Tutorial: Nursing dress adaptation with an invisible zipper

I was so pleased with how my last maternity/nursing maxi-dress turned out that I decided to make a second one. This time, I made a tutorial for how I did the zipper part, in case it helps any sewists who may be expecting in the future!

You'll need:

• A knit dress pattern with a seam under the bust. I'm also intending to wear this during the remainder of my third trimester, so I'm using the top of the Cake Tiramisu dress with the midriff band and skirt of the out-of-print Simplicity 3678, since I already adapted that skirt pattern both for extra belly room and a maxi length. But if you're making this just to wear for nursing and have an idea of what size to do the waistband, the Tiramisu or Red Velvet dress would be a great option as is.
• An invisible zipper that's long enough to fit across your ribs from one side seam to the other. (A few extra inches probably won't hurt. Mine was a 22" length, and I ended up chopping off somewhere around 2" at the end.)
• Clear elastic
• I used both an invisible zipper foot and a regular zipper foot to do this portion of the construction. 

Before beginning the zipper (these three steps were completed before I started taking pictures, and you can see the results in the first picture):

1. Sew the bodice pieces, including side seams. Depending on the pattern you choose, you may need to alter the order of construction. (Normally, the sleeve and side seams of the Tiramisu are sewn all at once after the front and back of the dress are constructed flat, but I went ahead and finished the sleeves/sewed the side seams together before taking this picture, since constructing the side seams around the zipper would be much more difficult than the other way around. It may take a little more effort to get the side seams to match up between pieces this way. For my current fitting needs, the big advantage to this was that I was able to put on the mostly-finished bodice and adjust the gathering and the overlap of the neckline to the larger bust size that I'm currently working with.Which meant that I was able to use my already-sized pattern from before I was pregnant as-is.)

2. Sew the midriff/waistband pieces together at the sides, or skirt pieces if your pattern does not have an extra band. Depending on the length of your dress, you might be able to do the waist and skirt pieces together. I'm only working with the midriff band for mine, since I'm doing a long skirt and don't want the weight of it to distort things as I sew. (Plus it's a lot easier to take pictures that way!)


3. Finish the lower edge of the bodice and the top edge of the waistband/skirt. I know knits don't unravel, but it does add some stability to the edge. And since we're working with stretchy fabric and a non-stretchy zipper, that is never a bad thing.

To add the zipper:

1. Sew one long side of the zipper across the bottom of the bodice, as you normally would for the right side of a vertically-inserted invisible zipper. I started the teeth at the side seam on the left side, because I'm right-handed, but you could easily flip this around if you're left-handed. I also brought some of the extra length past the right side seam and into the back, just to give myself a little more give for opening. I probably could have done this for the left seam as well to make the whole thing more centered, but I really don't want to have to be reaching behind me with one hand while trying to wrangle a squirming baby with the other! Better to leave the zipper pull where I can more easily see it.


2. Baste the other side of the zipper onto the waistband, being careful to align the top edge of the teeth with the correct side seam. Close the zipper, check to make sure both seams are lining up on either side of the zipper, and adjust if necessary. Once you're satisfied with how the sides are lining up, stitch over the basting line. When opened, the two pieces will look kind of like this.



3. Sew the back of the bodice and the back of the waistband together. I added clear elastic here, both to help support the weight of the maxi-skirt and to allow it to bounce back if I need to stretch the dress to get it on over my chest later. (I had to do two rows of stitching here--to get the seam closed as much as possible, I used my zipper foot on a longer stitch length. But my machine doesn't have a stretch stitch, and I can't zig-zag with my zipper foot, so I added a second row of a narrow zig-zag close by, just in case some of the straight stitches pop. I know it looks a little ripply when it's flat on the table, but the other dress is like that too, and it's not really noticeable when wearing.)

4. Shorten zipper if necessary, and press back seams up towards bodice.

5. Continue on with the dress from here-- I still need to add the skirt pieces and hem it, but that's it!

When the zipper is closed, it looks like a normal seam, except for that pull tab...











...and then once you open it, easy breastfeeding access without having to stretch out your neckline!

Hopefully that was clear enough--let me know if I need to clarify anything! And for those of you who are moms that sew, I'd love to hear if you have any other nursing hacks you like to add into your clothes.

A basic little wallet (with tutorial!)

I honestly needed a new wallet pretty badly. My mom gave me this nice expensive leather one about 2 years ago for Christmas--but the cost definitely didn't reflect the quality. The colorful print on the leather started wearing off almost immediately! Fast-forward to the beginning of this year--the pocket on the outside was rather stretched out of shape, due to the wallet having nowhere else to put my cards (and this wasn't even counting rewards cards, this was just my basic credit/debit/drivers' license type stuff!), and half of the wallet was floral print and half was worn-off grey. It was a mess. So, since the Stashbusting Sewalong theme for this month is "Itty Bits" anyway, I decided to make myself this new one. And since I was having trouble finding patterns online for basic, everyday wallets without coin purses (which I didn't need, since I already had a separate one that my grandmother made for me several years ago), I decided to photograph the process as I went, in case anyone else wants something similar.

(Sorry the photo lighting isn't better--this is the best I could fix it to, the fabric has a yellowish tint to it anyway, and I was making this in the evening while watching tv with my husband.)

What you'll need: 
1. Fabric, cut to the following dimensions:

• 4"x8", for the wallet body- cut 4 (shown in tan Celtic print)
• 4"x4.25", for the card pockets- cut 6 (shown in tan music print)
• strips for the binding, 1" wide- you'll need 2 that are 8" long, and a third that's at least 16" long. (I didn't measure this one, and just trimmed off the excess later. Shown in dark brown Celtic print)
• 4.25"x4.5", for the tab - cut 1. I cut mine to more of a triangular shape at the bottom to accommodate the print, so this is the longest length. (shown in tan Celtic print)

2. Interfacing- cut 2 4"x8" pieces, and one that's half the width of your tab.
3. Closure of your choice-- I used a largeish snap, but a button, velcro or magnetic closures would also work.

Sewing note: All seam allowances are 1/4".


Step 1:
Fuse the interfacing onto the back of two body pieces, and half of the tab.












