Handmade Confessions: Jennifer From Eat.Sleep.Make

I'm so excited to introduce Jen from Eat.Sleep.Make! She writes her blog with her sister in law, Shannon, and the two of them come up with such clever, simple projects!

Like how to add backstraps to flip flops! (I need to do this for my own flip flops!)

They also came up with this flutter tee-- right down to making that neat print going up the side.

And these leather bracelets are easier than you think-- and they are made from upcyled leather belts!

I was so excited when I found out that Jen and I shared an aversion to button holes. I knew she would come up with a clever, simple way to get around it. And she did!

---

Hi everyone, I'm Jen from Eat. Sleep. Make. I blog with my sister-in-law, Shannon, and we love to DIY pretty much everything and anything. No craft supplies are safe with us! With all that creating (and an ever-growing to-do list), I'm always looking for short cuts. Which leads me to my handmade confession.... I hate buttonholes. Phew, glad I got that off my chest! For the longest time, I refused to sew buttonholes. I think my fear stems mostly from the fact that I've been sewing for the last 5 1/2 years on a basic sewing machine, and my sewing machine hates buttonholes. What I mean is, my machine knows how to make buttonholes, it just flat out refuses to make them. And when it does, it usually takes me 2-3 times of unpicking stitches before I have semi-presentable results. And who wants to spend an hour on buttonholes? Ain't nobody got time for that. That's how I came up with an idea to make a faux button placket!

Now, I'm not going to promise you that this method cuts your buttonhole making time in half or anything like that (and actually it may take a little bit longer), but if you're like me and have a machine that just doesn't like to make buttonholes, or if you're not ready to make the plunge into making buttonholes, this tutorial will give you a finished button placket that people will never guess is a fake. Plus, since we're using velcro, a faux placket makes it much easier for little ones to dress themselves. Ready to add a faux placket to everything?? SUPPLIES: finished top, velcro, disappearing ink marker, buttons at least 1 inch in diameter or more, sewing machine, needle and thread.

First, you'll need a finished top that needs a button placket. This particular top above is a peplum top I made as part of The Sewing Rabbit's fall 2013 collection, minus the piping. (Come visit me on The Sewing Rabbit to learn how to make a peplum top next week!)

ONE: first, measure your shirt from neckline to the bottom and subtract an inch. TWO: next, separate your velcro so that the "hook" part, or the scratchy part, is separate from the soft "loop" part of the velcro. Cut a length of the loop portion of the velcro only,  as long as the measurement you wrote down above. THREE: pin your loop tape to your shirt, leaving a 1/2 inch margin on both the top and bottom. FOUR: sew around all sides of your tape to attach it to your shirt.

FIVE: now you'll need to cut squares of the "hook" portion of the velcro to attach to the other side of your button placket. You'll want each square of hook tape to be slightly smaller that your button (so people won't be able to see your stitch lines), so trim if needed. SIX: cut out as many squares of hook tape as you have buttons. See how my hook tape is slightly smaller than my button? SEVEN: now use your disappearing ink marker to make marks where you want your buttons to go on the underside of your button placket. EIGHT: pin each square of hook tape on the marks you just made and sew to secure.

Here is what the other side of your button placket will look like as soon as you've sewn your hook squares down! Now all that's left is to sew your buttons on right on top of your squares to hide your stitches.

And now you have a beautiful faux button placket with no buttonholes involved! I'll be no one will even notice it's a fake :)

Thanks for having me, Palak! I hope my little trick saves others some stitch picking (and hear tearing out!) as well.

---

Jen, I love it! I think this is a perfect way to make sure those plackets look perfect, even if your machine hates buttonholes. And bonus- you'll never have to chase daughter around the house trying to button all the buttons on the back of her shirt. (Please tell me I'm not the only one who has to do this!).

