Birthday Gift

I am still frantically sewing flower girl and ring bearer get-ups (three of the former and two of the latter, with a self-imposed deadline of June 1 - eep!).  But a dear friend's baby girl turned 1 this weekend so I took a break to sew her a gift.  I thought about just buying clothes, but this particular friend is one of those people who truly appreciates sewing, and I really wanted to make something.

So I turned to my new standard baby girl gift - a sundress sewn from the Oliver+S Music Box pattern.  I did not lengthen the bodice this time, but I did gather the skirt again.  I really love how this looks.  I used the quilty FabricMart print that I used for older sister's circle skirt (and I still have more than a yard, so you'll be seeing it again).

I used piping for the first time.  I didn't bother to look up any tutorials, just winged it.  It worked out fine except I was left with a raw edge on either side of the bodice (maybe I was supposed to fold it over?) that I had to stitch over by hand with black thread to secure).  Teach me to try to figure it out on my own!

I did multiple rows of decorative topstitching at the hem in different colors, but the print sort of swallows them up.  I wish I had gone with my original plan of horizontal knife pleats at the hem.  Next time.



To top off the look, I made a quick headband out of fold over elastic with a bow out of the same fabric.



My friend loved it.  I can't wait to see it on the baby!

Summer Togs

As is its wont, this year, spring in Tbilisi has been unable to make up its mind what kind of a season it would like to be.  We alternate between high winds, torrential downpours and unrelenting sun.  The summer preview has been helpful - we ate salads fresh from the garden most days last week AND I realized that the boy had almost no summer clothes.  This realization coincided neatly with the release of the new free Oliver+S pattern, the Sunny Day Shorts.

I had some awesome plaid patchwork fabric that I figured would elevate the shorts from the very basic without having to fuss with making pockets or anything like that.

Little man is 15 months old and needs a 24-month size in RTW to clear his cloth-diapered bottom.  In disposables, he could fit into an 18-month size.  I made the 2T in these shorts and the rise is perfect.  Coupled with elastic cut to his waist measurement (18"), these are the best-fitting shorts he owns.  No gap!

Not surprisingly, the pattern is clearly written and nicely drafted.  I know I will make him many more pairs!

I have also been making him some tshirts using Simplicity 5316.  Somehow the two I have made have ended up too short, even though I added length.  I haven't even finished the second one yet - I need to add a band to the bottom to make it more wearable.  The first one I made using cotton/lycra jersey.  

He mostly wears it under overalls, though he did rock it with denim shorts, sandals and black socks the other day.  This much maligned old-man look is pretty cute on babies, I have to say!

The neck on this pattern features snap tabs on each shoulder, however, I can get his head through without unsnapping them.  So for the second (too short, unblogged) top, I left off the snaps.  

I had plans for a whole wardrobe of these tees, but we are getting ready to move in a little over a month, and I am madly working on some wedding sewing that has to be completed by then.  I made up the shortfall with a quick trip to Target while at home for my mom's funeral ... and I was happier than ever that I sew.  Target has gotten significantly more expensive since I was last in the U.S.!

Finished the blanket!

I finally sewed the dang blanket together.

 

And ...



I LOVE IT!



I have been carting it up and down the stairs because it is just as good a cuddle-up-on-the-couch blanket as it is a bed blanket. 

And I actually miss knitting it.  It was my eternal project. 

 Maybe this means I will make another?  Or perhaps I'll fulfill my husband's wishes and add another strip or two to make it king-sized. 

I'm not promising anything, but it is possible this is not my last Lizard Ridge. 

Mom

A few days after my last blog post, my mother died.  She had cancer.  

I don't have any eloquent words about cancer and what it means or doesn't mean.  I only have faith that my mother is with God, looking out for her children and grandchildren as she did while she was on earth.

We miss her.

Selfish Sewing Week: Kirsten Kimono Tee

If we're honest, I have been quite busy with the selfish sewing for all of 2014 thus far.  But I have a lot of trouble resisting a new dedicated Flickr group in which to post my FOs, and I also need some tshirts for summer, so here I am.

Yesterday I made a Kirsten Kimono Tee, a free pattern from Maria Denmark.  I made three of these last summer while tinkering with the fit - one was way too big, the second a touch too big, the third too small (but I can now wear it with cardigans on top).  Such is the peril when sewing with different kinds of knits; the same size fits differently when you are dealing with different degrees of stretch and recovery.