Step 2:

Fold the card pockets in half, wrong sides together and so you're folding the longer side, and press. (Pockets will be about 2.25"x4")

Step 3:
Lay the pockets out on one interfaced body piece, folded sides pointing towards middle. I placed the innermost pockets with the raw edge 1" away from the short edge of the wallet body, the second one 1/2" away, and the third lined up with the raw edge. As you lay each piece out, starting with the innermost one, baste the raw edge down. Only the stitching on the lowest pocket should show when all three are on. Repeat this with the other side.

This is what your pockets should look like!

Step 4: 
Take one un-interfaced body piece, lay it on the side without the pockets (wrong sides together), and baste around the raw edges.






Step 5: 
Fold tab in half, right sides together, and stitch around the long edge, stopping 1/4" from the short edge, and whichever short edge you're using as the closure end (here, it's the pointed one). Trim/clip as necessary, turn, and press. Also tuck the raw end inside the open end so that it gives a nice clean edge, as shown.

*Note: I don't have this illustrated, since I used a sew-on snap closure. But if you're planning on using a magnetic closure, you'll want to add that to the tab between steps 4 and 5, or if you're planning on sewing on velcro, you'll want to stitch that to the tab end before proceeding. If you use this method, also add the other side of the magnet/velcro to the remaining interfaced body piece in the appropriate spot after the following step.
Step 6:
Take the remaining interfaced body piece, center the tab on one shorter edge, with the folded-in end about 1.5" from the edge. Stitch the folded end down, leaving the rest of the tab free. (I did a little box to give it more stability. Also, if you're doing the velcro/magnet, make sure that the side you sewed it on is facing towards the body!)

Step 7 (not pictured):
Baste the remaining uninterfaced body piece to the back of the tab piece like you did in step 4, wrong sides together, folding tab out of the way to keep the end free.

Step 8:
Take one of the 1"x8" strips, and line up a longer raw edge with one longer edge of the pocket piece, right sides together. Stitch. Repeat with tab piece. (Make sure you use the 1/4" seam allowance, or you won't have enough room for cards later!)






Step 9: 
Press the edging strips up away from body. Press raw edge under 1/4". Repeat with tab piece.










Step 10: 
Turn this folded edge to the inside so that it barely overlaps the stitching. Turn back to pocket side and "stitch in the ditch" (right on the seamline between the edging and other piece). Repeat with tab piece.

Step 11 (not illustrated):
Take the two body pieces and stack them on top of each other so that the tab and pocket sides are on the outside, and both finished edges are at the top. Baste around 3 edges, leaving the finished edge open and the tab free.


Step 12: 
Take the remaining longer strip, line up the edges with the raw edges on the tab side, and fold under any excess at the finished edges to make a nice clean edge. For the corners, I folded it at these 45-degree angles so that it looks square on the top. Stitch, breaking the stitching at the corners and refolding as necessary to keep the corners moving freely.
(Note: I found it helpful to pin the tab back out of the way so it wouldn't get caught in this.)

Step 13: 
Press the raw edge of the strip away from the body, and the raw edge under, like you did in step 9. Fold this to the pocket side, turning over and stitching in the ditch on these 3 edges (see step 10). When done, the pocket side should look like this.

Step 14 (not illustrated):
If you did not already add a magnetic or velcro closure, sew a snap onto the tab side, fold the wallet in half and mark where the snap lands on the outside of the wallet, and sew the other half there. (Note: the snap is already attached in the picture in step 14.  You could also do a buttonhole (on the tab) and button here, but I'm lazy and don't want to fumble with that every time I open my wallet!

And that's it! It's been working out well for me so far as far as function goes, and it was a nice, quick little scrapbusting project. I kind of wish it was more colorful, but I had more brown stuff that actually went together, so you work with what you have, right? This used less than a fat quarter for each of the 3 pieces, so it would be great for quilting cotton leftovers.

If you use this tutorial to make a wallet, please tell me in the comments! I'd love to see how yours turns out!

Summer scarf (with mini-tutorial!)

My new scarf!

Once upon a time, several years ago, I saw an article in Threads magazine about how to make a patternless skirt out of randomly sewn-together strips of fabric that the sewist would randomly pleat and stitch over to fit. I already had one piece of eligible fabric in my stash, thanks to one of the freebies passed on to me from my mother, who had in turn had this fabric passed on to her. So I went out to the store and got several 1- to 1 1/4-yard cuts so I could make this funky-looking thing for myself.

One thing led to another, and like so many of my planned sewing projects, it got pushed back because of other things that needed to be made sooner. After a few years, I lost interest in the project altogether. The original free cut got sent away in that lot of 30-something yards that I Freecycled last winter, and one of the pieces purchased met its maker (ba-dum ching) and became the lining to my laptop bag. So that left me with 2 or so random pieces of blue fabric where I liked the print, but there wasn't enough yardage to do much. Including this beachy batik-looking chiffon number.

Fast-forward to the end of Me-Made-May this year, and my thought that I should make some warm-weather accessories that, you know, aren't made of beads. The thought came to me to use that chiffon to make a scarf. I haven't traditionally been much of a fashion scarf person, and I do loooooove me some funky beaded jewelry. But I'm also kind of famous among my circle of friends and family for getting cold ridiculously easily. This includes in the summer, when stores and restaurants and my fiance crank their ACs to insane levels and my body goes into thermal shock when stepping into that from the humid, high 80s-plus-degree weather that we've had pretty consistently all summer. Yeah, warm-weather layers are a good investment.

I'm really happy with how this one turned out, and it was pretty easy to make, albeit a little time-consuming. I don't have a ton of pics of the process, but here's how I did it:

Step 1: I trimmed the piece of fabric to a reasonable width, mainly to ditch the printed selvedges, and trimmed the ends to even it up some. It was cut rather crookedly, as you can see.

Step 2: I hand-stitched a narrow hem on both of the longer edges, leaving about 3" unstitched at either end. This is why it took me all summer--when my carpal tunnel flareup that I've been fighting since July was at its worst, I couldn't even do that. This could probably be done by machine or even serger, but I wanted the control. (And with a wedding dress to make, I probably needed the hand-sewing practice!)

