Lisette + Co Classic Shirt

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I was so excited when my favorite pattern company, Oliver + S/Liesl + Co announced their new Classic Shirt pattern. As soon as the pattern became available, I bought it. I have been steadily working on it and finished it on Friday. The only think I need to figure out is how to shape the back waist. I always need back darts, pleats or something to keep it from looking like I’m wearing a bag due to upright back, swayback, protruding derriere, etc. Since there are pleats in the back yoke, I’m thinking I’m going sew a tuck in through the waist that continues the pleat line since darts didn’t work out so well. The pattern fits great, otherwise- I made a straight size 8 with the A/B cup front.


Sleepover PJ pants as birthday gifts

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I have a hard time coming up with things to get the kid’s friends when they have birthday parties. I know we have waaaaay too many toys that never get played with so I try to think of unique or useful gifts. Lately, when I have the time and forethought, I’ll make a pair of Oliver + S Sleepover PJ pants and a heat-transfer design t-shirt to give as a gift. Here are a few that I’ve remembered to take pictures of. I made two pairs of the Star Wars pjs for a double birthday party and I really need to make my own son a pair. The snowman ones were for my niece so she could match her cousins. I try to remember to mention somewhere that the hem of the pants can be taken out to give another year of wear. I love these pants and can probably sew them in my sleep, by now!

 

 

 


Simplicity 3997 as Child’s Lab Coat

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The boy wanted a lab coat for his 7th birthday. Since Halloween was long gone, there was little to no hope of finding one in the stores. Being the last minute type that I am, I dug out a kid’s costume pattern, Simplicity 3997. I used the shirt in view A, added length to the sleeves and hem, and placed the buttons lower down on the placket. I also embroidered his name on the pocket, which I should have done before sewing on the pocket, but I was in a hurry and didn’t think of it until I was done. He seemed to like it but as is his way, he tried it on, then promptly took it off and went on his way. I know he will wear it later since he takes awhile to warm up to new things.LabCoatDetailLabCoat


Seamwork Aurora as activewear

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I scored a great deal on activewear fabric at JoAnn’s and was looking for a tank pattern. I realized Seamwork came out with the Aurora tank in last month’s issue. I’d already made the Mesa dress so the Aurora was next. I made a size Medium and didn’t alter the sizing since my muslin fit well. I did add binding strips to this version in the contrasting color to the arm and neck holes. This made the arm holes a little smaller than I wanted so I will trim a little more off the seam allowance next time. We’ll see how it performs tomorrow on my run.Aurora Tank


Liesl + Co Bistro Dress

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I made this dress in record time- it was less than a week from the time I purchased the fabric until I was wearing it. I, of course, was too lazy to get the hubby to take a picture of me after church but I really liked the way it fit. I used a poly/rayon blend suiting fabric in a grey plaid with a blue stripe and a Bemberg rayon lining, both from JoAnn’s. The fabric is so soft and didn’t have that cheap suit feel you usually find with that stuff. And bonus, it’s machine washable.

I actually won a digital copy of the Bistro Dress pattern in a Facebook giveaway from Sew Mama Sew. I cut out a straight size 8 and added 2 inches to the length. I should have added more because it was a smidge shorter than I would have liked it. It came out mid-knee and I usually like my skirts to fall at the bottom of my knee. Oh well. The dress does ride up something fierce when you lift your arms and scandalously so when you also have to bend over, like dealing with a kid or something. But that’s standard with a sheath dress. I could also do with adjusting the bust a little smaller since it tended to puff out a little. But the end results came out very professional looking, if I do say so myself. I want to make a black one, next.

So far, Liesl + Co patterns have been a home run for me. I’ve also made two plaid Late Lunch Tunics that I wear all the time. I’ve been on a sewing roll- not that it shows on the blog. I just never get around to photographing most of the stuff I make so it makes for a boring blog post.

 

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Happy 4th Birthday Issa!

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The baby of the family turned 4 today. We had a quick party before Daddy had to go to work.

Issa at 4:

You finally sleep through the night- yay!

It has to be your way or the highway. And don’t even think about looking at you if are in a bad mood.

Every time you come into a room you do a little run, hop and pose as if to say” ta da, I’m here!”

I still wonder where you came from but I am glad you chose us to deal with your craziness.

Happy Birthday big girl!


Allison’s Baptism dress

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Allison turned 8 and was baptized recently. I used the Oliver + S Garden Party pattern to make her dress. Since the front is already gathered, I wanted to try smocking on the front. I didn’t have a lot of time, or a pleater, so I used honeycomb smocking. I made a size 8 and ended up adding ~10″ to the width of the front panel when I cut it out (I moved the pattern ~5″ from the fold). To do the smocking, I first downloaded some 3/4″ graph paper and used that to transfer the dots using a water soluble marker. Then, following this tutorial, I smocked the front with 3 strands of white embroidery floss. BTW, I loved this video. Her voice is so soothing and I felt like I was sitting in her living room with her teaching me how to smock 🙂 The rest of the dress was really easy to sew up. The only other difficult part was figuring out where to place the front waistband since I didn’t do more than one line of basting there. It came out a little wonky but you can’t tell when she is wearing it. Overall, a very nice pattern and I love the simplicity and details of the design.

 


4th of July

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When I found a red, white and blue plaid seersucker at JoAnn’s a while back, I knew I wanted to make the girls’ dresses for the 4th of July. As usual, I procrastinated actually working on them and finished them up around 7pm that night. I also made Ian a pair of shorts from the Oliver + S Sketchbook pattern that he wore on Sunday. The dresses are Fiddlehead’s Beach Party Top extended into a dress. I added almost 4 inches to the length of the pattern, in addition to the ruffle, and it could have been a little longer on Allison. I’m trying to take advantage of the fact that Allison still wants to dress match-matchy with her sister 🙂


Starving

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I feel like I’m starving- ok, not really but I had gum surgery on Wednesday and a diet of soft foods just doesn’t seem very filling. The hubby had to go back to work today so I’m trying hard not to yell at the kids too much. It’s not working 🙂 Marissa has already had a major meltdown over not being allowed to play the iPad. It’s a good thing that girl is cute otherwise she would have been given to the gypsies a long time ago. M_Zoo1


Easter 2013

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Since I made such fancy dresses for the girls last year, I decided to go simple this year. And last minute, as usual. Saturday I decided to make them Oliver + S Popover Sundresses. I had a purple seersucker for Marissa and a pink gingham for Allison. Ian’s matching bowtie didn’t happen in time for Easter but I have a new pattern to try out and will make him a few for spring. IMG_0588

Sadly, this is the best picture I got of them on the way into church on Sunday. Oh well.

I made little, felt bunny finger puppets for the Easter baskets using this tutorial. I only started these darn things last year and finished them up the night before Easter. I had stitched them instead of using the machine. The kids weren’t super impressed but they really were more for me, anyways 🙂

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