Other Crafts: Feathers, Novels, Tap Shoes & More!

I haven't been posting, but I have been keeping myself busy with all sorts of wacky projects that are being done with my usual massive amounts of enthusiasm and limited skill.  I'm having a costume party next week where I will unveil Cleopatra and a surprise costume!

First up is my attempt at a feathered fascinator!  This project was inspired by a dream I had several weeks ago where I was stuck in India, but dressed as a Gibson Girl.  I know, right?!  You have to act on something like that!  So I made this at my dining room table while my sister sat across from me with clear concern for my mental health.  The look on her face as I arranged feathers and tacky rhinestones was totally priceless.  I may or may not have been drinking.

Nothing says "I doubt anyone reads this blog"  like posting a photo taken with your phone while wearing an orange hoodie and no make-up and  making this face.

I couldn't quite get the angles on the feathers to complement each other right.  Next time!

Sparkle!  Feathers!  Tacky! 

Since I do sensitive HR stuff I have to do all my own filing and can't pawn it off on anyone else at work.  Which sucks. I've been threatening my co-workers with a Friday Filing accessory of some sort for several months.  I considered hats, wigs, even wore a crazy enormous necklace once to make my dutiful filing of important documents more palatable so this madness will actually be worn.  I make no apologies!  Filing is boring.  I'll do whatever it takes to entertain myself.

Notes on the project: 
Feathers are messy.  And I don't know how to use them properly.  I read all the directions on how to thin them, how to curl them, how to shape them, etc., but all I ended up doing is making them shorter and then randomly gluing them to felt.  Oh well! 

Cost:  Less then 40 cents of stiff felt, a hair clip I already owned, left over rhinestones from Cleopatra, and probably $2.00 worth of feathers (more then a few of them were sacrificed as I learned how to cut them).  Took me probably 40 minutes of fooling around.

Verdict:  My sister was surprised that it didn't took entirely insane once it was in my hair... which I guess I'll count as a conditional success?  I'm totally going to make more regardless.  Feathers for everyone!


Next Up:  Nanowrimo 2011 is currently barreling through November.  In case you are unfamiliar, this is National Novel Writing Month where you are challenged to write 50,000 words in 30 days.  I'm including it here as writing is one of my preferred crafts and probably the only one that has ever led to actual achievement... though not with Nanowrimo.  I'm a repeat failure at that.  I've participated with varying degrees of dedication for the past eight years.  EIGHT YEARS, people!  And no, I have not finished a novel yet.  Currently, my Nano-novel for 2011 is at 5,000-odd words, so I'm considerably behind on my word count, but I'm not stressed about it. 

I want this so very, very much.  You can order them restored and ready to type!  Not cheap though and I cannot possibly justify purchasing it. 
Boo.  :(

Notes on the project:
Titled "The Diplomat's Peace" the story is a sci-fi adventure (my first time taking a swing at that genre) about a boy named Oliver who discovers he's not entirely human when his mother dies of an alien-specific virus endemic to the galaxy.  Forced to take refuge among those who would undermine human dominance, he is quickly put to use as a spy, but his divided loyalties put him at risk from both sides.  

Cost:  About a gazillion dollars at the coffee shop.

Verdict:  Likely to fail. I'd have to write like 3,000 words a day for the rest of the month including Thanksgiving. 



Then there is tap dancing which is probably more of a talent then a craft, not that I have any, but I always wanted to do it and so I am. Yes, I am 35 and no, I don't care how I might look. 

When I put these away in my closet I realized that I own 5 pairs of black patent leather shoes.  I think I've been trying subconsciously to get myself some tap shoes for years now.

Notes on the project:
I am not very good.  At all.  But it is so much fun!  I begin formal lessons in January.  So far all I've mastered is the Tap-Touch-Shuffle, but it looks like real dancing.  There will be no video uploads for the blog.  Sorry to disappoint!

Cost:  $40 for the shoes, $0 for clothes as I have endless amounts of workout clothes that can double as dancewear with a pair of fishnets, and $80 for the first set of lessons. 

