June watercolor paintings

DIY lace baby dress

One of my good friends and co-workers is expecting a little baby girl soon, and to celebrate this happy occasion I thought this was the perfect opportunity to sew baby clothes! I love making baby clothes because the fabric choices can be so creative, and I adore sewing tiny outfits. Plus, baby clothes take so little fabric!

 I used the bodice from the pattern available for free here, and added a lined gathered lace skirt. The bodice was sewn with a jersey knit, and the edges were hemmed using my double needle.

 The bodice and skirt were then attached together with a blue knit band of fabric.

This was definitely a fun, quick and easy project! I also love the free pattern (link above). Now I cant wait to see the baby in the dress :)

Cycling jersey

So last weekend my husband and I participated in our first sprint triathlon, which was both so much harder and more fun that I anticipated! We both love exercise, but had never done a triathlon. It was a relay race where he did the biking and I swam and ran. While we only got a finishers medal, I was just happy that we made it to the end! This race was, of course, a sewing opportunity for me to make us matching tops! The splatter spandex fabric is from The Fabric Outlet.
I made his cycling top using the Jalie 2216 pattern. I really like this pattern as it was easy to customize it to fit him very nicely. Next time I make it I will have the zipper extend to the top of the collar, however.

My top was not quite as exciting. I just copied a running shirt that I had at home. I was running out of fabric, so my shirt is snug fitting, but that is OK for an exercise shirt I guess!

Two-tone upholstery fabric tote

I have become obsessed with upholstery totes as of late, and really wanted to make one for myself. For this project I used left-over fabric from pillows I had made. Very little fabric was actually required, since the tote is two-tone.

 The straps are leather. After cutting them using my rotary cutter, I finished the edges with a thin painted line of modge podge. This gives a nice smooth, shiny finished leather edge and is super easy to do! I definitely recommend it for any leather project where raw edges will be seen. 

The tote itself is lined with black pleather and has an inner pocket. Overall a fun and easy project :)

 

DIY party shades

Me and my husband are going as futuristic aliens this year for Halloween, and as part of our costume I thought we should have totally over the top party sunglasses!

So I got the materials mainly from Walmart - two cheap pairs of sunglasses plus a totally amazing and over the top necklace. The necklace was then completely deconstructed using needle nose pliers. I also bought a few beads and charms from the Hobby lobby.  

Next I proceeded to hot-glue the various beads, pendents and chains onto the glasses frames and lenses. The glue can be seen a little in a few spots, but for the most part is not noticeable. Unfortunately they are a little heavy and delicate, we will just have to be careful with them come this Halloween weekend! 

Sparkly hoodie and pants for him

In an attempt to make coordinated Halloween costumes for my husband and I, I have decided that we can both be futuristic aliens this year! I am a little sad not to be a unicorn again, but I couldn't think of  a male costume to go with my unicorn outfit. I am sure we will have a great time both as shiny aliens though! I'm really pretty excited about it.
Using fabric from Joann's for the shiny outside and bright orange stretch velvet from Spandex world, I created a somewhat warm and very fun, reversible hoodie for the husband! The orange velvet was actually left over from when we last went to Amsterdam - we visited during Kings day, and thus needed wild bright orange outfits. That festival is just so much fun! It definitely is a great time to visit that beautiful city. Because this hoodie is reversible, its is not only warmer but now he can wear it orange side out should we find ourselves in Amsterdam at the end of April again!

I made major alterations from the Simplicity 9499 raglan shirt pattern, obviously!  I added a hood, added ribbed cuffs and waist band, lengthened the sleeves and torso as my husband is tall, I lined it, gave it pockets on one side, and put a separating zipper in the center. I think it came out well, but we will have to see how it actually looks on the husband this weekend!

Connecting the outside to the lining with the bottom ribbing

Adding the zipper - and connecting the outside and the lining

Adding the zipper - and connecting the outside and the lining

Look at that lovely zipper!

Adding the cuffs

Finished cuff

I hand stitched through the outside and lining just at where they meet the bottom band

And the husband of course also needed shinny pants to match the shiny jacket! I made a quick and improvised version of V8940 using stretchy super shiny fabric from Joann's. This has a faux front fly as the fabric is stretchy and I know this pattern fits him very well. I did add a real waist band with belt loops just in case the pants are so stretchy they slip down. I omitted the side pockets, but did add back patch pockets.

Front

Back

Sparkly bomber jacket and leggings for her

Hi folks! So with Halloween right around the corner I have been very busy getting fun outfits put together for the husband and myself. This really is my favorite holiday because of the totally over the top stuff I get to make! Costumes really are my favorite projects.
So I was initially thinking this shinny outfit would be great for a unicorn - hence the unicorn horn and furry leg warmers- but now I am leaning more toward making this into a futuristic alien costume. Either way, I think it is going to be fun!
The fabric is from Joann's and is super silky, stretchy, and covered in tiny holographic rainbow reflective dots. Unfortunately these dots are only glued on, so I am sure many of them will be lost before Halloween is over. In fact, this fabric made a ridiculous sparkly mess in my house as I was sewing this up!

The jacket was an adaption from the Kwik sew 3491 pattern. I altered the pattern to make a ribbed band for the neckline, and I made this fully lined as I am sure it will be at least a little cold in NYC for Halloween. I used left over white fleece fabric for the lining, and it is supper warm and cozy with this! The pattern was very easy to follow. I do think it came out a little on the large size, and this is with a fleece lining! I like the way the ribbed band at the bottom came out. I will definitely make this again, but will certainly add a lining next time as well.

Neck collar folded in half

Neck collar

 

 But, I couldn't stop with just a jacket - I had to make matching leggings as well! I used a pair of jersey leggings as an easy pattern, but unfortunately the sparkly fabric had significantly less stretch than the jersey and these leggings came out too tight! I ended up opening the inner seam and adding a 2 inch panel there. I know this is not the best place to widen pants, as far as fit is concerned, but I really didn't want a seam on the outside of the legs and figured a 2 inch strip wouldn't completely destroy their fit.