Finished!: Little Folks Voile Skirt

Well, I finished something for me.

It's pretty, right?  I love this Anna Maria Horner voile so much.  But one of these days, I'm going to learn to make a muslin.  This skirt was supposed to have a invisible zip and button closure.  I even put in the invisible zip, my first ever, and was very proud of how it turned out.

See?  Proof!  But as you can see here...

This skirt definitely does not have a zipper. It has elastic.  Why?  Because after finishing both the lining, and shell, inserting the zipper, and even hand-stitching the waistband, when I finally tried it on it was about three inches too large in the waist.  Yeah.
So, lessons learned:

1. Try it on before finishing.
2. When drafting from scratch, double check your measurements!
3. MAKE A MUSLIN!

But the finished product is perfectly wearable.  I decided to use some crepe georgette as a lining, since the voile is just sheer enough to be a little too sheer.

The extra layer is just enough for modesty, without hindering the lovely drape of the fabric.  The georgette was a bit different to work with, since it's so thin and filmy, but it didn't give me too much trouble.  Both fabrics are finished with french seams and rolled hems.

The shell is a fitted a-line.  It's almost straight in the fit in the front, with only a few inches difference between the waist and the hem.  But the back is actually cut from two pieces and seamed in the center, at an angle, giving it a teensy bit of a kick out in the back.

For the lining, I simply cut a piece a few inches shorter than the shell out of the full width of the fabric.  Then I put a single seam up one side, and pleated the waistline to fit the shell.  It gives it just a little bit of fullness, to help the voile keep the a-line shape.  Plus it meant only one seam to fuss with!

  I love the way it looks!  I'm going to try it again in a solid fabric, with better fitting.  Possibly in linen?  A this time I'll make a muslin first.  Promise.

-Sparrow

Winner!

Congratulations to the winner of my pattern giveaway for giveaway day!  And the winner is....

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Debra said:

I know how you feel!  I really enjoyed reading everyone's comments.  Seems like a lot of us have the same organizational problem areas!  Fabric scraps and kids toys seemed to be the most popular answer, and boy can I relate!

Congratulations, Debra!  Your patterns will be emailed to you promptly. 

A huge thank you to everyone who entered! And I hope you'll all stick around for more giveaways and tutorials coming up soon!

-Sparrow

Finished!: Nautical Button Down Shirt

I am so, so happy with how this shirt turned out!

Funny face!

I modified the Little Military Shirt that I made previously to have a narrower button placket.  I also lengthened it a bit so I could do a proper hem.  

"Show me your octopus!"

I was aiming to make it just a little bit bigger.  I think I overdid it a little bit, but the good news is that he's got plenty of room to grow into it.

Do I look cute, mom?

I am so in love with this Tula Pink fabric, too. It makes me squee with girly fan-girl delight! 

I decided to try a few techniques for a nicer finish on the seams on this version.  I love how this contrasting bias tape turned out on the placket seam.

I have no idea what this type of seam finish is called. I'm totally loving it though.  Basically, the seam allowance is folded over twice, and stitched down.  It reminds me of a french seam, in that all the raw edges are hidden.  But you can still press the seam open, which I love.  It also made doing the slashes in the side seams super easy.  

The navy blue vintage buttons and some contrasting flat piping really make the shirt, don't you think?

It feels really good to actually finish something from my summer sewing list! Here's a few more pictures, simply because my kid is too adorable.

And don't forget to enter to win my basket patterns for Giveaway Day!  It ends tomorrow! 

-Sparrow

Turning Failure Into Success

It all started with dinner last night.  Specifically, with a squash.   On the menu was a spaghetti squash, prepared traditionally with sauce and cheese.  Now, despite the fact that I love spaghetti squash and it's a super healthy meal, it's admittedly been awhile since I prepared it.  I couldn't remember the proper temperature and time combo for roasting the squash, so I followed the direction on the little sticker that came with it.  Oven to 350°: check.  Squash cut in half and slathered with olive oil: check.  Timer at 60 minutes: check.  End result?  Basically a stringy version of baby food.  Ewww.  I braved a bite.  While the texture was rather awful, the flavor was good!  So instead of chucking the whole thing and ordering a pizza, I stored the mush in the fridge for later contemplation.