Verdict:  more fun then exercise, I'll have to skip a Monday night spin session to go to the class and I can't decide if that makes it a life fail or a joy win.


Then I made this bracelet.   My kindergartner got in the car about two weeks ago and told me I was worth lots of rubies.  He'd learned the Biblical proverb at school: "Who can find a worthy woman? For her price is far above rubies."  Really, outrageously sweet.  I then turned on the radio to hear, back to back, Alicia Keys, "A Woman's Worth" followed by Toni Braxton's "He Wasn't Man Enough For Me".  It was '90s R&B awesomeness.  I haven't heard those songs in forever! (Retro Lunchbox on Alice FTW!) Anyway, it stuck with me, the idea of rubies and value and not forgetting that a 5-year old boy (at least) thinks I'm amazing. 

I need to find my real camera, it has been missing now for like three months.  These photos are terrible.

You can't tell in these photos, but this is asymmetrical and far cuter in person. 

Notes on the project: 
crepe-back satin is a surprisingly easy material to embroider, though it does pucker a bit if you pull too hard, but the same can be said for cotton.  It is prettier in person, more depth and shimmer.  I enjoy embroidering and I'm going to do it more often I think.  It really is too bad that I can't draw.  I need someone who can draw for me!

Cost:  Free.  I had everything on hand.

Verdict:  I also need a stamp that says "Validated!".  You know, like they have for parking? I can go around stamping other women's hands with it when I seem them doing something they don't actually need to be doing.  I think the stamp will accessorize nicely with the crazy feathers and tap shoes.

Halloween 2011: Snow White, Twice.

I've had an exhausting and stressful week.  I turned to Diet Pepsi and my sewing machine for solace.  Okay, and ice cream too.  Shut-up.

Thursday night I finally attached the Snow White skirt to the bodice I finished weeks ago.  It did not turn out well.

HA! 
This is the only picture I took of Snow White v.1 for obvious reasons.  Scroll down to preview v.2 if this horrifies your sewing sensabilites. 

Clearly, this is hilarious and in no way is it wearable.  I'm going to be so sad when Abby gets old enough to have taste:  she loved this rendition and kept telling me how beautiful it turned out.  I had to bribe her out of it!  Her love for it was too sweet for words and made me happy to have a daughter.  I tried hard to not giggle as she twirled around blissfully in this awful, ill-conceived costume.  My husband did not even try.  He just laughed, loudly.

So what went wrong?  Many, many things.

- the bodice is way too wide.  While it fits well through the chest her shoulders aren't even close. This was the only part of the dress that I used the pattern for so I'm not sure why it turned out so huge.  The sleeves are half way down her arms!

- around the waist it looks like she's used the dress to shoplift 10 bags of marshmallows.  I did the gathering on the skirt with a cording technique instead of gathering stitches which turned out not to be that much easier and it just added bulk.  Sewing it to the bodice evenly proved impossible, hence the weird pleat on one side and the total lack of a subtle v-front.  It seems to be oddly twisted too.  WTF?  Terrible. 

- you can't tell by looking at it but despite the wide top it was super difficult for her to get in and out of it.  There were some contorted moves with her arms that had to go on, only to look like it was falling off of her when she was wearing it.

I waited for Abby to go to bed and then took the whole thing apart, stitch by stitch.  That took an hour.

And then I stared at the pieces.  And stared at them some more.  Then looked up Snow White dresses on Etsy to make sure I could order a decent homemade one from someone.  There were lots of pretty ones, (I especially loved this country-inspired cotton one, though Abby would be disappointed).  That said, I only found two with a velvet bodice and proper sleeves.  This one is $500 but is really nice.  Still, $500 for a child's costume and the skirt portion was cotton, not satin.  This second one is $329.99 and is stunning but I don't like the sequined ric-rac and the sleeves aren't inset, but red with blue ribbon strips tacked over, plus I intend to make the cape out of red velvet not satin.

I then went to the fabric store and re-purchased all the fabric in case I had to start from scratch. I didn't and now I have an extra 2 yards each of navy stretch velvet and shiny gold satin.  Can you return fabric?

