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Celebrate National Sewing Month with KIDS! A post especially for Fave Crafts Blog & All Free Sewing readers!

Posted in Uncategorized on September 14, 2012 | 5 Comments »

Good morning everyone!!

I’d like to say a very special welcome to all you wonderful AllFreeSewing.com and Favecraftsblog.com readers who’ve made your way over this morning.  I absolutely LOVE both sites, and I couldn’t be more honored to be featured today as they celebrate National Sewing Month.

Soooo – here’s the deal.  I created a special tutorial for making a SUPER EASY 4 STEP NO-HEM SCRAP APRON just for this day and just for allfreesewing.com readers.  (did you read that – NO HEM!!!) HOWEVER, some sort of angry bird has infected my phone which includes my camera.  So, at the last minute, I’ve made a switch …. BUT … I’m going to try to squeeze in the tutorial with the photos that I do have.

So without further ado, here’s what I’d love to discuss today … SEWING WITH KIDS!!

This summer I hosted my first ever Kids Sewing Camp.  And gosh, we had a blast.  I learned 2 important things during that week:

1. Kids LOVE sewing.

2. Kids are DARN GOOD at sewing WAAAAAAY before you’d think they could be!

We had an age range from 5 to 9.  That’s it.  No older kids.  I was worried, yes I was.  But seriously y’all – the week went by without a hitch.  Read on for photos of what we did, feel free to glean the ideas for yourself, and Yes – there’s a mini tutorial down there at the bottom!

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We started by making pin cushions. Each child picked out their scrap fabric, cut out their two rectangles, and hand-sewed them together.

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Even the youngest amongst us did a great job. We used these pin cushions all week.

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Next we moved on to covered button pushpins. I laughed every time they finished one because as soon as they’d pull their button out of that plastic thingy, they’d all yell AWESOME!!!

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Next – we moved on to bows. The girls used them for hairbows, the boys used them as bow ties. This was great practice for them using a very simple pattern.

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We also made embroidery hoops with felt initials appliqued on top… these turned out SO cute!!! Side note: it was often hard to tell which was more popular – the sewing or the lollipops!

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Finally we made it the SEWING MACHINE!!! The kids were chomping at the bit to get to “sew” because they, like me, were getting really tired of all that hand sewing business. Our first machine-sewn project was a pillow. Of course!

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For their pillows, they used fabric that matched their embroidery hoops so that they could have a collection in their room. (This brings up a good point – they loved having a nice set up waiting for them when they arrived. AND, I enjoyed doing that part, too!)

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Because sewing is somewhat time-consuming with children..you really do need to sit down at their side to protect their lovely fingers … we created the pillows and the embroidery hoops in tandem. While one child was sewing, the others were hand sewing their hoops. And eating lollipops!

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All of this, and we were only on day THREE! Sew impressive, right!?! (the kids, that is!)

Because the kids were so thrilled and doing so well, I knew we could move on to something more complicated.  But don’t over hear me … I said “more” complicated …but it was NOT complicated!!!

I created this darling little ditty of an apron for the sole purpose of being a perfect project for kids.  HOWEVER, I’ve decided that I love it for ME too!!!  I think you will too – and you’ll be amazed at how EASY and CHEAP it is!

HINT:  This is the tutorial I was telling you about up top!!!

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This apron is made using fabric scraps and bias tape. I sew up little sections on the apron to make little compartments for different things. This is so easy, even a 5 year old can make it. I’m not fibbing y’all! I love this so much, it has become my go-to hostess gift!

Here’s where the tricky part comes in – I’m having to use photos that I took from the sewing camp.  They are fine photos, but I did not take them with a tutorial in mind so put on your thinking cap and let’s see if we can’t make this work!

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For supplies, you’ll need a large fabric scrap for the base of the apron, and a slightly smaller but still decent sized scrap for the pocket portion. And you’ll need extra wide, double fold bias tape.

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Thinking caps on? Here we go:
Starting with the main part of the apron – cut 2 large rectangles. For the kids’ aprons, these were about 17″ x 9″. For adults, I try to do about 24″ x 10″ … but again, it’s what ever size scraps you have on hand. The joy of this apron is how inexpensive it is!
Lay out one of those face up in front of you. Put the 2nd rectangle to the side for a moment.
For the pocket section, cut a piece of fabric twice the length that you want for your pocket, then fold it over wrong sides facing. And pin that to one edge of the apron rectangle.
You might need to look closely at this photo to see what I’m talking about.
The fold of the pocket fabric should be in the center of your piece, the edges match up with the edges of the rectangle.

