Sew Spoiled

This summer  McCall's and PatternReview  are sponsoring a sewing contest just for kids called #KidsCanLearn2Sew. In order to enter to win patterns, fabric, and a new Janome sewing machine you have to submit a 1-minute video of your child learning to sew. This video project was so much fun and gave us a goal to work on while the girls were on summer vacation. There were a lot of stages of the project like picking out the fabric and pattern, it took my daughter forever to look around at JoAnn's. Luckily, we knew what pattern she wanted, M7426 , because we had shopped online but when it came to the fabric she surveyed every knit fabric choice three times at least.  I was shocked when Kinsey showed me her choices. Inside my mind, I was screaming, "Leggings?? You want to sew knit leggings? Are you sure you don't want to sew a cotton shirt or dress?" but I kept my cool and acted like it was totally fine.  Which... guess what...it was fine.  My ol...

One of my favorite things to wear is a skirt. It can be dressed down casually or off to a dinner date with a quick change of accessories. One of the quickest ways to make your look more dressy is to tuck in your shirt and wear a belt. That is why I have created this little tutorial on how to make your own belt loops. Sometimes you create a pair of pants, shorts, or skirt, and it does not come with belt loops. Here is how you can create your own. 1.) Cut five pieces of fabric measuring 3" X 2". 2.) Fold and press each piece wrong sides together 1/4" along the short edge side. Then press and fold each piece in half, wrong sides together, long ways. Finally, fold and press each long raw edge toward the center crease. 3.) Sew the loop tab 1/8" around the edges. 4.) Place the first loop at the back center seam. Measure around the waist line and evenly pin the other loops in place. 5.) Sew the belt loops at the top and bottom to secure them to the garment....

Did you just get a new sewing machine? Now you are looking through site after site just to find the perfect starter projects. Here is a collection of easy and great projects for anyone who wants to start a quick project with your wonderful new sewing machine. Pickled Apron Tutorial TUTORIAL - Easter Pot Holder | Miss Mary Sewing Classes Sleep-In-Late Pillowcase Tutorial Key Fob Video Tutorial Beginner Skirt Sewing Tutorial - Shrimp Salad Circus Chiffon Sheer Scarf Tutorial Happy Sewing!

I have been on a knit fabric kick! It feels good to wear, looks great and usually a knit project takes less time if the fabric and sewing machine and/or serger behaves. I had a lot of red ponte fabric from my  Marianne Dress  from the SOSM Round 2  so I decided to make another knit dress.    I was looking for a boat neck line t-shirt dress to make and the Mesa pattern fit the bill. I made a size small, 4-6. The fitting was great. However, I am 5'1" and this is where the hem line fell without changing the pattern. If I were taller, I would have lengthen the dress. It must be is super short on a "regular height frame".  The only challenge I had was the neckband needed to be a little shorter, so that it pulled the top of the dress in. I made the red dress first and a stripe shirt second. The neckband in the shirt looks and feels better because I stretch the band a little as I sewed it in. The Mesa Dress pattern is from Colette Sewing Patterns th...

This is a Cecelia Dress from The Magic Pattern Book by Amy Barickman . I love this dress and this is the third one I have made. You can wear it with a belt, that is in the pattern, or without a belt at all. Then it looks like a shift dress. I am currently on the lookout for a thin yellow or navy leather store bought belt to wear along with it. This fabric is Arizona by April Rhodes from Art Gallery Fabrics . I like all of the prints in this collection but this one looked like it would make an amazing dress. This is a wonderful go to pattern because you can make it from any 2+ yards of fabric, as long as the print is non directional.  The sleeves have a pretty tulip shape and I like that it has a big pocket.  It is wonderful to have a pocket!  There is not a zipper or buttons to worry about sewing, only elastic at the neck line. What a gorgeous day! Handmade Cecelia Dress in Arizona by April Rhodes Shoes: Natural Soul by Naturalizer Shoes Shades: Charming Char...

I am having so much fun participating in the Sew Mama Sew, Super Online Sewing Match II . This week we were asked to make the Marianne Dress by Christine Haynes . I love the look of this dress, I will probably make the Marianne dress over and over again! Christine Haynes is a wonderful apparel designer and her instructions for this dress are extremely detailed. S ince this dress is made from knit fabric  each step was written for a conventional sewing machine, as well as a serger. I have noticed in all of Christine's patterns that she keeps things simple. Only using a few pieces of fabric to stitch together, this makes it easier for anyone to create her designs.  When I started looking for knit fabric for View B of the Marianne dress pattern. I looked for stripes. I assumed that I need a busy print or something with horizontal lines. It wasn't until I went fabric shopping, that I realized color blocking would give me a  classic look. The f...

