Fabulous Free Pattern Friday

This is a two-fer kind of a day since it's Friday and the last day of Me Made May 2013.
You may remember this skirt, kinda sorta! I did another version,

with 8 bandannas.

The skirt I am wearing uses only 4 napkins.
The principal is exactly the same as the skirt I did with 8 bandannas, but with only 4 napkins, it's a much straighter skirt.
My napkins were only 18" wide and I do not have 36" hips so I needed a little extra room and I also wanted the skirt to be a shorter version than the original one..

To add the extra room through the hips, I simply cut one border edge off of the napkin and sewed it to the side which gave the look of a panel down the side of the skirt. Once I had the main area of the skirt finished, I then added the other 2 napkins which I had cut in half diagonally, to the hem of the skirt. You can see the original post with more instructions here, http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2012/02/fabulous-free-pattern-friday-with-prize.html

I was especially lazy with the waistband of the skirt. I simply took a piece of elastic and zigzagged it to the area where I wanted my waistband to be.

No casing whatsoever. It gives a bit of a paper bag look to the waistband.
The formula for this skirt is simply, however many napkins or bandannas that you use for the top portion of the skirt, you will use the same amount for the hem. Just cut them diagonally. So if you use 3 bandannas for the top of the skirt, you will need 3 for the hem area. Once again, just cut them diagonally.
So, that's it for Me Made May. Boy oh boy did this month ever fly by. It seems like we just began. It's been fun though!

Me Made May 2013 Catching Up

May is getting away from me. We only have one more day left in May, so I need to do a little catch up.
Day 24
Last Friday we were supposed to do something to depict our home town. I was busy working on projects last Friday and more often than not, this is my uniform when I know that I won't really being seeing anyone. Not very exciting, I know. I did not make the jeans or the white t-shirt. The only thing I'm wearing that I did make is the t-shirt.

T-shirts with logos are usually not made like I would like for them to be made. So what I usually do is buy an x-large t-shirt, cut it apart and then I use this old Stretch & Sew pattern to make a t-shirt that I'll enjoy wearing.

This t-shirt came from what was my favorite airport restaurant, Shannon's Landing. Sadly, the recession did it in and it is no longer open. At least I have the t-shirt and the fun memories. 

I should have been a cowgirl! I have owned and loved pink cowgirl boots my entire life. The leather is beginning to split on these so it will be time for a new pair soon. The sad part about it it that these are so comfortable. I just hate to give them up :(

Day 26

On Sunday my husband and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary. I was a child bride by the way ;-) We had a lovely day. There's a restaurant that I have been wanting to try since they opened and I wanted to try their brunch. I did not disappoint. If you are ever in Chicago I highly recommend having brunch at Nightwood. Everything was so very good. It was cold on Sunday. Funny since today is as hot as Hades! That's Chicago weather for you. Anyway, I was cold so I decided to dress warmly.

The sleeve on this jacket was done for this Sleeves On Saturday post.

The picture isn't the best as I look a little heavy in the picture with the wide leg pants and the swing jacket. In real life is looks pretty nice together. I lined the jacket with the same fabric that I used for the top. I also have a matching skirt, but I never wear the skirt and top with the jacket as it is a very full skirt.

The top is fun to wear. The front is cut on the bias and the back is on the straight of grain. I need to make the pants in another fabric so that the details show up a little better.

Day 27
I did this top for a Fabulous Free Pattern Friday post. It's the Draped Poet's Blouse. I wear this top quite a bit in the summer as it just floats around the body. I did not make the t-shirt or the leggings.

 You can find the post I did on this top here.

Day 28
I taught a class and it was really warm on Tuesday. I wanted something that I wouldn't melt in so I wore this dress which is one of my patterns. When I originally drafted the pattern, it was intended to have sleeves. I love it with sleeves, but I also enjoy it without sleeves. The neckline drapes in an asymmetrical fashion. One sleeve is a regular set in sleeve and the other side is a drop shoulder sleeve.

Day 29

I had a lot of errands to do on Wednesday, so I just threw on a pair of tights that I did make. They are a stretch denim fabric. The vest is a FFPF piece, just two rectangles. You can find that post here. I also made my necklace and bracelet, although you really can't see them very well. The beads are African beads.

Day 30

Today I was teaching again and I decided to wear my Perfect Travel Dress. So comfortable and easy to wear. I call this mindless dressing as all I have to do is throw on the dress and out the door I go. You can find the post for this dress here.

I need to find the pictures from last Thursday and Saturday, tomorrow :) There's still another day!

Me Made May has been a very interesting experience for me. It's something that I'm very happy to have done.
Until tomorrow!
Rhonda

Me Made May 2013

Day 22

I had a meeting to attend yesterday so I wore my French jacket along with the silk skirt and the draped top that I made from Paco's pattern. I should have straightened out my cowl a bit before I took the picture, but you get the idea. You can see the post I did on this top here. I do love this suit. It was quite an investment of time, but so worth it!  Everyone was crazy about my shoes. Just a lucky find.

