see sally go to the library.

a few weeks ago i got the opportunity to be a pattern tester for shannon over at luvinthemommyhood. she was looking for testers for her new sally dress pattern and it was all very hush hush and covert. late night emails, secret photo shoots…i even had to poke out jeremy’s eyes when he accidentally caught sight of an unfinished dress i was working on. sorry, hon. but the sewing world is a dangerous place. if you can’t take the stitches, get out of the craft room.

anyway, now the pattern is released !YAY! so i can share some pics of what i did.

so first of all i was slated for the size 8 testing. i made 3 separate bodices for ava, each slightly different versions of the pattern.

the sally dress comes with three sleeve options: sleeveless, short sleeves, elbow length sleeves.

in the end we went with a sleeveless version, which i shortened to tunic length.

i’m thinking the 3/4 length sleeves in a tunic length over legging = perfect for back to school wear. yup yup.

this fabric…let’s talk about it. i’ve been moving this floral fabric from place to place for ohhh…a bazillion years give or take a century. i bought 5 yards (as usual, that’s my go-to number when i find a cute + cheap fabric) at $1/yard and every summer i plan on making summer dresses for my girls and never do. so i’ve made a pledge with myself to Shop My Stash more and Shop the Stores less…and this was the perfect opportunity.

now let’s talk about the pattern: i love this pattern so much i went ahead and sewed up two more: coordinating dresses for elliot and gigi. this was another five yards of $1 walmart fabric that’s been in my stash since the dawn of time. look at me go with my Stashbusting ways.

it had two different borders: the small stripe one, and the very detailed large border. i varied my cutting direction to showcase a different portion on each girls’ dress, and i really had fun with it!

but hey, you know…it’s cool that i bathed and braided and ironed and dressed and went to the spot i’d picked…and then it started pouring on the way there. it’s becoming the modus operandi for my photoshoots apparently.

turns out a rainy parking lot isn’t a terrible backdrop. but when your little ones don’t want to stay still on a very overcast day you get a lot of this…

so our “spot” was actually outside of our favorite library, and i will go there again at some point for photos because it’s just so pretty. but due to the rain we headed right in to the library where i attempted some more photos…

yeah. nope.

the books worked their literary magic. so i got a bunch of that up there, and a little of this…

sigh. okay so this is what i’ll tell you about the sally dress:

+ it’s a quick and awesome sew. from print out to finish it took less than 2 hours for the sleeveless version
+ a big plus: there’s only 2 pages of pattern to print out. i do love PDF patterns, but i’m cheap cheap cheap and lazy lazy lazy at heart so it a little bit kills me when i have to print out 27 pages of pattern pieces, and then spend 2.6 hours taping them together.
+  it’s got big deep pockets which both the kids and i love. and the way they’re sewn right into the side seams is adorable
+ there’s no closures on the fully lined bodice. i’d never done a seamless lined bodice before so i loved learning a new technique.
+ i found it ran a little snug on my kiddos, so make sure you check measurements before deciding on a size. and maybe size up just for safety. the dresses go on over their heads, but it’s a little bit of a struggle when they freak out because they think they’re stuck. ha. EDITED TO ADD: i was a tester, on a version of the pattern that differs from the final version. i’ve got the final pattern and it looks like the bodice has been cut a little more roomy, but i haven’t sewn it up yet to give you my 2 cents (which obvs you’re dying for). anyway—my prior recommendation still stands: go by the final measurements, not what “size” you think is right. and it’s worth a muslin if you’re not sure. carry on…
+ i’m gauging it at an experienced beginner/intermediate. if you’re looking to add some new skillllz to your repertoire this is the perfect pattern.

if you want to buy the sally dress go HERE. i highly recommend it. ;)

spaghetti: not just for eating {sewing tutorial}

there’s this thing i do, and i’m sure i’m not alone: i look at something, admire it, and without ever taking the time to research it just decide that it’s too hard and i can’t or won’t be able to do it myself.

i don’t do it all the time—a lot of the time when i sew it’s because i saw something and thought “hey, i can do that!”. but there are certain sewing techniques that i’ve written off as simply IMPOSSIBLE…without ever even trying them.

i know, i know. you’re shaking your head at me now and saying “stupid stupid girl.” and you’re absolutely right. i am. because standard sewing techniques are definitely not rocket science or brain surgery or whatever.
they’re just that: Standard Sewing Techniques.

