Tomboy Toddlers' Denim Jumper

Yesterday I was doing some minor repair/adjusting work on a few of my clothes. I didn't take long, so after I finished, I was dealing with some old overalls that Mama was getting rid of. I'd already taken the hardware off of them, so pretty much all that was left was the denim. I don't know about y'all, but I really can't stand getting rid of perfectly good fabric, especially if it's denim. So then I had this crazy idea: Why not make a little girls' gored skirt? I set about doing just that (terrible timing on my part; we had far too much going on for me to start an unnecessary project!). Once I'd sewn several gores together, I realized that, for the length, it was going to be pretty heavy for a little thing to keep on with only elastic. I didn't want to get into buttonholes, and all the zippers we had on hand were too long. So, I turned it into a jumper!

I was thinking of myself as a young(er) girl. I was usually tomboy, through and through. I figure I wasn't the only one out there. This jumper is for those little tomboys, and for their mothers who have to wash all their clothes. ;) It's cute in an attempt to cultivate the girl in the tomboy, but at the same time it's comfortable and hardy so as not to restrict that vigorous energy she exudes every healthy, waking moment!

Boys' Western Shirt

For this shirt I used Simplicity 5366. I did view B, size medium for the boys. This is a birthday present for my soon-to-be-8 year old brother, so SHHHH!!! ;)

I pretty much just followed the pattern. I can't really think of any changes! Shocking, I know. I did consistently put the buttonholes off-center, but our buttonholer is such a pain to use, I wasn't about to redo them! I've had it cut out for a couple of days now, but I didn't get a chance to sew until today. It was a full day of sewing, but I did finish it in one day!

By the way, the khaki that I used in the yoke was an old skirt my sister was getting rid of. I love it when I can re-purpose things into something entirely new, and completely unrecognizable from the original!

A New Venture

Howdy! I just realized that I hadn't blogged about my most recent, and thus far most successful, business venture! Allow me to introduce it now:

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Sew You!

Pre-made and Custom Creative Sewing

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And guess what?! This is going to be my "website"... for now anyway. If this venture goes somewhere, then perhaps I'll get myself a legitimate website, but until I've got too much $$$ to know what to do with, I'll probably operate from here. :D

That said, I'm going to be making a few changes here. I'll still be blogging about the things I make, but I think I'll make a new page for the things that I've made that *sigh* have no home but my already overflowing hope chest. The things found on that page will be for sale, but I don't know that I'll put a price on them here. I'd rather be contacted, and we'll work out a price via email or phone (preferably email). Obviously most of these things will be little girls' outfits. I guess I prefer to let my creativity overflow in that area. They aren't embarrassed to wear the bows, gathers, pleats, and pearls! Me, I'm a simple-loving girl myself, but I enjoy making those things that aren't always as simple as I would be comfortable wearing, especially if I know those things will be thoroughly enjoyed. :)

Vest

Well, I was being good this morning and studying for my next test. However, I got frustrated as I read about the amendments to the constitution, and how they're interpreted. (Not sayin' they're all bad... just don't like the enormous amount of authority they mean the federal government now thinks it has.) In order to straighten things out in my mind and stop getting so frustrated, I didn't really do the right thing, but anyway, I started listening to a couple more lectures by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.

That's beside the point however. The point is that, since I was listening to lectures, I could cut something out and sew! I chose to try Butterick 4815, view D.

I like how it turned out! It looks pretty great with my new skirt too! :D

The only change I made was, I think, to take in the side seams about an inch on each side. Since I took them in that much, I didn't do the side seams exactly like the pattern said.

Secret Service Skirt

This skirt has kind of a funny story connected with it. My sister is a rising star in bluegrass. She's a member of the new band Missionary Ridge. So anyway, I decided to make a "secret service" outfit in order to ward off any undesirables and paparazzi. This is the skirt to that outfit. Hopefully I have enough of the same fabric left over for a jacket. We'll see.

I don't know if I'll get around to making that part of the outfit soon since WE'RE MOVING!!!! To explain that bit of over-enthusiasm, we've been trying to sell our very unique house and property for 3 or 4 years now (it's been so long, I can't remember exactly!), and now that it's finally happened... I just don't know what to think!

Anyway, about the skirt. I used McCall's 5481. It was a very easy pattern to follow. Or, I think it was. Once I cut the pieces out, I just kind of went at it, glancing at that instructions every now and then. I love how all the gores flare out extra at the bottom. It just makes me want to spin. :D

My First Knit Dress!

It worked!!! I can't believe it! My fabric was pretty difficult to work with, and it wouldn't iron out. AT. ALL! That was rather annoying, but I think it still turned out pretty good. My only area of dissatisfaction with this pattern, New Look 6823, is the collar. It's not laying down quite right in the back. Not a big problem, but still there. I'm not even sure it's a fair accusation. I mean, I was in the middle (like, exactly half-way through!) of sewing on the collar when the incident mentioned in the previous post occurred. :P

I did make a few changes, but not big ones. I lengthened the sleeves quite a bit (good thing I did, too! They're still only 3/4-length sleeves on me!), and I took in the side seams by about... an inch on each side at the waist. Oh, I think I also added some length to the bottom, but I do that to just about everything. :)

All in all, it's definitely not a bad pattern. If I do it again, I'll probably do the wider sleeves though; these are kind of tight on me.

It had to happen sometime...

I've read that it happens to every seamstress or tailor at one point or another. The only question is when, and wouldn't you know it would happen to me right before I start sewing my first custom garment for a customer.

Well, the other night I was beginning to sew my New Look 6823 dress while listening to some European history lectures as last minute study for the CLEP I was taking the next day. Surprisingly enough, everything was going pretty well. Until I somehow managed to sew through my left middle finger. Yep, ouch. Getting the needle out took my entire family. I wasn't any help, I know; I was just a breath away from passing out. :P I posted more about the incident HERE, but since it was a sewing accident I figured the story fit pretty well on this blog.

First Custom Order!

I'm SO excited, though very nervous at the same time. A little over a week ago, I wore THIS skirt to an event that my siblings were part of, and a woman approached me about making one for her! She wants hers pretty much exactly like mine, except that the godets will be out of only red toile instead of red and black. Yesterday Mama, Claire, Luke (poor boy), and I went fabric shopping for the things I'll need to make this skirt!

We started at Sir's. Though I wasn't able to find the right toile OR denim, I did get 3 other pieces of fabric for myself, 2 of which I was hoping to obtain before October! From Sir's (our fastest trip there ever, btw, just over one hour!), we went to Hancock's in Murfreesboro. Thankfully I was able to find both the denim and toile there! The denim was a wonderful price too! I'm very happy with the trip.

While we were at Hancock's I also grabbed Kwik Sew 3472. With that one and New Look 6823, I'm hoping to increase my knowledge of working with knits. I had fun looking through the trims at Hancock's too! Who knew there was so much available! I've really only recently started working with trims, and, obviously, piping is still my favorite, so I don't really know what's out there. :)

Well, I just wanted to bring this blog up to speed (not that hardly anyone reads it; I know this now 'cause I installed a sitemeter counter-thingy!) about what was going on in my sewing life. Be back soon ... hopefully!