Messenger Bag Experiment

This little bag is for a six year old boy who is about to embark on a long cross-country trip.  He and his family are friends of ours here and are about to move very far away.  As their going-away present I made him a personalized 'treasure bag'.  Every kid going on a trip needs a special bag all their own for their books, paper, crayons, snuggles, toys, snacks, and other assorted treasures picked up along the way.

I thought about the bag for days and sketched out ideas on scrap paper.  I bought felt for the embellishment on the front, piping for the outer edges, and a sturdy webbing for the strap (I had the denim already).  I was really happy with how it was turning out - everything just like I had planned.  Until I measured wrong and made a wrong cut.  I hate that when that happens!  I was able to salvage the good parts of the bag that I had already completed (the embellished flap and the piping around the edges of the bag and the flap) I just had to piece together two pieces of fabric that I had really wanted to be one smooth piece.  I'm sure its one of those things that no one else will notice, I was just really frustrated because I had planned it properly and the mistake was a silly one.  Oh well, live and learn I guess.  The six year old won't care one bit - I'm sure he'll love his little satchel and jam it full of all kinds of goodies on his trip. 

Beginner Dress

June has been a whirlwind month of sewing so its time to catch up and post what I've been working on.

The last post was about drafting my sloper, so I'll start with what I made from that sloper.

I'm calling it my 'beginner dress'.

I drafted the pattern myself from scratch.  I was sort-of following instructions in a book, though it had what I would consider 'general' directions rather than 'step-by-step' so there was plenty of experimentation along the way.

I have worn it to a wedding, and then again to church a few weeks later.  Happy to report no wardrobe malfunctions.  :)

Overall I think I did a so-so job.  But I'm okay with that for a beginner dress - you have to start somewhere, right?  Most of my mistakes were not in the pattern drafting portion, ironically, but in the actual garment construction process.  I kept changing my mind on what I wanted for a lining and that greatly affects the order in which things should be sewn.  I found myself carefully thinking about what the next step would be, only to go to the dress and discover that I should have done that two steps before.  So there was some ripping of seams and lots of hand sewing things together so as to hide raw edges without having to take the whole darn thing apart and start over.

I used a blue paisley-ish cotton that I found on sale.  Nothing fancy because I wasn't going to use expensive fabric on my first attempt.  It did cause a little trouble though, because once I finished the dress I decided it was far too plain/boring/matronly for the wedding I was planning to wear it to.  So I added the white collared shirt from my closet underneath and then added the white ribbon trim to the skirt.  I don't hate it but I don't love it either.

I will say it is very comfortable.  It is comfortable because it fits.  Which is really the whole point of this learning process so I am very satisfied with that part of it.  I learned a lot, didn't give up (though I was tempted a few times when the lining was driving me crazy and the wedding was a few days away), and ended up with a garment made from scratch that fits well.  Now I can take the knowledge gained and apply it to different styles/fabrics/etc to try and work out some of the things I don't like about this one (like the extremely wonky drape of the skirt).

Thats the first project to post this week.  Coming up soon will be this year's modest swimdresses and a quickie little bag, plus some cool stuff the girls have been up to.

Drafting My Sloper

My 'sewing' this week included much more drawing, cutting, measuring, and redrawing than it actually did sewing any seams.  I finally tackled making my own sloper.  I'm on a mission to learn to draft my own patterns for clothes (so that they actually fit) and this is the first step.

I'll save you all the boring details, but it started with a friend helping to drape me in muslin (think: pinning muslin onto me in all the appropriate places to create a skin-tight muslin 'dress').  Then the rest of the week was spent tweaking and fitting that 'dress' until it fit like a glove.  Like, movie-star-skin-tight-wouldn't-be-caught-dead-in-public tight while at the same time keeping all the appropriate lines in their appropriate places (center lines of sloper aligned with center lines of body, side seams of sloper aligned with sides of body, etc).  It involves drawing on paper to make a 2D pattern and then turning that 2D pattern into a 3D 'dress'.  Check the fit with the help of the bathroom mirrors, use a marker to draw on that dress to make notations of changes needed on the fabric piece, then move those changes back to the paper.  Lots of unpicking seams to adjust them just a tad, lots of tracing, not much actual sewing.  Back and forth from 2D to 3D, paper to fabric, until the final result - a sloper that fit well in all the important places.

