Just This Side of Sanity, For Now...

There is a sign at my local Fabricland that says "Dear Fabric Store Worker, please stop asking me what I'm going to use this for, I'm running out of ways to say 'It's going into my stash.'" I try very much not to be that person. I am sometimes, I freely admit that; anyone who sews is occasionally going to be. However, I have to keep it under tight control. First it's a bit of fleece bought on sale in the spring, squirrelled away for the next fall. Then it might be a piece of silk twill in an odd colour that I'm sure I'll do something with someday. (I haven't bought this one yet. It stares at me every time I'm at the store, though...) But that way lies a work room that no one but me can walk through and perhaps a brief moment of fame, guest-starring on a future episode of Hoarders.

So I've gotten pretty good at the old self-denial. I don't usually let myself buy aimless fabric; that is, fabric I have no immediate purpose for. There are times when I've bought something for a purpose and then realize I have absolutely no time to work on it. And there are the times when someone (or someone's family member) wants/needs to get rid of some of their stash, and I end up with a whole bunch of fabric I have NO idea what to do with, but it's often too cool or pretty to get rid of. As such, I do have a stash, of course. It's very helpful when I'm working on shows and realize that a piece of fabric I already own is just perfect for someone. It's less helpful when I have to clean up my work room/our guest bedroom because we have guests coming to stay.

The placement of this buttonhole makes me giggle. Possibly more than it should.

However, there are times when I simply must buy a piece of fabric, when it's just so amazing or beautiful or unique and I love it so much I could happily stretch it over a frame and hang it on the wall. I had one of those moments the other day. I'd been eyeing this fabric for a while now, and it was on sale! The most on sale it would likely ever go, too. I went for it. I knew if I didn't, the next time I came by it would be gone and I'd be sad. I don't like making myself sad, so instead I made myself very happy! I mean, come on, look at it! Disney villains in messy makeup on a grey/pink print with spiders? Impossible to look it in the face and say no.

Now, what to do with it? I knew if I put it in my stash it would take years before I got back to it, so I needed to do something ASAP. I have less impulse control when it comes to pattern sales, so I have a somewhat largish collection of untouched patterns. I went through them and found one by Butterick (B6318) for an early 60s dress and decided to give it a try. It turned out super cute, but not for me. It has a really high boat neck, which doesn't flatter me and drives me crazy. Okay, take two.

Love the skirt, but... Seam ripper time!

I have been holding onto a Vogue shirt-dress pattern for years (V8352). I honestly don't think they sell it any more. (note - I just checked the Vogue website and they do not. They actually sell almost the exact same pattern, but it buttons in the back now. Huh.) I've held off on it partly due to previous negative experiences with Vogue (they have a tendency to have mistakes or very confusing directions), but I have to say this one was great. It came together pretty quickly and, like all Vogue patterns, it has some very nice little high-end touches, like the snap at the waistline to keep it from gaping. Plus, it fits beautifully! I didn't have to do any alterations and I really like the fit, especially in the back.

Fancy snap!

And these buttons! How perfect are they?

Tangled vines! Love it!

My husband likes it, but he thinks it should be tighter. Granted, he says that about most of my clothes... :)

I'm so happy I bought this fabric, I'm so happy I took the first dress apart, and I'm so very happy with the final product! Today is a day to celebrate aimless fabric.

But only today, because again, that way lies madness.

I LOVE the back of this dress!

I'm Really Rather Proud (recycling bag)

We have two cupboards for recycling, one for deposit returnables and one for regular recycling picked up by the city. For the last two years, we've been trying to decide how to contain the mass of paper and plastic in the regular cupboard. Particularly in the winter, we're not the best at taking it all out as often as we really should and so end up with a cupboard so full that you have to open the door, toss whatever you have in and slam it closed as fast as you can to avoid an avalanche. 

We've discussed boxes, sub-doors and all manner of hard-sided solutions, but the shape of the cupboard makes all those awkward. The best solution came down to a bag of some sort, so the other day I decided to just go for it.

 

I made the bag out of some light canvas that has been sitting around for years, and bound the top edge with some green bias tape.

I made a cutout in one side of the top edge as an opening for the recycling to go in, then added four webbing loops at the corners. 

I bought four heavy-duty cup hooks from Canadian Tire and screwed them into the corners of the cupboard. And viola! No more avalanches!

Found Fabrics - hiding from the heat vol. 2 (crib sheets)

Today, I decided to make some of my favourite things: crib sheets. I don't know why, but I just love making crib sheets. They're simple, pretty quick, and so weirdly rewarding. Ok,  guess I do know why. Anyway, I don't get to make them very often as they take a fair amount of fabric so they aren't really cost-effective to sell; I made so many when Rowan was born that I haven't needed to make more; and there are only so many you can give as gifts....