Step 3: The most fun step: Those unstitched ends? I unraveled them. The full 3". I'll admit it, I sometimes have a destructive streak, and this was a good tv-watching activity. (My fiance was rather confused about what I was trying to do, which added to the fun!)

Step 4: The most tedious part: I hand-knotted all of that frayed fringey edge into this, to finish the ends and give it a more professional look. The really tedious thing about this is that the polyester chiffon is kind of slippery, and so they kept coming undone. I had to go back at the end and dab some fabric glue into all of the knots to make them permanent. So that's what I spent my time after work doing.

And there you have it! I do wish this scarf was a little longer, because its length kind of limits my styling options. I may have to invest in some kind of scarf slide, like maybe this one. (I like that it doubles as a hair accessory, and I'm afraid a pin would leave some serious holes in this fabric.) So I may have to play around with this idea again sometime!

Well, that was suprising...

I've been following the One Pretty Thing blog for awhile, though somewhat inconsistently (because the full text never loads on my Google reader. I hate when sites do that!) But I happened to click through today, and check this out... I made a tutorial on BurdaStyle for the pleated trim I did on this green top 2 springs ago, and there was a link to it on there today! So just wanted to thank them for the shout-out--it's good to know that someone found it inspiring!

Oh, yeah, I did some sewing today. I know how to fit my jacket. I altered the pattern for the lining. I just haven't taken pics yet. And I'm getting totally sidetracked by Pinterest, so I don't think it will happen tonight...

How to (possibly not) put pockets into vertical welts.

It's been a rather experimental week here at Casa de Sew-and-So. First up was trying to get the pocket bags into the shorts, which I'll go into more detail with in a moment. I've also got a yarn-dying experiment going on as I type, and my wrap that I finished a month or two ago (finally) blocked and drying out in the yard. So hopefully those will turn out well.

I found it surprisingly difficult to find suggestions and/or tutorials for getting the pocket bags into vertical welt pockets! It seems like everything I checked out--books, blogs, Google--was geared more towards the little rectangular ones that get attached to horizontal jacket pockets and such. Nothing on pants pockets. And BurdaStyle instructions being what they are...yeah. No help there. So here's a little mini-tutorial on how I did it-- both so I can remember it once I get to the pants, and so if anyone out there is having a similar problem, hopefully I can help you out a bit. (Note: This is not a tutorial on making the actual welt part of it, because there's a bajillion tutorials on that already, and this was only my first set. And therefore not as clean a finish as I'd ideally like--hoping I can avoid the corner puckers next time!)

(Second note: With everything being dark on dark, this isn't the best tutorial pictorally. But if people are interested, I can redo this later with more and better pictures once I get to the pants. Since they'll be lighter, things might be easier to see.)

So here's one half of the front of my shorts, with the welts all sewn in and basted shut and ready to go. The first thing I did was to pin one half of the pocket (not sewn together yet) onto the shorts, wrong sides together. (In retrospect, I probably should have done the right side of the pocket to the wrong side of the shorts, so it would look a little better inside the pocket. Oh well, you live, you learn.) I pinned all around the welt to hold it in place as firmly as possible.

The next thing I did was to baste along all of the long edges of the pocket-- both the outer edges where they joined the shorts, and the inner edge where the two welts meet--through to the pocket layer. This was to hold it in place, and to give me a cut line. (No picture of this step, sorry!) I did it by hand since I'd have better control that way, and the longer stitches would be easier to rip out later.

Then I cut on the wrong side of the pocket--first along that center basted line, and then the two little triangular snips at either end, just like for making the welts. So it looked kind of like this:

>-----<

Again, you can't really see the basting, since I used light blue thread against that mottled green background. But I promise you that it's there.

The next thing was to fold the cut edges back along the basting, like I'm doing here. Not quite all the way to the stitching, since I did my basting right up along the edge, because you want the machine to catch the stitches. (Otherwise, it'll be like the second pocket I did, when it was much later at night and I was just trying to get this step done, where I almost entirely missed it and had to hand-sew things.)

I pinned from the right side of the shorts, just to make it easier to get them out--you just have to check to make sure the fabric is being caught by the pins underneath. Then I just did a basic "stitch in the ditch" all around the pocket.

This is where I should have taken a picture of the underside with everything stitched up. But I didn't. Again, sorry.

Next step was to layer the outer pocket on top and stitch it up. I did regular stitching on the curved edge, followed by a zig-zag right on the edge to give it a nicer finish. And then I just machine-basted it to the top and sides, a little within the seam allowance.

Then I undid all of the basting that was holding the welt edges closed, and was left with this. (See what I mean about the puckers? But at least I have a nice pocket to shove my hand into now.)

So there you have it. There's probably a better way to do this, and if anyone knows of one and wouldn't mind sharing, I'm all ears! Otherwise, again, if this is something people are interested in, I'll redo the tutorial with more pictures when I make the pants. Just let me know.

Beaded wrap tutorial

This is how I made the wrap I'll be wearing for my cousin's upcoming wedding (along with the LBD.) It was super-easy, and no pattern required, so I figured this might be a useful tutorial for someone. Here goes...

You'll need:
2 yards of drapey fabric. (Mine was 45" wide.)
Trim with beaded fringe, to equal one width of the fabric. (Half goes on each end, so I used about 45" for mine.)
Sewing machine with a zipper foot
Thread, iron, cutting supplies

Step 1: Lay your fabric out, matching up the selvages, and trim off just enough fabric to even up the ends. I used a hand-dyed-looking silky fabric that's been sitting in my stash for several years, but as long as it has some drape to it, pretty much anything could work. (I'm envisioning the refashionista crowd using some old curtains....)

Step 2: On the shorter ends, press under about 3/4". (This would be width-wise.)

Step 3: Pin the selvage edges together to make a long tube. (You're folding it lengthwise to do this.) The pressed-under edges should be on the outside of the tube, with the folded edges lined up. With the regular machine foot, sew together with a wide enough seam allowance to enclose the selvages. (I had to use about 3/4", but that would vary depending on how wide that selvage is.) Do not sew the folded-under edges. You want an open tube.

Before you turn it, trim the corners of the seam. You don't want that edge sticking out!

