the obligatory “how to follow me” post

June 25, 2013June 25, 201311 Comments

i thought it wouldn’t actually happen – i thought there’d be such an outcry that google would decide to keep google reader around and figure out some way to make us pay for it, maybe…but no. doesn’t seem to be happening. google reader is going away july 1. sooooooooo it’s time for me to write this post, the “how to follow me now that google reader is going away” post.

or hey, if now you just click around to your favorite bookmarked blogs, checking to see if they happen to have a new post up, here’s your chance to try out a subscription service instead! theoretically it saves you time, since new posts just pop into your “feed” or inbox when they’re published, but in reality i find i just subscribe to MORE blogs when i have a convenient way to read them. haha.

anyway, here’s how to follow me…click on any of the big text buttons to link to them directly, or read my little spiel below each and follow the (same) link…you can also try multiple services and figure out your favorite…they’re all free.

:: bloglovin’ seems to be the preferred service of the crafty/diy/sewing blog community – it’s pretty, and easy to find new related blogs. follow skirt as top here. bloglovin’ has a “import your feeds from google reader” tool that makes it easy, so do that now! ::

:: feedly seems to be what the techy folks are using (my husband follows a lot of tech blogs). it’s pretty close to google reader, and they seem to be tinkering with it quite a bit to make it better. feedly also has a handy “how to import your feeds from google reader” tool, so do that now before google reader is gone! follow skirt as top here. ::

:: if you’re on Facebook a good amount of the day anyway, liking blogs there is a good way to be notified of new posts. i always put up links to my new posts, plus i sometimes post film petit previews, favorite links from other blogs, sales and giveaway notifications, all sorts of stuff. like skirt as top here. ::

:: if you don’t follow very many blogs and prefer you just get an email when someone publishes a new post, you can do that here. there’s also a widget on my sidebar to follow through wordpress (under my sponsor/affiliate buttons). ::

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side note: my main mode of blog-reading is actually on my iPhone through the Reeder App. rumor has it Reeder will start supporting feedly and other RSS subscription services soon, so i’m waiting not-so-patiently for that. i like Reeder way better than the feedly app, though. the bloglovin app isn’t bad.

thanks so much for following along!

have a nice day.

a princess-ish dress

June 18, 2013June 17, 201320 Comments

not sure if i should admit how long ago i made and photographed this dress, but it somehow fell by the wayside and has been bugging me because it’s just sitting in iPhoto and haven’t posted it yet…so i’m posting it!

alright, i made it sort of spur-of-the-moment for Em’s first Disney on Ice viewing last December. i realized she probably needed some sort of princess-y type dress for the event, so i sewed this during her nap the day of. i think it turned into one of those “kid looks great but mom looks a fright” situations, since i tend to prioritize sewing over getting MYSELF ready to go. meh.

it’s sort of a general cinderella/sleeping beauty type design, but i was aiming for it to be a bit more wearable in cotton. it’s based on the coraline dress tutorial from craftiness is not optional, with some mods. i started with the flashback skinny tee (sized up) for the bodice, and modified the sleeves to the puff variety, shirred at the hems. i added the overskirt thingies (anyone know what those are called?) similar to my sweet tartan. instead of pressing the ruffle collar down and enclosing it with bias, i pressed it UP and topstitched the seam allowance down.

the fabric is…oh shoot. i don’t know! Jess actually sent it to me, and i think it’s super cute, and I used it all so i don’t have the selvedge anymore, and i can’t find it online. someone help? the white is an ikea sheet, i know that. hehe.

she enjoyed the ice capades. i enjoyed calling it “ice capades,” much to my husband’s chagrin.

this might also be the last time she got a haircut! the gal that cuts it always gives her ringlets, which she adores.

we saw a bunch of other little girls in the thin satin princess dresses with sparkly plastic heels and i wasn’t sure how Em felt about her homemade dress. i do know she’s been asking me to make her a princess dress for a couple months now, and she definitely means the satin variety for dress up.

i bet she’d really dig something like this.

film petit: napoleon dynamite

June 13, 2013June 13, 201349 Comments

it’s time to sit back, relax, and enjoy as…

Napoleon Dynamite, GOSH!

