Polka dot shirt

This is my second try at Simplicity 2601. The first one still isn't finished. The instructions were weird to follow for me, but ultimately brilliant. I confess before anyone sees it, I need to move that top button over some. I just needed to get the picture while I could. It will be improved upon.

Cute right? I had to wash it after I made it, and the fabric got a little twisty. I ironed as fast as I could. It had tire tracks on it from my scooter...maybe that had something to do with the twisty fabric. Like I said, that top button needs to be shifted over a bit for better coverage.

I love the way the back looks. I find the peplum style to be flattering on me.

I added a gather on the center back bodice as it was slightly wider than the midriff pieces. Looking back I probably should have just cut the midriff pieces out again, but I do like how it turned out. I remember the midriff pieces not matching last time I made this shirt either now.

Here is the cool and slightly confusing thing about this shirt. It takes single fold bias tape and encloses the front, neck and sleeve seams. Very interesting construction and kind of genius! By the way, white would have been better for a bias tape color, but with the foot situation I have to use what I've got. It's actually kind of fun!

Here is the inside back. The bias tape around the neck is one continuous piece with the pieces along center front. It is very cool. I think I will make another one of these. It will go so much quicker now I'm sure. Even better, I have my March shirt a month done! Maybe I'll even go back and finish that first one now that I get it.

Fun with Google keywords

You guys would tell me if this is what I am known for, right? We're friends...right?

Because five, yes, FIVE people have Googled that top search and come up with my blog as a result!

By the way, I took that white with orange polka dot material and have been logging away at Simplicity 2601 (since Monday) and may just have something to show you tomorrow. :-) That's right. Stacie does actually sew!

It is major cute!

A second look at the Sencha

So, I may be breaking the rules when it comes to the Shirt a month, but I made a Sencha a long time ago that I kept and even got out to try on every couple of months to find out what I did wrong. I decided with my not being able to really cut our anything or sew much with my foot down, I would try to fix the disaster. This is what I came up with.

Yeah, that's my ride for the next month. It is a pain but nowhere near as bad as crutches. What I finally decided to do was make the front darts along the stomach go higher.

If you look closely I did this in red thread. It did seem to help a lot.

If I make this again, and I just may, I will make it in a size, or probably two, smaller.

I have learned a lot in the last year, so I spotted several things when I really started looking at the shirt. They are embarrassing, and you deserve to see other seamster's stupid mistakes.

I zig zagged the edges of my facings. That's OK, but I've come a long way.

My understitching, well I guess I just didn't know what that was. I stitched through the outside, seam allowances and facing. The neckline is TACKY!

My facing was too short, so I guess I said, "Oh well." I sewed it in too short and just left it raw! What is that!?!

On my sleeves the directions said to hand stitch them down invisibly. I made the stitches so loose and far apart I could actually put my thumb through them.

Am I a snob? No! I think this has been a fun look at where I came from. I wore the shirt to work with no one saying anything about how bad it looked too. I guess it is a win, even if only in my head.

OK, now I have to try to work on that darn red dress. Would you judge me if I missed the deadline?

Pattern Organization and Fabric check

I was looking for a pattern I bought on sale. I knew I bought the pattern- where the heck? All the patterns in the file cabinet drawer were dumped on the floor to be sorted through. Not there. Wait, what's that... I stretched my arm back through the back of the drawer and felt paper. I gave a pull and unearthed an addiction.

Found it. But they were all on sale! See, I've used a lot of them... Ok I have enough to justify organizing them.

I used the drawer again, but this time used folders marked:

Dresses
Shirts
Skirts
Pants
Sportswear Collections
Knits Only
Random (seasonal, slippers, etc.)
Vintage
Bags

Believe it or not, that is better.

Having seen all the patterns, I decided to pull out my fabrics and try to match them up.

It all fits in that tub, so it isn't too bad.

This is a pretty clearance rayon that I think would make a pretty shirt dress (but kind of suspect that it will look kind of 90s and must be sported with combat boots). There are three yards of it, so if you have any ideas for it, please let me know.

A planned Texas themed quilt. I intend to do it later in the Spring. We are a proud people here in Texas.

Baby shower gifts.

Dear Stacie,


Why would you give a dead cow and chili pepper themed gift to a baby?


Concerned Reader

Dear Concerned Reader,

This is a joke fabric. The couple doesn't know the sex of the baby, but I know dad has a love for Southwest inspired decor which drives his wife crazy. I think this will be a lesson to everyone to tell me the sex of your baby or you will get scary baby shower gifts. Yes, I will probably make it a more appropriately chosen present after it is born. Until then I am sending a powerful message.

Stacie

Scraps big enough to make tote bags from.

Fusible, interfacing and muslin, oh my!

Skirts. Has to be right? They are my summer uniform, and I love bright colored skirts.

Seasonals: Christmas and Halloween to be exact. Check ya next year!

I have about three yards of this lace which is so pretty and drapes nicely- except for the color. I think I may dye it a prettier blue to make a summer dress out of.

I may make a Violet out of this material. I have held off because it is so slippery and cheap feeling. I may want to make one out of a cotton first to see how it goes. Maybe it would make another good attempt at a Taffy...

This is a weird tube of scratchy knit I acquired randomly. I may try to make another cardigan like my Polka Dot one. I don't know what else I would do with it...

