Two-tone sequin mini

I saw this amazing two-tone sequin fabric at the fabric outlet in San Francisco, and I was so impressed with it I had to get a little! I had no specific plans for what to make with it when I bought it, and it was expensive even on sale so I only got 1/2 a yard. The online pictures really don't do it justice - it has a fantastic shine on the iridescent purple-green-blue side, and when the sequins are rubbed the other direction it is a lovely understated matte black. The fabric is very well made - the sequins are sewn on to sturdy slightly stretchy fabric. They had many color combos to pick from in the store, the one I picked reminded me of a mermaid. 

Well this lovely fabric didn't sit for long in my fabric stash! My afternoon project today was making this body-con shift. I used a well fitting shift dress from my closet as a pattern. I altered that pattern a bit by making the front one piece, and by moving the zipper from the side to the center back for extra drama. 

 Here I am sewing the lining to the back side and back yoke.

 Before binding the raw edges with the bias tape, I sewed the outer shell to the lining to make sure all of the edges matched. The bias tape really made the edges look great!

In total, this dress took an afternoon to make. I used 1/2 yard of the sequin fabric plus some netting I had in my fabric stash for the upper back yoke. I also used a 22 inch metal zipper and 3.5 yards of 1/4 inch double-folded black bias tape. I used the bias tape to finished all of the raw edges, and this really helped keep the edges thin and flat. I also thought I might need extra needles, but I didn't break a single needle on this fabric!
I love how rubbing the sequins in the opposite direction changes the color from blue-green to black - and suddenly it looks like a new dress!
I think I just made my 2017 NYE dress :)

  

Shorts for summer

At the beginning of summer I had some soft but sturdy grey slightly stretchy denim that was left over from a lounge chair re-upholstery project. The fabric wasn't very much, but it ended up being just barely enough for a pair of shorts for the husband, which was great because he was really in need of a new pair! 

Unfortunately, he didn't get his hands on these shorts till the end of summer due to the fact that we live in different states and sometimes boxes get lost in the mail. Lucky for him, boxes lost in the mail for over 6 week weeks are occasionally found and delivered by the mail service!  Also lucky for him, summer lasts a loooong time in Alabama, so he was still able to get some use out of these when he came down to visit last week :)

The fabric was purchased online from CaliFabric - the online store for my favorite brick and mortar fabric store in San Francisco: The Fabric Outlet. They have a great selection of heavy weight denim - perfect for men's pants or upholstery! I altered the pants pattern from Vogue 8940 to make shorts by cutting them at 21 inches for the inseam measurement (this allows for a 1 inch hem).
Having worked with this pants pattern previously, I was aware that it had serious problems with the width measurements (has anyone else found this to be the case?). My husband wears a 32, and I have found that I have to add just over 1 inch of width to the front and back of both sides in order for the pants to fit. After accounting for this pretty significant error in the patterns measurements, I have found that this pattern can make pretty great looking tailored pants or shorts. I especially like the back pockets, and the fly comes together very nicely.

Leather tote: Buy or DIY?

I have long been interested in learning to work with leather, but have been intimidated by working with natural materials because they are expensive, unforgiving if you need to remove stitches (needle holes will show!), and I really wasn't sure if my machine would be able to sew leather. 
Last time I was in SF I picked up a medium size cognac medium weight super soft leather hide at the Fabric Outlet. It was time to try leather work! My favorite purse was getting worn out, and I really liked the look of the Madewell totes, but couldn't bring myself to spend that much on an unlined tote.
This project was surprisingly easy and fun! Working with leather was a real joy too - I love the smell and texture.

I wanted to make this tote with 2 pieces of leather, similar to the Madewell tote, but my hide was not quite large enough. I ended up using 2 pieces (14x20 inch) for the body, one piece for the base (14x6 inch), and two (22 x 1.5 inch) pieces for the straps. I was sure to pick the thickest and strongest parts of the hide to be used for the straps and base.
The lining was made mostly with left over pieces that I had on hand - denim for the inner shell, blue leather to rim the top of the bag and face the straps. The blue leather was re-purposed from an old pair of thigh high leather boots! The straps had to be faced with leather. A single piece of this leather was not going to provide the strength and structure I needed for this project. Finally, I didn't want to destroy the tote with a little water, which I am sure could happen easily from condensation from a water-bottle inside of the tote. Following my mother-in-law's suggestion, I added an inner pleather layer between the denim and leather. One yard was more than enough of pleather, and it was on sale for $4.50 at Jo-Anns!

My trusty Travelmate Janome was up to the task of sewing leather! This was a big unknown variable at the start of this project. I followed advise I read online - use leather needles and corresponding heavy weight thread, and change the needles often as they dull quickly. This project took 2 needles. The straps required sewing through 4 layers of leather - that was a bit tough on the machine so I went slowly. My machine also had trouble with reverse on 2+ layers of leather, so I would just finish seams by rotating the fabric and forward stitching in both directions over the end of the seam to lock the ends.
All in all this was a fast and easy project, and the tote seams very sturdy. Quite the fashion statement for the price!