tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24649364462691823752024-03-18T21:41:51.627-07:00The Sewing ExperimentMKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-29033904218102703232012-05-24T10:17:00.000-07:002012-05-24T21:40:24.994-07:00Supposedly a cell phone case plus bonus crochet hatI know I haven't been updating much, at all really. I have a good reason. I've been working on finishing my TEFL certificate and getting everything in order to send to Korea. I applied to teach in Korea and was accepted into a program called EPIK (yay!!). I've been putting more effort into that than anything else lately, including sewing. I have made a few small things, but nothing major. I've actually spent more time crocheting because it's easier to stop and go than sewing is. When I take a break from TEFL, I don't really want to drag out all the sewing equipment only to hide it back again in an hour or so. It's a whole lot easier to pick up some yarn and relax and then put it off to the side again where it can easily be reached later on. I'm working on a few things, but I finished a cute slouchy hat that I wore over the May long weekend. (skip to the end of this post if you want to see it / don't really care about a little pouch). <br />
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The <i>sewing </i>project this blog is supposed to be about, was supposed to be a case I could attach in my purse to hold my iPhone. I used this great tutorial called the <a href="http://erinerickson.com/2010/10/easy-iphone-sleeve-tutorial/" target="_blank">Easy iPhone Sleeve</a> by Erin Erickson. It is very easy to follow and makes a great little pouch. <br />
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It fits my phone fine, a little tight but the pattern said it would be, so it wouldn't fall out and all that. However, I don't like fighting to get to my phone, I'd rather have it easily in hand and doing whatever. So I re-purposed it. It now holds my work pass, which I always managed to lose before. I would spend a full five minutes at the little machine thing that clocks my hours, searching in my purse to find my pass card. Only to realize I left it on my desk somewhere. No more! Now, it always sits in the same spot in my purse, in this little gadget.<br />
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You can see my pass peaking out the top. It sits permanently in the side pocket of my purse, which is used less often and so less cluttered.<br />
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This was the first time I've ever used batting. It's interesting stuff. I also ironed on some interfacing so not only is it tough, but it's also kind of soft. <br />
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So that's that, not a big project. I don't really have time for big projects right now though so it works.<br />
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As for the crochet project, I followed this super easy tutorial called the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/combination-summer-hat" target="_blank">Combination Summer Hat</a> I found on Ravelry. You need an account to access any projects on Ravelry, but it's free to sign up and their database for crochet and knit projects is huge. <br />
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It's called the Combination hat because while the main body is crochet,
the band is knit. I don't know how to knit so I just did a few rows of
single crochet with a much smaller hook. It worked out well and I love
the look of it!<br />
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Now break time is over again and I <i>should </i>start working on TEFL, but I just decided that today is a no-TEFL day. My mind is overflowing with grammar and teaching techniques and needs a break longer than an hour. Hm, maybe I'll drag out that sewing machine?MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-34745027460036900752012-05-04T13:34:00.000-07:002012-05-04T13:34:14.926-07:00Mexican maxi skirtI'm actually in the middle of sewing something right now, a pretty dress, but just managed to punch a hole through the casing for the elastic and I am now very annoyed with myself. I haven't figure out if it's fixable or if I'm going to have to resew the casing ... So I'm giving up on it for now. Hence, a new blog post!<br />
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I call this my Mexican skirt because I made it using some pretty ribbon I got in Mexico, and I made it to go with an embroidered top I bought at Chichen Itza. As it turns out, it doesn't go so well with the embroidered top. It needs to be shorter otherwise I end up looking like an peasant from the 1800s. I have more than enough fabric left over so I will make a shorter version of this skirt, probably just above knee length, but for now, it is my Mexican Maxi Skirt!<br />
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I love it. Super super comfy! It's basically a tube with an elastic sewn into the top. I sewed the elastic in place in four spots so it wouldn't move and shift as the day went on. I try to make sure that most of the ruffle bits are at the front and back, and less so at the sides where they just add volume I don't need!<br />
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I have since sewn a small slit into the side. I could
walk, but I couldn't take large steps. It wasn't a big problem, but I'd
like to have the option of running in it. Just in case. It's not a big
slit, it reaches just below my knee on the one side with a seam. I just haven't taken pictures of it since adding it in.<br />
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I did a wide hem on this too. I like the look of wide hems I guess. :) I think though that a smaller hem with the ribbon on it would look a little off balance. The 3 inch hem is perfect for adding a ribbon. Isn't it a pretty ribbon too?<br />
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I hand sewed it on. I didn't want to stitch it by machine because I was using a purple thread and I didn't want to have bits of purple randomly on the green or gold. The purple bit of the ribbon isn't completely straight and following the line it makes with the sewing machine would have been frustrating to say the least. So hand sewing it was!<br />
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You can see the difference between my hand sewing and the machine ... the machine is so much neater! I followed the purple bits. Each two purple bits had one purple bit sewn down, if that makes sense. It made it go faster and it was still attached well.<br />
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I even made sure that the start and finish of the ribbon was aligned to the seam of the skirt! Talk about pro ... I'm definitely getting better at thinking through a project and each step and it helps in making them turn out the way they should. Big step up from the 'picnic' dress I messed up on and haven't wanted to look back at yet! I'm sure it's fixable ... and eventually I'll get around to it ... but for now, I have 20 other projects I want to work on first.MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-16970332935417636692012-04-30T14:43:00.002-07:002012-04-30T14:43:59.763-07:00Plaid Cape<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Here it is, finally! The plaid cape! I would have done this so much sooner (I had planned to do it a day or two after the 'sneak peak'), but I got sick. Very very sick. Think like, cold from hell. I couldn't think my head was so stuffed up; I couldn't breath my nose was so stuffed up; I couldn't speak my throat was so soar; I couldn't move my body was so achy. It was miserable. But, now it is mostly gone. It is determined to stick in there though, so I'm taking the day off today too. Hopefully I can take it easy enough today that my body kills the remnants of this evil bug, while also getting my chores done that I have been to sickly to manage. I have a bucket load of laundry that desperately needs doing and a room that looks like a tornado blew threw it ....</div>
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But enough of all that! Let's pretend I'm awesomely healthy and maybe positive thinking will help. They say it does. So, my awesomely healthy me is super proud of her cape. I fell in love with this plaid fabric when I saw it in Fabricville two months ago or so. I even paid almost full price. Well, 50% off, but it was still a whopping 12$ a meter! Needless to say I only got 2 meters .... But I just loved it so much I couldn't resist (I'm glad I didn't resist as it sold out at full price and never made it to the discount section). So many plaids are harsh and they're ok, there's nothing wrong with them. But THIS plaid is soft. It's a gradient plaid almost, I don't know how else to describe it. Plus it's 100% cotton and so soft and warm. Perfect for a spring/summer/fall coat, cause you know it's never warm enough here ... especially at night. It gets chilly, even in mid summer, and I always have to have a sweater. Well, no more! I now have this totally awesome cape instead! </div>
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I found this blog called <a href="http://psimadethis.com/" target="_blank">PS. I Made This</a>. It has loads and loads and loads of easy tutorials. I spent ages going through them all and saving my favourites. One of which was for a plaid cape!</div>
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<img alt="Don&#8217;t let superheros have all the fun. It&#8217;s time you made yourself into a caped crusader. I recently took my own advice when I spent the day with Elizabeth Holmes, who is quite the DIY queen herself, of The Wall Street Journal. I dreamt up a must-have DIY cape which infused my favorite tartan plaid and the signature silhouette i love. More behind the scenes snaPS with WSJ here!
