Project Acquired - workout pants

Alrighty.  SO I haven't been doing much sewing around here.  Just mending and commissions for my side business.  Which is all well and good, but my sewing machine is calling my name.  Which it should totally not be doing after it let me down on that tote bag I whipped up at the last second for the grad school gift bag.  (Which I will totally post pictures of as soon as my main computer is back up and running I swear.)

But I've been casting about for a project to get started on, and then today it hit me.  I just recently started a martial arts class - krav maga if you're interested - and I need more workout pants.  Right now I have two.  one black in a knit fabric that is okay, but the fabric tends to cling a bit as I get sweaty.  The second is the bottom half of my martial arts gi from college - I took soo bahk do then.  I much prefer the second pair, but only one problem....they're bright white.  Which is sometimes awkward.  I love the weight of the cotton canvasy fabric and how comfy they are and how they don't cling.  They're just so . . . white.

Unfortunately I did take that no new fabric pledge, so I will have to go diving into my many boxes of fabric to see if I have something appropriate.  I have a few patterns for sleep pants that I am sure I can find one I want to use for this.  I figure a sleep pant pattern will have a loose enough fit to work for a martial arts class.  These are one pair of pants that I want to be a little baggy.

My only concern is the waist.  I'd like to do an elastic waist, but my weight fluctuates a bit so I'm not sure if I should make the waist a little small or just add a drawstring just in case.  Any thoughts?

Mom Skirt, AKA Butterick 4817

I had promised my mother as long ago as sometime last summer that I would make her a skirt from Butterick 4817, which she picked out online and I purchased for this purpose.  I had made myself a top for a tea party themed bridal shower.  She loved the fabric when I showed it to her, so I offered to make her a skirt.  I even bought the fabric right away since it was on sale at the time.  I hope you can see the details.  It is black with grey flowers.

The fabric sat in my stash for months and months, through a move that rendered it wrinkled and misfolded beyond belief.  Finally I decided enough was enough.  The pattern pieces were cut out, this had to happen.  Much laborious refolding and ironing later, I was ready to cut the pieces out.  Except apparently I forgot how wide my fabric was, and 45" is very different from 60".  I had 45", but started cutting as if I had 60".  Luckily I realized it after the first cut piece.  So, so creative just-off-grain cutting later and I had managed to get all the pieces out with a foot to spare.

The pattern itself was so simple I wondered why I hadn't just made the skirt back in the day.  Straight seams for the 6 panels, and a simple hem at the bottom.  I didn't do the waistband since it is an elastic waist and my mom wanted to do that herself.  Here is the skirt done and laid out on my floor.  The fabric looks black, but trust me it is the fabric above.

I am sure it will swish nicely, since the pieces curved outward, but the seams were sewn straight down.  Lots of lovely fluting at the bottom.  I hope she likes it.

Matching bib? Of course!

SO my coworker was so in love with the baby bonnet, that I offered to make something to coordinate with it.  I still had a decent amount of butterfly fabric left to make something small.  A skirt was out, even for a 6-mo old.  I was able to whip up a bib in a night start to finish, however, using the same kind of construction.  Coworker donated a white knit shirt for backing since I had finished off my stash on the bonnet.  With more white cotton curtaining inside and white bias tape binding, the bib came together pretty easily.  I used the same kindof inside-out construction as the bonnet to attach the ties, also made of white knit.  The ties came out not quite straight from the main part of the bib, but oh well, it still looks adorable.

And I still have butterfly fabric left over.  Not sure what I'm going to do with it.  Probably save it for another baby project.

Baby Bonnet Finished!

I really wanted to finish this baby bonnet, not only because it is promised to someone else and I hate to drag my feet on things like that, but because it is such an easy project that it is reliable gratification.  To recap, I offered to make a baby bonnet for a coworker who is expecting a new niece any day now.  I used a tutorial from Sew Mama Sew that I have used before with adorable results.

Since I've been on a re-use kick lately, I decided to reuse some fabric I had around.  A pair of sleep shorts with a cute butterfly and flower pattern was the lucky donor.  I'm glad I left the center serged seams in place because I would have needed to piece the fabric anyway.  I don't have a serger so I would have been duplicating work.  After carefully deconstructing the garment to save as much as I could, I got to work.  The bonnet has three layers.  The outer layer is the butterfly fabric.  There is a hidden inner layer of a thicker cotton weave to give the bonnet a bit of stability since the outer layer is a worn thinner cotton and the innermost layer is a white cotton t-shirt knit.  Also recycled, but with no body of its own.  I wanted something soft for against the baby's head.  The ties are also t-shirt fabric for this reason.

So without further ado, here are the last few stages in pictures.

This is with the pieces assembled and sewn on 3 sides.  Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the pieces and intervening steps.  This stage caused me enough headache as I had accidentally piled the pieces out of order.  So when I flipped it to the right sides the interfacing fabric was showing instead of the butterflies.  I had to pick all the stitches out and reorder them to sew again.  Unfortunately I had already trimmed the seam allowances so I had to sew very carefully.

Once that was done (correctly) the next stage was trimming them front edge.  Last time I made this bonnet I was able to just use some wide lavender ribbon from my stash and call it a day.  Unfortunately that ribbon doesn't match this fabric.  The client wanted white trim anyway, but luckily I had some white bias tape in my stash as well.  Bring much narrower than the ribbon, I had to sew it on carefully in two steps.  I sewed it on one side to the inside of the bonnet, then folded it over the raw edge and sewed down through all the layers.

Here it is with the bias tape on.  I also folded over and sewed the bottom edge where the tie will go at the back of the baby's head.  Threading that was a pain.  Lacking also any spaghetti bias tape, which is what the tutorial calls for, I improvised by using more of my white bias tape folded over and sewn through to create a narrower width.  The channel had come out a bit narrower than intended, so there was some trouble getting the length through, but I managed.  I only had to unpick a small section at the end and re-sew it to make the channel a little wider.  Tied up, the bonnet is done done done!

Here it is with the brim forward:

And back:

I hope she likes it.

Baby Bonnet Update with Pictures

So an update on the baby bonnet from sleep shorts project.  Let me tell you, it would have been way easier to just cut, but noooooo.  I wanted to make sure I had enough fabric so all those seams had to be taken out by hand.  Serged seams are doubly a pain.  Plus these babies had a covered elastic waist and trim on the bottom of each leg. 

Finally, though, all the seams are out except two.  I'm waiting on those until I measure to see if there is enough fabric to cut out the pattern sections without piecing fabric.  If I need to do piecing, I might as well keep the original serged seam in place and save some aggravation.  On the upside the fabric is cute, and is growing on me the more I work with it.  I'm hoping to re-use the trim for the ties.  With any luck I'll find another project to use the rest of the fabric.  Zero waste, or as close as I can get, is the goal.

So before decontruction:

And after:

Unfortunately I'm stymied until I find a way to iron the pieces out.  The bottom edge where the trim was attached and the top edge where the waistband were are not going to cooperate for pattern cutting until I can get the fabric to lay flat.  Of course I have an iron, but no ironing board.  Anyone know of a solution to this dilemma?  I'll have to google it at some point and see if I can find an easy way to MacGuyver an ironing board.

At least this is one more step down.  Onward!

Step 3: Iron

Step 4: Cut Pieces from fashion fabric, interfacing fabric, and lining fabric

Step 5: Pin

Step 6: Sew

Baby Bonnet from sleep shorts

After seeing pictures and hearing about a coworker's new niece on the way, I spontaneously volunteered to make a baby bonnet for her.  This offer enthusiastically accepted, I was faced with the prospect of fulfilling this obligation.

Step 1: pattern
There is a great baby bonnet pattern from Sew Mama Sew that I've made before and I love and I totally intend to deploy it for this project as well.  I'll post the link in my followup post.

