Heeeeeere's Whitney!

I found Whitney after she left a comment about the Easter dresses (see previous post). She saw my tutorial on Threadbanger -- and so she made her own!

She's really good, so I thought I'd share her with you. One thing I especially liked was her use of sidewalk chalk as a marker. Now that's just plain genius.

One thing I would have done differently was use a measuring tape to mark the hem of the skirt on the paper. At the top left corner of the paper, anchor the tape at the finished length measurement with a thumbtack or tape. The other end of your tape, (the beginning) will have a little metal end with a hole in it. So just use a pen or marker stuck thru the hole and mark your paper as you move the tape from the top of the paper down, to draw an arc from the top to the side, forming a quarter circle.



Whitney rocks!

This Man is a Genius

Here's some FABULOUS information on how to create your own patterns:

Bulletin Board Makeover

I have needed a bulletin board in my sewing room for some time now. I kept putting off taking care of that because I wanted something just a little different than what you'd expect.

I had an old bulletin board of Barbie's that I wanted to use. And I had some posters of Renoir art that I picked up at a yard sale -- for free. And then, it hit me -- the posters and the bulletin board were the same size!

It's like it was meant to be.

So I made myself a new bulletin board using the old ratty one I had, plus a poster, plus some middy braid from the fabric store. Here's how you do it:

1. You will need an old bulletin board, a poster the same size, a staple gun, and some ribbon or braid trim. I wanted gold, to match the gold accents in the poster. So I found something called "middy braid," which is found in the bias tape section of the fabric store or your local WalMart.

(Middy braid has been traditionally used to trim any type of sailor collar, and comes in black and navy, as well as white and gold and silver)

I used about 3 packages of the middy braid. If you use ribbon, you'll need about 12-15 yards, or 4-5 spools.

Step 1: Line your poster up with the edges of your bulletin board -- poster covering the cork -- and staple the edges down. Don't worry about the staples showing. Try and staple into the wood frame. This is now the outside of your board.

Step 2. Take your braid trim or ribbon and start about 6" from one corner. Staple one edge to the wrong side of the bulletin board,

and then angle it up to form the long side of a triangle with the ribbon/trim.

Then staple it to the other side of the board, and then snip the end.

Step 3. Keep going diagonally across the board, spacing your ribbon about 4-5" apart, making lines by stapling on the wrong side of the board, until you've covered the entire board with diagonal ribbon lines.

Step 4. Now do the same thing but cross the lines you've already made. Start at the corner opposite the one you began originally, and do the same thing. You'll crisscross all your lines, stapling your ribbon to the opposite side of the board.

Step 5. Flip your board over. You're done! If you like, you can glue the cross points of the ribbon with buttons or beads. If you don't want to have pinholes in your poster, use the ribbon to hold your photos and notes. If you don't care about the poster, use tacks. I use both.

Enjoy your new piece of functional art!

OMG!

Those fine folks over at Threadbanger have decided to make me famous.

Who knew?

FYI -- Threadbanger is one kicking group of twenty-somethings who live in the Brooklyn, NY creative community. They produce a blog and weekly show about sewing, creating, decorating, and generally great ideas. They thrive on upcycling (recycling something old to make it into something new) -- they teach, encourage, and exemplify what it means to be an artist in the 21st century.

So I sent them the capelet video I made (see the older posts) and they decided to feature it for Mother's Day!

I am so flattered! Check out Threadbanger for my 3-4 minutes of fame, as well as a whole slew of great crafts and sewing projects.

And check back here for a new video on making your regular jeans into a great pair of wide-leg trouser jeans -- that fit you wonderfully!

xoxox

Easter 2009

I Hate It When This Happens.

I'm frustrated.

I've made and almost finished -- done but for the hems -- three of the girls Easter dresses. I used McCalls 5618 for three, and am using Simplicity 2886 for the other two.

So I'm humming right along, thinking I would make the bodices of the Simplicity dresses (view C, with the spaghetti straps) seamless in the front, instead of doing a center front seam. Somehow a center front seam in a bodice just doesn't look right to me when it's a closed front. Putting the pattern piece on the fold makes more sense.

EXCEPT WITH THIS PARTICULAR PATTERN. It was a hassle getting the top band onto the bodice piece, and now it's laying funny. There's a curve to the top that makes it lay 3-dimensionally -- probably great for fit but it just isn't right! I'm going to have to redo both bodices.

Dang. I hate that.

So today I'm behind a bit, and have to get moving to get them done. Once again I don't get a dress -- which is typical, and certainly not unexpected.

Back to the drawing board. Literally.

xoxox

New Skirt

I sew a lot for others -- and this is by design, since I no longer am the slim little thing I used to be.


Which of course, I never thought I was. Now a size 10 is looking pretty slim.


Anyway -- here's a cute little skirt I made from New Look 6050:

It fits great, and will be perfect for summer!



As an added bonus, I will match my Lincoln rocker very nicely. LOL!

xoxox