To create, reach for your favorite cotton flannel or wool material. You will need approx. 2 yards, depending on the size you desire. First, fold material in half, horizontally. Place a hat at the top of the fold (half way down). This will serve as a neck-hole guide. Continue to cut out a 4&#8221;inch panel. Don&#8217;t throw away the scraps! Use the fabric scraps to create a strip which you can use as your belt. P.S.- add fun brooches, and group in a cluster, for a stunning finishing touch. P.S.- Watch the DIY Video HERE." height="640" src="http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lu540tBGKA1qzymieo1_1280.jpg" width="457" /></div>
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See how easy it is? Well, I did exactly as it said. I folded the fabric in half, cut out a half circle for my head and a slit. It looked fine, but it was kind of ... simple. No where near as glamorous as the model in the picture. It looked like a half-way finished project. I don't know if it's how I did it, or my fabric, or just me and my taste, but it just didn't seem to be enough. <br />
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So I altered it. The first thing I did was zig zag along ALL the edges, because this fabric, as gorgeous as it is, frays like crazy. Crazy frayage. No one wants to spend time sewing something up only to have it fray into nothing on them. <br />
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Next step, sew the sides closed. I wanted this for colder summer nights and it is meant to keep me a little warm, I didn't think having wind blow in the sides would help with that much. Sewing them closed was a super easy fix to that. I left a whopping 15" arm hole so I could keep that cape look and feel. I totally didn't think to take a picture where you can see the side seams, but I totally lucked out. I didn't know I would be sewing them shut when I cut it out, so I didn't line up the plaid at all. It doesn't line up perfectly, with black to black, but it does line up perfectly NOT perfect. If that makes sense. The white lines up perfectly with the black, and the black with the white. It alternates! <br />
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Step three, hem the arm holes. I just folded it over once and sewed it down. It looks like this from the right side.<br />
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Looks like a normal hem, but I didn't fold it over twice like normal, because again, didn't know I would be doing this, so didn't cut accordingly.<br />
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This is the view from the inside of the cape. Not spectacular, but at least the zig zagging gives it a somewhat finished look instead of just fraying fabric.<br />
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I really liked the length of the sleeve, it hits just above my elbow. Any shorter and it would look mis-fit, almost too small. So I'll have to content myself with folding just the once. If I were to do it again, I'd add extra width for room to do a proper hem. Or just get wider fabric. <br />
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Step four, hem the bottom! This one I did do a proper hem. A very large proper hem. The original version was too long, so I used hemming as an excuse to shorten it. I used the plaid pattern as a guide for ironing and pinning it straight, then I sewed that sucker down. <br />
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The wobbly line of stitching is the first one, the small hem, so you can't see it from the right side of the cape. The zig zagging wasn't straight I guess so it threw it off when I tried to do the first small hem. The larger folded hem though went smoothly. I like how on the right side of the cape, the stitch line is so high up. I don't know why, it just looks cool. <br />
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Step 5, fix the front. I'm not sure how else to word it. The front part, where the neck circle meets the strip that's cut out, hangs awkwardly on me. I played around with it a bit, and found that my favourite look was when it was folded open.<br />
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See how they're open? I sewed them down like that so they're permanent. I found that placing them there was fine, if I didn't move. If I did however, they'd fall away or flap as I walked, like they were trying to fly away. So I figured if they were sewn shut that wouldn't be an issue. So that's exactly what I did.<br />
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I didn't want it to be folded over the whole way down, I wanted it to taper away near my waist. So I made some folds at my waist, pinned them in place, and sewed those down too.<br />
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I can't explain it so well, but you can see it clearly in the picture. It's like a lapel. It's wider at the top and tapers away near the middle. Except it's not cut that way, it's folded that way instead and the folds are sewn in place. I really like them. I like how they travel up to the top almost too. They give dimension, which is really cool.<br />
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Both of these above two pictures also show step 6, bias tape! I found that when I sewed the lapels down, they kind of faded. They didn't have that shadow under them anymore because they were flush with the rest of the cape, and they kind of disappeared. I wanted them to pop, so I sewed black bias tape along the edge. It goes along the neckline and down the front, although because the lapel folds under and tapers off, the bias tape disappears onto the wrong side. <br />
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I used black, because well, what other colour could I use? I want to be able to wear this with everything, and bright green bias tape would not only prevent that, but just look weird. I had a hard time with adding the bias tape to the corners of the neck piece. I cut them off and tried to fold them into that corner thing that looks awesome, but failed. They didn't close properly, so I ended up hand sewing a tiny piece of extra bias tape to them to hide the mistake.<br />
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I had to stitch it by hand because there were so many layers! The double folded fabric, the zig zagging, two layers of bias tape ... multiplied all by two at the corners ... my sewing machine refused. It would not sew it. So I ended up doing it by hand, which is why the stitches are a little ... off. My hand stitching skills are not good. I can never seem to make them even. They always look wonky.<br />
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I also had to hand stitch the bias tape along the bottom, near the hem too. For the same reason. Way to many folds of fabric.<br />
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If I had planned to do all this extra stuff, I'm sure there would have been a way to avoid the millions of layers of stuff that scared the sewing machine away. But I kind of went with the flow, adding things as I saw fit.<br />
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It turned out really well though I think. It's super cute! I wear it with my oversized <a href="http://thesewingexperiment.blogspot.ca/2012/04/infinity-scarf-even-if-it-isnt-winter.html" target="_blank">infinity scarf</a> and a skinny belt with a lace pattern on it. My boyfriend says it looks very Euro chic. Not quite the Nova Scotia style, but it's my style so that's even better. :D<br />
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Rupert likes it too. </div>
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<br />MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-78164377282926577772012-04-22T08:10:00.000-07:002012-04-22T08:10:05.343-07:00Infinity scarf. Even if it isn't winter anymoreI know it's not winter, technically it's summer although you wouldn't believe it from the weather. Actually, that's not entirely true. The past couple days have been pretty nice. Below 20 still, but sunny at least. And after winter, 15 degrees feels warm.<br />
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Despite it being summer, I made an infinity scarf. Two actually. One is lighter, definitely more for summer. The other is oversized and heavier, more for chilly nights. They were pretty easy to make. Cut out a huge long rectangle, sew up the long side, then sew the short sides together. What no one mentioned though, is that when you sew the short sides together, there's a wrong way and a right way. I did it the wrong way, of course. So when I folded it open, the wrong side of the long seam was visible. More than visible actually, it stood out. Even something this simple I mess up. Sigh.<br />
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One thing I am very proud of though, in the summer version of the scarf, I matched up all the stripes so they align perfectly. Even along the long seam, I made sure that the seam ran halfway down two of the same stripes so when it's folded open it looks like a normal stripe. <br />
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Poor Rupert, he did not like having the scarf on him. He tried backing out of it until I captured him. He's a bit of a scaredy cat. <br />
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The oversized one was easier. I did it second, so I knew to make sure that when I sewed up the short ends I did it the right way so that the long seam was hidden on the inside. There were also no stripes to match up. It took a grand total of 20 minutes. I didn't even zig zag the endges cause I figured I probably won't wash it in reality. It's a scarf. Unless I drop food on it or something, and then I can always spot wash or hand wash it.<br />
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See, humongous. But I like the look. It even doubles as a hood when needed.<br />
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I made it to go with another project, my cape. It has a low front neckline and no hood, so this goes perfectly. It hangs down low and can fold up to protect me from rain! Here's a shot of it with the cape, my next project to blog about! So this is kind of like a sneak peak. :)<br />
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:)MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-73269401364949739902012-04-21T13:36:00.001-07:002012-04-21T13:36:23.524-07:00The le sac dress ... or possibly the worst name for a dress ever.If you were to buy things solely based upon their name, would you ever buy something called the "Le Sac Dress"? Probably not. It's a horrible name! Whoever came up with it sucks. Granted it's basically what the dress is, but why on earth would you name it that? Bad decision American Apparel. Bad decision. <br />
