I got the fabric ready, measured and sized the design of the dress we wanted to make, marked and cut out the dress.  Then I had time to do some stitching, preparing the hems and will finish up tomorrow.  Once again we are using the Women's Metro T-Shirt pattern by Liesl + Co.  Size M through the shoulders and neck (front neckline dropped, slightly) and size L through the width, then A Line shaped and lengthened for the dress.  This is a longer style dress with a high low hemline.

Olivia likes the chevron pattern fabrics, as do I.  This dress is being made form the Riley Blake collection.  The knit is made form 95% cotton 5% spandex and it's so soft and wonderful to wear.  It's also wonderful to sew.

This will be Olivia's third dress this week.   It's wonderful to see the wardrobe getting fulfilled....just in time, I'm sure, for another growth spurt. ;)

Tomorrow I will finish up the dress and we might have time to cut out and start one more garment....we hope!

Back tomorrow......good night! :)

Kid's Clothes Week Day 4

I was able to get the 1 hour in today, with a bit more, but not much to show for it.  Olivia has a new white with black polka dot t-shirt, made from the same Women's Metro T-Shirt  by Liesl + Co.  Once again I used the size M through the shoulders and L through the width to get a more relaxed fit and I also shortened the shirt, through the waist.  I find that when preparing knit fabrics for hemming, the quick make item takes a bit longer.  I use the stay tape on the sleeves and hem, so the extra time pressing takes longer, but it sure makes a difference in the quality of the finished product.

The fabric is a 95% cotton and 5% spandex.  It's nice and soft and has washed up well so far.

Here is a side view of the length of the shirt....a bit long, but not too long as this girl is growing, fast!

We are trying to decide which item to make next...so many choices....only so much time......

Until next time.......

Kid's Clothes Week, Day 3

I was able to finish up the maxi dress today and started cutting out another T-shirt from the same pattern. With Olivia's growth spurt, we find she's in need of everything, so we are focusing on the Women's Metro T-Shirt Pattern and making dresses and shirts from that pattern, to quickly put some much needed clothes into this girl's wardrobe.

She started asking for a maxi dress, last year, and the plan was to do that, but life got busy and so we just never got to it, until now. :)  Here she is in her fun new maxi dress.  We might make one more of these, just because she really likes this style dress. ;)

Next up is a T-shirt, white with black polka dots. :)

Back tomorrow..............

Kid's Clothes Week, Day 2.

I finished up Olivia's dress and cut out and started the sewing of her new maxi length dress.  She's excited to finally get a maxi dress.  Olivia loves this new dress and can hardly wait for her new, new dress. :)

For this next dress, I used the same, liesl + co, 'Women's Metro T-Shirt' pattern, again using the size M through the shoulders and the size L for the width of the pattern.  It has a nice relax fit, giving Olivia time to enjoy her dress and not grow out of it, too quickly.....at least I hope she doesn't.  Olivia is growing like crazy at the moment.  She needs new clothes!

While Olivia did not dye the fabric, no time to do that, we chose a fabric she has liked for over a year, wanting a dress made from it.  Because of the lovely tie dye fabric, it makes it almost seem as if it was created by Olivia, but it was not.  This fabric is 100% cotton jersey, but we have a piece of fabric, with the exact same tie dye, in a light weight twill. :)

For day three, I will finish up the dress and hopefully start cutting the next garment.

Good-Night..........

Kid's Clothes Week July 2014 Day 1

It's time again for Kid's Clothes Week. I had forgotten about it until the other day.  I'm late at getting started, but I figured better late than never.  I may not make the whole week, but I'm giving it an honest try.  Today I prepped the pattern, the fabric, cut out and stitched up most of the dress.

Olivia has been away all week at AWANA camp, so I did not have her here to have her participate in the making of this dress.  I spent more than an hour today, working on this dress, having most of it done before she arrived home.  I have decided to leave the hemming for tomorrow.

Olivia picked out this fabric and really liked the bright, stripes, so I decided to make a T-shirt dress with it.  The dress form is not set up for Olivia's measurements, it's a couple sizes smaller than she is.  I used the Oliver + S pattern, Women's Metro T-Shirt, and changed it up a bit.  Instead of using the smaller size for children, I decided to use the women's sized shirt, and made a few changes to it.  I made a t-shirt for Olivia from this pattern, before she went off to camp, so I knew how it fit her and what changes I wanted to make.

Changes I made to the pattern:

I used the size M through the shoulders and then size L for the width.  The M fits, but it's too snug for my liking, so I wanted the shirt to have a more relaxed fit.  I shortened the bodice in the waist by 1", and then of course cut off the rest of the length of the shirt and added a skirt.  I also added width and a tiny bit of length to the neckband.  

Another dress from the pattern is in the works for tomorrow. :)  Olivia is also thinking of a couple of art ideas she wants to dry for a garment or two.  

Good Night....... :)

Selfish Sewing Week.....

