Modkid Abigail & Thoughts

I went to click the "New Post" button on my dashboard, and saw that I now have 9 followers. Which is great. But I used to have 10.

Sad face. :(

I'm laughing at myself, because I SO don't want to be that person who ruthlessly tracks her friends/followers. I mean, you're not going to please everybody.

(What did I DO? Why?)

Blogging is confusing. I am wishy-washy about my own blogging aspirations. I don't carefully consider who my own audience is or what they (you) want. Mainly I just blog to my own pied piper muse.

(Which apparently doesn't please SOME people. *sniff*)

So why would I think that out of billions of sewing blogs, someone would read MINE? Because I'm so freaking special?

(But...surely I have a certain "something"? No?)

Uh uh. I will continue to pretend that I write "into a black hole" and leave it at that.

(Please love me.)

...oh, and also I made this tunic:

Fabric: Turquoise Mod Dot, Pink Ta Dot, and Scandi Chirp interlock from Michael Miller fabrics. Looking at these fabrics together, I feel the corners of my mouth tip up. They are so. Freaking. Happy/awesome/bright/soft/wonderful !!!

Pattern: Modkid Abigail. Another great knit pattern from Patty Young. I made the tunic with long sleeves, but the envelope shows several versions: short sleeve, cap sleeve-ish sleeve, dress length, etc. My brain is already putting other fabric combos together for future versions.

It is so cozy and cuddly that I want one. Patty, can you make this pattern in women's sizes??

I did a rolled hem on my serger for the bottom hem and sleeves. I put hot pink Woolly Nylon in my upper looper to get a nice, filled in edge, and stretched the heck out of the hem as I sewed. Getting a nice lettuce hem can take a little bit of practice, but it's a nice skill/tool to have. Once this goes through the wash the curls will tighten up and look even swoopier.

I had this really lovely vintage cotton ribbon in my ribbon box that perfectly matched the colors of the top, so I sewed a little tag on the side. I love happy coincidences like that. My sister got me a stash of several of these types of ribbons at a garage sale years ago. They are priceless to me in an era when even poly-blend eyelet costs $2.49 a yard, yuck. Did I mention this ribbon is made of 100% natural fibers and I have yards and yards of it...for pennies? Garage sales are amazing.

P.S. Patty Young has also designed some wonderful ribbons that coordinate with her fabrics. You could use a bit of one of those for the same effect. You can find them at Maisonette, Banberry Place, Fabric.com, etc!

This is what happens when your little brother tries to get in the shot. Ugh.

What are these? Well, as you can see above, I paired her tunic with leggings. She refuses to wear jeans. Then on a whim, I decided to try and make some "jeggings" for her by fiddling with an existing leggings pattern. She tried them on and they fit, but...I have doubts as to whether or not she will actually wear them. Even though I used a verrrry stretchy denim, I still don't think they're quite the comfort level she's looking for. I mean, they fit. I would probably find them very comfortable, especially with that button-free yoga waistband. But she is picky.

I found some denim-printed knit on eBay that I think will work much better, but I'm *gasp* not buying any fabric this month. I know. I'm participating in the Stash Game over at Sewing Mamas, so I'm on a diet. Like all diets, it is hard. Especially when I found magical hard-to-find jegging fabric that might trick my daughter into wearing jeans. Deep breath....strength.

More Michael Miller Knit outfits to come!

Modkid Maya Take 2

I had more fabric slated for the Maya pattern, so for this one I tried to make it as different as I could. I sewed the short-sleeved version, and I didn't feel like sewing more ruffles, so I changed the neckline to a tie one. I think I might like it better than the ruffles, and it was far easier. :)

Fabric: Pink Blossoms by Patty Young for Michael Miller Fabrics. The trim is Solid Raspberry.

Pattern: Modkid Maya. I am in love with this pattern. I don't think I'm done with it yet. Amertized out of how much I will sew it, even full price, this pattern is a bargain. I LOVE Modkid patterns! Have I sold you all, yet???

