Flashback Friday - Quilted Jackets

It is 1996 and the twins are closing in on 2 years old.

During this year I found, Hamilton Book and each month that little newspaper would come in the mail.  I would look over the sewing section and usually order at least one book from the monthly budget.  Thanks to this I have several Singer Sewing Library books.

I purchased this one Patchwork Baby copyright 1994

This was one of the first disappointments from my book purchases, just look at this

I know the year was 1996 but I wouldn't had made any of this.

Then on page 80, I found this picture,

 and because of these  jackets, I loved this book and still have it.

First thing was to the copy shop, no full size patterns in this book.  Then off to the fabric store,  I mixed corduroy, quilting cottons and some cute homespuns that were popular in '94.  The red corduroy was used on each jacket.  I went with a navy theme on Kaitlyn's jacket and a green theme on Meredith's jacket.

I had just ordered the Snap Source tool with the intention of using it on both jackets.  I used it on Kaitlyn's and had trouble on a couple of snaps.  Remember, it was my first time using it, Mike said he would try to take out the ones I had inserted incorrectly..  My heart was racing, I thought after all this time, not to mention money in the fabric, have I just ruined the jacket? No worries, Mike was able to remove the snaps, whew!  I didn't have the gumption to put snaps on Meredith's jacket and just went with buttons.

I still have these jackets. I love looking at them and remembering piecing the fabric together, then assembling the jackets. Maybe granddaughters will wear them someday.

The front of Kaitlyn's with those challenging snaps.  I soon mastered those snaps and never looked back.

The back of Meredith's jacket.  The years of wear and washing only made the jackets look better.

The  jackets were made a size too big and the arms a bit longer.  The sleeves could be rolled up and then rolled down as the girls grew.  I felt this was a necessity for the time and money in the jackets.  

Here is Meredith in her jacket sleeves all rolled up.  You like her leaf?

 and Kaitlyn

The above pictures were taken at the Christmas tree farm.  The jackets weren't extremely warm, so I purchased  red zip-up hoodies.  After I bought these, the girls always wore them under the pieced jackets. Plus, always a hood available.  BTW, I made the pants they are wearing, too.  They were a bib overall type pattern.

A picture from 1996, when I realized I had not taken a picture of the back.  We were taking the trash out and they were helping.   The red hoodies were perfect for their custom coats.

If by chance you want a copy of this book, I found it Here



 

Little Shirt for the Little Guy

First came this 1/2 yard of fabric, which Meredith intended to sew up for "S" before she went to college.

It is Sasparilla by Riley Blake

Well, time got away from Meredith and she said it was fine if I made it.  I purchased McCall's 6016 during Joann's 70 cent sale.

I went with the medium size it is 18 to 21 pounds and he is just under 18.

A little standing view with help from one of my Aunts.  

the pattern went together very quickly and I think the fit is spot on.  I was a bit worried about that with this being a Big 4 pattern.  Sometimes I feel like they run very big.

Here is a flat shot, if you follow me on Instagram you already have seen this shot.

I love seeing my little "Boys on the Farm" label on the collar band.

Thanks so Meredith for selecting such cute fabric, it turned into a great shirt.

Kwik Sew 2966- Mood Fabric Instagram Purchase

This blouse started way back in May when Mood Fabrics posted this lovely Nanette Lepore fabric in Instagram.  I called right away to order the fabric and it has been sitting in my sewing room just waiting for me to sew it into a garment.

One thing that surprised me when I received the fabric, it is had cut out sections in the fabric.  Here is the picture with my lining fabric behind it.

I knew I would have to line this fabric and found a quilting cotton that matched reasonably well.


I decided to used Kwik Sew 2966 from my pattern collection using View B (the white one in picture).  Now this blouse is short, I added 1-1/2" to the blouse and I will only be able to wear it with skirts and pants that have a higher rise.  Think above the navel.


Here is the blouse on me with a ponte black skirt.  I did safety pin the blouse at the center front wrap and will be adding a snap to this part.

Two Tops for Summer into Fall

Summer is winding down and my thoughts are turning toward fall sewing.  I am not ready to give up summer all together, after all it is still 90+ degrees here in Missouri but I am ready for sewing something different.  I spotted this fabric right when it was added, Mood Fabrics' Italian Teal and Black Lacy Brocade  I had to have it. It is so gorgeous and my thoughts were a simple Grainline Scout T-shirt, that way the fabric does all the talking.  Another plus was the fabric description from Mood's site, "Has a soft hand and graceful drape, almost like a knit but without the stretch".  That sealed it, Scout t-shirt for sure

Silk Voile and Datura Blouse

First I ordered Mood Fabrics' Silk Floral Voile in June, isn't it soooo pretty?  The flowers are very large scale, just wait until you see my top.

New Look 6648 - MIssoni-esque Part 2

Part one is my Maxi Dress and since I ordered more yardage (more than I needed) part two is a shirt for Erin.  New Look 6648, which I have made many times


It doesn't photograph the best but looks amazing on.

School has started for Erin and this will be a nice addition to her wardrobe.

Winner of Bag

I am a little late but my excuse is I was busy moving girls into school, helping Paige paint at her new house and adjusting to my babies not being home!


Now back to the drawing:

This bag belongs to

Which is

I took one person out of the comments, they didn't want in the drawing.  So 23 comments, only 22 in the drawing.

Joan email me your mailing address and I will get this on the way to you.

Missoni-Esque Jersey Maxi Dress

I continue the maxi dress theme with a fabulous maxi for me. I purchased Mood Fabrics' Missoni-esque Jersey Print for the dress.

The colors seem perfect for late summer into early fall, plus Missoni-esque is a look I love. I selected McCall's 6700 and I went to work. My work was short-lived, I did not order enough fabric the first time, oops. No worries, I went right to my Mood Fabrics' order history, found the sku number and reordered more yardage. My package arrived in no time and back to work I went.

I

Laptop Sleeve Tutorial

Here is how I constructed my laptop sleeve.

Reverse Applique Tutorial

I thought I tutorial would be in order for the reverse applique I used on my bag.  You get a pretty picture for the tutorial button  and a more basic design for the tutorial steps.

A Bag Giveaway

No not the one from the Super Online Sewing Match, I am keeping that one!

It is a sample I made for my local quilt shop
(aka Lily's Mom) and the pattern is something I just made.

It isn't a big bag, think a school notebook would fit perfectly.  The rick rack is another pocket, divided in half.

There is a pocket in the inside also divided in half.  The closure is a magnetic snap.

If you would like a chance to win this bag, leave a comment and like my Facebook page.  It is the little icon right below with the "f".  You can also follow me on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram - all the buttons below.

I will draw for the winner next Friday, I need some cheer, the twins go to college next week! I think I might be a little sad

Thanks for the Opportunity - Super Online Sewing Match

First off congratulations to the four women moving on in the Super Online Sewing Match.
Check out the ladies moving on.

I want to thank Sew Mama Sew for organizing the competition and all the contributors for their support.  It was such a perfect idea for Sew Mama Sew and I feel extremely lucky to a part of it.

Thank you all for your kind comments on each of my challenges.  I really enjoyed each round and the variety of items.

Good luck to the final four, I will be anxiously waiting the next two rounds.  Your talent is spectacular and I wish you the very best.  The judges will have a very hard decision.

Abstract Garden Maxi Dress

So what does a 5'9"  girl do when she wants a maxi dress and she cannot find one in a store long enough?  In my house, you ask Mom to
make one.

Lace Top- McCall's 6036

Another top from Meredith using some extra fabric from a previous garment, Lace from Paige's dress

Once again, I used McCall's 6036 for this top.  I added some length to it, plus seam allowances for a center back seam.  This pattern is for knits, so I also added some width to all the pattern pieces.

The Super Online Sewing Match: Round Three Challenge

Let's recap the Challenges so far

• A-line skirt for Round One
• Oliver & S Roller Skate Dress for Round Two

And now for Round Three a bag, specifically, U-Handbag's It's a Cinch Tote.

Head over to Sew Mama Sew for information about this bag and a discount code on the pattern.

My first thought when I saw the picture of the bag was applique, I am going to do some applique.  Then I thought about it for a day and decided on reverse applique.  

The challenge was to find appropriate fabric in less than a week and the only place for me to buy a pleather or vinyl is Joann's.  My husband and I had a business meeting 2 hours away last Sunday.  To my surprise, this town had a recently opened Joann's.  The two of us hunted and hunted for pleather, finally we found it but no bright colors.  The brown and black were nice but not what I had in mind.

I said let's try home dec and yes a nice selection of marine vinyl, with a red.  I like red, I can do red vinyl with black webbing.  Now the hunt is for d-rings, rectangular rings and clips.  I found plastic clips in black but nothing else.  My wonderful husband, Mike, said no worries, you look for what else you need and I will look for the other things.  He did just that and found just what we needed in the purse section along a side wall.  Check that off my list, now webbing.  The hardware was 1-1/2" wide, so I went with that width instead of the pattern recommendations of 1". 

 Now if you are like me at this point, smooth sailing, I have everything.  Well, not so fast, only 2 yards of webbing, when 4 is what I need.  No worries, another Joann's on the way home, yes I got the rest of the webbing, we went to a movie and the day was perfect.

I worked on a design for a couple of days, stitched some practice pieces  When I was comfortable, I stitched out a design which I made into a  laptop sleeve.  I thought why waste a perfectly good piece.   

This looked okay but wasn't the look I wanted, so back to the design process.  I used my chalk pencil to sketch out a design on the vinyl.  After sketching and wiping off the chalk a few times, I went to the family room and discussed ideas with Meredith and Kaitlyn.

Then BAM, it came to us, half a flower coming out of one of the webbing straps.

I love this design and it just pops off the red vinyl.  I did purchase some Soft and Stable from my local quilt shop.  I could not iron any fleece or interfacing onto the vinyl, very scared of melting it.  The Soft and Stable was layered with the vinyl after I placed the cotton pieces for the applique.  It worked perfectly and really gave the bag some structure.  

On the reverse side, I changed the pocket a bit, I wanted it to have a zipper in the pocket and then a place to put in papers, an umbrella or anything else for easy access from the outside.

I did make my bag 2" taller and 2" wider, now a bit bigger to put files and other work items I needed to bring home.

Thanks to the great U-Handbag instructions, the zipper was a snap to stitch into the top of the bag.  The tabs on the end make it look so finished.

On the inside is two pockets, one on each side.  The first is gathered like the instructions

the other pocket is a straight pocket, divided into two sections.

I also cut two pieces of Peltex and inserted them into a fabric sleeve, adding a bit of structure to the bottom of the bag.

The lining fabric is peacocks, which I used the feather part for the flower petals.  I love the look of the colors against the red.

Once again the front of the bag

Then the bag clipped on the side, which I think makes my bag have more of a bowling ball bag shape.  Love it!

This was a challenge to make, the design, the fabric and the zippers.  I stitched very slowly as I felt I could not unsew anything, the holes would show in the vinyl.  My patience and slow-pace really paid off, I love my bag, the look, the size and the flower.  Thanks for such a fun pattern.  Oh, and BTW, the instructions for attaching the lining at the corners is genius and a method I will incorporate in my future bagmaking.

Thanks to Kaitlyn for helping me photograph this bag and Erin's dog, Junior for making a cameo appearance in the pictures.