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Apart from the name however, the dress is actually pretty cute. It's like an infinity dress, but not. It can be made into lots of different styles using the long strap. Unlike the infinity dress, the le sac dress has only one strap, which makes the styles you can create with it different. It is however, just a sac. It's basically a tube with two holes, one for each arm. It's entirely the strap that makes it cute and have any shape to it whatsoever.<br />
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This is also the first time I have ever sewn with knit fabric. Ever. I read a bunch of blogs and helpful hints on how to sew with knits, but I have to admit I wasn't that scared. It seemed as if everyone was terrified of knit. I didn't get it. I still don't really. I'm going to chalk up my lack of knee weakening terror to the fact that I'm brand new to sewing and don't understand a lot of it. Every time I sew something there's something new involved that is bound to mess up at least once or twice. Surprisingly, nothing horrible happened. At all. No freak outs, no sewing blunders. It was weird. I am not used to sewing things and having it go smoothly. In my books, knits are pretty awesome. I mean, I didn't screw up! In any way! This is a first! Woohoo!!! :D<br />
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My first ever no-mess-up sewing experiment!<br />
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I wore it to work with the green sweater, because that building is cold!!! I wasn't sure it went until I took these pictures after work, it's actually pretty cute.<br />
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You'll have to excuse the bra straps, I wasn't that worried about them considering I had the sweater on all day.<br />
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The back isn't as pretty as the front, because the straps criss-cross weirdly at the top. But it's not horrible.<br />
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There are a bunch of ways to wear this dress. These are my favourites.<br />
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I didn't realize my hair covered this style. It's a halter neck, which you can tell from the back but is relatively hidden from the front. Sorry. You'll just have to take my word that it's cute.<br />
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You can see the ribbon really well in this picture. I sewed lace onto both sides of the ribbon to make it more feminine and cute. I really like the finished look of the ribbon, it's a little different and unusual and me. I could put lace on everything if you let me! :)<br />
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This isn't the belt I would actually wear with it. The one I wanted, an oatmeal colour knit stretch belt with a brown leather clasp in the front, was MIA.<br />
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I kind of prefer tossing the bow to the back instead of having it split between my front and back. It doesn't get in my way when I'm going about the day and it's a cute detail on the back.<br />
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My boyfriend likes this look best, strapless.<br />
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Sophie made it into this one too!<br />
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I think the main reason I didn't screw anything up was that it is so simple. I folded the fabric in half and sewed up the side leaving 8 inches as an arm hole and cut out 8 inches on the other side too so I could have two arm holes. Between the two arms I folded over the fabric two inches to make a loop that I threaded the ribbon through. The original tube I made ended up too big though so I had to cut a good 5 inches off both sides and sew it up again. Well worth it though. It looks much better now than it did as a humongous sac dress. It really did look just like a sac when it was too big. <br />
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I think knit fabric might be my favourite fabric now. It doesn't fray. At all. So I didn't have to spend ages zig zaging it to make sure it didn't unravel on me. And zig zaging takes so much thread! I recently discovered a new section in my Fabricville. It's like the clearance, only it's just knits. And all the knits in this section are 2.99 a meter!!! I didn't find this fabric there, I paid a good 5$ per meter for this stuff. Now though, every time I enter Fabricville I bee line for the cheap knits! They keep adding new ones in to! So every time I find something new and pretty. I've also discovered a small shelf with tons and tons of lace, all 1$ for 3 meters!!! I just can't resist cheap and pretty. <br />
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<br />MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-2553869307733201562012-04-15T10:14:00.000-07:002012-04-15T10:14:04.772-07:00Silky shellSo, as promised, here is the first of three! This is the one that had been started before but I fixed this weekend. The fabric puckered out at my underarms, so I fixed it. Only it took a week or so to get around to it after I finished it the first time... I can be lazy, I know.<br />
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Here it is without the pucker:<br />
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Please excuse the messy hair. This was after a long day at Clay Cafe and then out walking. Plus it was late at night and I was about to get ready for bed, so I wasn't going to fix it up only to sleep on it right away.<br />
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I wore this top all day and it was awesome. It's pretty soft and silky, and flows nicely. I wore it with the sweater all day though because let's face it, April in Canada is not actually very warm. Well, in Nova Scotia anyways.<br />
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It's pretty much a shell. It hangs off the girls and just drapes in place. It's not fitted at all, which is very unlike me. I tend to prefer things that give me some shape. Hence I wore a skinny belt over the sweater for most of the day. But as a basic shell it works pretty well.<br />
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I have some similar type fabric in different colours and some other patterns. I'll probably make some more of these, with a couple variations. I'll probably add elastic or shirring at the midsection on some, and others a bit longer into a tunic instead of a basic top. I was even thinking of adding a layer of ruffle at the neckline on one.<br />
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It looks a little uneven at the back, I know. It is a little uneven actually, but not as much as it looks here. I tried to do the curved edge thing, and that failed horribly. The fabric didn't want to fold that way when I was hemming. I later found out that actually rolling the fabric instead of folding it helps with that, so I'll have to try that next time.<br />
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I even used a double needle for this! To give it a more professional
looking finish. It turned out really well. It makes this funky pattern
on the back, and it's kind of hard to hem from the front side where you
can't see the actually hem, but it's kind of worth it.<br />
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<br />Of course, the part of the hem that is most obvious, the front neckline, is the one part I screwed up on with the double needle. I guess the fabric slipped and I ended up with the straps being slightly different sizes. The right one was thicker. Not good, not good at all. I couldn't leave it like that! And I did NOT want to rip out all the stitches on the neckline and redo them. That it only slipped once was a small miracle! That fabric is slippery man! Instead, I folded over the part that was to thick, pinned it in place, and sewed it up, with the double needle again so at least there would be consistency. I ended up with this:<br />
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It does this wonky thing where I started, but from afar it's almost impossible to tell. So I'm calling it a day. I totally forgot about it when I was wearing it the other day, and no one gave me weird looks because the strap of my top was messed. So it's all good in my books!<br />
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So there you have it, the first of three. I haven't photographed the other two yet, and I'm going to be heading to the gym soon, so I'll probably take them once I'm home and showered. For now, adios!<br />
:)MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-18550686187982259492012-04-14T09:04:00.003-07:002012-04-14T09:04:20.141-07:00Working working workingSo in the past week, I have finished three separate pieces. Two from start to finish, and one that had been started earlier, which I 'fixed' and finished this week. So much sewing! And I have quite a few more plans in the works.<br />
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I'm horrible for starting a project, and then only getting around to finishing it much later. Usually after several other projects have been completed. Before the two newly started and finished pieces of this week, I had started four dresses: two are just cut out, and two are partly through the sewing part. And yet I pushed those aside to work on two brand new projects! Eventually I will finish these four dresses ..... it might just take a while.<br />
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The only reason I haven't posted my new creations is because I haven't taken pictures. But my lovely boyfriend is supposed to be bringing his camera on our date today so afterwards we can snap a few. I might even wear on of them!<br />
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In other news, I've sent in my application to teach in South Korea!! I'm
waiting to hear back from them, and keeping my fingers crossed. I'm so
nervous! I really want to go. I love Kumon, which is kind of like
teaching but not. I want to actually teach, as in a class room. And I
would love to visit and explore Korea! Two totally awesome things in one
get up! I'm keeping my fingers AND my toes crossed for this one! <br />
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Until tomorrow when I will post an actual sewing adventure!<br />
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And just for fun, two pictures of my crazy pets:<br />
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<br />MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-37324086516854365482012-04-05T12:33:00.002-07:002012-04-05T12:33:42.383-07:00Blue birdie dress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Whew it's been a hectic past few weeks! It's all done now,
mostly. I finished and submitted my application to teach in South Korea,
complete with lesson plan and essay. Now I just have to wait for my
criminal record check to come through so I can send it off to be
apostatized by the Korean embassy. Here's hoping that goes relatively
quickly!<br />
<br />
Either way, here is my latest sewing
experiment! My blue birdie dress. I did this one up in a day. It was a
gorgeous sunny day here, which never happens in March, and I wanted to
wear something hand made. So I found this easy tutorial that I've since
lost. I didn't book mark it for some reason, and now I can't find it
again. Needless to say I didn't come up with this on my own, and when I
find the tutorial I followed before, I will put up a link. Here's what
came of the missing link though:<br />
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Say hi to Sophie! *the dog* </div>
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It's so cute! And easy to wear, and easy to make. Cut a big rectangle, sew up the long side leaving room for your arms, and up one short side leaving room for your head, and voila! It's basically a big box, so a belt is needed, but as far as how easy it was to make ... definitely makes up for the box. I think it's pretty classy. Covers a lot but is still pretty.<br />
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I hemmed all the edges. I figured out how to do the zig zag stitch as a serger-like finish.<br />
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You can see how the edge is zig-zagged, then I folded it over and stitched it in place. This was for the skirt hem, for the sleeves I just left them as is:<br />
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Excuse the free threads, I cut those off afterwards. They're not there anymore.<br />
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That's the shoulder seam. Simple yeah? I didn't even cut out a shape for the neckline. It's just the straight opening in the fabric. I was worried it might aggravate my skin, because it's so high and my skin is ridiculously sensitive on my chest. Turns red at the slightest scratching. But so far so good. I wore this dress for a full day and I was totally fine. And the best part about the super high neck line? Apart from being cute and chic? No worries about accidentally flashing people!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiH9MVtJW6dY8wsT4oQjHkz3_lUnyIAqrM-lnpJmSVn6CXieA1JEOg0upAAhE35zjUnAQEoVI86AkQC_fFHs2w3UvoN0eX6rsWggbWMqnb6qp1qxuQKnrfesUq0AdvNSSXNu4BL-ShRdU/s1600/461743_3595669218141_1465784909_33207851_1926279984_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiH9MVtJW6dY8wsT4oQjHkz3_lUnyIAqrM-lnpJmSVn6CXieA1JEOg0upAAhE35zjUnAQEoVI86AkQC_fFHs2w3UvoN0eX6rsWggbWMqnb6qp1qxuQKnrfesUq0AdvNSSXNu4BL-ShRdU/s640/461743_3595669218141_1465784909_33207851_1926279984_o.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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I could wear this dress to teach in it's so no-show, yet pretty at the same time! It covers everything, from bust to legs. Teaching might require a blazer of some sort, and more sensible shoes, but for now, those aren't required. :)MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-23239561445710854542012-03-26T14:42:00.000-07:002012-03-26T14:42:11.394-07:00Purple lace dress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So I know I haven't posted anything just about all month. That does not mean I haven't been sewing. I have. I've made two gorgeous dresses and am almost done a third. I just haven't written about them ... </div>
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The first one I am going to post about took a very long time to complete: 2 and a half weeks. But, it was pretty complicated so I feel justified! I am so pleased with the finished product. It is ALMOST perfect. Almost. And for me, that's good enough! Especially as I haven't really been sewing all that long. At all. Being almost perfect is a pretty big feat to me. </div>
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I decided to make this dress after finding a beautiful brown lace dress at Winners. I have a love obsession with lace. Obsession. I will put lace on anything. It's soft, and romantic, and beautifully detailed and I love it. I looked at the brown lace dress and thought, I could make you. Did that stop me from buying it? No. But now it just means that I have TWO lace dresses! It's wonderful! The one I made is a little more formal, and it's purple not brown, but I love them both equally.</div>
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It was such an awesome dress that I dragged the ever awesome boyfriend out to Citadel Hill (an awesome fort-type thing downtown) to photograph it. The weather was unseasonably warm for March, over 20 degrees! But by the time we got around to the pictures it had started to cool down a bit so I was a little chilly. <br />
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I couldn't be happier with this dress. I honestly don't think I could. Well, maybe a little if it were perfect ... but I won't tell the dress that.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjk0vvJ4Qov6vJq-02FU1GYJxFEa0I_CspHhogOd6AN4yD-kP7TugWoiK78E-C6qRLZGRNgYQ35IDEG9KWrzGxsxrILRWUa050Lr6B98z9jBwg0kE7MdFVLtkn0clvsqX2gX_33Dk-XZU/s1600/IMG_3942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjk0vvJ4Qov6vJq-02FU1GYJxFEa0I_CspHhogOd6AN4yD-kP7TugWoiK78E-C6qRLZGRNgYQ35IDEG9KWrzGxsxrILRWUa050Lr6B98z9jBwg0kE7MdFVLtkn0clvsqX2gX_33Dk-XZU/s640/IMG_3942.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This last one is a little grainy, but it was starting to get pretty dark by this point and we only had my iPhone to take the pictures with. I like it though because you get a better sense of the purple satin lining. It's a bit shiny, and that doesn't really come through in the day time pictures. At night though it lights up!<br />
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Ok, so onto the itty gritty details. I used a Vogue Easy <a href="http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v8766-products-15146.php?page_id=857" target="_blank">8766</a> Pattern, option F with the full circle skirt. While it is called an "easy" pattern, for a newbie like me it was a little more difficult that it claims. For one, I have never sewn in darts before, and this pattern called for 12! Six of which were not only to one layer of fabric, but two together! I was terrified, but they worked! So now I'm proud. </div>
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To make the top part of the dress, the purple satin lining and the white lace were cut separately, but then matching pieces were sewn together using a basting stitch. As it was pieced together, they were sewn more securely in place. The pattern didn't call to take out the basting stitches, but I did. I figured I didn't want a few loose threads to poke free somewhere and look bizarre. Better safe than sorry. </div>
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The other six darts are in the sleeves.Three small ones in each. These were a bit easier because they were so small and with only a single layer of fabric. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja27NHPTxfk_nMy3AjR5oaSaVP6QDI8z9WPjNFxo3HH2zsR4sEPl9F3e39B5yUsTJ15x9C4Vc2PxY7NyJM4ONyeJGXSFIWPrkXbZ9ugtlzLwkxameqDjhDhUTd3_tQ8pJrbzq_svFhzlk/s1600/IMG_3928.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja27NHPTxfk_nMy3AjR5oaSaVP6QDI8z9WPjNFxo3HH2zsR4sEPl9F3e39B5yUsTJ15x9C4Vc2PxY7NyJM4ONyeJGXSFIWPrkXbZ9ugtlzLwkxameqDjhDhUTd3_tQ8pJrbzq_svFhzlk/s640/IMG_3928.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Sewing the sleeves on though was an entirely different story. Talk about complicated! I kept sewing it on backwards so that the extra fabric from the darts were on the right side. So I'd take it out, be extra careful, and somehow manage to do it again. Don't ask, I have no clue. The third time it worked though. While the dart seam and the shoulder seam don't line up perfectly, I figured after having sewn these things on three times, I wasn't going to go for a fourth. So I stitched those suckers down again and said oh well.<br />
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While the top section has the lace and lining attached, the skirt does not. They are separable. The lining is a bit shorter than the lace, and they have different hems. The purple is just a basic rolled hem ( I learned a new term!). But the fabric was kind of slippery and it made it a bit wonky in parts.<br />
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But, it's only wonky on the wrong side, for the most part. Mostly it looks pretty damn good from the right side, so it's all good in my books!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinuvqTmGoyCAAR9NlNHc9S9PPDmdojnWIcct5bx-pTz9ZUisJAnvOpoArZNZDtLAtokWPvxYS-ZNDKy21tI-zbEqqrHVmJvBkaFg2ZVdsVMJX9WipCHaBvyPo-MPvt86oADiJOf1iUjcY/s1600/IMG_3930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinuvqTmGoyCAAR9NlNHc9S9PPDmdojnWIcct5bx-pTz9ZUisJAnvOpoArZNZDtLAtokWPvxYS-ZNDKy21tI-zbEqqrHVmJvBkaFg2ZVdsVMJX9WipCHaBvyPo-MPvt86oADiJOf1iUjcY/s640/IMG_3930.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Now hemming the lace portion of the skirt was a whole other matter. I decided after looking at the brown dress from Winners, and a few others online, that I needed to make a detailed hem. I wanted to cut around all the flowers instead of being cut straight. But, because that wasn't how I had cut my fabric (is that even possible with a circle skirt?), I ended up cutting out two strips of lace, both 85 inches long. I had measured half the circumference, added a few extra inches for 'just in case', and then proceeded to cut out along the flowers. It took forever. Absolutely forever. But it turned out really nice.<br />
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The other time consuming task was ... the zipper. Again. I hate zippers. They never work out well do they? They always have to bite back a little. The first time I sewed the zipper in, I hadn't realized that I had accidentally folded over the lace so it created this weird bubbly fold that did not look good. So that had to go. I redid the zipper. The bottom part is a little screwed up, the fabric edges are ridiculously uneven.<br />
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You can kind of see, if you look closely, how the zipper veers off to one side. The random hanging threads have since been cut off, so no worries on that front. I was so sick of zipper malfunctions however, that I said screw it. It's pretty low down so you can't really tell unless you look for it. <br />
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See, looks pretty good from afar.<br />
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So there is the most time consuming, confusing dress yet. The best part of it? I found a look alike online when I was searching for cute lace hemming ideas. 100$ at topshop. Ha! My fabric was discount fabric, cost about 15$ for the whole thing, plus a bit of thread and a zipper. Voila! I just saved myself about 80$. Alright! <br />
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It's got the same neckline, same overall shape, same circle skirt, same lace hem. Just no sleeves. But I could have easily not put them on. Although after all that trouble... they are staying on.<br />
