Finding the fit

Right now I am working on Mccall's 5893 (see right), trying to get a good fit.  I have cut out all of my pattern pieces and made the necessary adjustments according to my measurements, and a little help from Nancy Zieman's book Pattern Fitting with Confidence.  So far, I am enjoying the clear-cut instructions from the book, and I am excited to see just how everything sews together.





I hope everyone is having a good week!

Stay sew-filled!

Just in time

I am excited to be posting today!  I have been busy tending to my niece for the past few weeks, and sewing has taken a back-burner to other things.  Well, no more!  I was able to get my niece's outfit finished for her, and I also helped her with a small sewing project of her own...

First, let me show you her sewing machine.  It is a Brother LS 2000, and it is a great machine for beginner sewers!  It has a basic straight stitch and zigzag, does buttonholes, has free-arm sewing, and sews beautifully! Also, it has a cute design, very appropriate for my niece's age of 8.

We worked little by little, and she was able to finish her sewing cover.

If you will recall from my last post, my niece had her heart set on Mccall's 6019, and we even went and picked out a beautiful cotton knit fabric for me to sew it together.  

Here is the finished project, which took me about a week of small sewing spurts, and was no easy feat.  

I ended up sewing a size 8, which was a little too big, but the dress came out nice.  I hand-sewed the flower trim onto the bodice as well as the headband (upper right corner).  My niece picked out the arrangement of the flowers herself.  I wanted her to feel a part of the whole process!  My only issue was that the side seams are a little off (don't know how that happened, I must have been tired).  

Here is the inside of the dress.  This was my first time working with knits, and along with the help of my walking foot, I must say I enjoy working with knits.  For the underside, I also used my serger some, but did not use it as much as I wanted because I was a little fearful of messing up all of my hard work.  The light blue fabric is a cotton flannel lining.  It was my first time working with linings and facings as well, and I was shocked to get it right = ).

The back has elastic around the top back, and the casing was easier to sew than I thought.  This was my first Mccall's pattern, and I really, really liked it!  I will definitely be trying out more patterns from them!

These are the leggings that go under the dress.  They have a little lace trim on the bottom, and are so cute.  These actually took me no time at all, and they were a nice way to finish off the outfit after taking so much time with the top.

You can't go wrong with a headband, can you?  It just adds a little more cuteness to the outfit!  Again, my niece chose the arrangement of the flower trim.  She created her own designer outfit!

Finally, here is my niece wearing the outfit.  I am thankful that it all came together!  Overall, it was an easy pattern, though I was more challenged by sewing the top than the leggings and headband.  Here are the construction techniques used/learned with this project:

1. how to apply facings (bodice)

2. how to work with linings (dress)

3. gathering (dress)

4. applying trim (leggings)

5. hand sewing, which was not necessary, I just opted to. (dress, headband)

6. elastic casing

7. slipstitching (thank you youtube.com!)

I definitely enjoyed working with the linings and facings.  They add a touch of beauty of the garment.  I won't be as tentative now to try patterns with these.  So, I give this pattern high marks, just be prepared to spend a little more time if you choose view D as I did.

Well, thanks for making it to the end of this LONG post!  Once again, my niece has inspired me to continue in my passion for sewing!  I love her so much, she has really been my muse!  Because of her visit, I tried something new (working with knits) and I love it!  So, needless to say, you all may be seeing more projects with knit fabrics from me!

Hope you are having a great day!

Have a sew-filled day!

What's goin' on

Hey everyone!

I have been doing some shopping again, and as always, I have multiple sewing projects lined up, but not necessarily the time to sew them!  No matter, I know I will begin to catch up soon enough!

I think I mentioned in my last post that my niece is staying with us this summer, so I have the pleasure of teaching her to sew on her Brother sewing machine.  She is 8 years old and has dreams of one day having her own clothing line that she models on the runway.  I know, big ambitions for an 8 year old, but I believe she can do it if she sticks with it!

So we both went to Joanns (she had never been before, and was amazed), and I let her pick out a Mccall's pattern (okay, they were on sale).  This is what she picked:

This is Mccall's 6019 girls' dress, top, and leggings.  She wants to make the dress and leggings that the girl pictured is wearing.  She picked out a beautiful cotton turquoise knit for her fabric, and some cute white lace.  Of course she wants to wear the headband too!




As for me, I will be working on this number:

This is Mccall's 5893, an empire waist dress that says it takes one hour.  There are four different lengths, and I like the one a little below the knee.  I purchased a leopard print cotton knit for this pattern, and I am excited and nervous to sew for myself for the first time!!





BTW, my serger did come, and I still have not used it.  But...I LOVE IT!!  I don't know how you can love something that you have not used yet, but there are so many neat features (I've watched the included computer disks and read the manual) that I cannot wait to use.  As a matter of fact, I am sitting down to figure out out to thread it tonight!!

I hope you are all enjoying your summer as much as I am!

Stay sew-filled!

Happy 30th Birthday! (to me)

Yesterday was my 30th birthday!  Yep, the big 3-0!

I have been busy with my visiting family, and we had a birthday bash in honor of the big day on Sunday.  It was absolutely beautiful!  I will always remember how special it was for me!  There were about 10 people that showed up (excluding my own family), and everyone was great.  I got a lot of wonderful gifts, and the food was great too!

My mom made one of her famous cheesecake's, and I did not have to think about the kids for most of the day!  How sweet!  It is too bad that days like this only come once a year!

To top everything off, my parents bought me a serger!!  Not that I know how to use one, but I was so surprised that they believe in my sewing ability and talent!  I am a nurse by trade, and sewing is something new I have started, and truly, truly enjoy.  I am honored that they see how serious I am about it!

The serger is on its way, a Brother 1034D, and I will post pics and a review once I get it (next week or so).  I would have had it sooner, but my parents were unsure of the brand I wanted, and my dear hubby, who was sent out to buy the serger, couldn't find any of the Brother sergers in the store.

So, all is well,  I thank God for another year of His goodness, and I look forward to what is to come!