Monthly Archives: July 2009

Jul 30 2009

Failed Skirt Attempt

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Ok, so this is why I don’t like to make things for me to wear. They never turn out right. I was attempting to make this skirt from a tutorial at Amazing Mae. Just a simple, ruffled, pull-on skirt. Well, the fabric that I used was a little on the heavy side, but it was also a little see-through. So I thought I’d line it with muslin. But I did it the hard way and cut out each piece in the main fabric and the lining and sewed them like one piece. The stupid thing weighs a ton and has no drape to it. It looks like a curtain. So much for a light, airy summer skirt. Oh well. This thing was cursed from the beginning, though. I wanted to use the serger because I had gotten it working. I ran test after test, but of course when I start with the skirt, the thing starts hitting something and making a horrible sound. Basically, something is bent and the upper looper isn’t looping both needles anymore. So the dillema is: do I take it in to see if it can be fixed ($80 service + whatever it will take to fix it) or just wait until I can afford a new one? Now that I’ve had a taste of what a serger can do, I really want one. And if I get one, I want a decent one from the dealer so I can take the classes for it. Looks like the hubby will have to work some overtime for my Christmas present 🙂
Jul 28 2009

Cupcakes

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I like making little appliqued shirts for birthday presents. If the party has a theme, I try to match the design. Last week Allison went to a cupcake party. So, a cupcake shirt was in order.


I need to find more girly shirts, though. All I have right now are the Hanes t’s. But this would look cute on a onesie, too. I’ve made a few other shirts, a pony and a crown, but I don’t always remember to take pictures. Here is the crown shirt.

For the templates, I usually just search Google images then put them into Word or Publisher to scale them. The crown shirt I also sewed on button jewels on the points.

Boys shirts are harder. For a friend’s baby I made a truck applique:

I still need to make Ian another tie onesie. I made a newborn one but he only wore it once or twice before he outgrew it. I don’t think I even got a picture of him in it.

Jul 26 2009

Busy Day

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Today we went to our Stake Pioneer Day picnic at the park. It was fun, but not well organized (as usual for our Stake). Allison was sort of a grump most of the day. Then we went swimming with our friends. It was baby central- 4 little ones and two preschoolers. I was able to get baby Halen’s name letters done yesterday. I think they turned out super cute. I’m so horrible at figuring out fabrics that match or go together. I think that’s my main block against quiliting.
An impromptu photoshoot in the backyard yielded these photos:

Jul 13 2009

Yet Another Baby Shower Gift

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I made a set of raggy letters using the little boy’s name for a gift. I got the idea for it from this blog post. I think they turned out pretty cute. The main idea is for them to be something soft for baby to play with and later to learn his name. But they could also be used as wall hangings. I might still add a little ribbon loop for hanging or putting them all on one of those plastic link-a-doo things to keep them all together. The YW and leaders helped me prep them by tracing the letter on the fabric and cutting out fleece for the middle and chenille for the back. Then I sewed a satin stitch following the tracing using my walking foot to keep the layers all together. I then cut the letter out leaving about 1/4″ space around the stitching. Clipped into the seam allowance to help the fraying, then I’ll run them through the washer and dryer a couple times to get them nice and frayed.
And my newest addition to my sewing pile: a used Euro-Pro 534 DSi serger. I found it at a yard sale on Saturday. It appears to work decently but I’m not really sure. The stitch quality seems to drift- it starts out ok, then loosens, then goes back to ok. I don’t have a clue so I’ll probably take it to get looked at sometime soon. It also came with a whole bunch of feet still in their (original?) packaging. I spent some time online trying to figure out what each one was for. There isn’t much online for this specific serger so it’s pretty much a guessing game. But I’m excited to have a serger, mainly for things like rolled hems.
Jul 8 2009

Wet bag for swimming

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Swim lessons started on Monday so I got going and made a lined wet bag. I had a FQ from the Beach Babies line that I love, a scrap of ripstop nylon left-over from making changing pads and a 12″ zipper, so I didn’t have to go buy anything for this project. The idea came from Little Birdie Secrets and the covered zipper idea came from a tutorial at Flossie Teacakes. It’s about 11″x9″ and the perfect size for a little girl’s swimsuit.

Allison got into her swimsuit a little too early this morning. She likes the idea of swim lessons but hates going under the water. Each day after lessons she says she is never ever going back. But then the next day she is excited again. Oh well.

Jul 2 2009

Sew-along skirt

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I finally completed my skirt for the Presser Foot sew-along. I adjusted the pleats so the skirt would ride a little lower in my hips. Doing that, though, caused the facing to not fit (since I cut it out before I decided to make the skirt a little bigger) so I just folded down the waist 5/8″ and sewed it. I also used my blind hem foot to hem the bottom. I’ve actually gotten pretty good at using it. It is kind of intimidating at first but after a little practice and a few tutorials it saves a lot of handwork, which I hate.