Head on over to Eat.Sleep.Make for more awesomeness, and don't forget to leave them some comment love while you are there! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Handmade Confession: Celina from Petit a Petit and Family

We are nearing the end of our Handmade Confessions Series. (Although, I'm thinking of bringing it back after the holidays! What do you think?)

Today we have a blogger who is seriously one of my favorites-- Celina from Petit a Petit and Family. She has an incredible sense of style, especially when it comes to kids clothing.

For example... look at these adorable neon shoes.

And these backpacks are everywhere it seems... not just because they are so cool... but Celina's tutorial is absolutely incredible, well thought out and easy to follow! 

 And she sews for boys too... check out this Ruffle Shirt! Celina-- if you are reading this... did you really make 8 different shirts for this picture?

On top of being an incredible designer, she is as sweet as apple pie. I'm so glad to get to know her a bit better with this post. I can't wait for you all to get to know her as well!

---

Hello! I am so very excited and a little nervous for being here today. I'm Celina and I blog over at Petit a Petit and family were I share my love for children's design. I am a fashion designer and specialize in children's clothing. I studied fashion design and worked in the industry for a couple of years before launching my own kids line where I upcycled clothing to make some new ones for little girls between the ages of 4 and 12. When I had my son I also launched a little line of kids clothes for both boys and girls, this time from 3 months up to 14 years of age.

 With two kids and lots of new responsibilities & many bills to pay I decided to give up on my business and get a job. Now, I blog about my passion and sew just for my kids. You might be wondering where I am going with all this? Well let me tell you a bit more about myself!

I started sewing when I was about 12, I took a class and got a sewing machine for Christmas that year and I haven't stopped sewing since. I actually sewed on that machine until 2 years ago, I miss it quite a bit. After going to University, I realized Psychology was maybe not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and enrolled in Fashion Design school. I learnt how to draw, build a collection, draft patterns, cut and sew what ever I wanted or almost! When I started my label, I did it all: design, draft patterns, cut and sew samples, fit, grade patterns, cut and sew small productions, market and sell.

And I am here today to confess, I am not proud and this might come to a surprise to you, I really dislike sewing. There I said it. Maybe I don't dislike it as much as selling, but out of the whole design process, sewing drives me crazy! I wish I could skip it, clap my hands and it's done. Honestly, if I could I would hire someone to sew. So why do I sew? Well, because the feeling you get when you finish sewing something and you see all the hard work you put into creating something that is yours is I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E. There is no fun in just designing an item.

I think maybe it's one of the reasons I love upcycling clothes so much! You don't need to sew up so many elements, such as plackets and button holes or even the cuffs- just use the pre-existing ones as shown in the photo above.

I like to find fun elements in old clothes, such as the pocket in those sweatpants and give them a new life. Saves me the trouble of sewing them too. Sewing that pocket would have taken ages- not if you are upcycling an old sweatshirt!

 I've even upcycled men's blazers and used the existing lapels and sleeves.

I always seem to like basic designs as well. Rectangles make for great patterns, don't you think? The striped tunic is just that, a rectangle with some elastic at the waistline. I love it when you need very few seams to make up a garment or even better if it can be entirely sewn on your overlock machine!

Am I lazy? No, just impatient I think. Do you ever have those days were everything you try to put together just messed up? The sleeve on the wrong arm. The wrong side of the fabric stitched together. Trying to fit the wrong pieces together and wondering why they don't match. Or just when you finish sewing and you cut that last little piece of dangling thread you cut right into the pleated shirt that took you for ever to make? Yes, well the lace flower in that photo is strategically placed, can you guess why?

Oh but don't get me wrong, I will never stop sewing and I am too much of a perfectionist to give up on top-stitching and under-stitching or leaving out details in my designs because I dislike sewing. As much as I like to make things simple, they always end up pretty complicated. I guess I actually do love sewing, because without it I'd have nothing to show for but a silly little drawing and lets just say drawing isn't my strong point!

Thank you so much for having me here today Palak. It feels good to confess and talk these things out. Now don't you ever ask me to shorten and hem some pants- let's just say I rather sew up a new pair and you know how I feel about sewing now!