That being said, today I got to make a set. See, although we have a stack of fitted sheets for the crib, I only ever made one flat sheet and it's flannel. And it's hot here right now. Very hot. And poor Willow, who (like her mum) loves being tucked in at night, has been melting under a blanket. Poor wee thing. So, today, she got a nice set of cotton sheets so I can tuck her in!

No credit to me for the pillowcase (bought) or the quilt (a gift from a wonderful friend)

Tutorial Time!

You will need 3.6m (3.9 yards) of fabric, 1.2m (4') narrow elastic. 

Fitted Sheet:

Take a piece of fabric 70"x45". 45" is a pretty standard width for many fabrics, especially cottons, so this means you don't have to cut the long sides. Huzzah.

Cut 9" squares out of each corner. I do this by folding it in half and in half again, then cutting all the corners at once. 

New cutting mat! Thank you Fabricland Ultimate Sale!

Next, sew the two cut edges together with a 1/4" seam, creating a box corner

I serge my edges; you can zigzag them, pink them or leave them raw.

Finish the raw edges of the sheet. This should only be the two short sides, the long sides (if you had 45" fabric) are selvages and so don't really need to be finished.

Now cut 4 pieces of elastic at 1' each. Put the middle of each piece on the seam in each corner. Sew it down, stretching the elastic fully. 

I like to do this by sewing out from the centre of the elastic, but this means that you do have to sew one side of the elastic blind.

Blind!

 You can also stretch the elastic out fully, then pin it in place.

And there you have it! A fitted sheet!

Because my elastic had no guts (it was crazy soft and stretchy),  I did my 2' on each end as one piece. If you are using regular braided elastic, you'll need to do the 1' pieces

Flat sheet:

Start with another piece of fabric 70"x45" 

Hem one end at 1" (folded in half)

Hem the other end at 3" (fold under 1/2")

And you're done!

Update: Willow is sleeping well tonight! Cotton is a wonderful thing...

Found fabrics - hiding from the heat version

Today was hot. Really hot. Like, my thermometer said 39 degrees hot. I do not like the heat. I am a spring and fall sort of person. I like sweaters and long skirts and being, you know, cozy. I do not like sweltering. It just doesn't work for me.

As such, today the kids and I took refuge in the basement, where it stayed pretty cool all day. I decided to use up some fabric lying around.

First up, a very nice salmon jersey. I think it's a modal blend, but I could be wrong. I've had it for a while. Given the weather, I decided to make a sundress.

I'm not too certain how I feel about it, but Ryan laughed at me when I said that since I always hate everything I make for myself at first. After wearing it all evening, I've noticed that I need to alter it a little. Not hugely, but just a couple of fixes due to the way the fabric wears.

Then I decided to make a new travel change pad for my diaper bag. The one we have is cheap vinyl and came with a different bag and is straight-up falling apart. So I dove into my PUL stash and came up with this:

Folded along stitched fold lines! I know, I'm so clever...

I like it a lot.. It's a top layer of waterproof PUL, with two layers of a heavy cotton underneath. I'm not too worried about making it fully waterproof as we're past the peeing-on-the-change-table phase (I hope). I was going to bind it, but decided to just serge the edges instead. I'm on this kick right now of using four different colors of small spools of thread in my serger, and although it means I have to change the spools every five minutes, I think it looks fun. As a bonus, I'm slowly using up my huge collection of half-used spools of thread!

I also started on a shirt for my dad and some diapers for the wee one. I'll post those when they're done!

Diaper delivery day! (Diapers, of course)

Friday was diaper delivery day. A friend had a little boy in march and she asked if I was interested in making her some cloth diapers. It just so happened that I had recently discovered a diaper pattern that I really really like. It's from Fabricland, part of their new Babyville Boutique line. I have to say they are the only diapers that I have made that when put on Willow don't immediately start leaking. They are super-cute, too.

No tutorial today, just pictures. The pattern gives me license to make and sell (on a small-scale) the diapers, but I certainly can't make the pattern available on the Internet for free! 

I love the leg-openings. The stuffers agitate out in the wash, it's great!

I will say, though, that although the finished product is fantastic, the pattern instructions leave a little to be desired. They use photos instead of technical drawings (like most paper patterns use) and the photos are not especially clear. This is not a beginner pattern. As such, if you have the pattern and are having problems with it, shoot me a line and I'll help you if I can. Maybe I'll do a diaper tips post...

Same pattern, different fabric. These were for my sister!

Sooooo many snaps....