so it went with the spaghetti strap. i’d always admired them on a handmade garment. but i could never do that myself. looked too…tiny and fiddly and requiring heaps of patience and time i just don’t have. until, you know…i tried it. and shockingly, it was easy.

lesson learned: try it. research it. if someone else did it, then you probably can to. have faith in yourself.

i learned there are three simple—yet important--steps to mastering the spaghetti strap, and now i will share all of my wisdom with you young grasshopper.

o1) CUT YOUR FABRIC ON THE BIAS

it’s obvious because i’m using a plaid that it’s cut on the bias. (bias: the cut is diagonal to the grain lines/selvedge edge. you know—the way that doesn’t make sense because you’re WASTING SO MUCH FABRIC)
but bias cut = stretchy which in turn = much easier to turn and makes a nicer laying strap. trust me on this: bias cut.

o2) SEW A POINT ON THE END.

don’t just sew a straight stitch from one end to the other. taper down at one side almost to nothing, as if sewing a dart. i say almost because you want to leave a tiny hole at the end.

then snip a little opening a tiny ways down from the end of your tube. you’ve now created the perfect handle for your tool. which leads me to number 3…

o3) USE THE RIGHT TOOL

okay, so if you google “how to make spaghetti straps” you’ll find a lot of people who say you don’t need anything fancy—just a safety pin will do.
but this bad boy can be found on any notions wall, and with a coupon i think it cost me about $2.50 at joann’s. it’s a long thin rod with a loop handle at one end and a small gripper at the other end kind of like a latch hook. yes—a pin will probably work okay. but you’ll probably be frustrated and annoyed and it will take WAAAAY more time. get the tool. (which i obviously can NOT remember the “official” name for…loop turner? maybe?)

there you go. 3 simple steps to ensure slinky spaghetti strapage.

want a quick run-through of the method?
(please excuse the varying fabrics/photos…i needed more pics for this than i initially took. i made a stunt double strap)

o1) cut a length of fabric (ON THE BIAS SEE TIP 1!) the width/length will vary based on what you need.

length: measure where the strap is going and add a couple inches for safety.
width: for the polka dot strap in these photos i went with a 1” width and a very tiny seam allowance (like 7/16”). the plaid strap is closer to 1.5”, still with a tiny 7/16 s.a. if you cut a wider strap and sew with a larger seam allowance your strap will be rounder because the seam allowance will act as stuffing when you turn it right side out. you’ll have to experiment and see what works for you.

o2) sew a straight seam tapering across the top to almost nothing at the end (DUH SEE STEP 2). i say almost because you want to leave a tiny hole for step 4. sew this with a nice tight stitch—you don’t want stitches popping or gaping in your strap after it’s done. that’s annoying. i use a stitch length of 2 on my machine.

o3) cut a little mouth about 1/2” down from the tapered end of your strap.

happy strap is happy.

4) slide your loop turner in from the bottom of the strap, and grab the top section through the little mouth you created. then pull. you may have to wiggle it a bit to get it started, but the tapered top makes it much easier to get the strap started than if you’re pulling a big chunk of fabric.

 

5) TA-DAH! you’ve just made a spaghetti strap. like. a. boss. now get busy spaghetting all the things.

(elliot’s plaid dress blogged here)

time flies when you’re having fun.

last week i fell victim to what i affectionately call A Sewing ADD Day.

meaning, in a short while i sewed a dozen HST for my quilt, gave that up and made covers for 4 of my living room pillows…errr, make that 3. i never finished the 4th, because then i gave that up and made a dress for elliot.

by the time i got to the dress i managed to get myself slightly under control—and by that i mean i forced myself to finish the dang thing, so i would have accomplished at least ONE thing in total for the day. it’s the little things, right?

but in my defense—this dress has been in the pinboard of my mind for quite a while now. the fabric in my stash, the idea pinned and the truth is i’m going through a bit of a…”thing” right now.

here, let’s talk. (pats seat beside me) i need a good sharing sesh, k?

see, elliot is our last baby. she is two now, on the cusp of full-blown toddlerhood: weaned, potty-trained, speaking in sentences. you get the drift. and i find myself kicking and screaming and clawing at the last vestiges of babyhood.
picture the wile e. coyote hanging on the edge of the cliff, with the road runner pecking at his fingers.
in this metaphor i’m wile e., the cliff = babies, stupid road runner = time.