If I were a really awesome blogger, I would have taken pictures on how I changed the neckline. Buuut I didn't take pictures. Whoops. :p I will say that I took the neckline binding piece and added, oh, something like a good 18" inches on either side of it. So, 36" total to whatever its original length was. To attach it you:

1. Sew both shoulder seams.

2. Fold your new, extra-long binding piece in half, right sides together.

3. Sew along the short sides and 18" in on each long side.

4. Turn right sides out & press the whole thing flat.

5. Clip about 1/4" in from where you stopped your stitching.

6. Decide where you want your bow to be on the front of the dress/top, and mark that as your "center".

7. Mark the rest of the neckline in quarters in relation to your new "center".

8. Mark the non-tie part of your binding strip into quarters (just as if you hadn't added ties on either end of it).

9. Attach the binding as per the instructions, except you will be sewing it in the round.

10. Topstitch as directed & then tie a bow.

Yay, it's a bow neckline.

I love how simple this skirt is, and how little fabric it uses up. I think it's definitely going to be a staple knit skirt pattern for me!

Up next, more Michael Miller knit projects!

Modkid Maya Take 1

This week I've made two dresses from this pattern. I am finally getting around to sewing up my treasure trove of Michael Miller knits that I purchased in the Summer, right before we moved.

I think need to intersperse quick, simple projects like this in with the challenging ones if I want to increase my volume AND skills. My daughter is in dire need of new clothes after all my sewing neglect this Fall, so I need to step it up. I sewed 3.5 outfits for her this week, and it feels good!

Fabric: Carnival Bloom and Clown Stripe 100% cotton interlock from Michael Miller fabrics. Usually interlock knit is very stable and easy to sew, but I find these a bit stretchier than the interlocks I am used to. I think each garment I've made from it needs a good run through the washer/dryer to tighten everything back up. That's a good idea with all knit garments you sew, but especially important when you use knit fabrics without any spandex in them. If you are new to knits here are some really great tips for working with them.

Pattern: Modkid Maya. A great beginner knit pattern. Excellent directions, simple but cute. No complaints. The sleeves are a smidge long, but that makes for more growing room.

I made the dress view. No sense making a separate top and bottom, since I knew she would never wear them independently of each other.

The waistband of the dress version needs to sit up on the waist so that the top will blouse out over it. She kept pulling it down; I kept pulling it back up.

Since a 100% cotton knit like this has poor recovery (i.e. it doesn't bounce completely back to it's original shape once you stretch it), I think it's really helpful to gather the skirt section to the waistband with clear elastic. Here is a tutorial on how to gather with clear elastic, but to be honest, I don't measure. I pull either medium-much or a lot-much (kind of hard to explain the "feel", but after doing it a few times, it becomes natural) on the elastic as I sew. If I didn't pull the elastic tight enough I cut off some of the excess skirt and then sort of fudge it as I sew it the the waistband or whatever. Usually my fudging is about right, though. Once again, I order my clear elastic by the 10 yard-ful from Sewzannes.

I love, love the huge, bright flowers in this print. I fused a few scraps to a knit interfacing to stabilize them a bit, then cut out the flower shapes. I glued them onto a brown velvet headband, which you can't really see in her dark hair.

I gathered these strips the old-fashioned way. Sigh. Sometimes ruffle gathering like this feels tedious to me, even though it doesn't take very long. You just have to be so careful to get them straight, and I don't feel like feeling stressed when I'm sewing a simple t-shirt dress. I love the result, though.

As the sleeves were a little long, we just cuffed them to get them out of her way. I have a feeling that after a few washes, this won't be much of a problem anyway.

Coming up, another Maya!

Michael Miller Knit Love

Folks, I am going through a difficult time here. Last week, this beautilicious stack of fabric arrived on my doorstep. *pant pant* It is a tastefully selected, meticulously planned assortment of the new knits from Patty Young and Michael Miller. Each cut has a highly specific place in its respective project. They are so soft. So bright and pretty. I love them, really, too much.

Except.

I'm moving.

And, like, this is a really AWESOME thing, because you probably don't want to hear the whole shebang, but we've been wanting our own House in Southern California (home of the formerly dead American Dream) for a very, very long time. We've gone through, well, some crappy stuff to get here. Nevertheless:

I need to sew! I'm going through withdrawal. I've spent the last few days packing--ugh!--many beloved items. Such as, my books and *gulp* MY FABRIC. I don't know how long it will be before I see these things again. It might be a whole month, ack!

Oh upheaval, how I dread thee!

