tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21866948867120314452024-03-04T22:16:27.533-08:00Sew CreativeIf you sew, you know that every piece you make, whether it be a simple top or an elaborate costume, is your own work of art.
I sew for my family and myself. SCA garb, costumes, or everyday clothes, and even some holiday craft projects. I enjoy sharing the creation process, and how it changes and often takes on a life of it's own.Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-66458518960995208472014-09-10T22:10:00.000-07:002014-09-10T22:10:05.091-07:00How a hat makes a costume; Pioneer Bonnet!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Liz modeled the bonnet for me, and she's just too cute in it! It really is one size fits all. Although it's for me, I may have to save it for her for some later use.</div>
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I've so enjoyed being a volunteer for Girl Scouts this last year, so when I was invited to Fall Camp to teach 5th and 6th graders a little sewing (and help with some outdoor cooking) of course I said yes!<br />
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They asked if I could wear a costume for their theme of Women of the Oregon Trail, because they know I have quite a costume stash. Sadly I don't own any pioneer themed stuff. I looked into making a full costume, but it is very fabric and time intensive. Camp is at the end of the month, and I don't have another use for a full pioneer costume anyway.<br />
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I do have a sideless surcoat in a small print that kind of passes as a possible full apron over a loose dress that looks kind of Oregon Trail-ish, but it needed something if it was going to work.....<br />
And then it hit me, a bonnet! It's just what I think of when I think of pioneer women (and girls).<br />
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I asked around and did a little research, and found a nice <a href="http://www.sewchicpatterns.com/free.html" target="_blank">Free bonnet pattern from Sew Chic</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzY-0cS4CL3EZ4ty5RXgDxfCQ62KngUK2LO5qP0mwNg_alKObfK6bhRuMwi-_rFQGeyg2mAsambX52mW3Jm726Z_WD62ktL9Xkd_2-zbW5PpnzAqeMSWOnlik3jEyu9AkE-0ibchWIh5o/s1600/DSC_2441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzY-0cS4CL3EZ4ty5RXgDxfCQ62KngUK2LO5qP0mwNg_alKObfK6bhRuMwi-_rFQGeyg2mAsambX52mW3Jm726Z_WD62ktL9Xkd_2-zbW5PpnzAqeMSWOnlik3jEyu9AkE-0ibchWIh5o/s1600/DSC_2441.jpg" height="333" width="400" /></a></div>
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I have a couple of cotton prints in my stash, and they are really perfect for this project. I picked one I thought would stand out and be fun. <br />
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The pattern is very nice, but reading over the instructions, I noticed it does leave some unfinished edges on the inside. For a costume I suppose this isn't a huge deal, but I made my first costumes with unfinished seams on the inside, and every time I look at them, I wish I'd known more and made them more polished.<br />
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I made a number of changes in the sewing order and other things to create a clean finished project.<br />
First I finished the bottom edge of the crown, which to be fair is listed a as a suggestion on the pattern.<br />
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The instructions have the ties just sewn on at the end. I knew that would leave a real mess inside, so I sewed the ties on the way I'd done on aprons in the past. Yay for experience!<br />
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After basting them on facing inward, I folded up the back as instructed, and Viola, clean ties!<br />
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The instructions also have you sew on the crown to the brim after the brim is finished, so the inner edge of the crown would be totally raw. Also from past experience making shirt yokes and collars, I knew how to sandwich the edge inside instead, so I did that (though it was quite a lot of extra work, I am really happy with the result!<br />
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So here is the fully finished inside of the bonnet, clean and neat as the outside!</div>
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I didn't wear any make-up or anything for the picture of myself in the full costume, which I guess makes it more authentic, but man I look old to myself now! lol. Ah, life. All the same, I just love the finished bonnet, and it really does make the entire costume!<br />
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I have no real need for this bonnet for the future, so even though it is tempting to keep it for some vague future use, I think I'll donate it to the Girl Scouts after camp. I'm sure pioneer women comes up as a theme often enough they will get some use out of it. :) If I really need one, I can always make another. Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-70539068696412716372014-08-29T19:42:00.001-07:002014-08-29T20:06:56.500-07:00Detachable Wings!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Short blog today, but with extra pictures! Leading up to Grandma's 70'th birthday party, I've been sewing my heart out finishing grandma's present, and also finishing up Liz's new party dress. This is the second variation I've done with this dress, and it all worked very well. She wore it all day out of the house, and enjoyed using the pretend wings to amuse herself when all the grown-ups were gabbing.</div>
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The idea of this dress is to be usable as a regular dress, but also to be a play-pretend dragon dress. My daughter wanted an ice/water dragon look. So I colorblocked the front and added flounces at the armholes in leftover blue knit with silver sparkle. I did't do a great job on the sleeve flounces, I've never made them before and was just going from directions on the internet. I needed to make the spread wider, because there isn't a lot of flounce in these flounces. </div>
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I used a knit trim on the blue hem, and a ribbon trim on the white part of the dress. It's pretty subtle but if you look it's there.</div>
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Liz seems pretty happy overall with the dress. :D</div>
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Earlier this summer at Girl Scout Camp, we saw a girl wearing wings, and it gave Liz this idea. I just had to figure out HOW to do it.</div>
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I ended up using buttons so the wings are detachable! (Thanks Arianna from Pattern Review for that idea!)</div>
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These will come off to easily wash the dress alone. Also, it worked well to wear them all day, which she did in the car, at Grandma's house, and around the mall without any issues. </div>
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She's not smiling here, I think I wore her patience out for pictures when we were supposed to be on the way to a birthday party, lol.</div>
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The dress does have great twirl factor! I love the handkerchief style hem, lots of shape and flare.</div>
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I felt the back was a little boring, just white with a hint of blue from the bottom trim and the sleeve flounces. I had a crazy idea about making diamonds down the back, but Liz asked it she could just have a strip of something like dragon spines. I let her pick out the buttons at Jo-anns, which she loves to do. They are opalescent half circle buttons, and I think look very pretty down the center back ribbon. And look, white is terrible for kids, already she got something on it. Sigh. Lol. Good think I made sure it would be easy to wash. :)<br />
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<br />Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-47708030342449701782014-08-23T11:30:00.001-07:002014-08-23T11:30:33.788-07:00OOOO(h)! Making Lei'sSometimes it is amazing when we realize how much life is running right by us. My daughter just turned 7, and in a few weeks my mother will be turning 70! I am so glad that she moved closer recently so I can visit her more. :D<br />
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For her birthday, there is a Luau with another group of people, then the family is planning something special for her afterwards. <br />
Mom wanted to go to the Luau, but was unhappy with her clothing options. Hey, finally something I can help with! So I told her I'd make her a pretty floral shirt, and then Liz and I got the idea to make a few nice leis. Something people will want to keep. We have a couple of cheap plastic ones, but I wanted to make something nice for mom and the family to wear to the party.<br />
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So I went to Jo-anns, and they have 40% off their fall floral. Lots of reds, dark yellows and oranges. I was hoping for purples, bright yellows, and whites. Well, we make do with what we can find. We ended up with one bunch of yellow/brown and one bunch of red. At first I was worried about the yellow/brown, but I think the variety inside that one bundle allowed us to make some very unique leis for each person.<br />
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After disassembling the flower parts at home and organizing them by color, we started making moms lei first. Her outfit is black with red and white flowers on it, so I decided to go all read with a touch of green to break it up. I wasn't really sure how to proceed, and I looked up a couple of internet tutorials, and just tried out things.<br />
