Color Blocked Wiksten Tank

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Cherie

So I did it! Selfish sewing! I finally sewed something for myself and what do ya know? I like it!

There are a lot of reasons I don’t sew for myself, or adults in general. One reason is because fit is soooo important and it feels like details REALLY matter on adult clothing. Kids can wear elastic waistbands 24/7. They can have slightly crooked hems or wonky seams and no one will care or notice. Heck, it makes them look even cuter! They look adorable in anything you put them in and most of the time they are just going to run around and roll in the dirt, so perfection isn’t necessary.

Adult clothing is different. There are curves you can’t ignore. You can’t just put elastic waistbands on everything (or can you? :P). You want to wear your clothes in public, to work, where people may look at you funny if something is totally ill-fitting. Or with unfinished seams, or crooked. Unfortunately, it will not make you look cuter.

Adult clothing also requires a lot more fabric. That means more money, and just more fabric to deal with, and combined with the reason above, it means more time! I love how little material you need and how quickly you can whip up something for your wee one.

But the MAIN reason I don’t sew for me is because I don’t like my body! Because I have body issues, it’s hard to imagine liking any clothing on myself and I don’t want to invest time and money into sewing for me if I’m not even going to like how it looks. I feel much more compelled to sew for my sister because I know it’ll look cuter on her, like the Winter Party Skirt or the Wiksten Tank in Ikat.

But I decided that shouldn’t stop me and after giving up my Ikat print fabric to use for my sister’s top, I thought about what else I’m into now and I thought I’d try color blocking! This is a pretty big trend right now and I thought with some bright colors it’d be a fun, youthful spring top. So without further ado, here’s my color blocked Wiksten Tank!

I used 3 different colors of cotton fabric and sewed them together before cutting out the pattern pieces making sure they were lined up perfectly so the color blocks would match up at the side seams.

When it started coming together I wasn’t sure if I had made the right decision to color block, or if I had picked the right colors. It looks so BRIGHT. Maybe too youthful and bold? I felt like something from the 80s or early 90s, or maybe something super hipster from American Apparel? I really didn’t know if I could pull it off. But after finishing it and trying it on (and toning it down with a cardigan), I realized that I liked it!

Let me just stop and say that I chose only the most flattering pictures to share with you. Trust me, most of them were not so pretty.

And getting a good picture of yourself is hard! I apologize for the awkward poses and poor lighting/quality.

So the pattern is the Wiksten Tank and I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s a very simple and straight forward top (no buttons, zippers or special materials needed). It comes together quickly and the fit is pretty flattering for most people I imagine. The loose bottom covers little tummies quite nicely! Because it calls for french seams there are no unfinished exposed edges and this makes the top look neat and professional. It’s definitely a good top to start with if you’re just delving into adult clothing sewing.

It’s funny though, I kept thinking that the tops were waaay too big. I made a size small for my sister and I thought for sure that it was going to hang off her petite frame. But it fit her perfectly! When I made mine, it looked like a circus tent! And I was a bit disappointed to find that it fit me perfectly too. Hah! I think that it just comes from only sewing tiny little toddler clothes, I didn’t realize how much fabric you need to cover an adult body.

Anyways, I’m kinda inspired to sew more for me! Between the Sewing for Me series that Kojo Designs and Sewing in No Man’s Land hosted and Made by Rae’s Spring Top Sewalong, I feel like not only is it doable, but it’s important to take the time to create for yourself. I’d love to make a top to enter in the Spring Top Sewalong, so I’ve got some work to do! You guys have any great patterns for women’s tops that you’d recommend?? Do you like to sew for you?

Maxwell Top Pattern

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Cherie

One of my goals is to sew more clothes from patterns. So when the opportunity came up to be a pattern tester for some of Shwin & Shwin‘s new patterns, I jumped on it. These gals come up with some of the cutest patterns for kids! And there are so many amazing free tutorials on their site too. One of the patterns in their current collection is the Maxwell Top for boys and I LOVED it as soon as I first saw it.