Getting Ready for Summer (Aladdin pants)

I rarely sew for myself. It's one of those mechanic's-car-never-runs, plumber-has-leaky-faucets type of things. When I'm making something for myself (ergo, not getting paid or having someone depending on me) I have no sense of urgency. I tend not to finish the things I make for myself, leaving them unhemmed, closed with safety pins instead of a hook and eye (that's literally true. I made a skirt and wore it for years without putting a hook and eye on it). I also never make anything fussy or complicated for myself. I tend to make very simple, utilitarian things I don't need a pattern for, like circle skirts, tunic tops, and pyjama pants.

This is my latest simple-but-great project. These pants are insanely comfortable and really, quite simple. They are a style that is actually quite ancient, being essentially the first pants every designed. They originated in Persia, which is why Aladdin wears them. They cover more than a skirt while at the same time being very good hot-weather pants. Lots of airflow.

I'm not going to attempt to post a pattern for two reasons: 1) I don't have one and 2) you don't need one. You can easily draw everything on the fabric.

You will need a square of whatever fabric you want. Light cottons, rayons and silks (if you're feeling fancy) are the best. Polyester would work fine as well, the key here is lightness. You want the fabric to be very drapey and floaty. Depending on the width of your fabric, you will need different lengths. So if your fabric is 115cm wide, you need 115cm in length (though most fabric stores only cut on the 10s, so you'll likely need to get 120cm). Keep in mind that the wider the fabric is, the longer the pants. If you're a bigger person like me, you probably won't be able to get anything longer than shorts and you may run into trouble with the smaller-width fabrics.

Okay. Tutorial time:

Measurements needed: Your hips at their widest point; your waist where you want the pants to sit; and your calf at its widest point.

1) Fold the fabric in half diagonally, then in half again bisecting the right angle.

2) Math time! To find the length that you measure down to create the waistline, take your HIP measurement and Divide it by 1.6, then divide it in half. The equation is r= (HIP/1.6)/2.

So let's say your hips are 100cm. 100/1.6 = 62.5

Divided in half again, and we have 31.3cm

3) Pivoting on the top corner, measure down your r from one side of the angle to the other. Cut along the line you've just drawn

4) At the other corner, find a place where the distance between the two sides is equal to half your calf measurement. I like to put a curve in this, but you don't have to. A straight line works fine as well. Cut along this line.

5) With right sides together, sew your side seams from the waist opening to the leg opening, using 1/4" seam allowance.

6) Cut 3 strips of fabric 2 times the width of your elastic + 1" wide (if your elastic is 1", cut the strip at 3"). You need one the length of your hip measurement + 1" and two the length of your calf measurement +1". Sew the ends of each together to make a circle.

7)  Cut 1 piece of elastic 1" shorter than your waist measurement and 2 pieces of elastic 1" shorter than your calf measurement. Sew the ends of each together to make a circle.

8) Fold the fabric circles in half over the elastic circles, pin at the quarters. (The fabric circles will be bigger than the elastic circles.) Sew the fabric together, encasing the elastic. Stretch the elastic as you go. These are now your waistband and leg bands!

9) Attach the waistband and leg bands to the pants, stretching the elastic in the casing.

And you're done!

I hope this makes sense! If you try these, please leave a comment and let me know what needs clarification.

A Living Flame (Pictures)

I was recently asked to make a custom dance costume for a local dancer. I've known this girl since she was about 10, and she is a seriously accomplished dancer, so I was rather chuffed to be able to do it. I also really enjoy making stretch wear. It was one of my favourite classes at University and it's something that I don't get a lot of opportunity to do. I had hoped that when I did the costumes for The Little Mermaid last fall (that post will happen someday) that I would be able to draft the bodysuits, but there ended up being about 30 of them needed, so it just didn't happen.

Brenna had a very interesting concept for her solo this year: a flame. Unfortunately, she couldn't find anything in the dance wear catalogues that looked the way she wanted, so she asked me to design and make her something. This is how it turned out.

The dance was very cool, too. She did extremely well in competition, and one of the adjudicators even wrote on her sheet "Fantastic Costume!" I'm really proud.

Willow's First Birthday part 2 (Tiny, Tiny Shoes)

The other great thing about Willow being so small and unaware of things is that I can make her birthday present as she plays by my cutting table. She has been outgrowing shoes at an alarming pace, but as none of her shoes stay on her bloody feet for more than half an hour it doesn't really seem to matter. However, now that she's really walking (and no that it's FINALLY started getting nice out) she really needed a pair of shoes that she could walk in and that were not so easy to remove.

Birthday shoes! I was in a rush to take this as she went outside in them immediately after....

I've been making baby shoes since last fall and I love it. They're so much fun to make! Although I've put some of the shoes I've made on her, this was the first pair I'd made just for Willow. I'm really happy with them, although I'm going to have to make another pair pretty soon! My little weed...

To see more of my baby shoes, check out Banana Who? (my facebook page)

These were a custom order. I'm really happy with them.