Super Yuki to the Rescue!

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Cherie

My main Christmas present to Yuki was this superhero dress up costume, and honestly? Best. Gift. Ever. For two reasons – 1. it was all suuuper simple and fast to sew up and 2. she absolutely loves it. Can’t get much better than that!

SUPER YUKI! Oh man, I get a pretty good kick out of this costume too, I must say! I first got the idea to make her a cape awhile ago when Yuki started pretending that she was a magician. But recently, she saw a few episodes of the 1980s show, Spider-man and His Amazing Friends, and got really into the character, Firestar. She kept asking if she could be her, but she looks like this and I wasn’t going to make that costume for her. Luckily, details don’t matter much to a three year old and as far as Yuki is concerned, she is totally Firestar.

So there are a ton of great cape patterns out there, but this one was made with this free pattern/tutorial because I really liked the shape of it. Though I used velcro instead of magnets and I also shortened it quite a bit. The cape is reversible and one side is made of some sort of shiny red fabric with the felt star “logo” top stitched on.

The reverse side is black cotton with silver stars hand stamped on. This side is supposed to be the magician side. She hasn’t actually used this side since she’s much more into being a superhero, but I imagine that if I get her a hat and magic wand, she might be inclined to put on some magic shows as well. I love that this cape is reversible and easy enough for her to put on by herself.

The mask and arm cuffs are made of felt (the red is a glittery felt) and are technically both reversible as well, though these are just yellow on the other side. I used this template for the mask and this pattern/tutorial for the arm cuffs, though I shortened my cuffs to fit Yuki better. I started by top stitching the yellow stars on the red layer and then sewed the yellow and red layers together close to the edges. Sandwich the elastic in between the two layers for the mask and it’s done. The arm cuffs close with velcro. I think I finished these in one nap time!

I love how she falls into character so quickly when the costume is on. All I have to do is give a Green Goblin cackle and she’s after me like the world is depending on it!

Stealth mode.

I just love her imagination right now. Everything she does is so creative and intensely real and meaningful it is to her. Sometimes it gets tiring to play the same games over and over again with her, but I also know that I’m going to miss this stage when it’s gone. She is just always 100% in that moment. I envy that.

OOF – she’s just too powerful for me! Super Yuki saves the day once again!

What was the best present that you gave this year? This would definitely be it for me, hands down.

Pajamas for Four

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Cherie

Christmas pajamas have never been a family tradition in our house, but when I was trying to figure out what to give my nieces for Christmas, my sister-in-law suggested pajama pants for the middle schooler. And then, since I’m crazy, I decided to make matching pajamas for my both of my nieces and both of my daughters. Finished them the night before, but they were a hit.

The cousins are 9 and 11 and we let the 11 year old pick the fabric. I went to Joann‘s to pick up some flannel and it was on sale for $2.80 a yard! Score.

For the three older girls, I used the Parsley Pants pattern, though I had to grade it up for the 11 year old. I was pretty nervous about the fit because I had no idea what I was doing, but it turned out great! I basically added about 1.5 inches to the top, and 2 inches to the bottom and then cut the entire pattern along the tuxedo stripe line and added an inch to the width. Love this pattern for pajama pants!! I’m thinking of grading it up to make a pair for me!

For the baby, I made Rae’s Basic Newborn Pants (free pattern) with a little added length. Of course, she’s already almost outgrowing her pajamas.

The older girls got shirts from Target and Kaya is wearing a store bought onesie. I just added the yellow pocket to match the yellow on the pants and had to do some altering on Yuki’s shirt since it was way too big for her.

Yuki claims these are her favorite pajamas now and I’m certain that it’s because her cousins have the same ones. She absolutely ADORES her cousins and think they are the best. And they are.

So Christmas pajamas weren’t a tradition before, but maybe they are now? I admit, it was pretty darn cute seeing them all running around (or just lounging around, in Kaya’s case) in their matching PJs.

Check out my second shooter!

Do you guys do Christmas pajamas? Where did this tradition even come from? Worth continuing? Apparently some of Hideko’s high school students totally dread it. Haha! Were you blessed with (or a victim of) matching pajamas as a kid?

