Tag Archives: Sewing

Like Father, Like Son

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Alyson| 1 Comment

My boys

I wanted to make a tie for Caleb for the wedding and then I thought to myself, why not make one for Bill as well? I’ve had this nifty Alexander Henry dragon print lying around for ages, and I thought it would make a nice tie. I like the scalloped design in the background.

tie close up

I already reviewed the Burda Osman Tie pattern I used for Bill’s tie in my post Holiday Gifts: Necktie.  I went ahead and left out the tie interfacing/interlining as I did in the last version, again this was quilter’s cotton, though not as heavy as the pirate ship cotton from the last post.  Bill commented that he really liked the way the tie tapered a little in the middle, it made tying it easy and made a nice looking knot.  All in all, the tie took me about an hour to make. Easy Peesy Lemon Squeezy.

tie close up  tie close up  tie close up

Caleb’s tie was even simpler.  For his, I used the Ottobre Designs Boys Tie Pattern. Once again, take the time to copy it out nicely onto pattern paper – you’ll thank yourself later.  Note that Ottobre Designs does NOT include seam allowances, you will have to add your own (don’t forget!), depending on what you’re most comfortable with. I added just a quarter inch, standard quilting seam allowance.  The toughest part of this pattern is turning the whole tie tube inside out after you’re done  sewing. I don’t know why I have such a hard time turning tubes. I have any manner of tools to help me with this task and they never seem to work right. I always end up picking the tube out with a pin! At any rate, that is really, really the toughest part.  I promise. If you have a little boy, I encourage you to make this tie!  The tail end sticks out because Caleb kept “adjusting” it. In truth, I think he liked it that way. The tail is a little short to put inside a keeper, I might lengthen the pattern next time so the tie will be long enough for a keeper. 

Burda Osman Tie Pattern: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ out of 5. Easy, free and yeilds professional results.

Ottobre Designs Boys Tie Pattern: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ out of 5. So easy and free as well, but it needs to be a couple inches longer.

Isn’t he a cutie pie? Yes, I’m biased.

Caleb

PS. Yet another To-Do-list project down!

Share

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Clothes, Pattern, Review

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

More WIPs

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Alyson| 2 Comments

You must all be wondering if I ever finish anything, considering that 2 out of my 3 most recent posts have been planned projects and works in progress.  Well, I’m here to tell you that yes, I do finish things from time to time.  And I’ll make this solemn vow, here and now, that this is the last Work In Progress (get it? WIP?) post that I’ll make until I have something finished to show you. 

You see, I’m trying to get myself together to have a “Grand Opening/Re-Opening” of my Etsy store.  I’m not the best at churning out several pieces that are all the same or even similar.  I get bored with them easily and need to move on to something else.  But I wanted to get together some stock that I could list in the shop all at one time and feel proud of the accomplishment.  So, the kaleidoscope pieces that you saw a few posts ago are for some throw pillows that I hope to have ready to sell.  And I’m working on some wonderous totes from a repurposed bedspread that I picked up on my Stash Enhancement eXpedition.  I just received an order of emery sand to make pin cushions for sale and have started cutting out strips to make flower brooches and barrettes/fascinators.  I’m working on writing up the pattern for my reversible crutch covers, and lastly, but not leastly, I even have a few small art quilts to list.  There. It’s out there now, so I have to make it a reality, right?

Now on to the important part of this post.  You see, I was working on those wonderous totes that I mentioned above and this happened:

I have said many times that sewing is a very dangerous activity.  No one seems to believe me, despite the burn scars on my arms from reaching around the iron and the millions of pin pricks on my fingers. It’s a wonder that I have all of my limbs and the house hasn’t burned down yet. So I’m here with this public service announcement.  Kids, do as I say, not as I do. Never pin your pieces on the back where you can’t see the pins. And don’t sew over your pins, even when they’re pinned on the front and you can see where they are relative to your stitching path. Just don’t do it. Also, don’t reach around a hot iron. And maybe wear a thimbles on each of your fingers when you are pinning.

Thank you and goodnight.

Share

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Etsy, Stash, WIP

Tagged , , , , ,

Holiday gifts: Jewelry Tote

Posted on December 18, 2009 by Alyson| 4 Comments
Jewelry Pouches
Jewelry Pouches
Originally uploaded by alyson_olander

Welcome to the first in my series of holiday gift posts! I handed these cute little pouches out last night to our daycare providers during their holiday party.  I wish I could take credit for the design, but I can’t – they came from Quilting Arts Magazine special Gifts issue (2009/2010).  The pattern was designed by Margarete Steinhauer and appears on page 132 of the mag (almost all the way at the back).  The pouches are circular, drawstring, lined with coordinating fabrics, and contain 8 small pockets to store pieces of jewelry; or anything else that you might want to store. They fit perfectly in a gift box for a standard-sized mug.

Drafting a pattern from instructions in a magazine is always a little fiddly. I needed to be able to draw 4 different circle sizes and I do not have a compass; even if I did, I doubt I would have had one that would make a large enough circle for this tote.  Instead, I opted for my measurements to be a teeny bit off and ended up using a dinner plate for the outer circle, a largish mixing bowl for the drawstring channel, a pasta bowl for the inner/pocket circle and finally, a tiny mis en plase bowl for the base circle.  The bowls I used for my inner circle and my base circle were exactly right, the outer circle and drawstring channel were slightly off.  Luckily, this did not cause any problems with the final outcome.

