Category Archives: sewing

Another Angie Dress

May 18, 2014sewingblack, blue, dress, floral, Jamie Dress, Jamie Dress from SisBoom, plus size sewing, princess seams, Scientific Seamstress, SisBoom PatternsHenrietta

I pretty much love this pattern. The bodice is so basic, you can work the fit and then change it 9 ways from Sunday. First here you can see the princess seam version I’m working up with a flared hem.

Angie Pattern from Scientific Seamstress & Sis Boom Patterns

I love this dress. I bought the fabric because it reminded me of my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Livingson, the moment I saw it. Most random thing ever. Anyways. The bottom is a heavier twill, the waistband is like a black quilting cotton, and the top is light broadcloth.

I took the idea of the waist treatment on Sis Boom’s Jamie dress and applied it here, and continued the black around the back. It has pleats on the skirt, and gathers on the neckline. I cut this before I realized I could just take the excess at center front and add it into the dart. Oh well. I think this was the second version of this dress that I cut out so it has a reasonably good fit. I think that next time I’ll make the hem maybe an inch longer. I’m more comfortable with a touch more length.

Blue & White Seersucker blouse

February 3, 2014clothes, sewingB5261, blue, buttonholes, connie crawford patterns, dream big, plus size patterns, plus size sewing, raglan sleeves, seersucker, white, yellow buttonsHenrietta

Butterick B5261

Its a raglan sleeve blouse with strange cuffs and a convertible collar. I’m a big fan of raglan, dolman, and kimono sleeves. They’re easy to fit when you have narrow shoulders and a large bust, IMO. That’s probably what drew me to this pattern in the first place. I’ve tried to buy it several times when Buttericks go on sale at Jo-Ann, and they never have it. So I ordered it full price from Connie & paid shipping., which is not something I usually do.

I’m not sure what it is about this shirt, but it looks like something my grandmother would wear. Literally, I’m sitting here looking at a picture of her wearing something very similar. I really think its the convertible collar. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone in their twenties or thirties wearing a collar like this. Good news is that is a relatively easy fix on future versions.

I am very proud of my buttons and buttonholes! I realized I’ve never done a garment that needed multiple buttons & holes! I think it turned out pretty well.

I chose the shirttail version of the shirt. I’m NOT happy with how it looks in this shirt. I’m typically a big fan and I find it to be a slimming look. If there is a next time for this shirt, I’ll be adding an inch at the center front and tapering back to where the original hem is. As you can see below, it comes up in the center front, but with a 5/8″ hem allowance, there wasn’t much to do with it.

I do really like the back pleat, and I think the stripes look nice where the raglan sleeves meet the back.

The goofy cuffs… well they’re not your typical button down shirt cuffs. I HATE them. They make it completely impractical to wear in a normal day of my life. The sleeves are long enough to get in the way of doing dishes or cooking, and since they’re just a rectangular tube, you can’t roll them up. There is no stretch to the fabric so you can’t just scrunch up the sleeves either.

All in all, I’m not in love with this shirt. I wore it one day. It irritated me most of the day. I don’t know if I’ll wear it much, but I am proud of the work that went into it. Its made well, and I’m sure it will hold up for a long time. All the interior seams are mock felled, and I love the durability that gives along with the fact that it just lays nicely. I think I executed it well, and that it’s just not my style. And really, I don’t think twenty somethings are Connie Crawford’s target demographic anyways.

If only I were working at my dream job, designing my own line of plus size sewing patterns for young people. There is a tremendous hole in the market. There are all kinds of super cute young pattern companies, like Colette, By Hand London, Wiksten, Sewaholic, and Tilly and the Buttons, just to name a few. None of which carry plus size patterns. I get it, its a lot more work. No blame on them from my little blog! On the flip side, plus size sewists like myself would love to just be able to pull a super cute pattern out of the envelope, cut and go. It often takes just as long for me to grade a pattern as it does to construct the garment. If a plus size sewist wants the experience of just pulling the pattern out and having the correct sizes at her disposal, our options are few, and much more mature than I care to dress.

