Amy's Chair

Just in case anyone is dying to read about upholstery projects, I sewed it, and I think it's fabulous!

Woot! Woot!

This is my friend Amy's chair before:

and after:

Just to clarify, she did the refinishing; I just did the cushions.

The Details

Pattern: none.  Simple rectangles, made to measurements

Fabric: Robert Allen linen/rayon blend, upholstery weight

Notions: 3" high-density foam, 1" loft poly batting, spray adhesive

2 heavy weight metal zippers, thread

extra pillow batting for throw pillows from remnants

I'm pretty proud of how nicely it turned out!

MMM'14 Week 4: The One Where I Start Getting Lazy

I feel the need to apologize for a lack of photos.

But, not too much.  

Getting a picture every day is not really the point of Me-Made-May. 

Right?

Right.

So here goes:

Day 19

Monday

Gathered Raglan Tee | Burda gathered sleeve raglan tee

I played hooky and stayed home from work. Sewed a bit.  Went shoe shopping.  Ate lunch with my parents. No pictures, and I didn't feel up to taking 'make-up' pictures.  

This is a really old picture,

way back from before my kitchen was finished.  

Enjoy.

Day 20

Tuesday

Blue Flowers Dress | Simplicity 1419

Day 21

Wednesday

Fall for Cotton Dress | Colette Parfait

The weather turned sticky hot, and this is a post run-through-the-sprinkler shot.

Day 22

Thursday

Baby Houseman Blouse | Simplicity 1879

Day 23

Friday

Where's Waldo? Shirt (again) | Burda raglan top

I wear this a lot, and I feel the need to point out that in order to wear jeans on Fridays, I have to wear a school shirt or something in school colors.

Day 24

Saturday

Stayed home all day and worked on house projects

No photos taken.  At this point, I'm imagining I wore pajama pants.  But I'm not sure.

I'm completely attempting to distract you all with this other cute picture, instead.

Day 25

Sunday

unblogged Maritime shorts

I clearly have a problem with this color, as my underwear also matched.

Day 26

Monday

Memorial Day

Sewaholic Renfrew Tee

Day 27

Tuesday

Sew Weekly Reunion shirt | Sewaholic Pendrell 

Have I mentioned it's tornado season, and humid as all get out? 

This is what the Midwest does to hair.

April Showers bring Blue Flowers

I had originally intended this dress for the Project Sewn Floral challenge, but life got busy, we went on vacation, and ultimately, I'd decided I'd rather have a nice dress than a fast dress.  

And, let's face it, I'm not very fast with sewing.  

And I'm totally okay with that.  : )

The Details:

Fabric: floral cotton voile from Mood, ivory lawn for underlining

Pattern: Simplicity 1419, Lisette's Round Trip Dress

Notions: 22" invisible zip, 1 super special button, interfacing for collar

+ knit interfacing for zipper support, cotton twill tape to stabilize waistband, vintage flexi-lace for hem

Notes

First off, the pattern went together fairly easily, it just took me a while.   

In this one, I made a straight size 14.  I went up a size, because I'm kind of ashamed to admit it, but I think I've been measuring myself incorrectly.  I think the trouble I've had with uncomfortable shoulders and sleeves are related to sewing too small a size.   I would have previously grade from a 12 at the bust to a 14 at the waist.  That means for Sewaholic patterns, I actually need a 10 on top and an 8 everywhere else.  

(Mind blown)  

I don't know why I am totally okay with grading up a size to accommodate waist or hips, but never once considered grading down a size from bust to waist.  

This dress is not designed to be very closely fitted, which is actually perfect for a cotton summer dress. 

Who wants to be all sweaty in a dress? Well, in this kind of dress? 

I didn't think so.

Second, I added a bunch of extras here. 

 I underlined it, because the fabric was pretty sheer.  That meant I could invisibly slip-stitch the facing down to the underlining, as well as the bias finish at the armscye, and the hem. Jeezum Pete, though, they stuck together, and that was a trial in itself.  I also added twill tape to the waist seam allowance before serging the seam to keep the thin fabric from stretching out when I slump in my chair.  Third, I used zipper interfacing to supported the thin fabric for the weight of the zipper and make it go in easier.