Jewelry Pouch - inside
Jewelry Pouch – inside
Originally uploaded by alyson_olander

I made seven of these little pouches; the first two as a prototype – once those were done, and I understood how the pattern was supposed to fit together and work, it was easy enough to throw together the other five via the Assembly Line method. I had all of the awesome matching fabrics on hand in my stash, and even the little bits of heavy interfacing needed for the base. The only thing I DID have to buy was the rat tail for the drawstrings. I am absolutely positive that I have a large spool of rat tail somewhere in my sewing room, but it beats me where I put it.  I did not buy enough rat tail so that the pouches will lie flat when opened – I didn’t think it was necessary and I didn’t like the idea that the drawstrings would be so long when the pouches were closed up tight. Overall, I think I would be happy to get one of these as a gift…I really hope the teachers are too!

Share

→ 4 Comments

Posted in Craft, Stash

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New clothes for me!

Posted on February 17, 2009 by Alyson| Leave a comment

I’ve been working on this new blazer/jacket for a couple weeks now. It’s really cute, but it’s also sort of a pain in the butt. I haven’t posted about it yet because I’m still working on the flippin’ pintucks. Plus I think I’m out of interfacing. But it really is cute. Really.

See? Cute. Mine is going to be in this greyish-periwinklish wool/cashmere blend, with vintage silver-backed glass buttons.

A while back (like six months ago) I made myself a new skirt, but it was much too short. Didn’t realize how short the pattern was until too late. :-( Other than that, I haven’t made any clothes for myself in quite some time. Since before they baby. That’s a long-ass time. So the jacket is taking me a little while.

Not gonna make the hat, though. That would just be way too much.

Just realized that it’s Tuesday so it’s sewing night!

Share

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Clothes, Pattern

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Quick-and-Dirty (Renn Faire) Skirt

Posted on September 8, 2008 by Alyson| Leave a comment

So last weekend, we headed out to the Maryland Renaissance Festival. Sadly, I have not lost all of the baby weight from when my son was born and all of the “Renaissance”-wear that I have fits my pre-baby size and shape. I spent hours slaving over new clothes for my husband and more hours slaving over a costume for my son, and alright, I even spent a few hours slaving over a Polish Vest (Folkwear 126) for myself, but I left precious little time to make a new skirt, hence, the quick and the dirty. What I came up with required little skill, little time, and made a nice, floaty, self-lined, full skirt.


My New Costume
More pictures on flickr.

Quick-and-Dirty (Renaissance) Skirt
Supplies:

  • About double your waist measurement in a lightweight gauze fabric 60 inches wide (selvedge to selvedge)
  • Thread to match
  • 3/4 inch elastic to fit comfortably but tightly around your waist
  • sewing machine and/or serger
  • iron/ironing board
  • pins

Instructions:
DO NOT CUT OFF THE SELVEDGES.

Sew the two cut ends of fabric together to make a tube, with the selvedges on either end. Serge the seam if you want to/have access to a serger.

Fold one end of the tube down over the other end, putting wrong sides together, having the selvedges meet at the bottom, making a double layer tube with a fold at one end a two selvedges at the other.

Measure this against yourself. If it’s too long, leave it as, we’ll cut it later. If it’s too short, lengthen one layer and shorten the other. The shorter layer will become the outside layer. If the length is just right, Congratulations! You’re one of the lucky ones! Once you have the length where you want it, pin the fold in place and press.

Starting from the seam, sew 1 inch in from the fold, all the way around the tube, leaving a 1 inch opening for the elastic.

Open out the two layers and locate the opening for the elastic. This should be simple since you placed the opening near the (one and only) seam. (Ah, see? There’s a method to my madness!) Insert the elastic, make sure there are no twists or rolls in it, test the length/comfort/tightness and sew it back and forth on the machine a few times so you’re sure it won’t be going anywhere.

Here’s where those of you who are tall can stop. The selvedge is all that you need – you don’t need to hem the skirt, unless you REALLY want to. The selvedges on a gauzy fabric are usually perfectly serviceable, especially for a quick-and-dirty costume skirt. For those of you who the two selvedges together was a perfect length can choose to stop here too, or continue on. That’s right, you’re lucky because you have choices.

I like the look of having the two different layers have two different lengths. If you’re tall, you don’t really have a choice – your layers will be two different lengths unless you want your skirt to be short. For me, I removed 3 inches from the bottom layer (I am 5’4″ and I certainly don’t have “legs to there“) and 6 inches from the top layer. You can choose to finish your hem however you like – fold it under and hem it, zig-zag it, or serge it. In the interest of expediency, I zig-zagged (because I didn’t have any black thread for my serger). If you choose to zig-zag or serge, you have one further choice – lettucing the hem. I also like the look of this as it helps the layers to separate.

It took me maybe 2 hours to make this skirt, only because I was doing it for the first time and needed to be sure of all the measurements and things.  I think I could easily whip one up in an hour now that I’ve done it once.

Share

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Clothes, Tutorial

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,