I don’t mean any of this to reflect poorly on any of those companies, I love their work! I just wish that there was even one company who got it, and made a plus size line. And I wish that company was me. 🙂 Who knows where the future will take me. If the last 14 months have proven anything to me, its that this life is wild ride and I have no idea where I’m going next.

I’ll end my rant/day dreaming now. Thanks for stopping by!!

A quick hello!

January 30, 2014sewingB5261, B5722, convertible collar, Cream and Crimson, Indiana, Lisette fabrics, Rubber Ducky, seersucker, self drafted, skirt, we're all for you!Henrietta

Lots of sewing going on here! Just finished a rubber ducky hand towel. Yes, its terribly thrilling. But, in the last week I’ve made two tops for myself!

Woohoo! Go me!

B5722 in, what I’d call, a cream and crimson Lisette cotton sateen. It is SO soft. I love it! And then B5261 in a blue and white stripe seersucker. Its very springy and not at all springy here in Chicago.

I was very excited about both. I’ve made the B5722 once before, also in a Lisette print. Oh! And I made a dress out of that pattern too. Anyways, I added an elastic waist to this version, and the verdict is still out. I haven’t worn the B5261 yet, hopefully this week I’ll feel up to it. I’m oscillating between thinking its cute and summery, and thinking that its something my grandmother would wear. I think its something about the convertible collar.

Not much to say for now, more pictures will hopefully come soon. I also drafted a skirt for myself and I love it. The Connie Crawford B5261 is one of three patterns I ordered from her website, in hopes of sewing some easy patterns that I don’t have to go through the whole rigmarole of grading. Maybe that way I can spend more of my limited sewing time focusing on quality construction and less on getting the pattern to fit.

Angie Dress V2.0

December 17, 2013clothes, sewingAngie Dress, dress, fall, plus size dress, plus size sewing, purple, Sis Boom Patterns, twirlHenrietta

This is the second version of the Sis Boom Angie Dress – first one blogged here.

I think my one big con of this pattern is that it requires bias binding. (But really thats just a personal preference, lots of people don’t mind it at all.) I hate bias binding. I hate making it and sewing with it. If I can ever get my mom to teach me to line a bodice I may line these and make a lot more of them. For some reason, the whole idea of turning the lining and the bodice right side out through a shoulder seam just baffles me. Oh, and I guess there is one other small thing. They have you sew elastic to the back skirt/bodice seam. I have yet to do that technique on anything and have it look good. I’m going with a casing for the elastic from here on out.

This one is a bit of a refashion I guess. I took an old skirt that I thrifted years ago, cut off the waist band, and attached it to the bodice of the Angie.

The top is a purple cotton bottomweight, the skirt was originally from Fashion Bug. It was not a good look for me, but I loved the fabric.

For this version, I added a second dart, this one in the neckline, and moved both the vertical dart and the new dart. The vertical dart is now a horizontal bust dart, and the neckline dart is now in the armscye. I had fun learning how to move darts around to do it. I’ve never done much with darts.

Some inside shots:

(Please ignore the pup hair.)

I’m interested to see how different my current version of this pattern’s bodice is from the original. I think I may print one off to compare. Initially I added quite a bit, and then I’ve been taking bits and pieces away since then. I also did a broad upper back adjustment this time.

Bias binding EVERYWHERE!

And because you can’t have a twirly dress (as my daughter calls them) and not twirl:

I have yet to actually wear it out in public. We will see how it goes. I think I might wear it tomorrow night when I go out to dinner with some girls. I also feel like its a super awkward length on me. Not sure how much shorter it should be. It is a fall/winter dress after all.

What have you been sewing?!

