I felt heartbroken when I tried on a much anticipated swimsuit order and there was a 1 inch gap between my little girls and the bralette cups that were marked at size "A". It's frustrating not being able to find something that fits. I'm happy with my body, but my body's small "features" are hard to fit. Sometimes I think it would be easier to just augment my body so I can actually buy a swimsuit and feel feminine in it. Of course that's ridiculous. Sewing is way cheaper than plastic surgery. And I should embrace my body the way it is. I love
this NY times article all about the small-chested.
One of the things I haven't tackled with my sewing machine is the bathing suit. I haven't been interested or confident enough to even think about it until I was on a complete sewing high in LA with some crazy talented ladies.
Justine was actually the one to give me the boost I needed to take this on. We were in Michael Levine and I was asking her about swimwear and she showed me the "good stuff". I couldn't back down.
It's fitting that I'm showcasing this swimsuit in her sewing the trends series, is it not?
I'm in love with the vintage bikini, the one that shows only a couple of inches of stomach. I'm in love with the bralette trend as well. The bralette isn't a kind of look that I would wear on a day-to-day basis, but it's perfect for swimwear. You can see all of my
swim inspiration here.
This bathing suit cost just over $10 for materials. About $400 in my time, though. I often get asked if I'll ever open an etsy shop and sell my sewn creations. I always say no. I'm the sole breadwinner now, and I couldn't charge enough for my sewn creations to make ends meet. I would love to work with a clothing company to create a limited line of clothing. And maybe someday I'll be part of the design process, but never the manufacturing process.
If this swimsuit basically cost me $410 in materials and time, why did I do it then? Why not just commission a girl like
Bev to make one for me? It boils down to happiness. I love a challenge. We all need challenges to feel happy. Besides this being great blog content, I pushed myself so much farther on this project than any other one I've done to date. Drafting up that top, and sewing muslin after muslin took a lot of discipline. And that discipline paid off big time.
The bottoms fit me like a glove. Everything is fully lined. Do you see how smooth those bottoms are? The lining makes such a big difference.
I drafted everything from scratch. I had a ton (like 5 yards) of lining fabric, so I could mess up as much as I wanted on the muslins. It took 4 muslins to get the bottoms just perfect. 1 for the top. I totally winged the top based on a bra I was planning on using for support. When I fitted the muslin, it fit me perfectly so I opted for soft cup inserts instead.
I took the flat shapes I wanted for the bralette, and with the slash and spread method, I made them into pattern pieces that would form perfectly around my girls. It's nothing short of a miracle that this fit on the first try. That NEVER happens.
I did mess up on the waistband of the bottoms, but it wasn't too bad. They were really high waisted, so instead of unpicking the waistband, I just cut off the old one and put on a new one. Surprisingly not much time or material was wasted here.
I still can't believe I made this swimsuit! It fits better than any swimsuit I've ever worn. We'll see how it does at the pool today.
Outfit Details:
- swimsuit: handmade
- sunglasses: c/o BYUTV
- shoes: Ruche (seychelles)
I'll see if I can come up with a tutorial on how to draft your own vintage bikini, but it's kind of daunting to think of all of the steps I would have to explain.
I have found similar patterns available for download.
Burdastyle has one and so does
Oh Lulu.
The bottoms were easy enough with basically two pieces and a band. I just drafted them up from a pair of swim bottoms that fit me well enough, then I tweaked and tweaked until they were perfect.
I'm glad I used a print for the top. If you look closely you can tell where I wasn't perfectly precise with the bralette, but it's masked by the pattern. I thought I would need boning to keep the top in place, but so far it hasn't been necessary. I can always add it on afterward.
You can see here the lining. Seriously, if you're going to sew your own swimming suit, I can't stress a high-quality lining enough! It makes all the difference!
Here's the schedule for the Sewing the Trends series. There are some remarkable sewers in the line up, I'm thrilled to be part of it. Be sure to check them all out.
Fabric provided by Michael Levine's
LowPriceFabric.com.
Last week's winner was the floral chiffon, but only by a little. After sewing up the muslin in a similar fabric I changed directions. The muslin sewed up quite puffy. A puffy drape plus a slip would add too much bulk for my taste. I'm glad I switched courses. I love how this fabric drapes! It really feels like I'm wearing nothing which is perfect for the hot days ahead.
I also opted for a straight hemline because as I was cutting out the material, I realized that I would have just enough fabric for a maxi skirt if I cut it straight. So straight it was!
It's a simple enough dress, but this rayon was pretty shifty. The stripes weren't printed straight, either, so matching up stripes wasn't an option.
I modified this pattern for wovens. I'm sure you could do the same with the seafarer top or just go for the staple dress pattern. I had something so similar on hand, I figured I'd save time and money by modifying my pattern not printing and taping a pattern together.
PDF patterns are great, but my printer is not working at the moment and my time is worth something. I would rather purchase a regular pattern. I would LOVE it if pattern makers would actually provide pattern downloads in 24x36 dimensions. I have to send it off to a copy shop anyway, why not get it printed on a large format printer and save myself some time taping?
Just my little beef. Sorry I just had to get that off my chest. Anyone out there feel the same?
I also added a polka dot print for the sleeve cuffs. I can't get enough of this polka dot print. It, too, is incredibly soft.
I'm just a bit too excited about my new shift dress. I jumped into the office while Chris was working and begged him to compliment me on my new "muu-muu". He just smiled and said, "I love you."
