happy birthday dear larry

Well, I figure the birthday of my bestest friend in the whole world is worth dragging myself out of blogger hibernation to send out some well wishes in her honor. So, to the most creative, industrious person I know, not to mention, funny, loving, generous and beautiful, happy birthday, my dear.

Oh, and since I couldn't pull off getting your gift to you in time for your actual birthday, I'll just share a teensy sneak peak...

As is becoming tradition, you'll be seeing the real deal some time during your birthday season. Just trying to make the party last, you know?

Simplicity 3678

Ever since this guy came along, I've been racking my brain and scouring my closet for some non-maternity, nursing friendly, but still stylish clothes to wear. I daydreamed all summer about finding the perfect button front dress patterns so that I could then fulfill my other daydream, which is being able to wear simple cotton dresses every day, cool in the summer and perfect for layering in the fall. Something similar to this or this, maybe.

Daydreams aside, for the most part, I end up wearing knits, since I can't seem to button up any of the few button front blouses and dresses in my closet. Hence my foray into the world of home sewn knitwear, starting with Simplicity 3678. 

Here's my take: 

Pattern sizing: 

Okay, so I generally wear a size 10 these days in ready-to-wear clothing. If you've never sewn clothing from a pattern before, take note: you CANNOT go by your regular size when it comes to choosing which size to sew from a pattern. Really, you can't even go by your measurements. On this pattern, if I went by my measurements, I would have sewn a size EIGHTEEN! (What is up, pattern companies???) I guess, if I had to nail down a general rule of thumb for myself, I'd split the difference between my measurement-indicated size (18) and my ready-to-wear size (10). For this dress, I made a size 14 and it fit pretty well. Just let your ego go, ladies, when you're sewing from these patterns. 

Did it look like the pattern photo on the envelope when I finished it? 

I think so. Plus a few (ahem) extra pounds of model underneath and a more open neckline/bodice which I'll explain in a sec. 

Were the instructions easy to follow? 

Very much so, in theory. Still figuring out how to sew knits without it becoming a comedy of errors. See below. 

Fabric used: 

A thin, cheapy, for-experimentation-only knit print out of my stash. (This could explain some of my problems.)

Any adjustments made?

Um, yeah. I tried sewing the neckline and facing with a double needle, to give the dress a more professional finish, but I just wasn't happy with 1) how the facing was laying (it was really bunchy) and I could just imagine it flipping out every time I wore the dress (assuming I ever actually got that far) and 2) how the fabric actually bubbled up between the two needles. (Anyone know what that problem was all about? Double needles are meant for knits, right?) So, anyway, not wanting to spend time troubleshooting or seam ripping, I serged off the seam and facing.  

Then I tried turning a narrow hem and stitching it down without a facing. Which I think would have been fine had I not (apparently) stretched the fabric as I sewed, so it got all wonky and wavy. So I serged that off. 

At which point I tried Heat N Bond No Sew hem tape, because I had it on hand. I stuck it onto the inside of the serged edge, folded it down, then tried to stitch over it with my trusty double needle. Surprise, surprise, that didn't work. Apparently, when they say No Sew, they mean it. It kept gumming up my needle and breaking the thread. So I serged that off. 

Finally, I purchased this lovely little product from my local fabric shop, so much more appropriate, and used it to stabilize the newly cut and serged neckline, turned it under, and stitched it down. Done, but now my dress absolutely requires a cami underneath. Which I probably would have worn anyway, so no big loss. (pointedly ignoring precious loss of time)

The only other "adjustment" was that I serged the bottom hem and left it at that. L-A-Z-Y. But, hey, I think I paid my dues on this little project, especially considering that it may never pass through my front door. 

Would I sew this pattern again? 

Actually, yes. I think so, if I had a nicer, more sturdy knit to work with. And assuming the Wonder tape washes up well, I'll stick with that little revision to the pattern. Facing schmacing. 

The final product, as photographed by my 6-year old:

simple baby gift

A simple, sweet, topstitched blanket for the new babe of an office mate of my husband's. Only impressive to the non-sewer who can't quite figure out how such things are made. Thankfully, the parents of this recipient qualify.

What is impressive (to me at least) is that I actually bought this fabric locally, in a land of copious batiks and country granny prints. And not much else, until now. We have a new fabric shop in town! The polka dot fabric is a high quality, super soft flannel and the other is, well, you can see for yourself, a fun, eggy print that appealed to the birdlover in me. (The flannel color's not really true in this photo - it's a really pretty pear green. Love it!) And I noticed some Amy Butler (fabric and patterns), Heather Bailey, Anna Maria Horner (oilcloth, at that) and Portabello Pixie patterns among the racks on my last visit. Fun!

