Birthday Giveaway Winners!

I just came inside from adding another super (box) to one of my hives.  I was stung.  Four times on my left leg.  I don't know what they have against my left leg, but OUCH!  I guess it serves me right for waiting until dawn and avoiding the task of picking winners for all the giveaways!  But here we go, ready or not!

Gina, you get to go shopping at the Ruffle Fabric shop! Hooray! (mrsdaniels)

Ohio Girl will be getting $50 to spend at Imagine Gnats fabric shop!(bearpaws9)

Nickel...will be cutting and filing on a dime with a cute pocket knife from Blade HQ! (Cathy555)

Hayley Burns will be spending $50 at Piggy & Dirt on stained glass stars!(possumsdaughter)

Jess will be swaddling some little feet with a pair of Mon Petit Shoes for her baby #5!  (crannberri7)

June will be healing and soothing with a jar of Mom's Stuff! (jvarricchione)

RedMittens will be steaming up a storm with a new iron from Reliable!(mbhunt)

And last, but not least, the winner of the beautiful Rachel Baby Lock sewing machine is Kandyce Pinckney!(kandyce.pinckney)

Whew!  I've had such a fun week sharing some of my favorites with you.  Thanks for indulging a birthday girl. ;)

Ruffle Fabric (Birthday Giveaway #1)

It's no secret that I like to sew fancy things.  Sometimes they're super labor intensive, and sometimes I just use ruffle fabric!! (Tutorial HERE.)  This might be one of my most worn items of clothing because: (yes, I'm going to number them) 1-it is so comfortable, 2-it requires very little care (read: no ironing), and 3-it makes. a. statement.  There hasn't been a single time I've worn it when someone doesn't ask where I got it.  Then I get to tell them I actually made it.  Then their jaw drops and I get to float away in my magical skirt. We all need a magical skirt. Remember how you all were going to help me name this skirt?  Right.  We will get to that soon.  Somebody dropped that ruffle ball.  Sheesh.  

The BOHO ruffle fabric comes in grey, white, pale pink, and red, but I have secret, inside information that my ruffle girls are getting it in yellow, blue, and purple very soon!! I'll let you know when orange finally makes the scene. ;)  

SO. For Birthday Giveaway #1, I have a kit to make your very own skirt.  You get to choose the color you'd like. 

• Leave a comment to be entered into the drawing.
• Please include your email address.
• Giveaway winners will be announce Monday, August 3rd.
• Tell a friend (to enter for you if she doesn't sew! ;)
• Good luck!

Once Upon a Thread: Chapter 5 (and giveaway!)

Happy National Sewing Month and welcome to Once Upon a Thread, Chapter 5!!  I'm all dressed up and ready to celebrate ;)  I thought we'd begin with ruffles, ruffles and more ruffles.  I've already worn this on several occasions and when you wear yours (and you will!) you can expect the compliments to roll in.  Then you'll tell them that you made it and their jaw will drop and the drool will start, to you ought to be prepared for such events.

When I taught my class at the SNAP! blogging conference over the summer, I taught the Coastal Curtsy Skirt and was delighted to be sponsored by my favorite ruffle fabric people, Julie and Linda.  When they arrived at the sewing room, Julie was wearing the most delightful, exotic skirt and I asked if they had a tutorial available for it yet.  I asked if I could put one together because I knew everyone would want to make this amazing maxi.  Am I right?  Rhetorical.  

This new fabric is called Boho Chic and comes in four colors.  I was going to originally make it in a conservative grey, but thought I'd bite the bullet and make it in the brilliant "Lava" instead.  Have you read "The Day the Crayons Quit?" 

It's a compilation of letters from Duncan's crayons who complain about being used for the same pictures every single time.  They are tired of it and want a change.

I suppose we are all like Duncan, in a way.  We all get in ruts of how we use our crayons, or in this case, how we use colors in our sewing.  I don't use much red in sewing, unless it's for Pearl, whose favorite color is red.  

And I love it!

It is almost as easy as the Coastal Curtsy Skirt, but there are two seams instead of one.  The trick is in the cutting of each piece.  They are EXACT copies, not reverses, so you can't simply fold your fabric in half and cut two at the same time.  

Here's how to think outside the crayon box:

• 2 1/2 yards of Boho Chic Ruffle Fabric

• 2 1/4" Elastic (enough for your waist--I used this and it is the softest, most luxurious elastic I've ever laid my hands on)

• Thread

1) Cut a quarter of a circle using the measurements of HALF your waist.  Don't worry about adding seam allowances because this fabric is very generous as far as elasticity.

2) Using a tape measure as the LENGTH you want your maxi, follow the waistline and cut the hem, rotating the tape measure.

3) Cut an exact replicate for the other side (below)

4) Put right sides together and pin down each side, making sure the ruffles are all going in the downward direction. Stitch using a serger or a slight zig-zag stitch on your sewing machine with 1/2" seam allowance.

5) Measure the elastic by wrapping it around your waist.  I use this method because different elastics have a different amount of stretch and different people prefer varying snugness for their skirts.  This will be holding up a lot of fabric, so I made mine very snug.

