Simplicity 2226, all done!

Here's my Simplicity skirt, all done!

So glad to have the Sew Along for this. It helped me have the confidence to tackle a "real" pattern pattern. Thanks, Anna!

And the finished result makes me so proud. It really is a garment. And I made it. Hard to believe!

Still need to insert the hook and eye closure. Other than that, she's all done!

Next time.... I'll make a smaller size. According to the package, I should have been a size 16. I made a size 14. In real life, I wear a 6 or 8. The skirt isn't falling off, but it isn't sitting as high as it should. Not as flattering as it could be. Next time, I'll try a 12.

That's it. Have a great weekend!

Linked up at...

Skirt update and a fabric question

 What do you think of this fabric? It was in the remnant bin at Haberman's and I snatched it up for less than $10 for a 1 2/3 yards. I thought at the store that it might also make a good Simplicity 2666 skirt.  Now that I have the fabric home, I'm not so sure. I'm even thinking.... is this fugly and I'm just really tired? I keep squinting and cocking my head. I don't know. What do you think? Cute skirt? Or would be better as maybe some sort of scarf?

I fought my way through the zipper today. Well, actually first I undid some stitching from yesterday where I'd made a mistake. Then I bumbled my way through the zipper instructions. This photo above is actually when I thought I was done. I was not. I stitched up the wrong side, on the right of the zipper. I figured this out later and re-did it. Now it's looking better. It's a zipper -- that zips! Magical! Can't wait to finish the skirt up tomorrow! My only worry: thinking it's just a tad too big. Bummer, right?

Saturday ramblings and more sew alongs

I'm been so focused here on the Henry Shirt sew along that I feel a backlog of things I want to share. So prepare for a very random post!

I'll at least start on topic. There are a few more sew alongs happening in the next few weeks that I want to take part in. And maybe you do, too!

Over at Noode-head, the lovely Anna is hosting a sew along for Simplicity pattern 2226. It's a basic skirt, with a zipper. I am really excited to give it a whirl. Her sew along series begins Monday!

I've been watching from afar the sew along for the book Little Things to Sew over on A Little Gray. I want to jump into the fray this month! The pick for November is this adorable puppet theatre. I want to make it for Luke for Christmas. This is a month-long sew-along, so it's leisurely. Isn't that theatre adorable?

Finally, Marigold over on Hideous, Dreadful, Stinky is doing a sew along this month for colorful coats or cardigans. No specific pattern. The idea is to sew along together but interpret that theme however you choose. Basically, make something to keep you warn this winter that isn't boring grey or black or brown. You can refashion something, too, which is what I think I might do.

All fun ideas, right? I already have my fabric and pattern for Anna's. I'll show you on Monday!

What else have I been up to?

JJ turned 9 months old on Halloween. This is such a wonderful age. Love him.

We went to the cider mill two weeks ago. Old news, I know. But it is one of my favorite things about the fall. I must share. We went to Yates Cider Mill, which we also hit up when Luke was a baby. I am finding it astonishing that three years have passed between those two photos.

The other big thing happening around here is I'm starting my new work schedule tomorrow. I'll be working Sundays from now on. It will be an adjustment, but there are a lot of pros to my new schedule and my new job. Things are looking up.

Other than that.... I miss my friend Kim.

I thought about doing a whole posts about some of this personal stuff, but it's tough. This is a sewing blog, right? I've read some posts recently about what people hate about other people's blogs, and it makes me second guess myself. I don't like it because the truth is this is my space, my creative outlet, and my virtual scrapbook of my sewing life -- but also the rest of it. I shoudln't second guess myself. If you blog, do you struggle with this? How much do you deviate from whatever the "thing' your blog is about and into your personal life? And if you're just a reader, how much do you want to know about my personal life or other bloggers you follow? Do you get annoyed at personal posts and think, can we just talk about sewing/crafting/whatever? Be honest.

One more Henry Shirt post: Pictures and resources

There it is! My Henry Shirt in action. Isn't it cute? I really do love it. I'm so thankful for this Sew Along because I don't know I would have tackled this project without it.

Two notes about those photos: isn't that dogwood a wonderful red? I love it in the fall. And yes, my kid is wearing his pants backward. You're not crazy. 