Anyway, this time I decided to just cut a straight M and add the seam allowances (since they are not included in the pattern).  I used a lovely drapey cotton/lycra that actually feels like it has some rayon in it, from Girl Charlee.  I had bought this thinking my girls would like leggings out of it, but they have not been that interested so I snatched it for myself.  Selfish sewing, indeed!

I really love the fit of the top 2/3 of the top, especially the neckline (which I lowered a bit) and the kimono sleeves.  The bottom doesn't fit so well, though, around the donut of stubborn post-baby fluff that encircles my middle just below my belly button. It works ok with my higher-waisted skirts, but I won't be able to wear it with jeans without unsightly bulges.

I used an older version of the pattern, that I had downloaded in spring 2013.  There is a new version that promises 'improved fit' but I couldn't be bothered to print it out yesterday.  I am curious now, though, to see whether it would fit better around my hips.

After I made this top, I cut a second one, allowing more room in the hips.  I had such high hopes for it.  It was going to be super-trendy: I used striped fabric to create a chevron in the front, I put in a decorative zipper at the back.  I also completely botched the neck binding when I tried to sew it on with a wider seam allowance - now the neckline is too low and wide (is there even any fix for that?).  Aand my stripes did not match across the zipper.  I don't even think it is salvageable.  I hate wasting fabric like that - ugh.  Teach me to try to be trendy!

Maybe I will have better luck today.

Moss, modified

I did not know that April had been declared Moss Making Month, so it was a happy accident that I sewed my second Moss skirt a couple weeks ago.  Coming off of my first, too-big Moss, I decided to size down.  Since I had taken the other, initially size 12, Moss in a whole inch on each side, I cut an 8 this time.  I had my doubts about that - I haven't been an 8 since, like, junior high school - and it turns out those doubts were well-founded.  The skirt was way too tight - like Mariah Carey tight.

My husband insisted that it looked good (wink wink, of course he did), but there was no way I was going out in public like that.

What to do?  I took off the waistband and added a wedge of fabric in between the front and back skirt pieces on each side.

Being wider at the bottom than the top, the wedge gave the skirt an a-line shape, and I like it.

I used a navy and white pinstriped stretch cotton from Fabric Mart.  While I love the pinstripes, the fabric itself is quite thin and crisp, causing it to crumple like an empty bag of potato chips.  The interfacing at the waistband and fly also completely bubbled up after just two washes.  I guess it's time to find an alternative to Pellon (though sadly, I still have half a bolt of the stuff in my sewing room!).  Any recommendations?

I decided not to face the hem band for no reason other than laziness (since I had to cut out new hem bands after adding my side-wedges).  Instead I used some 1.5" chevron twill ribbon to face the hem.  I think it is adorable, though it causes the hem to not be stretchy when the rest of the skirt is stretchy.  That is kind of a "duh" revelation, but nevertheless one that I had not considered ahead of time.

Rumply fabric, bubbly fly and firm hem notwithstanding, this is exactly the kind of skirt I would buy in a store, and I may keep the side-wedges on future iterations.  Though I will have to think carefully about sizing again on the next one - it seems that the stretchiness of the fabrics I have chosen thus far make a big difference in the size I should cut.  

In any case, I love this pattern.

Dotted Traveler

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.  I took breaks from both sewing and blogging during Holy Week - it was hard to unplug at first, but I feel rejuvenated after a week of prayer and reflection and the joy of Sunday!

So this week I'll be blogging a few things I made before KCW but never posted.

I made another Lisette Traveler shirt a couple weeks ago.  I used the same modifications that I made for my second Traveler back in January - size 14+FBA with two fisheye darts in the back and French darts in the front.  I did forget that I had wanted to do a forward shoulder adjustment on this shirt - I need one as I keep shrugging it back to the front. I have to remember to do that next time.

I used a gray Swiss dot from Fabric.com, and used the mandarin collar.  It's a very light and comfortable shirt to throw on.  I do wish I had chosen a color other than gray in the Swiss dot - this would have been nice in a brighter hue.  I have to keep that in mind next time I fabric shop.

I did not choose my topstitching thread well - it shows up more than I would like.  And this fabric is so nice and light, but it wrinkles like crazy.

Not much else to say about this make - I love the pattern and will make it a fourth time, I'm sure.