Snow White, v.2 is much improved, though not perfect.

This dress cannot attend your party as it has a prior engagement with my ironing board.  Regrets.

-I cut the cord entirely from the skirt, separating the lining and tulle as well.  It was therapeutic in a way.  Luckily, I'd hemmed it a little long anyway so losing those inches was not a problem.

-Then I took a deep breath and my shears and sliced up the back seam on the bodice.  Scary!  I cut about a quarter inch out of center (lining included) and then folded in about a quarter inch on either side and hemmed the raw edges.  I then stitched a strip of black Velcro into it.  This not only made the bodice fit better it also made getting in and out of it about a million times easier.  It could still be a little tighter and if I'd re-cut the bodice I would have raised the neckline an inch.  It is a touch low for a 4 year old. The Velcro closure is a little bulky, but it will be covered by her cape eventually anyway.

Velcro to the rescue! 

-I ditched the lining and the tulle on the skirt portion.  Instead of doing a gathering stitch I decided to just pin pleats into the skirt portion.  It was a lot easier to control and keep even all the way around and I didn't have to worry about breaking a thread. The v-front could be more pronounced, but I'm okay with how it is now. 

-Now that the sleeves aren't at her elbows you can see how puffy and pretty they turned out. 

I also cut her hair this weekend.  My scissor skillz are immense!  Needless to say she loves it.  I may or may not try a crinoline under it.  We'll see.

Up next is Snow White's cape and the stand-up white collar.  Hopefully, that will go a lot smoother!  Couldn't possibly go worse.

Linkys!:

Sewing Project: Circle Neck Dress Disaster

Subtitle:  Who needs patterns anyway?  Me.

Preface:  Winston Churchill once said, "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."  So, let's just say I'm VERY enthusiastic about this project. 

It looks so simple and cute!  Although, seeing it with the distance of a camera I could work at Hot Dog on Stick in it.  Lemonade anyone? 

A circle neck is an almost universally flattering neckline.  I can't wear a scoop neck without looking like a hooker and a v-neck isn't always appropriate and can be difficult to find in dresses that aren't a wrap style (Diane Von Furstenberg's empire has never produced a dress that looked right on me despite claims that they look good on everyone). 
There are some pitfalls to the circle neck- it can look "maternity" very easily and I really do not wish to be mistaken for pregnant.  That would not do good things for my self-esteem.  And while it looks fresh and modern in some fabrics, in others it can just look dated and dowdy.  For instance, in Nancy-Reagan-red polyester gabardine. 

Pinning the back.  The shape of the collar is about the only thing I did well.

Notes about this collar:
-No, that center seam is NOT supposed to be visible.  But I sewed the front and back together the wrong way.  Mistake number two after fabric choice.

-Let's talk about the fabric choice; it is god-awful.  It frayed, a lot, and even with a hot iron I couldn't get it to lie flat at the (poorly) curved seams.  In turn this made the top stitching wonky.  If I'd edge stitched it I would have been in better shape, possibly, though it still wouldn't have been great. 

-My clear failure to cut on the grain properly just made me feel worse for that girl who got sent home on Project Runway last week for failing at the same thing and not being able to produce anything on the model other then a hot-glued feathered hat. 

-The front and back do not line up as perfectly as they should, though really with all the issues this dress has that is minor.

-Only good idea on display here is making the back collar a bit more square and the front rounder.  A totally circular circle collar would look costumey I think (frankly, a little Cleopatra-ey).

-I did use a pattern I drew on copy paper for the collar, however I thought for some reason I needed to have it in four sections (front/back in left/right) instead of just two (front/back whole curve).  I have no idea why I thought this.  It would have been much easier to have just two whole, self-lined pieces.  Also, I forgot a seam allowance when I made the pattern so the collar is not as wide as I'd envisioned. 

-Finished the collar before attaching the dress, which was lame.  I should have left the bottom of the collar open and inserted the dress portion into the seam.  This would have made the collar lie flatter and hid some of the imperfections in my cutting and I wouldn't have that weird seam of fabric across the back on the inside.

