Clothes for the kiddos

Last week while visiting my friend Mel in Dallas, we sewed up some clothes for her kids. I brought fabric and patterns and we made a MESS out of her dining room (her husband would have been horrified!) sewing up new outfits for her two precious little girls.

Here's a run-down of what we were able to accomplish during nap times, after bedtime and between trips to the fabric stores:

For Emma (4 weeks old):
2 criss-cross tops and matching Capri pants

• Back of criss cross top in Strawberry fabric


• Front of criss cross top in Strawberry fabric


• Matching strawberry Capri pants


• Front of criss cross top for Emma Grace out of purple frog fabric


• Back of criss cross top made for Emma Grace out of purple frog fabric


• Capri pants made for Emma Grace out of purple frog fabric

For Olivia (2 yrs old in July):
3 gathered tank tops - with matching shorts for 2 of the tank tops (pink polka dots and purple frogs)and a gathered elastic top from red bandana-type fabric

• Pink and white polka dot tank -(matching shorts in progress)


• Purple Eyelet tank


• Another tank top out of the purple frog fabric


• Matching shorts for the purple frog tank top


• Red bandana top - (this is just precious when she wears it with her "hobo jeans"

For Mel (the mom of the 2 precious girls):

• The perfect diaper bag - as seen in a previous post

The "Perfect Diaper Bag"

About 2 years ago, I offered to make Mel a diaper bag for her first child. She declined the offer, perhaps she thought it was too much work?? When she got pregnant again, I asked her what she needed. The first answer was another Boppy (see previous post regarding these nursing pillows) and she confessed that every diaper bag that she had tried disappointed her in one way or another. Finally, she broke down and asked me to make her a diaper bag. She then proceeded to tell me the flaws of all of the diaper bags she had tried...

The fancy schmancy bag she found had a flap over the top (think messenger style bag) that made quick access to the bag a difficult task. The bags also can be hard to clean and she needed pockets, but not too many of them. Things can be hard to find if there are too many pockets and you can't remember which one you put your car keys in!

I took all of her feeback and gave her some options. One was a modification of a beach bag I sewed a few years back - it was oilcloth and I just "happened" to have a bolt of yellow gingham oilcloth hanging around my stash, just BEGGING to be used up. Did I mention that yellow is her favorite color and her sling is also made of yellow gingham fabric? Sometimes you can't plan things to work out better than this!

The beach bag "pattern" (instructions would be more accurate) came from a book I boughts by Nancy Zieman at a local sewing store YEARS ago.

I scaled down the bag dimensions to 75% of the full size and "edited" the outside pockets. I chose ripstop nylon as the material for the pockets and made a casing for 1/4" elastic to make the pockets a bit more functional. The sides needed to be sturdy, but not too sturday. I solved that issue by glueing "Timtex" (a heavy, but sewable interfacing that is used in baseball caps) to the oilcloth using "tacky glue" - a crafter's "must-have" in any craft supply stash. Originally, I was only going to use the Timtex in the some of the panels, but the pockets needed more stability because of the elastic casing, so we added Timtex to all sides of the diaper bag.,

To add a decorative finish to the edges, I used some scallop scissors that I found on the Nancys Notions website . I added a removable, adjustable shoulder strap and I think we now have the perfect diaper bag.

The "front" view of the perfect diaper bag

The opposite side of the perfect diaper bag - notice how the pockets differ from the other side. This is so you can distinguish the 2 sides and hopefully remember which side you put your keys, wallet, etc. in. Also notice the removable adjustable shoulder strap. Just a little more work for a wonderful custom feature that you can't find in ready-made bags! It is better to have tailor made things since you can edit the design to meet your needs.

What do you think?

Making a baby sling

I'm finally back! Sorry for the delay in posts, I was in Dallas last week visiting my best friend, Mel and helping with her new baby and her almost 2-year old. They kept us busy (to say the least), but we still got some great sewing in during my time out there. I will post pictures soon of the outfits we made for her kids as well as the diaper bag I made for her out of some Oilcloth I had on hand. I don't remember how I eneded up with an entire BOLT of yellow gingham oilcloth, but I was happy to use up some of what I still had left to make her "The Perfect Diaper Bag" -- more on that in another post.

While I was out there, I finally got a picture of the baby sling "in action".

Making a baby sling like this is hilariously easy.
Here are the instructions I followed for making the sling. It looked so easy and straightforward that I actually doubted that it would work very well. Well, actually the old K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle applies here and works like a charm! Both Mel and her sister, Lara have gotten compliments on their slings that I made for them.

This is also a great shower gift, although I suggest including suggestions on how to wear the sling with the gift for those not "in the know". It only took an hour to make, which surprised the hell out of me. I kept reading the directions and getting worried that it was too complicated and I would screw it up. If I would have known how EASY it really was, I would have made 10 of them for Mel. I guess it's a good thing I was intimidated at first after all :)

Desidou

There are 2 types of "sewers"...