---

Thank you so much for sharing Celina! I think so many of us have parts of the sewing process we just can't stand. For me, it's cutting fabric, I wish I could get someone else to do that for me!

Head on over to Petit a Petit and give Celina some comment love-- seriously, her work is amazing... it will be easy to get lost in her site! After that, don't forget to head on over to Sewistry and take a peek at my contribution to Peekaboo's Fall Pattern Tour! 

Handmade Confessions: Melissa from Melly Sews

Today's blogger really needs no introduction... it's Mellissa from Melly Sews and Blank Slate patterns.

I've been a follower of hers for years, and was so excited when she took the plunge and began designing her own patterns. Because I know most of you are already familiar with her new projects, I decided to highlight a few of my favorites from her archives....

First... because football season has just started... the Gameday Dress! Hook 'em!

 And... how cute is this Gas Station/ Car Wash she made for her boys? I'm sure they'll remember it forever.

 And I know I've already gushed over this Pleated Pillow Facebook, but I love it so! I think this might be project for this weekend.

At the rate that Mellisa turns out finished projects, I was a bit surprised to hear her confession. Maybe you all will be too!

---

Hi everyone, I'm Melissa, from Melly Sews, and I'm excited and kind of scared to be here. Why scared? Because I'm about to share a deep, dark sewing secret.

I have a lot of UFOs in my studio.

What's a UFO? Well, depending on which item I'm referring to, it can be an UnFinished Object or an Unworn Finished Object. I have both.

Why is that a deep, dark secret? Well as a sewing blogger you don't want to admit that some of your gorgeously photographed projects are unworn. Or that you have potentially gorgeous projects that are just sitting around, unfinished. And I'm not talking things I cut out and never sewed. I'm talking things that are unworn for lack of a zipper. A zipper that would take me 20 minutes if I just sat down and did it already.

The crowning glory/shame of my UFOs is this object. It has retained UFO status in my studio for THREE YEARS.

It started as an unworn finished object...unworn because my nursing chest shrunk 3 cup sizes from when I started sewing it to when I finished it a year later. Which also necessitated a back dart - what? How does your upper back shrink just because your bust does? Anyway, I made the necessary adjustments and wrote a post about it two years ago, back when I first started my blog. Side note: if you are ever in awe of a blogger and wonder if you'll ever be that good, go back and find the oldest post you can on their blog. I promise you'll feel much better when you do.

Fast forward two years: after trying on that dress, I decided the underarm zipper was itchy and needed to be redone. So I ripped it out. But did I redo it?

Nope. This dress is literally unworn only for lack of a zipper. It fits me still, it's cute, I just haven't gotten around to putting a zipper in it. Lame, huh?

So mostly this keeps Molly, my mannequin, from being naked in the studio. But one of these days I'll get around to adding the zipper. So she can wear one of the other UFOs in my studio.

Thanks for having me Palak, it feels good to get that off my chest!

---

Thanks for sharing Melissa! It's good to know that I"m not the only one with UFO's hanging around! Have a wonderful Friday everyone, and head on over to Melissa's blog and encourage her to get that zipper done! That dress is much to cute to sit on the mannequin.

Handmade Confessions: Heidi From Handmade Frenzy

Today I have my friend Heidi from Handmade Frenzy to back to share a confession. Her's is something I've bet we've all done! 

Before you get too far-- be sure to visit Heidi's blog and see her latest Pattern Flip. How gorgeous! (And her dress is cute too :)

 I"ll be honest-- everything at Heidi's blog looks so beautiful and perfect; I was almost salivating to find out what her confession would be... now you all can know too!

---

Thank you so much, Palak, for inviting me to join in on this series!

My confession today is something I'm sure at some point all sewist have done. But of course for me the mistake laziness meant no longer wearable for the intended person.

