Me-Made-May 2018, Post #10

This skirt celebrates a full circle of production for me: I dyed the fabric and then I sewed it into a skirt! For the dyeing part, I used a yard of white linen suiting weight fabric and Lockwood powered dye extract from Aurora Silk. The linen turned a lovely purple-blue color.  I also added some trims, threads and fabric bits ,that were a mix of fiber contents, into the dye bath. The resulting colors ranged from soft lavender to cornflower to eggplant.

I did a bit of pattern hacking in designing to making the skirt. Using Simplicity 7229, View C, I changed the drawstring style waistband to an elasticized one using a super wide 2″ elastic. Then I added elongated rectangular pockets centered on the side seams. The pockets extend all the way down the sides to the hem. I did make a line of stitching across the pocket, a few inches above the hem line, so that pocket contents don’t fall all the way down! Finishing work included using a double needle and top stitching as well.

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Me-Made-May 2018, Post #9

I know many of you you sewists are like me: our days are good but long ones. Often I find myself ending my work day in the same outfit at 7:30 pm that I started out in at 7:30am! And so it goes that when I am planning out sewing projects that suit my seasonal, professional and home life wardrobe needs, I am thinking style AND comfort. Garments with ease and wearability will always make it on my list! I teach mornings and early afternoons in the two year old program at our most beloved local nursery school. This means I am playing on the floor and in constant motion with the children. Later  afternoons into evenings find me in my home studio teaching sewing, needle arts and fabric dyeing.

The skirt pictured has become one of my seasonal favorites: Simplicity 2224. I have made this skirt, View B, several times. It never disappoints! It’s a simple elastic waist, flared skirt with nice deep pleated pockets. On the day of this shot, I had nursery school then sewing students and finished up doing some planting in the garden! This skirt done up in a Kaffe Fasset cotton print went the distance with me!

Me-Made-May 2018, Post #8

Okay my sewists…here’s a easy peasy pattern for the perfect maxi skirt:                Simplicity S0568. I made View A with dyed cotton jersey from my stash. So simple I made it in an afternoon. It’s your basic one piece maxi skirt with elastic waist and a slit. I used both my sewing machine and serger. Cotton jersey means using a jersey machine needle, I used a size 80/12.  For the hem, I used a multi motion stretch stitch. I know I will live in this cozy cutie this summer!

Me-Made-May 2018, Post #7

Today’s post features a service project, I participated in this Spring. “Little Dresses For Africa“, is a program started back in 2008, by Rachel O’Neill, and supported by Sewing with Nancy/Nancy’s Notions. Sewists, quilters and other makers may know Nancy’s Notions as a mail order supplier of all things fabric and notions started by Nancy Zieman in 1979.

My hubs heard about this wonderful program through his co-workers and thought I would be interested in making and donating dresses. I went through my fabric stash and found some gingham and novelty prints back from my days of sewing clothes for my daughter and got right to work.

Currently the program is looking for dresses, size 6. Patterns for this size and other sizes are provided on the site. I downloaded the size 6 and brought to my local Staples Copy Center. They printed it out to scale for me. You can also draft up a pattern with the dimensions provided.

I made four size 6 dresses. On the hem band of each dress, I embroidered a few stitches in the form of X’s, O’s and tiny flowers, just a little special touch from this maker to the recipient!

If you would like more information about the program and the dress patterns,  here’s  the link to the Little Dresses for Africa blog.

Me-Made-May 2018, Post #6

Hi friends! Sorry for the lapse in posts but I was waylaid with a stomach bug, but I’m back and hoping to finish MMM18 strong!

Not every project comes out kittens and unicorns and such was the case with this top!

Initially the plan was to make view D from McCalls 7562… with this wild and wonderful printed mid weight, cotton/viscose blend purchased from Mood NYC. Once finished the dress just didn’t drape well..the fabric choice, although fun fun fun was just too stiff. After much debate with my daughter, we agreed it would work better as a top. So cut and altered down, and closing up the neckline placket, I came up with this.

I added a trim of natural cotton tassels, from East Coast Trimming, to the hem…I think this embellishment is my favorite feature of this top! My main take away from this mishap is to be more mindful of those tricky fabrics that catch your eye, draw you in and make you say, “what can I do with this?”  The weight and stiffness of this fabric made it fall between the categories of what is best suited for tops, dresses or bottom garments! I do like the pattern and am still thinking I’ll go back and give it another go with a more drapey fabric. I’ll keep you posted!

For more on Me-Made-May 2018, click on the link on the side bar upper right.

See you soon, take care!

Me-Made-May, Post #5

 

As a family we have had the pleasure of attending not one but two weddings this year. The most recent one was in Tampa, FL and today’s blog post and Me-Made-May entry features the dress I made for the occasion. First the fabric. Purchased in-store at Mood NYC, it is a black and ivory printed, cotton sateen with stretch. It had such a nice weight and drape there was no need to line it.

