Posts Tagged ‘handmade’

Sewing for the Weekend

May 30th, 2013
6 Comments

It’s like sewing is my job! This week I’ve made two shirts, a pair of leggings, a skirt and some pajama pants. I’ve certainly kept myself busy because I want to look all cute when I meet up with my sewing gal pals in LA today. If I sew and I’m going to fly to LA to hang out with sewing girls, I have to represent with some new duds. Right?

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I’m just in love with Megan Nielsen’s crescent top, but I wanted something a little simpler and with sleeves. So I mashed up her pattern and my scoop top pattern and this is what I got. I used a rayon jersey for the top and a rayon challis on bottom.

I had just enough of the floral challis left over from the banksia top I made over a year ago I didn’t want to throw it out, but I didn’t have enough to make another top. What do you do with awkwardly large fabric scraps? Save? Toss? Recycle? Donate? I usually recycle, but I loved the print and drape so much I saved it. I’m so glad I did!

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I don’t know why the left tugs in the photo, but it doesn’t appear to do that in real life. Or maybe I just don’t notice it.

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The top was easy enough to construct, the hardest part being the hemming and trying to make that look nice. I did all right. I’m glad I wasn’t hemming a curved jersey. The challis was hard enough.

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With 20+ of us women bombarding the LA fabric district I want to look dressed up, feel comfortable and be ready for anything. Outfit Details:

  • necklace: handmade
  • glasses: coastal
  • top: handmade
  • jeggings: PacSun
  • shoes: Ruche

Fabric-Weekend

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As I’ve mentioned a few times, I’m hitting up the streets of LA through this weekend to stock up on fabric, notions and anything else that strikes my fancy. I’m so excited to be spending time with some wonderful women and to meet and greet lots of great people behind brands I love.

Follow along with all of my finds on Instagram and Seesaw. We will all be using the hashtag #fabricweekend2013.

A few companies are going out of their way to make our trip to LA exciting, I’d like to give each of them a shout out below. jo-ann-mood-michael-levine-ruche
Even though I’m sure to find unique fashion fabric in the warehouses of the fabric district, Jo-Ann always seems to surprise me with their knit prints.

I’ve never been to Mood before – they were closed when I went to NYC almost 3 years ago. I’m excited to finally step foot in one of their stores and go a little Project Runway crazy!

Michael Levine is totally new to me. They sell fabric by the POUND (squeal!) in parts of their bricks and mortar store and they also have an online store with crazy awesome fashion fabrics.

And oh Ruche, I’m so excited to hang at your headquarters for a visit!

 

Sewing: Stripe Maxi Dress

May 23rd, 2013
12 Comments

I loved the way the Renfrew worked with my circle dress, I had to make a maxi dress to add to my wardrobe too! I used the modified top and sketched out the remaining pattern based on my hip and leg span measurements. And it worked out perfectly. My biggest mistake was not pre-washing the fabric.

I swear on my own grave I pre-washed, but it shrank. Not that much, though. It could’ve been the difference between our old washer and dryer set and the new one. Th new washer and dryer gives me sparkling clean, toasty clothes now.

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I didn’t want to stress the bottom hem of the dress a whole lot with my movement, so I made sure the bottom was extra roomy. I believe the final sewn circumference of the bottom is somewhere around 60″.

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I  made this right before a wedding reception two weeks ago. When I say right before, Chris found me in my underwear putting the finishing touches on the dress when he came into the sewing room to tell me we needed to go. I worked like a maniac getting this done in under 2 hours.

It’s just like sewing a tee; but a really, really long one. The hem of the dress took me the longest amount of time, and I’ll still have to fix it as it rolls up even after I press it.

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I thought I’d try to be cool and tie a knot at the bottom of my skirt for some pictures. I like the picture it took, but it does not translate well to moving around. It feels like I have a massive dangling growth hitting my knee all the time. I wonder if fashion bloggers actually have their skirts like this all day or if it’s just a styling thing for pictures. I’m inclined to think the latter.

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I forgot to take any pictures of the side seams! I matched up the pattern perfectly on both sides. You get a subtle v where all of the black stripes match up. Probably my proudest moment.

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The neckline bunches here because of my forward sloping shoulders in the picture. Normally it all lays flat.

  • Outfit details:
  • necklace: handmade
  • belt: thrifted
  • dress: handmade
  • shoes: hand-me-down from Sarah

This dress is already a summer staple in my wardrobe. What’s your summer staple?