Pinning the pleat before I sew the front to the collar.

Arm holes actually turned out exceedingly well.

Finished you can see the pleat looks awesome and the collar looks frumpy.

Thick seams= ugly seams.

 Notes on the dress portion:
-Fabric choice is a very thin, light voile with yellow fuzzy polka dots.  It is totally see-through so I had to double up and make each side two layers.  But I didn't account for that in my cutting.    Nor did I account for seam allowances.  Again.  Surprise, surprise it ended up being too tight across my hips.  The double layers also made the side seams thick and noticeable.  Four layers of voile is still 4 layers.

-The arm holes are actually perfect and fit nicely, covering my bra and everything.  The little pleats I included to make it fit the collar better were actually pretty cute and added a bit of shape to the top.  I'd do that part again.  Maybe some gathering in the middle too.

-The rest of the dress has no shape.  For reasons unknown I cut the fabric straight instead of giving it any sort of line.  I wasn't thinking!  Plus it turned out really short and I didn't even bother hemming it.  I had my sister try it on yesterday since I don't have a dress form and since it's hard to see it well when on me and it was shockingly short (and too big for her).  I should have taken a photo.  Oh well!

Cost:  Mercifully, the cost was incidental.  The low quality gabardine was a remnant I purchased back in Feburary and the voile was $2.75/yard on clearnace.  This took me an afternoon/evening with many breaks to do other things.
Verdict:  Fail.  Insert enthusiasm here!  Why in the world am I trying to design a dress on my own??  Hopefully this is helping me learn or something.
I will probably try this again with many, MANY changes.  Just not today.  I need to recover. 

Sewing Project: The Random, the Abandon and the Lost

I've been busy (and sick) and have had little crafty blog time lately, but have managed to mangle a couple of projects for us to laugh at together...

#1 "The Peace Pillow":

This random project was supposed to be easy and useful.  My kids attend a Montessori pre-school in town that, like all Montessori schools, has a peace table where disputes and hurt feelings can be discussed and resolved between the kids without the teacher's overt intervention.  They take turns holding the "talking flower" and tell the other person why they are upset.  I'm pretty sure, "Why don't we talk about this at the peace table?" is a phrase the teachers use often. 

I've adopted the concept for home and when the kids fight I first tell them to work it out themselves and if the screaming/fighting/taunting continues I force them to "make peace" and have them hold whatever I have at hand to take turns talking.  I often have to intervene with the warning to "make peace or you both go to your rooms!"  I thought it would be nice to have a permanent object to use and so made this pillow. 

Yeah.  Not so cute.  The embroidery is okay, but I used my own handwriting instead of transferring a font so the result is less then perfect.   The symbol is straight up primitive. The piping is wonky.  Really wonky if you must know.  It needs more color and some sort of... something.  We've used it and honestly will probably continue to use it (until I can't take it anymore and remake it). 

#2  "Glorious Bounty Dishtowel"

The most random thing I have made to date:  this is a dishtowel.  It is embroidered with two of the guys from the brilliant comic "Glorious Bounty" created in part by a dear friend of mine, the unrepentant foreigner, reformed playboy, and all around gad about town, Luke Milton.  I made it for him in response to a half-joking call for fan art.  This turned out pretty well and the back is fairly neat.  I used a few different stitches so it has some texture.  That said, it is a dishtowel.  Embroidered with a killer robot and a drunken alien.  I air dry the kids bento boxes on it in the afternoons. 

#3 "Portrait of Seth Underwood, The Red House Garden's Public Defender" 

This project I have abandon until my skills improve vastly.  I don't even know how to explain this one.   I tell a story to my kids (with their constant input) about the animals who live in our garden.  That kind of storytelling is supposed to improve their ability to follow a sequence of events, to make logical connections and to use their imaginations. It is also free and forces them to be quiet for five minutes so I'm a big fan. 