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You can see will pinning his edges together here. The next step is not shown, but all you do is place your 2nd rectangle on top of this right sides together – just like you’re making a pillow.
Now, sew the two sides and the bottom edge where the pocket edges meet the apron edges. DO NOT sew along the top… leave this open. Once you’ve sewn those edges and trimmed the corners, turn right side out. Believe it or not, you’re almost done!

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Now, take your bias tape, and pin it to the apron leaving plenty of length at the sides to tie around your waist. (For kids and small/medium sized adults, you can use just half of the packaged length! YAY, project just got even cheaper!!!) Once you’ve pinned it to the apron, machine sew a ZIG ZAG stitch starting at one end, going all across the apron, and ending at the other end.

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Then, just decide where you want your sections to be, sew a straight stitch, and admire yourself for a beautiful project!!!!

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To give you an idea of time involved … each day we met for only an hour and a half. Everyone finished their apron!!! And remember, these are youngins!

So, seriously y’all … In my humble opinion…. in honor of national sewing month … there is absolutely NO reason why you can’t sew an apron, help a kid …. and do it CHEAP AND EASY!!!!

I do apologize for the crazy tutorial…but hopefully the instructions were clear enough.  If you’d like more photos of this project, just let me know – surely one of these days soon I can find them on my computer!  If not, I’ll happily recreate the tutorial!

Thank you again AllFreeSewing.com for hosting me today – I hope you’ll keep in touch for more CHEAP and EASY projects!!!

Now go SEW!!!

Lylas,

Robie

Oh….I almost forgot…. one HUGE piece of advice for sewing with kids….

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Keep your eye on EVERYONE!!!

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Dress Revolution (aka. CHEAP DRESSES!) Round #3

Posted in dresses, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on August 14, 2012 | 5 Comments »

Hi friends!!!  Even though I have been saying this for EVERY post the last 6 months, it makes me feel better to say it again …

Gosh, it’s good to be back!

Right now, I’m escaping the heat of Austin AND the tight quarters of our temporary housing by vacationing in the AMAZING Beaver Creek, Colorado!!!!!  It’s okay to drool over this y’all.

I”m going a little crazy not being at all creative…except that one could argue the creativity of creation can speak for itself, right!?!  Still, with an urge to create after having my shop on vacation all summer – I thought it might be time for another round of Dress Revolution!  Holler if you hear me.

Three Options this time around!!!  You’ll want to read all of them, I’m pretty sure…

Option #1

$5 Lined Zipper Pouch – perfect for makeup, traveling, school supplies, etc.

These are so fun – I love making them, I love receiving them!  For your $5, I’ll pick out your fabrics but you can give me some ideas … like “for a boy”, or “no green please”, or “I love pink.”  You get the picture.

Click HERE to order.

Option #2

$30 Strapless Tunics (just a little shorter than a dress…perfect with jeans, leggins, or as a mini dress for those of you will killer gams!)

This photo shows how cute these are with button-ups underneath which make them very versatile for cooler weather….. I hear there are parts of the world that experience this. I wore my christmas plaid version this way, and I got RAVE reviews. Just sayin’.

For this round – if you’d like a print, I do the picking but you can offer guidelines as mentioned above.  ALSO – A Facebook friends suggested doing these in  your favorite sports team colors….GENIUS!  I’m up for this!  If you choose to go this route, you can pick two colors if you want – a main color, and a color for a contrasting band along the bottom and for the sash.

Click HERE to purchase.

Option #3

$49 Team Spirit Dresses!

Super cute in solids OR prints!

For these dresses, you can pick your color!  If you’d like a print, I get to pick but again, you can give me some guidelines.

Click HERE to purchase.

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Why oh Why do I get to pick the prints???

Well, it’s just SOOOOO stinking hard to coordinate what prints are available because there are a million options.  Then, I have to keep up with what’s sold out, what’s been discontinued.  Trust me, it’s a nightmare!  I will definitely consider your guidelines and do my absolute best to send you a pouch and/or dress that you LOVE!  How’s that!
Okay y’all … I hope you can find something you like because I’m going to be pretty bored once I get home…Keep me busy please!!!

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8 minute bunting – a tutorial! (I’m not fibbing about the time!)