Step 4: I found it helpful to press the seam flat while it was still inside-out, just to start defining the edge. Turn the tube right-side out, with the folded edges inside the tube. Press the seamed edge flat, with the fold as close to the seam as possible. You might want to also press the opposite side to give that side a crisper edge as well.

Step 5: Get that beaded trim. It's probably best if you find something with the ribbon/twill tape as close to the color of your fabric as possible, because it's really hard to keep it from showing! I found this in the home dec section of the local Joann's, so it's pretty heavy, but it does help the wrap to hang very well!

Now start sandwiching the ribbon between the two folded edges. You want to keep the beads out, of course, but hide as much of the ribbon as you can. (It'll likely show a bit once you stitch it.) I highly recommend pinning the heck out of it to keep everything in place, because slippery fabric + heavy trim is pretty much a recipe for disaster without it!

I didn't actually cut the trim until I was very close to the opposite end of where I started, just to guarantee that it would fit exactly.

Step 6: With the zipper foot, topstitch as close to the edge of the fabric as possible. I took my time and went really slowly, but as stated before, it was still very hard to keep a bit of the twill tape from peeking out. So I'm quite thankful that I was able to find a color that matched my old fabric so well!

I don't have a picture of this step (sorry), but once you get the beaded edges stitched down, it's also good to do another close topstitching on the long edges, just to keep it lying nice and flat.

And here's the finished product!

And a closeup of the beaded edge. It really hangs quite nicely!

So there you have it. This really didn't take me very long at all...probably something like an hour and a half from start to finish, if I subtract the lunch break and how much reading other sewing blogs while I was pinning the trim in slowed me down. I hope someone finds this useful--and if you use the tutorial, I'd love to see the finished product! Also, if I need to clarify anything, let me know.

So this makes 3 successful things I've sewn for this wedding....does that mean I finally broke the wedding sewing jinx? :-)

Tutorial: Pleated knit trim

After my last post, Faye asked me if I could post a tutorial for how I did the trim for the Shakespeare On The Green top. So here you go, Faye...sorry it took me awhile to get to it!

1. We're going to pretend that the folded piece is the neckline of my shirt, and that the strip actually has edge finishing, ok? For the actual shirt, I had sewed it together in its entirety, including neckline facings. (Depending on the style, you might not need to sew it entirely, but since this one was more or less a raglan sleeve, I needed those sleeve parts for the neckline to be complete.) I also finished the edges of the fabric strip with a rolled hem on my serger. The strip is about 1.25" wide. I also cut it so that the grain was running vertical on the strip so that it wouldn't stretch much as I was pleating it. (For the sleeve trim, I cut the strips on the horizontal grain because I figured it might need a little more give there.)

2. Fold the strip width-wise, like this. I tried to keep the depth of the fold somewhere around 3/8" to 1/2"...don't think it always worked, but I didn't see any parts jumping out as ridiculously huge. So don't feel like you have to measure everything--I measured the ones that looked overly big, but I mostly just eyeballed it.

3. Pin this fold down on the neckline, so that one edge slightly overlaps the seam between the neckline and the facing. Then make a fold in the opposite direction, so that the folds underneath match up in the center.

4. Pin the new fold down. Then make a third pleat so that the folds on the upper part of the trim meet up in the middle.

5. Continue folding and pleating like this, alternating directions and pinning to the shirt as you go. (The "rectangles" showing at the top of the box pleats ended up being approximately 7/8"- 1" between the folds.) If you look at the trim from the side, it should have a bit of a zig-zaggy look, as seen in this post. (Though it won't be nearly as obvious as in the pic, since it's all pinned down.) If you run out of trim, you can just cut a new strip, fold the raw edge under, and pin that fold adjacent to the last fold of the old strip. (I trimmed away the excess to cut the bulk, too, when this happened to me.)

6. (No pic of this step, sorry!) Once you're done pinning it all the way around, sew a row of straight stitches down the center of the strip, all the way around. If you do a rounder neckline, you're probably done after this. Since I did a V-neck, I also had to add a little bit of the trim in the middle front in a new piece to cover up the ends. Then all you need to do is make sure all the pins are out, press it a bit, and voila!

I hope this was helpful--let me know if any steps were confusing and I'll clarify as soon as I get a chance.

Sadly, the pics for this tutorial are the closest I've gotten to sewing in about a week and a half. I've thought about it...just haven't had a chance to sit down at the machine, despite having a skirt cut out and ready to go. Things have just been super-busy lately, and with no sign of letting up too soon. (I've also thought about changing this blog's color scheme around a bit so that it's not so clashy, but no time to do that either! A good chunk of it has been work-related--the school I teach band at one day a week had a music competition this past Friday and I had to do some extra things in the evenings to get everything prepared, I had an all-day Saturday rehearsal and a concert on Sunday, I got home late from teaching today and had to deal with some music hunting and laundry, etc. Oh, yeah, and on top of all of this, some jerk decided to hack into my Facebook account about a week ago while I was at work and tell all of my friends that I had been mugged at gunpoint in London and needed cash wired to me so I could get home. So in the ensuing chaos, I had to make a new Facebook account, shut down my old one, and am in the process of re-friending everyone I actually wanted to stay in touch with and uploading my photos that I still wanted to keep up there. Doesn't look like it's going to let up for at least another week, either, though that's mostly due to social stuff. And the fact that I'll be out in the middle of the woods backpacking this weekend with no electricity, let alone outlets to plug a machine into! (My machine is waaaaaaaay too much weight to shove in my pack anyway!) And I've got church-related stuff going on for the next 3 days. And plans to have dinner with a friend next Monday night. And more plans for the next 3 weekends straight, although I may be able to cram some in on Mother's Day weekend depending on when my family does stuff and if my mom and I do end up working on her flower garden that weekend. Maybe, just maybe, I can sew some on next Tuesday night since I have less teaching than usual. As long as I get it in before Lost--that is one of the few shows I cannot sew during!

I did, however, make a necklace on Saturday night--my friend C. was over so we could watch the season premiere of Doctor Who together, and she'd asked me to fix a couple of necklaces for her, so I had the jewelry stuff out already anyway. It's the next necklace in my "Elements" series, for water, and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. No earrings or pictures yet.

Friday Favorites, Episode 44: The Saturday Edition

I really did mean to post this yesterday. But I got caught up in spending the time between work and my church's Good Friday service catching up on financial stuff/balancing my checkbook, and then it was time to leave for church, and so on. So rather than wait until next week again, I figured I'd just post it a day late.

First up is just a tad bit late for tomorrow, but it still looked neat. Vegetablegardener.com had instructions for how to dye eggs with natural products, like onion skins and berries and such. I wonder if it would work on fabric too? (I found this one through Craft Stylish.) For another edible project, I liked the sound of Cheap Healthy Good's Spaghetti with Asparagus, Egg and Parmesan (or "a mutant freak of deliciousness", as they called it.) Also from a link from the same site, I found CakeSpy's post on dessert recipes inspired by classic rock. "John Lemon" bars, anyone? Or perhaps you're more in the mood for some Rolling Scones?

Via Craftzine, I thought this "cardapult" at Instructables (a toy catapult made from buisness cards!) was really fun! Also at Instructables, they had instructions for how to build a model of the TARDIS from Doctor Who that lights up inside. (I forget which site alerted me to this one-- might have also been Craftzine.)

Anyone who's been following this blog for awhile knows that I am not a knitter/crocheter by any means. Every time I try, the projects are pretty much disasters. Even with machine help. But I still really enjoyed one of this week's Threadbanger roundups-- knit and crochet projects inspired by the good old 8-bit Nintendo! That crocheted Mario blanket is seriously nothing short of amazing. And so is the in-progress scarf that's intended to show the entire scrolling level 1-1 of the original Mario Bros. game! (Yes, I still love my 8-bit Nintendo!)

Speaking of projects made of fail, the geniuses at Dollar Store Crafts have cooked up a new blog called Craft Fail-- basically, to allow people to laugh a bit at themselves (and with the other contributors) when projects don't go completely as planned. (I think my favorite so far is the soap that ended up looking like spam.)

At Blisstreee.com, there were instructions for some lovely hand-painted background paper. Looks like it would be really fun to try for stuff like scrapbooking! (I think this one was via One Pretty Thing.)

And last but not least, I thought this "landscape dress" at Wardrobe Refashion was very clever! I really liked how she designed that leaf motif to tie the three different prints together.

On a slightly more personal note, I did do some crafting today-- basic resizes of 3 t-shirts for a friend. No pics though, since she was hanging out here when I sewed them and she took them home. She was quite happy about it, though. And also doing some plotting for what might be my next Big Project (after the mini-wardrobe, of course! But those should all be pretty simple pieces to put together, with the exception of the jeans and possibly the dress.) As of yesterday, my brother is engaged, so I'm going to need something to wear to the wedding. It's going to depend partially on in what capacity I'm actually involved-- I'm not going to be a bridesmaid, and I'm not sure yet whether they'll want me to be one of the musicians or not. (I had guessed not, since flute isn't my brother's favorite, but when he and my mom and I were talking about it, he didn't say no. So that was a bit of a surprise.) And it's also going to depend partially on where it ends up being-- they're not getting married at our church (he works there, so I think he wanted a break!), she wants an outdoor wedding, and they're thinking October. Which has the potential to be pretty much anything between warm and sunny or cold and rainy with winds left over from whatever hurricane most recently hit the coast, the way things tend to run here. But based on my initial "research", I'm kind of leaning towards this dress (the shorter version). I kind of want to treat myself to some really nice fabric for it too. I'm thinking silk, because I've never made anything with it, and I think a natural fiber would keep me more comfortable in whatever weather we might end up having. And also contemplating a wrap of some sort, in case of cooler weather. Guess I'd better start looking through this book some, to prepare myself for this sort of project!

Friday Favorites, Episode 43

I really need to get back to doing these on a weekly basis. The stack from the last 2 weeks is a bit overwhelming! So best to just dive right in...

Recycled goodness...
I tend to post a lot of this type of stuff anyway, I know, but even more appropriate now that it's April, with Earth Day coming up and all. The music lover in me enjoyed this Threadbanger roundup of things to do with old vinyl records (I was particularly a fan of the iPod case!) Hippyshopper had a second roundup of recycled jewelry ideas. I don't really care for the necklace made from recycled nylons, I'll admit, but I did think the one with the pen caps has some serious potential! Cut Out + Keep had a clever tutorial for making a shrug from an oversized t-shirt-- I love the Grecian drapiness of the final look. Dollar Store Crafts showed how to dye Easter eggs using recycled silk ties to put designs on them. Also found tutorials for envelopes done two ways-- turning envelopes into gift bags (via Whip Up), and making other paper into padded envelopes (via Craftzine). Craftstylish showed how to make easy earrings out of beach glass (not that it takes much to inspire me to go beachcombing!) and also things you can do with old VHS tapes (the flowers on the straw purse were my favorite.) Finally, going back to Craftzine, there was a table lamp with a shade made from soda can tabs. It reminds me of chainmaille!

And the geek shall inherit the earth...
It was a good week for my not-so-inner geek. Lots of things that made me smile-- like Dollar Store Craft's Alien Abduction Lamp, and Whip Up's Star Wars mice. Craftzine linked to an April Fool's joke featuring a Tauntaun sleeping bag (for all those young Jedi wannabe's, a la The Empire Strikes Back). But my absolute favorite (also via Craftzine) was this Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-inspired Kindle case. I have to admit that the Kindle also reminded me of the Guide, so I absolutely love this! And if I ever decide to get a Kindle (which I don't think will be happening any time soon because I still love the tangibility of turning the pages in an old-fashioned paper book), I am SO stealing this. Everybody needs something with "Don't Panic" written on it in large, friendly letters.

