Spring Break Sewing.

The kids were off of school for a week, and we wanted to take a trip to the beach for a few days.  The ladies got to pick out new bathing suits, and somehow they both felt like a swimsuit cover up was required attire on top of the new suits.  I don't know if it's just me, but I have a hard time wanting to spend money on the cover-ups.  They are always so simply made, that I am plagued with the thought, "I could make that myself".

To get out of the store without a daughter in tears, I hastily promised I would make her a swimsuit cover up!  When I got in the car, I wondered to myself what my plan was...

Thanks to my best friend Google, I quickly stumbled upon this darling tutorial from one of my favorite crafty/sewing blogs, Crafterhours:

Source: crafterhoursblog.com via Annee on Pinterest

I quickly found a few old Target beach towels and thought I'd give it a try.  This is a draft-your-own-pattern type of a project.  For me, that is always a risky proposition.  I never quite know if it's going to turn out.  Lucky for Jane it did, because there was NO time to spare:

Turned out pretty cute.  

Except, maybe it's a little too long?

And maybe I could have done the A-line shape better?

And I hated doing the bias tape binding on the neck and arms.

But it was the perfect beach accessory, and Jane loved wearing it!

Um, probably I need to make another one.

Patchwork Curtain

A while back Annee pinned this inspiration photo.

Source: made-by-rae.com via Liz on Pinterest

Not only is it a beautiful patchwork shower curtain, but all the fabrics are Anna Maria Horner.  For the love of Anna Maria Horner, I wanted this in my house!!  However, I don't have a shower that requires a curtain, so I pinned this to my "For the Home" board and thought I'd patiently wait until I moved to a new house that needed a shower curtain.

Then I had a friend come over and she was looking at the curtain that I had hanging between my sewing room/laundry room and kitchen.  She asked where I got the fabric, and I told her it was on the clearance table at JoAnn's.  I had only hung a curtain there for when my mom comes to stay.  (My mom has the privilege of sleeping on our laundry room floor.  Have I mentioned I live in a small house?!?)  My friend said, "With all your cute fabric, I'm surprised you didn't make something brighter and more cheerful."  Funny.  I'd never really thought about how not very cute the curtain was because I never really have it hanging down.  I really only use it when my mom comes.  But, my sewing room is usually an eye sore, so it would be nice to have a cute curtain to shield the usual explosion of fabric, clothes, threads, machines, ironing board, etc.

Then I remembered the shower curtain.  An idea was born.

I knew I wanted my curtain to be all Anna Maria Horner fabric.  I would have loved to have made my curtain out of Garden Party, but did you know that you can NOT buy Garden Party online.  Well, you can, but you are going to pay a serious premium for it.  So I settled on the beautiful Loulouthi line.

My two favorite fabrics in the curtain.

I bought 10 different half yard prints of the LouLouthi fabric and cut 9 in by 9 in squares.  Laid them out a hundred different ways on my kitchen floor, decided on a pattern, and sewed my squares together.  I added a lining to the back, and I just used curtain clips to hang it.  I figure if I ever move I can always adjust this curtain to fit a shower or any other space.

Now I have a beautiful curtain hiding the sewing room mess.  It also keeps my curious little crawler out of the sewing room.  He thinks he can't crawl through the curtain.  I'm sure he'll figure out that it's just a curtain eventually, but I'll enjoy not having to worry about button or pins or scissors laying around behind the curtain for another day or two.

This curtain helps me want to be in the kitchen which is a good thing because I swear I'm in the kitchen all the time!  Some days I'm convinced I spend more time in my kitchen then I do in my bed.  At least now it's a prettier place to be.

Easter Attire and a Big Bow Dress How-To

Last week when I got the text from Annee about her inspiration bow dress, and after I pinned the inspiration dress to my Make for Grace board, I knew I needed to make one.  Part of the excitement of sewing is figuring things out.  I wanted to not only figure out how to make the bow dress, but I also wanted to full line it.  I can't remember why the lining because such an important aspect of the dress for me, but it was.  And made a sample dress on Wednesday night, and I figured out the bow and the lining.  I was so excited about the prospects of a cute Easter Bow Dress, and then I got a vision of my boys wearing seersucker pants along side her.  I held on to the vision, and away I went Thursday to my JoAnn's for some fabric.

Then it was a matter of just getting things sewn.  Last night around 10 p.m. I put the finishing touches on my boys trousers.  I'm not going to lie.  I was totally giddy last night.  When I finished Grace's dress on Friday night, I was really nervous that I wasn't in love with it being all yellow.  However, after I finished my boys outfits last night, I was so excited.  I had a vision of what I thought it would all look like together, and in the end I really feel like I created the look I was going for.

Henry sported a little yellow on his back yoke to match his sister.

George was thrilled with new pants.  I was really nervous about the fabric being bothersome (note: JoAnn's seersucker is expensive for the crumby quality of fabric), but George didn't even notice.  It probably also helped that I used the same pattern for his pants that I used for pajama pants, so the cut is very comfy.  