No sins to confess today :) We'll see if I can come up with something for tomorrow!!

Hope you're having a great day.

Rhonda

Me Made May 2013

Day 21

You may remember my top from last week's Sew News post, http://www.sewnews.com/blogs/sewing/2013/05/14/guest-blogger-rhonda-buss-part-2-collar-tutorial/ and the little puff sleeve was done here, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/05/sleeves-on-saturdays_14.html.
I just love the top, but a picture is worth a thousand words and the words this picture speaks are, "your pants are too big!!" I knew they were too big when I put them on. Let me say though that I did not make them. I came across them in a store, they were a great buy, they are too big and I have had every intention of taking them up, but I really wanted to wear a pair of white pants today so..... look at what I did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh Rhonda you didn't!!!! Sadly, yes I did, I pinned those suckers in the back and pulled my top down over the pinning and out the door I went. Shame, shame shame and a little more shame!!!!! And now the picture tells the entire story, yes, I hang my head in shame :-), sheepish grin! 

I hope you've had a great day!

Rhonda

Me Made May 2013

Day 20

Today's dress is a repeat pattern. I have 3 of these dresses. The first one you saw on day 5 here and pictured below.

The second was worn on day 9 and pictured below.

I had some fun with this one by mixing the prints. Just the right front panel and one of the ties has the girls. The other side and the entire back is the daisy print. It's very warm in Chicago so dressing is a little tricky as you want to be cool enough to get to your destination and warm enough once you arrive. Sure enough, the building I was in today was freezing cold. I guess I should have taken the time to put on some hose, my legs are frighteningly white!!! Oh well :-)

This will be the last time that you will see this dress as this is the last one that I have, made up anyway!!

Hope you are having a lovely day.

Rhonda

Me Made May 2013

 

May 9th. This is a catch up picture, not taken on the day the garment was worn. This is a wrap dress that is my pattern. I have not blogged about it. What I like about this pattern is that the front wrap stays closed, so no pins holding it closed over the bust area. We went to see a production of Oklahoma that Lyric Opera is doing this season. A nice comfortable dress for sitting and since it's knit, I can wear it all day long and not worry about wrinkles.

I posted May 10th's outfit here.  

May 11th. This was the day that I had such a bad headache and it was amazing that I got dressed at all, but what I wore was really comfortable and warm as it was rather cold that day as well. The pants are self drafted pants and the top is from this Sleeves on Saturdays post.
I posted May 12th here.
And I posted May 13th, 14th and 15th here.

May 16th. After a number of days of wearing black, I was determined to wear anything but black. The skirt is from this Fabulous Free Pattern Friday post, http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2011/09/fabulous-free-pattern-fridaysa-little.html. The top is also my pattern but I have not blogged about. It's an asymmetrical pattern. I like that when I wear the top and the skirt together, it looks like a dress.

May 17th. You just saw this dress on Friday's FFPF post. I made it on Friday and wore it on Friday. We had a banquet to attend, so why not?! Sorry for the poor picture. We just couldn't find decent lighting. I really enjoyed wearing the dress. 

May 18th. I met up with an American Sewing Guild group for a tour of a business called Lorna's Laces. We were able to tour the factory and treated to a demonstration on how she dyes the yarn. Very interesting. Of course we had an opportunity to do a little shopping and I bought yarn. Oh my, it was just all too pretty!!! So I dressed comfortably. The top is from this Sleeves On Saturday post.

May 19th. This skirt will be an upcoming post for Fabulous Free Pattern Friday. It's just a rectangle! The top is my pattern, just a basic cowl neck top. You really can't see the necklace, but I did make that as well.
Finally, all caught up!!! On to a new week :-)

Me Made May

I still have a couple of pictures to post from last week. I'll get to those tomorrow. One of the things that MMM is showing me is that I wear a lot of black, much more than I thought. Interesting.

On Monday I got my new kayak out for the first time and managed to burn up my back. I'm wearing a top that is rather interesting, but I am still tweaking the pattern. I did make my tights. They are a little wild I guess as they are kind of a faux leather. I rather like them, but I guess they are a little off the wall.

Here's a picture of the top laying flat. The sleeves are reaching for the sky. It makes the top have some wonderful drapes, but over all it needs a little more fit than it has now. So a pattern in progress.

Yesterday I helped out with a science fair at our zoo that is here in the city. Lincoln Park Zoo is one of the last free zoos left in the United States. The top I'm wearing is just a funnel neck knit top, not worth really talking about. The skirt is an eight-gore skirt with pockets and a raised waistline. I blogged about it here. The skirt was perfect for what I was doing as I was able to carry my phone in my pocket and not have to worry about my purse.

