You may have noticed a definitive absence here that started around late February. I decided my services were needed elsewhere. And by elsewhere I mean my guest bathroom on the second floor. But wait, Alison, it’s May. Good catch. As it turns out, renovating a bathroom 90% solo, while maintaining your normal life, takes a very long time. Here is that saga. Totally worth it. Continue reading
You may recall, from posts of old, that I started sewing in early fall of 2012. After taking a handful of classes at the local JoAnn, I signed up for Sewing 301: Dressy Jacket. Well, it may have been a little out of my league. And by a little, I mean a lot. Never one to purchase fabric as directed (read: ugly), I chose something I would actually wear. This meant making the entire sewing process infinitely harder on my very beginner self. Continue reading
A little backstory: I took my first sewing class in August of last year. In that class I learned, among other things, how to read a pattern and how to purchase fabric from a pattern. During my next shopping trip at the fabric store, I came across two things I instantly fell in love with. This cape pattern, and this lavender and cream herringbone wool-like fabric in the clearance aisle. At the time I had no idea how to sew (aside from the cute fold-over supply pouch created in the first class), but I knew that someday I would, and this fabric would be glorious. I painstakingly picked out the interfacing and matching lining, went to the cutting counter for the first time, and left the store excited with possibility. Continue reading
I’m back! More on my extended absence in the next post, there’ve been some exciting developments on the homestead! In the meantime, I wanted to share a little sewing project I whipped up in the last few weeks. I was inspired by a couple high-end raglan-sleeve tops I’d seen around, and wanted to try my hand at a similar version. In the oft-used Simplicity 9499 pattern set, there just happens to be a baseball t-shirt design, which I thought would work perfectly. It’s been awhile since I’ve sewn, so I thought it might be a good idea to do a little practice run on some fabric I had laying around – as it happens, yes, I had emerald green velour laying around. I think velour is fabulous, but more on that later. My trial run went pretty well, and, as I’d hoped, I learned a couple of valuable lessons for the real thing. (Paying closer attention to laying out pattern pieces on the grain of the fabric; even though the front and back look almost identical, there really is a difference – both in the sleeves and the body; and patterns always call for a neckband that’s entirely too small.) Continue reading
With the outrageously hot weather came the opportunity to shirk outdoor responsibilities in favor of cooler, saner, indoor projects. Needless to say I was excited. I love the outdoors, and will generally do whatever I can do get outside in some fashion (something to do with my mother, I’m sure) but when it becomes hard to breathe due to the heat and humidity, I think that’s a free pass to stay inside. Kind of like any precipitation coming down sideways. Well, that’s enough about the weather.
I had been dreaming about these paper bag-waist shorts for quite some time (here) after seeing the skirt tutorial on Adventures in Dressmaking. To make these I took a pattern for some pajama shorts and modified it a bit – creating a much longer waist to accommodate a 1” elastic band and about 1” of “ruffle” or paper bag effect on top of that. I made belt loops and a fabric tie belt to go along with it, so they looked a little more polished.
Normally I would say “pajama shorts!?!” But the pattern had boys’ sizing, so I was able to choose a more form fitted size than what you might picture as slouchy, comfy lounging pants / shorts.
This has been one of my most satisfying projects to date, because I fashioned so much of the design myself out of different resources, and because they turned out exactly as I’d hoped. That’s not to say I didn’t have to use the seam ripper in a few spots, but to me that just shows I was willing to go slow and get it right. (Which is vast improvement over my behavior on other projects I’ve attempted.) Success all around! Now, if only I could take a better picture, we’d be all set.
What has been your most satisfying project?
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