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For this one I ended up stringing 5 flowers and one leaf, then tying and knot, repeat until the end. This made a VERY full Leigh, and the spacing can be a little erratic. I think I may redo this one to be longer, and have more even spacing.<br />
I used the same technique on the orange/gold/red one for Liz. Although hers is also bunched up, she's fine with it and plans to disassemble it for crafting materials after the party. :)<br />
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I wanted to space them out more so I could make 2 more leis out of the final flowers, so I made mine next (dark yellow and white). I tied a knot on every single flower, keeping any flowers from bunching up. It took a while, but it made a necklace with a LOT less flowers than the first two.<br />
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After finishing, I realized I had spaced them out a little too much, and also that I had still done a bit of an uneven job, but that I'm happy enough with it as is.<br />
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Lastly I made my hubbies, and I spaced his out nicely and evenly I think (again, by tying each and every flower and leaf in place). I also really like how the brown/gold and green works well for making a more masculine lei.<br />
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In the end, I used up all but a small handful of the blossoms. I really hope mom likes it all!<br />
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<br />Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-47570945462708995232014-07-16T23:48:00.001-07:002014-07-17T19:57:13.992-07:00Summer/Fall "Dragon" WardrobeI've done more sewing in the last 15 days than I have in the last 15 weeks! I've posted pics of some of the wardrobe as I've gone along. Here it is, all together now that I finally, I got it done. <br />
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It's all knits, but they vary a bit in type. There are 3 nice cotton jerseys (though the magenta is a really heavy one). The pink floral top is a slippery, poly blend with very little in the way of stretch. The dress is a lycra blend with lots of stretch in all directions, for a sporty feel, which makes a great play dress.<br />
If you look carefully, you'll see that she posed her toy dragon for each different shot. He was her "accessory".<br />
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Here is the composite, showing all 7 looks we got from the 5 items made. I hope it all lasts her well into her next school year!</div>
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For information on sewing any of these, please check out my review <a href="http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/readreview.pl?readreview=1&ID=100731" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</div>
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This outfit seemed to bring out her inner Movie Star.</div>
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Here she is simply having fun and playing with her favorite toy, Icy the Dragon.</div>
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This dress is certainly her favorite piece of the wardrobe (and she's happy to wear it alone or with leggings)</div>
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I loved sewing this matching outfit of gathered sleeves and gathered leggings from the same pattern. The fact that both of these fabrics were actually in my stash made me even happier!</div>
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She also really loves this top. It's long sleeved, so will hopefully also serve her into winter and possibly even next spring!</div>
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Here you can see the sleeve gather detail.</div>
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And here is the outer leg gather. There is an inner leg gather as well.</div>
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So there it all is. I'm really glad I took the time to do this for her, and I'm so happy there was a <a href="http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/ContestGallery.pl?ContestID=212" target="_blank">great contest</a> out there to help inspire me when my sewing mojo was low!</div>
Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-74349350250804882722014-07-12T17:15:00.001-07:002014-07-12T17:15:30.013-07:00Kids pick the darndest fabrics!First off, I'd like to say how happy I am to be back at my sewing machine! And with a new serger to use on knits, making Liz a 5 piece all knit wardrobe is proving to be fun AND a good learning experience with the new machine.<br />
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So you can see here the second fabric Liz picked out at Joanns. It's pretty crazy, but really pretty too. There are lots of colors to mix and match in it, so it goes with a lot of other things. I felt pretty lucky to have the magenta in my stash (thanks to my great aunt Barb!) I have enough of it left (and more of this magenta solid too) to make one other item out of eventually.<br />
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I lengthened the sleeves and added a contrasting cuff so this will hopefully work well into fall and winter, but still be useful on the random cool summer days and evenings.<br />
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I also made the back leggings, another piece of fabric I've had in my stash from Aunt Barb. These turned out great, and will be useful with so many things! I expect she will get a LOT of wear out of them. No, they aren't that exciting, but they are super practical for a girl who is suddenly into leggings with everything.<br />
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I was originally going to make the leggings in grey, and I still may do that, though I have a magenta pair (yes, THAT same magenta) already cut out. You'd be surprised at how much of her existing wardrobe matches that bright magenta, lol.<br />
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Well, I'm off to cook dinner, and then back to my machine, Yay!!Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-1187788456166194102014-07-07T23:06:00.000-07:002014-07-07T23:07:24.593-07:00Summer knit dress, she loves dragons!Here is Liz's new summer dress, part one of her Summer/Fall wardrobe I'm hoping to make her this month.<br />
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While out doing errands the other day, we stopped by Jo-anns to pick up some thread for another project, and I noticed they had a McCall's pattern sale. I told Liz she could pick a pattern, and I would pick one for myself. She selected <a href="http://sewing.patternreview.com/Patterns/64960" target="_blank">McCall's 6915</a>. <br />
I realized I didn't have much in the way of knits in my stash, so and looked and saw their fun knits were on a good sale. Liz picked 2 fabrics, one a purple and pink crinkle dye that she says looks like a dragon egg (looks like an Easter Egg at least.). The other she selected is the crazy bird and floral pattern which will be my next project.<br />
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So she wanted the pink and purple made into the dress, and the other into a shirt. I started with the dress, and saw that a previous reviewer mentioned it runs large. I have about 4 yards of this plain grey knit, so I decided to put it to good use making a wearable muslin before cutting into the fancy fashion knit.<br />
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I'm so glad I did, the muslin was quite large. Wearable, but wide in the body. <br />
After measuring the amount I needed to remove, I graded the pattern down to a size 2 in the shoulders, and 1 in the body. The pattern only goes down to a 3, but I just kept going.<br />
This meant I had to add a lot of length to the bodice, 2". I left the skirt length at 6. I think I should have added 3" to the bodice, and added another inch to the skirt. The length is ok as it is, but I had to make a narrow hem to prevent it from being too short, and there is little room for her to grow taller in it. Though one can always add ruffles, lol.<br />
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I didn't like the idea of the tied ribbon (it would just come off an active child), so I told her she could pick a knit trim. Well, she picked this crazy sequin stuff because it looks like dragons scales to her, and has purple and pink in it to match the dress, and I do like the final effect.<br />
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She is so into dragons right now, this outfit may not look like it at first glance, but was entirely inspired by dragons, and mostly designed by Liz. :)<br />
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I finished hand sewing on the knit sequin trim early this evening, and we went outside to take pictures. Ahh, summer. Long afternoons, still warm and light outside at 7pm.<br />
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I think the back illustrates how much I improved the fit of the body. That and the fact that she wanted to wear it to bed! lol. I had to tell her no (mostly because of the sequins in bed...seems less than comfy), but she can wear it as much as she wants in the daytime for the rest of the summer.<br />
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It's really good to be back to sewing. Last month I started on a jacket for myself. I got the base part assembled, but stopped at the point where I would start attaching the lining. I think the heat killed my desire. I hope to finish it next month though. I hate UFO's.</div>
