Thursday, May 16, 2013

Popover Sundresses

This was the first time I tried the Oliver+S Popover Sundress (free online pattern sizes 2-8). Once the fabric was cut out, it was a really quick sew up, just one hour. For those beginning to sew, this would make a great first dress sewing project.

I did French seams for the side seams, hoping to make them stronger as these are headed for Uganda and will most likely be washed on a rock in the river. Pillowcase dresses are being collected until May 31st for Project Yesu. I sewed 6 dresses total, most size 8, just one size 7. I wanted to sew the larger sizes. I had longer lenths of fabric (1 yard+) and wanted to maximize the number of bigger sized dresses as I could because I recently sewed a bunch of baby dresses for charity.

Happy weekend!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Flip This Pattern Series



Just a really quick announcement today to let you know (in case you haven't already heard) that the 2 very talented sisters at FrancesSuzanne will be will be hosting a year long series called Flip This Pattern. Every month there will be a different children's sewing pattern to flip, with many different participants ~ I'll be taking part in July, should be fun!
Happy Tuesday ~ hope you are having a good week so far.

Friday, May 10, 2013

The Great British Sewing Bee Dress

 Have you had the chance yet to watch The Great British Sewing Bee? It is the kind of brilliant telly that I fancy. I completely fell in love with it. I was so inspired after watching all 4 episodes of season 1 on YouTube in 3 days, that I ordered the red, white and blue striped fabric that's on the cover of The Great British Sewing Bee book and whipped up a girl's dress that appears for just a snippet in the introduction of the show.

 I don't know the exact sewing pattern that they used, but it looked very similar to the Oliver+S Fairy Tale Dress, so that is the one I followed.
 The fabric is London Stripe Red/White/Blue, Collection: Andover London (and for the lining I used 100% cotton voile in white).
 I was super excited about sewing this dress. I was thinking about The Great British Sewing Bee and about the joy of sewing while making it. Instead of rushing through everything just for the sake of getting it done, I thoroughly found enjoyment going through every single step of the entire process. I worked hard at following the sewing pattern with accuracy and consistency. I did my very best sewing. And there was only a teeny tiny amount of unpicking (!)
 My hope would be that it has lots of good bits that meet the high standards of Patrick and May and that they might say comments like: The dress is fully lined which makes it nice and soft against the child's skin, the stripes are matched up superbly, the fine French seams make it a robust garment, a well inserted invisible zip, well managed darts with no puckers, and a well executed hand sewn blind hem. It's a perfect fit and a smart looking dress. It turned out to be a smashing success!
 Now that I've finished sewing this dress, I'm completely knackered, thankfully it's time for tea!
 Hoping you have a jolly good day sewing! Stitch your way to victory!

Cheers!


PS Here I have collected the information about all the challenges from all 4 episodes of season 1. These would make fantastic sew at home projects.

{The 3rd challenge is always where each contestant has picked pattern/fabric and had time to practice in advance}

1st episode, 8 contestants
following a pattern: A-line skirt (invisible zip) 3.5 hrs
alteration challenge: transform neckline on a white seersucker top 1 hr
made to measure (for a model): casual dress 7 hrs

2nd episode, 6 contestants
following a pattern: a pair of men's trousers (zip fly) 4 hrs
alteration challenge: add 2 patch pockets to a gray A-line mini wool skirt 1 hr
made to measure (for a model): delicate silk or satin blouse 6 hrs

3rd episode (semi-finals), 4 contestants
following a pattern: toddler summer dress (French seams, rows of shearing elastic, rouloux loop straps) 2.5 hrs
alteration challenge: dramatically alter by adding shape (pleats, darts, etc) to a blue viscose shift dress 1.5 hrs
made to measure (for a model): jacket 7.5 hrs

4th episode (finals), 3 contestants
following a pattern: man's shirt (no cuffs) 4 hrs
alteration challenge: add embellishment with only hand sewing (appliqué, embroidery, beading, etc) on a gray hand bag 1.5 hrs
made to measure (for a model): evening dress 8 hrs

Monday, May 6, 2013

Canada Geese Fabric Giveaway

ETA: The prize is traveling to Belgium!
*****
It's May Giveaway Day! A big thank you to Sew, Mama, Sew! for hosting such a fantastic giveaway event!

The prize: 2.5 yards Canada geese scenery fabric. Calling all Belgian Style Kids Clothing fans! Here is the fabric you need to sew this Canada Geese dress by Inge van den Broeck.

Enter to win:
  • Please leave an answer to the following question: What is your favorite animal?
  • One entry per person.
  • I will pick the winner.
  • I will ship internationally.
  • Giveaway will close Friday, May 10 at 5 PM PST, and winners should be announced by email no later than Sunday, May 12 and I will ship by May 15.
Happy sewing !

Sunki Dress Giveaway

The prize is going to Hannah.
*****
It's May Giveaway Day! A big thank you to Sew, Mama, Sew! for hosting such a fantastic giveaway event!
 The prize: Sunki dress (using this pattern), long sleeves, made out of pink wool, size 4/5, it will fit a girl with 22.5-23 inch chest and 23-24.5 inch hips.
Enter to win:
  • Please leave an answer to the following question: Who will you give this dress to/who will wear this dress?
  • One entry per person.
  • I will pick the winner. 
  • I will ship internationally.
  • Giveaway will close Friday, May 10 at 5 PM PST, and winners should be announced by email no later than Sunday, May 12 and I will ship by May 15.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the dress or the sewing pattern, I really love the style of the dress, it's just that my daughter is currently into full skirt dresses (twirly, circle, gathered, etc), so she's not wearing short dresses or tunics right now. It was worn one day, the day that these modeled photos were taken. Leggings not included (they ripped apart during the first wearing). It is a long sleeve wool dress, so it would be ideal for a girl who lives in an area where the weather does get cooler.

Sewing Supplies Giveaway

ETA: The prize is going to Sandi T.
*****
It's May Giveaway Day! A big thank you to Sew, Mama, Sew! for hosting such a fantastic giveaway event!

The prize:
  • Mini Anorak Snap Tools (along with a couple of mini anorak snaps)
  • Pink satin blanket binding 4.75 yards
  • .75 yards purple knit fabric
Enter to win:
  • Please leave an answer to the following question: What is your favorite thing about spring?
  • One entry per person.
  • I will pick the winner.
  • I will ship internationally.
  • Giveaway will close Friday, May 10 at 5 PM PST, and winners should be announced by email no later than Sunday, May 12 and I will ship by May 15.
I won't be using these items, so I hope there is someone out there who can use them.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Whole Cloth Quilt

 Craft Hope {Project 21} Rally for Roma is going on right now. They are accepting (until May 20th) handmade blankets, hats, and scarves; sewn, knit or crochet.
 
I decided to sew a whole cloth quilt ~ my first one :)
This is a great project for a first time machine quilter. I used just 1 yard of fabric for the top (itty bitty berry by Alexander Henry) and 1 yard for the backing (solid cotton), then a little extra fabric for the binding (vintage floral). I'm not very experienced with quilting and I think I may have broken a few rules. I kept it really simple and only sewed parallel lines for the quilting. Also I rounded the corners, to do this I took a circle jar lid and traced it at each corner.

I found these tutorials to be helpful:
Molly's Sketchbook: Windowpane Wholecloth Baby Quilt @ the Purl bee
Whole Cloth Quilt @ Sew, Mama, Sew!


A very satisfying sewing project that I would definitely do again!