Posted in DIY, For Home, Scraps, TUTORIALS, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 18, 2012 | 7 Comments »

I don’t say this often … but OMW!!!  (That means Oh My Word!)

I almost can’t believe I’m here.  Posting.  On my blog.  Do you remember me at all???

It’s been about 3 months since my last confession post, so I feel like a little round of catch-up might be in order.  Well….the sale of our home FINALLY went through on July 3rd.  We were supposed to close on June 28th, so we frantically and crazily got ourselves moved out of our home on June 27th..only to find ourselves sitting in a tiny two-bedroom apartment while our home lay empty.  Do I sound frustrated!?!?  Heavens no, I’m so over that feeling!

Anyway, we have moved into our temporary housing while we wait for our next home’s completion.  We’re hoping for September, but we’re not holding our breath.  In the meantime, I still have a sewing wall – only now it’s in the dining room!  Also, my husband still has a study – only now it’s in the dining room!

Just to prove I’m not exaggerating!

Life in a temporary place is definitely …er…um…what’s the word…interesting?

In our apartment, life in temporary housing is BLAND!  We don’t want to be charged any move-out fees, so we’re not hanging anything on the walls, hanging any curtains, or even putting up much furniture.  For those of us who whip up curtains for everything from windows to sinks, this is quite a challenge … AND, leads me to my next and long overdue tutorial.

This is my current laundry room. Plain. White. Depressing. (oh, and it’s IN the kitchen. Not near the kitchen but IN. THE. KITCHEN)

Soooooo…. if you can’t beat ‘em, JOIN ‘EM!

In only 8 minutes and for about $10, I added just enough flair to make laundry fun again … simply by whipping up a quick set of bunting / banners and adding a photo.

Here’s how I made the bunting in 8 minutes:

I started with a package of pre-cut (AWESOME!) quilting triangles. They were on clearance for about $6.

Then I pulled out some left over wide, double-fold binding. The double-fold is important if you’re wanting to do this project fast … but seriously, is there any other way!! ???

Next, I placed each of the different prints in a pile right next to my sewing machine so I could grab them quickly. Just put them out in random order. Please do NOT overthink this part … remember: you’re not making a quilt, you’re making something that NO ONE will ever cuddle up next to, only appreciate from a distance. Have fun!

To make the bunting – simply place 2 triangles together wrong sides facing, slide into the center of the bias tape, and sew. I started sewing at the start of the biast tape, and just kept sewing all the way through adding the triangle sets along the way. Also, I used a zig zag stitch to make sure my stitches counted!

You’ll end up with something like this!

Now, just go crazy hanging these from every hanging place you can think of! I used sewing pins to hang them so that I didn’t leave any nail holes.

I added a photo of the kids and a fabric covered candle. That’s it. Now, I will never complain about laundry or temporary place again. EVER. maybe.

I may not have been converted into a laundry-lover, but I do enjoy the laundry room now.  That’s got to be worth something, right!?!

Now for the lowdown:

COST:  about $10.  The triangles were $6, the binding will cost about $3.  I had the binding from a previous project, so FREE for me!  You know I love that!

TIME: 8 stinking minutes!!!  I am SO not fibbing on this.  I timed it.  SO and SEW easy.  You’ll hug yourself for this, I promise!

I’m quite certain this will be a great project for any space … temporary or permanent.  AND, I’m quite certain you’ll see this bunting in my next home … which currently looks like this:

It’s good to back.  Tell me what YOU”VE been up to!!!

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Easy Apron – How to make a Fast and Free hostess gift!

Posted in DIY, For Home, Scraps, TUTORIALS, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 24, 2012 | 7 Comments »

I realized LAST SUNDAY that TODAY was the last day of school for ALL of my kids.  WHAT IN THE WORLD!?!?  How did this happen???

Somehow in the next few days, I had to come up with 6 Thank You gifts for my kids’ teachers.  And not only that – this week is the last week of our pay period … translation: I need these gifts to be FREE.  But how in the world do I adequately say thank you for 9 months of loving and teaching my children …. for free???

Put on my thinking cap and think. think. think.

I opened up my scrap fabric drawer for some inspiration….

And I came up with this … a reversible scrap fabric apron. And I must admit, I LOVE them!

I kind of feel bad for showing off my mennequin’s posterior, but if mine looked like that I’d show mine off too. Anyway, I love how the reversible part peeks through in the back! This particular version is made from a fabric remnant my husband brought me back from Africa. The houndstooth fabric is just remnants from prior projects.