Katy Kitty

I finally finished a Katy Kitty doll, the pattern for which my talented friend graciously gifted to me when it was first published. Since I didn't have any corduroy that would work, like the pattern recommends, I went with a heavy, natural canvas for the body and a tan felt face. She's a Siamese kitty, apparently. The skirt and sleeves are remnants from an old Freshcut charm pack that I used to make these coasters way back when. Love that fabric...

more quilt pictures, as requested

Please excuse the wrinkles. This quilt is already well loved!

where I join the Princess and the Pea parade

I've spent the better part of the summer waffling between projects to make for two little sisters' birthday gifts. My complete inability to decide now means that one girl's gift is overdue by 3 months and the other's by a few weeks. (In my defense, I did have a baby in there somewhere, but still. Three months, people!)

Then I came across this great book by the talented Lauren Child and these two sets. What modern, fabric and fairy tale loving girl wouldn't be inspired? Plus, we're already huge fans of Ms. Child's work around here. And I've been obsessing over this fabric (so perfect for Audrey)since it came out, so the story's been on my mind. I couldn't resist this project.

A few hours of stash raiding and totally, shamelessly copying someone else's clever idea produced this:

I made the mattresses pretty thin, with just one layer of lofty batting. I know how I feel when space-consuming toys come into my home, so I didn't want to make the set too large. There are twelve mattresses made from various calico prints. The bottom mattress has a little gathered pocket to hold the pea. 'Cause I know if it were my kids', that pea would disappear in about 7 minutes flat.

For the pea, I crocheted a small ball out of wool felt, then lightly felted it by hand. I can't find the pattern I used, but this tutorial would work just great, too, I'm sure. You might need to use a size smaller hook for a bit tighter gauge to get results like mine. For the felty look, I rolled it in my hands under VERY hot water for several minutes then plunged into cold water. Squeeze it out and let it dry. Done.

I also threw in two simple, sweet nightgowns to fit the dolls that I made for the girls last year, so they can be used as Princesses. (Hopefully these make up for the fact that I sent a joint gift this year...)

Superhero Cape

Like I said, amidst the diaper-changing, nursing, schooling and nose-wiping going on around here, I have managed to squeeze in some much needed craft therapy. This session came in the form of a birthday gift for a special boy.

My kids spend the better part of every day dressing up and "playing pretend". A few weeks back, in the middle of an intense make-believe session, Gage realized that he couldn't be a proper superhero without the outfit to go with. And so, the cape request. It needs some embellishment, but considering that it was whipped out mere hours before his birthday party, I'm feeling pretty good.

I kind of made it up as I went along, but this cape is very similar to the one here. I guess the main differences between my cape and the one in the tute are these:

1) I used a whole yard of fabric for mine (she gets two smaller capes out of one yard),

2) I bound the edges with double fold bias tape instead of serging them (too lazy to change out the thread in my serger), and

3) I attached a full, wool felt collar to this one that would stand up in the back. I think that gives it a little more dramatic flair, don't you? Plus it attaches in front with Velcro, thereby eliminating the need for Mama to tie it on every time he decides he wants to be a Super.

Oh, and I used my favorite freezer paper applique trick for the "G". It's a pretty simple technique. First, I got my wool felt piece ready by attaching iron-on fusible webbing to one side, leaving the backing paper attached. Set that aside. Next, I printed the "G" on my printer in the size and font I wanted, then traced it onto plastic-coated freezer paper, plastic coating down. (These steps could probably be consolidated, if I just printed directly onto the non-plastic side of my freezer paper. Thoughts?)

Okay, so next, I ironed the freezer paper, again with the plastic side down, onto the unfused side of my wool felt, then cut the "G" out of the paper, felt and fusible webbing all at the same time. Peeled the fusible webbing backing off the bottom and the freezer paper off the top and Bam! A perfect "G" patch ready to be ironed on and stitched down. I just used a simple straight stitch around the edges, but, of course, you could use any stitch you like. Or, if you used No-Sew, you could believe the Heat'n'Bond folks when they say you don't have to stitch it down. That's never worked well for me, though. Especially for kids' stuff that will probably need frequent washing.

Gage wasn't the only birthday kid on my list. More birthday posts to come once I'm sure they've been received.

And, for more fun with freezer paper, click here...

Or, enjoy some random birthday weekend pics:

This is the second year that Gage has requested a chocolate cake with green icing. Can do, buddy.

And we just couldn't go home without more overpriced, cheaply made, plastic toys courtesy of Daddy, could we?