Four Corners Nursing Blouse

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Cherie

One thing I tend to do is buy up new fabric prints and then hang on to them forever and never make anything with them. Then they aren’t really cool anymore. Or, the print might still be awesome, but everyone has already seen them and sewn with them and moved onto something else, so I feel like I missed the boat. I bought some Washi to make a Washi dress with and never did. I bought some and old lace to make myself shorts with and never did. I won a charm pack of Briar Rose and had a quilt planned out, but . . . well, you get the picture.

When one of my favorite artists, Leah Duncan, released her Tule fabric line, I carefully chose two fabrics to order with a few possible projects in mind, but nothing definite. This gorgeous Meadow Vale Dark is exactly the type of fabric that I’d hoard forever, constantly changing my mind about what I wanted to do with it and then never using it in the end. But what’s the point of having such beautiful fabric if all it’s going to do is sit on the shelf?

I was looking through Anna Maria Horner’s Handmade Beginnings (affiliate link), the same book I used to make this nursing top, and was intrigued by the other nursing top included, the Four Corners Blouse. I wasn’t convinced that it was my style or that it would be flattering on me, but I wanted to give it a try anyways since I’m trying to find ways to give my nursing wardrobe some variety. I debated whether or not I should use my precious Meadow Vale fabric or not. What if I didn’t like the top and ended up wasting the fabric?

Well in the end I decided to just go for it because letting it sit on my shelf would be a waste as well.

The construction of the top is really quite interesting – all the pieces (and there are quite a few) are rectangles! So there are no pattern pieces to trace, only rectangle measurements. I made some obvious changes to the pattern, 1. I omitted all the buttons and button loops. They are purely decorative anyways and I like to keep it simple. 2. Instead of using a contrasting fabric for the placket (in between the boobs), I used the main fabric to avoid drawing more attention to the chest area.

I also made the straps narrower and lengthened the top and made a few other changes here and there. This top is made with a panel in the front that acts as a nursing cover that opens up when you untie the ties. Pretty creative and sneaky!

The downside though, is because the front panel isn’t connected to anything at the sides, I noticed that when I was picking up things, say, children for example, it would flip up easily and expose my tummy. Not good.

I can’t say that I love this top, but I am glad that I gave it a try and I will definitely wear it. Mostly layered up like this to give me a bit more coverage. I think this fabric might have been better as something simple like a Wiksten Tank or an Everyday Skirt, but knowing that I probably would have just let it sit in my stash indefinitely makes me feel like using it was the right decision. And I do love opening up my closet and seeing this lovely fabric begging me to put it on 🙂

Do you have any favorite nursing top patterns? I’m trying to sew more for me, but need to keep it breastfeeding friendly so I feel like my choices are pretty limited. I have a few nursing hacks in mind, but I’d love to hear your suggestions as well! And if you have some fabric in your stash that you are saving away for a special occasion, I dare you to just use it in your next project! You might be really glad you did!!

Have a great weekend!

Mariposa Top for Me! (Confetti Sparkle for the Holidays – Part 3)

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Cherie

Ok, so am I a little obsessed with Dear Stella’s Confetti Sparkle line? Yes, maybe I am. This is the last of 3 projects I’ve made (so far) with their beautiful metallic gold dot fabric, and look at that, it’s for me! (see Yuki and Kaya’s holiday dresses here)

The pattern is from Anna Maria Horner’s book, Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby (affiliate link). The book has lots of sewing projects for little ones, but it’s also got its fair share of patterns for expecting and nursing moms. This top is called the Mariposa Dress and Tunic and is perfect for breastfeeding. It can be made as a maternity top/dress or not. I’d been looking for some tops that worked well for nursing and was excited to try this one, especially after seeing this beautiful dress by Miriam of Mad Mim and this fun top by Meg of Sew Liberated.

I thought it would be fun to make something dressy enough for the holidays but casual enough to wear comfortably while caring for (and nursing) my baby. The glamorous Confetti Sparkle in Cream as a Mariposa tunic turned out to be the perfect combination.

