Just What I Needed...Floral Tank: Simplicity 1693

I needed an quick project.  An easy one to cleanse my palate of the Boyfriend's shirt.  I went through my patterns and chose Simplicity 1693.  Then I went through my stash and found a rayon challis strike-off I got at the swapmeet.  I got 2 yards for $2.  Woohoo!  I originally thought I would make a dress using this fabric, but never paired it with the right pattern.

I chose view F.  I used french seams throughout and made my own self bias binding to finish the neckline and the armholes.  Without the collar, the top was sort of boring.  I decided to make spaghetti like I did for one of my first projects in school.   The spaghetti straps could have been stuffed a little more, but I think they are alright.  I hand-sewed the spaghetti straps in a swirly pattern and added pearl buttons.  Here is a close-up of the neckline:

 The instructions had you make a button loop with thread.  Mine's slightly too big for the button so it slips off the button sometimes.  And the close-up of the back:

If I make this view again, I might try the collar and I would shorten the back a little.  It is quite long on little ol' me.  I definitely want to try the other views.

Thanks to my newest followers!  190!  Woohoo!

SaraDiann

Cat

Susan Partlan

Giveaway next time :)

Claiming my Blog!

Follow my blog on bloglovin' :)


(For the record, I love Feedly, but I'm doubling up, just in case.)

Teaching the Boyfriend to Sew: Constellation Dinosaurs!

The Boyfriend has been interested in my sewing as of late and wanted to work on a project with me.  When I was in school he was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and helped label my pattern pieces, trace off my markers, cut out the pieces and iron fabric.  He even seam ripped once or twice because I didn't have time.  He saved me hours of work and never complained.

I asked him back in December I think if he wanted to make himself a pair of pajama pants.  He did and we worked on them together.  He chose the fabric.  Constellation dinosaurs!

The Boyfriend laid out the pattern, helped cut it out (we did it together to save time), pinned and sewed the pjs.  I showed him how to pin a little bit on one side and then he would do the other side.  I sewed a bit, and then he finished.  Honestly, he made the pjs almost entirely by himself.  He even serged all his seam allowances. I stitched the elastic ends together and I also hemmed the legs.  That's it.

I think he did a great job!

These pictures were taken after many, many wears and washes.  They shrunk a little, even though I pre-shrunk the fabric in hot water.

Our next project together will probably be a baby quilt for my sister's baby.  She's due in October.  We have a little time to work on it. :)

Thanks to my newest Follower:  Kayleigh!

A little bit of Home Dec.

After I moved,  The Boyfriend and got a lot of new furniture and set up the apartment.  My favorite new piece of furniture was my couch and I was super excited to make my own throw pillows.  I drafted a very simple pillow case with a square for the front and 2 overlapping rectangles for the back so I could easily remove the pillow and wash the cases.  I decided it would be fun to break in my brand new serger I got for my birthday (back in January) to construct the pillows.  My new serger is a Babylock Imagine.  It works so well.  I love how easy it is to use and the feet are really cool also.

The fabric is a vintage barkcloth-like fabric I got at an estate sale my mom and I stopped at on a whim after seeing a sign on the side of the street.  I was originally going to use it for dining room chair covers, but decided to use it for pillows instead.  One day, if I have a kitchen with a small window over the sink, I will use the rest to make a curtain.  I thought it would be cool to pipe around the pillow and found the perfect red-orange vintage piping in the stash.  Unfortunately, I did not have enough for both pillows. I went to Joann's to try to find a match, but the red piping there was not a close match.  I chose a light lime green instead.

Like I said, I used the serger to make the pillows.  The piping foot is awesome.  It worked perfectly!

Birthday Shirt for the Boyfriend

The Boyfriend's birthday was at the end of April so I decided as one of his birthday gifts, I would make him a shirt.  I had the fabric picked out since last summer or fall, and was going to make the shirt for Christmas, but ran out of time.  Oh well, he now has a winter shirt just in time for summer.  :-P

I used the Colette Patterns Negroni Shirt again.  Here is the last shirt I made with this pattern.  This time I made the long sleeve version in a beautiful brushed cotton woven plaid.  Another swapmeet purchase for $1.50/yd.  Can you believe that?  If you could feel the fabric through your monitor, I think you would be impressed.

I followed the directions exactly this time, I even felled the sleeves and side seams.  The instructions for doing so are quite good.  Much better than I expected!  I only have two complaints with the pattern.  The first is that the area on the shoulder where the facing joins up with the collar is quite thick and bulky.  I trimmed and graded my SAs, but there is still some bulk.  Second, I think the sleeves are drafted long.  Or the Boyfriend has Tyrannosaurus Rex arms, but I'm fairly certain they are a normal length.  I really should have measured the sleeves beforehand, but I forgot and I also wanted to keep the shirt a surprise.  Every time I worked on the shirt, I meticulously cleaned up so he would not see what I was making.  Because the sleeves are a couple inches too long, he prefers to wear the sleeves rolled.  It looks cute that way, so I don't mind. :)

The cuffs, outer yoke, and pocket are cut on the bias.  I matched up the fronts and sides pretty well, but the sides could be better.  I'm totally pissed that I cut the back piece slightly off grain.  I hate that you can tell because it is a plaid shirt.

Overall, I'm proud of the shirt and the Boyfriend says he loves it.  He's worn it more than I wear my own self-made clothes.

Thanks to my newest Follower, Danette!