barfy baby
2008 @ 3:56 pm
As I type this, I think it’s safe to say that Cassie has slowed it down on the spit up. While she was in the throws of it, I made a few burp cloths (as per Cathy’s post). I used what I had around and they came out pretty great! Not my first choices, but pretty much the only stuff that matched my green skull flannel.
I need some serious help with my top-stitching and I think this pattern is a great way to practice! Burp cloths are not items that need to look perfect and the curves are great for getting better at guiding fabric through the machine. Next time I might try one of my fancy quilting stitches.
I also need some help with the manual setting on my camera. It’s blurry, but you get the idea. I’ve been reading the blog Beyond Megapixels–it’s been really helpful in helping me understand more about the potential my camera has.
Pattern: New Conceptions
so close…
2008 @ 8:33 am
I’ve got a few nearly finished objects thanks to some mandated rest over the last couple of days.
The green is another Ribbed Baby Jacket (now offered free) by Debbie Bliss [ravelry], the gray are two newborn sized Saartje’s bootees [ravelry], and, you guessed it, the brown is a nearly completed jacket from Girly Style Wardrobe! The bootees and jacket each need notions and the sweater just needs to be seamed.
Now the jacket details. Steph (have your heard about her new venture, Popknits yet?) and Jennifer came over for a sewing day last Sunday and I was surprised to find that the jacket was much easier to assemble than it was to cut! (You may recall the crazy pattern page). I did have experts here to guide me, for which i am very grateful. I am not sure i would have set the sleeve properly without guidance or assembled in the proper order either (although on second look, the last diagram of the instructions does give you this info). Even so, as Jennifer mentioned, it’s just like knitting: shoulders, set in sleeves, seam sides, then arms.
The sleeve looks pretty good!
IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. The ruffle of the sleeve appears to be laid out incorrectly in the book. If it is cut as shown, it will make a ruffle that is shorter than the sleeve you attach it too. If you cut these pieces side by side on the fold, you will have the perfect length.
2. Sizing note: I made the smallest size (100cm) and it is a little big for my two year old. I believe the sizing goes by the child’s height. MJ is about 34″ tall and 100cm is about 39″. Makes total sense.
3. Finishing–I plan to use bias tape around the neckline and for the tie. I believe the instructions mean for you to make your own. There are two reasons I chose not to do this: first, I don’t think I had enough fabric. I used a half yard remnant. Second, I didn’t like the idea of a corduroy tie, I thought it would wear too easy and be a bit too stiff.
I’ll try to compile all this info in the final post on this project for anyone else who wants to make it. I’ve also categorized all the Girl Style posts for easy skimming.
zee shoes for zee baby
2008 @ 3:41 pm
Visit Stardust Shoes to download this fabulous tutorial!
Materials:
Scraps of Raindrop Stripe by Alexander Henry
Scraps of RED Kona Cotton
Scraps of off white wool felt found at Brooklyn General (single pieces are $4.50–blame the weak dollar and buy it anyway, there is no comparison).
Girly Style
2008 @ 11:06 pm
Since Christmas, I’ve been sweating the Japanese sewing book, Girly Style Wardrobe (ISBN 457911132X). When Stephanie mentioned a trip to NYC’s Japanese book store, I asked her to pick me up a copy and she obliged, yay!
I’ve been pouring over the photos and patterns trying to work out which to attempt first. I love love love the aesthetic of the book, but must admit that there is no chance my girly girls will be dressed like this on the daily. We are all about play and comfort over here! Even on Christmas I went with overalls on MJ. But, for something handmade and girly, it doesn’t get any better than these classic, yet contemporary patterns. If only I was a better sewer and fluent in Japanese. I have referenced a few other blogs/websites over the last few days: Moving Hands for a glossary of terms, Thought and Thimble mentioned that a seam allowance is NOT included on the pattern piece–duly noted.
And then I dove in. I chose what seems to be a simple jacket (View D). I think the sizing might be a bit big for my almost-two-year-old so I picked a corduroy suitable for Spring or next Fall.
I outlined the largest size of the pattern in red pencil and then outlined the smallest size (100cm), the one to be used, in red Sharpie. Then I traced the pattern pieces onto muslin with red pencil, added the seam allowances and cut them out.
I must point out that what amounts to two sentences of explanation took several consultations with the experts (Jennifer, Mary, Mom and the Mac), a few sessions of tracing (while MJ colored), several assumptions and one omission. The omission? cutting my own bias fabric for the tie–I’m thinking of using prefab bias tape for that. The assumptions? That I identified the correct pattern pieces. View D also covers a skirt, not to mention that the pattern sheet closely resembles a topographical map of the Adirondacks. The second major assumption is that the ruffle piece should actually be laid out twice along the fold so that it’s longer than the sleeve, not shorter.
Stay tuned for what is sure to be a dramatic, if not adorable, conclusion…
Plucky Poppy Duvet
2007 @ 3:02 pm
A few weeks ago I bought MJ her first comforter. I don’t know if 18 mo old kids are allowed to have them or not, but I think she’s ready. Ikea had an irresistible deal: $15 for a crib size, machine washable comforter. Just the right price to justify spending mad funds on fancy fabric for a duvet! I spent many days pondering patterns at Brooklyn General–I even attempted to justify some Liberty for a day or two. I finally settled on a Kaffe Fassett fabric and a coordinating solid. I bought 1.5 yds of each and didn’t break the bank. The great thing about small duvets is that there is no need to piece together fabric to accommodate width.
