July 21, 2012

Stripes: Part Two

 
A striped Kirsten kimono t-shirt for the summer! This is a simple free pattern from Maria Denmark, and I am so in love with this shirt! We've had some very humid days this past week and this shirt was very light and super cool to wear.
The pattern consists of a front and a back. That's it! Unless you decide to bind the neckline (which I did not) so it went together very fast. I used my double needle to top stitch the hem, sleeve and neck lines for a nice simple finish.

Check out Scruffy Badger's site to find many versions of this shirt. I especially love the birds-on-a-line version. I hope to get a chance to make a few more, but first I need to go in search of some knits. I am thinking I may try to add thick sleeve bindings on my next one...not sure how that would turn out on a kimono style shirt...
This pattern is so quick you'll even have enough time to play with the dog. Lucky guy.   :)

July 15, 2012

Stripes: Part One

A striped dress fit for a wedding. Actually, two weddings!
I fell in love with this material as soon as I saw it. And it's quilting cotton. (Tilly has a great post on sewing with quilting cotton, here). I loved the colours, the stripes and even the price. Until the clerk cut the fabric and gave me the bill... um... definitely more than I was planning to spend per yard. The fabric was not labeled clearly enough... the real price was hidden beneath the fabric in the bolt. I loved it anyways, but the pressure was now on to make a great dress!


So I started with sketches. I couldn't figure out how I wanted the stripes to lie originally, and I also had to figure out how cutting the pattern out would affect the way the stripes matched up later.
 Stripes are not easy to sew with. Surprise! Oh, didn't you know? Matching the stripes on the circle skirt wasn't too bad, it's when it came time to add darts to the bodice that I was the most concerned. Thankfully, with a very helping mother to help with fit, we were able to puzzle out this dress.

The pattern was adapted from one my sister passed down to me from a beautiful dress she made herself for a wedding! It must be that kind of dress. I love the full circle skirt; it's so much fun to dance in and twirl in, but watch out for those breezes!
I added a keyhole to the back of the bodice with a button made by my sister. I really wanted to find a way to display the button, and as long as I wear my hair up, I think I've been successful. It's a wooden button cut from a branch from an old walnut tree from my Grandmother's backyard. Even more special.
 Well, after all the worry about fit and stripes, the only concern I had on the days I wore the dress were... wrinkles. Darn. Cotton wrinkles when you sit on it.
 But if you dance fast enough no one will ever notice.  ;)  Cheers!

July 3, 2012

Jeans for the summer

I received some hand-me-down jeans from a friend a few weeks back and with the summer weather starting to peak I thought I'd alter some into a pair of capri pants. Easy-peasy! I just tried the pants on, marked them and then cut at the desired length.

I did add slits on each leg just about 2 inches long to add extra movement to the legs. I seem ripped up to where I wanted and then pinned the new hem in place to hold it. I did reinforce the bottom of the seem on the side leg just to prevent any unwanted seem ripping. I used a golden heavy weight jean thread to top stitch the cuffs and the slits like traditional jeans. I used bright red thread to top stitch the top of the slits to add a colour top stitching detail which copies a similar original detail on the bum pockets.
  
A fairly easy upcycling project for a new pair of pants and I've already gotten a lot of wear out of them. Maybe one day I'll share my rediculous jean collection with you...and no...they are not found in my wardrobe.  :)