Random Tutorial Goodness
First up, I liked Sewl Sister's "scrapbook in a box". Seems like it would be a really good gift for someone, and nice and compact! (I also like her pregnancy calendar bar at the top-- especially the snarky commentary!) Little Birdie Secrets posted a recipe for DIY Thin Mints (the only Girl Scout cookie I truly like). I'm somewhat skeptical due to what the crunchy inside actually is, but also quite curious. My fellow Sew Craft Blog groupie Corvus Tristis posted a neat tutorial for how to make an inexpensive weaving loom (and then later updated it with an additional improvement that she says makes it much better. Plus it involves playing with power tools.) Craftynest showed how to make some hemp pendant lamps that would be great for any nature-inspired decor (or Asian, for that matter...), and the Crafty Chica shared some instructions for some simple wooden jewelry using precut shapes and rubber stamp embossing. Craft Leftovers showed how to make your own drawing charcoal (hint: there's grilling involved). Craft Stylish had instructions for making a reusable sandwich wrap (bye-bye, Ziploc bags!), and Sew Take A Hike had a fun-looking tutorial for embellishing with roses made from scraps of knit fabric. Going back to the food, Thimble shared a recipe for some yummy looking spinach olive pasta (usually I don't like cooked spinach at all, but I might have to give this one a try.) And even though it's obviously passed by this point, One Pretty Thing posted two tutorial roundups for April Fool's Day. Mostly in the form of food that looks like something it's not. But it was still fun.

And now for something completely random...
I couldn't help laughing at this post from Craft Stylish. Any post entitled "Crafts I Want To Punch In The Face" has to get a mention. (And besides, I'm sure that everyone who reads this who's ever sewn by machine will agree with #5!)

And finally...
Finished projects I liked! From Wardrobe Refashion, I thought this little girl's violin dress was adorable, this octupus sweater was funky and clever, and this hippie-looking shirt is something I just want to steal. And I also really liked Angry Chicken's corset belt (complete with matching purse and earrings!)

Friday Favorites, Episode 41 (the late edition)

Technically, it IS still Friday, so...

Since it's getting late, just going to run these off quickly. On myLifetime.com (found via another site, but I can't remember if it was One Pretty Thing or Whip Up), I liked this laminated paper chandelier. They used an old book, which I thought was fun. Creativity Prompt had a video tutorial for a fabric covered hardbound book. Sigrid shared some hints and tips for using Burda World of Fashion patterns and what they don't tell you to do-- quite good timing, since I just cut out my very first BWOF pattern today! ThreadBanger shared some ideas for a dress pattern similar to the famous black dress that Audrey Hepburn wore in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Craft Tutorials shared some tips for finishing craft projects in general, some of which I knew, but others I wouldn't have thought of (like using a hairdryer to get rid of those pesky hot glue strands!) Antoinette made a great Flickr slideshow tutorial on turning a men's shirt into a shirtdress (and I love her men's shirt refashions, so I was happy to see this!) And at ScrapHappy, she did part 2 of her "Scrapbooking on the Road" miniseries.

3 Wardrobe Refashion picks this week: Ellsea's Susan Pevensie costume (from Prince Caspian) that she made for her daughter completely out of thrift-store stuff, some appliqued jeans from the same person, and Meghan's tunicy-dress thing.

Hopefully I'll get some time to post again tomorrow... the time just got away from me today. The good news is, I was very productive. Finished my new spring/summer purse, got the aforementioned BWOF cut out (that drawstring blouse I was raving about in one of the more recent posts--ended up just using a piece of stash fabric because the men's shirt didn't have enough fabric), and starting a reconstruction (not the men's shirt) that was inspired by a song and this book. More details on that to come. Plus I have an award (thanks to Sharon) that I need to post about. But now I need to get off the computer and get some sleep!

Friday Favorites, Episode 40

Ah, the big 4-0! Does this mean the series is getting old, I wonder?

Favorite Tutorials of the Week:
The Crafty Chica had a fun how-to for making a stitched paper dot lantern. I also really liked that she posted some alternate ideas for how to use the stitched paper dot technique! Craft: had a link to a tutorial for some lovely beaded flowers. The Long Thread featured a tutorial for some cute, simple fabric "crooked coasters"-- they just look fun to make, since sewing in crooked lines is the entire point! And Dollar Store Crafts had a tutorial for a handbag made from a miniature rag rug! Crafting a Green World had two that I liked-- one for a t-shirt covered corkboard, and one for upcycling boring greeting cards with fabric scraps. (It always makes me happy to find tutorials for fabric scrap projects that aren't cutsey or kid-oriented, since I'm neither at this point in my life!) And last but certainly not least, Sharon over at Adventures from the Sewing Studio had a great tutorial for attaching collars to button-down shirts without getting a bump between the collar band and the main part of the shirt.

Favorite Projects:
I'm thinking I need to stop being so tutorial-oriented with this, and bring in a few more projects I see around the blogs that just deserve to be seen by more people! So with that in mind, I have two this week. The first is my favorite from Wardrobe Refashion for this week. Despite having been born in them, I hate the 80s and think it was one of the worst decades for music and (especially) fashion, ever. So I love it when people can take 80s ugliness like this stripey maternity muumuu thing, and turn it into something fun in a much better vintage sort of way (in this case, using a bodice pattern from the 60s, which was an exponentially better decade in both aforementioned categories.) Speaking of 60s music (maybe, anyway), I really loved Eileen's concert journal--she took a thrifted vinyl 45 and an old music book and turned it into a scrapbook to fill with concert memorabilia and such.

Favorite Miscellaney:
This doesn't really fit under tutorials. And this isn't really something I've ever tried, beyond purposely saving stuff to throw in a scrapbook and writing out stuff for journaling while on vacation. But over at ScrapHappy, she's started a mini-series about scrapbooking while traveling. Only one post so far, but I'm enjoying it. And who knows, at some point I might want to try the whole assembly-as-I-go thing!

Ok, that's it for today. May end up with another post depending on how things go today, since the weekends seem to be my blog catch-up time!

Friday Favorites, Episode 39

...which will hopefully be the first of a couple posts today. I have some catching up to do!!! So on with the show.

Everything in its place....

Got two from Whip Up today... the first is a tutorial for a quick & easy shoe bag, which I think they're using for travel packing purposes. If my closet wasn't the size of a shoebox, I think I'd try to find a way to tack them to the walls so I can get some floor space back! (I might try anyway.) The second is a tutorial for a reusable snack bag, for those tired of tossing out plastic ziploc bags every time they want to bring something crunchy with their lunches. (And more fun, too!) And from Crafting a Green World, they showed this laptop pillow that looks like it would be pretty easy to replicate with some tube-style pillows velcroed together. Of course, around here, it would probably get used as a temporary holding pen for the cat!!

