Sewing

Raspberry Ripple Completed

~ Michelle

I thought my Raspberry Ripple would be completed easily with no more bumps in the road. Well, so much for that. My husband decided to share the flu with me just as I was recovering from that cold. Bad. Just bad.

So, my Raspberry Ripple sat some more.

I did make it to the fabric store before he shared. I bought this lovely material for the lining. And the gorgeous red polka dot for the lining on the 2nd bag I have waiting for me.

The photo really doesn’t do this material justice. The two fabrics look much better together in person than they do in this photo.

Here is the red polka dot lining to use with this next bag.

I’m still not feeling quite 100%, but I have been sick for the better part of a month and I really want to get working on something. So, I cut out a couple of linings for the animal print bag, and then decided it was time for a hack.

I did not feel well enough to figure out all the written instructions, and the parts that are crossed out over it and written in again. I’m putting in a basic lining with a few pockets and that’s it. No zipper. Nothing complicated.

Here’s my hacked lining. I put in five basic pockets. Three on one side. Two on the other side. I do like pockets.

Here’s the outside of the bag all finished. I’m rather liking this.

I even have a plan for looking at those instructions again. My friend wrote all over them in pencil. I’m going to make a copy of the instructions with her notes, and then sit down with an eraser to erase all the notes from the original. Then I’ll try to make sense of the original without all her notes. I’m hoping I can figure out what is really supposed to be done here.

 I’m hoping the notes will make more sense after I read the original pattern maker’s instructions. But having things crossed out and then written in again, and having the flu really didn’t help.

Next I think I’m due for something new!

Happy creating!

2017: The Year of Finishing Things

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

I don’t make many resolutions, but as I began my sewing year this year with messes all around me, I made one. I’ve decided that this year I’m going to finish a lot of the unfinished projects that are all around me.

Let me give you a few examples of what I’m going to work on.

Footstool

Our footstool is often used and looked like it. The top had split along all four seams, and my wonderful hubby suggests I make a new cover for it.

I got as far as cutting the old top off.

Then after another month or more, I tried some material on it to see how it would look.

I even cut out material to make a band all around it. All I have to do is sew it. Yet it sits there, with half my pins in it.

It’s been sitting there for two or more months just waiting for me. Part of the problem for that is I’m not 100% sure just how I want to finish it. The other part of the problem is I want fresh and new projects all the time.

Purses

Do you remember when I’d met a sewing friend a year or so ago? She had made her own handbag, and I complimented her on it. She also gave me three handbags that she’d cut out and interfaced! All I have to do is sew them! But I haven’t yet.

They’re all cut out! And interfaced!

That is one of my UFO projects I’m going to do this year. In fact, I’m not packing them all back up and putting them all away again. I’m keeping one of them out to sew up.

Pants

More specifically, hemming pants. I have a favorite pair of pants that I love, but hate to wear because they’re too long. Every time I put them on, I thinking I’m ruining them because they need hemming. Pretty much weekly, they make it to my mending pile, only to be taken back out again.

We won’t even bother going into mending…

Enough!

Craftsy Classes

I love Craftsy, and unfortunately I have a lot of classes I haven’t watched yet. I’m changing that. Once a month, I’m going to review a Craftsy class. Since I’ll have to watch them to review them… You get my logic here. I win, and hopefully, you win too with the reviews. I’ll say here, although I am an affiliate with Craftsy, any class I review will be my honest opinion.

Let me go back to those favorite pants for a minute. And while I’m there address something else – my CoverPro machine. One of the reasons I hadn’t hemmed my pants was because I have this wonderful CoverPro machine and I wanted to use it to hem the pants. But… I didn’t know how to use it!

So I bought a Craftsy class on that. Coverstitch: Basics & Beyond. I’ve watched it, and hopefully, with my new resolve to finish some UFOs, I’ll use the class info and my machine to hem my favorite pants. I think there’s another pair of pants and a skirt in that hemming pile too. Yup, it’s time to get around to this.

So, I’m trying to plan out my sewing and blogging for the year. My goals so far are to do a class review once a month. I was thinking if I also do one UFO each month, that leaves me two weeks to play with new things, which are much more motivating for me.

So, we’re into our second week of January. Did I start? I did! I repaired a blouse I’d bought. It’s a stretch knit, with chiffon below the hem. As pretty as it looked, the chiffon had no stretch but the rest of the top did. Here’s the photo from the website. There’s a link in it too.

