Bonnie's Plaid Skirt

I had some left over pink and purple wool plaid from this skirt so I made Bonnie a skirt. 

I actually started Bonnie's skirt last winter.  It was too big for her last year, so I put it in my alterations pile and promptly forgot about it. I pulled it out and low and behold it fits! 

All I had to finish was the hem.

I used Butterick 4593.

I used an invisible zipper.

Here is a shot of the back of the skirt. 

I used some lining I had in the stash. 

  I used hem lace for hem. 

 

Sewing a dry clean only skirt for an eight year old girl probably isn't the best idea.  We had a long talk about how this skirt can't go in the wash.  I think you can tell Bonnie enjoys the life of a model.



I Made Pants!

At least I can say I finished one of my resolutions for 2012.  I made the above pair of pants from a pattern I made from a pair of ready-to-wear I own.  I made the pants from evil, evil wool gabardine.  Yes, it looks innocent enough, but if you get it slightly off grain, it looks like crap.  The pants are pretty successful.  They certainly fit.  You can see the pocket lining in this picture.  It didn't look that obvious when I looked in the mirror.   

The fabric is from one of my stash inheritances.  This was a 100% stash project.  I like to think of it as free, though I must have bought the lining, thread, and seam tape at some time. The buttons were from a jar of buttons my cousin gave me. 

 Here is a close-up of the pocket.  I stabilized it with twill tape.

 I tried to sew button holes, but couldn't get them to look right, so I gave up and sewed the hook and eyes.  The buttons aren't functional. 

 I hand-stitched the lining to the fly.  I never can remember how to construct pants flys.  I had to go get a pair of my pants to jog my memory. 

I did a hong-kong finish for the waist band and then stitched-in-the-ditch from the right side. 

 I used hem tape for the hem. 

Here is a close-up of the the fit - hmmm you can still see that pocket lining.  

The blogged about my top here.

Bonnie's Blue Skirt

Apparently this skirt was a big hit at school.  I guess lace and satin are all the rage for 3rd graders.   I didn't use a pattern.  I sewed three 18 inch lengths of the fashion fabric together to form a tube.

I think I got the fabric from a going out of business sale at Hanocks for under $2 a yard.  It is made from panels of different shades of blue poly satin sewn together.  It is covered in a layer of black netting.  The seams between the panels are covered by black ribbon.   

I finished the hem by serging and sewing black lace around it.  

I bought the lace at JoAnns with my 50% coupon making it about $6. 



I added an elastic waistband.  I tried to gather the fabric and then stretch the elastic, but it was just too much to gather and looked like wads of fabric.  I ended up using my ruffler attachment.  Did I tell you how much I love my ruffler?  It is awesome.  I zigzagged the elastic to the satin. 



I took this picture of Bonnie right before her bedtime and I think she was about to drop. 



Here is a shot Bonnie and Gus with cast.  He broke his arm sledding while we were in Colorado over Christmas.  Fun times....



A Belated Review of 2011

2011 was an abysmal sewing year. I only finished 8 garments.  Life keeps getting in the way of sewing.

The big winners:

Bonnie's First Communion Dress - a lot of effort, but she looked beautiful

My brown lace skirt - This is one of my favorite skirts ever. It fits perfectly and lace is all the rage in my fashion mags.

White with black circles skirt - Loved this skirt also. It is very flattering and looks super cute with my black cotton jacket and fuchsia knit top.

The losers:

Black and white knit top: Never wore it. Made for 90 year old woman. Went to Goodwill.

Green knit top: Wore it 2 times, but just didn't like the fabric. Went to Goodwill.

Bonnie's flounced cotton top: This just didn't fit right. It gaped in front and when I tried to fix this with ribbon, the sides split open. She only wore it one time. I probably could fix it, but not really worth the effort.

The pretty goods:

Burgundy cowl top: I really like this top and get a lot of compliments when I wear it, but it is really sparkly and screams "Holiday" it's really only good for December and January.

Bonnie's Halloween Dress: She was very happy with the finished product. I wish I had more tulle for the skirt, but generally a successful project.

My 2011 Resolutions

1. Sew more than I buy.
2. Sew 24 garments, 2 a month
3. Sew a jacket.
4. Sew a pair of pants.
5. Sew Bonnie's 1st Communion dress.
6. Use the embroidery machine.
7. Trace a new pattern from Burda mag to sew and complete a garment that fits.
8. Oh what the heck - sew a coat.

The results: I only accomplished #5. Thankfully it was a success! I actually did pretty well with #1. I didn't buy a lot of fabric. I think I probably broke even.

My 2012 Resolutions:

1. Sew more than I buy.
2. Sew 12 garments this year - let's be realistic.
3. Sew a jacket. I really do need jackets. Small torso and big arms is the kiss of death in the plus size market.
4. Sew a pair of pants. I am almost done with a pair so this will happen.
5. Use the embroidery machine.
6. Sew a dress.

Happy Belated Halloween

Yes, I know it is February. Life has just gotten away from me. Anyway, Bonnie was Sharpay from High School Musical - Yes, I had no idea who she was either.

I got the sequined fabric, tulle, netting and lining from JoAnns. The sequined fabric was the nastiest fabric EVER!

Avoid this fabric if at all possible. The sequins were glued on the fabric. After only a couple stitches my machine needles become hopelessly gummed up with glue. I ended up rubbing iron cleaner on the needles every couple inches to keep the thread from snapping.

I used McCalls 5838. 

I got her the blond wig at CVS for $10. So that was great.

Yes, it is fully lined - like all good Halloween costumes. The zipper is from JoAnns.

Here is a closeup of the bodice:

I sewed gathered netting to the inside of the lining to "puff" out the skirt. I didn't get enough tulle, so it's not as gathered as I would have liked at the bottom of the skirt.


A couple of gratuitous shots of the kids at Halloween. Gus was a zombie and Carl was a baseball player.