I made three of these in an hour – how awesome is that!?  Here’s how you can too:

You’ll need to remnant pieces that you can cut to approximately 30″ x 12″. (That is just what I decided to do. You can make yours as wide and as long as you want. This size will make you what I call a “carpenter’s” length apron – just above mid thigh.) I cut mine out with right sides together so that I can go straight to the machine without turning the fabric. Just pick it up and sew. Also, I chose to round the bottom edges. Purely a matter of opinion.

For this particular apron, I wanted to add rick rack (and who cares that I didn’t have quite enough – I just started down a little lower…it’s MY apron!). So, I just sewed the rick rack to the rightside edge of one apron panel. Then I placed that panel on top of the other panel with right sides facing. I sewed along the rick rack stitch line to attach the two panels together. This way you can be sure that the rick rack appears as it should.

Turn your apron section right side out and press. Lovely! Sigh, take in the sights, so pretty!!!

Now to attach the tie/band … cut a long strip of fabric about 6″ in width and as long as you like. This one wrapped all the way around and tied in front. Others can just tie in back, whatever you want and have enough fabric for. Then press the center, and then press in about 1/2″ on each side.

Making sure to match up the centers of the apron panel and the apron tie – begin pinning the panel to the inside seam allowance like shown.

Then fold over the tie/band and pin in place as well. I stitch the apron panel and band together first, then stitch the rest of the tie … if you start at the tip of the tie and sew all the way down to the other tip, your band will have a tendency to shift, so sewing the panel and band first helps to avoid that. But it’s your apron – do what you want!

Okay hot mamma, you’re almost done!!! Try the apron on for size and mark where you’d like to trim your tie (assuming that you want to trim it!)

Now all you have to do is tuck in your edges on both sides and sew ‘em up. YOU’RE DONE!!!

Don’t just stand there… admire yourself and the mirror … this is one awesomely easy apron!

And so is this one! Wait…what? They’re the same thing??? How amazing are you!?!

Here’s another combo I whipped up.

EXTRA EXTRA: if you end up cutting a fair amount off the tie, just turn it into a headband. Bam. You’re killin’ it!

So, I feel as if you don’t really need the “breakdown” because I’ve been pretty clear…but here it is anyway:

TIME:  I finished 3 in one hour, so 20 minutes.  ***That means that you’ll have to cut them out at the same time though.

COST: FREE if you use scraps like I did!  Not more than about $3-$5 if you purchase fabric.

Okay, now don’t just stand there…go make some and give them away!!!

 

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Dress Revolution – Round 2 – Ready for another CHEAP handmade dress?

Posted in Uncategorized on May 5, 2012 | 2 Comments »

Many of you may remember that a few weeks ago – okay, many weeks ago – I posted my very first Dress Revolution campaign to help you paint your town Parsimony!  For Round 1, I featured two options of my strapless dresses for a mere $35!!!  Thanks to 47 of you, this was  a HUGE success, and I’m pretty excited about all the new towns people now wearing one of my Parsimony dresses – thank y’all sooooo much!

Well….. you may recall that I started this campaign to help raise money for a down payment for a new home.  I was able to use the proceeds from the 47 strapless dresses to ready my current home for selling …. and would you believe – after 10 days on the market, we have a CONTRACT PENDING!!!  Yikes!  Eek!  Freak Out! 

Sooooooo, you know what this means ……

TIME FOR ROUND 2 OF DRESS REVOLUTION!!

Love is a Colorblocked Dress $39
Shown here is version 1: outer bodice is one color, bodice lining and skirt front and back are color two.

Love is a Colorblocked Dress $39
Version 2: outer bodice and skirt back are color one, bodice lining and front skirt are color two. So, with this dress, when you wear it, the only visible color blocking is the skirt front.

100% cotton.  Fully lined bodice.  Soooo comfortable!

These dresses are super fun and super easy to wear – you can wear them a million different ways… Here’s how my gorgeous and super stylish friend Melissa Navarro wear hers:

Seriously – don’t you just LOVE how she added that striped button-up shirt underneath??!!!

This time around, I’m trying to make it much easier to order by creating ready-made listings in my shop.  If you click on the link and it says sold out, just contact me and I’ll create more listings.

Here’s the low-down:

Click here to purchase Version 1.

Click here to purchase Version 2.

In the notes to seller at check out, tell me the two colors you would like and your size.

done.