The story (so far) revolves around this bird, Seth Underwood, who is a lawyer (like my sister- it's funny the things they pick up on) who lives in a tree he has to share with a noisy outcast squirrel named Nick Whirly.  Nick's friend, the vineyard jackrabbit (whose name is disputed at this juncture) has been accused by the garden animals of having stolen the winter food store.  Seth, the bird lawyer, needs to figure out what really happened... although my kids keep forgetting whether or not the jackrabbit really did do it which makes the rest of the story a little convoluted.  But there is an owl and pack of coyotes.

ANYWAY, I thought it would be fun to embroider up some of the animals and hoop frame them in the guest bathroom or something.  Very Etsy chic on unbleached muslin.  The suited bird here was supposed to be the first in a series.  Pretty clear why that plan has been abandon.  The biggest problem is that I can't draw which undermines the whole project.  There is way too much detail and way too much texture.  His pocket watch is overwhelmed by the vest, his beak is wrong, his face is wrong, and his scarf looks too much like the lapel of his jacket.  It all gets lost mixed up together in one piece.  The back is messy and the colors aren't right.  Instead of only outlining I filled in the jacket and the hat and almost immediately regretted it. 

Ugh.  Such a good idea wasted on me!

#4  "The Yellow Envelope Pillow:  MISSING"

I made a cover for one of the couch toss pillows in yellow linen to match the ottomans I slipcovered.  Very simple, no mistakes, I followed the directions in "The Sew Everything Workshop".  I placed it on the sofa and went to bed, came home from work the next day and it was gone.  There are no pictures for the blog or the reward poster.  Vanished. 

Alien abduction?  My husband's subtle way of telling me he hates yellow?  My housekeeper's confused attempt to redecorate for me? Perhaps, the dog stole it.  At any rate, it is lost.  If you see a stray pillow cover please call.  And pillow cover?  Wherever you are, know that I miss you and want you home.  Or I'll have to make another one.

Sewing Project: St Patrick's Day Shamrock Doll Dress

Now, in miniature!

Actually, this didn't turn out that great.  Trying to top stitch around the armholes was virtually impossible (so tiny!) and I didn't leave enough room in the back for the Velcro so had to glue in an extra panel of fabric.  Plus, I didn't bother to hem it.  And it isn't lined.  Basically, it's a little bit of a mess.

I used a dress the doll already had (she's a Pottery Barn doll, her name is Merry, like "Merry Christmas", btw) to make the pattern.  If nothing else it is a good chance to wash the white silk dress she was wearing.  For an inanimate object she sure gets her clothes dirty. 

Notes on the project: 
-this took me 30 minutes to make the pattern and cut, 30 minutes to sew.  Seriously fast.

-tip for beginners: pattern making from existing clothing (in this case, doll clothing) wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.  Take into account though that the back wasn't wide enough so maybe it is a little harder if you do it right.  Don't be afraid to try is what I'm saying!

-good use for leftover seasonal fabric.  I imagine this doll will end up with quite the wardrobe since I always overbuy yardage.

-despite the tutorial I watched about gathering where I was told to baste two rows of thread for pulling, I only did one.  And wouldn't you know the thread broke.  Sometimes the rules are there for a reason, folks.  Since the dress was so small I just gathered the rest by hand and eyeballed it as I sewed, but it would have been a real issue had it been a person sized garment.

Verdict:  Fail?  I can't really call this a success since the stitching is so off on the edges and I had to glue it.  Happy I made it, but it isn't something I'm especially proud of producing.  My daughter ABSOLUTELY loves it to death though.  She even melted my heart with an "I love you, mama" when she saw it. 

Sewing Project: Tokyo Tie Bag, aka, The Handbag from Hell

This cute, small handbag killed me.  I made it three times. 

The first time I got all the way through it and realized, hey, I never turned this inside out!  You could see everything and there were no seams just top stitching essentially. Plus, I sewed it so the seam that is supposed to run up the middle instead ran up the side which made the bag all wonky.  Wasted some lovely Robert Kaufman fabric.  I will use the rest of on something awesome soon to make up for it. 



