well-crafted

Basic Style

So I finally tackled this project for Will—this jacket he had been requesting for so long. It’s not that I didn’t want to make it. I just felt a little intimidated by it. Pshaw! It was one of the easiest things I’ve made. I forgot how delightfully easy denim is to work with. No stretching or otherwise wriggling out of place and this one was not too thick or stiff. This pattern is from Basic Style—chock full of cute jacket designs. I plan to make a matching one for Lauren before school starts. Oh they will be so cute.

He is perfectly happy and so am I!

For the love of it

I so enjoy making clothes for Lauren and Will but I find myself wanting to sew for others too. Someday I may sew again for myself. (I used to do this in college when I was a much smaller lass but I’m not so inspired these days).

Ideally I could open up shop and people would love what I make enough to pay me for it, but I just can’t seem to find the time to design my own patterns which I think is necessary in order for me to sell. In the mean-time I’m offering to make a few items for friends in exchange for a little informal word-of-mouth marketing, or gauging interest. The truth is I’m just eager for any excuse to justify sewing over other tasks, whether it be because money has changed hands or simply because I’ve promised it.

Recently I promised our friend Evelyn I’d make her a couple of  items. She came over with her mom and selected designs from my pattern books and fabric from my stash. It was really cute to see her mulling over her options. She was very thoughtful and careful in making her selections, which I think paid off in the resulting skirt and blouse. Both patterns are from this book. I had to grade them up because the largest size (120) was slightly smaller than her measurements. I love how they turned out and I hope she will too. If I get permission from her parents I will update with photos of her modeling! If not, just imagine a gorgeous, red-headed 6 1/2-year-old girl happily wearing them.

Hand-made birthday

For Lauren’s birthday I had some fun making stuff. Instead of a birthday dress, I made her a skirt and sweater set. The sweater is the simple and lovely Girl’s Cap-Sleeve Spring Top from Soulful Hues. What a cute and easy design! This particular version was my third attempt (more on this later) and I finally nailed the gauge with Hap’i yarn, a really beautiful cotton from the Mirasol Project. Such gorgeous yarn and a wonderful cause. Learn more here.

Lauren’s main gift this year was a Götz doll named Jessica so the next logical step was a matching outfit for her. It was pretty easy to figure out the math for the smaller size of the sweater, knit with another Marisol yarn, T’ika. So soft and easy to work with. The little coordinating skirt is slightly too short but oh so cute.

And last—but by no means least—is the traditional Birthday Dress made for my daughter by my mom. A beautifully crafted heirloom Lauren loves and I will always treasure.

Luck ‘O the Impish

These days Lauren wears only dresses and skirts, which has been working in my favor. I just don’t buy those items anymore so if that’s what she wants to wear, it is—by default—handmade. Her resistance has waned. As long as the item has some pouf to it she is happy. Today the item needed some green to it and we came up short in our “off the rack” options. So desperate was she not to get pinched at school, I was left with no choice (honestly none, I swear!) but to dig into the stash and turn to the trusted Lazy Days skirt pattern (oh the possibilities…) just in time to get us all out the door this morning, albeit a few minutes late, but with a smile on this little leprechaun’s face and a swish in her step.

Happy St. Patty’s!

Auction dress

I found this old Simplicity pattern and loved it immediately. Since I could only get it in a size 6 I figured I’d give it a try to test the sizing and donate it to the auction for Will’s school. I am very happy with the result. I used one of my newest favorite fabrics, Charisma, (Peony Blooms) from Moda. I just love the soft watercolor effect this design has.

The pattern is great, although I did make a few modifications: instead of the elastic casing around the waist I did 6 rows of elastic shirring and eliminated the seam up the side of the sleeves by making a bias-bound placket for the opening above the ties. What I really need to figure out is how to grade it down to a size 3 or 4. I’ve scoured the internet in search of info on grading children’s patterns but am unsure how to approach the raglan sleeve. Do I slash the pattern perpendicular to the grain line and at what points? Any tips on this would be most welcome… Plan B is to get a basic raglan peasant pattern in the right size and modify it from there, adding the sleeve bands and collar.