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But my spirits are really up, and I'm enjoying making this wardrobe for Liz. I'm especially enjoying using my new serger! I got it for Christmas but haven't had much opportunity to use it. the next 5 projects are all knits, so it should get a lot of use. I even broke a thread right after I started using it, and was able to re-thread it correctly! That makes me feel much more comfortable with it, which is great because I'm still a little intimidated by sergers.</div>
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Here is my <a href="http://sewing.patternreview.com/review/pattern/100372" target="_blank">Pattern Review of the dress,</a> for more technical sewing information.</div>
Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-42986576991777509082014-05-24T20:30:00.001-07:002014-05-24T20:30:04.799-07:00Birthday Dress, Liz is Elsa!My little girl is turning 7! Where does the time go. I mean seriously, I have "Sunrise, Sunset" going through my head tonight, lol.<br />
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So Liz requested a costume party for her birthday, and she wanted to dress as Elsa from Frozen. She said she wanted it for her birthday, and then for Halloween as well.<br />
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To start with, I had to learn how to French Braid (that's right, I'm almost 40 and have never learned how). But a few Youtube tutorials and about 10 practice sessions later, I got the hang of it enough to pass at least. Liz also found these AMAZING snowflake beads at Joans, and we wove them into her braid.<br />
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This posed a number of challenges for me. First, I wanted to make her something comfy. second, I wanted to make her something warm (I learned my lesson with Tinkerbelle, she WAS Frozen in that costume! Poor thing.)<br />
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So I set about drafting a simple knit dress that would both look enough like Elsa's ice dress to make her happy, but also be comfy and warm enough to keep her happy. :) I feel like I succeeded. It's not the best looking or most accurate costume I've ever made, but Liz loves it and that is what really counts! See, she's already pretending to do magic. :D<br />
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The final product is intentionally a bit large, as it does need to still fit her in 5 months for Halloween. The cape isn't to extreme, as I wanted her to be able to run and play without tripping. But it has some swing, and lots of sparkle!<br />
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I asked her to pose for me, and somehow she ended up looking like a runway model. Just a chance of photography, but striking.</div>
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So, happy birthday to our little girl!!<br />
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Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-63527673823932758882014-03-20T21:27:00.001-07:002014-03-20T21:27:05.526-07:00Girl Scouts, no time to sew!Hello everyone! Some of you may have been wondering where I have been, and why I haven't posted anything recently, or apparently done much sewing for months. Or maybe you haven't, but I'll tell you anyway. :D Two Words:<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><u>Girl Scouts</u></span></strong></div>
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Back in October, my daughter wanted to join Girl Scouts (she is in 1st grade now), and there were not enough local troops for all the new girls who wanted to sign up. So I thought I could try being a Girl Scout Leader. Whew boy, it takes up a LOT more time than I realized it would. I love it though! I wish I could do again next year, but sadly just one year of this makes me realize I am not (currently) able to handle this much volunteer work.<br />
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So for October through about Christmas, I still managed to have a non scouting life, and even sewed my daughter a new long sleeved knit top, and started a dress for myself, but then Cookie Season arrived, and really...just wow. For over a month, my life was overtaken by Girl Scout cookies. Yes, I have a cookie mom, and I owe her a lot for storing them and helping with booths and deliveries. However, the rest of the work was still quite overwhelming. I could hardly wait until it was over and we were just back to the fun of meetings and outings and earning badges. :)<br />
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Thousands (literally!!) of boxes of cookies later, I'm still kicking. It took a full week to recover, but I finally feel like looking at my sewing machine again! I'll need it to let out some pants; I think I put on 5 lbs eating all those delicious, delightful, but argh is it over yet? cookies. <br />
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So that dark green jacket made from the lovely denim that Marec so kindly sent me WILL get made. And I'll finish that white dress that has been sitting on my sewing table for something like 3 months.<br />
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Fabric stash, here I come! :DWitch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-2380919486171999242013-11-29T23:02:00.000-08:002013-11-30T01:23:35.318-08:00Fall skirt, and happy Thanksgiving!Do you have fabric stashed that you consider "too special" to use on just any project? Is it sitting in your stash area just waiting for that perfect pattern or idea to come along? Has it been there for years?? Me too!<br />
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Last year for my birthday, my Great Aunt Barbra (who just celebrated her 93rd birthday this year!) gave me a couple of large bags of fabrics she would never use. Some were remnants, some whole pieces. </div>
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There were 2 lovely Challis', one deep blue with scattered golden flowers (untouched, about 3 yards), and the brightest fall colored piece, also about 3 yards. I loved the colors of the fall piece; flowers in yellows, golds, oranges and reds all on a black background with paisley here and there to accent. I was thinking about a dress, but then my wonderful father gave me boots for my birthday (he called them my wicked witch boots, lol), and now I have something to wear skirts in fall with! I recently found <a href="http://sewing.patternreview.com/Patterns/60979" target="_blank">McCall's 6799</a>, and the line drawing as well as the model picture showed such a lovely drape, I just had to try it, even with no previous reviews to guide me. I plowed on, and am glad I did!</div>
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Mark my words, this will change my wardrobe. :)</div>
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I originally intended to make an entire Thanksgiving outfit, appliqueing the remnants to my own black long sleeved tee, but I just couldn't find time before the holiday arrived. Still, I am thrilled with the skirt alone, and I think I will get a lot of wear out of it, hopefully for may autumns to come. </div>
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I've always been a fan of maxi dresses and maxi skirts, and the flow of this one is amazing. This is the first project I've ever cut on the bias, and it really makes a difference in how it fits, hangs, and moves. I love it! It was a little trickier to cut, and much trickier to hem, but not too bad really. And well worth it! I also love the yoke, which hides the tummy pooch....</div>
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The back has a slight tacky spot, but I don't think it is noticeable unless you know what to look for.</div>
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I hope no one finds it inappropriate, I was just having fun showing off my boots, and got kind of a old time teaser shot on accident. I thought it was kind of cute. Looks like I'm about to do the can-can! lol.</div>
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I wore this all day Thanksgiving while cooking the turkey, potatoes, casseroles, etc, and it was comfortable and I felt lovely dressed up, but not too much. </div>
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I hope those of you that celebrate it had a wonderful turkey day! And that like me, you find the right pattern for those "special" fabrics in our stash!</div>
Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-53018507564252511222013-11-16T22:07:00.004-08:002013-11-17T10:08:20.171-08:00Liz's little suitI made these pants for Liz for her Girl Scout uniform (I wanted her uniform complete for the Veterans Day Parade), so I bought a few yards of this soft, faux suede (khaki is the official color...close enough!).<br />
I had enough left over material to make this little jacket, as long as I made the facing from a different material.<br />
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I let Liz pick a fabric from my stash for the facing. :) Thanks dad, and my dads friend Jay for this lovely found fabric!</div>
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Here you can see the facing is not a full lining, just partial.</div>
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The back of the jacket has a set of ruffles on it, I made them in the same contrasting fabric as the facing.</div>
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The pants are such a great fit! The darts in the front and back, and the partial elastic waistband make for a very nice fitting yet comfy pant for an active kid!</div>
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<br />Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-50964085804230145202013-09-05T18:47:00.001-07:002013-09-05T18:47:19.928-07:00Stuffed Jellyfish!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I finally finished this stuffed jellyfish for Liz. I put it off for a long time. The math behind drafting the top (with the odd darts for shaping) scared me a bit, but I worked out.<br />
