Hemming the cover up

With summer here I am having a hard time keeping up with everything. I have managed to sneak in a quick sewing project here and there in between biking, starting to run (have never been a runner before but am determined to lose some weight), cleaning, swimming, playing with my kids, and trying to let them play with friends.

This was handed to me a week ago and I am just now getting around to tackling hemming the swimsuit cover-up. I love the dressmaker's form because you can get a true length as if you or in this case my mom were wearing the dress for the hem.


This is just another view of the cover-up on my dressform.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tutu or hat you decide

I serged up a quick tutu the other day for the girls to play with.


I handed it to my darling little Kaylee and said to her "Try this on."

She decided that it was a "Hat" as she sweetly called it and put it on her head. (you just can't make this stuff up. Kids are so silly).


Sophia and I busted up laughing and then Sophia wanted to try on the tutu, "hat" too!

I guess these girls like when o make hats better then tutus.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Child sized adjustable Beach blanket cover up

It is swimsuit season and we are spending a lot of time at the pool. With swimming daily comes the need for lots of swimsuits and multiple cover-ups. So, although I haven't tried making any swimsuits yet, I have tried making a few beach cover-ups. This is my latest. It is fully adjustable and can be made flat to be used as a towel or beach blanket.



Here Sophia is trying it out for the first time at the pool.







Lay it out flat for a beach towel or




If you have a beach chair, you can tie it down so it won't blow away.

  This is my own personal original design so please be respectful of the time and thought put into it and do not copy it.  I did not use a pattern at all.  I drew and designed it completely to be original.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

And by all means a girl can always use another tutu

The sparkling tutu I serged.

This weekend I had a few minutes to play in my sewing room at one point while my girls napped.

I had some sparkly iridescent scrap fabric that I had picked up awhile back that I hadn't done anything with yet so I figured, why not make something.

I decided it was just big enough to make a sparkly tutu for my girls. I gathered it with the ruffling foot on my serger and attached it to some elastic. Then, I added the satin blanket binding I had leftover from another project for a waistband casing and in minutes I had made a tutu.

When Kaylee saw it she grabbed it right away hoping it was hers. Then, about a second later Sophia woke up and wanted it. Since there was only enough fabric here for one, I guess my girls will have to fight for it because you know a girl can never have too many tutus.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Omg! I just made a matching hat for the dresses.

So, I have always wondered if I could make a hat. Well, I think the answer is "Yes! I can!"


I serged up this little reversible hat on my serger this afternoon.


I am so excited that it was so easy.


Obviously, my three year old was goofing off when I let her be my model.

I guess I will making the mini version for Kaylee tomorrow so they both have matching bonnets.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sleeve bib

Front of bib showing crumb pocket.


Back view of sleeve bib

I love my darling little Kaylee but she is one messy eater. I am just short of putting her in a straight-jacket to eat meal most days. So this idea for a sleeve bib has been on my mind for awhile. I think I will tweak it a bit for the next one but I think the general idea is coming together.

I sewed it with the intent of being able to let Kaylee eat without destroying her clothes. I am hoping to cut down on laundry a bit. Even though I put bibs on her for every meal, she manages to get food outside the bib everytime. Yuck! Hopefully, this will help a bit.

I used some fabric I had leftover from some dresses I sewed for my girls.

Recycled part: I used a T-shirt collar that I cut out of an old white T-shirt for the ribbing of the neck since I didn't have any ribbing fabric so it would stretch and slide over Kaylee's head. I just serged it into the neckline.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My dressform - my new best friend

Meet my new best friend. Her name is....uh,...um,...well. Okay, so I am still working on her name but as you can see she is going to come in mighty handy for sewing. Do you have any ideas for a good name?


I am so excited that my family got a dress-form for me for Mother's Day for my sewing room. My husband assembled her yesterday morning. I have always wanted a dressform and now my sewing room is coming together.

Not only can I use this to size items I sew. Just simply take a measurement with a measuring tape, (in metric, bummer that means conversion will be necessary) adjust some dials and levers and you have a perfect double of me or whoever I am sewing something for that day. I can also use her for displays. The possibilities are endless.

Okay, while I realize this is not something everyone would want, it will definitely help me in many ways.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The ladybug and polka dot ensemble

Matching accessories for the ladybug pillowcase dress.


Every three year old needs some fancy bloomers since they don't understand that you just can't lift up your dress in public. Sometimes they want to run around splash in puddles, climb ladders, or swing on swings at the park and having your panties show just won't do.



And a floppy hat to match...


Oh, and of course it is reversible for those days when you feel like you need more polka dots.



This has been a busy week for me. I taught myself to install a zipper in the fly of a pair of dress slacks because a best friend of mine needed help and well let's just say, I have a sewing machine or two so we figured it out.



Then, last night I had a couple hours to myself while my husband worked and decided to make bloomers or as my darling Sophia likes to call them pretty panties covers and a reversible hat to match the pillowcase dress.

I love using my serger to make these adorable floppy hats and my sweet girls love wearing them so that works out pretty well. Sewing these hats on my serger is a snap. I made this whole hat including cutting the fabric and ironing in the waterproof lining that gives it it's shape in a little over an hour.

Next on the list is making the mini me version for little Kaylee baby. If you ever wondered why I usually make the bigger version first, I can tell you why. There are two reasons. It is easier to size a pattern down that I make then to size up and the smaller version takes less fabric in most cases, unless I make a mistake and have to start over, so I can use the leftovers to make the smaller version.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Ruffle polka dotted fancy pants

So, I finally got around to serging the ruffle pants to hide the diaper under Kaylee's dress. It has been in my mind for weeks, but I just couldn't squeeze any more time into my day to make these little pants to disguise the diaper under the matching coordinated dress.



Here is the ruffle bum backside of the pants. I am not sure why my iPhone is disorienting the photo sideways. Ugh!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The no tie scarf

This is the basic scarf before you pull it through the loop on the end. I serged all the way around the fabric and then sewed the loop on the end to pull the fabric through.


The bow tie scarf



The ascot scarf



neckerchief scarf

I love using my serger for quick little projects like this one. This scarf is made out of taffeta. The purpose of making this scarf was to practice one-step inner and outer corners on a serger. It is a little trickier than a regular sewing machine because you have more than one needle to deal with and the cutting knife that trims the fabric as you serge. I will admit the outer corner is not as easy as serging off the edges but it looks pretty when the corners are so smooth.

The hardest part of this project was serging an inner corner and not cutting the fabric deep into the corner. I will need to practice it a bit more to perfect it but for a first try, I think it turned out fairly nice.

I used a three thread rolled hem on this scarf. I used serger thread in the needle and woolly nylon in the upper and lower loopers for a beautiful edge. The machine stitch length was set on one to create a closed edged look.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone