Thursday, October 22, 2009

for my neices!

I made a set of shirts, as well as a pair of recycled pants (made from 100% cashmere!) for the three (well, still 2.5 at this posting) girls. So, here are some pics. These are not great, I snapped them pretty quick, please disregard the stained ironing board cover. It is clean, I promise! :)
shirts (dyed these myself, and was pretty unhappy with the way that the AA shirts dyed. The gown for Bella is from Dharma, and it took the color much better. You can see the difference the most in the first pic. I was so glad to get to use some of the kitty fabric for the sleeves, I knew that Mia would love it!):

and the pants (got the sweater at goodwill for $4, the appliques are from two other garage sale cashmere sweaters that I felted):
front:

back and side:

Friday, October 2, 2009

more pants and a sweater!

Because apparently my child does not have enough clothes (and also because I keep finding new patterns!) I have made some more pants for Ellie! Also, I joined a sew-along group, where one person posts 2-3 projects per week, and everyone does them, and we can discuss/ troubleshoot/ critique, etc. It is fun, and has given me some new ideas. Including some not so amazing coasters, which could be improved upon, but were usable and a good idea.
So, the first pair are actually not Ellie's -they were way too big, so I made her a second pair, and sent these to a friend who has a little girl who can actually wear them! These are fleece pants, the fleece is from the remenant bin at Joann's- I almost never buy yardage of fleece. So, Two pairs cost me maybe $2.50 to make. Nice.

This second pair is recycled from a sweater that I got for $4 at the thrift shop. Because it is 100% wool, these can be used as a diaper cover, as well. These have an elastic waist, and work better as tights than real pants. I need to get an action shot, as I think that they will look really cute on.

I made both of these pants using Katrina's Quick Sew pattern. Her soaker pattern is really good, too, and they are free!
The pants pattern is HERE
And, lastly, not pants, but a sweater that I made. This is my first sweater, and I used acrylic yarn, so it isn't too heavy (also was cheap, in case of needing to scrap the project, which, thankfully, I did not have to do!)

It just needs a button and it is done!

more stockings!

Just finished these for a great mama who I am trading with! It always terrifies me to send something off to another crafty person!
So, in follow-up to the how-to on stockings, here are the ones that I made for my sister-in-law and her soon to be husband, as well as for a great DS mama!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

How to make a Christmas Stocking


find a pattern online (there are plenty of free ones, or you can trace a stocking that you already have... I can't find the link to where I got mine, but it is a pretty simple shape, too)
You will need 1/2 yard of outer fabric, 1/2 yard quilting for the inner, and some ribbon or binding for the edge and the hanger loop dohicky.
trace the pattern onto the outer fabric folded in half, make sure that you have the outside of the fabric facing each other so that you get a front and a back. which ever way you want the toe to point (all mine go to the right when looking at them- if you make more than one you will want them all facing the same direction on the mantle) trace the pattern the OPPOSITE direction. Cut out the fabric leaving room for 1/4 seam allowance.
If you are going to embroider or embellish the stocking, do it at this point, so that you don't have to try to wrestle a sewn-up stocking onto the embroidery hoop.
Sew the outer fabric with the print/ outer side facing in. You will want to give about 1/4 seam allowance on the stocking.
For the inner, use the same pattern, and cut two pieces of quilting. The quilting I use is the same on both sides, but some is not. In this case, you will cut and sew with the wrong side facing out. When you trace the pattern, extend the top part of the stocking about 6 inches. This will give you the fold-over for the cuff. When you put the pieces together, the seams will face each other so that there are no seams on the outside. This is important to realize when embroidering on the inner. It helps to lay out your pieces to see where you want the embroidery to go before doing any sewing.
if you are embroidering the top of the stocking, now is the time to do it. Remember, the cuff will be folded over, so make sure that you embroider on the part of the fabric that was INSIDE when you cut the fabric, and that the embroidery will be right side up once that piece is folded over.
Take your edging (I use ribbon, but you can also use the binding that comes pre-folded. If you are using ribbon, just sew the top edge of the ribbon along the edge of the stocking on the same side that you embellished. Leave just a little to hang over the edge and cover the unhemmed edge of quilting. This bottom edge will be later sewn to the stocking. If you use binding, encase the quilted edge in the binding and sew using small stitches. Do this BEFORE you sew the quilted pieces together.
Now sew the quilted pieces together. Make sure that the side with the embellishments/ binding is facing in. Hem ON the line you traced for the pattern. This will make the inner just a little smaller.
Turn the outer piece right side out. Leave the inner piece as is. Put the inner piece inside the outer one, the seams should be facing each other. Fold the inner over the outer. I fold down about 4-6 inches- Make sure that you cover the edge of the outer fabric and that you can see your embellishment.
You should at least tack down your folded edge- you do not need to sew all the way around, and often if you do, the fabric will bunch and not line up right.
Lastly, cut a piece of the ribbon used for binding to use as a hanger. I just eyeball this to make sure that it is long enough that when folded in half, the loop sticks out of the stocking about an inch. Sew this to the back corner that is opposite the toe of the stocking. I sew two parallel lines of stitching, the same place that I sewed the binding, and go over it about 4 times. This will need to hold up the weight of the filled stocking!
Finished!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Ellie is (almost) one!

Here is the project that I made for Ellie's birthday. Or, I should say, the other project that I made, as the first one was her shirt, which I am waffling over turning into a dress. I have a tutu for her that matches, but since she can't walk yet, IDK if I want to put it on her- she will most likely get really frustrated over not being able to crawl in it. I also have a pair of custom dyed and knit longies for her, but I don't think that it will be cold enough for her to wear those with the LS shirt that I embroidered.
Anywho... on to the project.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Embroidery work!

I've been working on a bunch of embroidery lately, mostly stuff for Ellie, so thought that I would post pics. I am considering opening up a co-op for Christmas shirts- I have a bunch of Christmas designs, and if I have enough people interested, then I can order American Apparel shirts and pass the discounted price along to my customers. So anyway, if anyone is interested in Christmas shirts, send me an e-mail!
I am also going to be discounting all birthday shirts during the month of September in honor of Ellie's first birthday. So, if anyone wants a custom, personalized birthday shirt for their little one, send me a message!
Here are the pics from this week's work.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

all alone



My dear husband is out at a job recruitment fair thing, and I am alone with baby tonight. Figured that I would post some new pics.
Here are the most recent longies that I made for Ellie. They are way too long, I am afraid! I can cuff them up about an inch, though, so I guess they will fit all winter! I am especially proud of the little flower on the drawstring!
Also, last Christmas I mad stockings for the family. This was the first major project that I used my embroidery machine for, and I was really pleased with how they turned out. Recently I was approached by a mom who might want me to make a set for her family, so I took some pics (yes, I dug out all of the Christmas stuff in hopes of maybe getting a custom job!) So, I figured that I would post the pics here, too! Anyone need some stockings for the holidays? These are really pretty big- I should have taken a pic using something for scale, but these are over a foot long, so nice sized stockings!