KS 2605 Girls' Swimsuits - They're done.

I finished the four swimsuits for my girl-kids. They are pretty cute. The only alteration I made was to add an extra inch in torso length for my girls and to line the entire front instead of just the crotch lining. They did not have them try these on because they are part of their Christmas gifts. I'll use this pattern for years. It goes all the way to size 7.

I did what Kwik Sew recommended for applying the elastic and it turned out great. Here you can see that I serged on the elastic with black thread. Then, I folded it over and zig zagged from the right side. This is the inside.

This is what it looks like from the right side.

These are the original photos from this post.

Complete with weird poses. Those girls crack me up.

Another great gift idea.

So how cute is this little idea? I'm sure lots of people know about these and wear them while they run. But, for me, these little armbands are new. Super cute too. I probably won't give any for gifts but I will keep this in mind for my summer training season. I tore this out of the REI leaflet they send for the holidays. The top pictures are from the REI website. Here's a link to the page. They could be made out of little tiny strips of knit material. It's perfect for those of you who hate throwing away scraps.

Giftcard Pockets - Crafty Goodness

Here are some more crafty gifty things. I made two gift card holders for iTunes cards. The pattern is super easy. I just cut two rectangles, sewed them RST (leaving an opening for turning), and turned the rectangle. Now you have one very long, skinny rectangle. You fold up part of the rectangle and then topstitch the sides. And then you're done.

I used my snap press to apply little brass snaps to the front. I figure they can use the little pockets for something else once they use the giftcards.

Before I stitched the two layers together, I embroidered the outer fabric for a little texture. I used the Embird Font Engine and used one of the dingbat fonts to add some curliques.

All of the bags . . .

Here are all 17 bags. I love all the colors! I finished all the blue and snowman ones today.

I used up a bunch of bright zippers. I may have to buy some more on eBay. That is where most of these zippers came from. My husband bought them when my sewing obsession appeared a few years ago. He also bought be a lot of buttons and other notions.

Erica asked about washing these bags in the last post. To wash these you put them in a garment bag and wash them in the washing machine. My girlfriend, S, just rinses hers out everyday and leaves it to try on the dishwasher rack.

Ziplock bags . . . sort of

Are these not cute? One of my work friends, S, is an eco-friendly/green sort. Instead of plastic ziplock bags, she carries much of her food in little fabric bags with water proof liners. I think it's a fantastic idea and so I'm making up a bunch for Christmas. S will get some too. S, if you are reading this, pretend to be surprised, okay?? I used the Split Yarn Zippered Wristlet tutorial (it's a link over on the right under the heading Favorite Sewing Tutorials). Today I made 10 but I have about seven more to whip out tomorrow. I used a random assortment of reds and browns. The other seven are blues and winter-themed.

Some of them are lined with ripstop nylon. The fun part of this nylon? This is nylon that has been to SPACE. Yes, you read that right. My grandfather is one of the founders of the Poker Flats Research Range. My grandfather proposed a rocket range in the 1960s that would shoot rockets into the aurora and deliver payloads of various chemicals to the high-altitude regions. You can read about it here. He has a shirt that says, "I AM a rocket scientist." He's a funny dude. Several years ago, they dedicated a building to him and gave him the parachute of the most recent rocket launch. Being The Fabric Queen, I ended up with some of it. My dad will be getting the baggies that are made with the parachuting material. He'll think it very fitting.

The majority of the bags are lined with XLT Burlington outerwear fabric.

The best part is that I got to use oodles of fun, old zippers.

More Kid Stuff

I work in a middle school. We have teams. My team consists of three women and one man. He's a man-man. And a MAN-MAN at that. I equate him to a rutting bull moose. He's dirty, profane, and amusing. His life just changed in a very big way with the arrival of his first born child in July. Seeing as I go back to school Thursday, I've made him some baby gifts. He'll be gruff and uncomfortable and say something like, "Uh, thanks, hmmmmm, I'll give these to L (his wife). She'll really like them. Uh, thanks, really." Then it will be back to business as usual and we'll talk about hunting (I know some) or engine parts (I know nothing).

My daughter is modeling the bibs I made him. I'm not sure what is up with the hands-in-the-air-weird-pose. All the embroidery is from UrbanThreads.com.

They all all backed with laminated crab microfiber that Paulette gave me. She has the most interesting fabric scraps. She got them from Chez Ami & Chez Belle. If you sew for children you have got to check out this site. They have knits and wovens and the prices are really good (like $3.50/yard in the clearance section). And, they have matching ribknit!!!!! I figure the microfiber will keep the clothes a little bit dry. And it's so damn cute!!!

This is my favorite design of the bunch. I wish there was more contrast between the background and the dandelion puffs.

I found this free pattern by googling, "free baby bibs." I added a link on the right under the Favorite Sewing Tutorials link. Ok, now some me sewing . . . damn kids.

