Teal Crochet Bag

This is a recent crochet project.  It was supposed to be a pencil case, like this one, and then it just kept growing until it became this over-the-shoulder bag.

It's all single crochet.  The main part of the bag goes vertically, seamed up the sides with a single crochet seam.  Around the top I picked up stitches and did a few rows around horizontally.  I thought it might give the top of the bag more structure and look nice.  

I debated on how to do the strap, but in the end I made a separate strap and stitched it onto the bag.  I think it turned out okay, but not great. 

Here it is being worn.  

Things I like about the bag... 

1.  Color.  I love the look of the variagated colors. 

2.  Yarn.  I have decided I like smaller, smoother yarn rather than bulky hairy yarn.  The original pencil case was being made for the sole purpose of trying out thinner, smoother yarn.  

3.  The band at the top in the opposing direction - I like that it changes things up just a bit but the project still looks cohesive.  

Things I don't like about the bag...

1.  Its only useful for carrying light things.  I've found I can't even really use it as a run-around, daily-use purse because my regular stuff weighs it down too much.  In order to make it sturdier I'd have to either line it, or make a sturdier strap or something - not sure.  Maybe thats the nature of crochet bags?    

2.  The strap.  I tried to make it wide and sturdy but it still digs into my shoulder (almost painfully so) when there is anything mildly weighty in the bag.  I would also rather the strap was integrated into the bag rather than stitched on, but as I was flying by the seat of my pants I thought I'd do it this way in case I wanted to remove it later and try something else.    

Something tells me this bag will eventually get a makeover somehow, but it was fun to make.  

Crochet is a fun diversion for me right now - great for keeping busy while watching TV.  I am okay with experimenting on my own and learning from library books.  This project was all straight lines, no shaping.   The next thing I'd like to try will be practicing reading patterns and a bit of shaping - circles still trip me up sometimes.   

Sunhat - Times Three

This summer we found ourselves without a single fabric sunhat for all three women of the house.  I've never really had one I liked, and both girls have outgrown their princess hats.  I had seen these and thought they looked cute so I thought I'd give the pattern a try.

I intended to make one for myself and then see if I could scale it down for the girls.  Apparently I didn't read the description well enough because its actually a kid's hat.  So I made some for them and then scaled it up for myself.  All my experiments in pattern drafting of clothing have really come in handy. Scaling up a pattern involving three separate curves would have thrown me for a loop a year ago but now it was no big deal - got it right on the first try each time.

Hat number one (for Grace) is the largest size in the given pattern.  Its the same fabric on the inside and the outside, so technically reversible but not a very exciting switch.  :)

Hat number 2 (for Leah) has a wider brim and is a smidgen wider around the head circumference.  Hers is two colors - green on the outside, yellow flowers on the inside.  

My hat is made an inch or so wider than the largest pattern piece around the head circumference and the brim is also significantly widened for more sun coverage.  Yellow flowers on both sides.  

(I used up all that yellow flower fabric on these hats - bonus points for using up the stash.  I also used a quart jar to help hold the hat up on this photo because it kept squishing flat, so it looks extra pointy/tall.)  

We've been using them for a week or two now with good results.  The pattern is a keeper and they were a fun quick sew.  

Baby Boy Bibs

The rush of sewing for the end of the school year has passed I have enjoyed a little breather from sewing.  This summer will be filled with smaller, quicker projects - no big quilt plans and I'll putter on clothes as I feel like it with no real deadlines.   I have finished a crochet bag which I will have to take a picture of and post on here soon.  Today's post is something I whipped up this week.

Baby bibs are great fun to make.   I have a baby shower coming up at the end of summer and thought I could stay a bit ahead of the game and get these done now.  Its a pattern from a magazine I've used many times - I like the shape of the bibs and they sew up super fast and easy.

Its for a baby boy so I was able to work up a few ideas I've had floating around in my head and on pinterest for some time.  Its kind of a 'menswear for baby' theme and I am really happy with how they turned out.  So cute!

(Side note:  I've really got to get better at giving things a quick press before I take pictures.  Sorry about that.)

First up are a few mens shirt prints:

Then two grey cotton with hand-embroidered lines and an appliqued tie:  

My personal favorite is this one - a button placket: 

I reused the real placket from a mens shirt and then added extra buttons to get the scale right.

How cute will that be with little navy pants and a white shirt?!

And then the last one is a cute owl print.  It doesn't fit the menswear theme, but its cute nonetheless and I had just the right amount of fabric left to eek out a bib.  

They are all made from quilting cotton or mens shirts with a layer of batting or flannel in between for strength and better absorption of drool.  Velcro closures.  All machine washable, of course.  

