Completed: Skirt

Well, the two summer skirts from my to-do list became one summer skirt, with an option to complete another if I have time early this next week.

I really like this skirt. I’s fuller than most of the A-line skirts I make, fun and lightweight. I used a skirt I already own as a template. The template skirt is made from a heavier material, which I guess pulls the side seams down enough that the extra allowance made for the hips is not noticeable. But on this lightweight fabric – super noticeable. So I went down and removed the extra hip fullness as soon as I took this photo!

I got the idea for the hem detail from a skirt I already own – one that was purchased from one of the expensive mall stores (on clearance for 1.50!). My skirt is not an exact copy, but it’s definitely similar!

WIP: Laptop Case

I started out making a case with 6 sides. It actually would have worked out really well, except my serger has some issues with the thread in the loopers breaking and that led to some kind of wonky, crooked seams, which made the whole thing look kind of amateurish. (I still need to finish the edges with bias tape.)

So I was going to just try again, but with a few changes (including making sure I stayed on top of the looper thread issue), when I decided to completely change the design and ended up with this. (please note, I was trying to crank this out without my husband noticing I had slipped back down to my office, lol, so I skipped ironing the fabric. the wrinkles REALLY show up in this pic.)

I like it. It’s got small handles for ease of carrying, a large pocket on one side for papers or a notebook, and a smaller pocket on the other side for the cord or other accessories. It closes with a zipper.

I ordered myself some anti-static foam from the Foam Factory where I got the shredded foam for the chairs, and it’s about 1/2 inch thick. I had originally decided to make the case like one would a fabric box, and slide the foam in after the case was assembled. Then I decided to just sew all the pieces together, with the foam sandwiched in between them. I’m not sure that was a great idea for design #1, but it worked out really well for design #2.

I’m going to make a third version/attempt this weekend if I can find time – a different way of assembling the boxier first attempt. I have plenty of foam left, and we’ve got a few laptops around here that could use protection/transportation.

Completed: Wally’s Chair

After I completed this chair, Wally walked into the room, saw it, and said “oh, wow, look! a chair!” Then he flopped all over it and stayed there for the better part of the evening. I guess that’s as good a review as I could have hoped for!

It’s made from a commercial pattern – McCall’s 9665. It was fairly easy to sew up, but the cover does not stay all tucked in there around the seat like it appears in the pattern envelope photos. The pattern envelope recommends purchasing the cushions needed for the chair, but the company that made the special-order cushions has gone out of business. Fortunately, the pattern also includes directions for making your own cushions.

The pattern recommends just stuffing the cushions with fiberfill, but I had leftover shredded foam from our giant beanbag, so I used that instead. It makes the cushions nice and sturdy. The other alteration I made was the zipper. Technically, the cover is supposed to have a massive zipper around three sides of the bottom so you can get the cushions in. Well, having just completed the giant beanbag covers and dealing with those massive zippers, I was not only all out of massive zippers, but I just plain didn’t want to be bothered. So I left one edge of the bottom piece open, inserted the cushions through that hole, and just sewed it up. If I need to wash the cover, I’ll just rip out the stitching. I can always replace with a zipper later if I need to.

I picked the fabric out a long time ago, and you can see my major design difficulty – I cannot mix patterns. One pattern, two solids for me! But I think it looks nice – kid-friendly without being kiddish. And, apparently, it’s quite comfortable.

In Progress: Giant Beanbag

So this is where we stand with the giant beanbag. I have the covers done. I have the inners done. I just don’t have all the foam I need, and I’m waiting for it to be delivered. (I inadvertently left my first order of shredded memory foam inside its packaging, all compressed, for about 5 months. Apparently, that’s bad for the foam and it really didn’t ever poof back up to its original bulk.)

I hope this is as nice as we’re hoping it will be. I’m afraid it’s going to be much shorter than we were envisioning, and larger around.

I would post photos, but it all looks like just piles of fabric at this point.

Not much crafting going on these days

The good news, I guess, is because every but of my sewing/crafting time is going into making custom orders.

New themes:

Sew Retro: A Little Summer Somethin‘ (plus I’m happy to report that I’ve finally been able to join this blog!)

Project Spectrum: Red, Black, Metallic.

