scout's honor

I've been wanting the skirt with girl scout badges in the Sew What Skirts! book for a few years now.
Despite rummaging through piles of junk on every thrifting mission, I've yet to run across old badges.
Carol came to my rescue:

These belonged to her mother and probably date back to the 50's (am I right on that estimate, Carol?).
No doubt I had the sewing badge on the top on my own vest. The cooking badge at the 2:00 position, I'm not so sure about. I also have no idea where my own vests and sashes went, which is sort of killing me now.

Best part of this sewing project: I didn't make the skirt. It came off a J Jill clearance rack. Fastest clothing project ever.

linen skirt

I worked like crazy last week to finish this skirt for Blogher. And then I never wore it the entire weekend. (I'd lose my crafty cred if I didn't show up with some clothes that I'd made.)

I still love it though. The pattern is from Linen Crafts. The fabric is brown linen and a cotton lawn print. The lawn is from Denver Fabrics. The twill tape is from the Martha Stewart line at Michaels. I have no idea if they still carry it.

As you can see the skirt is reversible and is made from two large rectangles. It's shaped slightly with darts that are hidden in the photo. I was shocked at how well the skirt fit(I've not had the best luck with another recent pattern). I made a few changes: shortened the skirt length slightly, inserted the twill tape into the seam for more strength and made the opening slightly wider to accomodate hips that aren't as young as the model's in the book. Since this fits me so well, I almost think that if you're very skinny, you'd have to make the rectangles narrower so the corners don't overlap where they're supposed to meet in the front. (The pattern is a "one size fits all" rectangle.) Once you wrap your head around how the skirt is worn, it's a very easy pattern to sew up.

spring cardigan

Snow is falling outside while I type this post for spring clothes. Just looking at this cardigan makes me cold. Warm weather will return though and I hope this will be perfect for cool spring days.

The pattern is called The Shrug (My Favorite Things). I made the longer version and chose cream colored minkee with bias made from a small floral quilting cotton. (Tuli, I used the 25mm bias tape maker for this.)

It's hanging in the shop now as a model for my spring classes. I should get to bring it home just in time for spring.

liberty top

Summer's over, but I keep thinking about this wall. It was mecca for me. Dozens of Liberty prints all in one place, more than I could take in at one time. I'd planned to buy enough to make one piece of clothing for myself. Since the price per yard is a bit extravagant, I settled on a pattern that I'd had success with and didn't require much yardage. In other words, I wasn't making a full skirted dress out of a vintage pattern in my "someday" pile.

I went with a top that I'd made before. In fact, I'd made it for that trip.

There was enough left for a headband/belt/scarf thingy. (Not the greatest photo here, but it was the one that hid the gray in my hair the best.)

I bought a stack of Liberty fat quarters too. I'm afraid to cut them.

neglected skirt

I should consider August a "finish what you have" month. I've been working dilligently to get UFO's out of my sewing room.

This one had been cut and all the notions were gathered and tucked away with it. I think it was started in the spring of '07. No idea why I stopped working on it. Fear of the invisible zipper? (Which really, with the right presser foot, is nothing to be afraid of.)

Anyway, it's done now and it still fits(a bit of concern when walking away from a project for that long...). The pattern is McCalls 4306. It's a good basic pattern for a bias cut skirt. It was hemmed with thrifted bias tape. Can you believe the color match?

I might get to wear it a few times before it feels too much like fall around here.

look! more linen

Yeah, I bought a LOT of linen this year. In fact, I still have yards of it left. I'm hoping to get a skirt and some dresses and/or pants for the girls out of it yet. Too late for those this summer, but I can tell myself I'm working ahead for next year.

This was made in time for the New York trip (which I can't believe was a month ago).

It's from the same Built by You Simplicity pattern as this top. This one, however, was incredibly easy. I altered it slightly by cutting the back piece on the fold and eliminating a seam in the center back. It's a pull on style so there seemed to be no reason not to do that. I also left the elastic out of the bottom portion of the sleeve. No need to accentuate an area that is in serious need of toning. The pattern tapers in a bit on the sides keeping it from looking maternity. If you're looking for a beginner's project. This one is it.

I'm thinking about doing some machine embroidery in black along the bottom edge... for next summer.

sew, jackie, sew!

Doing a little cheerleading here - Faithful reader, Jackie, sent me these photos of some pants she was inspired to make after I posted the crabby pants in June. It's taken me so long to get them up here that in the meantime she's sewn more pants, tops and baby items than I can count. She's thrifty too!

This pair was made from a thrifted sheet.

This pair is 2.50/yd sale linen. Both used Simplicity 4190.

Excellent work! Keep going Jackie!

pj redo

Yes, more pajamas. These were supposed to be off the rack. They're Nick and Nora silk jammies from Target that I found on the clearance rack. When I got home I found out why they were on clearance. The original menswear top was a medium. The pants were an XXL. Dang.

