All Spice Dress pattern test

I had the opportunity to test the new All Spice Dress pattern by Paisley Roots.

It's a lovely dress with lots of options.  I tested the flutter sleeve and sleeveless but there is also a cap sleeve and long sleeve--truly making this a dress for all seasons.

The real focal point of this dress is the bodice. I chose a zipper closure because I felt a front zipper was really fun, unique and unexpected.  If the Bug were younger, I probably would have chosen the button option since she liked to unzip things!

For the fabric I chose this really soft, lightweight poly cotton blend. It's so silky and smooth on the inside while the right side has nice texture from those raised dots.

Here you can see the detail of the bodice. I love the square neckline. Three pleats on either side accent the zipper nicely.  I did my top stitching in the same green as the zipper. I think it adds a fun punch of color.

It's such a lovely combination.  There was a bit of a fit issue for some people with the first version of the pattern so it went through several edits.  This grey dress was an early version. The fit for the Bug was fine but I totally appreciate all of the tweaking to get things just right.

When the last of the pattern updates had been made, I sewed up another version to test out the final fit.  The Bug is just a hair bigger than the chest measurement for the size 6 so I went with the size 7.  You can see she has a bit of room to grow but it's not excessive.  I'm hoping it will still fit next Spring.

This time I skipped the sleeves altogether and just went sleeveless.  I think it works with this print. A flutter sleeve would have been too frilly with all those flowers.

The fabric is from a thrifted sheet so it's super soft.  I was also able to reuse the sheet hem for the bottom of the dress.  Hooray for shortcuts! I hate hemming.  I did cut the skirt panels shorter than the tutorial required to account for the pre-done hem so the skirts final measurement would be the same.

We have another hit on our hands. I took a big risk with both of these dresses. They are not in the Bug's typical color scheme (Pink, Purple and Blue) so I knew I was pushing it. But so far, she really likes them.  She likes that they spin (of course) but she also thought the front zipper was pretty neat.  I was surprised but one of the first things she noticed and commented on was the pleating detail.  It does my heart good that she is learning to spot and appreciate those details!

The All Spice Dress pattern should release today! I'll update my links here as soon as it does. You're going to want to get this pattern.  With so many options, you'll sew the All Spice again and again.

Edit--This just in! The All Spice Pattern is now available and if you get it before Sunday it's 25% off with the code ALLSPICE

~Lindsay

Rainbow Party Favors

I promised a run down of other rainbow party details so here we go. . . this is probably my favorite little party project.

I saw these coin purses months ago and pinned them immediately.  

When I decided on the rainbow party theme, I knew I wanted to make them as party favors.

One problem. . . I don't crochet.

I've tried. I'm just not good at it.

But I buckled down and re-taught myself through some on-line tutorials.

Between that, trial and error and lots of time in the waiting room at dance class. . .

I managed to make 11 circles that could pass as "good enough" rainbows.

The sun was a bit bright when I took this photo and the orange and red kind of blend, but you get the gist.

I liked a little more purple in mine, so I did two rounds of purple before switching up to the blue.

The part I was least concerned about initially was putting in the lining and zipper.

I can sew for goodness sake, that shouldn't be hard, right?

Except that I decided I knew better than the instructions and certainly hand sewing the zips was a complete waste of time!

Have you ever tried to machine sew a zipper into a teeny tiny coin purse?

After two, I quit.  I settled down in front of Downton Abbey Season 2 and hand sewed the darn zips to the crocheted rainbows.

It didn't take that long, nor was it as irritating as I expected it to be since I had DA as a distraction.  And, I admit, the hand sewn ones look better.  The zippers fit better. So yeah, the person writing the tutorial knew what they were talking about.

I love that each one is unique on the inside. I used my scraps and my stash of zippers so each one is different.

I put a Dum Dum sucker and a nickel (Get it?? Because The Bug turned 5?) in each one.

My Grandma always used to say you shouldn't ever give an empty purse as a gift or that person will be penniless.  I know it's ridiculous superstition but I still do it every time. I love my grandma.

I finished them off by tying on these sweet little tags from Homemade by Jill.

They were the perfect finishing touch.

I love that you can google about any idea you can think of and there it will be on the world wide web.

I'm so appreciative of all those folks who share their ideas, tutorials, free printables, etc.

You make me look good.

~Lindsay

Lunch Bag revisited

I tried my hand at the Executive Insulated Lunch Purse from the book, "Lunch Bags!" again.

My mom packs her lunch every single day so a lunch bag is always a great idea for a gift.

I've made her two others. One was when I was in college years before I had even HEARD the word "blog" much less wrote one. It was pretty cool though, pieced and appliquéd with hand dyed fabric. One of these days, I'd like to get back into dying my own fabric.

The other was one of my favorite projects a couple of years ago. . . (here)

Since that time, I have discovered thermal fleece interfacing--which is perfect for using in lunch bags to keep everything cool.

I used the same exterior fabric as the last time I made this particular bag because I love it. But I attempted to change the zipper.  The pattern in the book called for an extra long zipper that kind of hung off the sides of the bag and I didn't love the look of that. It was o.k., I just didn't love it.

So this time I tried a shorter zipper. I think it's almost right.  Zippers and I, we are learning to get along, but we still have a ways to go.

You'll note, I also added a 402 tag. 

This was a last minute Christmas gift and I totally forgot to tag it. Of course, my proud momma ask if I could add one.  You know, in case those other teachers in the lounge ask.

