iCandy Handmade's Everyday Skirt // Transitioning to Fall

 

 Wow, it's been a long time since my last post!  I have been sewing a lot, but haven't had the time to take, edit and post pictures.  I'm trying to get caught up, so check back often for some upcoming posts.  

I just need to take a quick minute to reflect on blogging.  I started blogging over 5 years ago (holy moley, time flies!) as a fun way to share projects and to keep me motivated.  Life has gotten busier and blogging isn't such a high priority for me anymore and to be quite honest, I've gotten a little tired of seeing so many "sponsored posts" from some of my favorite bloggers.  I totally understand that some people make their living by blogging and doing sponsored posts is part of that.  I have ads on my sidebar and for me it generates a teeny tiny bit of money.  I've been approached many times to do sponsored posts or to be a "influencer".  It's not who I am or why I do this.  Anyway, I guess I just want to say that I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing and my pictures might not be perfect and my poses are kind of all the same in the same places around my house.  I'm going to keep blogging with the hope that I can share a little bit of my sewing knowledge and maybe inspire someone out there to try a new pattern or follow one of my tutorials.  Anyway, I hope I haven't bored you with my monologue or offended anybody.  This isn't meant to be directed at anybody in particular, just something I needed to say.  Moving on.....

This time of year, I'm kind of ready to transition to fall, but so far, the weather hasn't been cooperating with that.  I wanted to make myself a knit half circle skirt and just didn't have the patience for taking measurements and doing the math.  I stumbled across the Everyday Skirt Take 2 from iCandy Handmade and decided to give it a try.  The best part is there is a free, downloadable pattern.  Since I'm a bit smaller than a medium, I just compared the pattern to a skirt I own and trimmed it down.

I sewed this up in a lovely ponte knit.  I really love this skirt.  The weight and drape of the knit is exactly what I was after.  And I can totally wear it into fall with leggings and boots.

The first one came together so quickly and easily, I decided to make a navy version.  This time I used my coverhem to stitch along the waistband to help it sit a little flatter.

I think this one took me a little more than half and hour to sew.  

Can you say instant gratification? 

 

I Just finished another Simplicty 2226 skirt, my third so far.  And, I've got some harem pants I'm not quite sold on to share.  Hoping for some time and motivation to take pictures soon!  

Back to School // Perfect Little Lunch Bag Sewing Pattern

Oh my goodness, this summer seems to have flown by.  We've got a couple weeks left and I've been making new lunch bags for both my kids and my etsy shop.  I got a great tip from my friend Roselee of Jane of All Trades that makes sewing the handles much easier.

Instead of sewing the handles to the exterior fabric a few inches down from the top, she lined up the raw edges of the handles (3 inches in from each side) with the top raw edge and then sewed the zipper right on top.

  The result is a much neater looking front and this technique saves a lot of time!  Genius!  Thanks Roselee!

  Last year, I had my kids lunch bags embroidered at a local shop.  This time around I decided to use my Silhouette Portrait and black and white heat transfer vinyl instead.  I really like how it looks and this way and they definitely won't get mixed up with other kids lunch bags.

You can find the instant download of my sewing pattern HERE in my shop.

 Don't want to sew your own?  I've got a couple of lunch bags listed in my shop and I'm also taking a few custom orders.

 

My favorite thing about my lunch bags is the fact that they are totally machine washable.  My kids used theirs for a full school year and I'm sure they got washed a least a dozen times.  The fabric color faded, but other than that, they held up great.  Something about a dirty, smelly, lunch box really grosses me out.  I'm never going back to store bought!

 

Kids Size Cargo Duffle

 I love my Cargo Duffle so much, I decided to make one for each of my kids.  With upcoming summer trips and sleepovers on the horizon, they both really could use a nice, kid sized bag.  Like my version, I simplified theirs from the original tutorial from Noodlehead. I didn't do any quilting and left off all the pockets.

 

I modified the size so that my pieces were as follows:

Front/Back - 18 x 11 inches (cut 2)

Zipper Panel - 4 x 28 inches (cut 2)

Bottom/Size - 8 x 28 inches (cut 1)

Finished dimensions: 17" wide x 10" tall x 7" deep

On the exterior pieces I lined each piece with a midweight fusible interfacing. 

 Since my daughter chose a directional print, for the bottom/side panel, I cut the piece in half and made a seam across the bottom so that the print wouldn't be upside down on one side.

 I used upholstery vinyl, folded in half and stitched, for the straps.

I cut the lining from a quilting weight cotton and used a sew-in, heavy weight interfacing on all the pieces except the zipper panels.

I let the kids pick their own fabrics and I think they made great choices!

 

These bags came together very quickly and the kids love them!  Can't wait for our upcoming trips.

First Birthday Shirt // FREE Silhouette Cut File

 In the past year or so, I've developed a reputation in my local community as the go-to seamstress for kid projects.  I've made a few bow ties and neck ties for weddings, a few tooth fairy pillows, and a few birthday shirts and dresses.  I've been able to use my Silhouette Portrait to cut some cute applique and I thought I would attempt to share my files.  I've uploaded the Silhouette Studio file to google drive.  You should be able to download the file

HERE.