Angie Dress V1.0

December 11, 2013clothes, sewingAngie Dress, dress, floral, indie patterns, plus size dress, plus size sewing, red, Sis Boom Patterns, SummerHenrietta

I’m becoming a fan of Sis Boom Patterns. First I made a Jamie, I’ve now made 2 of their Angie dresses. Well actually almost a 3rd, but its a light floral, and the weather changed before I could finish it. The pattern is similar to the very first dress I ever made, M5983, pictures below from the pre-blog days.

The first one I really like. Its the fabric I was going to use years ago to make a dress for my youngest sister-in-law’s high school graduation. (Blogged here.)

That’s my “It has pockets!” face.

I ended up cutting the bodice out twice. The first go ’round was way too big, thanks to my awesome flat pattern alteration skills. Fortunately I had plenty of fabric.

I meant to bind the edge to the inside of the dress, but I wasn’t paying enough attention and did it backwards. Oh well! I like it!

I even made belt loops!

It absolutely needs a belt or a sash or something to break it up. I was quite happy with my solution of using an old red t-shirt. Its got some stretch so it’s comfy, but it serves its purpose.

Just a tube, turned out & pressed. I folded over the ends.

I finished edges with my favorite feature of my new sewing machine, a zig zag with it’s special overcast foot. By favorite feature, I mean the only thing I like about the machine. I need to write up a review.

I really like the dress I think. I’ve only worn it once. I made it at the very tail end of summer, and it quickly became too cold/too autumnal to wear. I am looking forward to wearing it in the spring for sure!

cold winter days

December 9, 2013clothes, Kids, sewingbrown, chevrons, Christmas, cold, dress, M6638, mustard yellow, ornaments, Thanksgiving, winterHenrietta

Howdy! It’s been a crazy few weeks around here. Lots of difficulties, but some really happy times too. We had a great time at my family’s Thanksgiving, and the little one got to see all four of her great grandparents. That’s always pretty cool.
The day before we left I started sewing her a special dress for the occasion. I had about a half hour’s work left and we really needed to leave.

So the plan was to finish it up at my mom’s, and of course we get there and neither of her sewing machines were usable. Such a bummer!

I finally finished it up today. Learned some new skills, or got to put some new skills into practice I guess.

I lined a bodice, under stitched it beautifully, and used a zipper. It needs a bow but I have managed to lose the ribbon I bought to go with it.

M6638
I saw these super cute little ornaments last year, and full of good intentions, bought the supplies. Finally found the time to start them this past week.

I never bothered to click the link, or I’d have known that she had templates available. (That’s the trouble with pinterest for you.)

The originals are way tidier than mine, and I’m just fine with that. These are turning out to be pretty relaxing to make.

Well, there have been countless other sewing projects getting worked on around here. Lots of curtains being made, I tried my hand at quilting, and I’m in the process of making a couple skirts. I’ve got boot fever, and skirts/tunics are the only way to go with leggings IMO.
More to come soon!

September Thoughts

September 29, 2012Bits Of Life, sewingbelt, black, blue, bread, clothes, dress, flower print, frames, gift, hippos, home dec, Jamie Dress from SisBoom, organization, painting, skirt, tank dress, whiteHenrietta

What have I been up to? Lots of sewing in actuality. Lots of school. Lots of coffee drinking.

I made some curtains from flat sheets from walmart. They were SUPER easy and quick. I made 5 panels for about 20 bucks, in an hour, while photographing the process to do a tutorial on it. Seriously quick.

I bought fabric a year ago to make nice curtains for my whole house, and I got through two rooms. So these provide privacy, and I won’t have to worry about them too much as we paint the living room.

This is one of those tank dresses you’ve seen a hundred times all over the internet. Its a black tank top that came attached to a jacket/cardigan thing I bought. Then I sewed on a yard of this neat fabric that I probably paid a dollar or two for on the Reg Tag table. Its not shiny and satiny on the front, it has a bit of a rough slub to it, but the back is shiny and slippery satin, so it will work with tights in the winter too I think.

I’ve been doing some painting for projects.