I basically sewed a pillowcase for the comforter. I cut it to size and seamed it on three sides (using very narrow seam allowance!). Then I turned down the opening (bottom) by 2″ two times and sewed close to the first fold. The trickiest part was making buttonholes. The machine, once again, performed beautifully! On my machine (Singer CE-200), the buttonhole foot requires that you load your button right into it so it can decide how big your hole should hat was about the right size since my intention was to make my own closures.
There doesn’t seem to be a manual override for this feature, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard to trick the machine. I placed some tearaway stabilizer under 3 of 4 buttonholes–it definitely helped!
So, the hardest part about buttonholes? Not ripping them to shreds. Oops.
I bought a yo-yo maker a while ago and decided this was the perfect day to try it out. I didn’t have buttons on hand and I wanted to get the duvet done in a day. What the heck is a yo-yo? Well, you may have nauseating Season 2 Project Runway flashbacks (unless you are 12) when you hear the word “rosette”, but that’s what it is. You can’t deny the cuteness on a kid item. I feel compelled to admit that it is pure chance that the flowers lined themselves up at the bottom edge like that. I paid no mind whatsoever. I love happy accidents!
The verdict… YAY! MJ gave it a big thumbs up last night. Well, really she just repeated the word “POPPY!” for a full minute when I showed it to her. She’s been sleeping with it bare for a couple of weeks and “tuck tuck” (both MJ and Elmo) has become part of our ritual. While I have yet to find her under it upon waking, it’s nice to look at when I say goodnight.
Fabric Backed, Embroidered Burp Cloth Tutorial
2007 @ 1:55 pm
So, I had two Olivia’s and a Jake to get birth gifts for. I decided that monogrammed burp cloths would be fun! And they were…
So, I didn’t get any of the pictures uploaded for my tutorial this morning 
But, the words are done if you want to take a look! Click here for Burp Cloth Tutorial. Soon it will be available in the top nav bar and via pdf.
And since I know you are all dying to see a close up of that pink fabric:
This is some yardage that my friend Joy brought for me from Hawaii!
sew, mama, sew!
2007 @ 3:10 pm
Don’t think for a second that I don’t notice the drop in comments (and dare I say, stats) when I talk more about sewing than I do about knitting or babies. Will that stop me? Hell no!
I found this fun thing yesterday and was intrigued.
Each day, Sew, Mama, Sew! plans to post a different handmade gift idea. It already being November, the first idea is APRONS! I rather like this idea…
I will hold back, however, since it would mean certain death to attempt to MAKE all of my Christmas gifts this year. Oh I have ideas for each and every person, believe me. But in the spirit of being more realistic, I’ve decided to not even try. There’s a lesson to take with you 
first the shoes…
2007 @ 9:13 am
Thanks for the compliments on my new shoes! They are very comfortable without being clunky. I bought them at Slope Shoes (or something to that effect) on 7th Avenue and Lincoln Place. Unfortunately, that store was closing when I bought them… the brand is azaleia and you can find them at zappos.com. The deal at zappos is nearly as good as the one I got at the close-out sale. Silly me didn’t even try to negotiate a lower price on the 4 pairs of shoes I bought that day (see other shoes here). Mr. Sassy assures me that I am more disappointed in myself than he is in me for not even thinking of trying. Right.
I did some more sewing this weekend in preparation for our Caribbean vacation in October. I made this beach dress for MJ using a bit of fabric I got as a hostess gift from my friend Heather. It’s an Alexander Henry print–love him.
I followed Teresa Franco’s tutorial for a Simple & Elegant dress and made size modification as follows:
MJ measured 19″ around the chest:
I cut 4 pieces of 3/8″ elastic to 17 inches.
I cut the fabric 31″ (19″ plus 12″ for the gathering)
I’m extremely happy with the results! I’ll be making more–even a few in adult sizes–before we leave.
Note:
I didn’t have a long straight edge so I skipped drawing elastic guides and did my best to sew evenly as I pulled it across. This didn’t work out so well (duh) so I’m off to by a clear ruler today. Also, I think I will attach the elastic to within a 1/2″ of the edge rather than at the edge. The double up elastic adds bulk to the seam. I might even try a french seam with the next one 
a little sewing and a new blog to read
2007 @ 9:59 am
Hey out there… remember those awesome reversible project bags that some Spiders were knocking out earlier this year? No? Check out Jess’ tutorial. I finally made one for myself Jess and I had a little sewing bee over here last night and wound up with two great project bags! Here’s mine:
and the inside:
and the too-cool-for-school bottom:
Thank you Jess for providing hands-on help (although it was really easy once you understand the construction) and a perfectly matched drawstring!
And now, I’ve got a new blog for you guys: KIMMYMADE! Watch this girl–she’s coming out with seriously cute softies and will be opening an etsy shop soon. Her latest project is hands-down the sassiest thing I’ve ever seen made out of recycled sweaters.
I leave you with this–our kaleidescope. Taken from three feet away.
long overdue project
2007 @ 8:57 pm
Miss MJ has a new little something to wear. For the next two days at least. This top was started when she was about 6 months old and it took me until last week to finish it. I ran into a little snag with the instructions and it fell to the wayside. Well, at least she can wear it this week
Pattern: Simplicity 4203 View D
Fabric: Alexander Henry Raindrop Stripe
Obviously, this was a bit challenging for me. I got stuck at the ruffle. Having never done one before, it took me three tries. Then it took me another little while to interpret the instructions for attaching the bodice to the skirt. In all honesty, I still don’t understand–my sister gave me verbal, step-by-step instructions through the rest of the project (putting in the elastic).
Visualizing how the pieces of a pattern fit together is not intuitive just yet. i can tell I am getting better though and look forward to learning from my next project. I’m hoping that will be a corduroy jumper… I’ve got my eye on old school 70’s pattern on Ebay