I have not yet found the strength to pack up these particular knits. I'm hoping if I leave them long enough, I can just carefully strap them into the passenger seat of my CR-V and tote them over to my house by hand.

Who could shove Elvira in Toffee into an anonymous box, with an as yet unknown unpacking date?

I cannot bring myself to say goodbye to Mod Dots in Turquoise, oh no.

Neither Scandi Chirp in Multi. Sob. Can't do it.

And Carnival Bloom in Brown? Psha! Such a print would never languish very far out of my sight!

Oh yes, I have detailed *ahem* professionally sketched designs in mind for all these fabrics! Please.


I have "I-am-a-sucker-for-matching-fabric-and-pattern-marketing" patterns all ready. I'm good to go.

But that dang siren of responsibility calls. Grr.

So, I don't know when I will get to these. Hopefully it won't be too long. But no matter what, I must get some sewing in between all this packing ridiculousness. I really don't want to expire from creative interruptus. I do have a few projects up my sleeve that I am going to try to fit in. In the meantime I may have to write some more lustful sewing/fabric posts, blerg.

Pop Garden Scrap Skirt & Nina

Lately I have been looking at my massive amounts of scraps and feeling overwhelmed. I use fabric for a project, and what am I left with? Oddly shaped bits that are not big enough for one project, but big enough that they take up what meager closet/shelf space that I have. This irritates me, because just when I think, yay, I am sewing up my fabric! Looka me! Clearing off space! Then boom! I fold or wad up the scraps and oftentimes it looks like I didn't even use anything! Grr. What to do? Hello, it's not like I am going to quilt with with them. I am not cut out for any kind of sewing that requires patience. So, I have decided to a) use up what I can in creative ways, b) give away a bunch, and last but not least, c) hoard anything that stumps me . (<--I am scared how much this might actually encompass.) Here is one of my first scrap projects: a strippy skirt (inspired by the Pink Fig Girly Stripwork Skirt pattern that my cousin Erin just got) combined with a sweet, coordinating peasant top.

Pattern(s):

-Skirt: Based on the Hopscotch Skirt tutorial by Eva, available from the Sewing Mamas website. This tutorial is free; you just have to register on the site in order to download it. I highly recommend this tutorial--it is excellent. I took the measurements for the skirt and fiddled with them a little to get my strippy skirt. I sewed together enough 4" x 9.5" strips along their long side until it matched the length of the bottom skirt section. I then cut the bottom skirt section as two full widths of 43" fabric sewn together x 3.5". Other than that I followed the instructions exactly.

-Top: Modkid Nina with short sleeves. Like all the Modkid patterns I have used, this one is simple and straightforward, with wonderful instructions. This is a great basic peasant top with a slightly different look, so cute.

Fabric: Leftover scraps of Pop Garden by Heather Bailey from this project. Top is made from genuine swiss dot cotton lawn & various trim scraps I had on hand. This was my first time sewing with swiss dot, and I did not find it tricky. Although it is a thinner fabric, it behaved just as perfectly as any quilting cotton I've worked with. All fabrics are from Fabric.com.





This swiss dot is pretty thin. I underlined the bodice front and back with some batiste I had on hand to make it a little more opaque. I waited to attach the placket until I had both layers sewed together. I didn't think the swiss dot would have enough body to support the placket otherwise. Then I sewed on my trims. When I sew on my trims I use Steam a Seam Lite, which I get at Joanns. I fuse it to my ribbons or what have you, peel off the paper backing, then fuse the trims to my fabric. When I move over to my sewing machine, I can stitch everything on with no fear as everything is already stuck down. Soooo much easier than pins!

You can see the skirt turned out pretty full. This is exactly how wide the Hopscotch Skirt will turn out if you follow the directions to the letter. I did not make mine any wider; I just changed the proportions of the tiers.


Gotta have the little tag in the back. This time I used a little bit of leftover bias tape from my scraps. I had to make sure everything on this skirt was a scrap. :)

Against my better laziness, I decided to topstitch every joining seam for the strips. I admit, despite my lazy sewing rap, I am a chronic topstitcher. I am always telling myself, "Leah, you DO NOT need to topstitch everything." And I don't, I truly don't. Sometimes the topstitching naggy voice inside my head wins, sometimes it doesn't. At any rate, since I serged all these strips together, I knew the seams would not be strong enough to withstand normal child-wear unless I topstitched. And so I obeyed the voice. It honestly didn't take more than 20 minutes, and I think it was right anyway. :)

Up next, do you think I might get some cute Summer wear for myself? Oh sewing mojo, don't fail me...