Now, please remember, I’m offering these dresses at a discount, and I’m super happy to do this.  Having said that, please note that I cannot allow changes or variations during the promotion. 

Okay, ladies – let’s DO THIS!

Also – remember my goal of Painting Your Town Parsimony … I’ll keep track of your referrals, so spread the word on FB, Twitter…heck, send out an email to all your friends … for every 10 dresses you are “responsible” for, you’ll get a free dress!  That includes your own purchases too!  Just be sure that your friends give you credit when ordering!

Alrighty … Let’s restart this REVOLUTION!!!!

Oh gosh, I almost forgot … since we’ll be moving out of our home soon, Lord willing, I’m going to put my shop on vacation in just a couple of weeks so that I have time to finish up all the orders before packing my machine for a while.  So, in other words, don’t delay!

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9 Minute $2 Skirt – I’m not even lieing! A tutorial just for you!

Posted in DIY, kids, TUTORIALS, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 3, 2012 | 3 Comments »

What should you do when you have 9 minutes to kill …. think, think, think.

You could clean your bathroom.

You could clean out your refrigerator.

You could jog a mile.

OR —— YOU COULD MAKE A SKIRT JUST LIKE THIS!

I really really made this in less than 10 minutes!

If you got ten minutes to spare, read on for how to whip this up and have 30 seconds to spare.

Grab a skirt that comes close to the size you’re wanting and lay it on top of your fabric. Keep your fabric folded just like it comes. I knew I wanted the new skirt longer than the current one, so as you can see I left room at the bottom.

Then just cut out a rectangle-ish piece of fabric. You can see that I cut it a little longer at the top to accommodate the elastic casing, and again, I made it longer at the bottom. (yes, you can also see that I didn’t worry about making it a perfect rectangle. This is a summer skirt – it’s going to be flowy, relax a little!

Fold the fabric right sides together and align the selvedge edges. Serge or sew that edge. (the other edge is the fold so there’s no need to sew – score!)

Next, serge or narrow hem the top and bottom edges.

Your bottom edge is done, finished, bam! The top edge now needs an elastic casing, so fold over the top edge and press.

Sew all the way around the elastic casing, leave an opening at the side seam to insert your elastic.

Use the sample skirt to determine how long to make the elastic. I made the new skirt’s elastic slightly longer than the sample so Ellie can keep growing. (just squint if you’re having trouble seeing the blurry image!)

Using a safety pin, thread the elastic through the casing, then sew closed. Bam, your skirt is finished ….. AFTER you press down that side seam. Look at your clock – it should say approximately TEN MINUTES has passed!

The skirt you see here technically took 14 minutes – but that’s because I was taking photos along the way.  I wanted to see the “real” time so I made a second skirt for my other daughter using exactly the same process.  That time was 9 minutes!  I’m trying hard not to spit my Lacroix out of my nose because this is SO exciting!

This fabric makes me smile – I know they’re technically pears, but they make me think of lemonade!

Would you believe that each skirt cost me less than $2!?!? That’s cheaper than Savers people!

Now, yes, I know that this skirt is a total bare-bones skirt.  BUT WHO CARES!!!!????!!!!  If you pick out fabric that you love, you don’t need crazy ornate patterns, just let the fabric speak for its self!

Here’s the breakdown … and you seriously won’t believe this:

Time:  have I been stuttering?  In case you missed it, these skirts take 9 minutes!!!  (In the effort of full disclosure, I used a serger.  If you use a regular sewing machine, you might choose to do a double folded hem which will add about 2 minutes to the total.  Not bad if you ask me!)

Cost: Under $2!  I bought my fabric on sale for half price making it $3.50/yd.  The longest skirt was cut at 18″, making it $1.75 for fabric.  I had the elastic on hand, so I added just a quarter to the price since I didn’t use much.

These are awesome for a summer fun wardrobe that you don’t spend much on … you’ll be sooooo happy to let them get these all dirty and rotten because the expense and time burden are so super small.  Also, these are awesome for inexpensive but powerful birthday presents!

Lastly – you really really really can do this for a grown up too.  I am working on one for me as I type this – since my serger thread ran out, I thought I’d post the first two first.  Either way, it’s still a 9 minute skirt!

Go grab nine minutes, half a yard of fabric – and have fun!!!

Oh, and by the way – I’m certainly NOT the first person to create a fast skirt … for more ideas on making quick skirts (and a million other things, check out my friends over at All Free Sewing … every tutorial is free and easy!  I love this website!)