6) Stitch elastic ends together and pin to your elastic to your skirt, careful to make sure the ruffles are not bunched up, but they are all going in the same direction. Stitch with a slight zig-zag stitch on your sewing machine, or use a serger but CAUTION: do not even knick this type of elastic with your blade or the waistband will just unravel and come off.  (I learned from experience and had to put my waistband on twice.)

7) There is no need to hem, but with the amount of stretch due to the weight of the fabric, I ended up cutting off about an inch and a half when the skirt was finished.

It is so much fun to wear.  But.

I have a problem!

My skirt needs a name!

Giveaway: I thought it would be fun to get your suggestions and the winner will receive 2 1/2 yards of this Boho Chic fabric plus elastic for their own skirt!  So, get thinking and get suggesting all your fabulous ideas.  I will have my ruffle girls help judge the winner.  Happy OUT!

Vivienne Pattern Review & Giveaway!

I love saying yes to trying out new women's patterns because it forces me to sew for myself.  My-asymetrical-not-entirely-content-with-my-body-self.  (Is anyone ever entirely content with one's body?) Because sometimes we need to be forced to do good (hard) things.  So when the girls of Violette Field Threads asked if I'd try out their Vivienne skirt and blouse, I agreed. 

We've all seen the cute girl's pattern, and enough moms out there understandingly wanted it for themselves!

Basically, it's two skirts: one simple gathered skirt with rows of ruffles, and one overskirt that just wraps around.  The shirt pattern (not the one pictured above) is loosely shaped with buttons up (or would you say down?) the back, which makes it a bit difficult to get dressed by yourself, but it's always fun to feel pampered and maybe a bit nostalgic to have your loved one fasten you up. ;) And I'm always up for a challenge.

I made several minor alterations that I'll share, some very visible, some not so much. I wanted to make something that I feel comfortable and confident in and that I'll wear frequently, but you can, of course, sew this straight up and get great results:

✚ I added 2 additional darts (there are already two bust darts and I added two princess seam darts, you could also add a couple to the back as well) to the front of the shirt and took in the sides to make it fitted.  Blouse-y doesn't look good on me, so I felt much better about the more tailored look.

✚ I took the gathers out of the sleeves because I have very broad shoulders to begin with that any added poof makes me look more like a football player.

✚ I lengthened the underskirt by several inches (maybe 7?) and lengthened the overskirt by a few, so if you sew it up as is, the overskirt covers more of the ruffles than mine does.

✚ Instead of a casing for the waist, I used a thick ruffled elastic for the waistband.  Speaking of elastic, don't you love that it's ruffled?! I got it from my favorite ruffle fabric store.  I like to drool at all their amazing elastic (not to mention fabric!)  They even have aztec elastic! I know!

✚ I didn't do buttons on the overskirt for the closure.  The buttons are definitely a cute feature, but I was messing around with it and thought about tying it.  It's just long enough that you can tie it in a knot and since it's double-sided, it shows a peek of the lining fabric when you do. Fun!

The neckline is very sweet and flattering.  I considered adding a collar, but then decided to just make the appearance of a color with some tiny black lace.  

One of the great things about this is you can mix each piece up.  The shirt would be great with pants, you can wear the underskirt alone, you can tie the overskirt around some jeans or leggings.

All very versatile!

Over the years of making clothes for 6 girls (yes, I'm counting myself, too!) I've ruffled (more than) my fair share of ruffles.  I've figured a few things out, but I always learn something new. Some pointers for ruffling on this project:
✚ It's very helpful if you use a fabric that can rip easily to rip the strips of fabric.
✚ To hem the bottom of the strips, invest in a rolled hem foot for your sewing machine.  What this means is you don't have to spend hours and hours ironing the edge up once and then twice and then sewing.  It does it all at the same time.  Trust me.  You will thank me.
✚ To finish the top portion of the strips, use the rolled hem stitch on your serger. This just zips through your machine, nicely finishing the edges. You could also do a satin stitch on your sewing machine, but it would take longer.
✚ I used my ruffling foot to gather the strips.  Set it to the longest stitch length (5mm) which will prevent it from gathering too much.

For the "collar" I basted the edges of the lace so I could get it to curve.  Easy peasy.

(My knotty view from up here :)

It's become a game now, that my kids ask where I'm going to put "no big dill".  I went bigger than usual on this. ;) I would have written it in Chinese, but it's a little rusty.

It's hard to tell in the photos is a light cotton with tiny greyish/bluish fuzzy dots.  They are so varied in size and intensity (I don't think it's intended) that I didn't think I'd ever use this fabric, but ripping it up into strips and ruffling them was the perfect use. ;)

Reversible!!

I laughed to myself as I was putting it all together as this is such an eclectic mix with the asian print, the batik fabric with the feminine touches of ruffles and lace.  Perhaps that's one of the advantages of sewing until 5 in the morning?

So.  How about a giveaway?  A chance to win one of three sets of mommy & daughter Vivienne Patterns!  How fun is that! 
✚ Simply leave a comment!
✚ I will leave it open for a week and then choose and contact 3 winners.
✚ PLEASE include an email if your contact information isn't included in your profile link so you don't forfeit your chance to win.
✚ Hooray!! Thanks, Violette Field Threads!