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So with no further comments, I shall leave you with an adorable picture of my cat 'helping' me with the ironing/pressing part of the dress making.<br />
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<br />MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-24079694125637330052012-03-09T11:16:00.000-08:002012-03-09T11:16:52.954-08:00Fleece blankets (with foot holes)So I have been working really hard on two projects; a chiffon maxi skirt, and a simple summer dress (the simple part is misleading). But I screwed up. The maxi skirt had way to much volume, and the summer dress bubbled where it shouldn't bubble. So I have spent the past several days ripping out so many stitches ... and I just finished! So tomorrow that is what I will be doing, working on sewing those up again, only properly this time.<br />
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In the mean time, I made two really simple fleece blankets. When I realized it's been ages since I posted anything here, I thought I might make a post on them because they are comfortable and keep my feet nice and warm!<br />
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I made two. The panda one is mine, and the brown one is for my boyfriend's parents. He came with me to the fabric store and picked it out for them, to make sure they'd actually like it. They're both double sided fleece, so the pattern is on both sides.<br />
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They were probably the most easiest thing ever that I have ever made. Ever. I cut off the edges that were not patterned. I looked it up and fleece doesn't fray, so no hemming = a very happy me!<br />
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The last step to making these, is folding the bottom edge over. I folded them about 20 inches, but it doesn't have to be exact. It just has to fit your feet! Once I had that straightened out, I sewed up the sides, and once in the middle to make two pouches. One for each foot!<br />
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Perfect size for feet! I love it because now my feet don't fall out of the blanket when I move. Perfect. And I got the fleece on sale, so each blanket cost less than 10$ (each one uses 2 meters). Doubly perfect.<br />
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And just because it's cute, my cat decided he likes them too.<br />
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<br />MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-38162095134809654552012-02-23T10:16:00.001-08:002012-02-23T10:16:22.887-08:00The glorious satin pillocases.My boyfriend and I decided that we would post-pone our Valentine's day to the 18th because it was a weekend. We both work evening shifts from Monday to Friday, and he works afternoons too, so doing anything remotely romantic on the actual day was impossible. I know it is now way past the 18th ... but ... I have no excuse. Laziness. It gets the best of us all sometimes.<br />
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Before I started this blog, I had made a pair of yellow satin pillowcases for myself. I'd been on this huge anti-aging spin and read a lot about satin pillowcases being better for your hair and skin because they don't cause sleep lines and don't pull your hair. So I made a pair to match my bedding. They are amazing. They are the softest, most comfortable pillowcases I have ever had the pleasure of using. When I was in Mexico, I missed them greatly. My face missed the satiny smoothness. Coming back to them was glorious. I'm not exaggerating, but I'm probably going overboard on the rave. They are worth it. If you don't have a pair, make them. Or buy them, but they can get expensive.The first time my boyfriend slept over, he raved about them too. I think it's contagious. They're that awesome. <br />
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All this was back in January. So why didn't I make a post about them sooner then? Because I was making a pair for him too and wanted to do one comprehensive blog, which I couldn't do until I had given them to him. He reads my blog. So now that he has them on his bed, I can finally get around to blogging about them.<br />
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This is one of his. I forgot to take pictures before I handed them over, so I asked him to afterwards. He had the hardest time getting a picture that showed the colour. I think this one turned out pretty well. It's got the pillow in it so you can see how big they are! I didn't do that on purpose. I had never sewn a french-seam before, which is what pillowcases use apparently, and didn't know how much extra fabric to leave... so I left to much. But at least if we upgrade to a king bed ever, they'll fit king pillows. And with a total of four pillowcases that size (my two and his two), it'll be perfect for such a massive bed! <br />
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You can kind of see a fold line where the pillow ends inside the case. On mine, I folded that inwards and stitched. I had been following a pattern where the top part was folded so you could see the other side of the fabric, something I didn't realize. The satin fabric I bought for both sets of pillowcases is not reversible. So I stopped following the pattern and kind of left it as is, with a stitch line running along where the fold line is above. I didn't do that for my boyfriend's set, thinking it was a mistake on mine. One that added a nice detail, but still a mistake. I later asked him if he wanted the stitch line or not. He said he kind of liked it with the stitching. When I asked for the pillowcases back to add it in, he said no. He didn't want to give them up. They're totally addictive and totally worth it, and very hard to go without after having used them.<br />
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A close up of the opening of the pillowcase. I don't know what it's called, I can't remember, but it's the seam that you fold over and stitch in place, and then fold again and stitch again. A rolled hem? Maybe? I can't remember. But it's an effective way of managing fraying.<br />
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The other side of the rolled hem(?). I'm getting better at stitching a straight line! :D Very proud of myself for that. Still not perfect, but it's getting there slowly.<br />
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I also did a non-sewing project as part of his gift. This was more crafty. I made a 52 Reasons Why I Love You deck of cards. Only I made them look old first. I rubbed them with sandpaper, shuffled them a billion times, dipped them in tea, sprinkled them with coffee grounds while wet (twice by the way, once on the front and again on the back), then I took a candle to them. I glued the paper with the reasons on them, after having rubbed them with more coffee grinds.<br />
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I bought a hole punch and punched two holes in every card, then tied them with string. <br />
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Some sample pages. Some ended up more burned than others, which was a nice variation. I also fired some when they were still slightly damp, and the pattern from the flame was different than when the cards were dry. All in all, I think it looks like it was made a hundred years ago and survived until now. <br />
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The sweetheart that he is, he made me a card. Not just any card. A pop-up card. I didn't even know you COULD make those! It's adorable. I love it! I don't have a picture, for some reason, but it's a heart-shaped card that says "Will you be my Valentine?", only the 'be' is a pop-up bumble bee! I knew there was a reason I love him. 52 Reasons really, well, 53 after the card. :D<br />
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<br />MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-66536125488370773022012-02-12T12:33:00.000-08:002012-02-13T08:12:25.984-08:00Lack of sewing, but new fabric!So I didn't actually sew anything new this week. The post I just put up, is from a garment I finished several weeks ago. I didn't sew anything new because I didn't have my sewing machine. I was on vacation ... in Mexico with my amazing boyfriend! It was amazing. Didn't spend much time by the pool or beach, but did lots of day trips out to various archaeological sites and swam with dolphins and visited town. Lots of fun activities! <br />
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Here are a few pics of my favourite places, that if you ever have the chance I would say go visit!<br />
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We went to Delphinus to swim with the dolphins and it was an unforgettable trip. We did the dolphin push, got to dance with them, heard them sing, kissed them and was kissed in return, etc. It was amazing to experience! This is my favourite pic from the experience, my boyfriend being pushed by two dolphins. He was so happy, we both were!<br />
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Coba temple/pyramid. You get to climb up, although there are very few safety precautions it is well worth it. Long climb up, gorgeous views, and terrifying climb down = insane but fun.<br />
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Tulum ruins, the walled city where the rich and powerful ancient Mayans
lived. Great archaeological site with the added bonus of a beach you
can swim at!<br />
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Me and my boyfriend in front of Chichen Itza. It was amazing. They've renovated two sides of it and left the other two sides in its original condition. I wish we had had more time there but it was a three hour ride away from our resort so time was limited.<br />
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This was a beautiful cenote (sinkhole) right beside Chichen Itza that we got to swim in. The waters are crystal clear and the sun streams in from above. It's a little crowded but it's gorgeous and the water is refreshing.<br />
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And, an added bonus, I wore my Summer Sun Kaftan Top to Coba!<br />
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This picture is from the walk to the temple you can climb. I wore it all day and it was nice and airy and comfortable! Even more pleased with it now! :)<br />
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I also got the chance to go to two separate fabric store in Playa del Carmen, which was the nearest city to our resort. We spent what turned out to be a full day exploring the non-tourist parts of the town and tracking down SuperTelas and Assis. The one key word in our search turned out to be 'telas', which means fabric. The day prior we had asked around for fabric stores, but didn't know the word so we pointed at our clothes. That didn't seem to work, but we did learn 'camisa' for shirt that way.<br />