Newest addition to the hippo collection. Birthday gift from my momma. I think he’s going to be spray painted silver and hang out in the office.

Before Shots

Aren’t they just lovely?

Then I made a belt to go with the Jaime Dress:

MUCH better with a belt!

I’ve even tried my hand at bread making. The only other time as an adult that I have tried to bake bread or rolls or breadlike items, they have had a strange resemblance to hockey pucks. That’s what happens if you only let it rise half the time. But not this time!

I made a simple elastic waist drindl skirt for a friend’s birthday. Loved this fabric. It was a lightweight voile from that Global something or another line at JoAnn’s.

Well that’s what I’ve been up to sewing wise. I’m trying to get my studio in order and organized so I can move it to a bigger room and shampoo the carpets. Its currently about half way done. School is keeping me super busy. I quit the regularly scheduled sewing job a while ago, it was SO not the right job for me. I’m glad I did that. I’ve got enough freelance work to keep me busy for the next few months, so that’s exciting. As always, my sewing to do list is a hundred times longer than the actual time I have to sew for myself. I find myself anxiously awaiting graduation. I’ve got quite the case of “senioritis” and I think mine is worse than all the kids I go to school with because I’ve been working at it for so much longer than them. This will pass, and I’m trying to enjoy it while its here.

Anyone have an interest in a tutorial for the curtains? Maybe it would be a good thing to increase readership.

Jamie Dress from Sis Boom Patterns

August 22, 2012sewing, UncategorizedBleeding heart, Jamie Dress, Jamie Dress from SisBoom, SisBoom PatternsHenrietta

Jamie Dress pattern pdf at Sis Boom’s website

This is my second attempt at this pattern. The first one was a disaster. It was muslin, and once I tried it on, I took it off and threw it in the trash. That’s how awful it was.

This one is much more of a success! I even wore it out in public today!

So next time, the things I want to change are raising the neckline by 2″, raising the back neckline by a good 4-6″, and taking a WHOLE lot out of the center front of the bodice. I had altered this pattern, more than a year ago. And did not do a very good job evidently. There is just a ton of excess fabric at the center front of the bodice. From strap to strap its only 9″ the way I’m wearing it, but I could very seriously fit a cantaloupe or two in there as well. So that needs fixed. You may notice that mine is not exactly like the pattern, I could not for the life of me get my 3 basting lines to gather the two layers of fabric in the bodice. Broke all three threads. At that point, I was frustrated, said forget it, and made little pleats to attach the bodice to the midriff band. And I didn’t do the ruching on the band either. Too much gathers and ruching going on in a busy print. Oh! And for me, a zipper was pointless so I just sewed up both side seams. Just for reference, I used 35 cm of 5/8″ non-roll elastic in the back, and 31 cm in the front, and started with 11″x4″ straps. Also, I was trying to make a tunic, and once it was done and I tried it on, I said, “Huh. I’ve made a dress.” It was longer than the capri pants I was trying it on over! Oops!

I got to practice a new skill I learned the other day with the hem, so thats snazzy. (PS, I got a “real” job sewing! Its pretty cool!)

I love this fabric. Its pretty quirky. My best friend’s mom when I was in elementary school always had bleeding hearts growing at her house, and I thought they were the coolest little flowers ever. Super delicate and dainty, and I always wanted to squeeze them and see if juice came out. (It doesn’t.) Makes me wonder how they’re doing. At some point in the last few years I saw this fabric at Jo-Ann and bought it, having NO idea what I would do with it. I thought it looked a little like something my mother would wear, so it sat on a shelf. Until I recently decided to stop “saving” fabric. I’ve got a huge stash, I need to sew it! So what it a project with beloved fabric doesn’t turn out perfect? I don’t care! That is now my philosophy on sewing from the stash, basically, the money’s already spent, lets make something!

