junebug dress pattern testing

June 4, 2013June 3, 201322 Comments

i’m so excited that my friend Jess from Craftiness is not Optional is now turning her crazy bank of tutorials into real PATTERNS! she started with the Bapron, and now she’s venturing into her trademark little gal clothes. check it out, it’s the Junebug Dress!

this pattern means a lot to me, but i didn’t even realize it until I was sewing it up as a tester.

the Junebug Dress (in free form) was my remix challenge for the first week of season 3 of Project Run & Play. i flipped the bodice around, added some overlays, and it became the Sweet Tartan Dress (tutorial here) and sort of “put me on the map,” blog-wise. my remix of the Junebug actually led to the first emails between Jess and i – we became quick buds, then decided to do Vintage May together, and have been in pretty regular contact ever since. she’s an inspiration and SUCH a hard worker! recently, Jess’ daughter Sadie and Em have become the cutest pen pals – they keep trying to talk us into a playdate (kinda hard when you live 700 miles away, but we’ll make it happen someday).

so a lot has come from this one little dress!

springtime junebug dress

I should probably talk about the pattern – it’s a great pattern. Jess pumped up the volume with sleeve/sleeveless and dress/tunic options, plus great step-by-step photos and instructions to help you sew a darn cute little garment. it goes from size 18 months to 8 years (thanks to digitizing/grading services by Melissa), and the bodice fit is pretty generous, meaning i sewed a 2T bodice for Em (with a 5T skirt). since it has plenty of growing room, it’s a pattern you could get lots of uses out of as your little gal gets bigger.

springtime junebug dress

this fabric combo was a collaboration with Em. she had picked out a Sarah Jane Children at Play fabric a while back, and when I asked her what she wanted me to use for the Junebug, she pulled it. i thought the print might be a bit busy for the dress and almost said no, but then i noticed something in the print…

doesn’t that dress on the left look awfully close to a Junebug?? Em liked the one on the right up there too, so i mixed both together until I got this…with two pink kona solids on top, red buttons, and amy butler full moon polka dot in tangerine (which i believe i picked up at cool cottons).

she loves it.

it was such a pleasure to pattern test for Jess! she presents sewing in such a friendly and approachable way, and i’ve learned a lot by following her blog. i’m a fan.

i celebrate her entire catalog.

and here’s a little glimpse at Portland spring. it’s warm, we head out when the weather looks fine, and then…it starts raining. i mean, it just started sprinkling, but Em thought we needed to immediately run for the hills.

we made a mad dash inside, just like YOU should make a mad dash over to CINO to pick up the Junebug Pattern!

springtime junebug dress

see what i did there? hehe.

stay dry out there, you guys.

my quilt market story

May 30, 2013May 30, 201333 Comments

i’m gonna start at the beginning. and yeeees i should probably split this into two posts but it’s been quite a while since market already, so i just want to get it out there NOW ya know?

about a year ago, Rae let me know that Quilt Market was going to be in Portland in the spring of 2013. i got super excited – and i didn’t even really know what it was! i just knew people on instagram went and all met each other and you go to see fabric. basically this is all i knew until i was actually AT quilt market. it’s actually “just a trade show,” but none like i’d ever been to before – the purpose of the show is for shop owners to preview new fabric lines and place orders to stock in their stores, but almost all of the fabric designers actually go to it, and lots of meetings are being held, and it’s a very social weekend, too.

valori wells wish floral voile // monaluna summertime colors and elephant print! // heather ross strawberry knits

then, one day in March, i got an email from Liesl Gibson asking me if i could help set up the Oliver + S / Straight Stitch Society booth, and if they could ship things for the booth to me ahead of time, etc etc. now I’ve said before that i learned to sew from my mom when i was little, but Liesl through her Oliver + S patterns as an adult, and that her comment on my first sewing project really made me realize that the whole posting-photos-on-the-internet thing was fun. meeting her was going to be a huge thing for me. HUGE. like couldn’t believe it was really happening. and look, she’s real!

in person, Liesl could not be nicer, or more creative, or more insightful. when i met her, she came right up to me and gave me a huge hug. it made me so happy that the gal behind one of my favorite companies is just as wonderful in person. and then Heather Ross, designer of some of my very favorite fabrics, came up to Liesl and gave HER a huge hug, and my brain exploded…just like these flowers here.