Step 2: fabric
Little girls need little girl fabric.  I have around 4-5 boxes of fabric under my bed right now and none of it was appropriate.  Then I'm walking past some bagged clothes intended for donation, and there on top is a pair of sleep shorts in a pretty lavender shade with butterflies and flowers all over it.  Perfect!  I'm currently unpicking all the seams to get a sense of how much fabric I have.  I will have to do some piecing to get the right size sections, but I think it'll work out.  I have plenty of white t-shirt fabric for lining and stiffer cotton woven fabric to use as a stiff inner layer.  Yay for recycled fabric.  And my coworker is excited about the eco-friendly use of fabric too, so win!

So I'm currently in Step 2, and since many of the seams were serged, it'll take a while to unpick them.  But I think it will be worth it to have every speck of fabric, even if it just allows for seam allowance.  Plus it allows me to save pieces I don't use for future projects.  Zero waste is the goal.  Re-using fabric is good for the environment and the wallet.

Pictures will follow.

Project Roundup

Alright.  So my resolution to actually finish some projects would probably benefit from knowing what projects I have to do in each category.  I'll have to add things as I actually sort through my stuff.

Mending:
- jeans with a hole by back pocket
- sew up torn side of reusable shopping bag
- hem a pair of my dress pants
- add buttons back to my black wool pea coat
- zipper on my down coat (below-the-knee length coat so a long zipper - replacing it would be a pain)


Refashion:
- tuck neckline on cowl neck top to avoid exposure
- tuck neckline on two shortsleeve shirts for same reason as above (why would I want to flash random people?? More importantly why didn't I notice this when I was purchasing the shirts?  Oh well.)
- embroider black cardigan? (not sure on this one since without embroidery it doesn't call attention if I wear it more than once in a short period of time)
- embroider grey cardigan? (same concern as above)
- figure out if I can alter dress pants since I lost weight (not sure how feasible this is given I've never even made pants before.  we'll see.)
     * one down - herringbone

New:
- ankle-length skirt for my mother
- fall color medley loom knitted shawl (no recipient in mind, I think my longest running project in progress ever)
- skirt for work from some moleskin my mother gave me


How do you guys keep track of what projects you have to do plus the ones you'd like to start if you had the time?  I always seem to forget until I stumble on it or need the item in question for some reason.

Almost Finished!

So I am actually almost finished with the Victorian Top as it is now dubbed.  It came together quicker than I thought it would - guess I did have time to prewash the fabric.  Hindsight 20/20 and all that.  I have pictures now.  There is a waist tie and the top isn't quite finished.  I thought I had 5 matching buttons to go down the back, buuuuuut no.  So there is no back closure, so for pics the top is tied and boyfriend pinned the top so it stays together. 

First pic is with the white skirt I hope to pair the top with for the Event:

Second pic is closeup on the top itself.  You can kindof see the grey floral pattern on the black, it is a subtle pattern from a distance.

I am hoping to find some buttons on an item at a thrift store so as to save money and maybe find something cute to use.  I've been going back and forth on button color - black, white, pearlized, etc.  I've pretty much ruled out shank buttons because, being in the back, they'll dig in if I sit against a chair back.  Not fun.  Any thoughts?

Project in Progress

SO I haven't been around for a few days and I'll tell you why.  1. I had all four wisdom teeth removed friday morning.  Huge bummer.  Rinsing with warm salt water makes me want to go back to having jaw pain sometimes.  2. And a much more interesting reason, is I am working on a shirt that is way beyond my skill level.  What is life without some challenge?

In less than two weeks a friend is having her bridal shower.  It is a Victorian Tea at a tea house.  Never been to a tea house, or had a Victorian Tea, but it sounds like something dressy.  To whit I combed my closet.  I found a white skirt with some eyelet at the bottom I can wear, but no suitable tops.  Wait!  I have a sewing machine and a pile of patterns.  Sure enough, enter McCall's M5661 view E.  Pleated neckline, gathered bell-like sleeves, and a tie waist.  Not quite Victorian, but we're channeling the vibe, and it's the best I've got.  Very limited time means no muslin, we're going right for fabric folks.  Live tv, there's nothing like it.  I had a pretty black with grey tonal flowers on it that I originally bought for a skirt, but is being drafted into service.  Its a lightweight calico cotton so it should drape nicely.