I generally stuck to the pattern in size medium/large, but made some adjustments for fit. I ended up taking the bodice in a little and adding some tiny gathers to the front skirt piece. The top crosses in front and wraps around and ties in the back. A bit of elastic in the back also helps bring the top in under the bust. You can also tie it in the front, but I prefer it in the back.

There is a modesty panel as well that makes nursing, well, more modest. Somehow my modesty panel doesn’t fit perfectly – mostly because of the adjustments I made to the bodice – but it also seems a bit long, so if I make this top again, I’ll have to shorten the “straps” of the panel.

I haven’t actually tried nursing in this top, but I imagine it will work quite well. I love that I can feel dressy and comfortable at the same time.

As Christmas quickly approaches I feel like my “to do” list is getting longer and longer. I hate how this season sometimes ends up feeling a bit stressful, but it’s always worth it. I’m looking forward to a lot of fun family time, which is really the best part of the holiday season for me. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I wish you all peace and love as we close out another year. I’m very much looking forward to a new year – new adventures with my family and more sewing and more blogging! Very best wishes to each and every one of you! What are you looking forward to in 2014?

Confetti Sparkle for the Holidays (Part 2)

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Cherie

Last week I shared Yuki’s Confetti Sparkle Hanami Dress and I mentioned I had sewn something for Kaya and myself in Confetti Sparkle fabric too. Well today I’m back to share Kaya’s holiday dress along with a few more pictures of Yuki’s dress.

For Kaya, I went with the always adorable Geranium Dress pattern in size 0-3 months. I used Confetti Sparkle in Cream for the skirt and some leftover shirting from the lining of my wedding dress for the bodice. I used the same Berry piping around the waistline as Yuki’s dress, but it looks dark brown or maroon in these pictures.

I’ve sewn this pattern up many times before and it’s always fun and fast. You’d think an itty bitty dress would be even faster, but since I was only getting about 5-10 minutes of sewing time here and there, it took me forever! And something about the shirting I used for the bodice, or the small size, or the way I sewed – I dunno!? – but I couldn’t get the bodice to press totally flat. So the neckline and armholes aren’t crisp. It totally bugs me when I look at these pictures, but I have to tell myself that really no one is going to care, right!? Especially when the model is this darn cute! 😛

Happy baby!

So that’s Kaya’s dress. She is totally in drool and spit up mode over here, so the best part about this dress is that it doesn’t even show!!

Kristin at skirt as top made a sorta similar, but waaaay more gorgeous dress in Cream Confetti Sparkle for her daughter! You should check it out, it’s seriously the perfect holiday dress.

And in case you missed it, here’s Yuki’s dress in Navy Confetti Sparkle . . .

All the details of the dress can be found here.

And I am so happy to report that Yuki loves the dress!!

Almost as much as she loves popcorn.

Yes, she did almost drop the baby trying to sneak some popcorn!! Haha. Caught her just in time . . .

Well I hope your holiday preparations are going well. I’m honestly starting to feel super stressed about all the things I want to get done before next week. I have a list of things I wanted to sew up as gifts, but I’m afraid that at some point I’m just going to have to let some things go. How are you doing with your lists? Feeling ready?

Alright, one more Confetti Sparkle project coming up this week and then I promise to give it a rest for awhile. Hope your holiday season is filled with your own sparkle! 😉

Happy Bee-lated Halloween

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Cherie

Har har, I know. I can’t resist a good pun!

But I hope you all enjoyed a happy Halloween (for those of you who celebrated)! I realize it’s a bit late to be sharing our Halloween costumes, but that’s how things are rolling around here, so let’s just go with it, k?

So in the weeks leading up to the holiday, I had been asking Yuki what she wanted to dress up as. Her answers changed every time I asked. First, it was a purple dinosaur. Then a pumpkin dinosaur – though I have no idea what that is! Then she would just name whatever was nearby or happened to be on her mind, so I would get answers like “juice box” or “Mercury” (the planet). We started planting the idea of Ladybug Girl into her head because we thought it’d be a fun and easy costume, but one she could get into. Ladybug Girl is a character from a series of children’s books. The stories are about a young girl named Lulu who calls herself “Ladybug Girl,” wears a costume, and likes to have adventures.