I debated whether I should make the top a little more feminine by picking more “girly” fabrics, but decided to go with something simple and (in my opinion) gender neutral. I knew Yuki could pull it off. The fabric reminds me of a Japanese shirt, though I don’t actually know if the fabric is Japanese. I love the finished shirt and all the cute details.

It was my first time sewing a collared shirt so I had a little trouble attaching the collar. For that reason, I’d say this is a good intermediate or intermediate beginner pattern. Otherwise, the shirt came together nicely with pretty clear and simple directions.

I think she looks adorable! I know I will definitely be making more for her as she gets bigger. The pattern is for sizes 12m-5T! And it’s always great to find an awesome boy pattern. I can’t imagine there’s anyone who wouldn’t need this pattern!

Buy the pattern here!

Wiksten Tank in Ikat

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Cherie

So my selfish sewing didn’t go exactly the way I had planned. I bought the Wiksten Tank pattern which I first saw (and loved) here and then I noticed it popping up everywhere! It’s such a cute top and pretty flattering for different body types.

I bought this Ikat printed fabric, Amy Butler’s Kasbah in Midnight Blue from her Lark Collection. I’ve noticed that Ikat style prints have gotten pretty popular and thought it’d be a fun springy top.

But then I decided to make it for my sister instead. Oops!

I couldn’t help it. She’s just so cute that I thought this would be perfect for her!

I think she likes it. She better, because I sacrificed some super cute fabric that was supposed to be mine!

As for me, I’m making my own Wiksten tank, but I had a different idea for the fabric. I’m almost done, but I’m not sure that I like it. It was a little bit of a wild idea and I don’t think I can pull it off! But we’ll see and if it’s not totally awful, I’ll show you later this week.

Lucky Chevron Skirt Preview

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Cherie

UPDATE: Tutorial here!

I realized that Yuki didn’t have anything green to wear for St. Patrick’s Day so I wanted to make something fun. I was looking through my stash for something appropriate when I realized that I had bought green fabric to make a chevron skirt back during Project Run & Play. I had this idea for a skirt and was going to make it for my signature look. I decided against it, and set aside the fabric for later. I’m so glad I stumbled across the fabric when I did!

So here’s my little Lucky Chevron Skirt for St. Patrick’s Day. I’ve seen a lot of people making chevrons from striped fabric or strips of fabric recently, so I thought I’d give it a try too. This is 3 different colors of fabric, and each fabric is actually made from two tones of thread so the colors in person are really gorgeous. I decided to make my strips in different widths just to make it a bit more interesting.

I haven’t gotten a chance to take any pictures of Yuki in it yet. And I don’t know when I will since it’s raining buckets over here at least through the weekend! But I also plan on doing a tutorial for this soon, so hopefully I’ll have that by next week. Until then, you just get this preview 🙂

Here’s the outfit I have imagined for this Saturday’s holiday:

And of course when it gets warmer, she can wear it all summer with less layers:

Aren’t these shoes ADORABLE!?? Yuki got them for Christmas from our very good friends and she hasn’t really been able to wear them yet since she still needs to grow into them, but I might just double up her socks and put ’em on her this weekend anyways. How could I not?

Any green sewing projects for you this week?

Yuki’s Woodland Nursery: Bird Mobiles

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Cherie

Check out the whole series:
So this week we’re going through Yuki’s nursery as it was over 18 months ago before she was born (a bit has changed since then)! I decided to revisit some of my nursery decorating projects after sharing the fabric wall decal tutorial and realizing that none of these were ever shared because they were made before this blog existed!

A little background about the nursery:
Since crafting is a hobby of mine I definitely knew I wanted to take a very DIY/hands-on approach to designing and decorating our baby’s room, while staying on a budget. I think our style and personality are reflected here. I was inspired by nature, beautiful fabric and a small budget and the style I was going for was simple, playful, creative and bright. We picked a woodland creatures theme because we were really into woodland animals at the time (we still are). We love the outdoors and wanted the room to have a nature-y feel and thought the animals would be cheery friends for out little daughter on the way. I also wanted to use a lot of colorful fabric because I thought it would add a warm and soft feel to the room. I used the wall decals to cover the room with tons of animal friends like a deer, a squirrel, a rabbit, and about a million birds. Oh yes, I love birds.

