I am waiting, waiting, waiting for some fabric (for my origami wrap) to come in the mail~ oh the agony!

So, while I’ve been so patiently waiting, I decided to play with some rust colored baby-rib knit that I’ve had for ages. I didn’t quite have enough for the origami wrap, but was able to squeeze out enough to make this wrap.

I used an old long sleeve t shirt that I love and kind of traced it’s shape making an extra wide front that I cut in half.  It has a wide drape-y collar that I love. It still needs some modifications and the edges are still rough. I may either hem up the edges or do a rolled hem with my serger.

Next time, I will make the arms a little wider and add enough fabric on the collar to make a hood (if there ever is a next time).  I think this would make a great cover-up for when you are going yoga class. Ha, the yoga class in my dreams!

We have been trying to go to the pool twice a week to keep the kids cool and happy.  I had been wanting to make a swimsuit cover-up ever since seeing all of these, but didn’t have the time until yesterday.

It was pretty easy to make.  I used two thrifted t shirts and my regular sewing machine. It only cost me $1, free if I had been able to find two decent t shirts in the hubby’s closet.

You’ll need:

2 mens t shirts. Find one that fits loosely. You will need the extra size for the gathered neck.  The second t shirt will provide material for the ruffled hem.
thread
sewing machine
scissors
safety pin

1. Cut Shirt~1 along the red dotted line, as seen in the diagram above. Save the hemmed piece from the shirt for the drawstring (see #6).

2. Cut second shirt as seen above for ruffled hem.  I cut my hem 5.5 inches wide, but this can be modified to any width. With the 2 cut strips, sew short ends together to make one very long continuous strip.  Sew straight stitch (using longest stitch) across the top of the entire length of the strip.  Pull bobbin thread to create a light gather. Set aside.

3.  Sew neck pleat on shirt ~1.  I used a scrap piece of fabric to demonstrate this part.
Turn shirt right side in and double fold in edge of plunged neckline (as seen in photot).  Pin in place.  Using a zig-zag stitch (straight stitch would probably work, but it’s not as pretty) sew straight down on doth sides (see the red dash line).

4.  Turn shirt right side out again and bring sewn edges together to make a pleat.  Pin in place and sew.

5. Make casing around neckline.  Fold in 1/2 inch all around neck and sew using straight stitch.

6.  Make drawstring using leftover hem from shirt. Fold hem in half lengthwise and zig-zag stitch all the way across the length.  Tie one end in knot. Attach safety pin to other end and work through neck casing.  When all the way through, tie knot on the end. Adjust gathers evenly.

7. Sew on ruffled hem. You might have to mess with the gather to achieve the correct length for sewing on. Plus, you may want more or less of a ruffle than I have.  My long strip was 1/3 longer than the total width of my shirt bottom, if that helps any.  Once you get the gather you like, cut off any excess and sew short ends together.  Sew onto shirt by pinning right sides together and then zig-zag stitch all the way around.

8. You’re done!! Go get on your swimsuit (as fun as that sounds), slip on this cute dress and head to the pool (or even better–the beach!). This is a very flattering dress, especially for those like me, with those empty-baby-house curves.

**Tips & suggestions**

* A serger could definitely be used for this but is not needed.
*When using a regular sewing machine, try not to stretch fabric as you sew.  Practice on some scrap fabric and make sure your tension and feed dogs are adjusted as needed.
* A straight stitch works well for any area that will not be stretched, otherwise use a zig-zag stitch to allow for a teeny bit of stretch.
* No hem is needed for the sleeves and ruffled hem edge – it’s knit!  It can handle that.
* This would be a cute dress too.  Try 2 colorful t shirts instead.

I hope this all makes sense. Let me know if you have any question.

Another stretchy knit skirt made from thrifted fabric.  I made it six panels so that it would be kinda zig-zaggy.  Figuring that out, the zig-zag thing, was kind of a pain- but it all magically worked out. Thank goodness I had some good yardage to work with.