Yuki was still throwing out ideas like cat and owl, but when I found a pair of ladybug wings and a wand at Joann for 60% off, I decided it was meant to be. I was worried that Yuki wouldn’t get on board, but took the risk anyways.

I had plans to make the costume identical to the book character, but you know how things change. I knew Yuki would get excited about a tutu though, so I used one of the thousand tutu-rials out there to make one with red tulle from Joann. And as expected, she loved it.

Before I keep saying Joann, Joann, Joann – I’ll just say that I pretty much got everything I needed for both costumes at Joann. This is not a sponsored post. I just bought all the supplies on one trip, thank goodness for that!

So anyways, the headband is one of the few things that I got elsewhere. Picked it up at a drugstore and used pipe cleaners and pom poms to make antennae.

The shirt was made using the ever useful Flashback Skinny Tee in size 3T (you know I love this pattern, right?). At first I just made a solid red tee like Lulu’s, but after seeing the costume the weekend before, Hideko felt like adding spots would make it more ladybug-ish. Here’s what it looked like before:

So I picked up some Tulip Fashion Glitter and tried that out for the first time. I thought Yuki would like the sparkles and I could use the other colors on future projects. If you use the Fashion Glitter pack that I did, you’ll need to buy the bond/glue separately. I made a stencil to get the circular dots and the glitter was easy to apply. Some of it came off during the drying/wearing stage, which I expected, but it held up really well otherwise. I’ve washed and dried the shirt once (inside out) and it lost some of it’s glitter, but still looks pretty decent. I’ll have to try it out on another project and see how it holds up through multiple washes. I’m glad I added those spots though – I think they add a lot to the costume.

I also made a little pair of shorts to go under her tutu using the Fancy Pants Leggings pattern. They came together really quickly and I like how they came out, but I’ll never know how the fit was because Yuki refuses to wear them. So she ended up wearing the plain black leggings I made for this outfit. Her boots are from Target.

The best part about her costume is that she absolutely loved it and seemed so proud to be wearing it. She loved going up to other kids and saying, “Hey, I have wings like you!” or “You have a wand like me!” (She’s really into comparing herself to other people these days – ugh). But I didn’t have to bribe her to put it on like other costumes and outfits I’ve made for her! I did, however, have a really hard time photographing her like always . . .

And that brings us to our little bee . . .

There she is, zipping through the air! Haha. So I know it’s a little ridiculous to dress up a one month old, let alone hand-make the entire costume the day before Halloween, but I couldn’t resist. When I decided on Ladybug Girl for Yuki’s costume, a bumblebee seemed like an obvious choice for Kaya, so I went ahead and bought the yellow and black fleece. But a couple of days before Halloween, I still hadn’t had time to make her costume and I had to accept that it just wasn’t going to happen. It wasn’t worth it if I meant having to loose sleep. I went to bed pretty disappointed that night (If you don’t know me, let me just say that Halloween/making costumes is kinda my thing. So it’s a big deal).

Then I woke up the next morning at 5am and decided it was a good time to start that damn costume after all. It came out pretty decent considering I was determined to make it the fastest and simplest costume ever knowing that it would only get a few hours of wear.

The body is just a simple sack with an elastic casing at the neck and bottom with armholes. I cut the stripes from black fleece and just top stitched onto the yellow fleece before sewing up the sack. The wings are made from boning since I wanted something softer and more flexible than metal wire. I just stretched some thin knit fabric and sloppily sewed/tied it on. Not my best work, but no one could see the other side anyways.

I made the tights using Rae’s Baby Tights tutorial some black knit in my stash. She offers a free pattern for the tights in 3-6 mo. size, but since Kaya is a bit younger/smaller than that, I tried to size it down. Unfortunately, I sized it down too much and I could barely get them over her bum! Mostly because she wears cloth diapers but I had also shortened them too much as well. They were super easy to make though, so I think I’ll try again with a better idea of how to make adjustments to the pattern.