Which brings us to the project that I am sharing today. My second favorite part of this nursery (after the decals) is the bird mobiles! I saw this amazing bird mobile on the Spool blog and knew I had to make one! Spool is a fabric shop in Philadelphia and also has an online store. I’ve bought some of their fat quarter bundles in the past, they put together some really cute collections. The best part is, you can download the free bird softie pattern here!! For free!

So I made a batch of birds, some small and some regular. Then on our babymoon road trip up the west coast to Washington I picked up these sticks so the mobiles would a sentimental meaning. I used fishing wire and eye hooks to make them into a mobile and can I just say, it took me a loooong time to figure out how to get the balance just right.

Aren’t they just the perfect touch to this fabric filled woodland world??

The birds were really easy to make, so if you want to add a few fun friends to your home, I suggest checking out the pattern (link above) and whipping up a few yourself!

And come back later this week as I continue to share the rest of the room, with more project ideas for your home!

Signature Look for PR&P

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Cherie

It’s done! Finally! I finished my outfit for the Project Run & Play Sew Along. The theme was Signature Look. Like every other week, I thought and brainstormed and mulled for a loooong time and then finally made a decision and ended up cramming in late night sewing sessions just to BARELY get it done in time. I’m a procrastinator, through and through. I think THAT’S my signature style!

But really, I think this outfit captures a lot of my signature styles. Most of my children’s clothes is inspired by adult clothing. I tend to like clothes that doesn’t look like it’s for kids, but is still totally wearable and appropriate for little tykes. I like to make clothes for Yuki that I would wear myself. I think my style leans towards classic, simple, and modern, but can also be soft and feminine.

I decided on three pieces: pants, a top and a light pullover. Although it’s still on the chilly side here in San Francisco, in my head, I’m in spring mode. I’m ready for warm weather and wanted to make something for a day at the beach.

We totally lucked out with AMAZING weather today for our photo shoot. It was perfect for a day at the beach and I had so much fun taking a ton of pictures. Get ready for a photo overload!!

I’ll start with the top. Besides some issues with the fit, I really like how it came out. I was inspired by the fabric. I had this GORGEOUS double gauze fabric by Nani Iro that I bought awhile back and when I noticed it in my stash I thought it’d be perfect for a spring/summer top. Double gauze is amazing fabric. It’s super soft and light and breathable. It’s meant to help you keep cool in hot weather. If you ever see some at the store, please buy it and make something beautiful with it. It’s pricey, but so worth it!! I can’t find a link to any of this particular fabric online, but just do a search for “double gauze nani iro” and you’ll see some of the stuff I’m talking about.

Anyways, back to the top . . . I just threw in some fun elements like the pintucks and the keyhole in the back to add a little interest to an otherwise simple piece. I wanted it to look soft and clean so I made sure to have no visible stitches. It was a fun challenge and I like the finished look.

The second piece is the pullover. I actually LOVE the way this came out. I don’t think I’d change anything about it. I used a cotton/linen blend and wanted to make something to wear in the spring/summer as a cover up when it gets chilly or to put on over a bathing suit.

I decided to line the hood with linen stamped with stars. Yuki is OBSESSED with stars right now, it’s her favorite word and every time she sees the shape or anything that vaguely resembles it she says, “staaa! STAA!” I think it’s awesome because I LOVE stars and had a slight obsession with them myself when I was in high school/college.

So I carved up 2 star stamps and mixed some fabric paint to match the pants fabric and stamped it randomly on some white linen. I cut out one of the extra stars and appliqued it to the pocket.

I don’t really know what to say about the rest. I like the loose fit and the star and stitching details. I can imagine Yuki wearing this a lot.