Gifts for my son . . .

He'll be five (five!!) next week. I made him a new jacket out of my favorite Jalie jacket pattern #2212. I've made this in many sizes and this is a size K. I'm not planning on doing a review on this because I've done one at PatternReview.com. In fact, this was my very first review at PatternReview!! This is that wonderful Windstopper Polartec 300. It is totally windproof and water resistant. It has a wicking side (black) and a water-shedding side (hunter green).



The only thing I did differently to this version is to add my tag and add a hanging loop. I'm always on my kids to Hang Up Their Stuff but then I realize they can't because their coats have no loops!

I decided on re-usable gift bags with octopuses on them. He loves the ocean. I used the Lunch Sack Tutorial (it's on the right under favorite tutorials) and changed the dimensions. I added snaps to mine.

Are all boys into building things?? My son will spend three straight hours with the instruction book and put together these Bionicle things. He loves anything that has directions he can follow. He likes directions. Love them. He likes having A Plan. He's already pretty type-A for only being five. I am planning on these bags being the Bionicle's home after he opens the boxes.

Tomorrow is sewing class day! I'm hoping to cut out my wool. Yikes!

Houston Fabric Part I

My husband once again hit a home run with his Houston fabric purchases. Notice that the title of this blogpost says Part I. Oh yes, there is more than just this.

First up this beautiful jacquard silk charmeuse. It's blue, gold, and white with burgundy centers. This was a remnant so there is only 1 1/8" of a yard.

I've loved this BWOF 12/08 dress since I saw it. I may try to use this remnant for the bodice and a deep burgundy wool crepe for the skirt. What do you think? Would this be too much for a bodice? I think it would be grand but I'm really smitten with this dress so that might be clouding my judgement.

This is a polyester charmeuse and I love it. This one might be the lining for my coat. There are so many options now. I am leaning toward this one.

This would be a great pop of color on the inside.

Another silk charmeuse. Yummy. I have 1 1/4" yards of this one. He bought the end of the bolt for me.

This is not a husband fabric. This is the one I bought from Thai Silks. I talked about it here on this post.

I promise (really!!) that I'll be posting some finished garments in the next couple of days. I feel like it's been for-ever since I posted something substantial. I promise., maybe tomorrow?

Thanks Gwen!

I've been a bit slow to sew this week but it's not for lack of trying. I'm almost done with a dress and I received my swimsuit fabric in the mail. But . . . my mom is here and she sleeps in the sewing/spare bedroom. That means that my sewing has been toned down to a minimum. On top of that, one of my retailers just ordered a passel of slings. I have to do that first since they are paying customers. Drat. I've been patient but I'm getting frustrated with the lack of progress.

But, I did get a delightful gift in the mail today. Gwen from After the Dress posted a give-away a while back for this pencil roll pattern. How perfect is this for a few gifts for kids? I can see these in all sizes for crayons, pencils, paintbrushes, etc. Thank you Gwen!!!

Hopefully you'll get to see some bathing suit pictures soon. I ending up getting four (I know, who needs four?) cuts of fabric. I hope to make at least two tops and bottoms to wear while I'm there.

He's Crafty

How cool is my dad? He's a wood worker and used to be a cabinet-maker and carpenter. A while ago we were talking about "trading skills." I would make him some warm motorcycle pants and he would make me some wooden presser tools. Well, he still hasn't gotten me his measurements but look at these!! The clapper is made from Purpleheart which is an extremely dense heartwood. When its cut it changes from a chocolate brown to a dark, rich brownish-purple color. It's beautiful wood. The presser board is made of Ash. Both are unfinished. He didn't want to have the potential for varnish to stain my fabric. They are both smooth and highly sanded so as not to snag fabric.


This clapper had grooves in the sides for easy handling.





My dad said that he made a template for himself so any modifications can be done easily to the next set he makes me. Did you catch that? "The next set he makes me." He's awesome. I just wish that he would send me the damn measurements so I could fufill my part of the skills swap. I've never used one of these before but I think it may have to be pointier so the collar can slip on it a bit easier.

Burda 10-2008 #103 Pleated Skirt

This is the fabric my husband bought me when he was in Houston. I chose the easiest-to-work-with fabric first. I am using the BWOF 10-2008 #103 pattern again because I like it so much. I lopped off about four inches at the hem again. This time I also added an orange piping strip that separated the pattern pieces. I didn't want it to look sorta mismatched so I did this so there would be an obvious line. Here is the first skirt I made with this pattern.

The back.


Pleat and piping detail on the front.


The front


Here it is with matching tights. I didn't want to be too matchy-matchy so I picked the green top. I rather like it that way. And no, I haven't really been up for long.

Another back shot.

I still have a few Christmas presents to crank through so I'm going to try to do that today!