Here's the collection (if you can call it that):  

My criteria for baby shower gifts (most gifts, in all honesty) are to be practical/useful, washable/easy care, handmade, and cute.  These fit the bill.  Happy baby boy!  

2014 Teacher Gift Tote Bags

The end of the school year is nigh, so its time for teacher gifts.  I've made bags for three years in a row.  Tote bags are practical, seem to be appreciated, and are easy to personalize so I think I'll stick with the tradition for a while.

Our kindergarten teacher is a young, stylish, trendy gal so I thought a chevron bag might be fun.  Grace was dismayed at the color grey - she wanted pink of course, but I stuck to my guns and went with steely grey.  The fabric is heavy canvas from Hobby Lobby and I was happy with how it worked up.   Its two layers of canvas - plain grey for the lining and the top accent strip and grey chevrons for the outside and straps.

Pretty standard tote bag shape with boxed bottom corners, a bit large because I usually see teachers carrying big bags.  :)

The front has a personalized panel with the teacher's first name (stamped in permanent ink):

The back is plain:  

The straps were fun with the chevron print: 

So there's bag number one:  

Our second grade teacher loves all things pink and sparkly - seriously, her entire desk is a sea of pink sparkles and sequins.  I let Leah choose her fabric and we ended up with pink faux-alligator skin with black sequined trim.  Yikes.  

This bag is the same, front and back.  I was a little skeptical of the fabric, but it ended up sewing like a dream.  No skipped stitches, the straps were beautiful, and it certainly is fun and funky.   Not everyone would carry a bag like this, but this particular teacher can pull it off.  :)  

She also got a little zip pouch to go with it because I had a tad bit of extra fabric.  

So, teacher gifts all done and ready to go with about two weeks to spare.  My part is done, anyway.  The girls will still write their thank you notes to go with the bags.  

Now I have a bit of 'housekeeping sewing' to do before I can start any big projects.  The mending pile has grown, summer playdresses are calling my name, one daughter doesn't have a summer weight blanket for her bed, a few little things like that.  Once those are completed I think it'll be time to make myself another dress!  

Costume Shop Spring 2014

The following post will show you a few of the cooler projects I tackled as a member of a theatre costume shop this spring.  It was an AMAZING experience and I cannot even begin to tell you how much I learned as a result of volunteering/working part-time there.  Nothing like making a 19th century period costume to get you over your fear of sleeves/fitting issues/name your fear!  I now feel very comfortable doing things that used to intimidate me, and I also learned things I hadn't planned on (like draping - see the last costume).

To keep this post a reasonable length, I'll just say a little about each one.  As it turns out, the progression of costumes also shows a progression of skills learned.

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 For this first one I don't have a photo of the one I actually made, but I see the dress all over online so here is a stock photo.  I made one of these:

It fit the actress well - a very fun 50's look.  The top bodice portion and the straps were a satiny blue and the rest of the dress was a blue and white large flowery print.  I made this from the commercial pattern with minimal help - fitting the pleated bust cups to the actress took a few tries but the rest was great.

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Next up is a dressing gown for the Queen of England.  I guess queens are too fancy to have bathrobes - they need to call them 'dressing gowns'.  :)  The colors are a little off in the photos - its a princessy pink fabric with diamonds stitched on (kind of like a pintuck that makes a pattern) and the contrasting cuffs and shawl collar are purple.  This pattern was drafted by someone else in the shop and has nice princess seam lines for a fitted top and fuller bottom half.  As far as instructions, I relied on pretty much step by step instructions from the shop manager who had drafted the pattern.  It wasn't too difficult and didn't have that many pieces.  Sewing the shawl collar was new to me, but not difficult.  I like the piping around the collar edge and the glittery, glassy three buttons down the front.  I wish I had a dressing gown as pretty as this!

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The third project I'll show is an 1890's (I think) period ladies day dress.  It was a vintage commercial pattern with about 80 pattern pieces and I started out thinking I was in way over my head.  However, one piece at a time, it came together beautifully and when it was completed I could hardly believe I'd actually made the darn thing!  How is it possible that I procrastinated making simple church clothes for myself but then find I am capable of this crazy multi-layered thing?!  Completing this costume was a huge confidence booster for me.  It had decent instructions, thankfully, and took about two weeks of part-time working to get it done.  It was worn by an actress in a corset so it looks a bit ill-fitting on a regular dress form.   The actress also had on a petticoat with lace along the bottom, so picture lace sticking out from under the skirt and sweeping the floor as she walked.  