As for the pants, they came out ok and I love the color, but the fit is not perfect. They are a little too skinny and might be better in a knit fabric so they don’t feel so tight or restrict movement. I did have a lot of fun with the details on these though, like the pocket stitching and the faux fly.

Super HIGH rise for that diaper booty 🙂

High rise pants provide full diaper coverage!

And that’s it! The three pieces that make up my “signature look.” I’ve had a ton of fun sewing along with Project Run & Play for the last 7 weeks and will probably talk more about that later, but it feels good to be done with my final outfit. I hope you like it!

Here are my bloopers from today’s shoot.

Ewwww!

And I can’t even tell you what’s going on in this photo sequence, but this is her new favorite move.

Our little yogi/dancer 🙂

I just have to say a huge THANK YOU to Hideko and Yuki for being such big helpers and super troopers through, not only this photo shoot, but the whole Project Run and Play season.

And thanks to you for stopping by and checking out my sewn creations week after week!

Snappy Toddler Top for Saya

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Cherie

Have you ever tried the Snappy Toddler Top pattern from Prudent Baby? I highly recommend it. It’s free! And so cute. I made one for Yuki awhile back and it’s been one of our favorite tops for a long time. Unfortunately, this is the only picture I could find of her in it!

Haha!

Anyways, I made this other one for Hideko’s cousin’s baby, Saya, who is about to turn one next month. It’s a really simple pattern that produces a very cute top – what more could you ask for!?

I like it as a tunic or a top, but if you add a little extra length to it, it can easily be made into a dress!

(back)

I’m also going to try make this top for Yuki’s cousins, who are 7 and 9, so we’ll see if the pattern can be converted to larger sizes.

Anyways, if you’re looking for a quick top to make for your little one or a nice present for someone else, this may be the perfect pattern for you. Try it out!

Blossom By Blossom Dress – Special Occasion for PR&P

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Cherie

For winter’s rains and ruins are over,
And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins.

-Algernon Charles Swinburne

Well winter certainly isn’t over yet, but I thought the poem was fitting. The dress has winter imagery, but spring colors underneath and flowers blossoming all over, so I immediately thought of winter turning to spring. Hence the poem and the name 🙂

So here’s my entry for this week’s Project Run and Play Sew-along. The theme is Special Occasion/Party Wear. I had fun making this dress. I can’t say that it’s a super original idea, but it was definitely a new challenge for me.

I started with the idea of finding a sheer patterned fabric to lay over a solid fabric. I used this curtain, and though it was much more opaque than I had originally imagined, I liked the tree branch image. Because I had a “sheer” fabric, I thought an illusion neckline would be something fun to try. It turned out to be barely noticeable (because of the nearly opaque white fabric and the light colored green underneath), but that’s probably much more age appropriate for a toddler.

I wasn’t planning on making the main body of the dress two different colors, but the idea sprouted from my indecisiveness at the fabric store. I would usually never pick a nearly neon green, but it went so well with the purple and I figured it would be hidden under the white anyways. But once I started playing with it, I really liked the colors and made each one peek out a little bit. They really shout “spring” and “fun” to me! It was a nice contrast to the stark white and bare branches of the curtain material. The fabric is a cheap nylon.

I hand rolled and stitched the neckline and armholes, which was new to me. I don’t really know if I did it right, and it doesn’t look super clean, but I wanted the hem to be as small as possible. They are still not nearly as small as pictures I’ve seen online, but I guess I’ll keep working on it.

I finished it off with a bunch of flowers and petals cut from the curtain fabric and handstitched to the dress. I just can’t resist putting fabric flowers on anything! 🙂

I like the way the fabrics look, but with hindsight, I wish I had chosen something different. These fabrics are synthetic and stiff and unforgiving. I sew at night when Yuki is sleeping and I’m horrible at using measurements (a major weakness), so last night I realized that the bodice fit ALL WRONG. It was super baggy in the front and perfect in the back. The neckline was too big and almost falling off her shoulder. So I added some pleats to the front and had to take in the bodice a bit. Now it’s a bit of a squeeze to get her arms through :P. I really don’t know how to get that perfect balance of fitted, but still fits. If the fabric had even a little give, it probably would not be so bad. Oh well – live and learn!