I spent a good portion of today working in my garden. I'm pooped! There is always so much to do. You would not have wanted to see what I looked like while I was working. Once I took a shower and got cleaned up, I threw on this top that I did for a Fabulous Free Pattern Friday post. You can see that post here. I did not make the tights.I think they say Champion on the ankle. Funny!

Like I said, there's a lot of black. I'll see what I can do about that tomorrow. Whatever I wear, it won't be black!!!

Me Made May Catching Up

This outfit will actually count for two days. I wore this on Friday and did not get a picture as I came home, took off my clothes and promptly went to bed. Since I wanted to take a few pictures and catch up, I thought I would take a picture of the outfit before I left to have lunch with my mother. As cold as it was yesterday, the coat felt so good, so I left the outfit on and wore it again yesterday afternoon.  

The black top is from a Fabulous Free Pattern Friday post and it is the Draped Front Ballerina top. You can see that post here. The pants are just a basic pair of white pants, not worth talking about and then a purchased t-shirt. The coat is one that I knitted a few years ago. I love this piece. The pattern is from a Vogue knitting magazine. Super easy to knit. If anyone is interested in the pattern, let me know and I'll look through my magazines and let you know the issue it appeared in.

Catching up is no fun, well, maybe a little. I still have Thursday, Saturday and today to post. I'll get that that later!

Me Made May Sunday

I haven't posted my garments for a few days as I had a raging headache that really did me in for a couple of days. I did dress and I did get out, but only for what I really needed to do.  The rules of Me Made May are to take a picture everyday, I did not, but I am going to recreate the outfits and be fine with it. I wore the clothes, I just didn't take the pictures on the days that I wore them. 

This outfit I did wear today. The coat is not right with the dress, but I needed more than the shawl that I had planned to wear. It is soooo very cold in Chicago today. It's a very pretty day, just terribly cold. So as I ran out the door to go to church, I grabbed the coat, knowing that it really didn't work with the dress, but I decided to just own it and revel in the fact that I was warm. Man, pink shoes and an orange coat. Now that's a look!!!! Hey, I'm warm :-)  I made this coat a number of years ago. It's from a Vogue pattern. It might still be in the catalogue, I'm just not sure. Actually, I just looked and it is not there. Too bad as it is a very nice pattern. The fabric was from a friend. It had actually belonged to her mother. I just love it. The flower pin on the collar I made from ribbon.

The dress is one you've seen before. I wore it and blogged about it last Easter. You can see that post here. I wore the dress with a big hat that was such fun to wear, not a miss matched coat like I did today!!

Hope you're having a lovely Sunday!
Rhonda

Me Made May 2013 Catch Up

I haven't posted pictures for Me Made May 2013 for a few days, so a quick catch up.
Tuesday I wore this circular skirt. I see now that my black top is not the best match. Oh well :-), I won't do that again.

The skirt is a circular skirt. This is from a very early Fabulous Free Pattern Friday post. You can see that post here, http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2011/08/fabulous-free-pattern-fridaysthe.html and if your interested, learn how to draft your own circular skirt. I also did a post for Sew News on drafting the circular skirt. You can see that post here, http://www.sewnews.com/blogs/sewing/2013/03/14/guest-blogger-rhonda-from-rhondas-creative-life-drafting-the-circular-skirt/
In the post I did on my blog, I said that the fabric was available in my Etsy store. Sadly, it's no longer available as it just about flew out the door.

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Chicago. I had some time so I went out to the airport and practiced a few take offs and landings. I tried to take a picture, but my arms are only so long!! Hopefully the weather will cooperate this Saturday as it is our day for flying children. Taking a child up for the first time and seeing their expression is priceless!

I have had this suit for quite a while and I always get lots of compliments on it. It's going to be a sad day when it finally wears out. The jacket is from an OOP Vogue pattern. You can see another airport post I did here, http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2011/08/this-day-comes-every-year.html where I also wore the suit and talked briefly about the pattern.That was almost two years ago. I told you that I've had this for quite a while!! Actually, I have clothes that are a LOT older than this.
I'll post today's outfit tomorrow.
Hope you're having a wonderful day!
Rhonda

Me Made May, Monday

This is all you get today!!! I've been busy all day and I never got around to putting any makeup on, so if I were looking your way, you would say,"Yikes!!"
The top you may remember from this Sleeves On Saturday post. I love this top and wear it quite often. The pants are self drafted and super comfortable.
You may notice that my hands are clinched. The temperature got up to just about 70 degrees and yet, I've been cold all day.
Have a great evening!

Me Made May 2013, Catching up

It was a busy weekend. Our little godson celebrated his first communion. He and his family live in a town just outside of Springfield ,IL, about a 3 hour drive south of Chicago. Since I was going to be in the car for a while, I decided to wear something really comfortable. I really like this dress. It's from a vintage John Kloss pattern. Easy to make and even easier to wear! I'll do a little more detailed post about the dress later. Here I am with my boy Kenny! He's such a great kid, creative and a great sense of humor.  