This past week was deemed, "Selfish Sewing Week".  The idea behind it is that so often, we are sewing for other people and here is one week we set aside to sew for ourselves.  It's nice in theory, but reality says otherwise. ;)

In keeping with the theme of trying to do at least one hour a day, throughout the week, I attempted Selfish Sewing Week, but I didn't accomplish a lot. ;)

I started out learning a very, very valuable lesson.  When printing PDF patterns, 1/6" of an inch off, makes a HUGH difference.  I did check the measurements of the testing square, first, but I was in a hurry and I thought it was correct, or so close to correct, it must be correct and I'm just picky! :P  Well, after taping, tracing and cutting out a muslin, then sewing, I knew something was off.  Sure enough the whole thing, along with the other patterns I had also printed off, taped together, traced off and cut out the patterns, were going to be off, too. :(  I took a great deal of time to fix this error.  I will have a post coming about the PDF issue, just to warn others who might have this same error.  I may not get to that post until next week.

Once my pattern was correctly printed, taped and traced off, I was finally able to do my Women's Metro T-Shirt pattern, by Liesl + Co.  Here's what I did each day:

-Day one of the week was spent tracing off the wrong scaled pattern, cutting and sewing a muslin.
-On day two, I spent the day fixing the error on the scaling, then doing that for the other patterns I had incorrectly printed off.  I traced off and cut out the pattern and my new t-shirt.
-Day three, I sneaked in some time to sew the shoulder and side seams.
-Day four, I decided how I wanted to finish the armholes since this was to be a tank t-shirt. I put the neckline together and hemmed the shirt.
-Day five, no time to work on the shirt, but hit the fabric store while out doing errands and purchased a 3 metre length of silk fabric for a skirt and scarf I want to make for myself...that's truly selfish!
-Day six, I cut out the binding for the shirt, the rest of the time I selfishly spent repairing a skirt for my daughter so she could wear it (much more important than my tank t-shirt and I was so happy to do that. :)
-Day 7, I sewed the binding on the shirt.... with the exception of tying off the coverstitch tails, which I will do tomorrow, in the light of day.

The Salsa Skirt was made back in February for when I attended Sewing Expo.

Until tomorrow,

Good Night......

More Salsa Skirts

Back in February, I was busy getting ready to attend the Sewing Expo.  I was on deck to make a few Salsa skirts for us to wear.  I made a total of  7, two for me, two for Olivia and 3 for my sisters.

All skirts are made out of knit fabric.

This skirt is Olivia's and it's made from a cotton/poly blend from Girl Charlee, which I see is not in stock at this time, but is in the cream with green writing.

 These three skirts are made from a cotton/poly blend as well, again, from Girl Charlee, which they do still have in stock. This picture is before I finished up the rolled hems on the skirts. ;)

There are only two in this picture, but I did make three of them.  They are made with fabric from Fabric.com, the designer is Robert Kaufman and the fabric is so wonderful!  So, so soft and just the right weight.  It has 95% cotton and 5% lycra, which make it a dream to work with and to wear.

I have seriously lost track of how many times I have made this skirt...LOTS!  I have made it in floor length, stretch denim, knee length stripes, and all for small people, too.  Great, fun skirt to make and wear. ;)

Good night......

Carol

Sewing For The Market

Booth at market

This past Christmas, I decided to participate in the Christmas markets in the area.  I attempt to get in, starting in August.  To my surprise, the ones I wanted into were already completely booked.  I decided to go on the waiting list and see if anything became available.

To my surprise, 3 weeks before one of the ones I wanted into was to take place, I received a call asking if I wanted to participate.  This particular market is usually very full and the same vendors come back year after year after year.  I said, "yes", but quickly asked myself, how are you going to do that? ;)  With three weeks until the market, I had to sew an inventory....which meant I also had to source out some fabrics.

Fortunately for me, I had already been considering what I would like to do, but wasn't going to invest the time or money, if I didn't have a spot at the market.  At three weeks before the market, I had a ton to do to prepare.  Being in Canada and to get the fabrics I wanted, meant a possible couple of weeks until I could receive fabrics and supplies...and then there is sewing to be done. ;)  To my utter shock and surprise, two of the companies, one in particular, was able to get my order to me in just 3 days!!!  Wow!!!  I was impressed.  The other business took about 1.5 weeks, but enough time to allow me to sew.  Since I had one market to do, I wanted to find a couple more...and I did. :)  I had a wonderful time participating in the markets and am seriously considering doing it again this next year.  I am already signed up for two and on the waiting list for one. ;)

Salsa Skirt

Here are some of the items I made for the markets.

Simple pull on skirt

Moustache Infinity Scarf

Onesies for boys and girls

 There were several other products I sold, and I had a great deal of fun and learned a lot!  I confess to having a few very late nights in order to sew inventory, but I made it. :)

See, I still am sewing, I just don't get to show it all the time.....

Good Night........

Fashion Revolution/ Inside Out, What I Wore Today....