Back to the Sew Along wrap-up: I learned so much. I know next time the results will be even better. I want to jot down a quick list, for my reference and anyone else's. Here are some things I would do differently next time:

• Take more time cutting. I think my cutting was not 100% as accurate as it could be. 
• Use 3/8 inch -- or maybe even 1/2 inch -- seams. This is because I make such skinny little children. (Like, my 3-year-old weighs less than 30 pounds.) The shirt doesn't fit too badly honestly, but a slimmer cut would work well, too. 
• Try a fabric besides cotton. I love cotton for the ease in sewing and the fabulous patterns and for being the fabric I'm most comfortable working with. But I think it might be good to try a different textile for this shirt, especially for the main body pieces. 
• I'd follow Leila's lead and cut the shirt a little longer. I believe she did that by adding two inches or so to the main front panels, the side panels and the back. This would help not just to lengthen the shirt but to make my hemming issue a non-issue. 
• I'd add some top-stitching to the pockets and the collar. 
• I'd like to try buttons next time, if only because these snaps just aren't working for me! (And I realize the issue there is probably me.) After I took these photos, they all basically popped off. 
• My collar skills need work. This one is a little messy. 

If you want to make your own shirt and follow along with this Sew Along at some later point, here are all the posts you need.

• Day 1: Preparing your fabric and getting ready. Krista /Leila
• Day 2: Cutting. Krista//Leila
• Day 3: Preparing to sew. Krista ///// Leila
• Day 4: Assembling the shirt body. Krista/Leila
• Day 5: Assembling and attaching the yoke and sleeves. Krista/Leila
• Day 6: Assembling and attaching the collar.. Krista/Leila
• Day 7: Finishing touches(snaps and hem) and reveal. Krista / Leila

Also, here are a few links to some other relevant Web sites and resources.

Sewing for Boys: Official Web site
One Girl Circus: Blog of book author Karen LePage
Patterns by Figgy
Sewing for Boys Flickr Group

That's it! Thanks to anyone who followed along. :) I can't wait to try something else from this book. What should we do next?!

Henry Shirt Sew-Along, Day four

Today the shirt really starts to come together. Exciting! So let's dive in, shall we? We're doing the section of the Henry Shirt from the book Sewing for Boys titled, "Assembling the Shirt Body," steps 9 to 13.

I think a lot of the sewing today is what elevates this project to "advanced" status. At least, that's my guess, because there are a few curved seams. Curved seams can seem very confounding when you're trying them for the first time.

You'll line your pattern pieces up to see how they'll fit together like this.

But then when you flip to put them right-sides together, the way they'll be when you stitch them together, you find this:

They don't line up anymore, of course, since the curved parts are going different ways.

Sewing them together really feels a little like magic. It just takes some practice. This is the tutorial I used when I learned.  You can also Google if you need more help and you'll find more tutorials and even YouTube videos that walk you through it. Bottom line, it's really not that hard.

There's a good diagram in the book and the authors advise not to over pin. That's good advice. Just a few pins will do it. Start from the top point and let the fabric roll and curve a bit as you maneuver the fabric together.

Then stitch it together slowly, smoothing out little bubbles that form. They'll stay bubbly away from the seam area, but there, where it goes through the presser foot, it should be nice and smooth.

You'll do this four times, attaching the sides to the front and back panels.

The instructions each time say to then "finish the seam allowance." I actually skipped right over it the first time around and top-stitched my seam down without finishing. I think those four words are easy to miss! But what it's saying is to be sure to first finish the seam allowance by either sergering, cutting with pinking shears, or doing what I did -- using a zig-zag stitch. This ensures the fabric won't unravel when you wash and wear the shirt! 

There's my finished seam.

I made one other mistake, too! It came when it was time to attach a closure strip.

First you line it up, right sides together, and pin. And stitch this edge together.

Then you sort of re-press it into place, with the crease down the middle and the other long-end ironed under a quarter inch.

I didn't do a great job of accurately pressing this the first time around. You want it so when folded in place, the fabric under the shirt just crosses over the edge of the front of the closure strip. Because when you edgestitch it in place, you want to just grab all layers of the strip.

The first time, I didn't. I missed some of the places where it was folded under. See? That wasn't going to do.

So out came my very best friend, my seam ripper! Not a big deal. It happens, right? Just rip the seam out slowly and carefully so you don't accidentally cut a hole in your fabric.

I did this, re-ironed and made sure everything was better lined up.

And that was it!