I made the beanie using Zaaberry’s free baby hat pattern and tutorial. I made the antennae with the same black knit and stuffed them with some poly-fil. At first I tried to sew them into the seam to save time, but they just flopped down. I really wanted them to stand up when worn, so I cut them off and hand stitched them on real quick. Again, not my finest sewing, but that’s what Halloween costumes are about right!?

We went trick-or-treating with Yuki’s school during the day around some local businesses and Yuki was super excited and proud in her costume and Kaya slept the entire time getting lots of little “oohs” and giggles from other parents and kids. So was it all worth it? Absolutely. And maybe a bit ridiculous? Absolutely. But that’s me!

How was your Halloween? Did you make any costumes? What was the best costume you saw this year? And are you ready for Christmas? Cuz the rest of the world seems to be getting ready already. I can’t handle that. It’s November 7th and I’m still on Halloween.

Fanfare Baby Blanket

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Cherie

Hiya! Thanks so much for all your sweet comments about Kaya’s arrival! I really appreciate all your warm wishes and your support – it’s good to know that so many people also struggle with the transition to 2 kids and that it does get better! Things are already feeling like they are falling into place more and more each day.

I just made my first real sewing project for Kaya and I’m soooo excited to share it with you! Rae Hoekstra, of Made by Rae, recently released a new line of fabric called Fanfare, and I was lucky enough to get my hands on some a little early. THIS STUFF IS AWESOME. I know that when bloggers do reviews, it always sounds like gushing, but trust me when I say that this fabric is really amazing. It’s adorable, suuuuuper soft and cozy, and wonderful to sew. The fabric is brought to us by Cloud 9 Fabrics which is known to be of great quality AND it’s organic! It makes me so happy to know that I’m wrapping up my little ones in organic fabric, especially since this fabric is so wonderful to snuggle.

After seeing the prints, I thought it’d be perfect for a project for my little newborn. I wanted to make a baby blanket, to take full advantage of just how soft and cozy this fabric is.

I was inspired by the triangle bunting print and decided to piece the fabric together to create a “string” of bunting. I used the solid white flannel as the background.

The back of the blanket is made of strips of fabric. I just love these prints so much, I wanted to showcase them as much as possible.

After piecing together the front and back of the blanket, I basted the mini pom pom trim to one of the layers. I put the front and back right sides together and then added a layer of cotton batting and sewed the layers together leaving and opening to turn the blanket right side out. I sewed the opening shut and then sewed along the inside of each of the triangles to hold all the layers in place.

I really can’t even tell you how soft this fabric is. The best part is that it gets even more heavenly after you wash it. You guys have got to get your hands on some of this fabric . . .

Oh, little baby fingers and toes! And how Kaya loved this cozy blanket! This fabric is perfect for little ones, but honestly, I’d wrap myself up in this fabric if I had enough!!

Since I planned on making a small pieced blanket for Kaya, I had only gotten about a 1/4 yard of each print, but Yuki found the fabrics and immediately wanted them for herself. She was really drawn to the pink elephant print and begged me to make her something with it, but after explaining that the little strip of fabric was not big enough to cover any part of her body, she settled for snagging every little scrap that I cut and keeping them for herself. She started taping the scraps of fabric up around the house and made a pile with the rest – it was really hilarious! So of course, I went and ordered more fabric and as soon as I get it I’ll be making something for her as well. Only seems fair . . .

If you’re wondering where you can buy the fabric, Rae has made a list here. Also be sure to check out all the other fun projects that people have been making with this awesome fabric. There is also a Fanfare Fan Flair flickr group, so if you’re looking for more inspiration or you want to add your own Fanfare projects, definitely go check it out!

Thank you so much to Rae and Cloud 9 for the amazing fabric and letting me be a part of the Fanfare Blog Tour! And congrats on a truly wonderful line of fabric! One of the things I love about Rae is that she is a perfectionist. She really really cares about putting out high quality products – I’ve seen it with her patterns and now with her fabric, she puts a lot of work into getting things JUST RIGHT. And she’s done it again with Fanfare – this fabric will not disappoint you!