The only think I had problems with was that button loop.  

I'll be honest, I gave up trying to turn a 1" by 1.5" bias loop (incl. seam allowance) right side out. 

I just cut another piece, folded it in half, then pressed the edges to center fold and topstitched it. 

Life's too short to spend that much time cussing an inanimate object.

Changes for Next Time 

For next time, though, I think I'll lower the neckline a smidge.  It's wearable, but still a hair high.  

Or maybe I just have a low neck, who knows.  

In any case,  I'll amend that on the pattern before putting it away for while. 

Also, I would consider using a scrap of interfacing behind the button, so it doesn't flap when open.

And, in the interest of photogenic honesty, my husband was out of town the day I first wore this, so my 7 year old kindly agreed to take a picture for me.

He did a good job, but I will admit that for every picture of me, there were three of the dog.

I can't complain, though; he is a pretty great dog. 

MMM'14 Week 3: The Third Quarter Slump

Sigh.

Started off the week great, feeling pumped.  By the end of the week, though, ugh.

Day 12

Monday

Shades of Gray Skirt | Sewaholic Crescent

Day 13

Tuesday

Anti-Skinny Jeans | Sewaholic Thurlow Trousers

Day 14

Wednesday

Sewing for Others sample | Maria Denmark Day-to-Night Drape Top

*Note to self: Make more of these

Day 15

Thursday

$64 Dollar Sweatshirt | Papercut Patterns Undercover Hood

Also, these are standard family picture poses.

Day 16

Friday evening

Stopped at the Cheese Factory en route to Branson

unblogged | Burda raglan t

Day 17 

(unpictured)

Saturday

 yet again, an unblogged burda raglan t

after spending all day at the amusement park, no one wants to see those pictures

Ended with cropped Tofino pajama pants, though.

Day 18

Sunday

at Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, spying all the animals

Where's Waldo? Shirt | Burda raglan top

Thoughts:

Last year, I complained about not having any bottoms, but this year, I'm feeling the opposite--I've grown, and my me-made tops aren't working.  I'd say I shrank them in the wash, but the truth is, I've been eating like its the end of the school year, and excercising like, well, not.  

This week turned too cold for summer dresses, and I'm stuck thinking that summer vacation is a week and a half away.  I need some summer t-shirts, but I'm tired of the same-old/same-old.

Any suggestions for cute casual tee-shirt patterns? 

Shades of Gray skirt

I have gone back and forth on this skirt for quite some time.

I've debated purchasing it, I've debated fabric for it, I've even had the great topstitching debate.

Well, with my self at least.

And in the end, I just went with it.

And suprised myself.

Details:

Pattern: Sewaholic Crescent Skirt, view A

Fabric: black Kaufman Essex Yarn Dyed Linen/Cotton blend, other colors here

Notions: interfacing for waistband, 7" zipper from stash

Notes:

First up, the zipper.  The pattern calls for a 9" zipper, but the only gray regular zipper I had in the box was 7" long.  I had a couple longer black ones, but just in case my zipper insertion sucked, I hedged my bets with the shorter gray one.  It works, but I may (yes) have to suck in while easing it carefully over my rear. 

Also, I've always hated centered zippers.  I've never gotten them to look right, and seriously debated using an invisible zipper here.  In the end, though, I went with the centered zip because I had an OCD need to make the topstitching match the rest of the skirt.  And since I'm aready tooting my own horn, it didn't turn out too shabby!

Next up, the instructions call to interface both the waistband and the facing pieces.  Because my fabric was already on the thicker side, I only interfaced the waistband (not the facing).  It worked out perfectly.  With a lighter fabric, though, I'd probably interface it, too.

Also on the waistband, I just serged the facing edge and let it hang loose.  I think folding it up under would've created a bulky ridge, and by doing it this way, it sits pretty flat.  Next time though, I might trim more off that serged edge, as I have about 1/2" of overlap from where I stitched in the ditch on the front of the skirt.

 

For the hem, I made some 1" wide bias tape to face the hem.  The unhemmed skirt is the perfect length, and any shorter and I'd have been uncomfortable at work.  Next time I'll lengthen the pattern a bit in order to have it end up right above my knee.