This bag is a bit bigger than the last one I made for my Mom so I think it will function a little better for her.

Since the sewing of this gift was so last minute, I had to ask my Mom to bring it with her for an after Christmas photo shoot. Yes, we still had green grass after Christmas. This has been one weird winter.

Believe it or not, this is not the end of my posts about Christmas presents. There are a few more yet to come. . . 

Which is good because I've sort of hit a sewing lull for the time being and don't have much to show for the last few weeks.

~Lindsay

A New Bag. . . So soon?

I have a little weekend trip coming up.

It may or may not involve flying.

(o.k. it does)

Flying necessitates a variety of things these days. Itty bitty toiletries bottles and an appropriately sized carry on to name a few. I am way to cheap to pay to check a bag.

Enter this pretty little number. (pattern by ithinksew.com)

I thought making it might be the death of me and my passion for sewing.

Dramatic?

Perhaps.

But I did have a few moments where I just had to WALK AWAY.

I've never met a pattern that gave me so much trouble (not even a commercial pattern--and that's saying something).

I picked it because I saw this clutch my friend Jessica made. When I went to look at the clutch pattern, I saw that there was a "big" version. Like carry on bag measurements to a "t". And it was pretty cheap, why not give it a try? 

Jessica tried to warn me. But I'd already committed. Pattern and fabric bought, heart set. There was no going back.

The first problem? This is what they call a "sewer friendly pattern". (oh the irony!) Which means the directions are very limited--meant for experienced sewers who don't need all the "fluff". It's basically a series of photos with short captions. Not a huge deal since I've made so many bags and most are constructed similarly. So I figured I'd be fine.

And for the most part, I was. I honestly found myself putting this together on my own and not really referring to the pattern instructions at all. Which was good because what instructions were there weren't really complete or accurate.

The second problem was with the pattern itself. It didn't automatically print to scale. Nor was there a way to measure the scale. So I did my best to enlarge and assemble the pattern so I got something at least close to what the final measurements were supposed to be. Even so, I ended up having to cut down some pieces that were too large when I went to piece the actual thing together. And looking at my bag compared to theirs? I feel like mine is still smaller. I haven't had the heart to measure it.

It does leave me wondering why in the world I paid good money for this and I didn't just attempt to make my own knock-off pattern. Lesson learned.

On this pattern somewhere I swear they called it the 22 Pleat bag.  I counted 20 pleats on the pattern pieces. Maybe I missed something? Mine is a 24 Pleat bag though because I ended up having to add four additional pleats on the side panels just to make things fit.

I added two interior pockets with zippers. I figure one can never have too many zipper pockets in a bag like this. And since for some reason the pattern made the lining considerably smaller than the outside of the bag these pockets make good use of all that extra "between" space.

Because of the lining issue, I had to rip out the bottom seam and sew in a panel of extra fabric. That gave me a bit more room to pack in, thank goodness (curlygirl, you're a life saver, thanks for the tip!). But there is still a lot of wasted space. If I ever make this bag again, I'll make my own lining pattern.

thankyouverymuch

I do love that big button though.

That was the selling point for me on this bag, silly as it seems.

I refuse to tell you how much that button cost. I had a bit of sticker shock. But it was the only 2 1/2" button they had at JoAnn's AND it was cheaper than the 2" button I was considering so at least there is that.

The Amy Butler fabric combination is another love.

Bought at fabric.com, on sale, with a coupon code, free shipping and Ebates cash back.

So that makes up for the pricey button, right?

This is the part of the bag I am most proud of.

Since it is functioning for me as a travel bag I knew it needed more than just a magnetic snap closure.

So I set my mind to it and figured out how to add a zipper panel.

It's not perfect. I learned a lot in the process and would do several things differently next time.

But it works. And it will keep my things from escaping and rolling all over that overhead bin.

Now the test will be, how light can I pack?

I'm not known for packing the bare minimum. How can I possibly commit to only one pair of shoes for three days? Can I get away with wearing one pair of jeans? Only time will tell.

~Lindsay

Christmas Skirt

I've been wanting to make something with this fabric since the moment I got it and just finally got around to it. The skirt is Micheal Miller's Santa Holiday Stripe and the yoke is Joyful Damask.

I drafted this pattern up on my own, based on a cute denim skirt that my sister found in a catalogue. I wish I had enough fabric left to make one for myself but this will be just perfect for the Bug. I have been working on a Christmas dress for her, but I just am not loving it.

This skirt? Love. It.

Here's the yoke detail. If I had it to do again, I would have paid more attention to the pattern placement. I think that would have just kicked it up a notch. But I was working quickly and I only have a fat quarter of the damask so I was trying to be frugal with it. The yoke is fully faced and top stitched and the exposed seams are all french seams so the skirt looks finished inside and out.

I used this sweet little loop trim from my stash for some detail at the hem line. I love the whimsy of it. Works so nicely with this fun print.

And this may well be my favorite part, the slightly exposed PURPLE zipper. I know it's crazy, but I thought it looked fun and totally unexpected.

I can't wait to see the Bug in this at all our Holiday functions. She has a striped green sweater that I think will be just perfect with it. Super fun and funky.

The sad part about this skirt is that, while ripping out some rogue top stitching I accidentally ripped a little hole in the back waistband. Yikes!! I repaired it, but it totally rendered this garment un-sellable. Thank goodness I have just enough of the damask to make another one for the Etsy store!

~Lindsay