Wife, Then Mama

So I told you that I would have something awesome to show you for "Ta-da Tuesday"...  Well I lied. This time my failure is not for lack of trying, in fact I tried really, REALLY hard.  I was going to make Simplicity 5706 which was printed in 1964.  *side note:  I seem to really favor Simplicity patterns over Butterick, McCalls, Vogue, and all the others.  Everytime I pick a pattern to make, it is Simplicity.* I was using some pink linen, and since linen is expensive I was determined not to waste the fabric.  I mean I didn't expect it to fit me right, since I am deformed, but I wanted it to look good on a hanger. I was a perfectionist and since I didn't have any marking pens that would work on this, I used (what I am pretty sure is called) tailor's tacks.  Basically you sew through the points you need to mark with a small piece of thread, then leave it in the fabric and play connect the dots with a straight edge (like a book,...

I have two pairs of Betty Boop pajama pants.  So when I was given some Betty Boop fabric, I knew I had to make Hadlee some pajama pants.  Plus what else are you going to do with Betty Boop fabric?  I mean its not exactly a classy fabric choice for a dress or something. Anyways.  I used Simplicity 9184, which was made in 1970.  I made a couple of alterations, because it isn't actually a pajama pattern.  The legs on mine are both longer and wider.  Longer because Miss Hadlee is a tall little girl, and wider because who wants tight pajama pants?  I think they turned out pretty cute, and the hem is gigantic, so if her mom wants to re-hem them later she can probably wear them for years. The shirt is actually maybe a dress?  I can't tell, because it is to short to be a dress and to long to be a shirt.  Maybe its a tunic for over leggings?  (I didn't make the shirt, its from a Wittlebee box I once got) But I thought it ...

I really want to be able to sew without patterns.  Don't get me wrong I LOVE patterns.  I look for them every time I go to a fabric store, or even better, a thrift store.  I own dozens of them.  I just really love the idea of someday being able to sell what I make, without worrying about copyright infringement and  lawsuits  and stuff. So I decided to make this reversible baby skirt.  Is it perfect?  Not at all.  Just looking at the pictures you can see the mistakes.  Plus I think its a little to wide for how long it is, but since I plan to make a diaper cover to match I am not to worried about it. I am pretty proud of myself.  I am sure I have seen tutorials for this before, and I know my friend Brittany has made scads of them.  But I didn't ask her for help, or view a tutorial while I was doing it. Next time I make one I think I am going to take photographs while I make it so I can post my first (o...

The patter I used. Circa 1980 Today I decided to do some more sewing.  Hadlee wanted another dress (I mean she didn't ask for one, but was really excited when I suggested it) and I wanted a project.  I also wanted something kind of quick as I intend to start sewing myself a dress soon.  So I decided to try stretch knits.  Now I have only tried them once before and it was an EPIC failure.  But I didn't know I needed a ball point needle, plus I was using an old sheet or shirt or something not fabric.  This time I used a brown striped jersey that I got from my friend Melissa . I used Simplicity 9422, which is a SuperJiffy pattern from 1980. So I cut out the fabric last night and this afternoon I got to sewing.  Now the whole project came together very well, although I did make two mistakes.  The first was that the "keyhole" is only supposed to be in the front, I misread the instructions and put one in the front AND the back.  The key...