If you've been sewing for any period of time, or if you are an internet self-taught sewist like myself, you've read at some point. You MUST prewash your fabrics!

Well... You guessed it. I didn't. And the worst fabric of all not to prewash. Seersucker.

These two pairs are the same pattern. Except the top pair used to be bigger than the bottom pair. Doh.

When I pulled these from the dryer I groaned. Then I laughed. They were just so MUCH smaller than when they went into the laundry!

Thank goodness all is not lost! They went from a size 4t so a size 18-24 month. Lucky for me :) If she were a boy I'd leave them as is and it would be AWESOME. New shorts for the baby with no extra sewing.

But I feel the need to girlify these.

I'm thinking, chopping the length, maybe adding a bow to the side seams with the cut off excess, maybe a cuff, maybe some buttons. I think they will be cute!

You can bet, ALL my fabric now gets prewashed. Whether I think it will shrink or not :)

Thank you Palak, for letting me share my confession! Now on to girlifying those shorts...

---

I used to be a stickler for prewashing too, before I started sewing more than I did laundry! Thank you for sharing that confession- we can't wait to see what you do with those shorts! Heidi was an absolute doll to share two posts this month (check out her Create With Kids!) Stop by her blog and give her some comment love :)

Handmade Confessions: Elisa from Charming Doodle

***Head on over to Sewistry.com to find out which book inspired me to start quilting. Part of Moda's Book Club!***

It's Friday, and that means its time for another Handmade Confession! This week, Elisa from Charming Doodle is here to share how she changed a sewing fail into sewing fabulous. And she's sharing a sweet little deal for us at the bottom of this post!

Before we get to the fail... let see some of Elisa's awesome work. You probably have seen her fantastic Scirocco Dress Turned Swimsuit.

But... have you seen this fantastic gold trimmed romper?  And she made that piping! Take that bias tape mafia (you know that they are in cahoots with the piping mafia, right?  It's true.)

Now lets hear Elisa's biggest sewing secret!!!

---

It's confession time. I just love this Handmade Confessions series and am excited (while also nervous and embarrassed) to make a confession to you today.

So here it is: I am impatient when I sew. So impatient, in fact, that I often don't stop to do important things like measuring or double checking the placement of something before I sew it. I use the 'eyeball' method wwwwaaaaaayyyy too often.

Let me show you what I mean.

I've been working on the release of a new sewing pattern called The Ultimate Apron. I've been over-the-moon excited about it because it's my very first pattern...and you'd think that writing a pattern would make me extra careful to measure and be really accurate as I made pattern samples.

Nope.

Here's what one of my first creations looked like:

Now my cheeks are getting red and I'm starting to giggle nervously as I share this total flop! I was trying to figure out the steps of adding a top to a basic skirted apron. But what I failed to do was take time to figure out the proportions (top too high, skirt too short), I rushed as I made the waistband so the stripes are wavy, the lace trim on the front of the blue side isn't straight, and I didn't even try to figure out where the center of the waistband and top were so I could match them up. It's a few inches off. Yikes!

Impatience and sewing don't mix very well. This is one of the reasons I am in awe of Palak and all of her amazing quilts. They take precision, something I'm learning. I really admire people with the patience and skills to make a quilt.

When I force myself to slow down and do it correctly, my projects always turn out better. Proof is in a more recent apron I made. Ahhh, that's better. (and I promise that the soon-to-be-released pattern looks more like this)

I'm learning to slow down and keep my measuring tools by my side through every project. And who knows...maybe someday I'll even tackle one of the beautiful projects by Palak...like the Crinkle Quilt.

What about you? Do you love to measure...or just eyeball things like I do?  

---

Elisa, thank you for sharing (and the kind words)! In the end, the aprons turned out cute. really cute. I almost didn't let her post because the aprons turned out so cute.

But... she changed my mind with an amazing offer for MIH readers. She's offering us 30% off of the Apron Pattern when we preorder at her Etsy site! Use the coupon code HANDMADE.  Head on over to Charming Doodle and give Elisa some comment love!

