Scrap busting gifts: Trio of hats

My coach at school has been so good for me this year.

She's about to have a lil baby.

She already has a 3 year old. 

So I made her some hats. 

They're reversible with a matchy side for family photos, and have elastic chin straps for wind/babies.

The big one is for my boy. 

Oliver and S free bucket hat pattern in sizes XS (baby), M (3 yo), L (6yo). All fabric from my scrap megabox, which does not ever quit!

i don't want the weekend to end!! (free patterns edition)

it was a hell of a weekend. great weather, great kid, good friends old and new. And i did a sh*#load of sewing.

gratuitous me made mish mash

1) i made a dope camo clutch for Deilia. Happy birthday, D, and welcome back to the best place on earth.

where is the magic?

(no photographs. DAMMMMITTTT) woohoo sartorialist strikes! unphotog-ed is the HOT PINK cell phone pocket inside. boom!

ohhh, there is the magic!

in action!

2) i made a slinky purple jersey maxi skirt from this tutorial. CAKE (both ways)! but then i had to take in the waistband about 6". not the most fun...and then i ripped it today, and it still needs a hem. it is slinky, though, mama.

3) Kirsten Kimono Tee! finally. I've "bought" this thing like 3 times, but I finally printed and stitched it. simple enough but i didn't love the fit. it's also really long? i think i've adjusted my pattern to just go from L up top to M at the waist and beyond. and shortened it about 1-2", and dropped the neckline about 4". that'll fix it!

What's funny about this is that I'm pretty sure I have a near copy this pattern in my closet, which I drafted myself to match my favorite drapey j crew t (which also had a twisted collar and buttons down the back). I am going to let the fancy details go (for now!) and repopulate my wardrobe with modified Kimono Tees.

Fabric courtesy of Stonemountain's remnant bin, maybe $5. it is luscious. at least some part rayon...

4) vest for the boy! (which I won on Miranda's giveaway woo) It is SO colorful. maybe too colorful, but i was limited to fleeces from the remnant pile and fabrics from my stash (bike flannel yum, organic purple rib knit also yum. The remnant section had a 60" 1/2 yard of red wool felt for $2. huh. and there you go!)

dinosaurs and bicycles! F T W

this is a size 3-4, which should be just right for the little guy. instead it's falling off of his shoulders and making this funny duck tail in the back. 

I added cozy pockets for the ocean breezes, but i don't want to do buttons/velcro like the pattern suggests because the pockets weren't built for a cross over closure. Doh!

he's such a pro. :)

So now I am deep in toggle investigation...I may end up just jamming a zipper on there by hand for simplicity. The little dude requested a zipper in fact. "It's the easiest", he says. Little does he know!!

i like dana's style, but her patterns leave a little to be desired, imo. 

So anyway. This week I want to keep walking in the sun and making clothes for myself, the kid(s), the man, getting through the stash of fabric and turning it into spring and summer wear. But I have writing to do. So Much Writing. This is crunch time, so I'll be on blog leave too.

Happily the Archer sewalong got postponed until 3/25...so if I hustle enough in the next week I'll be able to do that with the other sewists of the world, which could be fun. I'm hangry for a linen throw over everything button up....

and with that i'll sign off. Catch you soon, I hope!

xo
bex

sewing for your sweetie: mindbender wallet tutorial (& pattern!)

i did it!

my bf has to carry all sorts of licenses and certification cards and such, and he sits on his wallet all day long. he's a good shopper and a stylish fellow, and he found himself a slick sailcloth one, which is stylish, lightweight, and hecka flat. Don't let your lover be like George.

it's kinda big, but it fits in a man sized pocket...

it's also MADE OF FABRIC. which means so many things. for instance 1) it wears out. 2) I knew I could figure out how to work it.

these pockets hold credit cards (when they're not holding fingers). ps i have arthritis! ha! i'm not old.

so i made him a new one! and I want to share it with you for v day, in case you want to make your bf/gf/whatever something totally awesome for under a dollar or two (seriously) AND which is a classic gift one traditionally gives their sweetie, so all the better.

i call it the Mindbender wallet, cause it bent my mind to figure it out. but version 3 was easy as pie, and now i know how to tell you about it!

Here it is. Follow this handy instruction guide for the how to. And PLEASE write with questions or any feedback. I want to make it easy for you, too. :)

I'm so proud and happy to share it with you!

MINDBENDER WALLET
 from superstar.

1. make this cross shape. I realize now that this tutorial is very American (Sorry, rest of the world). I used inches and there's a pocket that fits dollars like a charm. But there's a bigger bill pocket too, so maybe if you can manage the inches you'll be in business! Keep your coins in your front pockets, k.

measurements...

what these pieces mean,  vaguely.

2. Hem the long edges (the left and right, in these pictures) and the 3 sides of the flap edges with a 1/4" hem.

i pinned the corners of the flaps to hem em. you'll also want to cut 1/4" slits at the base of the flap so that you can fold the fabric in to the hem.

3. Now you'll make the sneaky bill pockets.
3a. Take the long side of the cross, sections 3 and 4, above, and make a zig zag of them. Bring section 3 over section 2 folding one way, and section 4 over top of both (see pics, below) so that the hemmed edge meets the fold you just made.

fold section 3 to section 2...

then fold section 4 back so that the hemmed edge meets the fold you just made.