Modkid + Mouse?

I have had this project sewn up for a while, just haven't gotten around to posting it. It's a Cinderella-ish inspired Summer sundress set for DD. A few weeks ago a local private school put on a high school production of Cinderella, so of course, I had to make sure I finished this in time for her to wear it! Once I got it done, I reflected that it looks a little more Alice or village Belle, but whatevs. She can make it whatever she wants based on the accessories, I think.

Side note: I have mentioned that we are Disneyland annual passholders, and I love for DD to wear something themed whenever we go. Her favorite thing to wear is--hello!--a princess dress. Except. It is freakin' hot there a lot of the times we go, and I just can't stick her in a bunch of non-breathable polyester *shudder*. So, a few months ago I found this awesome blog by the Scientific Seamstress with tutorials for comfy princess dresses, not to mention her cool Flickr group AND this amaaaaazing Disboutiquers Flickr group. Ahhhh, the mind boggles with inspiration! My is filled with images of comfortable, cool, D-inspired dresses for DD. And so this project (and hopefully more...) was born!

Pattern: Modkid Ava. It's actually a halter top and skirt. I think the pintucks suggest layer-y princess skirts.

Fabric: Pretty Please by Jennifer Paginelli and Fairy Frost by Michael Miller.

She had to wear the gloves. Essential for every princess.

These fabulous "glass slipper" jellies are from Old Navy. It just goes to show you how much princess *I* have on the brain that my immediate thought when I saw them was, "I must get these in yellow for Belle and blue for Cinderella."

A closer look at the pintucks. I was a little leary of these at first, but honestly, they were super easy. I love the Modkid directions, because everything Patty Young has you do is so simple and straightforward. Once I got all my tucks ironed in, I think it took me about 15 minutes of sewing time, total, to sew them all in the skirt and top. I also sewed assembly line style, as I do for most things, so that helped as well.

I always sew some sort of ribbon or tag in the back of my kids' clothes so that the non-sewing inclined can figure out which is what. For this tag, I cut a little crown motif out of some princess fabric I already have, folded in the edges, and pressed them down with lots of heat and steam. I love working with cotton because it can take some serious pressing, and for some reason I get a lot of satisfaction when I make fabric bend to my will.

Again, these bodice pintucks look tricky, but they were actually very simple and easy to put in. Check out my centered flower! I am not always the best at lining things up, so I'm so pleased with this flower.

More Summery girl clothing to follow!

Mulanese

Finally, *finally* we did a little photo shoot for the "Mulan" dress I made for DD's recent trip to Disneyland. At the last minute I also remembered that I had made a zebra print dress she wore to, where else, the zoo a few weeks ago. So DH took some pictures of that one as well. I had to give her two whole treats for these...which, of course, she wouldn't let me forgot about until I paid up! My model gets paid in lollipops and sour balls--sooo pricey.

Pattern: Modkid Kyoko

Fabric: Michael Miller corduroy in Crystal Flowers + Heart 'O Plenty quilting cotton for the obi belt. Self-made bias tape trim in Pink Dots by Timeless Treasures. Wrights ribbon trim.




And now for the zebra-print dress. I also made green lace-trimmed leggings to go under it, DD would not put the leggings on for these pictures. Not even for two sour balls. Sigh. On the bright side, this turned out much longer than I thought it would, so it functions just fine as a dress.

Pattern: Ottobre 1/2010 #16 Suklaatwist bubble-sleeve tunic

Fabric: Cotton lycra knit by Flaphappy from JOS co-op.




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At the last minute I also decided to make a headband to match the dress. Once I got the dress on DD, I really felt like it needed something equally bold to compete with the loudness of the fabric and the unique style. It seems counter-intuitive, but somehow without the huge flower headband the dress just looked sad. So I fused, cut, and sewed a couple flowers and leaves together, then added a button and attached it to an existing headband I grabbed out of her headband box. (I buy all DD's headbands at the $1 spot in Target. They are inexpensive, and she wears one of them just about every day.)

Up next I have some casual knitwear for *me*!