Posts Tagged ‘handmade’

Sewing: Cascade Wrap Skirt

May 9th, 2013
13 Comments

You know I’m obsessed with Megan Nielsen patterns. Maybe because she’s my favorite client, or maybe because she makes kick-trash patterns that are modern, simple and on-trend. Maybe both.

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I tested out her cascade skirt pattern months ago, and I’ve been so anxious to share it with you. Now that her collection is released, I want to show it off!! I made it out of a purple heather knit (this will be the pantone of the year next year, I’m convinced), and I LOVE the drape, texture and fit.

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I was a little hesitant to try a wrap skirt pattern, but I loved the technical drawing so much I couldn’t resist.

See, one of the first skirts I ever made was a wrap floral skirt, with the help of my mom. I liked it and hated it. Any time a gust of wind came, there my panties were to say hello. And I live in a fairly windy spot, on top of a mountain. I didn’t want to go to the trouble of making an awesome skirt that I could only wear on “special” (aka non-windy) occasions. But I did it anyway.

I’m glad I used a soft jersey here, the jersey tends to stick to itself to conceal not-cute mom undies.

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I totes feel like a salsa dancer or something in this skirt.

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I wore just about this exact outfit at Alt Summit earlier this year (minus the shoes and plus a blazer). I felt so fancy and comfortable at the same time.

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Outfit details:

High Low Circle Hem Tutorial

May 7th, 2013
13 Comments

Brewing in the back of my mind has been this pink and orange circle dress. I’ve had the fabric for months, it’s just been such a busy couple of months I was almost too scared to start on it.

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I certainly shouldn’t have been scared. This thing took 2 hours to make from start to finish. Clean studio to clean studio, I might add. I didn’t test anything out before I started sewing, and I ended up paying for it a little bit with the waistline, but overall everything worked like a dream.

I included a high-low circle hemline here because I had enough requests for a tutorial, I thought I would do it again so I could better explain it. It’s really easy. So easy that I’ve made a printable pattern. Not printable from home, (it takes forever to format to print on 8.5×11 paper) but you can easily take the file to your local copy shop and they can print it out on their gigantic plotter for something like 15¢-50¢ per square foot. Or you can draft your own using the instructions after the jump.

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The two colors are very similar in content and weight, the orange being a bit heavier. I wanted to have the pink on the bottom when I first conceptualized this dress, but I didn’t have enough fabric for it. You’ll need at least a yard and a half if you want it to come close to hitting at the knee. I’m a knee length gal, so more yardage was required.

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I drafted my own skirt and used the Renfrew tee as a base for the bodice. I took in the Renfrew tee about 3/8 inch at the fold line, none at the shoulders or arm pits then just about 3/8 inch at the waist line. I wanted the top to be form-fitted so I can wear the dress sans belt.

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I made the mistake of cutting the bodice too short, so I ended up adding a waistband for the needed length. It worked out just fine, and looks like it’s supposed to be there in a way. Next time my dress won’t have one. And I will be making another one of these. I sort of wish I had made this skirt last year or the year before in the height of the orange/pink craze, but I still love it regardless of what’s trending.

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The jersey is crazy comfortable, it feels like I’m wearing lounge clothes. I can’t wait to make another one. Next one will be out of a print, I think. Now I need to find the right print.

Outfit details:

  • earrings: Brazil
  • necklace: Annily Green
  • skirt: handmade
  • belt: hand-me-down from grandma
  • leather bracelets: handmade
  • bangle: c/o Apricot Lane
  • shoes: thrifted

Click to read more for the full how to make this skirt!

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Sewing: Stripey Tee

May 2nd, 2013
6 Comments

Cleaning up my studio is slowly happening. The snails pace is certainly frustrating, but I’m trying to complete projects rather than just tidy up. I’ve made 3 shirts, 1 skirt and mended a few items thus far.

Up next: sweatpants, jeans, more shirts and a dress. I want to get all of those done before I head out to LA for more fabric shopping. AND YES! I’m going to be in LA the end of this month!! Let’s get together if you’re in the area, k?

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I scored this fabric at a swap last month, planning on sewing it into a comfy cardigan. A dolman long-sleeve top it is! It’s ironic that as soon as I finished sewing this we had several days of warm weather. Of course we did.

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We had a nice cold spell yesterday and today, so I’ve put it to good use. I drafted a pattern loosely based off a dolman-sleeved top I found at Target over Christmas break. That shirt gets worn a ton, but I did want a slightly longer hemline and a narrower neckline. Making those adjustments were pretty easy.