The sloper is akin to paper pattern of myself.  I can now (in theory) take that pattern of myself and make clothes to fit properly.  I suppose if I wanted a skin tight dress I could use the sloper as is, but thats not really what I'm after.  :)  I hope to make some nice, classic dresses for church and some skirts that actually fit my skinny-minny waist and hips.   I am happy that it only took a week, although I did so much reading before bed and number/shape crunching in my head that I dreamt about drafting.

Here is what the final paper looks like.  See what I mean about back and forth to make minor changes? Thankfully I took good notes and I know which lines are the final version.

Now should come the fun part - trying to make clothes from it!  

Teacher Bag Number Three, Kiddy Version

This one isn't a teacher bag, per se.  Its more of a bonus present that goes along with the last bag.  Leah's teacher has an eighteen month old little girl and we've gotten to know her a bit.  While I was thinking up teacher gifts I came across this pattern which I've been meaning to try out for a while.  Perfect excuse to give it a whirl.

It's this bag, pattern and such from this blog, which is all done by an incredible woman whom you really must check out.  She's the queen of super cool sewing and kids crafts - you've really got to see it to believe it.  I've drooled over many things she's made and love following her blog.  If you have a few hours to waste online, please consider wasting them on her blog.  You won't regret it.  :)

Anyhow, here is my version of the cutest bag ever.  

Front:

Embroidered name and hand stitching to match her mom's bag. 

Back: 

I love the polka dots with pink piping.  This was my first project using the piping foot on my serger and it worked great.  I made the piping on the serger, but then attached it using the zipper foot on my sewing machine because I could sew slower and more carefully that way.  Very happy with it overall.  

Two side views, to better see the adorable shape and piping:

Love that strap too... 

The lining is a cute apple and bird print:

Here is Grace holding it: 

See... its pint sized!  

Perfect for an 18 month old who wants a purse like Mommy's.

In case you couldn't tell, I am in love with this little bag.

Must make one (albeit larger) for myself.  

Leah and Grace are also begging for their own versions.  

Now, next up is sewing clothes for myself.  Finally. 

Teacher Bag Number 2

Check out this previous post for Teacher Bag Number One if you missed it.

This bag is for Leah's first grade teacher (whose first name is Allie, and she goes by Mrs. Allie at school).   We have LOVED her and I am really happy with how her bag turned out.

I used the same 'sophisticated alphabet' and grey linen-like fabric as the last bag, just made a different style of bag.  Its a simple tote bag - two straps for handles, boxed bottom.

Here is the front.  

I fussy-cut the letters of her name from the panel fabric and am pleased with how it turned out.  

Here is the back.  Not too exciting I guess, but I love the grey linen fabric.  

I did some hand stitching with embroidery floss around the name and along the top for extra embellishment.  I love how it looks.  Anything looks better with hand stitching, really.  :)  

This bag has the alphabet print for the lining.  No pocket, mostly because I forgot about putting one in.

Here is the bag, worn by a five year old for size reference.  Its a pretty standard size tote bag for an adult.  

Hope she likes it!

Bag Number Three coming up next...

  

Teacher Bag Number One

Since finishing the big quilt, I've been busy working on end-of-the-year teacher gifts.  Happy to report I'm done with all three - and school isn't out for another few weeks!

The first one is for the leader of Grace's little church class.  Its like pre-preschool for a few hours once a week.  Grace went regularly this year as she enjoyed it, it made her feel like a 'big kid' going to school, and it gave me the opportunity to volunteer in Leah's first grade classroom without Grace tagging along.  The teacher is wonderful and so I thought she definitely deserved a gift.

I found this fabric at a local quilt store and knew it would be perfect for teacher bags.  I've been calling it a 'sophisticated alphabet'.  Its alphabet, but it doesn't have little animals or other juvenile things running all over it and its done in a nice rich color palate rather than primary colors.  I chose a linen-look-alike grey to keep it classy looking, and a little pop of red thrown in for fun.

Here is Bag Number 1:

The fabric was designed such that you could cut a panel that would include the whole alphabet.  I made that into the front of the bag and then designed around that.  Its big enough to hold paper, notebooks, binders, etc.  She's an organist and it could hold a healthy sized pile of music as well.  

I made it with just one strap for over the shoulder and was pleased with how it turned out.  

Love that linen-look.  I'll be going back for more of that fabric in other colors for other projects.  

Its lined with plain muslin and has a medium sized pocket.  