The top is 2 layers of the sheer, sequin print mesh underlined by purple satin. I don't think any of the pictures do it justice, it is such a pretty, iridescent fabric, perfect for a jellyfish!<br />
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Getting the tentacles on the outside was also a challenge. I had to sew them into the center of each dart BEFORE I sewed the darts shut, but leave enough of the end of the dart open that the tentacles didn't get caught when I sewed the whole thing onto the bottom.<br />
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Liz is showing off the bottom of the jellyfish, purple satin and 3 gathered sheer magenta ribbons. The color scheme is entire hers, she picked out all the fabrics and the ribbon. Speaking of, to get that effect, I gathered the 1.5" ribbon 1/2" in, differing lengths for each one.<br />
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Liz is Very happy with the final product. It's a pretty unusual stuffed animal, but she is enamored with all of the creatures of the sea right now, and it is already in bed next to her shark and starfish. :D<br />
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BTW, this entire project was inspired by a puppet we checked out at our local library. I didn't coy it exactly, but it was a major source of inspiration for the design. Liz just wanted a stuffed animal though, no puppet, and I'm thankful for that!<br />
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Original puppet from library.</div>
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Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-3834118048110187682013-05-27T13:27:00.000-07:002013-05-27T14:52:35.146-07:00Birthday Beach Outfit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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She's 6!! Her party was lots of fun, and totally exhausting! Two days later, I'm still recovering from the all the work, chaos and kids.<br />
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She got a lot of presents, but her big present from us she will not get until summer, because she wants to go to the beach and also visit the aquarium, so we will be camping on the coast for one or two nights after school lets out.<br />
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It was quite a while ago that she decided she wanted to take that trip, so I decided to make her a beach outfit. She had already picked a dark pink cotton out of my stash, it is covered in tiny butterflies. I found a matching dark pink and burgundy (and lots of other colors, too) cotton sateen with a diamond print on it in my stash, and also the perfect pattern, <a href="http://sewing.patternreview.com/patterns/2232" target="_blank">Simplicity 5540</a>.<br />
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It included a button front dress with elastic pockets, shorts, and a hat, all perfect for a walk on the beach!<br />
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This pattern is pretty well designed, though I had issues with the hat. not a single notch or marking matched up, not on the crown, top, or brim. I did make it work though.<br />
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I added a self made hat band and a much larger bow than the pattern called for, because she asked for a big bow on the hat. I think it turned out pretty cute on her, and it will serve it's main purpose of protecting her face and eyes from the sun.<br />
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It is somewhat adjustable, which I love in kids clothing. With the tie in back, she has room to grow.</div>
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Overall, very happy with the dress, also happy to make her something more practical that she will (hopefully), get a lot more wear out of than the "dressy" dresses I have made her in the past. Hurray for cotton!<br />
This is a really great pattern (sans hat markings), with a lined bodice, well designed button bands and adjustable shoulder straps, and I will keep it for when she is older. I can see her wearing a larger version of this even up to age 9 or 10. So this pattern is a winner, and a keeper!<br />
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<br />Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-87114890920402841722013-05-15T22:22:00.000-07:002013-05-19T20:07:52.581-07:00New summer dress, new sandals!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is my new summer dress! Mom Pat got this fabric for me last year, and I am really glad to find a good pattern match for it. I entered it into the Accessories Inspiration contest, when I saw the red and gold gladiator sandals, this is the fabric that called to me out of my stash.</div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Read more about this contest"><img alt="CHALLENGE CONTEST - ACCESSORY INSPIRATION " border="0" src="http://images.patternreview.com/siteimages/contest/2013/accessory_voteforme_200px.png" /></a></div>
<a href="http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/ContestGallery.pl?ContestID=183" target="_blank">Click here to see the gallery, and vote for me!</a></div>
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The draping class my husband bought me last month really did teach me a lot. I made 3 new darts in the bodice of this dress to get such a great fit around the bust and armholes. In the past, I would have let little fitting issues like that slide, now I know how to fix some of these things, and it really shows!</div>
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The only area I did not know how to correct was the back. The pattern has gathers at both the top of the yoke and at the waistband, which makes lots of room for movement, but also makes the back a bit pouchy near the waistband. If I ever make this pattern again, I think I will redraft the entire back to use a box pleat on top, and be more fitted at the waistband.</div>
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Since the inspiration for this dress was a pair of shoes, I wanted to show off my new sandals! They are not red, but instead a dark salmon, but they do have gold! I found them on sale for only $5 on clearance, and couldn't pass them up.</div>
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I do wonder if I should have raised the hemline about 2"....but I have developed some modesty about my legs as I get older. Still, this length makes me look shorter, I think. But besides that, I am extremely happy with this dress! Something pretty but also practical (did I mention it has pockets?) to wear this summer. Some of my dresses are too dressy for daily wear, but I could see myself grocery shopping in this, which is perfect. :D</div>
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<br />Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-30217166326905202632013-04-30T21:01:00.002-07:002013-04-30T21:06:28.797-07:00Spring Pantone color outfitMake a two piece outfit using the Spring Pantone Colors? Challenge accepted!<br />
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So, the dress was a giant pain to draft and make for such a simple thing, as I wrote in a previous blog. But the jacket was surprisingly easy and fast to make, considering it is a jacket! I adore the jacket, very 60's retro. I think it will get a lot of use this year.</div>
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James was not available to take pictures today, so Liz did it all. I think she did a darn good jab for a not quite 6 year old! Also....does this outfit make me look taller??</div>
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Buttoned up, it doesn't help my boxy shaped dress they way I hoped it would. But I do think with a flared dress/skirt or even the right shirt and jeans, this jacket will be very cute, and very versatile!</div>
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The back has a cool tab and pleat (which I had to starch pretty good to make it lay down right, since this polyester did not want to take a crease well).</div>
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Although I finished the jacket in less than 10 days, there is still some detail work that went into it. Sadly, you don't get to see it well from a distance, but I worked hard to get the top stiching looking nice and fairly evenly spaced, both on the collar and the sleeves. Kind of gives those a quilted look.</div>
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Next up will be another dress, but this one with a very flared skirt and button front and collar. After that, I have got to make something for Liz for her birthday, so stay tuned!</div>
Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-53135046475203572832013-04-23T21:24:00.001-07:002013-04-23T21:24:48.666-07:00Learning draping, my first self drafted pattern!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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About a month ago, my husband got me an online sewing class as a gift. It was <a href="http://www.craftsy.com/class/fashion-draping-dressmaking-basics/205" target="_blank">Fashion Draping: Dress Making Basics with Paul Gallo</a>, and I was eager to start right away!<br />
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My very first attempt at draping the muslin went all kinds of wrong. I was very, very frustrated, but my husband convinced me to try and think about what had gone wrong and how I could correct it.<br />
I thought my main problem was my dress form, which didn't have any of the areas marked on it that are used in the class, no stable reference points. Also, some of the measurements were not correct for me, such as from the shoulder to the bust point. Yes.....even with a good underwire bra, my bust is not longer THAT perky. It's about 1.5" lower.<br />