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Once we found them, I ended up getting three fabrics at SuperTelas and two at Assis.<br />
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Excuse the large amount of other stuff. We put everything we bought onto the dinning table to get a good idea and I took the pictures from there.<br />
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The green fabric with Mexico embroidered onto it (450 pesos a meter) I got at Super Telas, along with the green and lace stripped cotton (200 pesos a meter), and the yellow patterned chiffon on the bottom right (also 200 pesos a meter). The other two fabrics, the black and yellow butterfly chiffon (500 pesos a meter) and the purple print for (580 pesos a meter), I bought at Assis. I love them all!<br />
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I also got some gorgeously colourful ribbon, i.e. the pile of white, green, gold, and purple in between the green and
white stripped fabric and the black butterfly fabric is the ribbon that I
bought from Super Telas. It is this gorgeous colourful patterned
ribbon, one in white and another in green. I got 10 meters of each at what worked out to about 2 dollars for 3 meters.<br />
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And my rough estimate for conversion was 100 pesos = 1 Canadian dollar, but the real rate was more along the lines of 120 pesos = 1 Canadian dollar. So good deals on all the fabric!<br />
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I looked up what to expect from Mexican fabric stores before going, and everyone seemed to agree that Assis was much nicer and had a much better selection. I have to disagree completely. In my opinion, as well as my boyfriends, Super Telas was much nicer. It was larger, had a much better selection, less expensive, and the staff were more helpful, even if no one in either store spoke any English. It might be different in different cities and areas, but in Playa del Carmen, Super Telas wins as the nicer of the two options. <br />
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Assis had a very small and mostly expensive fabric selection. The two I got at 500-580 pesos a meter were among the cheaper ones, and also among the nicer oddly enough. A lot of the fabric was old and tacky looking. Although they did have an amazing section of everything else.<br />
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I got every colour and size of the little shiny flowers! I have no idea what I'll do with them but I couldn't pass them up, they were barely 20 cents each after conversion. What a deal! I also got some of those wooden things you can use to hold straps in place, I have no idea what they're called. I got all sorts of them as they were about 50 cents. I also got some plastic headbands to wrap with ribbon or fabric or whatnot. Also incredibly cheap. All together, these things came to about 10-11 dollars.<br />
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I ended up using the fabric to wrap around the more delicate souvenirs I bought on the trip back home so that they would break. Good call too as we ended up making an emergency landing in North Carolina and staying the night! So the fabric helped the souvenirs survive not one plane ride, but two! And we got an extra day of holiday in North Carolina to boot. <br />
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So that concludes my trip to Mexico. Lots of amazing sight seeing, some great adventures, and some excellent fabric and notions.MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-55967583568214703802012-02-12T11:01:00.000-08:002012-02-12T11:01:04.612-08:00Simplicity Sewing Pattern ExperimentSo this is actually the very first piece I ever finished. There are numerous mistakes in it, but I am nevertheless proud of it, considering how difficult it was to do! I even picked one of those 'Easy to Sew' patterns that Simplicity makes ... let's just say easy it was not. I think I spent more time ripping out stitches and asking questions than I did actually sewing. But it worked out and the pattern of the fabric is such that it hides a lot of the imperfections.<br />
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So without further ado, here are the pictures of the finished dress!<br />
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I normally wear the dress with a belt just under the bust, but I took these photos on my vacation to Mexico and didn't bring the one I normally wear. It's a bright blue fake leather belt with one of those circular metal hooks that you double the belt back through to hold in place.<br />
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The top section of this dress was beyond difficult to make. It's lined so I had to cut lots of fabric, and interfacing for the mid-section. The lining fabric I used was very slippery so getting it to stay put was beyond difficult and the shape was always a bit distorted. I ended up cutting it twice because the first time it was so distorted that it wouldn't have worked. I just found this <a href="http://www.afashionablestitch.com/2011/tips-and-tricks/the-best-tip-for-cutting-slippery-fabrics/" target="_blank">tutorial </a>though on how to cut slippery fabric to avoid that from A Fashionable Stitch. Wish I had found it sooner! Oh well, it ended up working out. I like the lining. It gives the dress a more fancy-type feel so it was worth it in the end.<br />
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I also had a lot of trouble with the back of the dress.<br />
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The two red arrows on the bottom of the picture show were the mid section bands attach at the zipper. Uneven. The sides have the same issue. They're all slightly different widths. Thankfully I used such a busilly patterned fabric because it camouflages it somewhat. Because the bands are uneven, the two back top parts are uneven too. One is slightly longer than the other, so instead of sitting straight upwards of the zipper it pulls apart. I have no idea how to fix it. I might put in some hook and eyes along the edge to hold it together but I'm worried it'll just make puckers all along and look horrible.<br />
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The button at the very top that is kind of hard to see as it's behind the fabric, is poorly done. I followed the directions of the pattern: make a loop with some thread and attach it to one side equal to the side where the button is. Pulling the button through the thread loop is really hard to manage. I always have to get my boyfriend to do it for me. So I'm limited to wearing this dress when he's around. I might replace that with a hook and eye too. Make it easier to put on. <br />
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The most frustrating part of this dress however, was the zipper. It wasn't difficult once I figured it out, but it was frustrating because of this:<br />
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I didn't realize you had to sew it on with the fabric up so that the foot wouldn't get stuck on the zipper. So the thread bubbled up and made a huge mess. Instead of spending the time to undo it, I figured in my newbie genius that if I sewed over it again, it would tamp down the bubbles and make it look presentable. Ha. Yeah right. Did not happen. It made it worse. So I had to undo all of it. Took a grand total of 4 hours. <br />
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So after that was over and I sewed it back in properly, I figure I will never make that mistake again with a zipper!<br />
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After that was all finished, I tried it on and it was huge. Humongous. Way to big. I didn't want to undo all the stitches and trim off some of the fabric and then re-stitch (i.e., re-sew the entire damn thing). Instead I pinned the sides together following my shape and carefully took off the dress, turned it inside out while keeping track of where the pins were and sewed along the line they made, then cut off the excess fabric. A good inch and a half on either side! I didn't go all the way down the skirt. Instead I slowly slopped outwards until about mid-thigh where I met the edge of the fabric. That way I kept the full skirt but made the top a bit smaller for a better fit.<br />
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I also learned how to put on bias tape with this project. I used it to hem all along the bottom of the skirt.<br />
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The stitching isn't completely straight but I've been getting better with that. The more practice the better right? And I've never been the one who can sit there with a practice batch and keep practicing until it's perfect and then go into making the fun stuff. I always jump right in and learn along the way.<br />
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I also learned how to put in gathers. I had to gather the front bust line of both the outer fabric and the lining and then stitch it in place. I don't have a close up picture but it turned out really well. I did it a few times before I was happy with the final product. Thankfully I only basted them in until I was happy and then stitched them in. Easier to undo!<br />
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So that is technically the first dress I made, even if it's not the first thing I posted onto here. :D<br />
<br />MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-72657300353119031682012-02-02T06:27:00.000-08:002012-02-03T15:06:19.855-08:00Summer Sun Kaftan Top<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">So I wrote out an entire post over the weekend, right after my last post, and Blogger decided it wasn't going to save it. Well, it saved the first paragraph or so, which is better than nothing. But still! I tried rewriting it then but the same thing happened. So I gave up and figured I'd try again later. I did try again, on Monday, and the same thing happened. I didn't touch it on Tuesday and now that it's Thursday I'm really hoping this works cause it's getting beyond frustrating. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br />