The pants were cut down to the proper size and reserged together. New elastic went in the waistband. All in all an easy fix. I thought I was done.

Then I tried on the shirt and I can't begin to explain how weird it fit. Maybe it was the choice of fabric in that style. The silk pulled and shifted. There was no way I could sleep comfortably in it. In a last ditch attempt to save the set, I cut out a motif from the shirt and appliqued it on a tank.

Not exactly a clearance bargain for all the work that went into it.

headin' to the beach

At least that's where I was going when I made the hat. I foolishly decided I needed a sun hat for my visit to the ocean a week ago. The sewing was started the day before I left. Perhaps not foolish, just stupid.

The pattern is Amy Butler's Big Sky Hats. The fabric is 100% linen with cotton duck interlining(two layers in the brim, one in the crown). The lining is also linen.

I'll say this much for the pattern - I followed the measuring guidelines and it does fit. There are only two pattern pieces to deal with, but there are many of each. It was the layers, oh the layers, that killed me.

I'd forgotten to take into account that I would be sewing on the bias as I went around the brim and small parts of the crown. Can you say "shifting"? The looser weave linen also moved around a lot against the solid duck. The main hat was finished in time for the trip(if you don't count the hand sewing of the lining on the way to the beach). The extra three rows of top stitching were my addition and were done when I returned home. That's where the layers became my nemesis. I won't show you the underside where all three rows made a pleat in the lining. Fortunately, it's near the back and not visible when worn because I'm not ripping it all out. (Notice I'm showing you the close up of the nice side with no ripples.)

See, it does fit. No pictures of it being worn at the beach. Sorry, I was too busy fighting the riptides.

slumber party - part 2

More lounge pants from the In Stitches book. I can't remember if I posted these a while back when I made them as a sample for a class I was teaching. I just got around to doing the tee shirt to go with them.


The applique is a motif from the pants fabric. For those who care - here are the details. The motif is adhered to the tee with fusible web. I cut a little extra around the design to be hidden under the stitching. Some tear away stabilizer was placed underneath the tee (I keep it in place with temporary adhesive spray -like 505). The stitch is a zig zag in a narrow width and set to a density that's one notch tighter than a buttonhole stitch on my machine. If you can, ease up on your presser foot pressure(it will help prevent your teeshirt from shifting or rippling).

Oh, and sew very slowly around those curves.

slumber party

Blackbird wrote a post a few days ago wondering what her bloghere '08 guests should wear in the pajama department so as not to frighten (or just plain gross out) her boys when we visit. While I find her suggestion for me darling, I'm leaning toward this:

They're the lounge pants pattern from In Stitches by Amy Butler. Yes, they are that wide in the leg. There's A LOT of fabric in there. And for those of you over 30 (like me), they're a bit low slung in the waist. I've made them before and forgot to add length in that area before cutting them out. The tee shirt was a souvenier from my mother-in-law's trip to Hawaii (she saw the Missouri). I love Rosie the Riveter.

And I love ric-rac. All set for New York.

linen blouse

No time for creative titles. I have ten minutes to post before picking up the kids.

This is from the same pattern as the crabby pants. A rare occurence of actually using the pattern and fabric I bought for it within the same season it should be worn. The top is VERY loose fitting. More so than I would have liked in the shoulders, but I'm wearing it now and it's not bothering me. We'll see how it washes up. (I did prewash and dry the fabric, but it'll be interesting to see how it all lays fresh out of the dryer, as I do not iron linen. What's the point?)

What drew me to the pattern was the detailing on the front hem. Very Flax or Eileen Fisher.

And I can tell you again how much I love my serger. The inside makes me as happy as the outside with that machine. This last picture is a truer representation of the color - at least on my computer.

little miss crabbypants

My children could have told you that was true, but now I've made it official.

The students in my class this past Saturday inspired me. (They were awesome and got through so much of their projects during class.) I decided it was time to get out some of the linen I've stashed and make clothes that I could actually wear during the current season. Usually I buy the fabric and pattern, watch it sit for a few months, and then finally put it away when I realize that if I do make it at that point, I'll have only a few weeks to wear it before the seasons change.

So pulling out this embroidered linen that I got for a song at a Joann's clearance sale ($1 or $2/yd) and actually turning it into something in two days was a small miracle. I live in cropped linen pants all summer. Very easy pattern to use - Vogue 7883. In fact, I'm nearly finished with the top that also comes in the pattern (being made in an entirely different color - not to be worn with the pants). It has some side seam pockets that are simple to put in. And don't let that "two days to sew it" make it seem hard. I never cut out a pattern and sew it in the same day. That's why it took two days. (I HATE cutting out patterns and fabric so I tend to cut out a bunch all in one evening and set them aside in piles for later sewing.)

Looking forward to wearing them in Maine very soon.

If you haven't entered the contest from last Friday,scroll down and leave a comment on that post. You have til this Friday at midnight to enter. The kids will pull a winning name over the weekend.