*The Fanfare fabric was generously given to me for this review, but all opinions are 100% my own.*

A Wedding Dress

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Cherie

186

Hey! I got married last week!

Many of you may not know, but my beautiful and incredible partner is a woman. And until very recently same-sex marriages were not legal in California. Had it been, we would have been married long ago, but we’ve been waiting patiently and thanks to the recent Supreme Court rulings, same-sex marriages have resumed in our state!

So we made an appointment right away and planned for a very simple ceremony at the city hall. I debated sharing this personal news publicly for many reasons, but since it was such a big and exciting day for us, I thought – why not!?

Plus, there’s the dress. What does a woman who is 7 months pregnant with a wedding date less than 2 weeks away decide to do? Well, make her own dress of course!

I definitely considered a store bought dress, but my sewing consultants (Kristin and Jessica) talked me into making my own. Plus, I figured my store bought options would be very limited. Kristin suggested using eyelet, which I love, so my original plan was to get a nice summery white or cream eyelet and make a modified Washi dress. Something casual, simple and modern – something I could possibly dye afterwards and then wear again and again.

Well, I went to Britex (they have so many beautiful eyelet fabrics!) and fell in love with this almost peachy, super sheer, vintagey, sweet eyelet fabric. It was not what I had originally planned at all. It was soft and romantic and more formal than what I had imagined, and suddenly the modern Washi didn’t seem like an appropriate fit anymore.

But the Washi bodice is the only pattern I have that fits perfectly, and so the “Washi hack wedding dress” was born! Right around the time I was planning this dress, Kristin was making her beautiful Ristretto Dress, which, coincidentally, was kinda similar to what I had in mind. After seeing her neckline and gathered skirt, I knew it was what I wanted to do too. (By the way, if you’re not pregnant and looking for a nice dress to sew for you, I HIGHLY recommend you go check out the Ristretto Dress tutorial by Kristin – another Washi dress pattern hack 🙂 – it’s so gorgeous!)

So, the only parts of the Washi pattern that I ended up using were the front bodice piece and the pockets. I kept the bust darts and the bottom line of the bodice the same and then pretty much changed up everything else. I made it a curved V-neck and narrowed the shoulder straps a little. I drafted my own back bodice piece (separate from the skirt piece) that was fitted, so that I wouldn’t need shirring or elastic, and made a V cut as well – quite possibly my favorite part of the dress. Because there is no elastic, I added a side zipper.

My arms are one of the things that I like least about my body, especially when looking at pictures of myself. Many a photo have been deemed unusable because of arm fat! I went back and forth about it, but decided to add these flutter sleeves to cover up my problem. Even the morning of the ceremony, I was kind of regretting adding them, but now, looking at pictures, I’m so glad I did. They did the perfect job of hiding my arms and Hideko thinks it makes the dress look more formal too.

The skirt pieces are two rectangles that I gathered before attaching to the bodice. And pockets!! I had to have pockets, but because of the fullness of the skirt, you can’t see them at all. Sneaky!

Here’s a close up of the beautiful fabric! I was so scared to cut into it. Because it’s totally sheer, the dress is fully lined, besides the flutter sleeves. The lining is a soft shirting, also from Britex, that worked perfectly under this dress to make it totally comfortable, but was substantial enough that I didn’t have to worry about my light dress being see through at all.

The sash is a warm mocha color ribbon (also from, surprise surprise – Britex!) that finished off the dress nicely.

Here’s a shot of the back of the dress and that V that I’m quite fond of 🙂

I certainly can’t say the dress is perfect, but I’m proud that I made it and like the way it came out. I made a muslin first and thankfully, it worked out pretty much the way I wanted it to. But that took the bulk of my time and I had less than 4 days to make the actual dress. I was up pretty late the night before our 10 am ceremony hand sewing the bodice lining in! Somehow the bodice for the actual dress came out snugger than the muslin so there was not even an extra millimeter of wiggle room! After the muslin bodice came out a bit loose in the shoulders, I decided to take some fabric off the shoulder straps. I didn’t realize at the time that this would raise everything by half an inch, the bust darts and the arm holes, so that might have had something to do with the bodice fit, and the bust dart position does irk me just a little.

