Stop staring and start sewing!

My review of the Burnside Bibs Pattern - Two Bib Thumbs Up!

A couple of years ago I received a Burnside Bibs pattern at a sewing party and I've been wanting to dig into it since then. I finally had the time, fabric, and hankering to get it done and I absolutely love it! So comfortable without being sloppy looking. 

The pattern is from Sew House 7 and comes with a really nice instruction booklet.

I traced the pattern out (don't cut your patterns out please!) in my size and got to work cutting.

I chose to do view #1 which has darts in the back. Since that tightens the waist it requires a side zipper. I love installing invisible zippers and this one went perfectly.

The fabric is 100% linen in the Nine Iron color, midweight (5.3 oz).

Now you see it....

 

Now you don't!

Instead of pins I glue basted things like the pockets and belt loops in place. I find it holds everything in the right position until I get it sewn into place (then washes out with the first washing!)

I'm so proud of my invisible zipper!

You can tie it in the back as well. I like it in the front for now.

So comfy!

Darts in back (barely visible).

I think this is a really smart pattern! It has great illustrations and lots of helpful hints along the way. I saw a cute hack on instagram where she turned it into shorts so I'm thinking that might be my next version since it will be perfect for Arizona. Two big thumbs up for the Burnside Bibs Pattern!

The Ogden Cami by True Bias - a perfect pattern that goes the distance

I have a mad crush on this camisole pattern for awhile now and I'm just getting started. The Ogden Cami from True Bias is a wonderful, uncomplicated pattern and I'm finding it to be very versatile. It's only 10.00 and I downloaded the pdf, printed my pattern, and got sewing right away (I just store all the instructions and pieces in a large zip lock bag). I've made it with the narrow straps it comes with (you'll want a good turning tool) and a slightly wider strap just to give it more substance at the top. I lengthened it into a dress with side slits (so comfortable and breezy), and I've tried a few different types of fabric. So far I haven't made anything I don't like. I wear them all! The only real drawback for me was finding a good strapless bra but I lucked out and found a great one at Target for only 15.00 so I'm set.

My latest version is this black and white gingham fabric (from Walmart!) with slightly widened straps and I absolutely love it.

It's a fun cotton fabric with a bit of a crinkle to it and I think it will be great for casual wear and to dress up a fancier outfit too. I'm going to get a denim jacket this fall because I think it will look terrific with this top.

I love white jeans but this top is going to look great with any color pants and accessories. It's a winner!

I tried it with Bari J.'s gorgeous Budquette rayon fabric and the process was a little trickier (rayon is so "wiggly") but the results are fantastic and oh so comfortable.

One thing that really helped is to use spray starch on the straps before sewing (seriously, it was great and kept the fabric in line). I added about an inch to the length because I didn't want it to look too boxy. This one is so pretty and perfect for our weather here in Arizona.

I made this one a couple of years ago and it's a nice midweight linen. It's a perfect grab and go top because it looks good (and feels good) with everything. I get my linens at Fabrics-Store and they've never let me down (plus they have great sales so get on their mailing list).

This linen dress might be my favorite dress. It's a midweight linen so it's light enough to not be dragging downward but heavy enough to get by without a slip. I widened the straps a bit but still wear a strapless bra with it.

I got this great bohemian fabric in Portland at Bolt without a project in mind. It turned out to be great for the Ogden Cami.

And check out this glorious border print! It's Roads to Flowerhouse (in my store Fabritopia now!) by Bari J. and I've gotten more compliments on this top than all the others. And it only took one yard of fabric because I laid the pattern pieces out at the border edges and it was perfect. I used a different fabric for the facing so I didn't have to cut into any more of this beautiful print.

I've got a few more ideas for this great pattern and my closet is filling up with all these great colors and fabrics. I'm even going to make a few out of some very wispy lightweight solid linen to wear under my sheer blouses. This pattern goes the distance!

 

A blog is still a blog even when there's no one bloggin' there...

So.....what's up? I've been busy. Busy with kids. Busy with marriage. Busy with sewing. And busy with teaching (sewing!). What are you busy doing?

I've been quiet on my blog I know. When I started in 2007, blogging was such a great way to share and it felt personal and friendly and fun. I think social media has sucked up all the oxygen (and the friendliness and fun) in the internet and kind of made me want my privacy again. So maybe it will feel good to hang out here again, instead of over there.

I've been working on a lot of fun new projects and re-working some old ones. I've got some great new ideas for a new direction and I'd sure love some input and encouragement from people who love to sew (or people who want to love to sew but need some help getting started, raise your hand if that's you!). 

So here's a little ongoing project I've been working on....my husband's slightly moth eaten Pendleton shirt. He probably bought it when we lived in Portland but in Arizona it didn't get much wear and he was ready to throw it in the "out" pile. Not so quick there buddy!

He totally blew our Valentine's Day tradition of ignoring Valentine's Day and showed up with a gift. Argh, dude. So I scrambled up a plan and cut a sleeve off of that old shirt and bought him a bouquet of his favorite pilot pens. Add a zipper, lining, and faux leather tassel and I actually knocked his socks off. Whew!

Then he ordered a Hobonichi Planner for work and asked for a cover. Nailed it! He loves it and his coworkers are jealous so he's happy. And I still have bunch of his plaid shirt left! 

I have a lot more to share and some fun things going on here. And I'm sending out my first newsletter soon so be sure to join my mailing list!

 

Make a fast baby shower gift

If you're running short on time, like I was this past weekend, but really want to bring a nice, handmade gift to a baby shower then I've got your solution!  This is my go-to gift these days and although it's a simple one I'm always amazed at how much awe and appreciation a home made gift gets.