The shoes are kind of a fun story. I realized last night that Yuki didn’t have any shoes to wear with the dress. I felt ridiculous buying shoes JUST for this outfit, especially since this girl has an outrageous amount of shoes for some reason. But I went to Payless and these gladiator sandals, originally $12.99, were marked at $4. They have a buy one get one 1/2 off promotion, so I thought I’d buy something else and these shoes would be $2. But when I went to check out, it turns out the sandals were on clearance for $2 so with the half off deal, they were only $1!! So then I didn’t feel so bad. 🙂 I didn’t particularly like the silver flowers they had on them, so I made a few more flowers with the curtain material and hot glue gunned them on. I think they look great and match perfectly with this dress now!

I also made a petticoat with tulle to give the dress more body, but I think I actually prefer the dress without. I guess it’s a good thing to keep around though. It can be paired with any skirt or dress and since it’s kinda huge, she can probably use it for a long time. This morning she just wore it around the house like a tutu and turned around in (very slow) circles. Where does she learn this from!?? 😛

(Please ignore how crooked that top row of tulle is. I was in a super rush :))

For our photo shoot today we went to the Palace of Fine Arts. Just another gorgeous spot in our city. And the weather was amazing!! It actually felt like spring!

Well, I guess that’s it for this outfit AND the Project Run & Play Sew-along. I think next week the three actual PR&P contestants that are left will do their signature look. It’d be fun to keep playing along, but I feel like it’s time to move on to other projects that are calling my name. I’ll have a few tutorials coming up and a reflection on this sew-along challenge coming up, but for now I’ll just say that it has been so much fun participating. I have learned so much, been so challenged and am so inspired!

I leave you with two outtakes from the photoshoot:

I told Yuki to lean in and smell the flower. I think she’s either kissing it or nibbling on it. Yum.

And this picture is SO our daughter. You can put the girl in a dress, but that doesn’t make her act “like a lady!” She was climbing and picking up rocks and scraping her knees the whole time. That’s my tomboy! She makes me proud 🙂

Linked up this project here:

Gray Day Peacoat – Outerwear for PR&P

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Cherie

Don’t you love foggy days? Awesome for picture taking! 🙂

So here is my actual entry for the Project Run & Play Sew-along. This week’s theme was Outerwear. I didn’t know much about sewing jackets/coats, so I started with a pattern to sew this blazer. I was able to sew it up pretty quickly last weekend so I felt like I was in good shape to make a coat next. Unfortunately, I was totally stuck on WHAT I wanted to make.

I searched for coat inspiration and pinned a bunch of stuff. One idea that stood out to me was a two tone, or color blocked coat, like this:

found here

I went back and forth about this idea so many times. I bought 4 different shades of wool and couldn’t decide which combo to use. Then I picked the colors and couldn’t figure out if I wanted gray on top or cream on top. Should the color break be closer to the top of the coat or bottom?? Man, I wish I wasn’t so damn indecisive!!

Since I don’t like making decisions, I ended up stalling and stalling and I didn’t start making the coat until it was too late and I had no more time. I pretty much made this coat all in one night (I had to stay up REEEEALLY late). I took the pictures yesterday (Thursday) before work, edited the photos after work and loaded them into the flickr pool around midnight. Phew, that was close!

Anyways, I don’t have a ton to say about this coat. I’m very glad that I took the time to sew the blazer first from Melly Sew’s pattern because I learned what facing is and how a jacket is put together. I drafted a new pattern for a basic peacoat using what I learned about facing. I took the shape and ideas for the shoulder and cuff straps from a jacket I own. I wanted it to be a long coat, so it looked a bit fancy and added extra warmth. And now that it’s done, it reminds me of a navy coat.

What do you think?