But hey! I made a fancy dress for me! A year ago, I had barely started sewing for myself, so I’d say I’ve come a long ways.

The one other thing I wanted to do for our simple wedding was a bouquet. I’ve always loved beautiful flowers, and plus I thought Yuki might get excited about having her own bouquet too, since she was a flower girl recently (except she totally wasn’t into it and didn’t want anything to do with the mini bouquet I made her).

The day before, I went to a local gourmet/fancy grocery store, Bryan’s, with a gorgeous selection of flowers and picked out some pretty ones. I watched a few YouTube videos on making bouquets and boutonnières and had a really fun time putting them together with Hideko’s help.

I have to give a HUGE thank you to my dad for taking these beautiful pictures from our special day. He’s an amazing photographer!

Yuki wore her eyelet Geranium Dress which still fits her perrrfectly!

It was such a sweet and simple ceremony, but a truly beautiful day for our family. We were so happy that our day had finally come and that we were able to share it with our nearest and dearest.

And that, my friends, is why I failed KCW. But it was totally worth it 🙂

Star Pods Maternity Tank

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Cherie

Woohoo, more sewing for me! I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve decided to not use the term “selfish sewing” when I sew for myself. Although that is essentially what it is, the word “selfish” has such a negative connotation and I just feel like we shouldn’t feel bad about sewing things for ourselves. I think sewing for ourselves is good for building skills, it’s practical, money saving and it’s not always easy! The fact that it’s fun and often rewarding is just an added bonus!

I got the idea to make this tank after seeing this one from Old Navy. I copied it almost exactly in style except I made an inverted pleat instead of a box pleat at the neckline. I don’t know if it’s the most flattering top because it doesn’t have a tight fitting bodice. But it’s comfy and I know it’ll fit for awhile, possibly through my pregnancy.

The fabric I used is Star Pods in Green from designer Patty Sloniger for Michael Miller. I got it from Modern Domestic when I was up in Portland for Quilt Market. It’s a lovely chartreuse color and is really lightweight, so I thought the drape would be perfect for a top. I used the Wiksten Tank pattern as a starting point and I’m going to show you how I adjusted it to make this top. The Wiksten Tank is a great, simple tank top pattern that anyone can sew (you can see my previous versions here, here, and here). I recommend you add this to your pattern collection if you don’t have it. But if not, you can probably draft a pattern for this top using another pattern or a tank top you own with a similar cut. The only extra material you’ll need is some 1/4 inch wide elastic for the bottom of the tank.

Alright, so using the directions, figure out your size and cut out your pattern. There were several adjustments that I made to my pattern. First I added 1.5 inches to the front piece along the “folded” edge. This will make the pattern 3 inches wider and give you room for that growing belly. I also raised the neckline an inch because I felt like the original was a bit revealing.

I added about 4 inches to the length of the front piece, but kept the curved hemline the same.

For the back piece, the only adjustment I made was lengthening it enough to match up with the side seam of the front piece (the 2 pink lines). Then I made an ever-so-slightly curved line for the bottom of the back piece.

After you cut out your pieces, mark the center of the neckline on the front piece and then 1.5 inches on either side. These are your pleat markings.

Bring the two outer markings in towards the center, pin and press. Sew a basting stitch across the pleat to hold it in place.

Once you’ve made your pleat, follow the pattern directions for constructing the tank. Sew the shoulder and side seams and finish the armholes and neckline with bias strips.

For the bottom, to make a casing, fold the hem up about a 1/4 inch, press and then fold again about 1/2 an inch. Sew along the folded edge all around the hem, but leave about an inch open to thread the elastic through. Measure your elastic and trim – it should fit comfortably but snuggly around your hips. Using a safety pin, guide the elastic through. Sew the ends of the elastic together and sew the rest of the casing closed.