I used my own pattern.  Divided my waist size by by six and then made the bottom edge about 15 inches wide and the length is about 19-20 inches.  I didn’t add anything for seam allowance because of the stretchiness.

It’s got some good swish & twirl factor which is a must have for summer skirts.  At first I thought the stripes might be too loud, but I love the color combo and it will go nicely with a solid brown tank and brow flats.

Oh, how I love summer sewing!

*Panic # 1~ My computer screen went black– nothing.  My computer support services (my hubby) is out of town so had to stress until his work day was over and I could call him.

*Panic #2 ~ Then I was late picking up my little guy because I forgot it was Wednesday, a short day!  Bad mommy!!

*Panic #3 ~ Hubby can’t help me over the phone with the computer, have to call the big guns who I can barely hear or understand. It was a bad connection and I’m a bit slow with the computer jargon.

*Panic #4 ~ Can’t find Rocky because he blends in with everything. I looked everywhere in a half panic (okay, full) then my guys came out to help me and found him in 2 seconds flat!

The good news is that kids are home safe, rocky is sleeping away in his burrow and my computer is up and running with no problems.  Phew! What a day!

Now that I have vented, on with my skirt…

It’s a AEO knock-off.  My friend A has one and I liked it so much that I borrowed it and copied it.  Now I have to make sure that we don’t wear it on the same day.  That would be so dorky!

It’s a very simple design that falls nicely on the sides. Makes it a little flirty and sassy.  It has good swing to it too — good for dancing around the house (the only kind of dancing I do lately).

I cut it on the bias, sewed up the sides with my serger and did a fold over casing for the elastic waist.  No hem either since it is jersey knit and cut on the bias.  I’m thinking I might make another and play around with the shape a bit.

Now I’m going to de-stress by sitting in front of the tube watching Mamma Mia.  Just me and a pint of cherry chocolate soy ice creams.

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I’m having an art print giveaway tomorrow so don’t forget to stop by!

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I just discovered Polyvore.  A time sucker I tell ya!!  Fun though. You can pick your wardrobe by thumbing through hundreds of teeny pictures of clothes, shoes, accessories, etc.  This is what I created:

I love everything, but I’m especially gaga over the denim button skirt and gray culotte/skirt.  Cute!!

I would never buy any of this stuff, but I can certainly try to make some of the items.  This sent me on a massive online pattern search for new wardrobe options for the summer.  We are also planning a big trip to California and I’d like to make a few easy, non fuss things to wear.

For the denim button skirt I found this pattern at burdastyle- for free! (another new discovery- I know, I must be living under a rock).  It’s a straight skirt, but my wheels are turning on how to alter that pattern.

I also found a similar pattern for shorts that has the same button style. Very cute!

The gray culotte/skirt (I think they are culottes) could be made from this pattern, from Burda, maybe made shorter. I swore I’d never wear culottes again when I was 12, but if they are made from a light weight material instead of heavy weight cotton that balloons out in the most unflattering way, they might be okay. Or, maybe I’ll skip the culottes all together and go with this skirt.

1. S2593 2. S2942 3. S2586 4. S3745

JoAnn’s just happens to be having a 2 for $5 Simplicity pattern sale this weekend, so I picked up 4 patterns.

Next weekend, the McCall’s patterns will be on sale for 1.99, so I’ll have to grab a few of those.

I found tons of other dresses/skirts and top patterns online that I’d like so,  please bear with me as I make my computer list (a paper one would only get lost, and I’ve spent so much time searching for these).

Simplicity 2596

Simplicity 2854

McCall’s 5653

Vogue 8411

Burdastyle skirt (free-online)  8218

Burdastyle Ballarina slippers & Toasty slippers (for next winter)

Of course I have lots of books with great patterns too.  Hopefully I will actually make some of this stuff!

baked tofu pita

On a completely different note, check out this yummy pita-wich I made with baked tofu. It has lettuce, tomato, avocado and a wee bit of veganaise. The baked tofu recipe is from Andrea.  It was sooooo good! Thanks A!!

Here is my Summer Blouse from Weekend Sewing.  Somehow, it all worked out.  I thought I had lost all the efforts of a beautiful new shirt, but instead, I want to make more.  Many more!