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Now don't get my wrong, I love my dress form, but I knew I would need to do some serious work on it to make it functional for draping. I would love to put a picture here, but honestly, the "fix" I came up with isn't pretty and not something I want to show in public! I used an old nursing bra, and stuffed it with folded fabric scraps to get the correct bust size and placement. My waist also no longer curves in like that. Actually, thin as I have been most of my life, I don't think it ever did. :/<br />
So I took some knit fabric and wrapped it around the waist and hips until all the measurements were again correctly matching mine, then held that in place with a spandex band.<br />
I didn't have any style tape, and for whatever reason Joanns didn't have any for sale, so I hit a bit of a wall on marking the seam lines. Then my husband got out a roll of black duct tape, and cut it into neat strips for me. This worked well! I did have to "guestimate" almost every line I marked: Side seam, shoulder seam, princess seam, neckline, center front, and center back. I used my own measurements to mark the waist, the bustpoint, and the shoulder blade.<br />
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So now my dress form looked like a cobbled together ugly mess, but it had stable (and hopefully accurate) places from which I could mark and measure.<br />
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My next attempt at draping the muslin went very well. Everything seamed to match up down to 1/16", and I was feeling great about it! What I did not realize was that the markings for the seamlines on the class dress form are probably (guessing here), about 1/8" wide, and the tape I had cut was about 3/8" wide. The teacher added ease into the pattern by pinning on the far side of the CF or side seam, etc. So while he was adding 1/8" ease into the seams, without realizing it, I was adding about 3 times as much ease! Doh....<br />
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After I finished the drape, I transferred it all onto a paper pattern. I had no drafting paper, but the teacher suggested using the back of gift wrapping paper, and that worked very well.<br />
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I felt pretty confident (I still didn't realize I had built in too much ease), so I went ahead and cut my fashion fabric from my own paper pattern. It was not until I had the bodice sewn together that I realized it seemed too large.<br />
It didn't take me too much time to realize my error. I will have to buy style tape and remark my dress form for future drapes, but I was not about to toss this out as a wadder just yet!<br />
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I took it in at the side seams about 1" on each side. That helped, but I had built too much ease into the CF, and that was going to be harder to fix. The bust and chest were droopy and full of extra fabric. The solution I ended up with was to widen and then join the top and bottom darts, basically turning my darts into makeshift princess seams. But hey, it worked! The bodice fit was now very good!<br />
I did not alter the back darts, since it was too difficult to see and pin out the excess on my own back, and anyway, I do need room to move! :D<br />
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The class has us draft sleeves, and although I did draft my own short sleeve, in the end I decided to make it sleeveless, and just finish the armholes with bias tape. A classic, sleeveless shift dress is something I did not own.<br />
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So, many hours of fitting, refitting, hemming and finishing later, here is my self drafted fitted dress.<br />
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From the front, I'm not loving it. I have always been pretty straight from my waist to my hips, and this just emphasizes my rectangle shape. From the side it looks good though! Maybe a belt would help define my waist more? I'll have to give that a try.<br />
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Also, for such an extremely simple looking dress, you would never know how many hours (and hours...and hours) I spent working on it. My initial reaction after just finishing this project is this: Drafting my own pattern was interesting and I learned a lot! But I did not really enjoy myself nearly as much as I do using commercial patterns. I felt too stressed the entire time. For now, I think I'll stick to commercial patterns, and work on more self drafted things further in the future....maybe.<br />
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Next up is a cropped jacket in a matching blue (Monaco blue for the Spring Pantone colors). A nice EASY pattern.<br />
That may also help with some shape defining. Or make it worse! Geeze, I hope not, lol.Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-3548334536878758042013-03-31T16:34:00.000-07:002013-04-02T20:46:44.283-07:00Fitted blouse, but still flowingMaking blouses is probably one of my favorite things. I wear them often, and there are lots of fun styles. When I heard there was going to be a Fitted Blouse Contest over at PatternReview.com I was very excited! I have been really slow in the sewing department lately, and what I really needed was a project that got my imagination fired up, something I really wanted to make.<br />
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As is usual for me, I changed my mind several times before I finally got started, both on fabric and pattern choice.<br />
I finally settled for a pattern that has been in my stash for a while but that I had not yet made, <a href="http://sewing.patternreview.com/patterns/56689" target="_blank">McCall's 6649</a>, and a plaid fabric that's been in a my stash a long time. I think it is rayon challis, both from the feel and from a burn test, but I can't be sure. At any rate, it didn't have a wrong side, and it flowed nicely, so I knew it would work well on the pattern. It is a TOTAL coincidence that envelope shows it maid up in plaid as well.....<br />
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Although the pattern is self described as a semi-fitted blouse, it has bust darts, front darts, and back darts, as well as shaping through the side seams. It was pretty easy to make it a truly fitted blouse!</div>
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It has a very nice back yoke, and I cute that on the crossgrain, to try and get a cool effect. I like it :) Also, the back fits perfectly!! I'm pretty impressed with the fit of this pattern, despite it calling itself semi-fitted.</div>
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I have heard a lot about this idea of mixing hard and soft from Project Runway and other places so I wanted to play with that idea. The fabric and design of this blouse is obviously very soft and flowing, so I made the cuffs contrasting in black. The original cuffs on this pattern are extremely large and ugly. These are exactly half the size of the pattern cuffs, and I much prefer these daintier sized ones. Also, I tried to pick a fairly neutral button for this blouse. I'm prone to making the buttons the stars on a blouse, but this fabric is already so busy, I though it just needed a simple button.</div>
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So there it is, my newest creation, and my entry into the <a href="http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/ContestGallery.pl?ContestID=179" target="_blank">Fitted Blouse Contest</a>. I really wasn't sure how I felt about it until my husband took the pictures. They all looked pretty good, no bad shots, and I think it's a pretty cute top on me! The scarf collar makes it a tad impractical, but it doesn't LOOK silly. I have this weird attraction to scarf collars it seems. :)<br />
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<br />Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-15513631278823932802013-02-19T17:48:00.002-08:002013-02-19T17:48:40.871-08:00Coral Reef - first piecesI'm certainly enjoying my new project, to <a href="http://crochetcoralreef.org/Content/makeyourown/IFF-CrochetReef-HowToHandout.pdf" target="_blank">crochet a coral reef</a>!<br />
Of course, I haven't finished much. I suspect this will be months long or more, but certainly an ongoing project.<br />
So far, I'm getting about 1 piece a day done, but that will slow down soon, as the little one gets over her cold, I'll have far less free time just sitting and watching TV. :) Plus I have other sewing I'd like to do, and books to read!<br />
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So, here is what I have done so far. The first piece, starting on the left, I used leftover variegated yarn, and used the basic hyperbolic plane (just going back and forth in a straight line, with steady increases). It was just supposed to be a test piece, but I like it a lot. It didn't photograph very well, but it has some interesting shapes.<br />
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On the far right is a small hyperbolic pseudosphere, meant to be a brain coral. This is also a test piece, and I stopped as soon as I got a feeling for the weight of the yarn vs the stitch size. I want to make one of these in coral pink, and make it BIG.<br />
This is just chrocheting in the round using a steady increase in stitches. This one is too tight for the yarn weight I think, as I increased 2 stitches in every stitch. The next one I'll increase every other stitch instead.<br />
