The skirt that almost wasn't

A few months ago I stumbled upon the Various Ankara/Kente Styles Facebook page.  I was instantly inspired by all the beautiful ensembles.  G Street is the only fabric store nearby that sells a decent selection of African prints and since last week G Street was selling $50 vouchers for $25 on Living Social, of course I had to buy one.  I put fabric on hold there two weeks ago during their coupon sale, but didn't go back for it (because they only let you use one coupon per customer per day and I already went 2 days in a row!).  Luckily, it was still on hold so I was able to get my fabric after all.  :)

Additionally, Joann had Simplicity patterns on sale for 5 for $5 and because Joann and G Street are in the same shopping center, I hit them up too (ok, even if Joann was not in the same shopping center, I still would've gone).

I made Simplicity 1690:

My version:

I used French seams and used the border to bind the edges of the zipper.  I like how it looks:

(inside out)

All in all, the skirt came out ok, but it was a pain to get it done.  First, as I was cutting out the pieces, it looked to me like the waistband was going to be way too small, but I ignored my alarm bell and sure enough, once I sewed it on, I realized it was not going to work.  There was a gap bigger than my hand!  I almost put the skirt aside right then, but then thought about how excited I was to get my fabric (it was the last piece) and how it would be such a waste.  I decided I could fix it without completely taking it apart.  I removed the stitches from the top half of the zipper and a couple of inches of the waistband and skirt.  I cut a piece of fabric about 10 inches long - yes 10 inches - which I cut in half and then added to both ends of the waistband, sewed the waistband back to the skirt and then sewed the zipper back in.  Then I tried it on to find that now it was too big!  I repeated the above process but this time to cut off about an inch from both sides.  Then I sewed it all back together again and it was still too big!  I repeated the process, but this time cutting off about 1/2 an inch from each side and it fits!  (Now that I'm thinking of it, I could've probably just added belt loops instead of taking it apart another time, but oh well...it's done now.)  

Additionally, because I like to make things harder for myself, I didn't fuse interfacing to the waistband because in the beginning I suspected it was going to be too small and thought the interfacing would make it worse.  Once I made it too big, I realized I really needed the interfacing so I actually fused it after the last fix, meaning after I sewed everything back in place.  I don't recommend doing this...it was not fun.

Anyway, after all my troubles I think I'm mostly happy with it though I'm not sure I like the fabric anymore...lol.  I will still wear it though once it warms up again.

I should've purchased more than one voucher...

UPDATE

I wore the skirt to work today!:

Mother's Day 2013

Dresses finished!!....unfortunately one looks like it will be too small.

Simplicity 1804:

McCalls 6073:

 



I think this picture shows the actual color better:

Both were very easy to construct.  However, sewing them confirmed that I really need to take a basics course.  I had a hard time with the fabric and it may just be that I know nothing about what kind of needle you should use for different fabrics and what settings you should use.  I generally use the same settings (although this time I put both on 2 and it seemed to work better) and always just use the same needle for everything.  Something wasn't working for these dresses.  I had to sew every seam about three times (sometimes more) because the stitches kept skipping and sometimes it wouldn't catch at all till I tried 4 or 5 times!  It ended up taking me a lot longer to complete these.  Anyway, I assume if you use the right needle, etc these dresses should be very quick projects.  They're perfect for spring/summer.

...Hopefully they fit!

So many projects, so little time...

I just realized this week that Mother's Day is around the corner and I hadn't planned anything.  I remembered that I do have fabric and I have a bunch of patterns, so dresses it is!  I think my mom gave me this a year ago to make her something with so I'll use it to make Simplicity 1804:

 

I also went to G Street today (they're having a 25% off sale plus extra coupons this weekend) and got this
and will use it to make McCall's 6073:

 

On top of gifts for mom, I just started cutting out the pieces for McCall's 6721  for my cousin's baby's quilt and I just started my first quilt.  I am making a scrap quilt using the instructions from sewtakeahike's "a little help from my friends" tutorial.  This is my progress thus far:

 

Also, I'm going to the Bahamas in June and am thinking of what I'm going to make for my trip.  I picked up these

from G Street today and will make Burda 7364 with the blue:

        

 

...and I will make another MimiG mini maxidress with the other.

 

 

I'm daunted just thinking about it...

Beary Cute!

....I know...cheesy title, but I couldn't resist.  :) 


When I found out that a coworker of mine was pregnant, I got so excited because I have been wanting a reason to make a baby quilt....particularly this one:

 

But then my coworker found out she was having a boy.  So because I still wanted to make something and could not find any cute boy quilts, I settled on the McCall 6719 bear playmat:

 

 

 

 

...and here it is!:

 

                        

 

I couldn't find any medium browns so I ended up making a dark brown bear and using polka dot fleece for contrast.  I like the way it came out.  Not too bad for my first truly crafty endeavor...

I hope my coworker likes it....even though she really wanted washcloths and diapers.


Since I recently found out that my cousin is pregnant with a girl, I'll get to make the quilt after all!



Simplicity 1716

I bought this fabric from G Street Fabrics a year or more ago ...

...and finally found a pattern I thought would work with it:

This weekend, I finally got around to making it:

                           

I made view A with view C sleeves.

Conclusion:  I don't love it as much as I thought I would.  You can find my review here.

Happy New Year!!

A few months ago, while on one of my many trips to Joann, I saw this:

Immediately, I thought of New Year's Eve.  I wanted something comfortable and cute, but not too fancy so I decided on Burda 7148 view B:

Here's my version (disregard my awkward smile):

The neckline is kind of a mess.  It's too big for a crew neck and too small for off the shoulder:

Overall, I like it.  Next time I'll know I need to cut the neckline differently.

Happy Holidays!

I wasn't planning on making anything Christmasy for the home this year, but then I found this beautiful sparkly poinsettia fabric and Joanne's and changed my mind.  I decided to make placemats and matching napkins.  I used McCall's 5439 for the placemats (which is really just a circle) and followed these instructions for the napkins.

With the leftover fabric, I decided to make an apron for a coworker's mom...she bakes something delicious for us almost weekly so I figured she'd appreciate an apron.  (My mom is modeling it below.)

 

I used Butterick 5747 view C again.  I've made many aprons now using diff patterns, and this one is my favorite.

Closeup of the red fabric:

Merry Christmas!!

(My first time cooking Christmas dinner.)