</div>My wifi hasn't been working that well and I've been using an ethernet cable to get any semblance of internet. But last night the new modem came and it works fine now! Maybe that was why Blogger wasn't letting me post? If so, I hope it works now! *As soon as I took out the physical picture of the original top, I could post ... So it had something to do with that, somehow.*<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">Alright, onto the sewing project! This one is a little more ambitious than the last one. It's The Sew Convert's <a href="http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2011/04/free-pattern-month-day-1-sew-convert.html#ado" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">The Sunny Resort Blouse</span></a>tutorial that was a guest post on Grosgrain. I loved this kaftan top. I'm not ahuge fan of the full Kaftan dress, it's too boxy and shapeless for my liking.But a kaftan top with a belt is perfect. And the little details on it are gorgeous. Here's her <a href="http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2011/04/free-pattern-month-day-1-sew-convert.html#ado" target="_blank">version</a>. (I'm putting it in a link as Blogger won't let me post the picture ...)<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 12.0pt; margin-right: 12.0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">And here's mine:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygrhQp3lrEBsHsP1PygUshi1CZ2XVsXYEviyvZV826hTJhanEJ9oXfwqyljaf3b79UKqBpSPlVyCLW_GEe-m2e2OeHnj90WoS6F3nRlwyUXkfwjSvjTDXkPmGxgJDGRDMZQY4HfugJ5s/s1600/SAM_2327.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygrhQp3lrEBsHsP1PygUshi1CZ2XVsXYEviyvZV826hTJhanEJ9oXfwqyljaf3b79UKqBpSPlVyCLW_GEe-m2e2OeHnj90WoS6F3nRlwyUXkfwjSvjTDXkPmGxgJDGRDMZQY4HfugJ5s/s640/SAM_2327.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gAgc9I0Z-MArH1_Jt6sbhSJqa0azOT7204Js6qf1NFM4UQG2by5b8fgpcvrgzYyCCyJboGELC2ggwzCjFAwwYQgj5NnETz99YIkznzQuJQK72QxoASs1pytQKRw8My2TlivMpZ1ixas/s1600/SAM_2328.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gAgc9I0Z-MArH1_Jt6sbhSJqa0azOT7204Js6qf1NFM4UQG2by5b8fgpcvrgzYyCCyJboGELC2ggwzCjFAwwYQgj5NnETz99YIkznzQuJQK72QxoASs1pytQKRw8My2TlivMpZ1ixas/s640/SAM_2328.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgheklRQZ0a9SKGp_IX6oYItowZXee7Sqgi4gwXnpVPY4PMZXPp0dGY5HaoeBIQnQw_AJezsJYrJXE46m9YfqoZnUyaNkMPztpY46Rr2bz_rWFeM_IUEM6XWaPtKuM7INQtatNWpqGxQfE/s1600/SAM_2329.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgheklRQZ0a9SKGp_IX6oYItowZXee7Sqgi4gwXnpVPY4PMZXPp0dGY5HaoeBIQnQw_AJezsJYrJXE46m9YfqoZnUyaNkMPztpY46Rr2bz_rWFeM_IUEM6XWaPtKuM7INQtatNWpqGxQfE/s640/SAM_2329.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXzt8F7dM0n3wiPl0ujgfqwLB_hoT2vOPUfg0wqP21JMomj6roNaNnsQmkWhxcukg6MqTBOGOT0iyXABMa7qm0jBUz5MZo85wZWBqReiHGuAjLZysMv6iqoaFw3y2vV11ifb1TYq0wgg/s1600/SAM_2328.JPG"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">I kept the yellow colour cause I love yellow. One of my all time favourite colors (there are a few). There are differences though. I used extra wide double fold bias tape around the sleeves to make the white more pronounced, and I made a sash to go with itinstead of a belt. I liked the more feminine look of a sash, especially in the sheer yellow chiffon the top is made out of. The biggest difference between mine and hers is that I lined mine, because the fabric I wanted to use was so very see through and I didn't want to have to bother with an undershirt. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwdeMbbEZOWROyUPG_Q3jS-4PltlE5oSddWDygUK05n7w-RFVgZyNpqCbgsn2ccrpP7P7aYZ0jeo574TuSndZ6lKPt-vO0XECKd0zB-MJmf6vFZ1ZTCEwHf9B-6ZB8Asui9pVF1TxyRfs/s1600/SAM_2332.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwdeMbbEZOWROyUPG_Q3jS-4PltlE5oSddWDygUK05n7w-RFVgZyNpqCbgsn2ccrpP7P7aYZ0jeo574TuSndZ6lKPt-vO0XECKd0zB-MJmf6vFZ1ZTCEwHf9B-6ZB8Asui9pVF1TxyRfs/s640/SAM_2332.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">I used a light satin the colour of fresh butter for the lining. I like how it pops out every now and then through the sleeves as you move around during the day. And I have a thing for flowers so the lace I found is beyond perfect. I can't say enough good things about this top, I love it so much!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">Quite possibly the thing I am most proud of though are the button holes I put in for the sash. I have never sewn in button holes before. I was terrified I'd find a way to ruin the top. I was this close to deciding to not put them in and just wear it as it was, with no sash or belt. I am so very glad I decided NOT to do that. I read through my sewing machine manual (for the first time) and found out that I had everything I needed to make the button holes. So I took some extra fabric and did some test runs.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxj0e1BAhmxj-vD0VMQLfCQoAN_UvRXo09gnwUXYoHBfuKTN9h3Vdae7MTxfT005FMcMSyBwzFJaaMtFpx0db6z2MAzGkD5Cl-baCC58jrNLTThgWtM0dPvdHW2_vCleDbkRQjFsz9Is/s1600/SAM_2271.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxj0e1BAhmxj-vD0VMQLfCQoAN_UvRXo09gnwUXYoHBfuKTN9h3Vdae7MTxfT005FMcMSyBwzFJaaMtFpx0db6z2MAzGkD5Cl-baCC58jrNLTThgWtM0dPvdHW2_vCleDbkRQjFsz9Is/s640/SAM_2271.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">I had to adjust the tension, as the two sides were uneven. But after that was worked out they turned out perfectly! I used the darker thread at first so I could see what I was doing better than I would have with the matching thread, but I upgraded to the yellow pretty quickly. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">All in all, I am beyond pleased with how this top turned out. :D Now if Blogger will just let me post it ....</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br />
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</div></div>MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-43690539409013088452012-01-28T19:15:00.000-08:002012-02-02T06:28:48.620-08:00First finished piece!This is the first finished piece I am posting here! It's not the first piece I've ever finished, that project I haven't gotten around to taking pictures of yet as it's currently hanging in my closet. I will get around to that ... eventually ... maybe next week when I'm on vacation.<br />
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For the first one I'm posting (I'm so excited!), I used Behind the Seams' <a href="http://theseams.blogspot.com/2010/02/diy-wrap-turned-scarf.html" target="_blank">DIY: Wrap Turned Scarf</a> tutorial. I had this fabric I had originally bought to make <a href="http://www.simplicity.com/p-6394-sew-simple-misses-sweater.aspx" target="_blank">Simplicity 1961</a> that was one of the very first patterns I bought. But then I found this gorgeous floral fabric with pink and green accents that I thought would look much better than the solid deep green fabric I had originally planned to use. So I had this extra fabric with no plans for it lying around, and figured why not use it for Behind the Seams' tutorial! Here's her version:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhylK3GLYtTzv8ujRFYjQQCR0vyRl6lEQxdex_Wp_w9kOwwp0EmxyEDOREhVb342Zyj5KK_3k6uDxzY2V-bcumnjfQnXSQxIcroSrVTwBNPxEvgvPdMtUtATp6ewtsEZuHI2oKFre_JHdU/s1600/Behind+the+Seams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhylK3GLYtTzv8ujRFYjQQCR0vyRl6lEQxdex_Wp_w9kOwwp0EmxyEDOREhVb342Zyj5KK_3k6uDxzY2V-bcumnjfQnXSQxIcroSrVTwBNPxEvgvPdMtUtATp6ewtsEZuHI2oKFre_JHdU/s640/Behind+the+Seams.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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And here's mine:<br />
(My long-sleeved shirt is grey btw, even though it looks blue in the pictures.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU50QFnMNZow51RDycPUOcdzGsnTLSo-bLR-RFBR3Bto3nOtR-opIFNoq9eakQaukVFfGStrUWZZ9-UUigAwgu6siSg1rYXiVcbuedEaKhf6AIAAY8qbgAH64FKvMzA2yuWMxDTcBHzPU/s1600/SAM_2277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU50QFnMNZow51RDycPUOcdzGsnTLSo-bLR-RFBR3Bto3nOtR-opIFNoq9eakQaukVFfGStrUWZZ9-UUigAwgu6siSg1rYXiVcbuedEaKhf6AIAAY8qbgAH64FKvMzA2yuWMxDTcBHzPU/s640/SAM_2277.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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And please ignore the wrinkles, I took these pictures after having spent several hours at work sitting down. I didn't feel like ironing them out after my shift ...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCN5MP7-EYAt0ZzC0v1PtgwudlSxLC7juH8kp_X_bEu6Qu50V6gCSRL3H8jgbsvrFh-Yd6khOT7C9hxxey8Wt8HYdTz_Ek9l8owd1EW-xO-cViC_TvPGrUmDCcHqt5ElAvQmhQd8G6Xw/s1600/SAM_2279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCN5MP7-EYAt0ZzC0v1PtgwudlSxLC7juH8kp_X_bEu6Qu50V6gCSRL3H8jgbsvrFh-Yd6khOT7C9hxxey8Wt8HYdTz_Ek9l8owd1EW-xO-cViC_TvPGrUmDCcHqt5ElAvQmhQd8G6Xw/s640/SAM_2279.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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And one with my cat Rupert. He deserves some credit after he helped me out while making it ... he chased the bias tape, and the measuring tape, and the fabric any time I moved it. Good thing he's cute.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaALDdTubInsmLqgJhnYJ6oiFIzjQ1YC2B0VHuuTkylkxouMD3iZlchhFLMR1AEyTybo1MMgoGjyhbrLLfV2X-KGSeKIG9OnfNUX3BD1ImVhsI_qEg-tY2NaC5-u_Wf6bWeoP8Z6S-GXY/s1600/SAM_2275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaALDdTubInsmLqgJhnYJ6oiFIzjQ1YC2B0VHuuTkylkxouMD3iZlchhFLMR1AEyTybo1MMgoGjyhbrLLfV2X-KGSeKIG9OnfNUX3BD1ImVhsI_qEg-tY2NaC5-u_Wf6bWeoP8Z6S-GXY/s640/SAM_2275.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I made a few alterations to the original pattern. I sewed on some extra wide single fold bias tape in bright yellow along all four edges (I love colour, and the fabric is so dark I thought it could use some brightening). I also used some normal single fold bias tape in the same bright yellow to line the arm holes cause I discovered that this fabric likes to fray. I don't know if bias tape stops fraying but I figured at least I couldn't accidentally pull a thread and have it all unfurl on me.<br />
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All in all I am very happy with it. It's longer than I was expecting, the corners end half way down my calves. But on cool days I can wear it wrapped around my shoulders to keep warm. Not as warm as something with sleeves, but every extra bit of warmth helps in winter, so it's not necessarily a bad thing. If I make it again I might also make the space between the armholes a little bigger. Maybe by an inch or so. I guess I have wide shoulders and it's a bit tight, nothing unwearable but a little small when I move certain ways. Thankfully the fabric has some stretch. I've also discovered that you can make your own bias tape, so I might make one out of a patterned fabric and make it a double fold around the edges so you see more of it. <br />
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So that's it. My first post that is actually what this blog is meant for! :)<br />
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<br />MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-37931633313262996932012-01-22T07:38:00.000-08:002012-02-02T06:29:58.114-08:00First epic fail.So I know I said I'd post pics of the finished projects this weekend, and I will. I'm taking those pics later this afternoon. Right now, I wanted to share my most epic mistake to date. I am trying to make One Avian Daemon's <a href="http://www.oneaviandaemon.com/?p=37" target="_blank">picnic dress</a>. As I mentioned last time, I'm replacing the bodice with another to make the sleeves easier as I've never made sleeves before and apparently doing them wrong can make it next to impossible to move your arms. So unless your barbie and can't move them really anyways, it's probably better to play it safe.<br />