Liesl’s husband/business partner Todd (seen below opening one of millions of paper flowers) is a perfect balance to her, also very passionate but in a more business-y way. i felt like i sort of got into market with the ideal duo – well-respected and liked, and the people to learn from and meet people through.

the whole weekend actually kind of blew my mind. i know we’re in this geeky little subculture, sewing bloggers – and the reason blogging is so great is there are really not that many of us that live near each other but we all inspire each other and some people get to be friends even though we’ve never met. an event like quilt market brings us together in real life, and it’s awesome.

there’s also a certain “celebrity” that some of our community has (Denyse Schmidt, Amy Butler, Heather Ross, Liesl herself) and seeing all of those gals in one place was a bit surreal.

i also got to meet many blog friends (or just gals i was a fan of), and pretty much everyone I met was just like their “online persona,” which made it fun. for instance, i didn’t get a photo of Jeni Baker but i was so thrilled to meet her and i thought she was just the cutest. i’m way excited about her new line, Nordika.

Look at that border print on the tote bag!

meeting people was so much more important to me than seeing the fabric, as pretty as the fabric was. i became obsessed with people’s height, since you don’t get a good sense of height on blogs!

there were quite a few people i actually didn’t feel like i knew very well from their blogs (fabric designers don’t tend to be very regular bloggers, it seems, and some blogs were just new to me) so it was neat to meet those gals in person. i’d only recently discovered April Rhodes, currently taking blogland by storm with her staple dress and she was a delight (and shorter than me)!

and here’s a photo of taller-than-me Rae and Rashida Coleman-Hale (Rashida’s booth promoting Tsuru and Koi was one of my favorites – i could’ve lived there).

isn’t it so pretty?

Rae was promoting her line of flannels for Cloud 9 – it’s called Fanfare and it’s ADORABLE – go see it here. she had a bunch of strike-offs in her purse and as an experiment we gave them to Em and asked her what her favorite was. she stopped dead in her tracks at the pink elephants and was ready for me to make something from it right then and there (except the sample was “too small!”). hehe.

gratuitous photo of “buff stuff” Rae, who was a total kick to hang out with and a force of nature in that amazing Tsuru Washi dress – she got SO MUCH ATTENTION! i want to hang out more with Rae, she’s fun.

some more pretty booths, just because…

Tule by Leah Duncan – so serene and gorgeous – love the colors.

Charley Harper for Birch Fabrics!

Friday morning, my pal Cherie from You & Mie (who i had met a couple times before) flew in to stay with me for the weekend, and I’m so glad she did, because we could experience the whole thing together. after i picked her up from the airport and dropped O off with my sister, Cherie and I went to Market and met up with Rae (spotting Melody Miller and her cute pink hair on the way in), then met up with fellow local Gail and perused the market.

where was our first stop? Oliver + S, duh!

after we were done at Market for the day, Gail had to take off – but Rae and Cherie and I went to Bolt and Pine State Biscuits (they both ate it all, don’t worry about them).

they came over to my house afterwards, and i sort of proved what a small town Portland is by having them randomly meet a good portion of my family throughout the day (even ran into my inlaws while out for drinks after a party at Modern Domestic). on Saturday, we joined up with Robin for a little more fabric shopping at Cool Cottons and lunch – check out this four-girl selfie!

i have never been so surrounded by handmade clothes, or looked up and down (in a good way) as often, as at Quilt Market. Rae said that when she wore her original washi dress to market it sort of launched the dress/pattern, and i totally believe it.