Note: This pocket will be smaller than section 2 by itself. THIS IS THE DOLLAR BILL MAGIC. it should hold a bill nicely nestled toward the top of the wallet. 

Press! If you like, check to make sure your Benjamins will fit in this pocket. Should be a nice fit. 

 3b. Now stitch the sides of the zig zag to secure it. you can see by the pins below where to sew.

4. Now you'll make the credit card pockets.
a. Fold section 1 on top of the sneaky bill pocket. Press.

Fold section 1 over the zig zag pocket you just made and press it.  

 4b. Fold the side flaps over section 1,

the leftmost red pin is holding the card flap to the topmost  layer . 

and pin at the left edge (if you're following my pictures), which is also the top of the wallet and where you'll put the money. Make sure you only pin the top two layers of fabric, or else you'll stitch the wallet closed.

Now before you go to your machine, make two little marks where the folds meet the background fabric (AKA Section 1), at 2.5" in, which should also be the center widthwise (see my giant marks below). That's where you're going to sew to keep your credit cards in place. When it's time, JUST sew where my marks are, about 1" long- don't kill yourself or the wallet trying to make that seam any longer.

 5. now go to the machine to make the credit card pockets.
a. stick your fingers in the wallet to make sure you have two sections, then stitch the flaps to the rest of the wallet, taking care that you sew only two layers of fabric together.

see the red headed pin pointed toward my fingers?  it's going to be replaced my a green pin on the other side of that seam.

This green headed pin is doing the same job as the red pin above, but on the inside of the wallet pocket. To get this to fit into my machine, i sewed it kind of inside out. 

 Stitch the flaps from the fold to the corner hem you did in step 2. You'll get a little squat pocket like the one below.

squat pocket, one of two. 

5b. This is a little scary, but if you've stitched everything above, your wallet will hold its shape while you wiggle it through this step. To make a divider in the credit card pocket, stitch the 1" marks you made above, taking care again to go through only two layers of fabric - the credit card "flap" piece, and "section 1". 

see the chalk mark we made earlier? that's your stitching guide now.

clip your threads and take a look - do credit cards fit? does it look something like this?

almost there! that one pin shows you our last stitching line. 

6. Last step! Just do one secure seam down the bottom to close up the credit card pockets and reinforce the wallet bottom.

fold her up for presentation... 

Stuff it with a love note and you're ready to go! 

Happy valentines day, lovelies. 

xo bex. 

PS if your main squeeze is into a heavier accessory like you know LEATHER, this whole process got started when the bf sent me this link. enjoy! http://artofmanliness.com/2012/11/30/how-to-make-a-wallet

Renfrews for le Mama

look how cute my mom is in her new Renfrews! she's the lucky recipient of my latest handmade gift/s. And she's already raking in compliments, so I'm pleased with my work!

um, navy is hard to photograph. 

 I gave her the brown one in pieces, saying if she liked the first one (with this gorgeous fabric) i'd make her a second (in a somewhat lamer, but still soft & cozy fabric). She was into it!

no waistband, just a simple hem. 

She also told me that when she was learning to sew knits, that's how they finished things- with bands. :/

fancy posing time. 

um, mom? was that a burn??

no, of course not. she's just sharing. she's also teasing me by telling but not showing me her tailoring books as she watches me struggle with my Anise collar. Another story for another day!

happy new year!!

tis a wee gift fact'ry

i have strep throat. maybe i just have a sore throat. who cares! the point is, i'm still in my jams, and I have been cranking out the sewn jams today. holla!

I'm proud to say I'm keeping it hella local and indie, too, which adds to the happiness.

this is how you buy the fabric. umm.

and then you cut and make an easy hem...

 1) contract napkins. towel fabric from stonemountain: $18.75 time spent cutting and hemming: approx 1.25 hrs. My friend offered way more than that for these, so i'm going to double her order tomorrow. (love ya, Syl!)

finished product!

2) Cation's dolman sleeve top! I have been eyeing this one for ages, but there are so many things already on the table, especially in the knits area. BUT my bird fabric + Cation seemed like a perfect gift for my fake gf. i left out the back seam to make it backless, cause she's slutty like that. ha!

back view, hanging nicely :)

let's be frank. it doesn't work to just leave out a seam and call it a feature. you know that. So I hemmed the raw edges, duh, and then crossed it over a bit at the waist. 

surprise! 

  

namesake dolman sleeves with neat sleeve bands. 

 it's kind of a long top, and i didn't figure she'd want her jeans/pants hanging out of her top, so i stitched the lower section closed about 3 inches up. see, up close: 

 then i rolled the top center corners in, a gradual hem that went from about 1/4" to 2' at the top.

sneaky tip top

that made the draping more effective...then i raised the top inner corners up a little and trimmed about an inch off the top, again for draping. i'm so intimidated by those drape drape books, but somehow not so intimidated that i won't just make it up myself :)

full frontal 

pretty neck and crossover feature showing from the back. 

i love how sewing combines fashion and math and spatial problem solving. and creativity, and colors and cool people.

Now back to the cutting board for mama's present (s)!

what are you making?? and should I make ornaments for the children??