Category: Clothing

Something Old Something New – Festival Bag Upcycle

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I’m a fan of fashion.  But as a mom (and as a work-at-home one,) there isn’t much motivation to step past the yoga pants and a clean (smelling) tee most days.  I do admit, when I can get my act together, it does make me feel good to step out of my slip-on Vans.  Now that both my kids are in school,  I’ve been making a conscientious effort to bring my fashion game back – nothing crazy, but pulled together looks using cues from today’s trends.  Like Boho.

I love the relaxed (aka loose fitting) style of Bohemian fashion.  I grew up near the Philadelphia Folk Festival so I saw a lot of 70’s hippie clothes and I love the laid back vibe.  Pair that with my urban life in the city for 10+ years and the result is this “Festival Bag.”  It’s an edgier take on Boho with the dark floral, leather and antique brass hardware.

When RJR Fabrics asked me to work with some of their new fabrics, this Reverie line pretty much blew my mind.  I tend to work with more graphic prints, but the photo-realistic imagery in these Digiprints are amazing.  The best part, is that these fabrics feel JUST like their other high quality quilt cottons so you know you are working with the good stuff.

This Floral Fantasy print with the the dark background is just gorgeous. I love the style contrast of soft flowers with the intense black (which is how I like to mix up my own closet.)  I like combining hard elements with something very soft and feminine. I also like a mix of textures. So this soft quilt cotton HAD to be paired with some leather and lots of hardware, right?

My mom knew I was upcycling old leather coats and gave me this great long duster about a year ago. I’m happy to finally use it.  This coat is such a great upcycle coat because of its size and the design. Too bad the shape…errr…lack of….just doesn’t work now. There are so many large pieces of leather to use in any project.  I used about 70% of this coat and I might use the rest on a future clutch…

The larger pieces were all cut into 1/4″ fringe and double-layered all around the bag. Fringe is one of my favorite things in a bag.  It’s so much fun to walk and feel the swing of the leather. The pieces add movement and life to everyday running around.

More leather was added to the top flap and I saved all the scraps. They are great to use in zipper pulls and bag charms. You can see I made some tassels and added lots of rivets. I also used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out my intials. Long skinny scraps can be turned into beautiful braids like this one as well.

On the inside of the bag, there is more Reverie with the Mirage in Bloom print. It is the perfect complement to this style bag. It is a mottled floral which gives a very contemporary feel with the more muted tones.

With spring music festivals in the news, I decided to make the bag strap differently than I usually would. Taking inspiration from the bands themselves, I modeled the strap after guitar ones. The leather strap is about 1 1/2″ wide with Floral Fantasy on top and another layer of leather all stitched in place with added rivet accents.

I am so in love with how this strap and bag turned out. I can’t wait to “rock” it all summer long.

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Observer Fabrics Preview

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Have you ever seen something out in the wild, and wondered how pretty it would be to freeze that shot and frame it forever?  It’s that moment that is just SO good, you take in that extra long gaze and lose yourself a little…  Well when you’re April Rhodes, you take that extra step into permanence and create Observer fabrics.  It’s a collection of patterns seen out in the world…through the eyes of Miss April, herself.

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It is such an honor to sew with an unreleased collection.  The initial reveal is always exciting, but I love to hear about the inspiration.  That’s why it’s so wonderful to work with April…as we collaborate together, I get to hear the story behind every pattern and every color.  With all of that information, it then allows me to dig a bit deeper in my design wheel well.

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I was immediately inspired by the Homespun print.  It is based off of April’s love of weaving and fiber arts.  The 24″ x 24″ (finished) quilt is paper-pieced  to make every angle and line as sharp as can be. It utilizes mainly 1.5″ strips, making it very scrap friendly.

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With Observer, the prints are either monochromatic or duotone and this quilt was designed to really show off the contrast by using the colorways, exclusively, in each quadrant.

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As you get closer to the fabrics, you can see the little hints of metallic (yaaas!)  With this collection, April incorporated silver which looks amazing against the deep blues.  It’s always hard to photograph metallic, but you can see it in Triangle Tokens and on the Speck Stardust.

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The background is Art Gallery Fabric’s Premium Linen Blend in Soft Sand.  It is such a great texture and color to make the design and colors pop.

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With so much negative space in the piecing, a random application of matchstick quilting was in order using Aurifil 2310. The areas were split into quadrants, like the quilt design, itself.

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The backing was pulled from April’s Wanderer collection.  Wandering Lands Mineral was the perfect print which really complimented all the tones in Observer and it shows off the quilting beautifully.

Stay tuned…this quilt pattern will be available closer to Observer‘s release in August!!!

 

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April asked if I would help make some baby leggings as well and how could I not?!?  Ya’ll know babies are my business and LOVE the opportunity to make itty bitty gear.  These leggings are made with Overshot Gold in knit and they are so amazingly soft.  The pattern for the pants are from My Childhood Treasures.

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I drafted a pattern for the hat from an old one I have.  Make it Love it has a great tutorial and pattern which is similar.

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As an added detail, I used the selvage from a woven print on the back of the leggings.  It’s a great way to make a little tag so you know the direction of your hand-made garments.

Aren’t these clothes just perfect for the little bohemian in your life?

 

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Last, but surely not least, is my mini quilt hoop (measuring about 2.5″ lengthwise.)  Making these quilt hoops has become one of my favorite projects and I cannot help myself when I have such amazing fabric laying around.  I love tiny (who doesn’t?) and love being able to use up every little scrap.

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Of course, I used Dandelyne hoops and chose an oval to make a piece based of the main quilt I designed at the top of the post.  A little gold embroidery thread made this hoop extra special and I love how it turned out.

I hope you enjoyed my little preview of Observer which is due out in August.  Make sure to check out the full collection here.

Do you have any plans for these fabrics?  Please let me know!  I have a few already planned….maybe an envelope clutch, dresses for my nieces, shirts for my boys, and dresses for myself….I could go on and on!

 

Happy Stitching, Friends!

Cristy

Luna Pants {Pattern Review}

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It’s all about the “jogger” pant these days and even as a stay-at-home-mom, I try to be somewhat hip.  The yoga-pant rut is easy to fall into (rightfully so!) but voile pajamas disguised as the new athleisure look?  Uh, yes please!!!  This is a trend I can definitely follow 😉

When I saw Made by Rae‘s new Luna Pant pattern, it was exactly what I wanted in a jogger….because it was designed for more drapey wovens like voile, lawn, and rayon.  By making these pants myself, I could slim out the silhouette to tailor to my short stumpy legs.  I am thicker in the thigh area and there are many ready-to-wear jogger styles out there that really accentuate the hips.  Nope, that is definitely not for me!

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The Luna pattern is currently only available as a digital PDF, and as someone who would rather buy the one-piece printed version, this wasn’t so bad taping together.  I love how Rae has several different registration marks on all sides of the printouts to help you match up the pattern.

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Based on the pattern measurements, I was at the higher spectrum of a small.  I read some other reviews that the fit is pretty generous, so I was comfortable cutting out that size.  After initial fit, I definitely wanted to taper the leg in a little more.  I eased from the hip/pocket into toward the leg about 1/2″ all the way down to the ankle.

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It’s kind of hard to see in this shot, but the right left has been taken in and I had already shortened both legs to fit my 5’3″ frame.  I used a basting stitch at the bottom hem to see how the pant would gather around my ankle.

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To make sure I had that athleisure look and not a pajama one, I used 1.5″ elastic around the ankles and ended up using the same for the waistband.  The thicker ankle gather just looks more  on trend to me.

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I sewed all the seams on my regular Juki TL-2010Q and finished the raw edges on my hand-me-down Singer Serger.  Changing the threads on my serger is such a pain, but to have the right matching colors, is SO worth the effort.  It really makes the garment look professional.

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I love the contoured waistband which really allows for a nice gather.  There is room around the seat, but not so much that it would give a saggy rear-end.  You can adjust the gathers around however you like and make a few stitches along the side seams to keep them in place.

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These pants are just magical and so incredibly light.  The Yucca organic voile in Arbol by Leah Duncan for Cloud 9 Fabrics is just amazing for the warmer months ahead.  They can be worn with flat sandals (Merona) and a cute jacket (J.Crew) for just running around town.

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With this black and cream design, the Luna Pants can also be dressed up with heels (Nine West) and this loose tank (Merona) for a jumpsuit look without the jumpsuit hassle (a la having to take off the entire outfit to use the restroom…no thanks!)

The styling possibilities are endless for my secret pajamas!  I’m excited to wear them all summer and make a few extra pairs for lounging…errr…being fashionably hip 😉  What do you think about the jogger trend?

 

Hugs and Stitches,

Cristy

 

Moss Skirt {Review}

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With all of this great warm weather, I’ve been thinking about adding some new pieces to my wardrobe and skirts are definitely included.  Coincidentally, it is also #MeMadeMay where you show off your handmade clothing on social media all throughout the month.  So…I obviously needed to make one rather than buy one 😉

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I’ve been casually looking over designs for a few months and wanted a clean silhouette without an elastic waistband.  Although the thought of a zipper scared the bejesus out of me, I still selected Grainline Studio‘s Moss Skirt.  The instructions and pictures are well done and I love how there are great resources on Grainline’s blog in case you get stuck (which of course, I did.)  I also love the two variations with a short mini and knee-length options.

I chose this beautiful Robert Kaufman black denim for my skirt.  It has a lightweight structure and has pretty classy look and feel.  Who can knock the bonus slimming effects of black as well?

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The body of the skirt came together pretty quickly.  I used a combination of my Juki TL-2010Q to sew the straight seams and then finished with my Singer 150 Anniversary 14T948DS Serger.  If you make a lot of garments, I highly recommend a serger to really make your seams look professional.