Pieces:  

1.  Underskirt (darker salmon color, pretty simple skirt pattern)

2.  Overskirt (lighter peach skirt portion - pleated semicircular front portion, pleated rectangular back portion, all connected with a snap opening in the back).  I just realized now that I forgot to pull up the bustle strings when I took the photo so the back of the skirt is supposed to be even more fluffy than it is here.  

3.  Bum pillow (can't see in photos, its basically a pillow on a belt that sits right over the actress's bum so as to poof out her butt like a bustle)

4.  Jacket (princess seams, pleated peplum in back to poof out over the bustle, skinny period sleeves, peachy and lace overlay on center front panel with pearly buttons, lots of satin pleated ruffle and piping and a bit of lace).  The jacket actually closes underneath the ruffle along the princess line with hooks and eyes - you can see the rumples a bit over the dress form's left bust due to the lack of a corset.

I'm super proud of this one.  :) 

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The next costume is a bit strange and looks even stranger on the dress form.  Its Victorian underthings for a 'lady of the night'.  You just never know whats going to come your way in a costume shop!  The reason I'm including it here is because it was the first project where a costume designer came to me with  just a drawing and said, "I need you to make this."  Unfortunately, I don't have the photo/rendering to show you her vision on paper, but this is the result.  It's a pair of bloomers/culottes trimmed in lace that are then hitched up on the sides of each hip.  The top is basically a floaty piece of white silky fabric held up with two straps of lace.  I didn't see this show, but apparently the actress danced around on stage in the smoky haze of an opium den.  Nice, huh?  This was an interesting project because it was a lot of me trying something, asking the show's costume designer what she thought, she'd tweak it a little, I'd tweak it a little, and we went back and forth changing the shape of the bloomers, adding lace here and there, until we had the look she wanted for the character.  Can't say I need to make underclothes all that often.  Thankfully all the pieces were pretty simple shapes - circles, rectangles, straps, and lots of lace and trim.  

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The last one I'll show is the last one I made and encompassed a totally new skill.  As a side benefit of being in the costume shop I got to eavesdrop on a draping class.  If you have no idea what draping is, think of those Ralph Lauren commercials where someone is pinning gorgeous fabric to a dress form and then standing back and looking thoughtfully at it - that person is draping.  Rather than starting from a paper pattern and making something out of fabric, you start with fabric on a dress form, then make a paper pattern from that draped fabric, then make a test run of your pattern back into muslin fabric, correct any errors, and then make your final costume from the corrected pattern you developed from scratch.  Follow all that?  Its okay if you didn't.  :)

So, again, I started with a drawing from a costume designer.  I also was given a pile of fabric she had purchased and the measurements of the actress who would eventually wear the costume.  Here is the inspiration photo I was given.  The designer said (in a thick Russian accent, no less), "I want this dress on the right, but give it sleeves with fluff like the dress on the left."  This is apparently called a 'tea dress'.  

Here is what I made, from that photo and pile of fabric.  

Pattern (and instructions too... minor detail!) all from scratch.  

Sorry about the costume shop clutter in the background. 

We (meaning the designer and myself) had a little trouble part way through because there was not enough fabric to pleat the top as we had planned (and I had draped) and there was not time/money/opportunity to go and buy more, but we made it work.  This dress looked awesome onstage, I do have to say.  I was happy with the way it came together in the shop (meaning it did actually come together, stayed together, and looked mildly like the goal), but when I saw it onstage it looked amazing!  Stage lighting, actress movement, etc - that all makes the costume look much different than it does hanging on a dress form in the shop.  

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Wow - what a semester, huh?  I learned so much and can't wait to go back next fall!  

Circle capes - school donation and for home

I've made capes before, see here and here.  I guess they must be cool because they surfaced again, albeit in a slightly different form this time.

These are circle capes - a big 360 degree circle of fabric with a shaped slit for a front opening, a collar, and some bias tape ties at the neck.  I pieced the large circle because I wanted the capes to be nice and long. Better for twirling and sneaking around like a detective if they are long.   :)  

The first one is double sided/reversible purple and black.  It was donated to a school fundraiser to contribute to a 'wizardry' themed basket.  It was a hit - everyone who saw it loved it.

That included Leah and Grace, of course, who subsequently begged for their own.  Big surprise there.  :)

Great for twirling and playing 'Frozen'...

The second two capes are a single layer to save on fabric.  (It takes 5 yards of 45'' wide fabric for a one layer cape - so the first one took 5 yards of purple plus five yards of black).  I used inexpensive broadcloth from Hancock for all of them.  The circles, roughly peter pan style collars, and bias tape ties are all self drafted shapes.  The single layer capes have edges finished with bias tape or a double-fold-over hem.  The reversible cape was sewn RST and turned right side out so the outer edge was fully enclosed.