case in point – i wore washi two on sunday and got a whole bunch of compliments – i think the dress was recognized more than i was – and when Cherie and i went over to the dear stella booth (the fabric is dear stella) they got so excited! i almost didn’t wear it because the fabric is faded from so many washings, but i’m glad i did.

it was also cool to see Cherie’s sunburst picnic blanket rolled up (see it by my left elbow?)…of course i made her pose with it! she didn’t actually sew this one, but still…she designed it, so that’s very cool.

this nest quilt by Carrie Bloomston of Such Designs was incredible…

and there was real grass in heather bailey’s booth! loved that.

on Sunday, after helping break down the Oliver + S booth, Cherie and I got to tag along to an amazing gourmet dinner at Racion with Liesl & Todd. We had amazing conversations with Kelli from drygoods (a shop I must visit the next time I’m in Seattle), and Margaret from Form and Fabric.

i ate things i had only known about from watching Top Chef, and it was wonderful!

sometimes i felt like i didn’t really belong at Market. i’m not a shop owner, i don’t sell patterns or fabrics, i don’t feel “influential.” this isn’t my real job, it’s a hobby for me – but the people that were there are all making a real go of it as a business, and i think that’s so great. i mean, i just make stuff that makes me happy and i blog about it, but now i feel even more responsibility to remain true to myself, honest with my readers, and open in crediting inspiration and fabric and all that. it’s so important to support each other in this, to lift each other up!

it was cool to be included in conversations about authenticity, creativity, business, fabric design, pattern making, originality, book deals, fabric lines, collaborations, future plans…it was motivating and exciting and made me want to do even more to be involved. not sure how…but somehow.

pure elements by art gallery

and there ya have it. my small novel on Quilt Market. i’ve had so many thoughts and feelings it’s been hard to get them down. thank you so much to Liesl for letting me help out and for being such a cool gal! what a neat experience that was.

P.S. check out Cherie’s post for more of the “how it made me feel” stuff – she really hit the nail on the head with it, and said a lot of things i meant to say here…

P.P.S. OH! and i have another washi dress to show you – i made it just for Market! it’s my favorite yet and somehow i don’t have any even teaser photos of me wearing it! i’ll try to get that posted soon. 🙂

vintage may: gingham swing jacket

May 20, 2013May 21, 201331 Comments

here comes the second week of vintage may posts; we hope you’ve been enjoying all the wonderful vintage-y inspiration so far! today, Jess and I both have projects for you, and the rest of this week we’ll have guests. keep adding photos to the flickr group, your projects are really wonderful and we’ll do a round up at the end!

i decided my second item for vintage may would be a little swing jacket for Em. i really love making her outerwear, and she was due for a new springy jacket to wear over her school uniform anyway. and hey, who doesn’t love a little gingham for spring(ham)?

i’ve also had this idea stuck in my head to make a swingy little coat with a pleated back panel for a loooong time. so here was my chance.

it was one of those projects that was pretty nerve-wracking as i made it, since it felt pretty off-the-cuff, but luckily turned out pretty well. there are a couple issues (collar overlaps a bit, lining was too narrow so it swings free rather than being attached) but all in all, i like it as a first draft and it’s totally functional for her.

well, not totally functional, i guess. the pockets are just flaps because i couldn’t remember the last time Em really cared about having front pockets in a jacket, but of course the first thing she did when she put it on was lift up the flap to find the non-existent pocket. of course. soooooo i promised her i’d add a pocket underneath (someday).

the pattern…well…it started as a size 4 oliver + s sunday brunch jacket, a long time ago. first i modified it into red riding hood, then into her suzy coat, and now into this little gingham coat, so it’s to the point where only the armhole curves are left from the original. that’s the beauty of a good basic pattern though, it’s so easily adaptable!

the purple gingham is laminated cotton (i think), sent to me by the very generous Tatia. i figure it’s probably water resistant? i put the more “waterproof” seeming side face in, and the more cottony side face out. i thought about adding a hood but drafted a peter pan collar instead, since this thrifted 1967 McCall’s pattern was my original inspiration.