Richer in person, this is Joyce McAdams for Robert Kaufman.  Pattern is called "Antique" and is for the Oriental Traditions 8 collection.  Fabric design is fascinating, yet the two fabric designers I've known in real life were both crazypants.


The second time I got all the way through it and realized, hey, it wasn't that I never turned the first one, but that I'm making some sort of grave mistake way earlier then that...because this bag, while properly seamed, was still stitched on the wrong side.  Gumdrops! 

The third time I gave up on the directions I was using in the Sew Everything Workshop (despite my failure here, still a great resource) and hit the web.  That's when I came to Darling Petunia's detailed and fully photographed tutorial for a larger version.  THANK GOD.  Following her directions and using some cheaper Walmart fabric, I was able to figure out that I wasn't sewing the pieces right sides together (rookie mistake, I know) and that I was jacking things up in general.  I am forever indebted to her blog for this save, so check it out.  She has lots of cute projects and a shared passion for plastic Rubbermaid bins so I know she's good people.

Tiny.  More like a large pocket you carry with you.



I'm not sold on the tie as a cute design element.  YMMV.




French seams!  I'm learning!


Notes on the project: 
-this bag is too small to carry anything if you use the measurements in the book.  Make something you'll use and do the bag with Darling Petunia's enlarged directions.  This one is yet another bag for my daughter.  Thank god she's easily pleased.

-French seams are awesome, however if you ever want to incorporate them into your own patterns remember to account for them when determining the measurements as they suck up fabric.

-if you can't figure it out the second time, don't despair, just Google.  Chances are someone else has already sorted it out for you. 

-a better person then me would use cheap fabric every time they sew something new, but I can't do that.  Part of the fun of sewing is all the beautiful fabrics and I'm not going to guard them like precious objects.  It is fabric. Its entire purpose is to be used to make things.  I'm just helping it to fulfill it's destiny, even if I do it poorly.  Right?

-I used Velcro instead of a snap when I realized how small it was and how unlikely I was to use it myself, but if you intend to put stuff in yours I'd use a snap or the button tab that is recommended elsewhere just to make sure nothing falls out.

-Cost for the two failed bags and the one success was probably $6-8 and something ridiculous like 6 hours.

Verdict:  End result was not worth the effort, but the process of making it was good practice.

Sewing Project: Zippered bags #1-3

I should apologize for the quality of the photos, up to this point most of these were taken with my phone (HTC Evo rules my heart) in order to message my accomplishments/absolute failures.  Going forward I'm going to do my best to get progress shots as well as clearer photos in general with an actual camera.

Zippers!  They don't scare me as much as buttons, but I was apprehensive.  I still am not entirely sure I'm using the zipper foot correctly.  It was good practice to switch out the feet (super easy) and really examine the accessories that came with my machine.  I do need to come up with a better name then "Maria".

Zipper bag #1


Pretty fabric!  I think it was like $8/yard so I only got one.



Missing the zipper entirely is not good for structure.



In the end it is pretty small, too.  More like an oversized change purse.

 Notes on the project:  I screwed up my first zipper bag, somehow having the the lining on the outside on half, which actually would have been cute if that had been my intention.  Also, I missed the zipper at a couple of points which I didn't notice until I was finished.  Boo for holes.  The patterned fabric I really liked and don't have much of so I was bummed this didn't turn out.  The corduroy I love like always.  Cost:  ~$4 and close to two hours.

Verdict:  Zipper sneak attack results in unusable bag.

Zipper bag #2

Notes on the project:  This fabric was seriously cheap.  Purchased at Walmart for $1, the ironing took awhile to get the creases out, but it was good to practice with since if I screwed it up it wasn't much of a loss.  

Success!  Lining on the inside this time and no holes.  The stitching on either side of the zipper teeth isn't totally even, but it is hard to tell unless you look super close.  The earlier lining issue was due to some unclear (at least to me) directions in the "Zippered Kit Bag" pattern in The New Handmade, but I was able to correct myself here.  Tip for beginners like me:  I've been making notes in all the sewing books- instructions to myself, bits of clarity that I know will help the next time I try it.  I make notes all over cookbooks too which drives my husband crazy.  Cost: less then $2 and about an hour.