Napoleon Dynamite came out in 2004 and its mythical creature-obsessed title character and his funny speech patterns captured the imagination of America for a few years there (haha). really – i’d never met a kid like Napoleon…but a HS teacher friend of mine from a smaller town said yes, she’s taught kids just like him – they really exist. this movie is just a fun tale of social awkwardness, fitting in or not at all, getting standing ovations for crazy dances…and it’s a joy. it feels like real kids somewhere doing random stuff rather than “fake high school” like you normally see in movies. it celebrates being different and awkward and i love it.

film petit: napoleon dynamite

so the movie tells the story of a group of high schoolers and a few adults, and in true film petit fashion, we’ve largely split them up across the three blogs. i initially chose just Deb, but once i started sewing her outfit, i realized it wasn’t quite enough to “sell” the look. so i decided to sew Uncle Rico too, and recreate the super awkward yet hilarious “Glamour Shots by Deb” scene!

Deb, played by Tina Majorino, is a shy girl with a very strong sense of style and ambition – she’s always dressed in the height of 80s/90s fashion, she sells homemade handicrafts for college money, makes her own puffy sleeves for the school dance, runs a glamour shots studio out of her bedroom…she’s basically every sewing blogger’s former self. 😉

Just imagine you’re weightless. You’re in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by tiny seahorses.

so Em is Deb. i designed the shawl collar shirt with french sleeves which i sewed out of a thrifted pillowcase (major score!), and made her leggings out of peachy interlock knit using my Go To Leggings pattern. i realized you very rarely see Deb’s legs in the movie so i just had to guess her pant selection…but i remember my little sister wore tons of leggings all through the ’90s, so i figured that was a good bet.

the shirt was pretty funny to sew in that awful polyester, and the hot pink fanny pack was a must. i just kind of made it up on the fly, and it goes around her waist with thick elastic. and of course she rocks the side pony and multiple bracelets. here she is ensuring that her photo backdrop is perfectly set.

and who is it set for…? why, uncle rico of course!

Rico (played by Jon Gries) is the crazy uncle that comes to stay with Napoleon and his brother, Kip, while their grandma recovers from a sand dune accident. he tries all sorts of “get rich quick” schemes during his stay, and decides that he needs an official photo to put on his official name badge. he goes to Deb.

i knew this outfit would be soooo fun to sew for O, and he was totally cracking me up with his mustache (which he loved, and totally cried when i wiped it off) and chambray outfit and big ol’ brown shirt underneath and daddy’s watch (again). i mean come on!

the vest was self-designed starting with the flashback skinny tee as a basic pattern block. i was proud of figuring out how to put a fully lined vest together cleanly with no bindings, and definitely see making more of these for this little guy. the shirt underneath is blank slate patterns’ perfect polo, with the collar extended 1/2″ to add to Rico’s “stuck in the 70s” look. my mom saw a photo of the polo and thought i bought it, which is a testament to Melissa’s design!

his pants are the parsley pants i blogged here, and in his full chambray and brown outfit, he coulda been state champ.

the kids loved pretending to have a photoshoot with my Holga (which they thought was digital, as you can see above) and then Rico even turned the photoshoot around on Deb!

okay! now that our photoshoot-within-a-photoshoot is over, you MUST go check out what my partners sewed!

our guest Delia from Delia Creates went way above and beyond, sewing TWO versions of Napoleon, one Pedro Sanchez, and a different Uncle Rico too! AAAAAND she took photos at actual filming locations! AAAAAAAAAAND she designed and photographed our food plate titles at the top of this post! she’s a rockstar. visit her blog and bring chapstick, ‘cuz her lips hurt real bad! thanks so much for joining us, Delia!

my partner Jessica from a little gray picked some hilarious inspiration when she chose to sew Rex Kwon Do dojo duds for her little guy, and make her little GAL a Napoleon shirt and shorts! friggin SWEET. go check it out!

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here are the guidelines for film petit:

every month or so, Jessica and i (plus a guest blogger) sew an outfit (or outfits) for our kid (or kids) inspired by a movie we love.
please add any of your movie-inspired kid sewing to the film petit flickr group. if you sew along with our film petit choices, we’d love to see that too!
this is a pretty relaxed series, really the only rule is to make outfits for kids based on films you love. if you have any questions, please let either of us know.
film petit archives: the life aquatic with steve zissou, amélie, fantastic mr. fox, psycho, moonrise kingdom, ferris bueller’s day off, the big lebowski, back to the future

P.S. This post contains affiliate links which means i receive a small commission if you click through to Amazon or Go To Patterns, and I received the Perfect Polo from my lovely sponsor Blank Slate Patterns for free.