Isn’t it cute though? Can’t wait to see it on a little body.

Hello, Fall fabric.

I’m not sure which of you to start with!

New books for me!

And the designs that made each a “must have”.

I will try, try again…

I am not ready to give up on sewing for Lauren but I must now rely on deception. Earlier this week I whipped up a Sugar City Servant Dress with a crafty plan in mind. While keeping all evidence of my process under wraps, I finished the dress off with a sweet little tag (which I made using this wonderful product). The tag reads: “Not Handmade by Mom”, which will work for now because she can’t read (and got big laughs from Will). I carefully folded and placed it in a small gift bag and hung it on the front door knob.

Without saying a word I let her discover it later that afternoon and when she did I explained—in a most absent-minded manner—that a friend of ours had brought it by as a hand-me-down. She was pleased.

She held it up  to “see if it fits” and  promptly tossed it aside. I continued to feign indifference, secretly hoping she’d want to put it on the next day. She didn’t. On the third day her brother, acting as my ally, suggested she try it on and despite not being “in the mood” she obliged.

Her review: “Ick”.

Today she told me she wants to give it back. Sniff, sniff.

Is there anyone out there who would buy my creations if I opened an Etsy shop?
Comments, advice and feedback welcome.

Branching out

So this week I tackled a new pattern and I am thrilled with the result. It’s from Girl’s Style Book, one of my new favorites. The best thing? I think it will actually be appreciated and worn!!! Our little friend Eliza is turning three and I’ve made this for her birthday gift. I think it will be lovely with her steel-blue eyes. (The fabric is slightly more blue than in this photo). I’m toying with the idea of making a little pair of pants or leggings to go with it, since it’s a bit too short to be a dress. It’s more of a tunic length and I think it would be extra cute with some soft denim pants, maybe with a patch pocket trimmed in this fabric for contrast. I’ll try to squeeze it in.

Also, I’ve finally decided to order some woven labels. Until I can settle on a good name for my little business venture, I don’t want to spend a fortune on custom labels so I think these will do the trick for now. I’m excited! Perhaps I’ll try to sneak one in the next thing I make for L and let her think it’s store-bought.

It might work.

I just can’t stop

Making this pattern, that is. And I won’t. It’s so cute, so easy and—as Amanda noted—once you get those Japanese patterns traced, you want to get some good mileage out of them. A long-sleeved variation will soon be in the works for Fall.

Knock on wood

Reeling from my “success” with the yellow dress, I quickly whipped up another in the same pattern out of red stretch denim. A ruffle added to the bottom kept it in favor with it’s recipient.

To win her over

I have a problem. My girl doesn’t like to wear the clothes I sew for her.

Possible reasons for this are:
1. They aren’t fancy enough. (She once asked me to make them “prettier.”)
2. It’s a power play. Because she knows how much I want her to love them, she takes delight in denying me this.
3. She simply wants to express herself by choosing her own crazy ensembles.

Any combination of the above reasons are certainly at play on a given day. My strategy is ever evolving: I have tried playing it cool, acting like I don’t care if she likes them or not. I thought I really had her when I suggested we give them away to a friend of hers. But jealousy did not rear it’s head and my position was weakened when she calmly agreed that Eliza would probably like that. My desperation is such that I have even resorted to bribery. The modeling of a certain dress, which she appeared to do with great enthusiasm, actually required the promise of a tootsie-pop for us to get through the photo shoot.

I have considered taking my projects undercover and boosting their appeal by telling her I bought them or that they’re hand-me-downs from one of the many “big girls” she admires. Before resorting to this approach I thought I’d take a more seductive (not to mention more honest) tact and appeal to her requests that they be “prettier.” The dress above shows my interpretation of this. I chose a fabric in her favorite color and gave it some details I know she likes: bows. The pattern is from this book. It’s a pretty good one—although I had to adjust the size of the armholes a lot. They were huge, even at the smallest size. It’s a simple, versatile pattern and could lend itself to many variations. I gave this skirt a more A-line shape, for example.

The verdict? I tried to contain my pleasure when she agreed to wear it on the 4th.

It’s a start!