It all magically ended up working out.  I made the sleeves 3/4 length and took in the sides. I also used hem tape so I wouldn’t lose any more of the length.  I love how it turned out and it may be my new favorite shirt.  Next time, I will make it a tad bit longer and try even shorter sleeves since it’s starting to get so warm.

I also made three new simplicity 3835 tops, assembly line style.  I had only planned making 2, but I got a strong surge of sewing adrenaline that pushed me on through.  I love them all and am looking forward to making a few more summer tops and a couple of skirts too.

Which summer pattern are you loving?

So, I’m looking through flickr at pages and pages of those gorgeous reverse applique skirts from the Alabama Stitch Book and I kept seeing eyes.  Yes, eyes… from the shapes.  I was tired.

That night, while trying to fall asleep, I got the idea to do reverse applique eyes on tshirts for the boys. Once that thought popped into my head, then I REALLY couldn’t sleep. That creative adrenaline was flowing through my veins at incredible strength and force (which is why you should never think of these things at bedtime).

The next day I was on a mission to make eyes, despite my list of more important things to do.   I searched through the kid’s clothing for stained and usable Ts.  Two green and one white.  I cut the white one into twelve 3×4 squares and drew eye shapes with a pencil and painted eyeballs in the center with Tulip Soft fabric paint.

Once dry, I used the reverse applique technique to sew them on.

I left more of an eyelid excess on I-guy’s shirt.  I love the creepy “look”.  And don’t forget the one eye on the back so you can see what’s behind you.  Especially important around Halloween time.

Have a fabulous  weekend!!

I found this fabric at Hancock’s in the remnant section and knew I had to make a skirt from it.  Unfortunately, it is a very thin, light weight cotton and there was only 1 1/3 yards of it. I figured I’d make do.

Since I had very little to work with, I couldn’t mess with hems and casings.  So, I followed angry chicken’s steps and did a rolled hem with my serger.  I also used a wide bias tape for the elastic waist casing, saving me from having a mini skirt (I didn’t have any FOE).   I also made a lining to help with the see-through-ness.   It is only attached at the waist. It was super easy, taking less than an hour, while watching project runway.

Have a very nice weekend!

I finally broke into my vintage sheets.  They were originally intended for skirts, but just happen to be the right amount for tops too.  I’ve been wanting to use this simplicity pattern for a while, seeing it around many, many, many, many places.

The rounded neck version of this pattern was a bit challenging (HA!).  It was sewing the rounded edge with the gather, front and back.  The neck won’t lay flat and it’s a bit wonky.  I know I did something wrong.  Maybe next time I’ll actually read the directions.  I’m impatient that way.  I was trying to get it done before the kids started protesting on the table for dinner.  I’ll have to try reading the directions very carefully and taking my time.  Or I can try it this way instead, OR skip the rounded neck all together and try the square neck version.  We’ll see.

Sorry about the evening photos.  I usually will only do natural light shots, but didn’t want to wait.  The fabric is quite a bit more faded than it appears.

Thanks for the nice comments on my last top. This one is the same pattern (Simplicity 4177), different style.  This time with shorter sleeves and some green plaid seersucker. Can you see the gold thread running through the yellow stripes?  My favorite part.  Again, a thrifted fabric find.

This one wasn’t as simple as the last one, mostly because of the added bias tape trim under the arm.  Not horrible, just took me a little longer for my brain to comprehend the instructions.  Once it was all said and done, I took the whole thing apart.  Yep, the sleeves felt like wings that I could see from the corner of my eyes.  They were really bugging, so a seam-rippin I went. Remade it the second time using the smallest sleeve pattern piece.

It’s better, but I’m hoping the fabric gets softer with each washing and lies down a bit more.   It is still a very comfortable, light summer piece that looks great with shorts.

I find that making clothes from the same pattern, one right after the other, makes sewing the item much easier.  The instructions are very fresh in your head the second time around making for a quick and easy sew (unless you go a seam-rippin).