So, what does my cooking failures have to do with a sewing blog?  Well, it's a lesson that my grandmother taught me.  There is no such thing as a mistake when crafting, there are only variations which achieve a different end result.  In other words, just because it isn't what you were expecting doesn't mean it's a failure! Every time I drop a stitch when knitting, or sew a seam inside out I think about her words.  They remind me that instead of getting frustrated and giving up, I have the choice to find a creative solution.  Every experience in life is a chance to learn and grow.  You won't know that something won't work until you try it for yourself! 

So what did I do with the spaghetti squash?  

I made it into a squash-and-tomato pasta sauce, added noodles, sautéed peppers and onions, shredded cheese, and had quite possibly the most delicious lunch ever!

-Sparrow

Three Basket Patterns Giveaway for Giveaway Day!

It's giveaway day!  This year, I'm giving away the complete set of my fabric hanging baskets.  

To enter, just answer my question using the Rafflecopter widget below.  Giveaway is open from May 6th thru May 10th.  I'll announce the winner on May 11th, and your patterns will be delivered via email.  International entries welcome!  Please be sure to leave your email address in your comment, so I can find you.  Additional entries are available for tweeting this post, or liking my FaceBook page, but only the comment entry is mandatory for entry.

And be sure to check out the rest of the giveaways going on, at SewMamaSew's Giveaway Day roundup!

SewMamaSew Blog

-Sparrow

Enter here:
This giveaway is now closed!

Sorbetto v1.1: Meh

I'm a little late making it to the Sorbetto party, but when I found out about this free top by Colette Patterns I just had to give it a shot.  The outcome in one word? Meh.

But honestly, I'm not surprised.  I knew there would be issues with the fit on the first go, so this one will likely be relegated to pajama duty.  I cut a size 6 for the body and a size 4 for the arm and neck area.  I think I could go down a size overall.  There's a little bit of gaping in the arm area and the neck area.  I think I need to take in the bust dart, shoulder seam, and maybe even a little bit off the width of the neck opening.  I did add two inches to the length and take out some of the curve at the hip.  

Overall, I think the pattern as intended is just a bit too boxy for my taste. I prefer a more fitted shape.  I did end up with a seam in the center back, even though you can't see it in this fabric.  I think I could achieve a more fitted look by contouring that seam a bit in my next go.  I also want to play around a bit with the pleat, and try a few ideas there.  I think a gathered neckline, or even several smaller pleats across the front would be more flattering on me.

It was a good lesson, though, so I'm willing to give it another shot.  I think I'll make a proper muslin the next time around, though.  And probably pick a less busy fabric.  I love this fabric, just not as apparel! 

I also made a thread holder for my sewing desk, which will hopefully clear up some room to get my serger out and figure out how to use it!  Yikes!  I'm a little nervous about trying to figure out how to thread it.

so, it's not exactly perfect, and a lot of the nails are crooked.  But it works!  I based it off the diy found here, and the materials were basically free.  Scrap wood and nails from the Viking's dad, and paint from samples bought for my wall colors.  I think I should have made it a bit bigger though... I'm already running out of room! lol

Oh, and we have apple blossoms! Yay!

-Sparrow

p.s. SewMamaSew's Giveaway Day starts on Monday!  I'll be participating this year, so keep an eye out for that!

This week, In Pictures

I was going to post a really well thought out bit about all the things I did this week, but today has been one of those days where nothing has been going well.  So instead I'm just going to post a bunch of random pictures from the week, and you can sort out the gist of it for yourselves.  

Have a lovely weekend! 

-Sparrow

(This image shamelessly stolen from Mel. Shh, don't tell!)

Why, yes, that is in fact a treadle machine.  In my dining room.

<3!!!

Thrifting!

The power of hot glue!

cupcake

rawr!

The End