Friday, July 5, 2013

a swimsuit for me


I was planning to make myself a few swimsuits this year, so when Heather released the new Bombshell Swimsuit pattern I was ready.

 (It was also love at first sight!) I made view A, the blue one, this time. I'm pretty sure my next one will be view B in white with gold dots.  I love this pattern! If you make this, follow the directions exactly. If you read all the way through the instructions first, you will understand. If not, you might be scratching your head, but trust her. She won't steer you wrong.

Here is mine!






Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Swimsuits!

Summer starts early here. We opened the pool for the season during Spring Break, at the end of March. It wasn't really that hot here, yet- we heated the pool. With a pool in our backyard and temperatures in the triple digits (we hit 115 this weekend), we plan to spend most days in the pool. This means we all need swimsuits, and more than just 1 each. It was perfect timing, because Katie and Leila were hosting SwimAlong2013. I had never sewn a swimsuit before- there had really been no need when we lived in Oregon. It proved to be really quite easy and quick!

I started with a swimsuit for Ashley. We used her old swimsuit, the one that was too small, as a guide. This did not go so well. It was too tight in the hips. I cut the bottom off of it, and decided to make a tankini.  After cutting a new, bigger bottom for the swimsuit, I realized I wasn't getting the leg opening right. I pulled out my Jalie underwear pattern and used that to fix it. I should have started with this pattern to begin with! The fabric was purchased at lowpricefabric.com.


I made a swimsuit for myself next, but don't have good pictures yet. They are all blurry. It will get it's own blog post someday soon. 
Natalie was begging for hers to be made next, so I picked out an Ottobre pattern and got to work. I used Ottobre 3/2009 #38 with #39 for the top. She and Alona loved this pink camo fabric.


Alona's swimsuit was so quick. Hers was my 4th swimsuit in 2 weeks and the same pattern as Natalie. She has the same size chest and waist as Natalie, so I just added a bit to the hips for hers.


My girls all love their new swimsuits! Can you tell? I wonder how tan they will be by the end of summer...




Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Casual Lady Dress from Go To Patterns

I was asked to test the Casual Lady Dress pattern for Go To Patterns in April. They needed the XXS again, so Ashley got another dress!

I ordered these cotton/spandex jerseys from Nature's Fabrics. The top one is the same fabric Katie used for the leggings she wore to our meetup and I loved the quality, so ordered some of my own. The blue with gold flecks was much thinner, sadly, so I decided to use it for this dress.

The dress was quick! 2 main pieces, 2 facing pieces. Easy. The instructions were great, and Ashley was so happy to have yet another dress. I will definitely make this pattern again. I might even try making the top for myself- yes, it can be a dress or a top.

Doesn't she look thrilled?



Simply Lovely dress for Ashley

A few months ago, Go To Patterns was looking for a pattern tester for their smallest women's dress size.  After taking a look at their sizing, I realized this would work perfect for my 12 year old and signed right up!  They sent me the Simply Lovely Dress pattern.

I picked out a stretch woven I've had in the stash for quite some time. I fell in love with the diagonal stripe, but never knew what to do with it.


I think this fabric has a little less drape than the recommended fabrics, but it works.  I would LOVE to make this in a light to mid weight linen!


The instructions were well written. The elastic at the waist was put in a way I never have seen before.  I followed the directions, not sure how it would work, but it did!  The sizing is great! Ashley is quite thin, so I was surprised that a women's pattern would have a size to fit. I did lengthen the dress, as usual.  I will probably do the straps differently the next time I make it, making the underarm binding continue up as the straps, as I think it will sit better on their shoulders.

This pattern is FREE, yes, free. You just have to head over to GoToSew.com and sign up for their newsletter.  The dress was posted there back at the beginning of April, but I believe it is still available.


Back in January I made this dress...


Ashley turned 12 back in January. I decided to make her a new dress for her birthday, as she really didn't have any dresses in her closet.  I let her pick out the fabric from my stash. I searched through my Ottobre magazines and let her pick between a few patterns. 
We went with 06/2008 37. In the magazine, the girl wore it layered with a turtleneck and tights. It is really a cute dress. I would have loved to make the turtleneck, but it just isn't that cold here.

This dress was quick and easy to make. My kind of pattern! I used a pink cotton interlock from the stash.  It's been long enough that I forget what size I made. I love Ottobre patterns. They have great styles for kids (and women). The instructions are minimalist- sew the shoulder seam, gather between marks, hem.   This doesn't really bother me, as I know how to do these things.

 I need pink thread for the serger.


Ashley loves her new dress (we moved a week after her birthday, so boxes were just a part of our life back then).



Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Sewcialist Emblem - We have a winner!