I actually have a stash of plain onesies and baby/toddler t-shirts for decorating.  If you see any good sales just grab a package to stick in your gift stash.  

First I whipped up 4 burp rags using my tutorial here (with downloadable pattern!). I got smart this time and traced the pattern onto freezer paper.  I ironed the freezer paper onto the top of a stack of fabric (4 layers of printed cotton and 4 layers of dotted flannel) and used my rotary cutter to cut everything at once.  I had 4 soft, absorbent burp rags finished in under 10 minutes (I serged the edges so that made it a quick process). 

 Then, using scraps from the burp rag fabric, I cut out the designs I wanted to applique onto the front of my two onesies.  I used to iron Wonder Under onto the wrong side of the fabric first but now I have a better solution that removes that step from the process....

 Glue!  I swiped the whole thing with glue, especially around the edges and set it in place on the front of the onesie.  You have to work fairly quickly at this stage because the glue dries pretty quickly.  I ran over it with a dry iron right away to set it in place.

 

Then I swiped glue onto a piece of tear away stabilizer for the inside of the onesie behind the applique (I cut a piece big enough to cover the area I'd be stitching around).

 I slid the stabilizer into the onsie right behind the fabric and patted it into place after making sure it covered the area behind the applique completely.  Here you can see the stabilizer peeking up through the neck so the front of the onsie is sandwiched between the applique and the stabilizer.

 Slide the onesie onto your sewing machine arm and zig zag all the way around using a short, fairly tight stitch.  You want to make sure you do a good back stitch or lock stitch when you start and finish so it doesn't unravel with all the wiggling and stretching babies do.  When you're finished just remove the stabilizer and you're done.

 I like to fold the onesies and burp rags, stack them, and put a cute ribbon around them.  Throw them in a cute bag with a package of diapers (you can never have enough diapers, right?) and you've got a beautiful, unique, and practical gift to give!

 

 

 

Skirts! They're popping up everywhere (not literally)!

If you haven't picked up a copy of my book yet run over to Sew 4 Home because they're doing a give away and have a nice review.  I love the folks at Sew 4 Home and I'm tickled that they included my book (and the correct pronunciation of my name, thank you Liz!) on their blog since, technically, a skirt is not a home project.  They're drawing a winner on the 31st so don't wait too long!

 

My friend Jemellia made a gorgeous version of the Basic Skirt using Anna Maria Horners Field Study fabric.  This is a great example of why fabric matters.  Something as simple as the Basic Skirt looks amazing because she picked amazing fabric.  Jemillia has a great eye for combining sewing patterns with the perfect fabric and you should definitely follow her blog.  See the hearts?  She loves it (and so do I!).

 

 

Here we are together at Quilt Market in Portland.  I'm wearing the Triple Ruffle version of the skirt but I turned it into a Quadruple Ruffle skirt by adding another tier.  You can even make this one a Quintuple Ruffle skirt if you want to keep going.  I really love this skirt and have to send it back to The Bernina Connection since I offered to make it for a store sample using their fabric.  I'll wear it one more time and then say farwell to it.

 

 

 

Here is another great book review by Katie at Swim Bike Quilt.  Again, the Basic Skirt which looks fantastic with this fun fabric.  Super cute!  And great blog!

 

 

 

And here's the skirt I made for Bari to wear in her fabulous booth at Quilt Market.  I don't usually sew for other people (so don't bother asking) and this made me nervous.  But I pulled out the pattern from my book (which I found out was printed smartly and perfectly, whew!) and using the measurements Bari gave me, created this darling Contrast Pleat version of the skirt using her gorgeous Bijoux fabric.  I was so relieved and proud when I saw how great the fit was!  Plus those boots knocked it out of the ballpark.

 

 

 

So far I'm pulling in 5 star reviews on Amazon and will probably cry when a lower one comes in.  But, the part that really makes me happy is a lot of really new beginners are using it and finishing with skirts they are proud of and didn't have to pull their hair out to get through the process.  Whew!

 

I'll be making more skirts and posting them soon.  I've just been busy enjoying summer with the kids and working on my little Hipster Haberdasher business here.  Back to School time is crazy with kids needing covers for their laptops so be sure to stop by if your child is running off to college (or high school) with a new laptop!

So, like I was saying....

Sorry.  I seriously just got tired and dumped all of my Quilt Market pics into flickr (see them here).

I've been sewing a lot and the fun part is that lot's of it has been fun sewing (as opposed to business sewing which is tedious but having money is fun so there's that....).  Last month we got to escape the Arizona heat by driving to California for the wedding of the middle son of our best friends ever.  I was so happy to make the bow ties for the groom and his guys and a necktie for the grooms dad (who officiated the wedding and was the best man at our wedding nearly 27 years ago).  Don't they look great?  I used my bow tie pattern and this tutoral designed by Georgia Solorzano at Puking Pastilles.  It a great pattern and I highly recommend it.  The fabric is a poly/taffeta type and it was great to sew with and I loved the finished look.  I'm so used to working with quilting cottons that I wasn't sure how this fabric would work.  It worked great it turns out!

 

The beautiful bride wanted a tulle garter which I'd never even heard of (kids these days!).  The one she really liked was 92.00 (yeah really) so I went to work trying to recreate the look and it was truly fun.  I searched high and low for the lace embellishment and found something sort of similar.  I dyed it with a combination of tea and grey dye from Dharma Trading Co. and got this great taupe color.  Then I trimmed it down to a reasonable size and added some little beads for a touch of bling.

After a little practice here's the finished garter.  That was fun!  I gave her the practice one for tossing.

And here I am with my honey and his own snappy bow tie.  Life is good folks!