 

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One More One Shoulder …

Posted in dresses, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on April 19, 2012 | 3 Comments »

Well, I suppose it’s better late than never.  Although, I’m not sure I’ve ever experiences the opposite, so I can’t say from a well-rounded position.

Anyway, I digress.

I was asked a while back to create a one-shoulder dress that would be fun for a bridesmaid’s dress.  Well, that’s pretty much ANY one-should dress in my book … but alas, I decided to create one from seersucker.  Why?  Because I love it…and, to be more specific, I had enough in my stash to make it.  =)

I decided to mimic my Seersucker Sailor dress except add a sleeve so that bridesmaids wouldn't have to keep pulling up their dresses during the ceremony, and it's a maxi dress. My camera's battery died right after taking this photo, so right now this is the best I got. Gee - I wonder why I've never auditioned for Top Model!?! (this is a joke people. don't send me a list of reasons!)

I like it okay.  It’s still growing on me.  I don’t love the kimono feel to it, but I don’t hate that either.  I think I need to play around with belt options … and maybe make it slightly fuller.  What do you think???  Ideas???  I’m also thinking of making another version as a drop-waist dress with a full skirt … one of these days!

I’m pretty sure I’m too late to create these for my friend’s wedding – but I’m delighted to have been given the challenge!

Happy one-shouler-dress-wearing-days-ahead for you all!!!!

 

 

 

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Killer Dress … apparently!

Posted in dresses, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on April 16, 2012 | 8 Comments »

Well, up until today, I had not decided whether or not I was going to offer this dress to the proverbial “Public”.  I absolutely LOVE  it … but I haven’t gotten fully confident I can create it adequately for people all over the world whom I’ll never size in person.

recognize that Amy Butler Soul Blossoms fabric??? I have finally gone through all 15 yards I purchased!

Well, today I have made the leap and said YES to that inner voice saying, “Make this for other people, you freak!”

Why????

Because I was standing in the parking lot at a grocery store (YES – texting!) when I heard a stranger’s voice yell:

THAT’S A KILLER DRESS!!!

To which I gratefully replied, “Thank You!”

and he said:

NO, THANK YOU!!!

Well, I may pay to be blonde, but I don’t pay to be stupid!  I can tell when there’s a good thing going on!!!  Earlier this morning my husband sent me off for a manicure and pedicure … and the technician couldn’t stop talking about my dress.  She didn’t call it “killer” but she did say it was “fabulous” … in come cultures those words are interchangeable!

Soooooo, here is a sneak peak at the first One-Shoulder dress being made available in my Etsy shop.  Hereafter referred to as the Killer Dress!

Here is the dress shown with a funky chunky feaux turquoise necklace from my pal over at Polished on Etsy. It's a very slimming a-line silhouette. Very fun and versatile to wear! I started with a Burda pattern, made a few tweaks, and the rest is "killer" history.

And here's the back - equally simple which keeps it so easy to wear! You'll notice the zipper on the right hand side - keeps it formfitting without the need for elastic.

In case you didn't notice, it's a one-shoulder dress! (I've made a million of these, but this is by far the simplest and most universally flattering that I've made so far. If you don't like your arms showing - you can add a cute cardigan and just show off the asymmetrical line of the bodice across your chest/neckline.)

Here is how I wore it today - funky necklace, fun belt, wedge sandals. I did not, however, walk around with my arms like that. Or my lips. (I also wore it this way last Tuesday and Wednesday ... maybe this is quickly becoming my 2012 wardrobe!)

So000, if you dig this dress and would like to order one – feel free to thank the random Randall’s parking lot guy!

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SOHO & Color Blocked dresses & … GIVEAWAY!!!

Posted in dresses, Giveaway, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on April 10, 2012 | 9 Comments »

Greetings friends and sewing fans!!!

As I was finally rounding out the race known to me as my first Dress Revolution, my husband and whisked ourselves off to New York City for six days…without kids…SIX DAYS!!!  (read: six gloriously wonderful exciting fun-filled days to do whatever we want with absolutely no chocolate milk anywhere to be found!)

So, of course, I visited Bryant Park. A girl can dream, right!?!

MOOD FABRICS!!!! The dream continued!

