Weekend Sewing Plans

I'm working on more bathing suits for the girlies.  They are cut out and ready to be put together, and then, I'm going to fold the rest of the chez ami and put it up for next year's suits. . . or maybe I'll have a giveaway and send them to a new home, so I can order different fabric for next year.    Hmmm. . .decisions!

I've also got plans to make at least one laguna .  It is a new pattern for me, and it looks quite complicated, so we'll see how it goes. 

Stay tuned!

Ready to Make a Splash!

A couple of years ago, I ordered some clearance swimsuit fabric from Chez Ami, and let me tell you, this is good stuff!  It is thick and the prints are just too cute.  Their clearance fabric is sold in minimum increments of 2 yards.  Well, 2 yards of 60-inch wide swimsuit fabric is enough to make quite a few swimsuits for little girls. 

Yesterday, I made a tankini for both Allie and Jenna.  Allie's bottom is Kwik Sew 2605, which is out of print, but is a great pattern if you can get your hands on it. . .especially if you've never made a bathing suit.  Kwik Sew patterns are excellent when you need a little hand-holding.  Her top is Ottobre's Gilda bikini from the summer 2009 issue lengthened to tankini length. 

Jenna's suit is an adaptation of Seahorse swimsuit from the same Ottobre issue.  I simply traced the bottom and then cut it off at what I though would be a good height for her bikini bottom.  (I miscalculated, and will probably redo hers.  She has RTW syndrome when she wears them, but more about that later.)  Then, I traced the rest of the top and lengthened it a bit, so it would overlap the bottom. 

I also decided not to make Jenna's straps tie at the shoulders and instead finished them in the same way as Allie's suit.

The bottoms of both suits are fully lined with swimsuit lining from Joann's.  The elastic is serged on and then folded over and secured with a zig zag.  I didn't have matching all-purpose thread, so I used embroidery thread to top stitch the suits. . .hopefully, I won't regret that when the suits are used in chlorine. 

The tops are partially lined. . .think a shelf bra, but without the elastic in the bottom.  I hemmed the tops with my coverstitch machine and did the binding and straps with the double-fold binder (LOVE that gadget!).

Okay, the real question is why would I make swimsuits when I can get them both a suit at Walmart for less than $20.  There are a few reasons that I can think of.  First, I can't buy suits of this quality at Walmart.  Second, I prefer for my girls to have a little more coverage in a suit than you typically find in RTW.  It isn't that I don't let them wear bikinis.  It has more to do with the lack of coverage in the bottom. . .just go to a public pool and watch the little girls who are constantly having to pull their swimsuits out of their bottoms.  That's what I mean.  Third, I want to control the style of their suits, meaning I don't want their suits to look like mini adult swimsuits.   

Swimsuits are also quick and easier than you would think to make.  Plus, they look great when you finish! 

Slump and Scrap Busting

Do you save your scraps?  Do you then wonder what to do with them?  If you are a quilter, I'm sure you have plenty of projects in mind for your scraps, but if you are like me, you save them with no real plan.  I have vague pictures in my mind of elaborate appliques that I can do on the girls' clothes, but I've only ever done 1 applique, and it was a very simple kite, so I think I shouldn't save scraps for appliques.  So, what to do? 

Let me recommend a project that is perfect for scraps.  It is also VERY quick, so it is great for pulling yourself up out of a slump.  Aren't they happy?!

Most of these are for my coworkers.  I'm leaving tomorrow for Denver for meetings, so I thought I would bring gifts.   I will put the rest of them up to use as stocking stuffers. 

See the vinyl window?  It holds a business card, which is so much better than filling out those flimsy paper luggage tags that they give you at the airport.  Plus, these make your suitcase super easy to spot among the 20 other black (or red, in my case) bags on the luggage conveyor.

The tutorial I used can be found here.  



Officially in a Sewing Slump

Wow, I have been in a slump!  I've wanted to sew and thought about things to sew.  I've even bought some sewing magazines and flipped through them, but I just haven't been able to make myself get up and actually sew.  We've had a very busy past few weeks. 

Jenna stopped going to her small in-home daycare and started going to a large daycare center.  She's adjusted well, but her mother worried a bit at first ;).  Allie had her ballet recital and finished first grade.  We are very proud of her accomplishments!  Oh, and we went to the beach. 

I'm going on a trip for work next week, which has given me a much-needed kick in the tush to get up and sew.  I'll show you all tomorrow what I'm working on.  It isn't much, but it IS something. 

It's good to be back :)

Time for Another Sew-Along?

What do you think?  Is it time to do another sew-along?  Does anyone have any ideas of what you might like to make?  I can think of a few options, but I would love to hear what you think?  Leave me a comment, and we'll get another one started soon!

Mother's Day Sewing for Me!

Sorry though, you can't see it :).  I decided since it is Mother's Day weekend, I'd get started making my bathing suit.  I, however, won't post a picture of myself in a bathing suit on the internet, so I'm afraid you won't get to see it. 

I'm making a tankini with a skirted bottom, and I've finished the bottom part now.  It needs a couple of modifications, but I'm happy with it so far!  I'll work on the top later this weekend. 

Oh, you say you want a picture?  Well, do you remember this?

Look, what Allie discovered a couple of days ago. . .babies!

Happy Mother's Day!



Bamboo lycra in soft pink.

I have a confession to make:  these dresses were made as a direct result of me wanting solid-colored dresses to take pictures of the girls in.  It started, as usual, in the fabric store.  I had read about people using vinyl instead of seamless paper as backdrops for photography, and I wanted to give it a try.  Joann's had several different colors of marine vinyl, including a light gray that I decided would work beautifully. 

My choice of light gray necessitated that I put the girls in soft colors, and I had some ballet pink bamboo lycra in my stash. . .just enough to make 2 dresses.  I didn't want them to be identical, so I used the same fabric to make different  styles. 

Jenna's is the Miss Madeline from the Handmade Dress.  I made it without the elasticized waist.  As you can see, it works perfectly in a knit as well as in woven, as the pattern suggests.

Allie's is a self-drafted tank dress with gathered side panels.  I bound the neckline and armholes out of the same fabric using the binder attachment for my coverstitch machine, which may be my favorite sewing invention EVER!

We didn't get any good pictures of the sides while she was wearing it, but here it is being modelled by her duct tape double that is a couple of sizes smaller than she is now.

This is why I love sewing with knits. . .it is super fast!  I had both of these cut and sewn in about 3 hours. 

I would love to hear what you are working on!