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I got to buy a couple of skeins of yarn yesterday, just for this project. Since it was Presidents Day, I got some good buys on a pretty coral pink, and a nice teal. I used a small amount of the coral pink to make a little sea anemone. I already had the pink/white ruffly yarn on hand, just a bit left, and it made a super cute anemone top.<br />
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I'm getting most of the <a href="http://themainereef.blogspot.com/p/patterns.html" target="_blank">patterns here, at the Maine Reef </a>site. I want to try the Jellyfish and the manta ray eventually, too!<br />
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One of the best aspects of doing this is Liz's interest in marine life. She really wants to help make this, and though she can't crochet (she tried, but the fine motor skills just aren't quite there yet), so she is making a paper background, crabs, sharks, etc to paste behind it or hang above it. If nothing else, it will be a pretty little display for the house, as well as a fun art and learning project for Liz and me alike!<br />
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At least one other person is joining me from the PR site. we are hoping to collaborate to make enough pieces to eventually donate an entire display to <a href="http://www.nature.org/" target="_blank">The Nature Conservancy</a>. Of course, this would be far in the future. for now, we are just making pieces and having fun. :D However, if anyone else is interested in joining and making some coral reef pieces and crocheting along, please do so!Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-38535419650113901042013-02-17T13:12:00.000-08:002013-02-17T13:12:03.428-08:00Crochet, Math, and Marine Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Isn't this amazing?</div>
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So I recently watched a marvelous TEDTalks called <a href="http://crochetcoralreef.org/about/index.php" target="_blank">Crochet a Coral Reef</a> and I was really inspired to participate. Creating a hyperbolic math model with crochet is very cool, and turning it into a lifelike coral reef display is even cooler!<br />
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I really want to start a local chapter, or some sort of group to create a display, though that might be too ambitious. At least, I plan on making a display for our home. I'm hoping once I get a small display started, I can post some fliers around schools to see if anyone else would like to participate. I would really like to get the $250 to create a full display, so if my pieces turn out well, I may pitch it to the local Community College.<br />
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I started one today, and half a skein later, I am really amazed at how simple it is to make some of the basic coral shapes, and how beautiful it is! Currently, I'm just using the yarn I had on hand, some green and brown variegated synthetic. It makes a lovely basic coral! Once I finish a piece or two, I will post pictures of what I'm doing. In the meantime, check out what other people around the world have made!<br />
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Doesn't this make your fingers itch for a crochet hook and some yarn?</div>
Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-71331265571688775742013-01-30T20:53:00.000-08:002013-01-30T20:53:05.249-08:00Back from a Winters Break.I am not entirely sure why I pretty much stop sewing for a month or two every winter. I sort of hunker down during the coldest part of the season. This year for the holidays, instead of sewing gifts, I made handmade candies and chocolates, and that was a nice change of pace. <br />
But the sun peeked out this week, and now I'm ready and eager to get back to sewing!<br />
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This month, I have been putting in a little sewing time, since my husband was nice enough to make me a mini-sewing area in the living room, so I could stay warm. My sewing area is just so COLD all winter, and I don't want to waste the energy to heat it, since it leaks back out pretty quick.<br />
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So I wanted to make some warm tops for Liz, and kept putting it off and putting it off, but finally got motivated and finished 3 long sleeved turtlenecks for her. The <a href="http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/ContestGallery.pl?ContestID=171" target="_blank">One Pattern Many Looks Contest</a> got me thinking about making more than basic turtlenecks, so I came up with 3 variations.<br />
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This is Liz's favorite of the 3, mostly because of the lovely iridescent butterfly applique I found for it. This baby ribbed knit fabric is leftover from a top I made for myself, using the same pattern, <a href="http://sewing.patternreview.com/Patterns/19225#.UQn1qL93jjI" target="_blank">Jalie 2805</a>, but with a different neck option.<br /><br />
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I added a ruffle to the bottom and sleeves, as well as a little bow to the neckline, in a pretty leopard print knit I got from my great aunt. I think animal prints are really cute on little girls, in moderation. :)<br />
The burgundy knit is probably the nicest knit I've owned, It is really thick and gorgeous, a very drapy and soft fabric. It is leftover from a cardigan I made myself from a McCalls pattern that I really didn't love. At least this piece was put to better use!<br />
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I actually made this one first. both the white and the floral print are also from my great aunt. I tried to give this a faux layer effect. It isn't too small on her, it is exactly the right size, which means she will outgrow it in a month (at the rate she's going!). That's why I made the other 2 a size larger.<br />
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Next I have plans to use a green wool/polyester blend that JillyBe sent to me ages ago, and attempt to make myself a pair of wide legged-trousers and a matching vest. It's ambitious, so wish me luck!!<br />
<br />Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-61386114945800734662012-09-29T22:36:00.000-07:002012-10-03T12:11:36.560-07:00Creamed coffee wardrobe...heavy on the cream!Well, I like my coffee with lots of cream and sugar. Not exactly healthy, but I rarely drink it, so when I do, it's a treat.<br />
And my new (mini-)wardrobe is quite a treat as well! I'm extremely pleased with how 3 of the 4 items I made came out, and overall, I think there are some great pieces to continue building upon.<br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2186694886712031445" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Read more about this contest"><img alt="Mini Wardrobe" border="0" src="http://images.patternreview.com/siteimages/contest/2012/miniWardrobe_voteforme_200px.png" /></a></div>
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My favorite single piece....is a toss up between the white eyelet blouse and the corduroy jacket. Both will get a LOT of use.<br />
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My favorite overall look is the coffee vest over the eyelet blouse. My husband says it's very 70's and I agree, I kind of look like I am dressing up a s Donna on that 70's show, but I'm cool with that. It's a chic look, IMO. I've already worn it out grociery shopping once, and it is totally pretty and practical at the same time. Who could ask for more?<br />
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The Corduroy jacket is also getting a lot of wear. Since it's a medium weight, it's great for these fall mornings. Not too warm (like my grey wool), or too light (my windbreaker). I never thught I'd be able to make my own jacket, and one I will get so much use out of!<br />
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I wanted to note that a good portion of the fabric for this wardrobe is upcylced or recycled, and the remainder was gifted to me. <br />
Upcycled: Cotton Eyelet: first life as a vintage duvet cover.<br />
Jacket Lining: found at goodwill.<br />
Recycled: The grey buttons on the jacket are recycled cotton. Wierd, eh? They look like stone, up close.<br />
Gifted: The cordoroy came from SewMama (Angie), and the rest from my great Aung Barb, who turned 92 this year, as well as celebrating her 75th wedding anniversary! A truly amazing lady, and her husband, my Uncle Robert, as well. Aunt Barb has kindly given me most of her remaining stash, and I am trying my best to put it to good use.<br />
So this entire look is from the stash she passed along to me. Thanks Aunt Barb!<br />
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<br />Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-79464371708055131642012-09-27T21:37:00.002-07:002012-09-27T21:37:59.273-07:00Classic white shirt with a special touchI have long needed a basic white blouse. I have a white t-shirt, but nothing that I can use for more dressy occasions.<br />
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I have had this cream eyelet fabric (originally a duvet cover) in my stash for a couple of years. My father got it for me at a vintage store in Rockaway beach, Oregon. I don't know how old it is, but it is in pristine shape. The entire piece was well cared for, no stains or sun damage at all.<br />
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So I finally got up my courage, and sewed it up into the top I have been imagining for it, using my TnT pttern,<a href="http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/readreview.pl?readreview=1&reviewnum=64859" target="_blank"> McCall's 6035</a>. I am SO in love with the finished top! the fit is perfect, the shape, the sleeves, everything!<br />