1 and 2.  Extra Petite | Petite Fashion, Style Tips and DIY , 3. Red Dress with White Collar 4. Flower Dress   5.  Ula Style: Pre-spring wishilist  6.  Laundry by Shelli Segal Knit & Faux Leather Drop Waist Shift Dress | Nordstrom  7.  Ideas for Styling Your Little Black Dress - Sortashion  8. French Red Dress  9.  Outlined Dress  10. Color Blocked Dress  11. Lace Dress  12. Green Dress This is a collection of dress ideas for the Marianne Dress Sewing Pattern by Christine Haynes .  It is amazing how many ideas there are for one dress. The possibilities are endless. It is hard to pick just one style to go with. I would love one of each of these. That is also one awesome thing about sewing. Once you sew a pattern and get the right fit, you can make it over and over again using different fabrics to achieve a new look. The Marianne Dress has two views so there are even more poss...

Recently, I submitted my Sutton Blouse, by True Bias , to the judges for Round 1 of the Super Online Sewing Match, hosted by Sew Mama Sew .  All of the contestant's blouses were beautiful and I could tell each seamstress did their best. This is a tough competition. I was chosen to move on to Round 2 and now we have a new challenge!!! The sewing pattern for round 2 is the Marianne Dress by Christine Haynes !! When I read the pattern for this challenge, I jumped out of my seat! I adore Christine Haynes and all of her designs! She is a wonderful pattern designer, so I knew this would be a great dress! I have her first book Chic and Simple Sewing , it is truly amazing. You know it is a great book when you make several apparel pieces from it. I made the jacket , cape , wrap skirt and school house shift dress . I also interviewed Christine in March of 2011 . Wow, that was four years ago! I am looking forward to making this beautiful dress. I love View A with the pan co...

Front Facing of the Sutton Blouse Wow! I still can't believe I am a contestant in the Sew Mama Sew, Super Online Sewing Match II . It has been so much fun! Day one, I printed the pattern out and put together the templates. I had a few yards of muslin fabric and made a test run to make sure the fitting would be right.  Back Facing of the Sutton Blouse Day two, I visited a small fabric store around the corner called Sew Happy Fabrics and shared with the owners about the contest. We talked about fabric choices and went with 3 yards of rayon challis, Flower Blossoms. That way I could make two Sutton Blouses , if I made a mistake. This fabric is so soft and moves easily with your body. I can see why women love to wear it.  Side Facing and you can see the side seam. The Sutton Blouse Pattern, created by Kelli at True Bias , is a simple top with only 4 panels to sew together. You might start to wonder, why does the pattern have a difficultly level of intermediate...

I love to sew but I find it hard to get out to the fabric store which is 50 minutes away, one way! So after I received an email from Craftsy about their  Craftsy sewing kits on sale, 60% off retail price , I knew this would be a great opportunity to get a few projects and have them sent straight to my front door. By the way, for me this is like receiving Stitch Fix in the mail, except I got to pick it out and keep all of it. Ok, it's nothing like Stitch Fix. Here are the two projects I picked.... First up, is this knit pencil skirt. I know what your thinking, "This is super easy to make, didn't you make that already?" Yes, I did make it already by refashioning an old dress . But I did not have a pattern and the sewing kit was only $14.99 with fabric and the McCall's 6654 pattern ! Plus my refashioned knit skirt that I love, I wore slam out and there's a hole in the fabric. Speaking of fabric they are sending me Ponte Roma in black. Sometimes it is hard ...

I made these  Sally dresses by Very Shannon  this week. I love the fact that there are only two pages to print, to get started and no taping! That is a huge plus in he PDF sewing patten world. The dress has three sleeve versions and there is no buttons, zipper or closure to worry about. Just slip over the child's head and go. That is perfect in the busy mornings of getting up and going to work, school or to the pool this summer. I was worried about the sizing. If the collar opening is too big, the dress hangs off of the shoulders. If to small, the dress does not fit over the child's head. That is why I made a muslin bodice first to test the bodice out first. In both cases, I went with a smaller size than I normally would have. When reading this pattern look at the finished garment sizing. That helped us with the sizing. I can see this dress being in almost any color and type of fabric. We used what we had on hand mostly this pollen yellow fabric with accents of cotton p...

I just received this book in the mail and I am so excited! It is not a typical sewing book. Built By Wendy , by Wendy Mullin , is written for anyone who wants to create dresses that are unique.  Wendy gives you 3 style of dresses; the sheath dress, shift dress and dirndl dress. The pattern templates do not have seam allowances but that is so that you can create more designs with them. These pattern temples are called slopers. Designers use slopers to create new dress designs. Wendy also shows you how to create 25 different dresses but you will have to draft some of the extra pieces of the dress. When I think of the slopers, the lines are the seams. After reading through the book I realized that I have been creating these basic dress designs all a long. Here are just a few examples. You might have these sewing patterns too. ✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄ The Shift Dress Laurel by Colette Patterns This is the shift dress with a couple darts along the back panels. ✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄✄...