sheet as top

April 3, 2012April 13, 201237 Comments

drunk off the success of my first wiksten tank, i decided to remix it! honestly, i’d been waiting for a great-fitting base pattern that i could work with to create something new, so this was a really fun challenge.

i drafted elbow length sleeves (holy cow, full grown women sleeves look GINORMOUS when you’re not used to sewing anything larger than a 3T!) and gathered them at the top for a little puff. then i created the bow collar by cutting a really really long, 5″ wide strip. i folded it in half and sewed around all edges, leaving enough open in the center to fit around the raw neckline of the tank. i turned the tube right side out, finished just the chest area of the neckline with bias, sewed the open part of the collar on around the rest, then topstitched it in place.

so this is kind of funny – my grandma always used to wear bow collared shirts to family Christmas parties. that’s my point of reference for these things, and until i saw THIS beauty by sophie, i was never really interested in wearing one myself. once i saw hers, though, i wanted to try making one. as i cut it out, i had no idea whether it would actually work or not, and it made me so anxious while i was sewing! was i wasting my time with a flop, or would it turn out? i think it turned out! 🙂

after i tried it on, i decided i wanted it a bit more fitted, so i pinched some fabric at my mid back, then just sewed it down on the inside. i’m going full blown romance with this shirt – puff sleeves, big bow, floral, and a sort of peplum back!

i shortened the front by a couple inches and i wish i’d done that in the back too, for the sole reason that it peeks out from under my jacket when i wear it to work. and i have worn it to work! it feels so subversive when i do, because it’s actually a vintage bed sheet! OH YES! this sucker was $4 at goodwill, and i’ve already made a toddler dress, skirt, and a sash for myself out of it. pret-ty good. and i would be remiss if i didn’t show you our mother and daughter matching vintage sheet garments in the same shot, so behold:

it only felt dorky once i took my jacket off. 😉

tiny sketchbooks

March 28, 2012March 29, 20128 Comments

i spotted this super cute mini sketchbook project here and knew i had to make some right away! i actually made them a couple weeks ago but sometimes it takes me a while to blog about things (hehe).

i’m pretty sure the key to a successful trip to a restaurant with kids is having fun art materials to keep them entertained before dinner comes. we were heading out to dinner with my inlaws, including 5 kids under 8 years old (our two plus three nephews), so i whipped up these little sketchbooks for each to claim as their own. the covers are cardstock in fun colors, and the insides are resume paper that we’ve had laying around the house since our college days. i cut them all with an x-acto knife and a straight edge on my self-healing mat. before sewing up each spine, i added a strip of washi tape for a little extra pop.

rubyellen made all of her books teeny tiny, which are very cute. i made two of the books that small (about 2″ square), but also made some twice that size. my thought was that the oldest boys would like the smallest books, the 3 year olds would like the bigger books, and the baby would like whatever we put in front of him. i was right! that’s exactly what happened. the oldest boys (almost 8 and 6) had the most fun with the books, filling them with ninjas and angry birds, comic book style. Em and S colored in various pages with markers. she has a very on-trend love of colorblocking right now.

i think kids love things that are just their size and specially made for THEM, you know? and these are great because they slip nicely into a mama’s purse to continue coloring the next time you’re out and about with boredom to bust. big thumbs up to little sketchbooks! try ’em, you’ll like ’em!

whole cloth starfish quilt

March 26, 2012March 27, 201225 Comments

i love my inlaws. they’re great. and when they decided to build a new beach house up at their spot of land on the puget sound (in the family since the ’60s), i knew i wanted to make a coordinating lap quilt for movie watching and stormy afternoon book reading. however, my mother-in-law has very definite ideas about her decorating style, so i waited until the house was done and i could see what colors she was using before i secretly started a quilt for her. the house was finished last month and her palette turned out to be a soothing natural-and-white scheme, so i whipped up this quilt for her birthday.

i had spotted a pottery barn pillow with starfish appliqué on one of their living room chairs, and took my inspiration from that. the quilt is whole cloth natural linen with white kona starfish appliqués that i hand-drew. i used basting spray to temporarily hold the starfish in place and stitched around the edge of each through all layers during the quilting process, so you can see them on the back too. i really like the texture and rough edges – the whole quilt has a kind of rumpled, worn, beachy look.