I had hoped to get a picture with Kenny in his suit, but I think the child was ripping off his suit as he walked in the door. Typical boy! I wore a little wrap dress that is my own design and a jacket I copied from a vintage coat that I have. Funny little story about the jacket. I bought that vintage coat in a resale shop and I could see that it was a home sewn garment. What you can't see in the picture is that it has a very nice little detail on the side seams. There are bound buttonholes and covered buttons. Once I finished my jacket, I found the original pattern! Rather fun.  

This is my friend Pam, the mother of Kenny. She is quite the remarkable lady, a CPA and a pilot! We met each other when we both belonged to a women's flying organization called The 99's.

 And here is the whole family. I actually met Pam and her husband at the same time. Our local chapter of the 99's had a Christmas party at an airport that our previous mayor managed to destroy. Anyway....we met and had an instant bond. At that time, they had no children. Life has changed a lot for them. Pam no longer flys. She has an incredible garden, fruit trees, bee hives and chickens, 3 boys and a husband!!! My husband and I are so honored to be the godparents to Mr. Kenny and I love being a part of their family.    

I'll be back later with a little inspiration for a Monday.
Hope you had a great weekend!

Fabulous Free Pattern Friday

Today's addition to Fabulous Free Pattern Friday is a very simple skirt. It's actually just a simple straight skirt  with godets added to the side seams. The twist here is that the godets are not the typical triangle, but they are rectangles. My skirt is made from a knit fabric, but the godets can be added to a skirt made from a woven fabric.  I'm calling this skirt;

Taking Flight Skirt

The godets give me the impression of wings!

If you are making your skirt from a knit, follow these instructions.

You will need your hip measurement and the desired length of your skirt. To the length measurement, you will need to add for the hem allowance and an allowance for the elastic waist. I used a 1 1/2" wide elastic and I have a 1" hem in my skirt. So if your desired finished length is 28", you will need to add 1" for the hem and 3" for the elastic waistband(double the width of your elastic). The final length measurement will be 32". If your hips are 40", you will need to add seam allowance. I used 1/2" seam allowances, so the final hip measurement will be 42". Cut a rectangle that is 42" wide by 32" long.

What I like to do with my knit skirts is reduce the bulk around the waist. To do this, I try the skirt on and pin it in at the waist. In the picture below, you can see the chalk line that I drew in for the new waist seam. Sew along that line and trim away the excess.

Since I have 2 side seams and no seams at the center front or center back, I need to find the center between the side seams. Just fold the skirt in half and place pins at the center front and center back.

 For the elastic, I like to take my elastic and put it around my waist and pull it so that it is comfortable, not tight, but comfortable. Be sure to leave a little extra for the seam before you cut the elastic. Divide the elastic into 4 equal parts and mark with pins as you see below.

Now, match the elastic to the skirt at the waist.

If you do not have a serger, you can use the zigzag stitch on your sewing machine to attach the elastic to the skirt. Whether you are using a serger or a zigzag stitch, attach the elastic to the edge of the skirt pulling the elastic as you sew to match it to the skirt.  

The elastic is now attached to the skirt.

Turn the elastic over to the inside of the skirt. Once again, you will need to pull the elastic as you sew. For this I like to use the zigzag stitch on my machine. In order to have a straight line, I line up the inside edge of my foot with the edge of the serging.

 The waistband is finished and the elastic will stay in place whenever you wear it.

Now for the hem of the skirt. You will need to cut 2 rectangles 20" long by 10" wide. This measurement includes the hem allowance. In the picture below you can see the shape of the godets. The skirt is laying flat with side seams on either side in the picture below.

In this picture below, the side seam is facing up and you can see the rectangular godet. To sew the godets into the skirt, simple open up the side seam from the hem and sew in the godets.

 Now for the hem. Because there are corners, I thought I would quickly show you how I miter the corners.

 First I mark my hem with chalk at the corners.

 Fold up the hem and you will have a point of fabric at the corner.

Lay that point of fabric flat as you see below and mark to the point of the corner.

 Sew on that line.

 Trim away the excess of fabric.

 Turn the fabric and you will have a beautifully mitered corner.

 Hem the skirt and you are finished!

 A view from the side.

And finally me in the skirt. This post counts for my Me Made May posting as well as the FFPF post today. Nothing like getting 2 things done at once!!
The jacket I am wearing is another Fabulous Free Pattern Friday piece. I blogged about it here. It's the Paper Bag Jacket. You really can't see the top I'm wearing. I have not blogged about it, but I will. It's a twisty knida thing!!

It's hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, the water would have been over my head. Incredible.
Hope you have all had a wonderful Friday.
Rhonda