Thanks to everyone who visited the jury blogs to cast your vote. We had a total of 191 votes. That's wonderful! I know it doesn't mean we had 191 individuals voting but it's still nice to see that a lot of you voted multiple times. We appreciate you taking the time.
Thanks to Make Magazine the winner will get 
  • A 1 year subscription to Make magazine generously offered by our official sponsor Make
Thanks to individual donors (this is not coming from Make: Magazine), the winner will also receive:
  • A $100 cash prize
  • A custom ipad sleeve
I know you want to know who won. I am glad it was so hard for all of you to decide. That is a good thing to tell these awesome designers! They did such a good job it was hard for all of you to choose.
Winner: Joost

ColorEmblemWithTitle

1st Runner up: Anne
2nd Runner up: Sabina


A big congratulations to Joost and all designers for their hard work.

What are you going to do with our new Sewcialists logo? First, head over to Joost's site and choose your colors. 

Then what?
  • Put it on your blog
  • Make an iron-on transfer and iron it on a t-shirt or a tote
  • Sketch it on your Trapper Keeper
  • Stencil it on your drum head.
The options are endless. What are you going to do with it?

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

vote now for the sewcialist emblem

Voting is now closed.
Welcome Everyone! We're here today to vote on the 6 Sewcialists emblem entries. Please consider the following before you cast your vote:
We asked each designer to design an emblem that...
  • Relates to sewing and the social nature of sewcialists
  • Is modern, simple, recognizable and memorable
  • Is useable in black & white as well as in color
You can read the rest of the requirements on the Sewcialists.org site. On this site, you can also find the rest of the Jury Blogs. You are allowed one vote per jury blog. The Jury itself will not be voting. The jury eliminated the short-list portion of this contest. The designs up for vote are the designs that were submitted.
When you vote on our blogs, please make your vote very clear, typing in the # of the entry and the designer's name.
Included before each design is a portion of the designer's cover letter to give you context.
Voting closes on May 8th at midnight Eastern time in the United States. 
Entry #1- Bev
I chose my designs as a globe representing the world wide sewing community, needle and threads to represent sewing, threads of different colours to represent our differences and a computer mouse to represent our mode of communication. SewcialistSewcialist bw
Entry #2- Gareth
I think that this design shows the close-knit (excuse the pun) nature of
Sewcialists. It places them within the circle created by the threads coming from the needles. I think this nicely sums up the idea of a community brought together by the hobby that they love.
Sewcialists

Sewcialists_no_txt


Entry #3- Sabina

I basically wanted to keep the logo very simple and recognisable. Every sewcialist will at some point use a computer to communicate about their creations or engage with other sewcialists. Although there are lots of different hardware options to enable us to do this (smart phones, desk tops, tablets etc etc) I thought the world at large would be able to immediately recognise a standard laptop to represent how the online community interacts.The sewing machine in the middle was the obvious choice to represent what sewcialists do at the very heart of our creativity. It’s actually based on my Janome 525S machine! The dot and dash circle enclosing the logo represents to me the cutting lines on patterns!

sewcialist logo B&W no word sewcialist logo colour no word sewcialist logo final B&W sewcialist logo final



Entry #4- Joost
The design uses a button and bobbin to relate to sewing whereas the smiley face speech balloon relates to the social nature of sewcialists.
The button is slightly rotated. It makes it visually more pleasing and reminds us that sewcialists needn't adhere to the stereotype of off-the-peg garments. The bobbin is half-filled with thread, indicating it's being used. The friendly chatter that sewcialists engage in online is embodied in the form of a speech balloon/smiley face.
The emblem is simple in its design and its button and bobbin shapes breathe 'sewing'. The combination of three basic elements makes it memorable, yet distinctive.
The black and white version at the bottom and the color version at the top prove that the logo 'works' regardless of colors.
But I don't like the color!
You don't have to. You may like the same dress pattern as another sewcialist, but that doesn't mean you should make it in the same color, right?
The strength of the design is its shape. Only you can choose your prefect colors. So, pick your own colors and make this design your very own sewcialist emblem.
You can do so online at this address:: http://lab.decock.org/sewcialists/
ColorEmblemWithoutTitleColorEmblemWithTitleMonochromeEmblemWithoutTitleMonochromeEmblemWithTitle
Entry #5- Dylan
CoverLetter
LogoProposal
Entry #6- Anne
My design is a patchwork globe revolving on an axis which is represented by the dress form. The needle and thread which changes to a computer mouse representing the lines of communication going round the globe linking sewing and the social media.
My idea for this came from the inclusive and diverse nature of the sewcialist community represented by the patchwork pieces of the countries - linked by a common thread - our sewing and means of communication. My favourite author is Anne Tyler who wrote the book A Patchwork Planet so a bit of me. I also wanted to represent all sewers, the dress form for the garment sewers among us and the patchwork, yes you've guessed it! for the patchwork community.

The text around the outside gives a vintage feel - I think - to the design. I mention the word Sewcialist  at the top and I felt we should aim high - with a bit of humour so a bit tongue in cheek with the proclamation that we will unite the world with our stitches.
anne logo color with wordsanne logo bw with wordsannelogo color no words
Good luck to the designers!

Jury members blogs for more voting. Remember, one vote per blog.