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Handmade Confessions: Toni From Hoosier Toni

I'm so excited to introduce Toni from Hoosier Toni for today's Handmade Confession. I'm not quite sure how I found Toni's blog-- but I'm so glad I did!

She's an incredibly talanted quilter who is gracious enough to share her projects with us. I love this baby quilt-- so on trend with those colors and angles.

She calls this one her Dead Simple Quilt. I never considered doing an all solid quilt, but after seeing this I might just give it a try!

And everytime Toni blogs about this gorgeous chicopee quilt, I just have to run my mouth about how much I love the colors. I've seriously made the same comment on her blog 3 times! But just for old times sake-- Toni, the colors on this quilt are striking! I love it-- where did you get that fabric?

I

And now, she's going to divulge a quilt binding secret with us. A woman after my own heart-- stickin' it to the bias tape mafia! This little tip just blew my mind!

---

I admit, when Palak first asked me to be a part of this wonderful series, I was completely stumped about what I could possibly share. I don't exactly have any deep dark secrets or juicy confessions to divulge, so I was at a loss. Then it hit me....Toni, you're lazy!! 

So there it is, my confession to you: I'm lazy.

 

See this box of jeans? My husband's friend dropped them off at my house in April so I could hem them for him. Yes, you read that right...in April! I sew nearly everyday but somehow I still have not finished these jeans. I have done one pair, but somehow they legs ended up different lengths and I got irritated and quit. Do I feel bad that they are still here? Yes. But obviously not enough to work on them. 

 

And this cute Geranium top that I made my daughter a couple of months ago? Never been worn because I haven't sewn on the buttons. Lazy! It would probably take 5 minutes to make the buttonholes on my machine and another 10 to actually sew them on. Maybe I'll get it done before her first birthday next week...

But today I am also going to share a way that my laziness has helped me. I used to hate attaching bindings to my quilts and other projects! It was such a pain when you got to the part where you join the binding pieces together before you finish sewing them on. So many of the tutorials that I read had you sew it on almost all the way, then stop, measure, pin, sew, press, sew...Blah! Too many steps.

 So here's the way I do it. Now remember, I'm lazy, so I'm not going to go through the entire binding-making process, I'm just hitting the highlights here. Also, I tend to explain things in a confusing way, so hopefully the pictures help! 

Once you have your binding strips sewn together to the desired length and pressed in half, take the beginning of your strip and fold it at a 45 degree angle, as pictured, and press. Then trim it 1/4" away from the crease, and fold back over so your binding strip is back to being half it's width.

Pin your binding to your quilt or other project and start sewing about 1.5" to 2" away from the lower folded edge. This is creating a little pocket for you to slide the other end of the binding into in just a minute.

 

Continue attaching the binding to your project as usual but when you get an inch or two away from the beginning of the binding, stop and trim off any excess that goes more than 1/2" past the "pocket" that I referred to earlier. Make sense?

 

Now just slide the end of your binding strip into the pocket and continue stitching the binding to your project, being sure to keep it taut as you sew. Once you have finished stitching, backstitch a couple of times and you're done with the hardest part. Then just fold your binding and attach to the other side in your desired way. Here's how it looks from the front:



About half of the time I decide to handstitch the pocket closed, but honestly it has never been a problem when I haven't done it. 

 

This is an I-Spy place mat I made for my kids about two years ago. You can see that I didn't stitch the pocket closed, but even after being washed countless times it hasn't been an issue. I'm sure many of you are horrified at my lazy approach, but it works for me!

Thank you so much, Palak, for letting me embrace my laziness! 

---

Toni, thank you so much for sharing! We are most definitely not horrified. I just wish you had told me about this before I made all that binding for the Leftover's Quilt! Anytime you want to embrace your laziness, come right on over-- we can be lazy together. If you've ever been a lazy seamstress, head on over to Toni's blog and give her some comment love!