Sharing and old video - just because

I have nothing sewing or crafting related to share today, so I am opting instead to share a video my husband took a couple of years back when Miss Bug got to meet her favourite celebrity - one JOEY MCINTYRE of New Kids On The Block !

It's short, not even one minute, but well worth the watch, especially if you have your sound up.
The crowd's reaction to Joey's reaction is utterly priceless.

Craft related, but not sewing

Miss Bug roped me into helping her build her first big woodworking project over the last week.
She decided that she wanted a bunk bed for her dolls.

So we logged onto Ana White's site and downloaded the doll bunk bed plans and went shopping.

Now, while miss Bug is a girl who loves pink, wears dresses, and loves to dance and do gymnastics, she is NOT a girly girl who is afraid of getting dirty or of hard work.

She is 10 (and a half, she reminds me), and so - with some supervision and guidance, and VERY little in the terms or helping hands, we set to work on building a bunk bed.

She is going to build a trundle for under the bed, and then paint the pieces.

I'm damn proud of my little girl !

Pants for miss Bug

After doing some re-vamping of my sewing area, and making a pathetic excuse for a doll-sized quilt, I was ready to get back to the real sewing!

I pulled out the Maxxine Pants from Love Notions (go figure, right?) and some old black stretchy fabric that I got out of my Mom's stash.

The Maxxine pants have full-length or capri length options.
There is a skirt option.
Zip legs or plain legs.

Lots of options, and I can see making these for miss Bug again and again using the differences.

Today - I made full length pants, with the Zip sides.

As miss Bug does not like skinny pants, I cut a size larger than she fits according to the size chart, and then shortened the legs and the rise for her.

This is the final product.

No sewing - because renovating my sewing area !

I only have a tiny area for sewing. It's a 6-ft by 6-ft area in my kitchen.

We put it together about a year ago, but I found out that I really did not give myself anywhere near enough space for cutting / ironing. 

And my storage was a mess.

A trip to Ikea, and some elbow grease, and I am *almost* done what I want to do wink emoticon Not quite, but getting close.

I'm going to add a small bar to hang things between the wall and the cupboards, and will likely rearrange things as I get used to the new layout.

Sneek peek pics below !

Sometimes it works using no patterns at all, kind of.

I finished up a shirt for my younger son today, and felt like doing more crafty something than another piece of clothing.

So - cue the 1/4" plywood, the Exacto knife, and a load of my best creativity !

I took the frame of a doll bed that had long ago lost it's mattress support, and cut a new base for it using the Exacto knife.  Not a method I would recommend - please, use a saw !  Even a hand saw would be better than an Exacto !

Some finessing, and the base fits, and is ready for the new mattress.

Then I took an iron-on of the letter "K" (for Ken, which is what my Bear calls his doll) and ironed it on to the footboard of the bed.

Grab a chunk of 2 1/2" high memory foam that was an old mattress topper, and cut it down to size.

Okay - that works, but now it needs sheets !

And I do NOT have a pattern for doll sheets.

Bah - who needs a pattern for SHEETS I say to myself, as I measure and cut, as I sew and I hope.

It turned out, but not perfect.  The fitted sheet needed more length and width to really go under the foam, at least a couple extra inches.  And my fitted corners were - let's just say - NOT good !!  

The flat sheet and pillow case worked out nicely though.

And to top it off with the best part - my little boy is thrilled with the new bed for his doll !!

Miss Mary Mack tunic pattern review

Love Notions released a new girls tunic pattern this morning.
It's a lovely pattern with many options that sewed up quick and easy for me.
It's called the "Miss Mary Mack Tunic".

I sewed it up today, here is my review




Pattern Description: 

A classic and simple tunic length top meant for knit fabrics. 
The tunic features two bodice styles, a straight bodice and a curved bodice. Four sleeve lengths are included- gathered cap, regular cap, flutter and long sleeve. 


Pattern Sizing:

12m through 14 y


For Miss Bug, I sewed up the size 10.





Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

Not exactly, as I used a heavier weight matieral than is shown.
The style is the same, and it turned out wonderful.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Immensely so ! I have never had a problem with Love Notions tutorials, they are clear, concise, and very thorough.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I love the options, it will be easy to make several shirts from this for my little girl for the entire year, and not have them look like cookie cutters of one another.

I'm not super keen on the maternity-like look the heavier material gave this, but that was my fabric choice, not an issue with the pattern.



Fabric Used:

I used a sweater knit / sweatshirt fleece that I found at a local thrift store for the main parts of the tunic.

The neck band is done in a jersey knit.

I use Pellon Knit & Stable on the hemline.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

None. If I made this again from a material like this, one with little stretch, I would probably go up a size in the arms, and blend that in with the size 10 armscye. It's kind of narrow around her arms, but not uncomfortably so.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

Yes, yes, and yes !!

Conclusion: 

A wonderful pattern that you could base a wardrobe around easily.
It's a relatively quick sew, and has some very cute details.
It's cute, modern, and yet modest - perfect for today's preteens.

Dolly gets a dress too !

Miss Bug is 10 years old.  And a half, she reminds me.

She's growing up before my very eyes, becoming a wonderful young lady very quickly.

But, she is still a little girl too, and she LOVES her special dolls.  Her favourite is a dolly called Taryn that she got for her 8th birthday.

Taryn is a Maplelea Girl - an 18" doll that is Canadian made, and has a Canadian backstory.

Tarn and Bug's other dolls have had plenty of Mama-made clothes.  I'm partial to the patterns made by Liberty Jane patterns and for sale at http://www.pixiefaire.com/.  The patterns are easy to follow, fit well, and are VERY high quality.

But Miss Bug's favourite dress lately has been the Mallory by Love Notions - I've made her a few already and she's always clamouring for more.  They are obviously comfy for her, and they are long enough to be modest.  With a pair of light-weight shorts under, she'll be all set for summer with these.

And I found out yesterday that Love Notions has a **FREE** doll dress that is very similar to the Mallory - it's a doll size of their Everyday Play dress.   The free pattern and instructions can be found here : here .

I whipped up Bug's favourite modification of the Mallory - one without a hood.  She finds the hood too large for comfort, so I leave it off, and do a turned hem along the top instead.  I use some clear elastic in the neckline to prevent it from stretching out of shape.

While I was doing the Mallory dress, I cut and sewed a dolly version of the Everyday Play dress too.  Bug was right in the room with me, and never realized that I was sewing up two dresses at once !

I opted for a narrow rolled hem done on my serger for the hem lines, and the arms on the Mallory too, because Bug likes the lettuce hem.

The finished dresses are not perfect, but definitely adorable !

A shirt for me - with modifications

Sewing for me again.  How odd it feels to make clothing for ME.
Especially when I know starting out that I am going to have to do some modifications for fit.
Even more when I know that I know NOTHING about modifying for fit !

Back to Love Notions I go, and I bought her "Ladies Hip Hop Tank & Top".
It's a nice pattern with tons of options, and comes in sizes from XS to XXL

So - I get started with a blank slate.  A new pattern, printed out and taped up, just waiting for me to dive in and get started !

I have some striped knit fabric to use.  A nice wide tan and black stripe in a poly/rayon/spandex fabric.  It's stretchy, but not overly so.  Doesn't give much help in hiding fitting issues.

I've measured myself and I see that I fit in the XL size by bust.
But I know my body, and I know that I have a disproportionately small bust for my frame (thank you 7.5 yrs old breastfeeding!) along with very large upper arms.  I'd say bicep, but realistically, it's flab, not muscle causing my added girth :D

Now, the pattern is printed and cut, and my fabric is washed and prepped.

And it's time to go digging through my cupboard because I know I've got a book stashed away that is going to help me make this shirt work !

It's called Fitting For Every Figure and I know it has a section on fitting sleeves and armscye.

Sure enough, I find out how to check bicep circumference on both myself and the printed pattern, and I  realize that there is no way that this drafted sleeve is going to fit me with the fabric I'm using.
Time to get out my tracing paper, pens, and start to redraft my sleeve.

Slash and spread, and resize the cap, and recut the armscye on the bodice pieces.

And then baste it all together, tear it apart, redraft, rebaste and it's good.

I add a couple of bust darts, hem, bind and in the end have a brand new shirt !

I admit, it's not my best work - too much learning techniques as I went for it to look polished, but it fits and it's comfy.

And I WILL try again !

Sorry for the grump faces, I have a wicked toothache, and have to wait until Saturday to see the dentist!

Pattern Testing for Indie Designers

I've read a lot of conflicting views about testing for indie designers.

One camp is quite vocal about their thoughts that it is invariably 100% "Wrong" for a designer to have people test their patterns for them without pay.  That those who willingly use their own time, money, fabric, notions, etc to make up a pattern that isn't fully ready to be released are "fools".

But while I can definitely see that point of view if we were talking about a larger company where there was ample amounts of money available to pay their testers, or to at least provide the fabric and notions, it is unlikely that an indie designer - many of whom are stay-at-home moms just trying to make a few extra dollars for their family while doing something they love - would have that kind of money.

I'm not an expert seamstress.  I'm almost completely self-taught.  I have limited funds available to use on testing patterns that may or may not work out.

So, I was extremely hesitant to put myself out there to any designers and offer to test.

But I opted to try it out a few weeks ago for one.  I kind of felt like I got in over my head, but I got the dress done, and I can only HOPE that my feedback was well received.

And then I offered myself up again for another, and since I knew more what to expect, I felt much more confident in taking that project on.

Was I certain it would work out ?  No, of course not.  But it was a chance I was willing to take.
Was the item perfect ?  Again - of course not.  It was being TESTED.

Did I get paid ?  No.  I got the pattern for free, and a second pattern for free.  In the PDF pattern world, that is equivalent to between $10 and $24.

Would I do it again ?  Yes.

I guess I am a fool.

But I am a fool with a soft heart who like to help others, and if I can help the designer, and help myself by getting extra practice and maybe sew something I wouldn't normally