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Although this isn't officially the key piece for my "mini-wardrobe", I know it wil be something I contiue to build around. I have so many ideas now, pants mostly, to go with the top!<br />
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I love having my mojo back,and feeling in the groove again. For now, I need to take a break for sewing form me, and make a few long sleeved knit tops for Liz for fall/winter. I have some knit remnants I have been saving from my own projects, and once I get all 3 knit tops for her finished, I'll post pics of them. Nothing too exciting, I plan for them to be functional, but still cute, of course. :) And then her halloween costume, of course!<br />
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Coming soon, the wardrobe composite. I thin I'll get 8 looks out of all this...we'll see how the photo shot goes with James. :D Wish me luck in getting him to be patient enough for all the clothing changes needed for it!<br />
<br />Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-86304883118048415222012-09-19T18:01:00.002-07:002012-09-20T01:34:05.511-07:00Knit vest, wardrobe moving right along!This month is going by so quickly!<br />
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It is a nice feeling to have that sewing love back. I am still keeping active doing other things, but am finding time to also sew again, and I'm happy about it. :)</div>
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So today I finished the hem on my toffee knit vest, and Liz snapped a few pictures for me. I hate that I look so annoyed, lol. I was trying to look serious....well, perhaps I should stick to smiling.</div>
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I love the collar, the buttons, everything. I don't think it is a very flattering shape on me below the waist, but it isn't bad. I love the texture of this knit, it's all bumpy and knobbly, yet soft. It doesn't show up in the pictures, but I can rarely get the cool details into pics.</div>
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I BARELY had enough to cut this pattern out, just under a yard. I'm really happy with it, and glad think the fabric works well for this pattern (unlike my last top...)</div>
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The pattern for this Simplicity 2155, is meant for wovens. This was my first time adapting a woven pattern to a knit fabric. I made a lot of small changes (no facings, changed collar finish, removed wearing ease, etc), and I think they worked out very well, for the most part. I also added 2 belt carriers, mostly so I don'[t lose the belt! I know me....it would end up in the corner of my closet under a pile of fabric or something, if I don't have it fixed to the top. </div>
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So, this finishes 3 of my 6 looks for the wardrobe contest (include the white corduroy jacket with the lace sleeved top). It's pretty funny that adding a just one more item (a woven top, in my case), is going to add 3 MORE looks. And speaking of, I really want to get the pattern for that prepped tonight, so I can cut it out tomorrow. </div>
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Side not, going to Liz's Kindergarden Open house tonight. She is really loving school! Kindergarden isn't like I remember it, now. They have a lot more work, but it's still lots of fun.</div>
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Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-27817745607241511772012-09-10T19:46:00.001-07:002012-09-10T21:48:51.970-07:00My first (real) lined jacketI was lucky to be the contest manager in the recent <a href="http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/ContestGallery.pl?ContestID=164" target="_blank">Lined Jacket</a> contest on PR. The ladies were so friendly and helpful and very knowledgeable! While I didn't finish my jacket as quickly as they did, I did make a good start and got 2 muslins cut and fitted. And today, I finally finished the jacket!<br />
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Picture by Liz!</div>
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On the 1st of this month, I went ahead and cut my white corduroy, a gift from SewMama. There is still enough left for my pants, if I ever get around to making those, as well!<br />
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The shell of the jacket went together pretty quickly, the only slow point being inserting functional pockets. The pattern, <a href="http://sewing.patternreview.com/patterns/17763" target="_blank">Simplicity 3728</a>, only has decorative flaps, no real pockets (how silly!). Personally, pockets are a must for me on a jacket.<br />
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The lining was a GIANT pain, however, for me. I am pretty ignorant on lining techniques, and was just hoping the pattern instructions would be sufficient, but they were not very clear. Fortunately, the ladies on PR pointed out to me a bag lining tutorial, and things went much smoother from there.<br />
Here is the lining, a fun 20's golf and classic car print.<br />
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I made some minor alterations for fitting (int he shoulder, back, and armscythe), but aside from adding pockets, didn't really make any other alterations. IT's a good pattern, I think the style looks good on me, and it one of those styles that never really goes "out of style".<br />
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So, despite a few minor hitches, I am really happy with my first lined jacket!<br />
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<br />Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-57411008374125655352012-08-13T07:37:00.004-07:002012-08-22T16:04:09.552-07:00No sewing Mojo, and uncreative contestsEDIT: I wanted to make a note that the contest rules have been changed so that the key piece only has to "go with" your other pieces, and does not have to be worn with every piece. Yay for that change!<br />
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I am still not sure if I will be participating, but I think I'll give it a go. :)<br />
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I haven't been blogging much, and I've been sewing even less. Yes, I made the Dr. Horrible coat, but even that took me over a month, and I got NO comments at all. Not one. I feel like I'm living in a vacuum. Even James just kind of said "cool". One month of work....cool<br />
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I just seem to have lost the mojo. I still have a desire to sew, but I look in my sewing room, and pick out fabrics and patterns, and then end up doing nothing. I don't quite know why.<br />
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I had been looking forward to the "Mini-Wardrobe" contest at PR, even already having picked out matching fabrics and patterns, hoping it would help motivate me to start making some of the things I have been planning to make for too long, but the rules are extremely limiting. When pointing this out, I get a lot of "Think outside the box!" and "contest aren't just about YOU" type of comments.<br />
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Well, the the contest rules are a box you aren't allowed to think outside of, and I know contests aren't about ME, but they should encourage people to sew, not discourage them. I know I wasn't the only one who found the forced layering or else forced topper key piece to be extremely limiting, about half the people commenting clearly agree. <br />
Leggings are not me, and I don't have time to make a jacket (which you MUST make, though many people don't seem to understand this yet) AND pants, AND 3 other things in only 4 weeks. The people who think they can use a button up blouse as their key piece...let's see how they feel when they realize that it is impossible with the rules as they are. Jacket and/or pants, those are your options, with jacket being the far superior option. No dress allowed at ALL unless I make the jacket my key piece, which forces me to make pants as well, and I can't make both, I just can't in 4 weeks. :( VERY LIMITING!!<br />
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Well anyway, I still hope to make my jacket, dress and a top soon, if I can find the motivation. It would be nice to have a community to work with, but it seems PR is becoming more and more...elitist? I don't know, just not very supportive. <br />
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Maybe I'm just overly tired. Since James has started school I am tired all the time, and kind of lonely, heh. <br />
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Well back to...housecleaning and playing with Liz I guess.<br />
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<br />Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2186694886712031445.post-23878306788037922682012-07-21T09:52:00.000-07:002012-08-07T12:13:28.341-07:00Putting your "Horrible" pieces together.Please see my <a href="http://itssewcreative.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-horrible-pattern.html" target="_blank">First Dr. Horrible Blog post</a> for directions on creating the pattern pieces.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_qZPOqEmo_k/UArb7onCbrI/AAAAAAAADFA/y0jfBS3lUbY/s1600/July+20%252C+2012-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_qZPOqEmo_k/UArb7onCbrI/AAAAAAAADFA/y0jfBS3lUbY/s640/July+20%252C+2012-17.jpg" width="422" /></a></div>
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My husband putting on his best "Mad Scientist" face. :D</div>
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For the final construction of the coat, you will need:<br />
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- A sewing machine, sharp scissors, chalk or bar soap for marking, an iron, and lots of pins!<br />