After I got the body and pockets complete, it was onto the zipper insert.  Since this was my first one (ever!) I couldn’t wrap my head around the pattern’s instructions.  Luckily, Grainline has a ton of supplemental resources under “Tutorials”  to help.

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After looking at the blog’s additional pictures and instructions (about 10 times,) I finally dove in and added the insert.  Instead of basting, I used my favorite Sewline Glue Pen to keep the zipper and fly pieces all in place.  I’m so proud of how this came out…who knew it actually pays off to take your time?  😛

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I like fun little details like adding this metallic fabric inside the waistband.  It is Remix by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman and really adds some flare.  This button is extra special – It is from my mother-in-law’s stash which was passed to me when she moved to a retirement home.  I wanted to make this skirt for Mother’s Day and it was really nice to have something from my MIL because we couldn’t spend the day together.  I think it maybe from a coat because I have about 5 of these pretty gem-like buttons.

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Before adding the waistband, I adjusted the waist measurement at the back yoke.  (My backside is one size and my waist is another.)  Next time, I’ll wait to serge the center-back seam until after I  tailor it in…just for clean seam.   What I completely forgot to do, was to slightly curve the yoke back down after the adjustment.  You can see the slight fold in the yoke right below the waistband….that should be smooth.

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The other change I made was to decrease my seam allowance to 3/8″ for the waistband to make it slightly wider.  After kids, I enjoy a mid-rise and wider waistbands to keep “everything” in it’s place…hehe.

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If you read other reviews, there is a mix of people who are able to use the waistband as written, and others who come up a little short.  I’m still a newbie to garment construction and I fell into the latter group.  Since I adjusted the back yoke, my waistband was only about 1″ too short.  I added the extra length to line up with the fly shield and you would never know there was an issue.  Fortunately, I did not cut my interior waistband facing yet and could adjust to match.

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The pockets on this skirt are great.  Since I’m a bit more curvy, ready-to-wear pockets tend to poke out and it looks like little wings are flapping out of my hips.  I would have to sew them shut to look somewhat normal, but then have to sacrifice functionality.  These pockets hug to the body and I’m so glad I can actually use them!

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I opted for View B of the Moss Skirt to wear this out to slightly more conservative places, but changed the band to hang only 2 1/4″ down since I’m a shortie (5’3″.)  There are definite plans for some more casual versions with View A for the summer.  Let’s hope I have the time to get them complete before autumn hits!

I really love the clean look of this skirt.  Since I used denim, I debated top-stitching all of the pieces like a pair of jeans, but I’m glad I held back.  This skirt looks really polished as-is and I highly recommend this pattern if that’s the look you want.

Has anyone made this pattern yet?  What is your favorite skirt pattern?

 

Happy Stitching,

Cristy

Out & About Dress {Pattern Review}

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‘Nothing like having some crazy beautiful weather to push me to finally make my Out and About Dress.  (Anyone else getting snow in April, then full sun and 70* the next day?)  I’ve had this pattern since Black Friday when Sew Caroline had a great sale, but like most selfish sewing plans, this was pushed to the side.  Once the weather warmed, I knew I needed to add some more pieces to my me-made wardrobe.

I chose Plumage Poppy knit by Art Gallery Fabrics which is just amazing.  It’s bright, springy and just feels so soft and good too.  Best part is I picked up this from my little quilt shop (LQS) Sew to Speak…on sale!  Doesn’t that always make a project feel even better? 🙂

Garment sewing can be intimidating…especially with knits, so I want to show you how I finished my dress with a bunch of close-up shots.

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I have a serger and it’s a god-send when it comes to knits.  The knife cuts a nice even edge and the overlock stitch helps tie up everything so beautifully.  There is a nice stretch which I chose to use here in the sleeves.  This pic was taken before I tacked the cuffs into place to hide the seams.

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For the bottom hem, I used a ballpoint double-needle for this professional look. This allows for a decent stretch but not as much as the serging. With this being a loose dress, I am not worried about the stretch in the skirt….I’d rather it just look good! Ha.

 

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Around the neck, I serged the neckline onto the dress for a clean look on the hanger.  But for that professional look, I added two top-stitch seams while tugging at the knit a little bit.  A coverstitch machine would probably do the same but I don’t have one (It IS on my ultimate wishlist though.)  The size of the head opening is large enough that I’m not concerned with having to really stretch it out, so the top-stitching works.  It’s always good to test your stitches on a scrap piece to see how much stretch you need.

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This was more simple sew than anticipated…even with the pockets!  So, I know this won’t be my last Out and About Dress.  It was true to size, but since I’m 5’3″ I took about 4″ off the hem to hit just above the knee.  I may have to attempt a hack for a tank version.  Let’s see how long it will take me to make one!

Have you made anything new for yourself lately?

 

Happy Stitching,

Cristy