And here is the five year old modeling it for size reference.  

Just ignore the messy sewing room in the background.  :)  

Coming up next will be Bag Numbers 2 and 3.  

I'm posting them in the order I made them, but it also happens to be in increasing cool-ness.  I liked each bag better than the one before.  So, stay tuned for more fun bags!

Friend's Birthday Quilt

I am happy to share a big finished project today.  My quilt for my dear friend's birthday is all done and was delivered over the weekend (on her birthday, no less).

This project was 'born' two years ago when she turned 38.   I've sewn her small things over the last 7 years - little ditties/wallhangings when her babies were born for example, or I've mended things for her, but nothing major.  So when she turned 38 I told her, "You know what?  When you turn 40, I'm going to sew you a quilt.  A real, full size (vs baby sized), nicely done, just-for-you quilt."  She gladly accepted and that was that for about a year.  When she turned 39 it moved higher on the priority list.  I let her peruse through magazines to show me what she did/didn't like as far as patterns, styles, colors, etc and then give me some direction on fabrics she did/didn't like.

Her 'requests' were:

1. A traditional, classic pattern.  None of this currently popular modern/improv junk.

2.  A definite border to frame the quilt.

3.  Could I somehow incorporate things she likes into the quilt?  Like flower fabric to signify her love of gardening, something juvenile to represent her family, etc.  She wasn't sure exactly how that might come about, but I think I managed to get the general idea.  I did pick what I thought were her 'Top Two' things rather than branching out into gardening, cooking/canning, music, etc.  You'll see what I mean when you see the individually embroidered blocks.

And.... here is the quilt all finished!  

The pieced blocks are pieced on the machine.  I believe they are called NorthWind blocks. 

The white blocks are all hand embroidered.  I traced her kids' hands last summer when she wasn't looking so that part of the quilt was a super-fun surprise.  Thankfully her kids kept the secret.  :)  

Its hand quilted.  Soooo relaxing... its been a while since I've hand quilted a big one and it was very nice to work on.   The making of this quilt went fairly quickly - much shorter than the year I had planned (though that may have something to do with the fact that I didn't start on time).  I pieced the top in late fall through January and hand quilted it between late January and, um, last weekend.  

Here is the theme of the quilt, in the top center block:  

This is the bottom center block:  

And their four kids surround them:  

Meghan is their eldest.  

Hannah is Leah's age and they are good buddies.

Michael is a tad younger than Grace, and even though they are boy/girl they are buddies too because they are both at home right now while their big sisters are off at school.  

Henry is the two year old cutie pie.  

 This is the pieced block: 

I was really happy with how these turned out, which I wrote about in a previous post.
I'll definitely be using this block again in other projects.  

Here is a somewhat underwhelming picture of the back.  Its just a pretty gold-on-white paisley.  Nice and simple and I love how the hand stitching shows up on the back of quilt.  Most of it is in cream thread but some is in dark green to match the front.  

Every 'big' quilt gets my initials and the year I finish it.  This one happens to get the years I worked on it because the kids' ages on the front are their ages in fall of 2012 but I finished it in 2013 for the mom's birthday.  

This is where most of the quilting took place - on my great frame in my great sewing room.  Put my girls to bed, turn on the classical or the 'chick music' and quilt away - what a wonderful way to end the day.  

However, after it was off the frame I decided the embroidered blocks needed a bit more quilting.  They were puffier than the pieced blocks and it looked goofy.  So I used this cool old wooden quilt hoop that my grandma gave me to add some quilted hearts and scrolls around the hand prints.  It worked great and it was fun to quilt a bit upstairs after doing most of the work downstairs in the sewing room. 

So, there you have it!  

As with any project, there are little things I would change or tweak here and there, but overall I am happy with how the quilt turned out and my friend likes it too.  I knew she would.  

*******************************

With this giant project off my list I will take a little bit of time to sew some smaller, quicker things.  Some teacher gifts probably.  The girls are asking for 'boy dolls' to go with their girls dolls so that 'they girl dolls can get married to their princes'.  If it ever gets above 45 degrees this spring Leah will need some play skirts.  Quick things like that.  One of these months I need to work on making that sloper of myself so I can start on church dresses for myself.  The next major quilt will likely be to make a duvet-cover type thing for our biggest, warmest, snuggliest quilt but as that will hopefully be put away soon not to return till fall I can brainstorm on that one a little yet.