A Shirring Success

I tried to make a shirred top several weeks ago... but something went horribly wrong. It was so small I couldn't get it over my shoulders. Not going to work.

I tried again a few nights ago... success!

I browsed a few different blogs and gathered a few tips on how to shirr and went from there. Basically... shirring will make your fabric shrink up to about half the original length. Double the circumference of your chest, shirr it, and marvel!

This blouse should probably have straps to help keep it in place... but I ran out of fabric. It slips a bit if worn on it's own, but layered over a tank top it's just perfect.

Unfortunately, because the gathered bit of the top is twice the circumference of my chest... the free flowing part of the top is kinda... well, tent-like. You could easily wear this shirt as maternity gear seeing as you could hide a full grown child under there. I experimented with some amateur shaping techniques and chopped out about 3 inches on each side. It helped quite a bit.

This makes top #2 for my "I'm going to sew all my own clothes this summer!" challenge.

Church Ladies' Apron

Another co-worker request! She wanted a full apron for spills and something other than the basic butcher style. I scoured all sorts of apron patterns and finally settled on one by Mary Mulari. It was my first time following a pattern on my own and was easy to understand. Plus... it's reversible, always a nice little bonus!

I picked '30s inspired fabric that had been calling to me on a number of occasions. It worked out well that her kitchen is blue and yellow!

I don't really like these photos... but both shee and the apron looked pretty cute when she put it on!

Happy Father's Day

My dad is a fan of the marionberry pie. This year for Father's Day I made him little single serving marionberry pies in jars. They chill in the freezer uncooked until his fancy strikes. Then it's just a quick 40 minutes in the oven. Pretty fabulous idea I got from here.

Happy Father's Day!

Market Bags

Oh, no! I found a new project to constantly think about... market bags! I followed the tutorial from Film in the Fridge, which was very simple and clear. Thank you!

Reasons I love this bag:
1. Easy to make
2. Convenient size
3. Reversible!

I decided to use home decor fabric to help avoid two undesirables.
1. My sister's ridicule (she hates floppy tote bags)
2. Using interfacing

I also put a strip of thick felt between the two layers on the bottom to give a little bit more support. I don't know that it matters too much... but it feels like a seamstresses-y thing to do!

These bags were both made as gifts. The warm tones for the FABULOUS media clerk I've been working with this year. The cool tones for my very favorite speech/path grad's birthday. I'm already planning on making a few more with some bonus features... a few simple pockets for cell phones and keys.

And a round of applause for my model. I tricked her with an invite to the Laurelhurst for Sunshine Cleaning (you should see that), then lured her to a field for photos.

The 110% Apron

I 110% love this apron. It was made for the sister of a co-worker to give to a friend for her bridal shower (I love the chain of connections). The recipient was said to like teal, yellow, and pink. Unfortunately for her, those are three colors I refuse to put together for people past the kindergarten stage. (And the woman at the fabric store agreed with me so don't think I'm overly stubborn!) I did squeeze in a little yellow with the pink though. The recipient was also said to be "girly" and good thing. This is by far the most "girly" apron I've ever made... I mean, look at those ruffles! And the pinks! I don't even like and often oppose girly-ness-business, but I do love this apron.

I followed this tutorial from One More Moore, although I've also seen patterns similar to this for sale at fabric stores. All in all, it was very simple to make, but looks challenging. Love those projects!

The fabric is all Amy Butler. One of the prints washed up with a big whole in the middle, which was a frustrating surprise. I was easily able to exchange it after another trip to the fabric store. I love how the patterns complement each other. She's fabulous, isn't she?

Pencil Cases

I modified the measurements for Amy Karol's zippered pouch to make the proper dimensions for a pencil case. (4.5" x 9") I think next time I'll use a home decor weight fabric to help it keep its shape.

I bought the fabric at Bolt after spending many many minutes heming and hawing at all the choices. I love that store.

One pouch went south to Julia in exchange for my new adorable masthead (!!!) and the other went north to Shauna as a birthday gift (to come in handy at the grad school she's ditching me for).

It was another good project to practice sewing in a zipper except I had to rip out the lining on one of them and resew it in. It was too close to the zipper teeth and kept catching. Annoying!

*This post is far from eloquent. I'm tapping it out in a quick moment between houses as I am once again house sitting!

Hang On Little Tomato

My first tomato ever!

Hang on little tomato...

Apple-Dot Napkins

We had a shower at work for a co-worker who was recently married. I thought about going to the mall and buying her something off her registry... but I just couldn't actually get myself there. After spending far too much time and money at the mall in eighth grade, I can hardly handle walking in the door.

Well my first plan was to embroider her and her husband His and Her's pillowcases with male and female cage fighters. It makes more sense when you know that both of them actually ARE cage fighters. It's also worth noting that I can't remember the proper name for the fighting they do, but it's in that UFC realm. Turns out I couldn't find a silhouette I liked well enough to trace.

Hello, Napkins! Everyone needs napkins. And eco-friendly anything is all the rage right now. I picked a modern and fun pattern and got to sewing all those straight lines. I even took care to make the corners nice and even by glancing over this little tutorial.

She liked them!

On a sidenote: I was just eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich consisting of bread I baked this morning, jam I made last summer, and peanut butter... from the grocery store. Anyone ever made their own? Other than the big grinder at the grocery?

The 80% Apron

I 80% like this apron. It was a for a co-worker to give to a friend as a bridal shower gift. The recipient declared her favorite colors to be black, white, and light pink. Maybe it's just me... but those were tough colors to work with... particularly because I don't like the combo. I went for the faux-Parisian fabrics that tend to come in that color scheme and picked something I liked, the little birdies.

At first it was a black apron with a birdie pocket. Then... far too late at night after far too much work... I had the realization of "Ew! You just made a black apron!" I swapped the fabrics and liked this presentation much better. (Although I'm still not enamored with the black).

My very favorite part was the little birdie. The apron needed something to liven up that drab pocket. I especially love the birdie's legs. Because I pinned the bird on to spare him the washing machine, his little embroidered legs are left clinging to the branch. Too cute.