This is an awesome print given to me by Holly for Christmas. I used some of it to make a tote bag, and I'm hoping to either make a sorbetto or a skirt out of the rest of it. Hopefully there is enough for the sorbetto because I just don't wear too much white on bottom. Super cute!

That's it! I am trying to inventory what I have with what I need because I have surgery on my foot scheduled for Friday, and I won't be able to walk for six weeks! I will have a knee scooter, but good luck getting one of those through Joann's. I have been practicing left footed sewing, so hopefully I can get a few garments done.

School House Tunic and embroidery advances

I know, I've been awfully quiet. Trust me, I've been working hard. I have a pair of Clovers in grey, pajama pants and half a Peony to show you, but I just can't catch the light to take any good pictures. Soon though. I do have a blast from the past to share. My first project I did on my own was the Sew Liberated Tunic. It was easy and went together well, but when it was done, I no longer cared for the print. I just came across it the other day - unhemmed, and finished it up.

I don't know if you did this when you first started sewing, but I would go into the fabric store, head for the quilting cotton, and grab the cutest thing I could find. Turns out being a grown up wearing a super cute print can be kind of weird. I'm more edited now, but I did enjoy wearing this yesterday.

See, it's not that bad.... let's take a look at the guts!

Look a Monet! Not bad from far away, but not great up close.

Apparently I finished the edges of the shoulder by... well, I guess I didn't at all, and now it is a frayed up mess!

None of the inside seams were finished actually.

The sleeves were turned up once and hemmed. Ouch! I think that was my first sleeve, and not my best effort. It is surprisingly cute from the outside considering what a mess the inside is.

Yesterday I also got to hang out with the most awesome seamstress and sewing know it all I know, Jenny! It was fun to hang out and talk blogs, hers is great, and sew. I took over my embroidery machine, and she taught me a lot about what I can do. I had no idea how awesome it is!

So I made Holly a super cute mug for Christmas. I had no idea my machine could do such cool stuff.

I made a couple of coasters that Jenny has a tutorial for. You should check it out.

I also made a quilt block for my assistant. She loves my Crazy Quilt so much, I had to make her her own.

Yeah, I'm that kind of dog owner. What I wouldn't do for my little mutt dog.

That is some close up quilt lovin' going on there. This is how she takes care of me when I am sick or hurt, she lays on top of my and passes out. Now why didn't I think of that?

Oh, and I don't know if you saw but the new McCall's are out.



How cute is 6503? I love all the versions! Check out the new patterns. There are a few good ones.

Taffy of Terror!!!

OK, it's not the Taffy's fault at all. I just thought it was catchier than Chiffon of Chit! "What," you may be wondering, "is Stacie going on about?" Exhibit A:

I'm a maniac! Maniac! On the floor!

Yeah, that's my Taffy from the Colette Sewing Handbook paired with a rockin' side ponytail. I picked up this fantastic navy and polka dot chiffon the other day. I do not blame this on the pattern at all. I must stress that! I will be making this again. The fabric was horrible! And hey, sewing is fun. If I can't laugh at my mistakes, what can I do?

If you look closely at a scrap I cut, it shredded a good 1/4" into it as soon as it was cut, and as soon as it caught on anything, it would run. I know, chiffon is tricky, but I've used it before! I liked it! I am convinced this was just bad fabric.

Because the chiffon began raveling as soon as it was cut, I just made a rolled hem on my serger, and I kid you not, I had to go a good half inch in to avoid further shredding. I think if this had turned out, I would have gotten maybe 2 wears with no washes out of it. You can see just below my chin the unraveling that is already underway.

On the other hand, I really like the pattern and instructions. This was from the A Fine Finish chapter and actually has amazing instructions on how to make French seams throughout the shirt. I actually did this, but I had to go pretty deep  because of the shred factor, so they were a bit bulky.

Here you can see the seams along my sleeve, and they look fantastic, they just had to be too big.

The back was a bit big, but that could just be the fabric again. This was my first "on the bias" garment, and it really wasn't too bad. I think between user error and/or crappy fabric it just wasn't meant to be. I do plan on making this in maybe a voile or lawn. Like I said, the pattern was fantastic which leads me to...

I had a friend say they would be scared to buy a Colette pattern because they are expensive and never go on 99 cent sales. Here is how I handle that.

I trace the pattern with a Sharpie in the size I need to make it darker.

I then trace the pattern in the size I need onto Swedish Tracing Paper along with any necessary markings. Why Swedish Tracing Paper? (That link is to the store on Etsy I buy it from. Support small business!)You can actually sew it together. This makes for easy pattern fittings. I just baste it, then rip it out to ensure the right parts hit in the right places. This also allows you to make any adjustments you know you need without destroying your original pattern.

"OK, stupid Stacie Thinks She Knows it All, now I have Sharpie all over my floor!"

I tell you what, Magic Eraser by Mr. Clean takes anything off the laminate flooring (and tile) including Sharpie!

About 10 minutes of extra work and your expensive pattern is still in tact and you have a personalized pattern in just your size with any adjustments you need already made! I usually include the pattern name, size and number of pieces to make it easy when I want to make it again later.

Now, I don't do this on my patterns that go on clearance at Joann's, but for my well loved, tried and true and expensive patterns, I don't know a better way to do it! Now go buy that book! I made a tosser, but just wait and see my next one!