- Your altered pattern pieces from Simplicity 5386 (see link above).<br />
- Around 4 yards of 60" wide off-white cotton twill<br />
- Matching thread.<br />
- 1.5 yards of fusible interfacing<br />
- 10 matching 3/4" buttons. The ones on the original lab coat are mother-of pearl, but you can use off white as well, as I did.<br />
- Optional: extra wide twin needles for topstitching your flat felled seams in nice straight lines.<br />
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Okay, first you need to cut out your pieces. If you managed to get 57" to 60" wide fabric, you should be able to lay out your fabric as I explain below.<br />
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With the selvage edge folded in on BOTH sides toward the center, right sides together, place your front piece on one fold, and your back piece on the other fold and cut out.<br />
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Now open up the remaining fabric. To cut the inner front flap, fold the center front edge of your front pattern piece under 2", and place it on a single layer of fabric, grain running the same way. You need to make sure you place the pattern piece so the RIGHT side of the fabric will be facing out at the right shoulder.<br />
Place the Facing piece next to it, and it should be facing the opposite way. I wanted the right side of my facing to face out also, even though it is on the inside, so I placed it that way. Pin and cut both pieces.<br />
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You will have a large piece left fold it in half the opposite way, (down), and place your sleeve piece on this double layer, pin and cut.<br />
At the bottom, place your collar and backs trap pieces on a double layer, pin and cut.<br />
Cut pocket on a single layer.<br />
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You will also want to cut one piece of fusible interfacing to match your facing piece, and one for the collar piece.<br />
Following manufacturers directions, fuse your interfacing to the WRONG side of your facing and one collar piece.<br />
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Now for the actual sewing part!<br />
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<u>Front and front Facing:</u><br />
-Using a long basting stitch, stitch 1/2" in along the outer edge of your facing. Clip just inside the stitching at the rounded area twice, and iron under.<br />
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-Place facing and front piece right sides together at right shoulder, matching raw edges, and stitch 5/8" seam along shoulder edge, armscye, and outer right side.<br />
-Trim seam to about 1/4", turn facing to right side, and press.<br />
-Topstitch the facing along your ironed under edge.<br />
-You should sew in the 3 buttonholes along the shoulder, and the 4 along the side now, before sewing the front piece to the garment. It is easier to work with at this stage. Don't cut them though, just in case! Wait until the collar is on to be sure your measurements were correct.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mfWxClKVZqg/UArb-XmGq7I/AAAAAAAADFA/RJbTqVpMb_o/s1600/July+20%252C+2012-28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mfWxClKVZqg/UArb-XmGq7I/AAAAAAAADFA/RJbTqVpMb_o/s400/July+20%252C+2012-28.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Finished front facing, view of inside.</div>
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<u>Inner Flap:</u><br />
-Take the inner flap piece, and turn the long straight inner edge under 1" and press. <br />
-Turn the inside of this under 1/4", and press again. <br />
-Pin and stitch close to edge. Press again.<br />
-Now take your inner flap and sew it to the back right shoulder, right sides together.<br />
-Take the front piece, and sew the left shoulder, right sides together.<br />
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-Make flat felled seams along the shoulders (with the edges facing front). This is where a double needle will come in handy, as you only have to stitch once instead of twice, and the lines will be perfectly parallel.<br />
If you don't know how to make a flat felled seam, here is a great youtube tutorial.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/N0xZc-UhFkA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Yo may want to practice a couple of times on scraps if you are new to this. It matters which side of the seam you trim, as it will cause the upper edge to face AWAY from the trimmed seam side, and you want all the seams to be facing the same way on your coat!<br />
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<u>Side Slits:</u><br />
-Now sew your side seams, stopping just at the point where the side slit flaps begin.<br />
-Flat fell both side seams, with edge facing forward.<br />
-Snip in 5/8" at the top of the flaps, and Iron the flaps in (now 1-1/4" ). Tuck the edge under 1/2", pin from the RIGHT side, and stitch close to edge.<br />
-Do this for all 4 side slit flaps.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EasV_A6TIic/UArb7l6iO3I/AAAAAAAADFA/H8E1ZkSkVMU/s1600/July+12%252C+2012-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EasV_A6TIic/UArb7l6iO3I/AAAAAAAADFA/H8E1ZkSkVMU/s400/July+12%252C+2012-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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See how I've made diagonal tucks at the top of the side slit? Makes a very neat finish.</div>
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<u>Sleeves:</u><br />
-Using a long basting stitch, sew 1/2" and 3/4" inside the sleeve cap. You will use this to gently gather the sleeve cap to ease it into the armhole.<br />
- Sew sleeve seams, right sides together.<br />
-Flat fell seams, again with edge facing forward.<br />
-Pin sleeves into armholes, right sides together. Make sure you match the notches and dots (single notch means front, double notch means back). The dot at the sleeve cap should match the shoulder seam.<br />
- Pin the sleeve at the bottom seam, the shoulder seam, and the 2 notched areas. Now gently pull the bobbin thread from your gathering stitch and distribute the gathering evenly, until the sleeve fabric matches the bodice fabric, as shown. This is only lightly gathered, so try not to get any areas where there is an actual fold or pinch in the fabric. Pin every 1/2" through gathered area. This helps prevent accidental pinches or folds in the fabric when sewing. Carefully sew in sleeves.<br />
-Flat fell your armscye seam.<br />
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<u>Collar:</u><br />
-Take the un-interfaced collar piece, and sew basting stitch along the bottom, long rounded edge.<br />
-Turn under and press along this basting line. You can trim this to 1/4" as well, after pressing.<br />
-Pin the two collar pieces right sides together, and sew from the bottom seam line (5/8" up), up the side, across the top, and down the other side.<br />
-Trim the seam, cut diagonally across corners, turn right side out and press.<br />
-Sew the buttonhole on the collar. Don't cut it though, wait until the collar is attached, just to be safe.<br />
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-With right sides together, pin collar to neck edge, starting at the edge of the faced front, and finishing at the edge of the inner flap, and sew.<br />
-Trim inner seam, and press collar and remaining seam allowance up. The seam allowance should now be sandwiched between to two collar pieces.<br />
-Machine topstitch stitch from the front 1/8" above seamline. Normally I sew the inner collar in by hand so the stitching is invisible, but on this lab coat, there is topstiching here so might as well use it!<br />
-Press again to meld stitching.<br />
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<u>Topstitching:</u><br />
-Topstitch 1/8" in, starting at bottom of the collar near the inner flap. Continue up and around the top of the collar until you reach the corner of the collar on the outside of the jacket. Carefully pivot, and continue the 1/8" topstitching down the edge of the collar, the shoulder edge, armscye, and down the entire outer right side<br />
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I like to pin along an area I'm going to topstitch, it helps prevent the fabric from "creeping".<br />
<u>Back Tie:</u><br />
With right sides together, sew all sides of the back tie, leaving a small 3" wide opening at the bottom center for turning. Trim seams and corners, and turn right side out through opening. Press, and slipstich the opening closed. Sew horizontal buttonholes 3/4" in from each end.<br />
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<u>Pocket:</u><br />
If you are hand embroidering the Caducus, you'll want to do it before you cut it out. If you are using an iron-on patch, do that now.<br />
-Iron under 1/4" on sides and bottom point, 3/4" (and another 1/4") on the top. Topstitch the top. <br />
-Pin into place on jacket (I eyeballed the placement while hubby wore the coat, and just made sure it was straight), then topstitch it down.<br />
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<u>Finishing:</u><br />
Now cut all your buttonholes, and sew on all of your buttons, along the shoulder, collar, side seam, and 2 in the back.<br />
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-Turn the hem on the bottom up by 2", and under again 1/4", press and sew close to fold and press again.<br />
-Do the same for both sleeves.<br />
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Ta Da! You are done! Congratulations on your new Dr.Horrible Lab coat!<br />
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<br />Witch Hazelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03425809618304048578noreply@blogger.com21