Thinking of overhauling

Because I need something else to do (ha), i’m thinking of overhauling this blog. New name, possibly a new domain, new look. Prune out the old posts. Post new and interesting things. We’ll see…

I feel a new purchase coming on…

Except I’ve recently vowed to completely pay off my business credit card before making any more purchases of things that aren’t inventory (and even then, they must be absolutely necessary).

I mean, we’re only a few months away from that happening, though, so I can dream…

I’ve always wanted an embroidery machine. Well, not always, but at least since I first knew they existed. I’ve wanted one that’s a nice balance between features and price.

This seems to fit the bill.  The Singer Quantum Futura. Uses a laptop. Oh, yeah. Can embroider pretty much any image I might find. Even pictures. Retails for about $800.

If you click on the link, be sure to chuckle a bit at how the page title – as shown in the very very top bar of your browser window – has the product name misspelled.

The thing is, some of the reviews are not so great, and only reinforce my existing opinion about Singer, which is that Singer is unfortunately not a maker of reliable sewing machines any more. Old singers are great. new singers, not so much.

So ultimately, I probably won’t get this machine. But it does look amazing, doesn’t it?

Freezer paper stencil test

Inspired by this post at CRAFT, and wanting a way to make fun designs on the Roman shades I’m making for the studio, I decided to give Freezer Paper Stencils a try. I not only wanted to see if I could do it and if I was happy with how it looked, but I wanted to see how it would work on the linen shades, and also if it would work with regular wall paint instead of fabric paint. Happy to report, it is easy, and it worked fine with the regular paint on linen.

Go to the link above for a complete tutorial.

Tape design to waxy side of freezer paper, facing the waxy side.
Cut out design.
Iron on to fabric/Tshirt.
Dab on paint.
Let dry.
Peel off.

Easy peasy!

Completed: Bathrobe

I picked up this pattern on sale for 99 cents a while back, thinking about the short sleeved robe. Plus, I’ve always liked pajamas, even though I don’t really wear them. (I mean, talk about impractical. I usually just go for flannel pants with a sweatshirt in the winter or a Tshirt in the summer.) I thought maybe I’d make myself a set of pretty jammies. I’ve talked myself out of it again, for the record.

But I did want to make a summer bathrobe. My only robe is fleece, and it’s great for winter, but altogether too bulky and hot for summer. I just want something to cover my shoulders on those mornings when it’s just a bit too chilly in the morning for just a Tshirt.

And I did own three yards of dark purple cotton knit, which was originally intended for a horrible maternity outfit that I never finished, but which would be perfect for a robe.

I actually decided to make the long sleeve robe, figuring that if it was warm enough to want a short sleeve robe, it was warm enough to not need a robe at all. I finished it up in one evening. Turning the tie right side out took a full half hour, and the rest of the robe took a half hour, also. (I’ll post a tutorial on how NOT to spend a half hour turning a tube right side out soon.)

It’s a little messy on the inside. They have you use ironed-flat bias tape as the facing all around the front of the robe. For whatever reason, I couldn’t get it to stop twisting funny while I was sewing it (possibly a combination of the stretch in the knit and the stretch in the bias tape? and I gave up trying, frankly. So it’s going to irritate me every time I put the thing on, but I guess I’ll get over it eventually.

Another project for the Use What You Have craftalong at Craftster.

WIP: 1940s Playsuit

So I have this rolly bin in my office/workroom and in it was a bunch of started or cut out sewing projects from, uh, when we lived in our apartment. So, pre-1999. Found this outfit in there, cut out but still attached to the pattern. I remember starting it, actually. One piece of the bra top had the darts sewn in, but that’s it. Funny, because it was actually a really easy project. At first. I finished it in about 1 hour a day for 5 days. (That’s 1 hour a day in Mommy Time. Which means constant interruptions.) At first.

Then I tried it on. Holy smokes, the jacket and overskirt are HUGE. I’m going to remove the pockets on the skirt and take in all the seams, then re-attach the pockets (so they’re even this time, lol). I’m also going to try adding a seam in the middle back, removing about three inches, and seeing if I can somehow adjust the front of the jacket so the buttonholes are in a better position/centered. They are off center in a lame-ass attempt to pull the jacket tight enough.

It’s fun, though. I hope I can fix it. Here’s the pattern.

Another project for the Use What You Have craftalong at Craftster.