my sister bought a few malongs for me and for the longest time, i haven't done anything with them because a) i don't really wear them b) i really love the fabric and couldn't bear to cut it up...
but i recently whittled down my stash again and found them and was inspired to use them, they're just too pretty to sit in a box. i made one of them into a tiny pocket tank. it's a very easy pattern - the instructions and diagrams are very clear.
i'm so pleased with how it turned out and how it fits. and i actually have enough fabric left over to make a wrap skirt too! bonus! this tank is going to be a great layering addition. looking forward to making more breezy tanks this summer... maybe i should start a new challenge and make tanks on tuesdays!
when anna maria horner's new(ish) lawn fabric, called "fine feathered" in pomegranate, came in to the store, all of my coworkers bought some yardage to make into scarves... meanwhile, did they leave me even an inch??!! nooooooo....
so when we got the reorder in, i snagged two yds for myself! ha!
but, after i brought it home i realized... hmm... we were all going to have the same scarves... unless...
DUN DUN DUN!!!
oooohkay... i guess you either love the whole mini pom pom fringe trend or you hate it... i kinda dig it myself... :)
i looked around locally for mint green mini pom pom fringe and couldn't find it... honestly, i have no idea why the mint green/celadon color was so appealing to me, but i had to have it. i ordered 4 yds from warehouse fabrics which has a pretty large color selection of mini pom pom fringe.
so i washed the lawn fabric in my machine - cold, gentle cycle. then, while it was still wet, i twisted it into a hank - much like this:
when it was dry, i ironed out just the perimeter of the fabric so that i'd have a flat surface to sew.
i sewed (btw - if you are sewing a lightweight fabric like cotton lawn, make sure you're using an appropriate sized machine needle) all around with a 1/2 inch seam but left a 3" gap to pull the scarf inside out:
after the scarf is pulled inside out, press the seam flat and sew the gap closed.
to sew the mini pom pom fringe, i needed to use my zipper foot. i placed the rib portion of the fringe close to the edge of the scarf, and just started sewing.... this was probably the most time consuming portion of the project.. i was worried that i would catch one of the pom pom the the seam while sewing, so i took it very slow... :)
i would like my scarf to be a little more wrinkled than pictured, so, i'll most likely dampen it down again later by spraying it with a bit of water and then twisting it into a hank again....
all in all, i LOVE my new scarf! we have some more beautiful lawns in the store and have also gotten in a shipment of different sized pom pom fringe... already have my eye on some fabric and complimentary trim! >:)
so i've been a little busy sewing bee lately... :)
i decided a while ago to enter the colette patterns' laurel sewing contest. but i was having trouble deciding how i wanted to alter the pattern and what fabrics i wanted.
i ended up altering the pattern by simply 1) making the yoke, 2) the horizontal band under the yoke, 3) the vertical print stripe down center front, 4) the solid band at the front hem and lastly, 5) facings for the front and back. i also made my own bias tape for the arm openings. (i love making my own bias tape. whee!)
i was really inspired by all the color blocked dresses i've seen on the runways. i was curious if i could emulate something similar myself.... i have to admit, during the process, i was really second guessing what this dress might become, but i'm really happy with it.
i'd really like to try altering the pattern again with more asymetrical blocks of color... and with different prints/colors.
this really was an easy and fun pattern/dress - even with all of my alterations - to make.
ennyhoo... thanks for coming by and reading! please forgive me for the brief post... i spent most of the day at C2E2 yesterday and then some drinkin and dancing in the evening... and i'm plum tuckered out. if you have any questions about the dress, please leave them in the comments! :)
clearly, all of my grand (delusions) plans to document my progess on this garment have failed... since i finished the dress about a week ago... *sad trombone* i've also been really busy with work and paloma's birthday is this weekend.... lots of prep for the soon to be 10 year old's b'day party... (help.me.)
re: cutting...
i think i've mentioned before that cats do not make good pattern weights... you should believe me. (my) cats won't, but you should.... it took me about two hours to cut this out (cat notwithstanding), but only because i decided (*cough*forgot to buy lining*cough*) to have contrast panels and lining (see pink and peach fabrics)...
re: sewing...
this would probably be a challenging pattern even for an intermediate sewer, but if you just take it slow and read the directions, i think you'll find your way...
the trickiest part is definitely the bodice, where you turn the lining... again, if you follow the directions, you'll figure it out....
"16. Right sides facing, align the inner shoulder seams and stitch. Press the seam open." (then you pull the shoulder seams thru the opening at the waist and stitch the outer shoulder seams... this sounds more complicated than it is... really.)
"18. Right sides facing, place the inner and outer shoulder seams on top of each other. Pin and stitch the remaining seam opening along the armhole and neckline, which avoids topstitching."
after the bodice, the skirt is a breeze, especially if you take my advice and notch the patterns so you know which one is which.... then, TA-DA!!! *insertsnoopydance* (not optional)
so, yeah.... i always forget how tall Paloma is.... it's more of a long flouncy shirt than a dress.... but, she loves it and that's all that matters to me.... i can't wait for summer so she can actually use it.... she spent the coooold chilly day in this outfit with a sweater and long socks... she dinna wanna take it off... :)
ennyhooo..... happy thursday! thanks for coming by and reading!!
all in all it took me about 2 hours to transfer the pattern, including:
cutting the original pattern pieces out,
ironing and transferring the original patterns to kraft paper,
drinking wine, wrassling children to take showers,
connecting the dots, revising the length if necessary, and labeling the patterns in pencil,
cutting the patterns out,
drinking wine, wrassling kids to sit in time out,
punching holes in wall in the pattern and hanging on a shower ring.
the original figgy's patterns are pretty self explanatory. the only added instruction i would have is to use a pattern notcher to add notches to the skirt flounce and panel pieces - top flounce (1 notch) , middle flounce (2 notches), bottom flounce (3 notchesetc...) they're similar in size and shape and once you cut them out in fabric, it may be difficult to tell them apart.
next up... cutting your newly transferred patterns out of fabric! how exciting!!!
on my way to the register, the remnant section's menacing tentacles grabbed me, refusing to let go until i harvested enough materials to appease it... really, it's not me, it's THE REMNANT SECTION...
dun duUN DUUUUUUUN!!!
actually, no. i have an addiction to remnant bins. i need an intervention...
although, to my credit - the only remnant i picked up was this orange chevron from dear stella:
i neglected to buy any lining (cuz i was soo happy!!!) luckily, i had some remnants at home (what? no kidding!? go figure....) that would suffice...
i'll document my little journey with this pattern over the next few days... for now, if you're thinking about starting a new project, the needle shop is having a sale on patterns - Use the code "BYEPATTERNS" and get 25% off!!!GO NOW!!!
so, i haven't taken up my knitting needles in a long time and that made me curious to see what one skein projects pinners were pinning on pinterest... *tries to say it, not spray it*
i had size 13 circular needles, but not the hat sized length and i had one skein of caron brand, acrylic, 4 oz yarn and lion brand, fisherman's wool yarn, 6oz.
unlike knit and bake's directions, i cast on more than 49 stitches (my circular needles were longer). for the caron brand acrylic, i cast on 61 stitches. for the lion brand yarn, i cast on 71 instead (i was worried that this may not fit over my friend's big head...).
i really love how they turned out, and happily so did my friends who received them as gifts.
i'm very thankful to knitandbake for posting the easy instructions to this lovely project. if you just started knitting and would like to try circular needles, this is a great project! :)