I have a theory that there are 2 types of "sewers": Those who are addicted to buying fabric, machines, sergers and any other notion or toy that comes on the market. The others are content just to have a machine, know how to sew and they keep that machine for 30+ years...if they are feeling "frisky", they may spring for a serger.

Unfortunately, I am in the first group...Yes, I know that that those of you who know me personally would not be surprised at that observation. However, I'd SWORN that I wouldn't be one of those sewing fanatics with 10 machines in my basement from every decade and every machine manufacturer. I prided myself on having the 'bare necessities' - a nice, basic machine; a serger and a nice, basic embroidery machine.

It all started around Christmas time. I saw a classified ad posted at work from someone who was selling her old machine because she was upgrading. It was a huge step up for me -- this machine was completely computerized, needle up/needle down (which my 'basic' machine didn't even have) and it EVEN cut the threads for you when you were done sewing. Holy cow, what else could a girl expect????

Hmm...portability, maybe? (Did I mention that the machine is pretty large???) Here's a picture of "Big Mamma":


Ahhh....Portability....
My husband and I are avid campers and we bought a
2005 Airstream Bambi (19' model) last year to extend our camping season. I like to take sewing along with me in order to occupy my time while we're out in the great outdoors (you know, just in case it rains and we're stuck inside...)

I tried bringing along cross stitching and crocheting, but nothing could satisfy my sewing urge. My 'plain old' machine still took up a lot of room in the small camper and it was hard to fit everything I needed on the small dinette when I wanted to sew...

All I needed was a small, portable machine. If only Babylock would make one, then I could re-use my presser feet and all would be right with the world -- right?

Then along comes
this little Babylock "XScape" - it's made with portability in mind and it's so small! It's cute AND functional -- what else could a girl want? (hey, where have I heard that before?)

Here are pictures of the newest addition to my ever-growing sewing machine family:

Here's a picture of the XScape machine. It's small, but features 60+ stitches and it comes with a ton of presser feet -- many of which I didn't have yet, so that's a bonus!


The carrying case that comes with the XScape - it's ready to travel!


I wandered into the sewing machine dealer yesterday on my lunch break and low and behold I walk out with my new Xscape. Here are the pictures of my new 'baby' in the "Babylock family" and pictures of my original machine and the souped up, supercharged "Big Mamma" - she is the queen of all of my machines.

My original Babylock - my first sewing machine (awww, how cute!). I also learned to sew on this machine:





And here's "Big Mamma" (see picture above) - she is the "Mac Daddy" of my machines. She's completly computerized, she does embroidery and also trims your thread when sewing AND your jump stiches when embroidering.

Saved by JoAnn's!

Due to my "issue" last night with cutting the front of a dress that I am making for my 2 yr old god-daughter, I ran to JoAnn's today during lunch. I was hoping to find the fabric that I bought over 2 weeks ago to make this little sundress for her.

The fabric was $6/yd when I first bought it and it's been marked down to $1.99/yd, so their in-store stock was rapidly decreasing. I was in fear that I would be stuck with what my husband lovingly referred to as the "topsy-turvey" dress since the front is cut with the fabric print pointing downward vs. the back, which is cut with the fabric pattern in the correct direction.

I walked in and my heart started to pitter-patter. I came upon the rounder where I knew I'd find that "Tutti Frutti" print fabric that I needed and to my surprise, they had 2 BOLTS with fabric left in the exact print that I needed! WHEW!

I think I've learned my lesson on check it twice, cut once. At least until I forget about this lesson and have to teach it to myself again...

P.S. - a funny addition to this story is that I called my husband on my way back to work to tell him that they had 2 bolts left of the fabric that I needed and then I paused and said "So, I bought all they had left in the store" and he believed me. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. I guess it's true that I'm becoming a fabric junkie. At least I'm in good company :)

What's wrong with this picture???

Question of the day -- what is wrong with this picture?

There I am, up in my sewing room tonight just makin' progress. I have a TON of sewing to do before my trip to Dallas this weekend to see my best friend, Mel. I am sewing clothes for her oldest daughter, who also happens to be my god-child. I picked up a simple Butterick pattern and some CUTE fabric at Joann's the other day. I make up my first dress and everything goes well. I go up to my sewing room and cut out the second dress, we're making progress, ladies & gentlemen!

The end is in sight! Then, I am almost done cutting the last dress out and I notice that I am cutting the fabric UPSIDE down and to make matters worse - this is the FRONT of the dress. Perhaps I could live with having the fabric facing the wrong way on the back of the dress, but certainly NOT the front!