 For this applique I used Pellon Wonder-Under instead of the Silhouette fusible interfacing and I found it worked the same if not better.  With both interfacings, I've had trouble with the thread breaking while I'm sewing.  I did a search and came across a neat little trick.  I rubbed the tiniest amount of sewing machine oil on my needle.  Sure enough, no more broken thread!  I also sewed the smile and the nostrils by hand.  Too delicate for my machine skills.

Oh and remember my City Gym Shorts from way back in June?  Well, I guess I made the finals in Imagine Gnats, Shorts on the Line Contest.  Go check out the top 21 shorts here and vote for your favorite.

Shorts, Shorts, Shorts...My Version of the City Gym Shorts

I didn't have any plans to make shorts.  But, I've been seeing some Shorts on The Line posts over at Imagine Gnats and discovered the free City Gym Shorts pattern.  I love me some free patterns, so why not make some shorts!  I ended up modifying the pattern a little bit more for each of the 3 versions I made.  Here's what I did.

The pictures of these shorts are really wonderful and there are so many great versions out there, but the style just isn't me.  So, I decided to modify the pattern so that I could sew them like regular shorts without the bias tape.  I just added a bit of a seam allowance to the side and straightened the curve on the bottom. 

I also decided to add pockets.  I actually followed my own tutorial and pattern for dress pockets which you can find HERE.

 This first version came out pretty well.  In fact, I'm wearing them as I type this.  The fit is more of a pajama short for me.  I ended up just serging the bottom since I didn't think they'd be wearable if they got any shorter.  The pockets turned out a little small, but truth be told, when I look at the picture, I think they look great.  But on my body, they feel a little bit small for my taste.

I also was a little hasty and used my good fabric for my first pair.  So, I mustered all the patience I could and made a second pair with fabric that I had sitting around and not my favorite.

 For this pair, I added a little bit of length and width to the pattern and made the pockets a little bigger.  They are good and I will definitely wear them, but still aren't exactly what I'm after.  I decided to print the pattern out one more time and cut in between sizes.  Here's a comparison of the pattern I used for my first pair and my final and favorite pair.  The piece on the left is what I did for my last pair and the piece on the right is for my first pair.

These shorts are exactly what I had in mind.  The fit is amazing.  Not to loose, but not too short and tight either.  I love that these shorts have an elastic waist, but don't look frumpy.

 For this pair, I used the full size pocket from my tutorial and it's perfect. 

 I love the way the side looks and I love this fabric.  I was hoping the color and print would work with tops other than white, and I think it does.

So I guess being a little bit obsessive does pay off.  And, before I forget, I have to mention that the instructions for this pattern are really great.  I didn't get a picture of the inside of the shorts, but I think part of what makes them look so great is the way the waistband is sewn.  It ends up being 4 layers of fabric plus elastic, so it's really stable and there are no unfinished seams on the waist on the inside.

There are also kid sizes, so I might try modifying the pattern for a kid version as well.  Did I mention how much I love free patterns?

Noodlehead's Cargo Duffle // Free Pattern Sewn by Me

I'm not sure how I stumbled across this free pattern from Noodlehead, but I'm glad I did.  My version is much much simpler than her version, but I'm really happy with how it came out.  I read a lot of various blogs and reviews before I started sewing mine.  

 I was totally inspired by Coconut Robot's Cargo Duffle.  Her version is beautiful.  And though I used a lot of her modifications and I love the look of the quilting, I just couldn't bring myself to spend that much time on it. 

I expanded the width of my bag using the measurements Kacia provides.  In the original pattern the finished bag is about 5 inches wide whereas this version ends up being closer to 9 inches wide.  I would definitely recommend adding the width as I can't imagine it being narrower.  This size is perfect.  

 I also chose to leave off the front snap pockets and opted for a zip pocket instead.  Adding the zip pocket was a lot easier and I like the look better as well.

Another change I made was making the handles out of upholstery vinyl.  I just cut a 4 inch wide strip, folded it in half and sewed down both sides.

To finish off the bag, I added a lining and used a heavy weight sew-in interfacing on the side and bottom panels.  The bag ends up having great structure, but is still lightweight.  I took this bag on an overnight trip recently and it was the perfect size for all of my husband and my stuff. 

I'm so happy with how this bag came out and happy with all the changes I made.  If you give it a try, I'd love to hear what you think.

Triangle Quilt // SeeKateSew Tutorial

 My sister's baby girl is due to arrive any day now.  Back in March I threw her a baby shower and go to give her all the handmade goodies I'd been working on.

 I wanted to make some kind of blanket, though I'm not really a quilter at heart.  I saw a tutorial at See Kate Sew for a modern triangle quilt and it felt like just my kind of project.  I ended up making mine a lot smaller since I thought such a large quilt might not be so useful for a baby.  I downloaded the pattern, cut all my triangles, laid them all out and started sewing.  When I got ready to sew one row to the next, I kind of scratched my head and thought I had done something wrong.  It seemed like there is not way to sew triangles together and get, TRIANGLES!

 I kept sewing because after cutting all those triangles, there's really no turning back.  A few weeks later, an updated pattern came out that actually makes triangles!  The updated pattern is here.  Too late for me.

 I made a nursing pillow cover and basket liner as well.  They all look so pretty together.  I wasn't sure about the fabric, but I think it works.

 I wish I had the time and energy to sew this kind of stuff for my babies.  Can't wait to meet my new baby niece!