Verdict:  Zipper-Rebecca cease fire signed.

Zipper bag #3

Notes on the project:  Love this fabric, didn't realize until I got it home that it was Amy Butler, but I should have guessed.  The combo with the pink zipper and yellow lining made me very happy.  I did this while walking my sister through the pattern "Picasso Pencil Bag" in The New Handmade which is a bit bigger then the kit bag and uses a 9 inch zipper, plus has this oblong shape to it where it is wider at the bottom.  It was Anna's very first machine sewing project and we might have aimed a little high.  I need a photo of hers to post too.  Email me one, Anna!

My zipper is a little uneven again, the seam a little closer to the teeth on one side then the other, but the real problem was down at the bottom corners.  The directions on how to shape them were not clear  and I kind of winged it to less then stellar results.  They kind of look like elf-shoe corners when they are supposed to be softly rounded.  If I feel up to it I might turn it wrong side out again and see what I can do, but don't have the motivation right now.   This is the problem doing projects just to learn and not because I want them- if they don't turn out, I'm under no pressure to fix them or do them again.  That said I feel like I could probably make a zipper bag like this without a pattern now and know that zippers, while difficult, are not my enemy.  Cost: ~$4 and two hours.

Verdict:  peace reached with zippers, for now.  Corners are the new communists.

Sewing Project: Reading List Tote #1-3

This project is from "The New Handmade" and I chose it because it was rated a "one flower" skill level project and, well, I like tote bags.  Look, I have two small kids and they have a lot of crap.  Now that it's not diapers and bottles, but tap shoes and Star Wars figures I'm not limited to things that can be easily wiped down or that are insulated to keep milk from spoiling and I've kind of gone crazy with the tote bags.

Anyway, back to the project.  Since this was my first sewing machine project I took the advice of a different author and used muslin the first time.  It's cheap, like $1/yard, and I'm glad I did.  I just wrote with ballpoint pen which pieces were which from the instructions since they were all the same color.

Biggest problem:  I can't cut straight!  I measured out the fabric and cut it on a cutting mat with a rotary cutter which I was led to believe would make it easier (it's not).  Not wanting to waste the whole $0.10 of muslin I was using (WTF is wrong with me? I should have just started over), I just subtracted 2 inches from the pattern directions after I jacked up the cutting a few times.  So instead of a bag that was supposed to be 11" X 15" , I got a tote that was 9" X 13" which is the perfect size for... a can of soda and a matchbook?  It is small. 

Notes on the project (#1):

-muslin is cheap, let's not be stingy

-um, remember to remove the paper from the interfacing or your tote will be crinkly sounding like your bag is really for potato chips. Not that I would ever do something so foolish and silly...

-the directions are very clear that you should be ironing.  Do it.  Just suck it up and do it.

-I added the strip of Target $1 ribbon across the front seam just to add some color before I gave it to my daughter, (she was super excited about this bag, btw).  I used a strip of heat 'n bond that I had on hand but had never used.  It isn't sewn on.  Way too thin. 

-seriously hard time with the handles.  My ability to sew straight at an 1/8" is not so hot.  If you're doing this project as a beginner just make the handles wider so that the fold under is easier to catch if you don't sew perfectly straight.

Verdict:  Pretty pleased with myself.  Took longer then I expected, but was psyched to start the "real" tote bag.

Notes on the project (#2): (no photos, for reason that will become obvious)

-not having time to poke around the fabric store I just asked where the canvas was and picked out the colors I wanted for the tote.  $19.99/yard folks!  Having no idea that was seriously expensive I paid it and went on my foolish way.

-feeling bad for not ironing the muslin, I ironed the canvas.  Or tried until it melted onto my iron.  Apparently it wasn't cotton canvas.  Luckily enough it just peeled off the next day in one big plastic piece.