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However, I've had to completely trash my first attempt. I am now starting again. Here's hoping it works ... this time. The bodice pattern I followed was <a href="http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v8701-products-13225.php?page_id=174" target="_blank">Vogue 8701</a>, style B, the dress. I loved the top and with the fabric I have and the waist and skirt of the picnic dress, I thought it'd go very nicely.<br />
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I need to learn how to read instructions properly, because this is what I ended up with:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-vS5bMZRHQATA_sVYkrXwt8yZrGwOy-s6YDYCHJ7qGW75D4f-LYgq5oI3RJifxBVXzz_d1Mt5GKHan3tlrOWoC165SrcaHqxUjo9Z0RXcgzQT3OPOCoo9hkwOCOXmAU-90vGlExJKJ8/s1600/IMG_3854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-vS5bMZRHQATA_sVYkrXwt8yZrGwOy-s6YDYCHJ7qGW75D4f-LYgq5oI3RJifxBVXzz_d1Mt5GKHan3tlrOWoC165SrcaHqxUjo9Z0RXcgzQT3OPOCoo9hkwOCOXmAU-90vGlExJKJ8/s640/IMG_3854.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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While it doesn't really look it in the photo, it is way to short to go over the girls. Granted, this is after I cut it short ... The pattern has two large darts along the bottom, and the pattern calls to cut out a large triangle to make the darts less bulky when you sew them in. So I cut out the triangles, and then couldn't get the dart to work for the life of me. I tried at least four times. So I said screw it, it's going to be shortened anyways to make space for the waist band, and cut it off right above the top corner of the dart cutout. At this length, it was way to short. Not to mention that the gathers I put in to make up for the lack of darts, didn't stick for some reason. They flattened out a bit when I sewed them in, even as I tried to guide/push them through.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsKGg9hXEVacGUU13X0ca9UwD4zaOU87VJHN4VElT7eRwZkgr7DYKCjMR1ZUwRwsMHUYGuTg9RjowTgmoUI_8p6G-UkUYbNVf1fUuIV75bEP8PhjShUz7tyOcAWyRvIr3fXUo_sCB63Dk/s1600/IMG_3852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsKGg9hXEVacGUU13X0ca9UwD4zaOU87VJHN4VElT7eRwZkgr7DYKCjMR1ZUwRwsMHUYGuTg9RjowTgmoUI_8p6G-UkUYbNVf1fUuIV75bEP8PhjShUz7tyOcAWyRvIr3fXUo_sCB63Dk/s640/IMG_3852.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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Regardless of fit, there is also this problem. The above image is the bodice folded in half, showing the edge I cut. It is so far from straight it's laughable.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqQ0Epv06zOxdCcOY2yLxFm5-VtkV84ZD3qBPWPNjNW1-0OYJEkGA7yuXr83ZrPC4quqRnH3-6MkDBWLPYdUsMar_PffSPDqgunlbtuDgYNr2WTf7Q575S7QF6QtnyPEwRjBuNtUSbrcg/s1600/IMG_3855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqQ0Epv06zOxdCcOY2yLxFm5-VtkV84ZD3qBPWPNjNW1-0OYJEkGA7yuXr83ZrPC4quqRnH3-6MkDBWLPYdUsMar_PffSPDqgunlbtuDgYNr2WTf7Q575S7QF6QtnyPEwRjBuNtUSbrcg/s640/IMG_3855.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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There is also this lovely piece of sewing error. It's the armpit. I didn't notice that the fabric had not quite made the seam and instead was sticking out and would fray horribly over time. Before I decided to just ditch this, I tried to run some thread over the frayed edges in the hopes of stopping any future fraying and camouflaging it with the green thread. Yeah. Didn't work. I know.<br />
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But, I didn't want to take out the arms and redo them cause they had already caused me strife. They were just a tad to small, so I added in a patch. But because the sleeves are lined, I had to make a full circle of fabric, and because I didn't want the seams on the outside, I had to hand sew in a part of it. This picture is from before I realized how to make the hand sewn stitches invisible. And it happens to be on the part of the arm you can see... <br />
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Last but not least, there is this. Where the arm and the back piece attach. That one little jut of fabric. It's already got many layers in it, so folding it down is difficult, let alone sewing it down. I didn't want to see the stitches on the outside, so I tried sewing it to the lining only. I underestimated how hard that would be!<br />
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So those are the numerous errors on the bodice that made me decide to throw it out and start anew. Looking at the pattern, it calls for wool or knit. I was using cotton. Probably not the greatest idea. I should have looked at that first. It probably caused un-needed heartache, along with my own personal brand of sewing genius. So, this time I'm going to copy a bodice that uses cotton instead and hope to hell it goes more smoothly. I only have so much fabric to play with. These are the three I'm debating between:<br />
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They're all beautiful, and with the bright green fabric, they'd all be summery. For the Simplicity pattern, I'd follow C, the sweetheart neckline with the short sleeves. For McCall's, I'd probably follow D, E, or F as they're basically the same. I'll probably decide sometime soon so I can get the dress finished!<br />
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Here's hoping this time around works a whole lot better than the first.MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-78714526351739522762012-01-19T11:57:00.000-08:002012-01-19T11:57:20.329-08:00Technology fail.So my internet died. A very patchy slow death. It was spotty for a day or two. It only worked for a few minutes before cutting out and restarting. Then it just called it quits and hit the dust. Nothing. At all. I didn't think I used the internet that much till I didn't have it. I finally got it fixed last night, or I should say my amazing totally awesome boyfriend who is good with technology fixed it for me. <3 Thank you honey!<br />
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Either way, I spent half the day yesterday and have a few hours today to sew. I'm working on One Avian Daemon's <a href="http://www.oneaviandaemon.com/?p=37" target="_blank">picnic dress.</a> I'm changing it a bit, mainly cause I've never sewn sleeves before and she says to err on the side of caution if unfamiliar with doing sleeves as doing them wrong will make the dress unwearable. I'm following a pattern I picked up during the 5.99$ Vogue sale at Fabricville, for the sleeves and bodice. I think it'll turn out nice. Hopefully anyways! I'm keeping my fingers crossed just in case. <br />
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I'm planning on getting the amazing totally awesome boyfriend who is good with technology to help me photograph what I've made so far this weekend so I can post the finished product here.MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-51914406264165731292012-01-16T09:57:00.000-08:002012-02-02T06:30:27.792-08:00The real first post. And becoming a master seamstress.I am so excited to start this blog! I got a sewing machine for Christmas from my amazing parents, and have been on a sewing frenzy ever since. Granted, I'm very VERY new to this so I'm making a LOT of mistakes and have to spend ages undoing them. So although it's been almost a month now, I've got one finished item and two yet-to-be-finished things to show for it: a pair of satin pillowcases, an almost finished kaftan top, and a previously-finished-but-now-fixing-the-mistakes maxi dress. So a pretty good start to my mission for the next year! My new year's resolution for 2012, to make one item a week! Ambitious? Yes. But that's the best part. It's going to force me to master the basics, and learn new things as I go along and (hopefully) become a master seamstress.<br />
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I have been raiding Fabricville, both locations in HRM, pretty much weekly. Let's just say, the lovely and so very helpful staff are probably starting to get sick of my constant questions and non stop raiding of the clearance section. It's hard to pay 16+ dollars on a meter of fabric when there are some equally gorgeous ones for 2$! Although they are having their clearance sale until the end of the month, and a lot of regularly priced items are 50-75% off, or buy 1 meter and get 2 free, so I have been 'splurging' on a few fabrics. I've also gone raiding the pattern bins. Right now, Vogue patterns are 5.99 each so I picked up these 6 babies:<br />
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Between the awesome patterns and the even awesomer fabrics, I will have some beautiful new clothes at the end of this year! I also managed to score some iron on tags from today's teambuy: 100 iron on tags for 7$! <br />
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I also ordered some 2.99 Butterick patterns from sewingpatterns.com. I've never used them before (duh, just started this whole sewing thing), so hopefully they ship well. It was pretty cheap shipping, considering I'm in Canada and usually get ripped off on shipping when all it really has to do is cross the border north. <br />
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Anyways, I always love looking at the fabrics various other bloggers have in their stash or have used, so here are some of mine! As I was taking out my fabric to photograph, I realized there was a much better storage solution than the under the bed basket I was using. Well-organized things make me very happy. Re-organizing is sadly, one of my favourite things to do. So I jumped at the chance to re-organize my fabric stash! So here is a much better shot of my new organization AND the fabric. All in one!<br />
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I still have several I have to wash before it can join the others on the shelf, including this adorable fleece I just picked up today that has giant pandas on it. Cute!<br />
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Tomorrow I'll post a few pics of the satin pillowcases I've finished, and once I finish the kaftan top and fixing the maxi-dress I'll make another post.<br />
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Until then!<br />
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<br />MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464936446269182375.post-40342472485210273662012-01-15T18:13:00.000-08:002012-01-15T18:15:20.700-08:00Amazing First Post!!This is a test post.<br />
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Check out this awesome site: <a href="http://sewconvert.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Wonderful world of stuff</a><br />
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And that's all for now :)<br />
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<br />MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16907153733938918574noreply@blogger.com0