Grace's dress, in my opinion, stole the show.  But, if you ask Grace she wasn't happy with it.  It wasn't fancy enough for her, and she claimed it wasn't modest.  Quote, "Mama, I just really don't feel modest in this dress."  I've ruined her by making her wear leggings to school every day.  I think she wanted leggings, but I took care of the tears with the promise of some Easter candy.

Do you want to make your own Big Bow Easter dress??  Easy peasy.  Start by purchasing this pattern, Simplicity 4927.  It's the best $3 pattern you could buy.  It's a basic A-line pattern, and the options are endless for what you could turn it into.  The pattern runs 1 to 1 1/2 sizes large.  Grace wears a size 5, but I used the size 3 pattern pieces for her dress.  I added 2 inches to the length, and I also took an inch off the armholes.  In the picture below I cut off the brown line making my armholes bigger and the neckline not so boxy.

Next when I cut the front dress piece, I placed it two inches away from the edge of the fold.  This added 4 inches to the width of my dress.  Now Annee only placed her pattern piece one inch away from the edge.   My box pleat is a little big, so this is all a matter of personal preference.

**I forgot to take a picture of this with my yellow fabric, so I had to do a special photo shoot just to show you what I did.  Don't let the orange fabric fool you!**

Now in the inspiration photo, the dress has two pleats in the front.  Annee in her blue bow dress just did one pleat, and I agreed with her that it looks just as cute, and therefore, I did only one pleat.  To make my pleat, I place a pin at the top edge of the neckline where I added the extra fabric.

Then I opened up the pleat and ironed it flat.

Then I opened up the pleat.

On the outer most creases, I made a buttonhole large enough for a 3/4 inch button.  The bottom of the buttonhole is 2 1/2 inches from the top of the neckline.

Sorry, the buttonhole picture is blurry!

Then I folded my box pleat back up, and did a basting stitch to keep it in place.

I then finished my dress.  Now I did figure out the lining, but that is a how-to for another day.  After basting the box pleat you would just follow the rest of the instructions that come with the pattern.

To make the bow, you need two rectangles, 10 inches by 6 inches.  Sew them right sides together leaving an opening on one side for flipping.  Turn right sides out, and topstitch around the bow.  Sorry, no pictures of this step.  Then as your final step to the dress, carefully slide your bow through your buttonholes.  And, then you have your own Big Bow Dress!!

I recognize this isn't the greatest how-to.  If you need more help or have any questions, please leave me a comment.

For a girl who was really disappointed with this dress, Grace really knew how to hide it.  

I added a zipper to the back of my dress.  This was the first zipper I put in a dress.  Well, second if you count my sample dress.  I'm sure it's not technically correct, but I think it works and looks fine.

And that's an Easter attire wrap!  Whew.  It was just a little bit exhausting getting everything together, but in the end any lost sleep was worth it.  I think!?!

Stay tuned.  It's my week to post here on Made on Maple.  I've got lots of fun things to share.  Get sew excited!

The Spring Quilt

I started cutting the last week of March.  Before that, I started pinning inspiration quilts.  I had purchased a large selection of fat quarters from the Lotta Jansdotter Echo fabric line.  I really loved them all.

I found some great ideas over at Pinterest, like this one:

Source: flickr.com via Annee on Pinterest

And this one...

Source: Uploaded by user via Annee on Pinterest

But ultimately I followed a tutorial called the Lemon Square Quilt pattern from the Fresh Lemons blog.

You make six different square blocks, and then seven of each block.  Inspired by the combination in that trellis quilt, I thought it would be fine to mix all my Echo fabrics into one great quilt:

I added in a few Kona solids.  But somehow when I laid it all out together I just didn't love it.  I felt like I had not made quilt magic.  I have some individual blocks which I think are great:

Then there are others, that did not turn out at all as I had hoped:

For the time being, I have stacked all my blocks back up and put them up on the shelf.  I will finish the quilt.  Maybe even before the end of April.  But it will not go down as one of my favorite quilts ever.  Even though I had hoped that it would.  I might add some white sashing between my rows of seven blocks, just to break up the patterns a bit.  I will lay it all out again, trying again to find the most harmonious way for those blocks to get sewn together.  And maybe after giving myself a break from looking at all the blocks, when I come back to it, I'll see it all entirely differently.

It's still gorgeous fabric, and for that reason alone, I will see this project through to the end.  And I will continue to dream about the next quilt, the next fabric line, and the next design that I'll get to try to make quilt magic with.  You win some, and you lose some.  You learn something either way.

I got motivated.

Last Sunday it occurred to me that Easter was only one week away, and I didn't even have a plan yet!  I knew I wanted to make new dresses for my girls.  Last year's dresses are still favorites.   But I hadn't thought about fabric or patterns, etc. for this year.

Enter Pinterest for inspiration!  

This dress was pinned on my board:

Source: one-little-minute.com via Annee on Pinterest

Without a pattern or a tutorial, I was really going to need to use my brain!  Liz suggested I could start with the same pattern she started with when she made a simple A-line shaped dress.  It's Simplicity 4927.  

My good friend Summer had these dresses pinned on her inspiration board, also stemming from the same basic A-line shape (and had successfully copied the middle version.  So I had her help with my second dress):

Source: simplesong.typepad.com via Summer on Pinterest

So those were my inspirations for the two dresses I attempted first:

Both started with Simplicity 4927.  Both ended up with slight variations and hopefully improvements with each go round.  And neither one of these dresses are for Easter!  But they will most definitely get worn over and over again this spring and summer.

This navy blue is so hard to photograph!  Sorry.  For the bow dress you need to add an inch, ON THE FOLD, to the front dress piece.  That way you have enough extra fabric to fashion a box pleat.  Then, behind that pleat I inserted button holes on either side, so that my bow could slide through.  I used a cotton stretch poplin and Ruby has already worn it to school and bike riding, play ground playing, etc.  It passes the comfy test!  

This green one is made out of linen from my Korea stash.  Since I was worried about itchiness, I had to do the lining differently, thus altering quite a bit the way I constructed it.  But still, it's pretty simple.  They both close in the back with a loop and button closure.  

Neither is perfect!  I know that.  They are workable prototypes.  I hope I'll just keep getting better and better with each subsequent dress.  Because the UPS man just dropped off the Easter seersucker.  Do I have two more dresses in me before Easter?!  

I better go take a nap first :)

When I was still so tired...

I tried to think of something that could make me feel better.  I hadn't sewn in weeks because I just couldn't find the energy or motivation.  But I felt like I wanted to, I missed my creative outlet.

I knew I wanted to make a Spring Quilt with my Echo fabric collection, but a quilt seemed impossible to tackle.

With a new set of twins on the way, I figure our camera is going to get a lot of use in the coming months.  I've been wanting to make myself a new camera strap, ever since I made one for Liz.  I could use my Echo fabric on the camera strap, and that could be a little preview for when I had enough energy to make it into a quilt...

This project only takes a few hours.  Maybe only two?  It was the perfect project to add a bit of joy to my life at that particular time.  And, it continue to bring me joy every time I look at my camera!  If you want to make one, here's the tutorial I've used twice.  This time the only thing I did different was instead of using interfacing, I used batting.  I thought a bit of padding on the strap would be kind of nice.  Next time, I think I'll use both batting and interfacing.  Especially if I use quilters cottons again.  If you used home dec weight fabrics, you might omit the interfacing.

Also, if you are making one for yourself, you don't even need to buy a camera strap.  Just use the one right on your camera :)

Great news...I've since found the energy to turn the rest of my Echo fabric into a quilt.  Stay tuned in the next few days I'll show you what I've got....

(sorry about the iphone photo, but it's just a sneak peak anyway)

Fruits of Their Labors.

A week or so ago, I posted about Ruby getting a sewing lesson.  The truth is, it's not the first sewing lesson she's had.  These ladies of mine often migrate out to the sewing garage while I'm out there.  The other truth is, it isn't always a blissful experience.  I've raised LADIES.  They have grand ideas of their own.  As soon as they walk into my sanctuary with it's stacks of fabric, bucket of scraps, and collection of scissors, their wheels start turning just as fast as mine.  They've made tote bags, dolls blankets, pillows.  But their list never stops there, and it always involves me stopping what I was doing to help them with what they are doing.  You can see how it can get tense.  Patience is not a virtue any of us readily possess.  

But I'm tired of their list.  I thought I should add to it.  I decided it was time to show them just how easy a skirt is!  It can simply be one seam, and two hems (one with a casing).  It can be that simple!  And the result will be something they can wear to school.  What is not to love about that?!

When Ruby walked in one afternoon, I told her if she'd pick out a fabric, I'd help her turn it into a skirt.  I was not entirely sure I shared her vision with this fabric.  But it's been in the stash forever, and there was plenty of it for a skirt, so who was I to judge?!  

She agreed that to make it a bit more modern, we could add the ruffled waist feature.  

I thought pulling the elastic through the casing would be the simplest step.  Turns out, it's the hardest thing for them to do.  They are pros at ironing.  And with every attempt, they get better and better and sewing straight!

She pulled off her spool-o-thread skirt so grandly, that sister Jane wanted a sewing lesson too.  I told her she could pick out her fabric that night, but that her turn behind the machine would have to wait until the next day!  One girl at the machine per day is all I can handle.  

The next day, when we walked off the bus, she walked right into the sewing garage, anxious to get started.  I think we were done with her skirt in less than an hour! 

She told me the ruffly waist feature would make her itchy.  Let me tell you, there is hardly anything that won't make Jane itchy, but we try to make as many concessions as possible.  She went for the straight forward skirt with a casing.  

I loved adding the striped top and the red Salt Water Sandals!  I am thrilled that they have new skirts for this unseasonably warm spring.  And I am equally thrilled that they are learning how important, and how far you can get, if you simply know how to sew a straight line!  

Way to go Ladies!!

xox,

Mom.