-canvas sewn to canvas lined with canvas is THICK.  Thick enough that I somehow didn't notice that I sewed the bag closed.

Verdict:  TOTAL DISASTER.  To sum up this tote's lessons remember not to sew the bag closed, don't iron plastic and don't pay $20 a yard for fabric when you can't sew.

Notes on the project (#3):

-if you screw something up royally, take a break.  I took a day before I started over and had a fresh attitude.

-I made the handles wider to make it easier on myself.  It doesn't look too off and I saved myself the heartache.

-ditched the rotary cutter.  I used new expensive sewing shears and they were awesome. 

-ditched the interfacing because the fabric I was using was so stiff anyway.

-this thing is sturdy and I'm now using it everyday.  I stick my purse, my water bottle and my phone in there and there is still a bit of room for papers or whatnot.  I like it because it isn't so big that I can leave a bunch of crap in it, I have to empty it out regularly.

Verdict:  Success!  Great pattern, easy to follow directions (so long as you follow them) and a useful, attractive item.  I feel like I can sew anything!  You know, after I fail at it a few times.  Anything!

No Machine Sewing Project: Fernando the Bunny Stuffed Animal

We might have been a little punchy after 6 hours of sewing, but my sister and I decided that we could do this sewing thing all the time!  We could turn out stuffed animals everyday!  We'd make awesome gifts for friends and family!  We'd be the queens of stuffed animals!  Emboldened by our small kitty bat success, I decided to make my daughter a bunny that same night.

I made my own pattern, based loosely on the one I'd just used.  To make the pattern I took a piece of standard size construction paper, folded it in half and sketched the outline of half a bunny (like you probably did as a kid making paper hearts).  I then sketched around it about an inch for cutting line, using the original sketched line as the sewing line.   I cut it out on the fold and presto!

Meet FERNANDO the BUNNY!

Yes.  He is pink.  And named Fernando.  Don't hate!

Yeah, he didn't turn out so well.   

Honestly, he looked better at first.  I swear!  But he's had some accidents and has had more then a few emergency hole closing surgeries.  His head in particular has not fared well.  I also got a little lazy on some of surgeries and patched him up haphazardly. Plus, I didn't have any pink thread.

Here's the thing, I chose the wrong materials.  His front here is made from a toddler's stretchy knit sweater which isn't very stable, it wanted to unravel as soon as I cut it.  The back is a soft, thin corduroy which I think would have worked better without the pinto beans stressing the stitches, but even it wasn't really a good choice.  (The tail is a ruffle from the sweater twisted on itself).  Stuffed animals need to be soft, but they need some structure too.  In any event, the pinto beans which had worked so great for our first project failed here.  Fernando needed soft cotton fluff. Beans have escaped on many occasions from where the sweater material has pulled away from the seams. The holes make him a hazard around my two preschoolers.  They aren't likely to try to eat them or anything but they aren't above making a huge mess if given hundreds of beans. 

Evidence of his many fixed holes and an escaped pinto.  Poor Fernando!

Notes on the project:

-pattern making for a simple shape like this is not hard at all.  I encourage everyone to try doing it for themselves.  Just make sure there isn't too much detail, for instance the puffing out at his cheeks didn't show up at all in the final project because I didn't stitch straight enough. 

-again, cut the corners.  I turned him wrong side out a couple of times and "graded the seams" although I had no idea that's what I was doing at the time, in order for his arms and legs to have better definition by trimming away the extra material along the stitches.

-without the right fabrics, don't even bother, it'll be more hassle then it is worth. 

-don't sew when you are tired.  My hands were sore from hand sewing the kitty bat and it showed here. My stitch length was way wider and I'm sure that's part of the reason for all the seam weakness and lost beans.

-cost was $0 and about 3-4 hours. Materials were all recycled. 

Verdict:  Fernando the Bunny might be renamed Fernando the Learning Experience.  Not pleased with how he turned out in the end, but hey, he was only the second thing I'd ever sewn like this and he is kind of cute in a Frankenstein kind of way...  my daughter loved him even if she didn't get to play with him much.