And you’re done!

Here’s what the bottom of the tank looks like when it’s on. You can see the slightly longer length in the front for extra belly coverage.

Ooh, by the way, thanks for all the sweet comments about the two “maternity” dresses I made and all the great suggestions for other maternity patterns and styles to try. I seriously feel like I want to make myself a whole new wardrobe now, I’ve never been so motivated to sew for myself!

I feel so weird with so many pictures of myself up on the blog, but I suppose it’s only fair since I’ve put my daughter through it for the last couple of years. And I’ve still got more “me” sewing on the horizon, so I hope you’re not too sick of it yet. I’ll try to spare you and sprinkle some non-“me” sewing once in awhile too 😛

Thanks for visiting!!

Washi in Blue 2!

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Cherie

So I mentioned I’ve been sewing more for me, right? Well I have. And this was actually the first recent project I sewed for myself that was a success – the trusted Washi Dress by Made by Rae. Before this dress, I tried 2 other projects that I ended up scrapping. Trust me, I have sewing fails too! So after that, I decided to turn back to the trusted Washi because I knew that I couldn’t go wrong. It’s nice to have a pattern like this that you know will boost your confidence and restore your faith.

I made my first Washi dress as a tester last August and I called it Washi in Blue. Well it just so happens that this dress is blue too, so I call it Washi in Blue TWO. Creative huh!? I also realized that I’m wearing the same necklace and same cardigan in both photo shoots. Hah! I need some new accessories.

*smolder*

Anyways, I rave all about the pattern in my previous Washi post and my feelings haven’t changed a bit. This is an AWESOME pattern, especially if you’re new to sewing for women but want to give it a try. It’s quick and easy and oh-so-cute. I love the style, it’s so flattering, in fact, I haven’t seen a version of the Washi that hasn’t looked great!

The fabric is called Squiggles from the Dear Stella Maasai Mara line. I actually bought this back in September or October with a Washi in mind and it took me only, oh, 8 months to actually make. 😛 One of the great things about this fabric is that I actually packed this dress up in a suitcase, took it out all wrinkly, hung it up overnight and when I took it out the next day to iron it, it was wrinkle-free!!

This dress is not a maternity dress, but I realized pretty quickly that the style is pretty accommodating for growing bellies as well. The dress I made last August still fits me! I love how fitted it is in the bodice and how much room there is in the skirt to either gloss over a belly you’re trying to hide (trust me, I had a belly before I was preggo), or make room for one you’re proud of 🙂 And I know that I’ll be able to wear this dress way after I’m pregnant too!

Because my bust size had changed since I got pregnant, I decided to go a size up (to an XL). But after I sewed it up, the bodice ended up being way too big and it would gape open with the slightest lean forward. That was no good, so I ended up taking in the bodice 1.5 inches on each side. Now it probably resembles a large in the bodice, but an XL in the skirt, so it’s got extra room for tummy. I also kept the length longer than I normally would so that when my belly got bigger, the dress would still be long enough to wear without leggings or pants. If I were to make another dress for my maternity months, I’d probably cut the front bodice and back pieces in the large size and the front skirt piece in an XL and maybe deepen the pleats to make it fit the width of the bodice.

Since I haven’t figured out the best way to shirr on my machine, I decided to make a casing for elastic. It looks different from shirring of course, but it was easy and allows for that snug yet comfortable fit.

As for the neckline, I decided to raise it a little to keep myself well covered, but widened it a bit. Kind of like Kristin’s famous scoop neckline, but a little less wide?

At almost 27 weeks, these pictures were taken just a few days after these photos, but I look smaller. Funny how different outfits do that.

Anyways, I have a few more things to share that I’ve sewn for myself and a few more on my to do list. You guys are going to get so sick of pictures of me! And trust me, I don’t like taking these pictures. But I figure at the very least, I’ll have some photos of my growing belly!

Have you been sewing for yourself lately? Have any maternity patterns you recommend? What are other flattering maternity looks you love?

you and mie

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