 

Sewing: Stripe Scoop Top

May 16th, 2013
8 Comments

Is it a sad day that this was inspired by a tee I saw at Walmart? I got this striped jersey from a fabric destash last year and have been at a loss for what to make with it until I saw this product listing. istillloveyou-sewing-simple-knit-stripe-top-1

I’m obsessed with those cheap jeggings, btw. Perfect for a baby bump. It’s no announcement, beyond the fact that I’m getting baby hungry.

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I already had a pattern drafted up from a floral shirt project from last year that just needed a couple of tweaks. The pattern now fits me perfectly. You better believe I’m going to make a million more shirts in this shape. Since it only has two pattern pieces, it took me about an hour and a half to sew this thing up. I had plenty of fabric left over, I made a shirt for my neighbor and still had more left over for a bubble skirt for Penelope. I’m still not done with that skirt, but it’s close. I’m just dragging my feet on attaching the waistband.

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It’s a light-weight jersey that I know I’ll be wearing the heck out of this summer.

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My friend Kristin just made a similar shirt and posted her pattern as a free download so you can make your own.

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Outfit details:

Sewing: Cascade Wrap Skirt

May 9th, 2013
16 Comments

You know I’m obsessed with Megan Nielsen patterns. Maybe because she’s my favorite client, or maybe because she makes kick-trash patterns that are modern, simple and on-trend. Maybe both.

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I tested out her cascade skirt pattern months ago, and I’ve been so anxious to share it with you. Now that her collection is released, I want to show it off!! I made it out of a purple heather knit (this will be the pantone of the year next year, I’m convinced), and I LOVE the drape, texture and fit.

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I was a little hesitant to try a wrap skirt pattern, but I loved the technical drawing so much I couldn’t resist.

See, one of the first skirts I ever made was a wrap floral skirt, with the help of my mom. I liked it and hated it. Any time a gust of wind came, there my panties were to say hello. And I live in a fairly windy spot, on top of a mountain. I didn’t want to go to the trouble of making an awesome skirt that I could only wear on “special” (aka non-windy) occasions. But I did it anyway.

I’m glad I used a soft jersey here, the jersey tends to stick to itself to conceal not-cute mom undies.

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I totes feel like a salsa dancer or something in this skirt.

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I wore just about this exact outfit at Alt Summit earlier this year (minus the shoes and plus a blazer). I felt so fancy and comfortable at the same time.

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Outfit details:

High Low Circle Hem Tutorial

May 7th, 2013
25 Comments

Brewing in the back of my mind has been this pink and orange circle dress. I’ve had the fabric for months, it’s just been such a busy couple of months I was almost too scared to start on it.

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I certainly shouldn’t have been scared. This thing took 2 hours to make from start to finish. Clean studio to clean studio, I might add. I didn’t test anything out before I started sewing, and I ended up paying for it a little bit with the waistline, but overall everything worked like a dream.

I included a high-low circle hemline here because I had enough requests for a tutorial, I thought I would do it again so I could better explain it. It’s really easy. So easy that I’ve made a printable pattern. Not printable from home, (it takes forever to format to print on 8.5×11 paper) but you can easily take the file to your local copy shop and they can print it out on their gigantic plotter for something like 15¢-50¢ per square foot. Or you can draft your own using the instructions after the jump.

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The two colors are very similar in content and weight, the orange being a bit heavier. I wanted to have the pink on the bottom when I first conceptualized this dress, but I didn’t have enough fabric for it. You’ll need at least a yard and a half if you want it to come close to hitting at the knee. I’m a knee length gal, so more yardage was required.

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I drafted my own skirt and used the Renfrew tee as a base for the bodice. I took in the Renfrew tee about 3/8 inch at the fold line, none at the shoulders or arm pits then just about 3/8 inch at the waist line. I wanted the top to be form-fitted so I can wear the dress sans belt.

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I made the mistake of cutting the bodice too short, so I ended up adding a waistband for the needed length. It worked out just fine, and looks like it’s supposed to be there in a way. Next time my dress won’t have one. And I will be making another one of these. I sort of wish I had made this skirt last year or the year before in the height of the orange/pink craze, but I still love it regardless of what’s trending.

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The jersey is crazy comfortable, it feels like I’m wearing lounge clothes. I can’t wait to make another one. Next one will be out of a print, I think. Now I need to find the right print.

Outfit details:

  • earrings: Brazil
  • necklace: Annily Green
  • skirt: handmade
  • belt: hand-me-down from grandma
  • leather bracelets: handmade
  • bangle: c/o Apricot Lane
  • shoes: thrifted

Click to read more for the full how to make this skirt!

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