I managed to get all the pieces cut out, interfacing applied, pleats pinned and basted, and front piece attached to the two back pieces at the shoulders and sides before wisdom teeth day.  I'm hoping tomorrow to be able to get cracking again between hot presses and antibiotics.  If I can get this finished, well, I hope the bride likes it because it will have been a triumph of determination over, well, everything.

No pictures yet, but wish me luck!  I'll be needing it.

Skirt Beta finished!

So my first ever skirt made is done.  The skirt beta is complete.  Slogging through the fog created by the confluence of bad allergies and benadryl, I was determined to finish this thing once and for all so I could say I was done.  I finished.  I made a skirt!  I learned a lot in this process:
- how to change my presser foot
- how to put in a zipper
- how awesome pressing is
- how to use fusible interfacing
- why you fold the fabric under for a blind hem stitch like they show you (see picture of hem)
- take your measurements before you buy patterns

And those are only a few things.  The pattern was McCall's 3830.  I chose view D since I prefer knee-length skirts.  If you recall, the fabric for this beta came from a valance (1 of 3) that I was given to use as practice.

Here is the result on me.  I apologize for the meh picture quality.  The t-shirt just happened to be what I'm wearing this evening as I worked on it.  Definitely not what I would wear with this skirt.

Contrary to every other skirt made for normal height people, which I always have to take up, I had to lessen the hem allowance on this skirt otherwise it came out an inch or so above the knee.  I don't like that look on me.  I imagine this happened because in addition to being petite I am short-waisted.  At least that is my theory.  The skirt is tight around my waist, borderline uncomfortably so.  I had bought the pattern in size AA (6 -> 12) without taking my measurements ahead of time.  What was I thinking??  I made the skirt in the largest size available, 12, and the waist is definitely tight.  My only two options are to buy the pattern again in a larger size or finally start exercising and eating better.

Oh, and this is why you should follow the directions for blind hem stitching instead of just folding up:

I guess the explanation for this will be that I have decorative stitching now.  Not what I intended, but meh.  This is why I made a practice skirt.  When my allergies let me go from their clutches I can think about trying a different pattern.  I have an elastic waist sleep pant pattern I bought that I might try next since now I know the 12 with a waistband is going to be too tight.  Elastic being more forgiving I might be able to get away with a 12 in the other pattern.

Skirt 1 beta testing

So after a few small projects and buying fabric, eyeballing it suspiciously, I have decided to take the plunge.  I picked one of the patterns I bought on sale, McCall's 3830, and decided to make View D in size 12.  I totally flummoxed up my measurements, so I'm not sure this will fit.  Trying on while pinned was encouraging, so I am moving forward to sewing and keeping my fingers crossed.  The darts are sewed, as is the center back seam, and the invisible zip is basted in placed.  The fabric, quite crazy, is actually from a set of three valances my mother donated to my muslin fabric stash.  The pattern is bold, so if the muslin comes out okay I might keep the skirt to wear.  See below, the skirt beta testing in progress:

You are looking at the front, the fold on the fabric was quite defined, being the bottom edge of the valance so some serious pressing will have to go into making that look flatter later.  This pattern just screams 80's chic to me.  Hehe.

Below is the cotton fabric I pre-washed (no bleeding yay) for phase 2 of this skirt if the muslin comes out okay.  It is called olive tonal, but my camera has been recalcitrant in the making-colors-look-like-themselves department, so hopefully it looks olive-y tonal.

I'm so nervous, even though this skirt requires less sewing than the smaller projects I have already managed to pull off.  I guess something I might wear myself in public ups the pressure to do a good job.  I'm confident though.  Gotta stay positive.  Hopefully pics when it is done.