Around the house...

Lots of fun decorating ideas this time. For those without on-demand cable to turn it onto the virtual aquarium, Apartment Therapy Unplugged shows how to turn an old tv into an actual aquarium. Heehee. I'm absolutely loving this faux capiz shell lampshade from Craftynest, which is made from laminated rice paper, and if I could actually manage to clear a spot big enough to set it on, would so make this for my bedroom. It would fit in perfectly. On ReadyMade, there's a tutorial for this funky bubble light fixture. And on a completely random note, if anyone ever wanted an 8-foot pillow shaped like a giant squid, PW Style is the place to find directions for that (found courtesy of One Pretty Thing's Daily DIY roundup.)

Things to Wear and Do...

At The Impatient Crafter (also found courtesy of One Pretty Thing), there's a free project from a new bead book of some really fun-looking cascade earrings. I definitely have some of those little cone things to use up, so I'm excited to try these sometime! (I'm also liking yesterday's "Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright" Choker, and think I'm going to have to start following this blog.) And while not actually something to wear, this CraftStylish tutorial for how to do 4 different seam finishes will definitely help with things to wear. I especially want to try that Hong Kong seam finish, because I've never used that one and I think it'll be perfect for one of my (hopefully) upcoming projects.

Random but Awesome

A bunch of non-tutorialish crafty goodness this week. First of all, this tissue box at Disdressed just made me laugh. Especially since I've been quasi-sick all week. Confessions of a Craft Addict used one of those giant cupcake cake pans to make a ginormous rice krispy treat. Craft Tutorials had a knitted dress that cracked me up-- I wouldn't want to dress like a cheeseburger, but if I did, this would be the way to go. I have to give a shoutout to Lydia, who posted this week to say she finished sewing together her baby bag-- believe it or not, other than a few baby bibs, this was her first major sewing project, and I think it looks great! And I also have to give a shoutout to my friend Nicole--she's an amazingly talented artist and a good friend of mine, and she just started a blog for her artwork this week. So go check it out!

Ok, gotta get some stuff done so I can post again... I'm hoping I can get stuff up today both for those scrapbook layouts I promised, and my long-overdue embroidered shirt. And then I also started a new skirt yesterday and I'd like to work on that some more too!

EDIT: I almost forgot!! I've been following Cake Wrecks since a friend sent me a link to their V-day disaster cakes (which I posted about in FF last week.) Apparently once a week they do a feature devoted to cakes that are actually good, and this week's was by the Ace of Cakes crew. Their stuff is always amazing anyway (yes, I admit I watch the show when I can catch it), but this one was just made of awesome. It was made for the crew of Lost to celebrate their hundredth episode. And has tons of fun little tributes to the show-- the computer with The Numbers, the Dharma beer, little figures of the cast (mmm, Sawyer...)

Friday Favorites, Episode 36

It's that time of the week again!

First up today: At Craft Leftovers, the author kindly provided a free download for some spice jar labels with this cute drawing of a talking spice jar on it! It's quite functional too, as there's space provided for writing when it was bought, so that way you know how fresh it is. She's re-using her spice bottles to refill from bulk bins, which I think is a pretty neat idea too.

At Creativity Prompt, there's a video tutorial for how to make a mini-photo album out of scrapbook paper and a recycled corrugated cardboard box. The instructions are quite clear, the results are cute, and it would make a great gift for someone! (Now that I'm looking there again for the links, there's a new one up for a 10-minute mini-book too. Will have to check that one out, since I'm still determined to learn bookbinding!)

Chinese New Year is on Sunday, and while I'm not Chinese by any stretch of the imagination, I do love Asian-inspired things. (One of those things I've definitely developed a greater appreciation for over the last several years, since I tend to get a lot of students that come from Asian families that immigrated here.) So I really liked this tutorial for making those oh-so-fun paper lanterns. (It's actually a dual tutorial--the same post has one for tin can lanterns!)

The next one is sort of a first for me on this feature, since I generally don't talk about books much. But this one looked kind of intriguing-- it's called Sewing Green by Betz White, and I found out about it via Whip Up. The link takes you to a gallery of sample project photos from the book. Didn't look like anything much out of the realm of my experience, but it's all using recycled stuff. (One that I did find particularly cool was a sun shade for a car windshield made out of...*drumroll*... Capri-Sun pouches! Might not have thought of that one.)

Next up, from Weekend Designer: I. Need. This. Bag. No, seriously, I do. I've been thinking for months that it would be nice to have a big roomy zip-up bag for weekend trips--my carry-on suitcase is a little too small, my regular suitcase is way too big, and it's a bit unwieldy to use a rolling suitcase in instances such as the crafty hangout weekends (like the one coming up in February) when I'm also having to wheel the rolling tote thing for my craft supplies. And this one looks pretty much perfect, plus has the added bonus of being a free pattern (once I draw it out.) I'm trying to think of if I have anything in my stash that might work-- bought fabric for a new spring/summer purse yesterday and now I have to come up with a stash project to compensate, according to my new rules. I know that I have one that might, but I'll have to see if it's strong enough (they recommended upholstery-weight, and this fabric is pieced together of denim and brocade--my mom had bought it and decided she couldn't use it after all and passed it on to me.)

Last item for today, from Dollar Store Crafts: These light bulb vases are cute and simple. Would require the old-fashioned kind, of course, because the halogen lamps would definitely NOT work for this.

Ok, that's it for now. Time to go get some stuff done. Like take some pictures-- I'm at least 2 posts behind on that now!

Friday Favorites, Episode 34

It's baaaaaaaaack! 2009 may only be about a week old, but already finding some good ideas cropping up.

1. First on the list is a post from SewStylish about "dressing for her DNA". No, it has nothing to do with how tall you are, or hair color, or anything like that--more of a speculation of what she would wear if her wardrobe reflected her family background. So I wonder what would happen if my predominantly Anglo-Celtic mother's side (which I admittedly take after far more in my looks) took on my dad's Germanic, Pennsylvania Dutch side? (I think the Celts would win, given my fondness for things that look like they could come from a Renaissance Faire or a fantasy movie!) So I may give this a try at some point soon.