As all the reviews I’ve read have said, the instructions are very well written with lots of good photos. I give them props for expanding their size range up to 3x or 26W, we fat chicks appreciate having options. I love pdf patterns as I am AWFUL at keeping track of patterns. My favorite shirt pattern, that I’ve made up about 6 times, has been lost and repurchased at least 3 times. Basically, I really appreciate being able to just reprint that one page of the instructions that misplaced, or whatever piece I’ve lost. On the flip side though, I hate the lack of line drawings and back view. For me, the back is WAY too low. It just is not practical for my life or my comfort. And you have no idea that will be the case since there aren’t any back views. Or line drawings. What pattern doesn’t have a line drawing?! I’m not a huge fan of the neckline. To me, it looks very Becky Home Ecky. I’ve never seen this kind of neckline in ready to wear, so that’s kind of a turn off for me.

I’d say its a pretty mixed bag on this one. Its ok, not great, and not bad. Very easy to sew and quick to cut.

All that being said, I don’t hate it. It is a breezy, cool, summery, sundress. I’ll probably wear it again. Also, funny how much a cardigan improves it! I think it needs a belt.

I have only one burning desire

August 20, 2012sewingbags, connie crawford patterns, jumbled, mojo, shoes, two zip hipster bagHenrietta

And that is to sew. Right now. I have three things cut out upstairs that I could jump right into. And I don’t feel like it. I just bought this pattern for the Two Zip Hipster bag.

I resent the fact that it is called a hipster bag. Hipsters are lame. But, it looks like a cute bag, and quick and I think I can fit it in the front pocket of my backpack.

(I refuse to carry a purse and a backpack at the same time. Screams junior high to me. Betcha can’t guess why. Certainly not because that was what my friends and I did in junior high… Point is, I need a smallish bag that I can keep essentials in, that can be used alone or thrown into backpack.)

I’ve got several posts in draft form for you. I need to put the pictures in mostly. I’ve actually sewn a bunch since the last post about Me Made May, and have even photographed most of it. And written about it! But have yet to combine the too. I’m a horrible sewing blogger.

Back to what I was saying before I got off onto that tangent, I am all sorts of jumbled right now. And all I want to do is sew, but I don’t want to sew the things that are ready to be sewn or that need to be sewn. And the things that I DO want to sew are not printed yet (like the 2 zip bag) or are not cut out like this Connie Crawford number, or any number of other things floating around in my head.

Whatever. Its one of those days. I know I would feel better if I sewed, and yet, I’m not sewing. I have decided to write about my sewing when I feel like it, even if I don’t have a project completed or pictures of any projects. I never update the blog, and I think sometimes I get too serious about it. Like, I CANNOT post unless I have a project finished and documented! Well I think that’s bologna, and I’m gonna try this for a while. I’ll leave with a picture of my cute shoes that I wore with the dress I made a week or two ago. The dress post is coming. Some day.

1.5 Inch Wide Hexagon Quilt Printable Template!

April 27, 2012sewing, Tutorialfree, hex, hex printable, hex quilt, hexagon, hexagon printable templateHenrietta

So I’m working on a hex quilt pillow. And I’m like, I’m sure there are a million printable templates on the interwebs, I’ll go find one!

And there are a million, but none of them really suited me. I think its kind of tedious to cut so many out, especially when you’re only going to have to cut them out again in fabric and none of them had connected hexagons. My template’s are all connected, allowing me, or you, to make the fewest cuts possible to get the job done.

You can use them for English paper piecing if that’s your thing. My plan is to print them onto freezer paper, then cut them, and then iron them onto my fabric! That way while I’m tracing the outline with pencil, I won’t have to worry about the pencil pulling my fabric to and fro under my pattern. Go me!

So since I went to all the trouble of making them for myself, I thought, “Well heck! You should share the wealth! Help a sister out who doesn’t have the computer skills to whip one up for herself! Put ’em on the blog!”

Here is the link to download the pdf from google documents!

Blue Hippo Arts

Sewing and Such