What's a girl to do? I investigate adding a solid color band to the bottom. There's not enough fabric to make that work....then I try piecing two pieces of fabric together and match the patterns to hopefully come up with one large piece that I can use to cut out the front again. Nevermind that the grainline will be all screwed up!?!? That was going to be my next hurdle to figure out. Well, I never made it that far. Right now, I'm considering two options -- (a) make up the dress the way it is; anyone who complains will be told what an anal retentive perfectionist they are and they will be so humiliated they will run away or (b) go to Joann's tomorrow and PRAY that they have a scrap of this fabric left just big enough to cut out a new front panel.

That's what I get for thinking I was so smug...making all of this progress with my sewing projects. I should have known better....

What can I say...my dog is spoiled

A few months ago while visiting my Mom in Lousiana, we found my old doll bed from when I was a child. I took it home and the dog has since adopted it as his bed when we're working down in our basement/computer room. I gave him a pillow as a "matress", but he needed a cover.

Last Christmas, I found this blue plaid flannel for $1.00/yd in Wal-Mart. I made a pillow cover for his pillow on his new bed. I was surprised how soft the fabric was once I washed it. It's perfect for a soft, comfy cover or bed.

Here's a picture of him chilling out, enjoying his new, soft pillowcover.

I have some leftover fabric that I will use to make a portable dog bed to take with us while camping as well as a small quilt. He likes to have his own blanket wherever we go. Yeah, I know - he's spoiled!

Cell Phone Holder

I recieved this pattern last fall for "Sewing Awareness Day" - our ASG chapter was doing demos in all local Hancock stores to promote the art (and skill) of sewing. This was the project that we demonstrated - a cell phone holder with a small pocket for money or credit cards.

I finally got around to making one of these up to see what it's like. I was disappointed when the store-bought one I had broke after less than a week of using it. That should teach me not to buy crap in the stores if I can make it myself!

I like this phone holder. Now that I have an idea of how it goes together, I'm going to whip up a few of these. Toss in some embroidery and it will be fabulous!

Nursing Pillow ("Boppy")

These nursing pillows are a great gift to new moms. The pattern is a McCall's (I think the # is 2824) and the pattern is a little bit better than the ones you can buy ready-made. The back of the pillow has 3 pockets with elastic casings where the nursing mother can safely store pacifiers, a phone or a TV remote control.

In the past few years, I've made countless nursing pillows for friends. This one came out the best of all of them - I think it's because I used a rotary cutter to cut out the pattern pieces vs. using sewing scissors. I've been told that using a rotary cutter gives you more exact cuts because there is no need to lift the fabric in order to cut and there is less room for error when cutting. It will take me a little while to get used to the rotary cutter, but after this project, I'm convinced that it's the way to go!

Here are the pictures of the nursing pillow - I used red raggedy ann & andy fabric that I found in my stash (gotta love decreasing my stash - it was starting to get out of control!)

Embellished Cloth Diapers: a quick & easy shower gift!
A friend of mine in my ASG Neighbhorhood group (Rena) gave me this idea for a quick & easy shower or baby gift. Pick up a package of cloth diapers and embellish them with simple ribbon - what a great idea!

I use fusible web to fuse the ribbon to the diaper and then I topstitch it on my machine. Each diaper takes less than 10 minutes. Group them into a bundle of 3 and you have a great gift! Rena told me that she's seen these same diapers sold at craft fairs for $39 for a set of 3 -- highway robbery!

Christmas Stockings: An unusual wedding gift -
I had an unusual idea for a wedding present for my cousin and his new wife. I wanted to make them Christmas stockings as a wedding gift. My thinking was that little personal touches like this would help them make a house into a "home".

The fabric that I chose was hunter green with gold metallic flecks woven into the fabric. Just like the window treatment, it was hard to photograph because of the mettalic properties of the fabric. The embroidery was done with gold metallic guttermann thread (wonderful stuff, let me tell ya!) on a solid red cuff. I used a gold trim to make the loop that will be used to hang the stockings. I may also post some of the "less fancy" stockings I've made as well. In my opinion, the ones for my cousin were the best ones I've made yet...

My First Window Treament -

This is one of the pictures of the window valance I made for our neighborhood clubhouse. The fabric is metallic, so it's incredibly difficult to photograph. The middle piece was a remnant that the interior designer found. It's acetate, but it looks like silk. The embroidered design on it makes it look like very high end fabric. I think it retailed for $40/yd. She got a remnant of about 1yd of it for $10. She just couldn't pass it up.

We were originally thinking of piecing the valance together to make it 60 inches wide - the fabric had only about 58 inches of "usable" fabric once you trimmed the selvadges off. The piecing idea didn't work - we didn't have 2 pieces that were equally wide enough with the entire embroidered design to piece together, so I was off to Hancock's to find something for a border. I found this wonderful gold metallic fabric for $11/yd, which is pretty inexpensive in terms of home-dec fabrics. I think it turned out really well. Too bad the pictures didn't come out better than this :(

Welcome to Desi's sewing blog. I will post reviews and pictures of sewing projects as I complete them. The next project that I have slated is a baby sling for my best friend, Mel.

Hope you enjoy reading my blog post entries.