P.P.S. EAT THE FOOD!

best of summer patterns – the popover sundress

June 10, 2013June 12, 201332 Comments

today i’m guest posting over at CailaMade for her Best of Summer series! i’m pretty sure it’s summer all year round on Caila’s blog, though, honestly – such a happy place. and if you’re looking to do some father’s day sewing, she’s got the perfect tutorial for you!

while the series is for pattern reviews and new sewing wasn’t required, i just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make my favorite summer girl pattern – the FREE popover sundress by Oliver + S!

rainbow popover sundress

it’s the first pattern i ever sewed from pieces back in 2009, as i explain in my post over at Caila’s blog. if you read sewing blogs because you want to learn how to sew but haven’t taken the leap yet, this is the perfect pattern to try first! i promise!

i sewed this dress for Em in Anna Maria Horner’s incredible Ghost Wing Linen in Dusk. first i saw Gail’s supertote, then i saw Laura’s roly poly pinafore, and resistance was futile. i picked it up at Bolt the first chance i got (they take orders by phone, FYI!).

it’s really one of the most gorgeous prints i’ve ever seen. just sewing with it made me feel really happy. bad thing is, i only got a half yard and needed to make it work with a contrast band (in michael miller cotton couture in violet). good thing is, Em looooooves rainbows and butterflies and purple and fell for it at first glance!

she’s about to take flight…

and there she goes!

this dress gives her wiiiiiiiiiiings!

head on over to CailaMade to read my “real” pattern review post, see almost every popover sundress that i’ve made over the years (most are pre-blog!) and learn more about why i love this pattern so much!

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abstract scoop neck washi dress

June 6, 2013June 1, 201452 Comments

this dress has been in my head for nearly a year, and it took quilt market to finally make me sew it up!

it’s my third washi dress (four if you count mini washi!). i feel like sewing the same pattern three (four) times officially puts me in cult follower status, and that’s cool with me. the washi is flattering, doesn’t take long to sew, is super comfortable, and i actually wear mine on a regular basis all year round. the washi dress and the wiksten tank both teamed up to shift my mental state from “i’m scared to sew for myself” to “i LOVE to sew for myself,” so i recommend both if you’re looking to dip your toe in.

i scooped out the neck a bit (about 1″ on the bottom, tapering back to the normal shoulder width – make a muslin first if you try it) just like i did with washi two. the shirring is much tighter this time because i got a new sewing machine in January (cough Bernina cough) and it makes me want to shirr all the things, it’s so easy. i still sewed a medium, but it fits me better since it’s more cinched. i’m smaller on top than on bottom, so i like the top to fit nice and snugly to highlight that, while masking the larger parts of me. you know how it goes.

i got the fabric from Britex Fabrics last August while on vacation with my husband in San Francisco. i found it in the remnant area and it didn’t have any markings on the selvedge, but i loved it and bought it with the intention of making a washi dress. it’s sooooo nice – it feels like art gallery fabric, sateen-y and light but still crisp and not see-through like voile can be. it’s really lovely stuff, and i adore the print too – sort of messy-pretty. and the colors are so saturated and rich.

i didn’t have a relationship with Britex when i bought the fabric, but I’m glad I do now, because i was comfortable sending them a photo to find out what it is! it’s called Abstract Dyed Cotton – 100% cotton and 57″ wide, and they still have 20 yards left in the store! so if you’re interested in ordering some, you can email service@britexfabrics.com and they’ll hook you up. tell them i sent ya. 😉

so i made this dress to wear to quilt market, which was funny since the fabric was a mystery to me at the time and i was wearing it around a bunch of people that live and breathe fabric. i think quiltmarketgoers walk around silently identifying fabric and pattern on each other’s handmades, so it was kind of ornery of me to wear something mysterious, though the washi dress pattern itself is VERY well known.

washi pattern designer Rae even saw this dress in person when she came over to my house for a bit! i’m not sure if she saw it on me without a cardigan over it, though…so here ya go, Rae! the full washi!

thanks once again to my husband for taking these photos! he’s getting pretty good, eh? 😉

full disclosure: i was a pattern tester for the washi dress (which means i got it for free) and Made by Rae and Britex Fabrics are now both sponsors of my blog (though this fabric was not free). i’m just glad i have sponsors that make such great stuff!