In the end, it's a super easy super wearable skirt. 

I don't usually wear a lot of black, but this is a perfect gray mix that will go with just about everything.

Anybody else surprise themselves lately with a project they weren't sure about?

MMM'14 Week 2: Still Going Strong

Quickish round-up post for Me-Made-May, week 2.

Day 5

Monday

Polka Dot Hollyburn | Sewaholic Hollyburn

Day 6

Tuesday

Baby Shower Cambie | Sewaholic Cambie

Day 7

Wednesday

Not-So-Jiffy Dress | Simplicity

Day 8
Thursday

Alma #2 | Sewaholic Alma

Day 9
Friday

Where's Waldo? Shirt | Burda raglan boatneck

Day 10
Saturday

Baby Houseman Shirt | Simplicity 1879

Day 11
Sunday

Outfit # 1 (unpictured)
turquoise plaid shorts | Grainline Maritime Shorts

Outfit  # 2 (barely pictured late at night)
blue t-shirt | Sewaholic Renfrew

I'm still gathering my thoughts on what I make vs. what I wear, and any new revelations.

I did clean out and donate a stack of t-shirts from my closet this week, which is a good thing.
On the other hand, I might be coming to the idea that I sometimes I might be sewing the wrong size.  Which is a bad thing, except now that I'm aware of it, I guess it's a good thing?

Polkadot Hollyburn

There isn't much to say about this skirt that hasn't already been said.

But I still love it.

Photobomb courtesy of Riley

No idea what I'm looking at here.

vintage buttons for tabs

Details:

Pattern: Sewaholic Hollyburn, view B with tabs
Fabric: medium-weight linen from Kaplans
Notions: vintage zipper (I think it is cotton twill?) from stash, interfacing for waistband, 2 vintage buttons, bias tape for hem
Time to complete: the skirt itself = 1 evening, the hem = 3 glasses of wine and a movie (ahem. Dirty Dancing) for half of it, then maybe another hour sober the next evening for the rest.

Lapped zipper, and hem wrinkles from sitting on my skirt all day.

       When this pattern first came out, I thought, eh, I already have the Lonsdale dress, and aren't these pretty much the same?  But I did see so many nice versions, that I just couldn't help it. This comes in three different lengths, an altered waist band piece, deeper pockets.  I think the shortest version also has a little more flare. In any case, it is just as nice to wear as the Lonsdale dress--still swishy, but you can swirl without displaying all your goods.

    

      As for finishing, I am a big fan of serging seams.  Have I said that lately?  I know I could do something fancier or interesting, but, well, nothing is as fast and clean as serging.  Satisfying. Box-ticking.  Crossing-items off your to-do list/accomplish feeling.  Nobody sees the insides but me, and I like them serged. But I did invisibly catch-stitch the hem.  By hand.  And it took forever. That should count for something, right?

     In other notes, I used a lapped zipper.  They're my favorite. Well, I do like invisible zippers, too, but not at my butt. I like my zippers covered by fabric, and I'm never really confident about invisible zippers remaining invisible at a sensitive stress point, if you know what I mean.  This looks like it's kind of separating here, though...oh well.

Still love it.

Any one else succumb to Hollyburn fever?
( Like, a year after it came out? )

MMM14 Week 1 Roundup--A Quickie

Me Made May '14: Apologies in advance

Day 1:

(Thursday)

Pajama Party Pants | Sewaholic Tofino

Day 2:

(Friday)

Baby Houseman Blouse | Simplicity 1879

Day 3:

(Saturday)

Sewaholic Renfrew Tee

+

The $64 Sweatshirt | Papercut Patterns Undercover Hood

+

jeans I probably shouldn't be allowed to leave the house in anymore

Day 4:

(Sunday)

Not-so-Jiffy Shorts | Sewaholic Thurlow 

Lessons Gleaned:

1. Dude, I need to clean out my closet.  My t-shirt situation is getting out of hand.

2.  Not that I've tried very hard, but I have yet to make a successful pair of underwear.

3.  Goals going forward: make more pajama pants/shorts.

 Motherhood necessitates good lounge wear.