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I added perpendicular detailing at the collar and cuff (inspired by my new hoodie) because I wanted to. And vertical stripes are kinda hot right now. I want some striped pants like these.

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Last night I hosted a sewing night with the girls from church. We talked about sewing and I helped them make aprons. One of the girls asked if I bought my top at Nordstrom. That certainly made my night. It’s so satisfying when my handmade creations fool people into thinking they’ve been professionally made.

That certainly hasn’t always been the case.

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Outfit details:

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Lots of cuddles and tickles are in order for today.

Sewing: Jersey High Low Skirt

April 18th, 2013
9 Comments

I need to start sewing long-sleeve shirts and hoodies! Every time I sew something even remotely spring/summery it snows around here. Some days I feel we’ll never see spring until Mid-July. I think I wouldn’t mind this weather so much if spring didn’t come around and tease me so much.

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So I made a circle skirt. I scored this fabric at the fabric swap a few weeks ago. It’s a light-weight rayon jersey. I wasn’t too terribly excited about the pattern, but I loved the feel and stretch of the knit. But as I looked at it more, I fell in love with it. It’s got little stripes of blue, white, tan and teal that make it quite easy to style with my wardrobe.

I keep thinking, I need an awesome oxford/chambray shirt to style with this. Now I ask you, where have you found such shirts? I’m looking for something very light weight. Any good recommendations?

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I based the pattern off of Dana’s circle skirt tutorial, but I used a negative seam allowance for the circumference. Instead of doing a radius of 4.5 inches, I used 4 inches. It worked out perfectly. I also opted to cover my elastic waistband in a coordinating green jersey. I’m sure it would’ve looked fine as an exposed elastic-waisted skirt, but I like the finishing look the coordinating knit gives. With the structure and support of the elastic on the inside, it’s much better than a yoga waistband, too (which I’ve been using a lot lately).

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I drafted the pattern as a simple circle skirt, but then opted to do a high-low as I realized how much fabric was left. I sort of winged the measurements along the bottom, so I ended up cutting it twice to get the hem more even. Lesson learned for next time: don’t eyeball a hem.

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As for sewing the hem itself, I serged along the bottom with a slightly rolled serged hem. This took very little effort on my part. And considering the time saved on that hem alone – the serger just paid for itself. Let me know if you’d like more details on how to do this than offered here. I’ll be happy to put together a tutorial.

Click here for the full high-low circle skirt tutorial (and a free printable pattern).

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Outfit Details:

  • top: walmart
  • necklace: Ardor, bigcartel
  • bracelet: handmade
  • jacket: thrifted
  • skirt: handmade
  • shoes: NY fashion district

Also – this is another Utah spring outfit. I can’t decide if I should be wearing a jacket or not!

 

Tutorial: Kate Spade Inspired Skirt

April 5th, 2013
31 Comments

I’ve had the skirt of this dress in my head for a while now. It’s simple, too. Three pleats in the front and three in back.

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So for Easter I drafted up a pattern for the skirt and I thought I’d share the tutorial with you.

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The skirt itself is really simple, pretty much straight lines.

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I used this fabric from Kollabora. I love the tie dye, mottled look of it. It’s a cotton twill, perfect for heavy projects. It may be a bit stiff for this kind of skirt, but I couldn’t help myself. I will be making some pants for Felix out of this and I think those will be perfect.

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This was my second invisible zip insertion and it went even better in this than the last. Probably because this fabric is much more responsive than chiffon. Perhaps? I then thought how I could make it out of jersey. And I love my jersey version, too.

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I made it out of a stripe jersey, it’s soft and wears totally different. This was easier to sew up as I didn’t have to work with any fasteners because of the amount of stretch.

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It’s still pretty cold around my neck of the woods, so I’m not about to wear shorter skirts without stockings any time soon. But I couldn’t help myself. I’m just itching for warm weather!

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Click the read more button for the full tutorial.

First Outfit Details:

  • top: H&M
  • belt: thrifted
  • skirt: handmade
  • shoes: thrifted
  • earrings: etsy

Second Outfit Details:

  • top: handmade
  • skirt: handmade
  • shoes: thrifted
  • bracelet: handmade

Oh! And lookie, I just found a skirt you can purchase that’s very similar, but much less expensive than the Kate Spade dress version. Check out the awning stripe pleated skirt.

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