the back is a bella solid (spring, i think?) that i picked up in the remnant bin at bolt. my MIL’s favorite color is this shade of green, so i figured it was a safe bet and a nice complement to the natural tones on the front.

i was pretty excited when i had the idea for the quilting design (and thanks to my buddy jessica for helping talk me through it!). i wanted it to stand out since the quilt itself was pretty simple. i drew arches starting at each corner, increasing the distance between them at each layer, and letting the lines intersect at various points. the idea was to mimic ripples in the water when you skip stones, which we often do on the rocky beach. i started with a dinner plate, then used a ruler to measure out and mark the next layer, making a bunch of dashes at, say, 4″ from the prior arch, then connecting them to create the next arch. i drew them on with water soluble marker before quilting with my walking foot, starting in the center.

the binding fabric is a perfect little imperfect polka dot from timeless treasures (Geo-C7741) that reminds me of bubbles. i get scared that i’ll mess up while machine stitching the binding, so i always finish my quilt bindings by hand. am i weird for really loving that part?

the quilt is 41″ x 47″ finished, but my mother-in-law is only 4’11” so i think it’ll cover her lap just fine. 🙂

it’s pretty cozy, so hopefully i can grab a little time with the quilt when i’m up there, too. can’t wait to get up to the sound to see it in its intended habitat!

superhero cape giveaway winner!

March 21, 2012March 21, 20123 Comments

thank you to everyone for the kind words and for entering my first blogiversary giveaway! i’m pretty sure your comments were the cutest in blog history – i loved reading your little ones’ names and favorite colors. i can just imagine all those kiddos flying around in their superhero capes, and wish i could make one for everybody (totally cliche, but true). but since i’d most definitely go insane sewing over 40 capes (and nobody wants that), i had to pick just one winner…

according to random.org, the winner of the custom superhero cape is jamsby! she said…

My daughter Willa would get such a kick out of this. She is almost 2 but loves playing dress up. Favorite colors? Hmmm, not sure about that one, but her Momma loves teal and magenta. I love your blog! Can’t believe you only have a year under your belt.

teal and magenta cape, coming right up! isn’t willa such a cute name, too? jill, i just sent you an email.

thanks to all who entered and take the time to read my little blog. you guys are awesome!

kristin in wiksten

March 18, 2012June 9, 201436 Comments

here’s a first! i have never sewn a garment for myself that fit just right, straight from the pattern, without tinkering. it’s mostly my fault for always cutting things too big – my body proportions apparently don’t fit in the “sizing box” very well and i never want to make something too small, so i go the other route then take it in later (doesn’t work that well). this time i trusted the pattern, made the proper size based on the one measurement called for, and voila! i made a top that i really love to wear!

it was my first try at the wiksten tank (now available for download), and i made it in a gingham from joann because it’s lightweight for drape, didn’t cost much, and i had enough in my stash. i was hoping for it to be a “wearable muslin,” but it ended up much better than that, to me! for a little pizzazz, i turned the pocket on the bias and did my topstitching in hot pink. i know, you’d think when i finally stop sewing for my pink-obsessed three-year-old i’d pick a different color, but i thought it looked good with the black and white. what can i say? guess the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

it’s cute with a cardigan and i see it getting worn a lot as the weather warms up.

drapey tops often tend to look a bit “maternity” on me, but this one hangs really nicely – the neckline and armholes are cut perfectly to fit so the drape looks intentional, not like you’re trying to hide something…does that make sense? i had checked out the wiksten flickr group and the tank seemed universally flattering that way, which is the main reason i bought the pattern.

i like the shirt tail hemline, too – slightly longer in the back. it’s just a really well-drafted pattern and i’m happy to have it in my stash now! a great starting point like this has my imagination running wild with how to alter it for different looks, too.

i’m throwing the headless photo above into rae’s spring top sewalong pool, which opens today! many thanks to rae for giving me a kick in the pants to sew for myself. i don’t know what my deal is – i can dream up semi-elaborate looks for my kids and be pretty sure i can execute them, but when it comes to sewing clothes for me, even a simple tank required a big leap of faith. i needed a success to really build some confidence, and this was a great first step!