(at the bottom it says “not suitable for chubby girls”!!!!!)

lining the jacket is a floral vintage sheet, sent to me by Lindsay for helping be another set of eyes during Project Run & Play – super sweet of her. she sent me a big box of fun thrifted goodies actually, and this was a fun one to cut into…so soft! i pulled from some blue in the lining to add the blue buttons (with yellow thread for fun).

Em’s dress underneath is a Roller Skate Dress, blogged here, also made from a vintage sheet. she wears it a lot!

Em was feeling a bit under the weather but still pulled off some pretty good poses, eh? It was another of those quickie photoshoots you’ve just gotta do sometimes.

OKAY! now head on over to CINO to see the capital A-DORable dress Jess made for her little gal Charlotte. the floral! the pigtails! the cheeks! the collar! it’s all just too much to handle!

vintage may: flap pocket skirt and tutorial

May 13, 2013May 13, 201356 Comments

today is the first day of Vintage May! i’m having fun sewing for myself lately, so i thought i’d kick the series off with a vintage-style skirt that i could make look retro or modern, depending on my mood. it’s a current-day pattern with a twist to add the type of special detail you’d expect to see in vintage clothing…a flap pocket. and i’ve included a little tutorial on how to easily modify any pant/skirt pattern to do this yourself!

first, a little about the skirt, which i sewed in Anna Maria Horner’s beautiful “coordinates in saffron” cotton from bolt. i love this print and had been saving it for a special project – this fit the bill nicely. wouldn’t it be so gorgeous in field study linen too? love that stuff.

the pattern is simplicity 2226, a basic, inexpensive, easy-to-find pattern which i bought back when Anna did a sewalong! i sewed a size 14 but should’ve taken her advice and sewed a size or two smaller to get more waist cinch. it’s comfy as is, but waaay bigger than my store-bought skirts (i’m usually a 6). the pattern instructions are really well-written though – i’d never sewed a non-indie pattern and i was pleasantly surprised at the clarity of it! i sewed view A without belt loops and added an extra 1″ in length just to be sure it hit me below the knee.

so i knew i wanted to make a skirt but didn’t know what era to go with. i googled “20s skirts” and “30s skirts” and “40s skirts” on up…aside from the more flowy, flapper-esque look of the 20s and the more structured look of the 40s, there didn’t seem to be TOO much in terms of everyday-type skirts that would make you say “that skirt is from THIS decade.” i made this skirt to have a ’30s vibe (which to me is more casual than the decades surrounding it and slightly art deco) but people i’ve shown say it has a 50s/60s look…so i don’t know.

i guess it’s kind of a “know it when you see it” type deal – styled like i typically dress, it just looks like a normal skirt. styled with red lipstick and vintage silk headscarf with a tucked-in cardigan, it’s a throwback (especially when you stand next to a beauty school door).

anyway, onto the pocket tutorial! this is the same method i used for sam’s shorts in moonrise kingdom film petit, and it’s easy but adds a pretty neat detail. the pattern comes with your typical curved front pockets, so this tutorial is to show you how to modify those.

: SUPPLIES :

pants/skirt pattern with front pockets
point turner / chopstick / knitting needle
1/4 yard (or fat quarter) of contrast pocket lining fabric
two buttons

: METHOD :

first, lay out your pattern’s skirt front. see the scooped line for the pocket on the far left? use your ruler to extend the top and side lines to meet at a 90 degree angle. this will become your flap.

fold down the corner until it looks like a good proportion to you (in my case it was 6 inches) and mark those spots. add a notch at each mark.

overlay the pocket back pattern piece and add notches to match. cut two “backs” from your contrast fabric and two from your main fabric. i ended up trimming the pocket back and lining pieces more to a slightly wider square shape versus the rectangle indicated in the pattern, since i was lining it in a contrast fabric and didn’t want to fold it back on itself as the pattern instructs.