You can really see the shirt starting to come together. Isn't it fun?? My only worry right now is that it is a little boxy. My guy is SO skinny. I would not know where to begin to make it skinnier, and I wonder whether I have been using the wrong seam allowances. I'm careless at time with my seam allowances, figuring as long as I keep them all standard, it's fine. But I think I've been using 1/4 inch, not 3/8 inch. That would have helped to make things a little tighter, eh?

Be sure to check in on Leila and see how things are going for her shirt.

And if you're sewing along, please be sure to leave us a comment! We'd love to hear how things are going for you.

Oh and Happy Halloween, from my little matador and bull!

Henry Shirt Sew Along starting Friday!

Are you joining in the Henry Shirt Sew Along that's coming later this week? I hope so! Here are some details to get you prepared.

Leila from the blog Bilingual Baby and I will be tackling The Henry Shirt from the recently published book Sewing for Boys, starting on Friday! There's still time to join us. The book is available on Amazon.com, and it has great reviews, beautiful photos and many, many unique and detailed projects for a little boy's wardrobe. Plus, one of the authors is a metro Detroiter, so I gotta put that out there. 

Order the book, grab a couple yards of coordinating fabric, a little interfacing, and some snaps. Then you'll be good to go. Here's the (loose) schedule if you want to join! I'm going to do my best to stick with it, but you know how it is. Mommy life with a baby and a 3-year-old and a new position at work and a holiday next week -- there are all sorts of ways I could get off-track. But it's casual, right? Right.


Day 1: Getting started and talking fabric choices. Leila's also going to write about fit and adjusting for your child’s body. I will probably talk about how I'm intimidated. Yeah, I've never really sewn a nice, detailed garment for my kid before. It's going to be new for me.
Day 2: Cutting
Day 3: Prepping details and any catch-up.
Day 4: Assemble the body.
Day 5: Attach yoke and sleeves.
Day 6: Collar
Day 7: Finishing! And showing off your final shirt!

See? Very doable! I think you'd be able to participate if you have an hour to spare a day, and some days likely much less. So please join us! We'll have a link party ready to go for Friday where you can drop a link to your blog or flickr page if you're participating. 

Anyone in?

Sewing for Boys Sew Alongs!

Last weekend, I ran a 5K, one I do each year as a fundraiser for the hospital that performed my son's open-heart surgery. It's a big day.

It was bigger this year. Because it coincided with an indie craft fair! I was in things-I-love-about-life heaven. I dragged my husband there, me still wearing my sweaty running clothes -- except I took my tights off and put on a skirt. So I was really wearing a sweaty tank, two different colored sports bras, a flowy skirt and wait for it..... tennis shoes! Kind of embarrassing to look at cute artist wares looking like that sort of hot mess.

And of course, I happened to meet cool people. Of course.

First I met Emily from the blog EmmmyLizzzie! She was wandering outside waiting to go in; so were we. She noticed my 241 tote, and KNEW it was a 241 tote. Then she said, "I love Heather Ross fabric!" And that's when I was like, wow, she is my people. Then I was blown away to realize I recognized HER bag, the Showoff Bag from Made by Rae. Not just any bag -- this one! Because she was a pattern tester. I am such a sewing nerd, that this was like meeting a movie star or something. Her bag was famous!

We proceeded inside and I dragged my husband through three floors of cuteness. I really wanted many things, but wow, shopping with your ahem frugal husband really puts a damper on things. But there was one thing I just had to get -- the Sewing for Boys book by Karen LePage and Shelly Figueroa. I'd wanted it anyway and was thinking of asking for it for Christmas, but then I had my second total-sewing-nerd moment when I realized Karen was there, selling the books herself! How much cooler is it to buy the book from the author, talk to her about it and thumb through the rack of clothes she's selling from the book than to buy it from Amazon.com? Um, so cool! And she signed it for me.

I will indeed keep rocking the crafty goodness, Karen!

All of this is the lead-up to this: Karen is hosting a sew-along from the book over on her blog, One Girl Circus. The Treasure Pants! (Anna just made them here.) I really want to take part but am unprepared. And staring down a Halloween-costume deadline. But I wanted to spread the word in case you didn't know!

And guess what else?

I will be co-hosting another sew along from the book next week! Leila from the blog Three Dresses and I decided over on Twitter to make The Henry Shirt. It's adorbs. (Here's one cute one I found via Google.) I have my fabric, the main fabric anyway. We're ready to go, but will wait for you to get ready to join us. The Sew Along should begin middle of next week! I have never attempted a shirt for my kids. I have never even made a button hole! But it's OK, we can figure it out together.

Care to join us?