I think the coat came out fine, but I wish it had something that made it more unique. I love this coat from Anthropologie and now I’m thinking I might try to add something cool on the back. My sister votes no. What do you think?

from here

One of the downsides to procrastinating and running out of time, besides the stress and loss of sleep, is that I didn’t get “finish” the coat. I feel like I would have added some fun detail somewhere, but didn’t even get to think about it. I would have loved to have made a hat or some type of accessory, but that wasn’t gonna happen. But the good news is, I’m not ACTUALLY out of time. Just because I didn’t finish it before the PR&P deadline doesn’t mean I can’t touch it again, right? So maybe I’ll work on it more. Just after I finish next week’s challenge . . . (and the dozen of other projects on my to do list :P)

The theme for next week is Party Wear/Special Occasion. I’m most likely going to make a dress for Yuki and I’ve started brainstorming ideas, but I’m pretty sure the same thing is going to happen again this week. I’m going to mull over dozens of ideas and change my mind a million times and then finally decide on something, scramble to the fabric store to whip something up that I’m not totally satisfied with in the end. 😦 Indecision is definitely one of the traits I’d like to change about myself most.

And here’s the outtake:

Hee hee hee, my little cheeseball. I almost never get her to smile, so this was a miracle!!

The Saturday Blazer – Outerwear for PR&P

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Cherie

Yikes! I really fell behind on blogging this week. I had a tutorial lined up for this week, as well as projects from BEFORE Christmas that I haven’t shared and I certainly didn’t get to blogging about my Project Run & Play Sew-along entries before I posted them to flickr. I just BARELY made the deadline this time.

So the theme was Outerwear. I figured I’d probably make a coat of some kind, but I don’t have much experience making coats/jackets. I’ve made a hooded cape and a little coat, and though they turned out ok, I was just making it up as I went along and knew that I wasn’t doing it the “right” way. So I took this opportunity to learn more about jacket/coat construction (did you know how many pieces a basic jacket is made of!?? A LOT). I thought a little fitted blazer would be adorable on Yuki and I found this Toddler Blazer pattern by Melly Sews.

This is a super cute pattern for toddlers and young kids (the pattern is for 18m-4T). It was very easy to follow along and I highly recommend it! It’s $6 and you can buy through that link I posted above. I’m REALLY glad I decided to work from a pattern first because I had NO clue what facing was or how to sew it in and now I understand!

The smallest size is 18 months and even though Yuki is 17 months, she is small and is closer to a 12 month size. So I had to take the pattern down in size. I also wanted the blazer to have a fitted, slightly feminine look to it. I didn’t want it to look boxy on her, so I added a slight curve to the sides of the jacket to bring it in around her “waist.” It’s hard to see in in the picture, but I think it makes a difference. Of course, I made it TOO fitted. So now it’s snug when I button it over her big baby belly. Oops.

I used a gray bottomwear fabric from Jo-Anns because I love gray and it goes well with everything. The lining fabric was something that I had in my stash (also from Jo-Anns). I had bought it because I loved it, but had no idea what I was going to use it for. I love the bright splashes of color that it gives to the gray blazer!

I call it Yuki’s Saturday Blazer because that’s probably when she’ll wear it. Monday through Friday, while H and I are at work, Yuki goes to a nanny share a few days a week and is watched by H’s mom the rest of the week. We just dress her in comfortable “whatever” clothes because all she is going to do is eat and play and nap and roll around and get messy (which is generally ALL toddlers do). We never dress her up during the week. But Saturdays are for going out and doing special activities so I might dress her up in this. Sundays too, so maybe I should have called it the Weekend Blazer 🙂

So this wasn’t even meant to be my entry for the PR&P Sew-along, since I made it as practice. But I do like how it came out so I figure I might as well share it anyways. After I made the blazer, I applied the same construction steps but drafted a completely new pattern for a coat. I’ll share that one as soon as I can 🙂

Thank you Melissa from Melly Sews for the awesome pattern! I’ve learned a lot from you!

And here’s a little blooper from the photo shoot. I feel like I usually have one or two jewels that are just hilarious or cute – so I’ll start saving them for the end of each post:

Haha, silly monkey!

you and mie

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