sew contrast lining fabric to skirt front with 3/8″ seam between the notches, backstitching at both ends and pivoting at the corner. clip corner and turn flap right side out, pushing to a point with your point turner. clip into the seam allowance at the notches to release the flap so it can fold out of the way as you sew the rest of the skirt. then with the flap folded down and the skirt wrong side up, place pocket back over the lining and sew around the inner two edges (in the photo below i’m folding the fabric out of the way so you can see right/wrong sides, but you’ll want to sew it matching the edges – NOT folded up). finish the inner edges of the pocket via zigzag or serger.

then working on the right side, baste top of the skirt and side so the pocket stays put as you move on to gathering the front, sewing the side seams, and adding the waistband.

continue to sew the skirt as indicated. at the end, sew the button on to keep the flap down and add visual interest. mark 1/2″ from each edge, then sew your buttons between the flap and inside of pocket only (not all the way through the skirt – gotta get your hand in there!).

and you’re done!

now go hit the town in your new skirt, girl!

i never wear a red lip, this was actually my sister in law’s gloss and i felt pretty sassy wearing it…!

and a huge thanks to my husband who took these pics and put up with my compulsive overdirection. 😉

alright! now you KNOW you want to see Jess’ adorable little gal in a vintage-inspired gingham “romper” over at Craftiness is Not Optional…here’s a sneak peek! she is WAY TOO CUTE.

back tomorrow with our first guests!

grape scoop top

May 2, 2013May 2, 201318 Comments

this is the “wearable muslin” for my scoop top, after i graduated from using my husband’s old t-shirts as muslins and cut into “real” fabric. once i saw that this top worked and i had the fit and construction down, i cut into my Britex tissue knit and took the tutorial photos. i had posted this one to Rae’s Spring Top Sewalong flickr group but didn’t have time to blog it before it was time for KCW and then time for my two guest posts to go up.

what i’m saying is, sometimes blog post timing is weird.

anyway, it’s made in a purple rayon jersey from JoAnn, which wasn’t super expensive but is super soft with a really nice drape. the fabric was just finicky enough that my machine ate it a few times until I pulled out Jess’s tissue paper trick for the hemming, which worked like a charm! first time a double needle has really worked for me too, so that was fun.

it has the pocket that i include in my pattern, and i ended up angling the placement in the final version since this seemed a bit crooked. i also played with the hemline a bit after the shirt was already sewn, so the hem has a bit of a “don’t look too close” situaish going on. probably not noticeable to anyone but me though.

it’s really comfy. probably the comfiest shirt i own. annnnnd yes i’ve definitely worn it as a pajama top. i just love it so much! it’s like something i’d actually buy in a store, you know? big accomplishment over here, i’m still waaaay too jittery about self-sewing (but trying very hard to get past that, because wearing clothes i’ve made is incredibly rewarding).

my necklace is from rare bird on etsy – husband actually spotted it on my pinterest board and got it for me! good man. thorough.

oh hey, did you see that Anna made a scoop top?! it looks so awesome! it’s crazy to me that someone else could make a wearable top from my pattern. it’s like when i sewed my first skirt for Em and had this irrational fear that it would fall apart at the seams when she wore it. i just designed this top to fit ME so well, it’s pretty cool to see it fits other gals too! guess that’s the beauty of knits though, eh? 😉

i’ve seen a couple other lovely versions popping up on instagram and in comments too, and it makes me so happy you guys are giving it a whirl. this has been a fun “dip my toe into patternmaking” experience. i also want to give a huge THANK YOU to Melissa of Melly Sews and Blank Slate Patterns, who got me going on Illustrator – she offers a full class on it which she talks about here, and the first lesson is free! if you’ve always wanted to learn Illustrator but don’t know where to start, start there. it’ll blow your mind.