One of those six days consisted of a whole day for me BY. MY. SELF. in the the city.  It was wonderful!  I love a great party and I love people…but I have this weird reclusive tendency in me that likes to hide away and be completely anonymous.  This happened wonderfully in my day away as I was able to spend THREE HOURS in Mood Fabrics.  It was dreamy (except for the high prices, cough cough).  Can you imagine if I had taken Jonathan there for three hours?  We’d certainly have ended up in the emergency room trying to diagnose a never-before-seen fabric rash that creeped up all over his body.  Anyway, where was I?  oh yes…

Lots of y'all out there are addicted to chevron patterns, and I totally get it. I, however, am addicted to houndstooth ... and this place had the most wonderful stash ... look at the scale on those teeth...DREAMY!!! At $30 a yard, I decided to just appreciate the fabric as I would the Mona Lisa.

Here's a very friendly sales associate cutting my first bolt ... this is just the softest cotton in the world, I love it!

Yes it was expensive ... but even for this annoyingly frugal girl, It was worth it! I got a free tote bag after all. Thanks Mood! (please tell me you read this using your best Tim Gunn voice!)

Well, let’s move along.  While enjoying my day away, I also strolled around SOHO.  They have some the cutest and most fabulous boutiques you can imagine.  I didn’t get a photo, but in one of the windows was this most darling dress.  Very simple.  Navy blue mostly with an emerald green skirt front.  In other words, a simple navy and green color blocked dress.  Their cost: $800.

My cost ... are you ready for this ... $7.50! (confession: found the fabric on ridiculous sale!) Oh, and someone please pressure me into using my "real" camera, this is getting stupid!

Well, that’s it.  That’s a quick synopsis of my time in NYC – atleast the fabric portion.  I’m sure I’ll be showing you projects made with the fabric I purchased.  For now… since you read all the way down …. Let’s do a Giveway!

WHERE WAS I IN THE FIRST PHOTO?

First one to comment with the correct answer wins a ZIPPER POUCH!

I thought you might like to see a photo of my hubs ... he's so hot! Here we are at a coffee shop on the upper west side. I think it was called Cafe LaLa. SO YUMMY!

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Hooray for Houndstooth! …. and easy patterns!

Posted in DIY, dresses, kids, patterns, Scraps, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on March 23, 2012 | 5 Comments »

I’m really getting worried about myself.  I use Exclamation Points like they’re evaporating!  I really really do!!!

Anyway – I digress.  Enough about me.  Let’s talk houndstooth.

I seriously have an addiction.

In my fabric stash, I have about 20 yards of various shades and weights – green and ivory for a dress for Rosamund, pink and ivory for Ellie, navy and green, gray and white, brown and white, and of course black and white.  Most recently, I added mock canopies to Owen’s and Ellie’s bed using extra large black and white. I’m even getting texts of houndstooth fabric photos from my friends when they’re out at fabric stores!

Sooo, the other night when I was just oh-s0-tired of sewing for THE OTHERS, I reached for none other than houndstooth to create a dress for my Rosamund (now 11 months already!!!) (uh, more exclamation points!).  She is outgrowing everything everyday, and I needed to make her something to wear the next day!

Here is what I came up with. I just LOVE this combination of fabrics!

I used this VERY EASY pattern. It’s McCall’s 6015. If you have this pattern, for Rosamund’s dress I used bodice E and skirt C. The pattern calls for a zipper, FYI.

I think I could have my entire wardrobe out of soley these colors!

I'm not happy with the zipper completion - I was lazy and sewed it up in a u-turn direction (rather than sewing down one side and then going all the way back to the top and sewing down the other side). Hence, the two sides do not align at the top. boo hiss.

In the end, despite the zipper dilemma, I love it!!! (I wanted to give the dress a tiny bit of flare, so I made a ruffle and sewed it from shoulder to shoulder to give the effect of a necklace.)

The result: PERFECTION! (I feel like this photo could be labeled, "If you give a baby a strawberry...")

Again, this is an easy breezy pattern.  It’s just about fool proof, so please make one for some lucky baby!

Here are the details:

Time: I am guessing anywhere from 45 minutes/1hour to 2 hours – it all depends upon how comfortable you are with a zipper.

Cost: about $5.  $1 for the pattern, $2 for the zipper, and I got the fabric 50% off of $4.99 a yard.  I used about 3/4 yard total.  (but of course, in reality, I used scraps!)

There you go…a project idea.  I’d LOVE to see what you’re making!

Oh…and I thought you might like to see the canopies…there they are:

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