2. I've noticed a tendency in my sewing over the last year and a half or so-- I've been slowing down. Not so much that I'm not sewing as that I'm putting a lot of time into things to try and get them really finished-looking and well-fitting. And I'm mostly ok with that, but sometimes I just want a fast project. So I liked this quick, one-seam skirt at CraftStylish.com. (Bonus-- I need all the patterndrafting practice I can get, if I ever want to successfully make one!)

3. I'm not a coffee person at all, really--I'm thoroughly addicted to tea. (I blame that aforementioned predominant Anglo-Celtic side.) But I still liked this coffee cup cozy from Whip Up. (Us tea-drinkers probably actually need it more, as all we're usually given at the coffeeshops is a cup of boiling water with a tea bag dunked into it!) But it's cute, would be easy to just toss into your bag, and projects that use up scraps are always good.

4. Got two things from Dollar Store Crafts this week. The first would be a great project to do with kids--how to make a knitting loom from stuff like popsicle sticks and toilet paper rolls. The second is a planter made from a bread pan--the person who made it used succulents like aloe plants, but since it's made from a kitchen item anyway, I bet it would also make a really cute windowsill herb garden!

5. Last up for today-- not a tutorial, but I love this idea at Oh Happy Day. She made her husband a "Leisure Book", to give him one place to keep track of things like movies he wants to watch, bands to listen to, things like that. I'm definitely stealing this idea-- I'm constantly losing my lists of that sort of stuff. Especially my bands and my books. And I have the dayplanner from the last couple of years that would be perfect to recycle into this-- it has the binder rings, and the tab dividers. It's just falling apart in my purse, but recovering it and keeping it near my compy would work great! (Found this one via OnePrettyThing.com.)

And now, I must go do some cleaning so I can work on my pajamas some more. Hoping to finish the machine work on the top before Cassie comes over for the Stargate Atlantis finale *sniff*/Chuck marathon/crafty evening. So that way I'll have some handwork to do--that and some more embroidery, maybe. Of course, I'm more in the mood to deconstruct than sew...

Friday Favorites, Episode 33 (last one of 2008!)

It's been a very quiet week for crafting here. I literally have not had a chance to do anything since last Saturday, other than put together a couple more necklaces for my mom's stocking and a couple pairs of earrings for a Christmas gift. I guess I should take pictures of those. Oh, and I made earrings to go with that red and black necklace I made for Mom a week or so ago, because she let me borrow it back to wear with my pantsuit for the band concert and I needed earrings for it. (Using another leftover bead and some of my thrifted jar supplies to make myself a necklace, so I'll still have something to go with it.)

But it's been a crazy busy week-- spent most of Sunday afternoon addressing invitations and planning Susannah's bridal shower, Monday was an extra-long teaching day because of adding a new student, Tuesday also ran late and by the time I finished eating dinner and showering and all I just wasn't up for it, Wednesday was the band concert (which went really well! Yay!), and then yesterday I had practice for my church's Sunday and Christmas Eve services, which I'm playing with the music team for. And then tonight I'm going to a party, though I'm hoping to have some time to work on unpicking the hem of my latest refashion so I can make it look better. I'm getting so desperate for creative time, though, that when I had some dead time at work yesterday, I sat there sketching out craft ideas! (It's not like I was slacking-- it's just the managers literally had nothing for me to work on at the moment, and I'd already cleaned the showroom. Ah, garden centers in winter.) I really hope I have time to do something tomorrow!

Anyway, on to Friday Favorites. I've decided to make this "episode" the last one of the year, since the last Friday is the 26th and by then I'm going to be in frantic costume mode in order to get things done before New Year's Eve. So I'll bring it back in about 2 weeks (I'm hosting a party on the 3rd, so between that and the party on the 31st, I'm going to have my hands full!) Anyway, I hope you've all been enjoying this feature, and hopefully I'll find lots of fun stuff to share in 2009.

Also, I'm not finished with the backlog yet, but I've started sticking all the tutorial-type stuff that I've been bookmarking on my Wists page so they're all in one place. Plus it has pictures.

Not surprisingly, almost everything is Christmas decorations this week.

Garlands: Dollar Store Crafts had a fun, colorful one of felt squares. Cheeky Magpie featured a rather intricate one of folded paper and (very carefully cut-out) stamped designs. And Whip Up linked to a paper chain link garland-- not the construction-paper version we made in elementary school, for sure! Looks so time-consuming, but the Renaissance lover in me is all, "Ooh, paper chain-maille!" (Plus it would probably be a fun way to recycle junk mail or something.)

Cards and Wrapping: Speaking of junk mail, I thought the gift bag made from it at Recycled Crafts was a really clever idea! Going back to Cheeky Magpie, I couldn't help but love her snowman cards-- Calvin & Hobbes is pretty much my favorite comic strip ever, and his snowmen always amused me. And for her blogaversary, the writer of SewDelish has free Christmas printables that would be great for gift tags or scrapbook pages or whatever.

Ornaments: The medieval-looking cd cross ornaments over at Ecologue were just stunning. I love the look of these fabric star origami ornaments at Zen Crafting. And that they can have a billion different looks depending on what fabric you use. And that it's great for scraps. Over at CraftStylish, they're showing how to revamp (or "resparkle", as they call it) those worn glass balls with charms and gems. Crafting a Green World had a nice kid-friendly ornament made from, of all things, recycled plastic ziplock bags (and some other on-hand stuff to decorate them with). And while not really an ornament, persay, I did like Creative Kismet's snowflake window.

Other: Which I suppose these would make good stocking stuffers or last-minute gifts. First one is these simple but cute bookmarks at Trail Mix. Over at Craft Apple, she made a bag from a cheap skirt found on the clearance rack. And Craft Leftovers had a free pattern for recycling sweater bits into some very cute armwarmers.

Ok, so that's everything for this week. Er, year.

One more bloggy announcement... next post is my 300th. Going to try to do something special for it. Stay tuned.