i’ve always hated that road runner.

i’m not going down without a fight. i can’t. the thought that no new googiebaby will ever cross our threshhold makes my eyes tear, my heart hurt and my uterus ache.

nevermind that we simply can NOT have another—for reasons practical, emotional, physical, financial, spiritual, mental…it has nothing to do with that. i am a baby lover through and through, and no matter how i may love a niece or nephew or grandbaby it will never again be MY baby. (although i’ve been assured that grandbabies are simply awesome. we’ll see. i have a ways to go yet.)

in the meantime i embrace elliot’s remaining wisps of babyhood with a fervor. my manic brain has fixated, of all things, on clothes. i have pinned scores of adorable dresses and ideas, and—while many of them can easily work for older kiddos, a lot of them are for babies. or in my head i’ve pictured it on a baby. bubble rompers? this, my friends, is my last summer of bubble rompers.

hold on, i need a tissue. and maybe a stiff drink.

this rapidly concluding august is also marking the rapidly approaching conclusion of my time as the momma of a fat-bellied knock-kneed chubby-wristed little. and i’m having a bit of a hard time with that.

so you see why when my brain wanders whilst i sew and all these ugly thoughts start in my head, i quickly toss aside quilts and pillows in favor of faux smocking and short sundresses. in my head i’m running out of time! i never did this! or this! i wanted to make this! and crochet this! and sew this!

because, this:

this is one of them. the mock smock frock done by danielle of my sparkle has been in my head, destined to be paired with this 1/2 yard of blue and pink shirt weight plaid for over a year now. and in another couple of weeks both shirt weight and a 1/2 yard aren’t going to cut the mustard.

so it was now or never no time like the present make hay while the sun shines. and really, the dress was simple enough. i cut a big wide section of the fabric—just about 1 1/2 times 1/2 the circumference of her chest.
and while that all sounds good and technical, what it really means is that i took a piece of pom trim i had laying next to me from my recently abandoned pillow sewing, wrapped it around e’s chest where she lay on the couch and marked it with my fingers, then eyeballed half and stuck a pin in, held it to my fabric and went another half of that further for my length.

so…yeah. 1.5x 1/2 the circumference.

then i smocked. or mock smocked. for the actual instructions i’ll send you over to danielle’s tutorial. she’s got photos and everything.

i started roughly in the center and worked out on each side. i kept adding columns of smocking until the piece was just about the size of my Official Pom Trim Measuring Apparatus. add a shirred elastic thread back and a skirt using the rest of the fabric and it was done.

getting some decent pics, however…

elliot was game. she was getting candy to sit on the horse and say cheese? yeehaw. and then in that incredibly perverse way that only two year olds and women at certain times of the month have, she suddenly decided NO. meltdown of epic proportions.

seriously. with tears and snot and everything. and then it worked itself out and she climbed on the horse and had a skittle and all was right with the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

she even rode side saddle for a bit. fancy girl.

so where does that leave us?

well, first of all: i’m a little bit in love with this dress.
and i did spaghetti straps, which i’ve been doing a lot of lately because i was SOOO scurred of them and in awe of people who could do them, and then it turns out they’re not too hard. but we’ll talk about that later.

and yes, i fully realize that she could wear this dress at 3 or 4 or 8 or even 20 because it’s just THAT CUTE. but this was a baby dress in my head, so on my baby it shall be.

and my other issues? well, i had a stern talk with myself the other day. and i reminded myself of this: if i spend too much time worrying over how fast it’s going, or lamenting the babies i no longer have…well, i’m missing out on the awesome KIDS i do have.
i can’t cry over the past and neglect the present, right? there is so much FUN ahead of us. we have kids—with thoughts and opinions, who we can talk to! and they talk back! and say funny things and make us laugh! baby is just one part of it. and certainly not even the best part.

the baby times were fun. hard, yes, but fun. i’m going to miss them. always. i’ll never be the lady giving you dirty looks when your baby cries in a restaurant/airplane/otherwise awkward area. no…i’ll be the creepy lady eyeballing your baby a little too hard and saying things like “if you need to use the bathroom i’ll hold her for you. you can trust me, i have five of my own.”

for reals. you can. i just wouldn’t go too far if i were you. ;)

i do still wish i made that baby got bach shirt, though…