 

I really wanted a party dress that had a flared skirt for fun and for ease of movement. The Vogue pattern I chose gave me everything I was looking for. I did drop the neckline in both the front and back about an inch and also shortened the overall length.

On the inside, I added a vintage ivory, cotton scallop trim to edge the hemline, as a treat for me the wearer! Loved making and wearing this little dress and would truly make it again! For more information on Me-Made-May2018, click on the badge on the upper right sidebar. See you next time!

 

Me-Made-May 2018 Post #4

Vintage fabric gets me every time. There is something so luxurious and unique in its design and texture that draws me in and whispers…create something with me! This skirt was a self-drafted pattern; not quite a circle skirt but definitely twirl-worthy! The vintage cloth came from my stash and has a cotton base with all-over black machine embroidery stitching in floral designs. Since the cloth was sheer in the white ground areas, I decided to line the shirt with a light weight cotton batiste fabric. I went back and forth about using such a light weight cotton for the lining, unsure whether it would ride up or not when I wore the skirt. I solved the mystery by adding this adorable mini pompom trim to the hem line of the batiste. The trim gave just the needed amount of extra weight to hold the lining down and it worked like a charm. Every time I see it peeking out, I smile!

Speaking of trim, the featured fabric has its own trim to show off…I found this black rosette trim years ago at Tinsel Trading when they had their NYC store. What a treasure trove! Now they have closed up in The Big Apple and opened up a brick and mortar shop out in CA. I sure do miss shopping in there heavenly store back here in the Metropolitan area but you can check out their vast inventory in on-line shop, here.

I am so enjoying all the incredible posts in this year’s Me-Made-May 2018 campaign! For more information, click on the badge on the top right sidebar. Thank you so much for following my MMM18 makes. Please let me know what you are creating this month!

Me-Made-May 2018 Post #3

This is a very special MMM18 post! For over 20 years I have been teaching adults and children sewing in my home studio during the afternoons and evenings. When it was time to select a new project for two of my young students, I decided on New Look 6529. It featured this trendy tunic/hoodie, I knew they would love it. I also chose to do the project with them as a “sew-a-long.” The three of us even settled on using the same mid-weight, a heathered-gray knit, purchased at our local JoAnn Fabrics. This SAL had several good sewing challenges for my eager students:  giving them their first experience working with a knit fabric, learning to make and attach a hood and a kangaroo pocket and learning how to set-in sleeves. The hem was a high-low with vents on both sides. We made a couple of simple fit adjustments and also rotated the pocket.

The ladies did a super job and we had way too much fun on our little photo shoot! They said several times how much they enjoyed making the hoodie as a SAL and asked if we could make another garment together! I so enjoyed this shared creative experience with the girls. We are all so happy with our final pieces! Since out town is a beachfront community, we will all no doubt enjoy wearing our hoodies on cool, windy walks on the sand!

For more on Me-Made-May 2018, click on the badge in the upper right sidebar.

Thanks for stopping by!

Me-Made-May 2018, Post #2

Now my dear knit sewists, who amongst us doesn’t love a good Ponte knit! I present this little wrap dress, done up with a Ponte from Mood NYC.

The pattern used is Burda 6829. This was my first wrap style dress and I must admit to having to do quite a bit of fiddling around to get the fit just right. I had to pin, repin, stitch and restitch to get the fit nice and smooth in the hip area where the drape of the wrap is stitched in place.

Truly hard to appreciate due to the difficult lighting but the fabric color is a deep eggplant…a delicious shade! I will probably give this pattern another go around perhaps with the optional long sleeve for winter! Thanks to my girl T for taking the photos for Post 1 and this Post 2!

Me-Made-May 2018-1st Post!

Happy May 1st and to all makers, friends and followers, Happy Me-Made-May 2018! I am so excited to be a part of this annual international sharing of hand mades again this year.

I thought I would start off my month of makes with this fabulous shift dress. It is a simple silhouette with just the right amount of ease and cap sleeves. It has become one of my most comfortable, go-tos. The pattern is “Christine Hayes’ Marianne.” To read a review by Threads magazine, click here. For the Christine Hayes website featuring the “Marianne” pattern, click here. Honestly the very best part about this piece is the fabric. It is a printed, mid-weight, stretch velvet from moodfabrics.com. I rarely purchase fabric online but when I saw this one I simply couldn’t resist! One really never knows what you might get with an online fabric order, colors and weight often aren’t what you are hoping for. I decided in advance however that no matter what the weight turned out to be I would find just the right design for it! Seriously I whipped this baby up in a couple hours and have enjoyed every wear!

I’m looking forward to posting as often as possible this month, sharing all sorts of makes. For more information on Me-Made-May 2018, click on the badge up on the right sidebar.

See you soon!