Well, because it didn’t stretch at all at the hips, it wasn’t fitting very well. I opened those seams and did an overlock stitch along them. There! The first of my mending pile/UFOs done. The chiffon is now vented giving me that little bit of extra room where I needed it.

Do you have a UFO pile? How about your Craftsy classes? Are you getting through them? Did you make any sewing resolutions this year? I’d love to hear!

Happy creating!

Winter Survival

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

We have had a lovely Autumn. Even though I live in the Great White North, we didn’t see very much of the white stuff or experience freezing temperatures until December.

It was in December I realized we had a real motley crew of dog booties left over from last year. I have no idea why either.

Missing Boots

We have one animal print boot.

I wonder what happened to the other three.

We have two of the full pad bottoms.

And one left that I made from an actual pattern and put straps on. I often referred to these as the mittens of shame because he’d lose a boot and usually my husband would have to turn around and try to find it. With these ties, they weren’t getting lost because they were pinned to his sweater.

I was sure these ones would last, however, there was only one left.

It was time for new dog boots. At least I had enough experience making them last year that I knew how to put them together quickly and well.

New Boots

Here are my pup’s 2017 winter boots.

He doesn’t love putting his boots on, but there are days when it’s -20 Celsius or worse and he simply stops walking. It’s just too cold for him. These booties also have the long tie to attach them to his coat. I have no desire to make dog boots over and over.

This pattern comes in one size, that’s probably a medium-large, but I reduce it on the computer and it’s been great. Seeing as he’s a small dog, at times we have trouble finding him the right size.

You can find the pattern on this blog post here. And there’s a great video for making dog boots here.

I’m Missing Things Too

One other winter survival item that went missing was my cold weather face mask. I usually put it in my coat pocket when I’m not wearing it. I went to go out on a -16 Celsius day, and it was nowhere to be found. It was back to holding my scarf over my mouth.

I was upset for two reasons. I didn’t have my mask, and my son had given it to me. It was such a thoughtful and practical gift. I loved it!

It very quickly became time to make something else.

What I Had

What I Tried

Here’s the free pattern I found.

Well, they’re not the same shape, but I was hopeful. You can find it here.

First I made one out of fleece and cotton just to see how it would all come together. It fits and I thought, maybe. It doesn’t do a thing outside.

Once I knew the size would work, it was time to break out some serious materials and stash bust at the same time. Boiled wool, left over lace from my Pin-Up Girls Boy Shorts, and coordinating cotton.

I’d hoped this one would really be warm with the boiled wool. It was better than the red one, but shape of the mask isn’t right.

The one my son bought me stood out from the face to allow a warm air pocket to develop. These don’t. I kept looking.

I found this photo online. Here’s a side view of the mask and shape I need.

I used that photo to make a template for a pattern. I enlarged it, and figured out the sewing process and…

I have a new cold weather mask.

It’s boiled wool with a cotton lining. I do need to adjust the elastic a bit more to make it snug on my face, but this is good. The boiled wool will be nice and warm, and the cotton will make it comfortable to wear.

I have a few more fun sewing things planned, so I may just leave this mask unadorned for now. It works and that’s what I was wanting.

Happy creating!

A Navy Shelley

~ Michelle ~ 8 Comments

Fall/Winter Lingerie Wardrobe.

I’m finally working on my Fall/Winter lingerie Wardrobe. First up is a lovely navy Shelley.

Here’s the lace.

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I saw this lace and fell in love right away. You can find it at Bra-Makers Supply (BMS) here.

Here’s my Shelley.

front

I really love how the mirrored lace has a bit of a butterfly effect because of  where the roses are.

Adjustments.

I’m so happy with this bra. It fits really well. However, I did have some changes in my size and needed to give my TNT pattern a major overhaul.

To make this fit me, I adjusted the pattern for my shape – a less pronounced Omega shape. As well I made adjustments for a flat spot, I lowered the bridge, used one size smaller cradle and adjusted the cup to fit into it. I also thinned the cradle area under the bust, and for comfort, I added a Gothic arch.

Gothic Arch.

In the past, I have nailed the Gothic arch and I’ve not quite nailed it. On this one, I was so careful, and I was checking and turning things to make sure it all looked perfect as I was going along, and it did! Then I finished the sewing and … it’s not quite perfect. Of course, no one will know but you and me. Do you see how nice and thin it is under the cups?

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Aesthetics.

I love this lace. However, I need to add sheer cup lining behind my lace to add support. I looked at it with black behind the lace and it lost a lot of the sheer look it has. I put white behind the lace too. Too white. I’m so thankful I have a little bit of this blush left from when I made my Heather bra. This looks perfect – like there’s nothing behind it, especially when it’s on. In this photo the cup has a black foam cup behind it, which doesn’t show up at all.

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A few more images.

Here’s the bra from the side.

side

Here’s the bra from the back.

back

Something I will have to fix on this bra before I can wear it is a sharp spot on the hook and eye closure. When I tried it on, I got a scratch that went all along my side. Nasty. I’ll trim that off and do a satin stitch over the raw edge. No more scratches.

Next time.

The band is a touch loose on this bra. That’s odd though, because I used the band from my TNT pattern. It’s also not a big deal. I’ll just wear it on the second hook and eye setting rather than the first one. That’s something I can look at fixing for my next bra in my Winter Wardrobe.

Other colors I’m thinking about for my wardrobe are Black (a basic), Black Cherry, Brown, Red, and Fuchsia. I have a Brown kit all picked out and saved in my Wish List on BMS, but I’m thinking I should use a few of the kits I have already.

Pretty touches.

The kit I ordered from BMS only came with one bow. I never seem to remember to order more bows when I place an order. However, I love to cover the seams where the straps meet the cup too. I found this lovely navy ribbon and made a few bows for my bra. They turned out so nicely.

strap-bow

One other thing I did on this bra that I haven’t done before is leave the trim off the straps. I usually add neckline trim, but I decided to try the straps the way they’re outlined in the Shelley instructions. I like the change!

I’ve decided to treat myself and use the Jewelry Quality Metal Rings and Sliders – for this pretty navy bra I’m using Silver.

bling

Next up.

To go with my lovely new bra, I’m going to make some matching panties. I have some indigo cotton Lycra and navy lace for the waistband and leg openings. As well, I’ve left things very late, but it’s time to work on some Christmas sewing.

Happy creating!

A Dress Form Cover

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

One of the many projects I plan to make is a dress form cover. I love Catherine, but we’re not the same size.

This is something I’ve looked into a bit, but haven’t found that perfect solution yet. I think a lot of the dress form tutorials and classes are all great for sewing, but not perfect for bra-making. From what I’ve seen, most dress form covers result in more of a uni-boob look, which would not work at all for bras.

Here is the first one I found, which I still think is so beautiful! Mary uses the sloper she made from Suzy Furrer’s Bodice Sloper class.

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This image is from Cloning Couture‘s blog post. Isn’t this professional looking? I do love this! If I decide to simply to cover my dress form for sewing clothes, I’ll do this too.

I had similar thoughts about the Craftsy class Customize Your Dress Form. This class takes you through exactly what to do, step by step. I watched this class when Craftsy had their October pass in 2015. I thought it was really great, but again, it wasn’t addressing my desire to have the bust defined. That definition is an important part of bra-fitting.

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So, I kept thinking about how I could adjust my sloper so I could have that bust definition I wanted.

Let me take a side road here and show you why I haven’t been 100% happy with any solution I’ve seen yet. This is the bra dress form Beverly uses in her Craftsy classes; Naomi, of Barely Beige also has one. This dress form is called Ashley. There’s no uni-boob happening here.

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How am I supposed to be satisfied with anything less than bust definition on my dress form after seeing this?

I recently came across a blog post by Sew Chic Pattern Company. They have a three-part post called Copy your Figure: A Dress Form Tutorial.

 Laura does do a dart to give bust definition, but I’m still thinking it won’t give me as much definition as I’m wanting.

bust-dart

Here’s a photo from her blog. This is getting closer.

I know from making my own sloper that mine doesn’t give enough bust definition the way it is now.

moulage done

Here’s the one I made. There’s a small dart there on the sloper, but…

So what I’m thinking is do some draping with fabric to see what size of darts I’d need, where I’d need them, how many darts I’d need. I might need to play with it a bit, but I think it can be done.

Has anyone made a dress form cover with more bust definition? What did you do? How did it turn out?

Happy Thanksgiving & happy creating!

The Ham and Sausage Challenge

~ Michelle ~ 7 Comments

I was recently reading through one of the many sewing forums on Facebook, and this post really piqued my interest. Here’s a screen shot:

ham-and-sausage

Hmm. I have a Tailor’s Ham, but I don’t have a Sleeve Roll. These are adorable. I love the fabrics! I decided I was going to make myself a pair and I knew the materials I wanted to use.

Originally, I bought this plaid wool skirt at a second-hand store (I love my deals.), and this coordinating material on sale at my local fabric store. I was thinking I’d make a bag. I still have lots of material left over to make a bag at some point.

materialsBack to the Ham and Sausage Challenge. Traditionally, Tailor’s Hams are wool on one side and cotton on the other. I may be using traditional materials, but it doesn’t look quite so traditional.

I have my materials. I have the pattern thanks to Elewa blog. The only thing I had to buy was wood shavings to stuff them.

 Here are my materials all cut out. This is a super quick project, and one I think I’m going to enjoy for a long time.

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I’m ready to stuff.

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It’s a messy job – the floor looked worse! As much as I stuffed, I didn’t quite stuff enough. I had tingles shooting through my hand, so had to leave them as they were.

They’re done and they’re pretty good. They could be stuffed a bit more (but not by me) so they’d be a bit firmer, but they are still firm.

fronts

I love the coordinating fabric I used on the backs.

ham-front-sausage-back

One last fun photo. Marsha of Flying by the Seam of my Pants suggested I have some pineapple with my ham and sausage. I thought that sounded delicious! 😉

pineapple

I really enjoyed making these. I have a lot of wood shavings left over, so I may just make another pair and have my hubby help with stuffing them, or one of my sons – they’re all stronger than me.

Next week I have a little something special – I’m joining with Marsha and new-to-the-blogging-scene, Naomi, for a Craftsy class review. Join us next week to see what we’re reviewing.

Happy creating!

A Visual Comparison of Two Patterns

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

Every since my hubby’s business trip to Germany when I placed an order with Sewy, I’ve been thinking about the Sewy Rebecca pattern.

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I’ve been wondering exactly how it differs from the Pin-up Girls Shelley because both patterns are very similar – power bar, lace upper cup, full band…

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When you have a question like this, it’s just the kind of question to ask your very own Fairy Bra Mother. So I did. I asked her, “What is the difference between a bra that fits more shallowly (from my experience) and one that doesn’t?”

Beverly Johnson, (The Fairy Bra Mother), said she thought it all came down to bottom cup depth. Hmm. That gives me something to check into.

Now, let’s take a look together to see how much of a difference there is between the two patterns. I’ve compared them by wearing them, but not pattern piece to pattern piece. Well, there was one day when I measured all kinds of things on both patterns… but I didn’t trace them both out and compare.

Anyway. I’ve had a cold, felt terrible and didn’t want to do anything, but still wanted to get something done… so I pulled out my patterns and traced them off.

The Results

Here are the upper cups one on top of the other. The Shelley is traced onto  purple paper, and the Rebecca, yellow. Since the Sewy patterns don’t have a seam allowance, the Shelley has been trimmed of its seam allowances. I also made the split lower cup into one pattern piece.

no-really-upper-cups

The Shelley pattern piece barely peeks out from under the bottom of the Rebecca pattern piece, so to help us all out visually, I traced the Shelley onto the Rebecca with the dotted line. You can see the Rebecca is also straighter along the lower edge of the upper cup and is longer too.

You know how I said I had a cold? I had a little trouble naming these photos when I was saving them. I kept calling them all ‘Upper Cups’, so this one has the creative name of ‘No Really Upper Cups’.

Here are the lower cups of both which were saved under the file name ‘Upper Cups’. Sigh. upper-cupsThe Shelley definitely has more bottom cup depth. The Rebecca is longer along the lower edge. Again, The Shelley pattern is on the purple paper in behind.

Lastly, here are the power bars, which I caught before I saved and changed their file name from Upper Cups.

power-bars

I hope this helps anyone else wondering about the differences between the two patterns.

Happy creating!

A Baby Shower Gift

~ Michelle

 A very dear friend of mine just became a Grandma. It was time to make a baby shower gift.

My TNT baby gift for the better part of 20 years is an idea from Sewing With Nancy.

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A beautiful hooded towel. I don’t have this great-looking book, but saw Nancy make one of these towels on her show, and I’ve been making them since.

They’re a great gift. I’ve heard back from Moms that they love them and use them for years. I’ve even had Moms ask for one for their next baby after receiving one.

You can see a step-by-step tutorial of a similar hooded towel by Nancy here.

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Isn’t this cute? I’ve never made the bear style.

For the towel I made, I was told the colors were black, white, and pink. I found a pink towel, black ribbon, and used some white thread to embroider on the ribbon.

ribbon

After embroidering the ribbon, I attached it to the towel and facecloth.

To make it a little different than simply sewing on the ribbon, I gave the ribbon a little twist every few inches. You can also see here I didn’t embroider all the ribbon.

pinned-twists

Here’s a close-up of the twists in the ribbon before it was sewn down. I used pins hold those twists in place.

ribbons-on-towel

Here’s how the front of the towel will look. There’s a single embroidered ribbon on the other side of the towel.

And of course there’s the matching ribbon and twist pattern on the washcloth/hood.

sewn-down-twists

Here’s the hood. I draped this over my dress form, Catherine.

finished-hood-view

I think it looks adorable. Here’s the whole hooded towel:

full-view

That’s nice and long to wrap that little baby up for a few years.

Do you have a TNT gift you make? What is it? I wonder how many of our TNTs come from shows like Sewing with Nancy? Do you love her show?

Happy Thanksgiving & happy creating!

A Little Upcycling

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

I love to find a new use for something. I love to go to thrift shops too. I really like a good bargain.

Here’s my latest find. It’s an old wooden spice rack that will now happily serve as a thread holder. And look at how much more room I have! The little plastic thread box I had was full. This is much better.

spice-rack-with-dress-forms

How do you like my little toy dress forms? They add the perfect touch of whimsy to my thread rack.

Recently, I was inspired by reading Emerald Erin’s blog. She was going through her closet and working towards a capsule wardrobe. That is something I’ve been thinking about doing too. I have a full closet, but open the door and feel like there’s nothing in there.

After reading Erin’s post, I went through my closet. The problem was, although there were things in there I really had no problem getting rid of, there were some things in there I really did. Even though I never wore them, I loved the material. I didn’t want to get rid of them.

I set them aside. I had three piles on my bed. Pack away. Give away. I don’t want to give away.

3-piles

I was not going to put that third pile back in my closet or pack it away. Then I thought of what I could do. Upcycle!

I have Betz White’s class on Craftsy. Here’s a link to take you to the class on Craftsy.

project-upcycle

As well, I just bought a new pattern. (ClubBMV has too many sales!)

I’m sure I can use some of this material towards something like this:

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Or maybe more like this:

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This second pattern is used in the Craftsy classes The Ultimate T-Shirt and The Artful T-Shirt. Both of these classes are by Marcy & Katherine Tilton.

In the photo for the Artful class, they show this same T-shirt with a lot more piecing.titlecard

I’m thinking there must be a way to use some of these materials I love so much and make something new.

tops-and-skirts-use

There’s one other thing in that hard-to-give-away pile: a silk skirt. The blue floral material? That’s silk. I’ve been holding onto it for years. I think I wore it once, maybe twice. This is going to make a few lovely bras.

Time to get cutting out. Have you upcycled anything? How did it turn out? Do you love it? Will you upcycle again? What’s your favorite thrift store find? I’d love to hear.

Happy creating!

Pinterest Find and More

~ Michelle

Kantje Boord

Do you remember a few weeks ago I posted about my hubby’s trip to Germany?

I’d mentioned some gorgeous material from Kantje Boord. Gorgeous material I’d seen a few years ago. Gorgeous material that Sigrid made into a lovely bra. Gorgeous material that I didn’t order.

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When I initially wrote the post, I couldn’t find a photo of the bra, even though I knew I’d saved it… somewhere. This week, I was adding a photo to my Pinterest page and there it was. The bra Sigrid made.

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Isn’t that lovely? Do you follow Sigrid? I really enjoy reading about her makes.

After seeing how pretty this bra is again, I’m having a second thought or two about not ordering this, while telling myself, ‘I will not be tempted by Lycra.’ Sigh. I’ll have to see when my hubby’s work takes him to Europe again.

Do you follow Sigrid’s blog? Have you been part of a sewing swap before? What ideas do you have for sewing swap gifts?

Happy creating!