Raaaaaahhhhhrrrr!

Uh, or whatever a shark says.

I made this shark towel for my nephew's second birthday. It's a little big, but he'll grow into it. (Note: that's him in it above. My five year old niece is modeling it in the picture below.) The design is heavily based on Oh, Fransson's shark towel. Many thanks to her for the great idea and also for so kindly sending me instructions on how she made hers.


I ended up using this tutorial for the basic construction. Imagine all the possibilities you can turn a towel into...bears, bunnies...(ok, I'm sure there's more but I can't think of any right now). You get the idea though. The present was definitely a hit, especially when I put it on and chased the little ones around the house screaming, "Raaaaaahhhhhrrrr!"

Mini wardobe challenge players

Hey everyone,

Sorry to post this list so late. So, the players of the mini wardrobe personal challenge so far are:

Katie from What I'm Making...
Regina from Creative Kismet
Raesha from My Love
Kathy from Kathy Made
ExPat Mom
Lsaspacey from An Examined Life
Lori from Girls in the Garden

If I left anyone off, please let me know. Go visit each site to see their mini wardrobe plans and garments. To all the players, let this be some motivation to get started on planning and sewing if you haven't already!

Edited to add Lori to the list!

The Internet has come to my rescue yet again

Thank you for all the compliments on my shirt and for making me realize that I was being too hard on myself. Your kind comments have made me see the shirt in softer light. Also, I've had a day to recover from the zipper disaster so that has helped too. Here are the lessons I've learned from this shirt ('cause there's always a lesson to be learned):

1. Hand baste that zipper and prevent a lot of heartache!
2. I need a new iron - I've dropped mine one too many times and the steam/spray just isn't what it once was (any recommendations for a decent mid-range iron?).
3. Be kind to yourself.
4. The Internet is a wonderful thing - it connects me to all you wonderful readers!

Thanks again. I'm moving on now to my next wardrobe items: another skirt and top.

The jury's still out

Here is my second item for the mini-wardrobe challenge. It's a top made from the Simplicity 3777 pattern (see my dress version here). I honestly don't know how I feel about this top. I mean, I think it looks ok from the front...

...and ok from the side...


...but I am not happy with the back. Not.happy.at.all.


Look at all those puckers! (Please ignore the zipper top that I haven't sewn down yet...) Oh people, this back seam has caused me so much frustration. I don't even want to tell you how many times I ripped out the zipper (five, FIVE times!!!!) to get the seams to match up. I don't know what the problem was. When I finally got them to line up, guess what happened? The damn zipper broke! Here is the carcass of that bad bad zipper:


I'm thinking about burning it. I had another zipper on hand and was able to install it easily on the first try (or sixth, depending on how you look at it), go figure. However, now the seam is all puckered. I think all those times I ripped out the bad zipper caused the fabric to stretch. Any other ideas why this happened? I don't think I can bring myself to rip out the zipper yet again. I just don't know if I can do it. I'm leaning towards just living with it as is until I make another top to replace it. Tell me, honestly, how bad does it look? Am I being overly critical here? Your honest opinions needed (and appreciated!)...

Circle skirt

It's weekends like these when I start questioning why I sew. Oh, the frustration! I had a bad sewing weekend, people. Why? Stupid mistakes, unflattering patterns, and zippers that don't want to cooperate are just a few reasons. I'm sure this bad sewing energy will pass, let's hope soon. Fortunately I finished this skirt before the weekend so I have at least one decent thing to show.



This is my first item for the mini wardrobe challenge. I used Mccalls 5431 and Ginger Blossom fabric. Oh, how I love this fabric. Have you noticed by now that green is my favorite color? Speaking of green, man does my street get green in the summer! This always surprises me every year. It's one of my favorite things about my neighborhood. Lots of trees = lots of green goodness.

Back to the skirt. This pattern was fairly easy. It's a circle skirt so it took the full two yards of fabric I had on hand (thank goodness I had enough!). The only adjustment I made was inserting an invisible zipper in the back instead of the lapped zipper the pattern called for. I also hemmed it by machine because heck if I was going to hand stitch all that fabric!


No circle skirt review would be complete without a twirl test. Verdict: Excellent!

Uh-oh

Now I know I got a little lazy with working out last week and having too much dessert, but how could my dress form have known?

Apparently I overstuffed my form causing this explosion a few months later. After a little late night liposuction, it's all better now. I have started running again this week, though.

Mini-Wardrobe Challenge

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was super excited to hear about Pattern Review's mini-wardrobe challenge. The idea is to build a collection where each piece matches each other or else ties into the general theme. Unlike larger wardrobe challenges, however, the mini-challenge only requires four pieces: two bottoms and two tops or two bottoms, a top and a dress. I'm going to do the first option.

Top 1: Simplicity 3777


I know I said "top" and I'm showing a dress here. I love this pattern (see the first dress I ever made here) and am shortening it to make it a top. I'm using white shirting fabric.

Top 2: Amy Butler Lotus Cami (picture from Amy B's website)

I think I'm going to omit the buttons in the back and use a side zipper instead. I'll use a brown linen-like fabric.

Bottom 1: Mccalls 5431

I started this skirt earlier this month. I'm using Ginger Blossom quilting fabric (so pretty). All I need to do is finish the hem.

Bottom 2: Simplicity 4036


Originally I wanted to make pants. However, I really need a khaki colored skirt. Plus, I only have enough khaki fabric in my stash to make a skirt.

Would you like to play along in this challenge too? The rules are simple: four pieces, each piece must match each other, you set your own finish date. If you'd like to join in, leave a comment saying you'd like to play too and include a link to your blog or flickr account. I'll create a list of all participants and post it later in the week.