Bias Tape

Turns out that bias tape, in addition to being something you might buy at the store, is something you (meaning me) can make. I followed these super easy instructions:

http://www.savvyseams.com/techniques/biastape.php



I haven't actually gotten to use my new home made bias tape, yet, but it looks like the real deal (only more flowery), so I think it turned out well.

The drawback, of course, is that I just spent two hours figuring out this process, cutting fabric, sewing, ironing, watching Grey's Anatomy, etc. and then measured the bias tape: I made 3 yards. I only need six for the project I'm doing next.... So, not as fulfilling as some other things I've done, but first of all, the next 3 yards will go much, much faster, and secondly, once I finish the entire project, I predict a great sense of pride in making the whole thing myself.

There better be a great sense of pride.

Apron -- Not a Failure : )

This is my latest pattern -- Simplicity 3670. I like the retro look of the apron, and I think it might be more functional than most, since it covers the entire shirt. I think the first try went well. I wish the scalloped bottom looked better, but putting bias tape on a triple curve was a trick, let me tell you. Oh, and the apron wasn't as slimming on me as it seems to be on the 5'11" model on the pattern cover. Bummer.

Pants

I just made my first pair of pants. These green ones were made in class, using McCall's M4497. I was hesitant on the ruffled bottoms, but the instructor convinced me that learning the technique would be a good idea. She was right.

And the ruffle isn't too bad:


But when it came time to try out the technique again at home, I opted for the plainer cuff:


Mostly, I was too chicken to try the ruffle technique without a cording foot to hold the cording in place to gather the fabric, and I haven't made it to the store to get the new foot, yet. But overall, I'll call the first two pairs of pants a success.

Photography

I have always enjoyed the idea of taking pictures -- not just the kind that go on a blog or in a photo album, but the kind that looks like it might be art. So yesterday, when Jeremy surprised me by taking the day off work AND he took the little bear to the sitters so that we had the entire day to ourselves, I told him I wanted to go around town and take pictures. We focused on downtown and the university. This is what we came up with. (The first and last ones are Jeremy's, the others are mine.)

Baby Blankets

I recently made two baby blankets, but had to wait until the respective mothers (and fathers) received the blankets before I could put them on the blog:



This one is for my old college friends who did their nursery in these great bold red and blue. They are also very active in their church, so I thought the Icthus and Cross fabric suited them well. I made the top with a simple patchwork pattern of alternating colors and the back is a solid piece of the Icthus and Cross print. I put an additional piece of the cream fabric in the middle to give the blanket more weight and to make the red and blue show through to the back less.



This one is for a couple I know in Houston -- the mother is a pediatrician and the father works for NASA. Guess who picked the nursery theme? I was excited to make the space themed blanket since stores don't really carry much of that, but I was worried that the father would take exception to the planets not being in appropriate scale to each other.... I chose the black and dark blue to go with the space backgrounds and then used the the light blue and grey to look like the sky. The back, which I didn't get a picture of, is a solid piece of starry fabric.

Broken Machine?

Last week, my machine jammed up. I finally got it to the shop today. The place I take it is owned and operated by an older gentleman I'll call "Mr. C." Mr. C is amazing. He's old enough to be my grandpa, and he totes sewing machines around like nobody's business and can sew even more impressively. This is my conversation with Mr. C:

Me: I think I broke my machine, or slightly less likely (gesturing to my toddler), she broke it while I wasn't looking.

Mr. C: Well, let's take a look.

(Mr. C sets up my machine, threads it, and sews a perfect stitch.)

Me: I guess it's like going to the mechanic for your car. It's going to work just fine for you, isn't it.

Mr. C: Well, I don't see anything wrong with it. Maybe you were threading it wrong.

Me: Let me try while I'm here.

(I sit down, thread the machine and then it jams up again.)

Mr. C: Hmmm. I'll look at it again.

(Another perfect round of stitching.)

Mr. C: Yep, you must be threading it wrong, but I can't say I see what you did wrong.

Me: Let me do again.

(I start threading the machine, slowly this time.)

Mr. C: Now, did you hook the thread here? (Gesturing at a never before seen hook by the needle.)

Me: No, should I?

Mr. C: Well, it won't work if you don't.

Me: I guess that was the problem, then.

Mr. C: It sure looks that way. Can I help you carry the machine back out to the car?


Problem solved. The new mystery is how I got it to work for three weeks without ever noticing that hook.

A Shirt for Me

This is my first attempt at making a shirt for myself. It was too tight at the hips and the material didn't gather the way I wanted, but overall, I consider the first attempt a success in that:

a) I did learn how to gather the material, even though I wasn't very successful with the first try.
b) I learned that when the pattern says "use a stretchy fabric" it means it.

So, for my next attempt, I will use a stretchy fabric and see if that doesn't work better, as advertised.

Bookmarks

For the Fourth of July, I decided to help my daughter make some bookmarks to take to our friends at a local nursing home.
To start, I let my daughter finger paint on plain white paper. A little warning here: red, white, and blue really do make lavender when mixed together by a toddler. I figured folks at a nursing home wouldn't care so much, but if I were making them myself, I would have preferred a little less color mixing.
Then I cut the paper into strips. I didn't worry too much about making them all the same size so long as they were all bookmark sized.
Then I used clear contact paper to make them a little sturdier and a little more finished-looking without the trouble and cost of having them laminated.

Finally, I used a hole punch to put a hole in the top and added some red, white, and blue ribbon through the hole.

All in all, I was very happy with the results. They look child-made while still looking good and being very functional.