and sew it begins...

We've moved!!!

2008-09-16T02:05:39Z

This blog has been moved to a new location.

Please check us out at http://sewitbegins.blogspot.com

Notice that although the name of the blog is still "AND sew it begins..." the URl is just

http://sewitbegins.blogspot.com/

Thanks! I really hope to see you there!

Monday Oddities

2008-09-07T21:48:29Z

The shrewd guess, the fertile hypothesis, the courageous leap to a tentative conclusion - these are the most valuable coins of the thinker at work. But in most schools guessing is heavily penalized and is associated somehow with laziness.
Jerome Bruner

When I went to Joann's to buy the lace ruffle for the second st of pjs I had NO idea how much to buy. So I decided to just estimate to keep from having to go back. I estimated 2 yards, though I was worried it might be a little under. This is what I had left.

...amazing.

These strokes of luck are going to give me a false sense of competence at guessing. Which is bad, I think.

What about you? Do you have a pretty good handle on estimation techniques for knowing how much fabric or trim to buy?

Sewing Gift

2008-09-07T03:07:22Z

"Methinks it is a token of healthy and gentle characteristics, when women of high thoughts and accomplishments love to sew; especially as they are never more at home with their own hearts than while so occupied."
~Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Marble Faun, 1859

I needed a gift for a friend who sews - actually my friend who started *me* sewing. So, I felt like it had to be a good sewing kind of gift, and since I really enjoy making gifts, I made this pincushion

side 1

side 2

following this tutorial . It was actually pretty easy. I made a couple of them, and lo and behold decided I liked this first one I made. Why did I make a couple you might ask? Well first of all after I finished the first I learned how to do invisible stitches. Since the first one had my own version of a closing stitch and I wasn't real happy with it, I felt I needed to make another. Also, the first version was pink (her favorite color) and white on one side and green and white on the other
so I thought I'd try to make an all pink and white one. Ultimately though, I liked the contrast of the pink and green, so I decided to fix the closing stitch, and give the first one.

Finally, I made shrinky dink pins from this tutorial using the graphic of Gwen's designer label to put in the pin cushion. For the pins I used inkjet shrinky dink plastic.

This is the final product.

Pajama set two - through

2008-09-06T01:32:33Z

I finished the second set of pjs. For this one I added a pre-made ruffle and I think it looks very nice. A little more "professional" than the hand-made ruffle in my opinion. Again, I think I like the second better that the first. But you can decide for yourself.

set 2

set 1

I'm thinking when I make something for myself I'll have to make 2, a practice one and then a real one. :)

Upcoming Projects

2008-09-05T01:34:25Z

Last night I went to Joann's to buy some fabric and patterns for my next projects. I spent almost 2 hours browsing the patterns and fabric and walked away with nothing. Mostly because I still have a few decisions to make and so I'll wait to buy anything until I decide. Even still it was a very productive trip if for nothing else than to give me a few ideas.

So the first "next" project will be costumes for my nieces for halloween. I was thinking penguins. In particular Simplicity 3639:

I thought it would be fun to make one for the entire family, but I'm pretty sure my sister and her husband won't dress up, so I decided to just stick to making them for Abby and Suzy. The only problem is that the pattern only goes down to a size extra small, which is for a 23" chest, but the girls have a 20" inch chest, so I'm afraid it's going to be too big on them. One of the things I did at Joann's was to open up the pattern to look to see if it could be cut down to a smaller size, and it looks that way but I'm not real sure that that's the case. I'll have to get a second (expert) opinion on it.

Next, my sister requested Christmas pjs for the entire family. I found the holiday fabric and I combed it over. There were a few Christmas prints on flannel that I liked. But I couldn't quite find a family pj pattern that I like. Also I couldn't decide if I should make them all with different fabric but the same pattern, or different patterns for the adults and kids, or a combination of same and different, so I bought nothing. Also I'm sort of leaning towards having my sister pick out a pattern she likes, and perhaps the fabric she likes, and possibly even letting Abby and Suzy pick from a few fabric samples what they like. The trick there, is figuring out where she/they can look in Alabama but I can buy it in Florida. Perhaps online, but I haven't found any place just yet. We shall see.

What a lucky coincidence!

2008-09-04T01:11:35Z

Serendipity is putting a quarter in the gumball machine and having three pieces come rattling out instead of one—all red.
- Peter H. Reynolds

I've started on the elephant pajamas now. I've got everything on the top done except adding the ruffle. While I was working on it, I realized that through pure coincidence, the elephant is lined up almost perfectly at one side seam! I don't think I could've planned this any better. As a matter of fact, I feel fairly confident that if I had tried to line it up this way it wouldn't have come out this perfect. I truly am amazed with this coincidence in the sewing Universe. Of course the other side is completely mismatched but this side....

From sewing album

...amazing.

Sewing Distraction

2008-08-30T04:31:28Z

Last week's sewing progress (and posting progress was a little light). It's because I was a little distracted by these:

Hugh and Grace

These are my new kittens Hugh (the black and white one) and Grace (the gray and white one).
We rescued them at 4 weeks old last week, and they are quite a handful! In the past week that we've had them they've gotten much stronger and more playful. It's so fun to watch them wrestle and play with one another, so sewing has kind of taken a back seat to my new favorite activity of watching and playing with the kittens. I'm starting to balance my time a little better though, so I should catch back up and be back on track with my sewing and blogging now, though. Here's a few pics.

Gracie

Huey

Figaro meets the kittens

He's mostly uninterested and/or scared by them.

Sorry for the un-sewing related post - they'll be rare here. But I thought an explanation was necessary, and a good opportunity to post cute kitten pictures.

Pajama set one - done.

2008-08-30T04:12:25Z

“A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.”
~Douglas Adams

I got the first set of Pjs for my nieces done.

I had a few issues with these. First, the ruffle gave me grief. Because the material is flannel, although lightweight, it was thick enough to keep it from ruffling easily. After the ruffle on the top, though, I got the hang of it and was able to make the ruffles for the pants with much more ease. I only used 2 rows of basting stitches, but I've been told that 3 rows of basting stitches makes the ruffle much more manageable. I will definitely be trying that on the elephant pjs.

Secondly, I put WAY too much elastic in. I put in 29 inches of elastic for what is supposed to fit a 20 inch waist! :) Oops. This was sort of a stupid error on my part. The directions told me to base the size of the elastic on a fitting, but since the girls live in Alabama (and I in Florida) this was not feasible. So I decided I would just put in the "recommended" amount. Turns out the 7/8 yard that was recommended was just telling me how much I needed to be sure I had enough to fit all sizes, but I was making the smallest size. If I'd thought this through better I would have realized this and not made this silly error, but I didn't, so I did. :) Oh well live n' learn.

I had to open up the elastic casing, pull out the elastic, cut it, remove 17 inches, sew back together the elastic ends, and sew up the hole I made in the casing. It looks much more like I would expect an elastic band to look now. :) Now the pjs look like bellbottoms with a very small waist and HUGE elephant-sized legs. I think they'll be cute on the girls anyways though. Unfortunately, it appears that, even with the new smaller waist, this size is WAY too big right now, so it might be a whole year until they can actually wear them.

A christmas craft finished

2008-08-30T02:19:41Z

"Christmas, in its final essence, is for grown people who have forgotten what children know. Christmas is for whoever is old enough to have denied the unquenchable spirit of man."
~ Margaret Cousins

One of my other hobbies (besides sewing) is counted cross-stitching. I've been cross stitching since I was a teen. I typically take on huge intricate projects and since my time and motivation for it comes in spurts, it usually takes years and years for a project to finally be finished.

I started a Christmas stocking for myself around 8 years ago. I finally finished the cross-stitching on it this past spring and I got around to sewing it all together tonight. Here's the finished product.

By the way, I don't usually like making things for myself. It gives me more joy to make things for others, and this is one of the only things I've ever made for myself.

How about you? Do you prefer to make things for others, for yourself, or a mix?

Ruffled by ruffles

2008-08-23T03:55:54Z

“It is the character of a brave and resolute man not to be ruffled by adversity and not to desert his post”
- Marcus Tullius Cicero

I'm having a difficult time making the ruffles for the pjs. At first I couldn't even get it to gather even though I used the longest stitch my machine could make and I was gently pulling on the threads. Finally I realized I was being a little too gentle and that I actually needed to pull harder until I finally got the hang of it. Then once I got the hang of it I got too cocky, ended up pulling too hard and snapped the threads. Sigh. Now I have to pull out the old stitches and put in new basting stitches and start the ruffle all over again. :(

Sew is life I guess.

Also I was looking ahead at the directions and I've realized I'm not exactly sure how to attach the ruffle. The picture does not match the text that's provided, at least as far as I can tell. I'll have to figure that one out too.

I'll work on it again tomorrow when I'm not quite so tired and frustrated. I will not, however, be ruffled by adversity (read: ruffles) and I will not abandon my post (read: project).

And in other news I have my first sewing related blister! :)

Pjs

2008-08-20T18:34:12Z

"One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I'll never know."
~Groucho Marx

So sometimes my quotes will be inspirational, sometimes funny, and sometimes they will only mildly pertain to the subject at hand. The one for this post is a mildly pertaining funny quote. :)

How does it pertain to this next project you may ask? Well, pajamas and elephants of course!

For you see, my next project is this pajama pattern (Simplicity 9292) for my twin nieces (the long pants and top version)

with this fabric for one niece

and this for the other.

I'm finding it to be really fun fabric to work with. :)

Somewhere beyond the sea.

2008-08-20T00:21:30Z

“Don't grow up too quickly, lest you forget how much you love the beach.”

-- Michelle Held

To deliver the dresses I made for Abby and Suzy, I *had* to go to Destin. Man it was terrible - A weekend of sun, surf, and sand, oh my! I really do love the beach. My sister really loved the dresses! The girls were a bit indifferent as they couldn't eat them or play with them, but they sure were cute in them.

We had a great time. Here are a few pics.

Abby and Suzy in their new dresses. They were a perfect fit. Well a little big on Suzy but barely noticeable.

My sister and her family.

My first solo project

2008-08-13T03:35:08Z

"The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything."
~Edward Phelps

My first project was this pattern by Butterick (3772).

Since I was making it for my twin nieces, Abby and Suzy, I had to make two.

Gwen helped me pick out some fabric and we decided that since It'd be my first time on my own I'd make the one in the middle with no frills or ruffles (the green one). Since my fabric was embroidered, it didn't really need anything extra anyways. I didn't want to make them out of exactly the same fabric but I knew I wanted them to be complimentary so I managed to find a denim fabric and a corduroy fabric with the same pattern embroidered on them. It's so cute how they look very different but they have an element about them that's the same!

My only other real design decision was whether or not to add pockets. I decided to put 2 pockets on each. For the first dress I tried to follow the pattern and make the rounded pockets (like the ones on the white dress above). They weren't even and came out kinda crooked, so with Gwen's advice, I decided on the second one I'd make square pockets. It was much easier! I should note, however, that I do like the way the curved pockets look on the finished products better even though they are a little uneven.

"Making mistakes simply means you are learning faster. "
~Weston H. Agor

The cool thing about making two was that the "mistakes" I made on the first one, I got to try to fix on the second.

For example, on the first, the straps were much more crooked and uneven than on the second.

I also had a really hard time learning the automatic buttonhole function on my machine. It kept binding up or it wouldn't stop stitching on one side to turn and make the other side. But once I worked out exactly which switches and levers I needed to turn and where they all needed to be I got it pretty much figured out. Luckily I was smart enough to practice the buttonholes before trying them on the real thing. :)

After a few days struggling I got the buttonholes figured out and I finished the dresses tonight.

Here's the first

and the second.

It's hard to tell in these fuzzy dark pictures, but notice they have the same embroidery on them, and notice the cute butterfly buttons on the arm straps. Also notice the rounded pockets on the denim and the square pockets on the corduroy.

Overall I ended up happier with the result of the second than the first, but I think they both turned out ok.

I'll be seeing Abby and Suzy this weekend, so hopefully I can get some pictures of them in their new dresses!

In the beginning...

2008-08-09T03:35:24Z

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."
-Lucius Annaeus Seneca (also lyrics from the song "Closing Time" by Semisonic)

This is a journal of my, a beginner seamstress', sewing endeavors.
(I use the term seamstress very loosely) :)

It all started two summers ago when I interned in Florida, and my friend, Gwen, helped me to sew these cute babie's buntings for my nieces.

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At that point I was hooked.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a sewing machine of my own, and having to return to graduate school in Reno, NV, I didn't have much time for pursuing the craft. So my interest had to be put on hold.

Then, last summer, I was fortunate enough to be handed down a nice sewing machine by my mother.

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Alas, I was still in graduate school and had no time for embarking on a new hobby.

Now, however, two years after my first experience with sewing, a new chapter of my life is beginning: I've finally finished school, I've moved to Florida to begin a new job, and now I'm able to really dive in and start sewing. Hopefully still under Gwen's tutelage. :)

First, I figured I needed a place to sew, so I bought this sewing table at a used furniture store

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and I already have my iron and ironing board set up in what will become (after some more unpacking and straightening up as you can see), my sewing room.

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My cat, Figaro, has even taken up residence in my sewing room, which I understand is quite common in households with both cats and sewing rooms.

I have everything I need to begin sewing now, including a pattern and material for my first project...and sew it begins....