I spent a few hours out of the house today, taking daughter to the dentist and then running errands afterwards.

I wore my knit denim Salsa skirt, inside out, along with my shirt, which was made in Canada and my vest, which was made in Sri Lanka.  My tights I did not wear inside out, but they were made in the USA.  Not sure about my shoes where they were made.

Olivia joined me in wearing her chevron Salsa skirt, inside out, too.  Her fabric was made in Korea by the Riley Blake company.

I did get a bit of a laugh today as people did not realize my skirt was inside out!  I have six seams and they are all serged, but it's funny how this type of seaming/finish has become more fashionable, thus why people didn't realize my skirt was inside out.  My vest got noticed for it, but my skirt caught the attention of people because they liked the look of my skirt...it wasn't until I pointed out it was inside out that they noticed. ;)

It was nice being able to engage in conversations with people regarding this anniversary and about Fashion Revolution.  Becoming more aware and educated on this subject of 'where are your clothes/fabrics made'  is important.

Did you learn anything new today about where your clothes are made? :)

Good Night......

Worst Garment Industry Disaster Anniversary

Today marks the 1st anniversary of the worst garment disaster in history.  Here's an up to date story from the CBC.  Do you want to help bring light to the tragedy and help make a difference?  Today is:  Fashion Revolution .  Inside Out is also a name being used for today.  On these sites, you can find out how you can help draw attention to the fashion industry issues, surrounding the production of the clothing we wear.

HERE is a great article on ways in which we can draw attention to this issue, today.  Since I sew a great deal of my clothes, I will be wearing handmade clothing, inside out.  :)

Today, I will be joining in the campaign to draw attention to where my clothes were made and ways in which I might be able to make a difference.  I think in today's society, it's very important for us to not turn a blind eye to what's going on in the fashion industry with respect to how we produce, sell and get the clothes/fabrics we have today.  Do you know where your clothes were made?  How about the fabric?  Are the workers being paid a fair wage?  What about the conditions the workers work in, are they safe?

Here are the goals for today:

THE THEME: Who made your clothes? 

WHAT TO DO:  Wear an item of clothing inside out.

AND: Ask the retailer the question WHO MADE YOUR CLOTHES.

HOW: share across all social media by USING THE HASHTAG #insideout 

WHY: The voicing of these questions, on a global scale, will raise awareness and encourage the fashion industry to continue the process of change.

Please join me in drawing attention to where are clothes are made and how we can help promote better working conditions and compensation for the workers making the clothes and fabrics we wear.  Let's help make a difference.

Warmly,

Carol

April Sewing

Here are a couple of projects I worked on this month.

First, I had a birthday gift to make for my sister.  With her gardening well underway in Texas, I thought she could use a lovely new apron.

The apron is made out a medium weight linen with extra large pockets to help her carry in some produce, or packets of seeds.

This apron is made for a friend of my daughter in law, who recently had a baby.  I made one of these for my daughter in law, after he baby was born.

When my children were little, I wore aprons to bath my babies/toddlers.  It kept me dry and most importantly, especially for babies, I was able to hold onto slippery little babies. :)  I was always afraid my baby would slip out of my hands, so having something to hold onto them with, was very helpful for me.

I made these aprons out of an extra large bath sheet.  The large pocket is designed to put an infant baby's head into it, while baby is up against the chest.  As baby grows, the bottom of the apron will work to go over baby's head.  There is a snap at the back, to hold the corners out of the way while bathing baby, and for ease of unsnapping with one hand.  The neckband is also snapped on with two snaps on one side (stitched in place on the other) to keep it in place.  The pocket is also usable for storing bath toys or wash cloths in, while bathing baby.


Good night for now! :)

Easter Dress Wrap Up

I was able to keep up with my sewing for 1 hour a day this past week, with the exception of Easter Sunday....I took that day off from sewing, but not cooking. ;)

Here is Olivia in her Easter Walk Away dress and her Bolero from a vintage pattern, Simplicity 3848.

 

Olivia's bolero was made from a linen fabric.  I had to make alterations to it as well.  I needed to lengthen the back length, from the shoulder seam.  I could have lengthened the front by a small amount too, but it turned out just fine.  I was making it without Olivia there to try on for alterations.  I used the dress form, but it was padded out to her size, so I was guessing. ;) 

It turned out to be a lovely Easter day with sunshine and warmer temperatures, thankfully!  We have just had so much snow and winter this year.

The dress went together fairly easily.  I did have to make alterations to fit Olivia.  I also used Katrina's directions to try out a different style petticoat for this dress.  It worked out very well for Olivia.  Should I make this dress in the future, for me, I will make a similar petticoat.

For fun, I made a little bow tie from Olivia's dress fabric to go with her nephew's onesie shirt.  I made it to be a snap on tie so it can be swapped out for other bow ties.  I took the black linen fabric and made a bow tie from that as well. :)

My other projects I will post in the next couple of days.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

Good Night