New swim suit for my picky 8 year old.

Note to self when packing up a swim suit make sure you have all the pieces in one box. I have been searching for the bottoms to her suit as the summer days heat up by 830 am. Well after weeks of looking through boxes and boxes, I'm giving up and trying my hand at making one. So I sat down and traced a pair of her undies, made  a mock-up and did a fitting. The first mock-up was too short in back area with her crack showing. From there I made a better pattern with a new mock-up which fit great! Now it's time to cut and sew the real thing from swim suit/ dance wear fabric in neon green. It's doesn't look like neon green with the web cam, but it is (I so need my camera back.)

 

This goes back to packing things that go together in one box, one day I will learn my lesson (Battery charger and battery go together).  So the first try in the swim suit material needs to be fix the elastic is too loose and back to the sewing machine I go!

So this is the swimsuit bottom before I fix it. Once I get the elastic pulled off I will redo it and update the post.

Love the sheets!

Here is the first and second sheets for my sister's baby shower gift.  I can't wait to see the sheets in her nursery.  Again I used the instructions on the site Dana Made It and it is so simple to do. The only thing I did different was shortened the elastic in the jungle print and it worked great. The sheet is snug and tight with no worries  of the sheet coming off the bed during sleep. 

First crib sheet is done!

Here is the crib sheet and its finally finished. I love this print, which I found at Wal-Mart for 5.45 a yard. I found the tutorial at http://www.danamadeit.com/2008/07/tutoria

l-crib-and-toddler-bed-sheets.html#comment-210010. This site has so much great information for anything sewing. Check out her site and whip one up today. The sheet was really easy to make as along as you cut it the right length. It would have only taken 30 minutes if I had not put it up for the night. Once I put things away they tend to disappear on me.  The next sheet I am making has some really cute animals on it, I just need to wash it first. It takes two yards of your favorite fabric cut to length of your mattress and enough elastic to stretch around your mattress. Dana from Made really did a great job explaining this so I'm going to refer you back to her site. I love this fabric so much she may get a dust ruffle too. I have more baby things to make today, like a monkey flannel blanket. It is plain white with brown monkey outlines which I plan on coloring a pastel pink with Fabric Markers by Marvy Uchida  and Sharpie. I ended up using four colors; bright and pastel pink then a pastel and dark purple. Then I will cut it to receiving blanket size and hopefully there will be enough for wipes, too. Back to work I go!

New designs in the works!

So I'm taking a short vacation from my day job and have come up with new designs. The first one is a tank dress with a box pleated skirt. I have the just the fabric for the skirt, it is a red and black plaid. Now to find the right material for the top and I am thinking a black jersey would be great. I have just enough for a girls size 8/10 top too. Here is my sketch for it.

I think a pattern print would work great with this too. However I'm on a no spend month in June and have to use up some of my stash. My stash has began to overrun my room and I can't really move around in there. So I will have pictures of fabric up soon. Long this line I'm thinking of drop waist dresses with feather fringe at the hem, still working out the design details on this one.

 

Can't forget shorts for the boys! Big Pocket Shorts!

Summer is here and the 80 degree to 90 degree weather requires shorts and t-shirts. This pattern is one that I drafted a few weeks ago, but didn't get to put it together until last week. I am trying different pocket designs, however I don't care for back pockets. Was hoping for more of a box shape then flat. I have a bolt of muslin and decided to make my own print for his shorts. The print is a first try of cars. There needs to be way more cars and stop signs repeating on it, even with that it was fun to do.

Here is a new pair with big side pockets but not back pockets.

Knit shorts ushering in the summer!

Ahh the joys of summer, cleaning out the winter clothes and filling their drawers with t-shirts, tank tops and shorts. Oh wait my daughter has no shorts; time to get out the scrap boxes. This may take a while..........................................................................................................................................................
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........................................................................Still looking...........................................................................................
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....................................................Very scary in the storage shed...............................................................................................................
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OK so I found pink rib knit with cheerleader themed print and plain purple (had to go through six boxes). I'm trying not to buy more fabric this month. I am saving up to buy enough fabric to make a line of clothing to sale at the Just Between Friends consignment in September. I'm hoping it will be a launching place for my line.
Anyway I've gotten off track, back to the shorts and the pictures.

So on this pair I painted with glitter. The squid reminded me of water and summer, so here it is. I really like the glitter paint from Tulip. Found it at Big Lots for $3.00, just wished they had different colors. The squid is a stencil from the Crayola air brush set.  Once it dries I will add a shark on the

other side.

This pair of shorts is made from pink rib knit with a cheerleader theme. This fabric came from Hancock 's originally meant for pull-ups. Had about a half yard left. Wish I had more so I could add it to the Just Between Friends Sale.

 

 

 

Sewing question? Rib Knit Bias tape cut on grain or bias?

Have a sewing question for anyone, I am putting pink rib knit bias tape around the edges of a pink and white polka dot piece of fleece.  My question is do I cut the rib knit on the bias which is not as stretchy or on straight grain which is very stretchy? I know when you make bias tape from woven cotton it is cut on the bias for the stretch, however rib knit is stretchy on the straight grain. So how do I this? I only have one piece of the pink rib knit as it was the leftovers.

Stretched on the straight grain

                                       

Stretched on the bias