I'm glad he still does.
Outfit details:
Supplies:
Cut your leather to the desired width and just long enough to go over your fist and an extra half inch.
Paint on your leather. If you use a veggie tan or tooling hide, you can use watercolor! Fabric paint works great, too. It's very flexible and ages well.
Apply glue to the top edge of one side and the bottom edge of the other. Secure together
Allow glue to cure with bulldog clips for 20 minutes to an hour.
Wear and enjoy!
Our neighborhood has this little tradition called "Street of Treats". Each street is assigned a Sunday through out the summer and early fall months, and neighbors get together to provide and eat treats. Our street was up first for the summer! I wanted to do something fun, but I didn't want to spend a whole lot of time preparing for it.
I also wanted to do something besides brownies and cookies as I knew mine would certainly not be the best nor the only ones out. So I did a popcorn bar!
About an hour beforehand I realized I didn't have enough paper cups for neighbors, so I had to get inventive. I certainly have enough paper on-hand, so I made cones:
Cut the 12x12 inch paper into fourths. Find some cute, but strong tape (this is masking tape from 
Lightly crease the corner.
Overlap opposing corners.
But don't overlap too much.
Secure with tape.
I believe I made about 50+ cones and about 10+ batches of popcorn last night. Neighbors and friends topped their own popcorn with cinnamon and sugar, butter, parmesan, Mrs. Dash Chipotle powder, Salt, Pepper and/or dill. The little kids loved dousing their popcorn in lots of butter.
My personal favorite combination? Butter, Mrs. Dash chipotle seasoning, lots of parmesan and kosher salt.
I'm pretty sure I need to host a movie night and do this kind of thing again. It was fun, easy, cheap and cute.
Does your neighborhood do any fun get-togethers like this during the summer months?
Last week, the response was overwhelming for the classic dress. So I made her one. I certainly have enough fabric left over to make a dress with a hoodie, but this one was first.
Instead of simple gathers I did pleats along each side. I sort of eyeballed the pleats. Remember how I was talking about patient sewing yesterday? Well, I'm rarely patient when it comes to sewing for my kids. My body won't change nearly as much as their bodies will, so It really decreases my motivation for sewing it flawlessly every time.
I whipped up a bodice pattern from a shirt of hers and sewed this in just over an hour. It was really easy. I lined the bodice with a white jersey for better opacity since it's sitting right against her skin. I didn't do that for the dress part, so I'll likely be whipping up some white leggings for her to wear underneath this dress.
I love how the gold dots look on her. This silhouette is pretty sweet, too. After our little photoshoot, she asked if she could keep it on while she played with friends. Of course!
It's comfortable enough for her to play and hang with the boys, but sweet and fancy enough for her to wear at church.
Again, I rushed. I didn't spend enough time matching up the dots, so the pattern looks a bit busy on the bottom. It bugs me, but Penelope doesn't care so much.
Penelope has another suitable outfit for church and play! I'll definitely be making this outfit again for her. Maybe do little shorts for a romper next time.
So for next week, I want a simple woven dress. I have two fabrics I'm having a hard time choosing between. Help me pick?
I showed Darin and Brooke how to make paint out of your chalk (
I was thoroughly impressed with the quote Darin lettered during the commercial breaks. We had a great time. 
In other news, I finished this logo for fellow blogger, Missy of 
I first experimented this recipe on Mother's day. We had 11 people to dinner that night so I wanted to make something tasty and easy. I also wanted to use our new grill for the first time! I based this recipe off a traditional Sunday dinner my mom used to slow cook in the winters with cream of mushroom soup. They're good, but the cream of mushroom soup is a bit to heavy for spring and summer dining.
Since Mother's day I've perfected the recipe. It's delicious, easy to double or triple and makes for great leftovers. If you have any.
Lay out 1 bacon strip, place one chicken tender in the middle, spread minced garlic on top of the chicken. Starting from one side, roll the bacon and chicken up neatly. Pierce the middle with a toothpick to keep the meats from unrolling. Set aside. Repeat for all 9 chicken tenders.
Once your grill is preheated (I heat it to 450, clean the grill bars and cool it down to 300), place meat on grill bars, bacon sides down. Allow to cook about 10 minutes on each side, cook until bacon is medium brown and chicken is all-the-way cooked. This is about 20-25 minutes. Remove toothpicks (or tell guests to remove them). Serve.
And if you already have the grill going, put a few ears of corn and slabs of sweet potatoes on the grill. You'll have an entire meal without dirtying a ton of pans or heating up the house.
How was Father's Day around your house? We had a really relaxed, low-key day. Chris isn't one to make a huge fuss out of holidays so it was easy to make him feel loved and appreciated.
On a personal note, I'm so grateful to have Chris as my man. He is a wonderful Father and husband. He is awesome with our kids and he's so supportive of me and my adventures.
So supportive, in fact, that he recently quit his job so that we can work from home together. He's been working tirelessly on a project that we've been dreaming about for almost for a year. When he's not solving crazy dev problems; he's playing with the kids, changing diapers and tidying up the house. He's doing whatever he can to help me grow this little business of mine. Sometimes I get anxious thinking about being our own bosses, but then Chris comes to assure me that we're doing the right thing. And he's right. I wouldn't have this any other way. We work really well alongside each other. I'm grateful that we have this opportunity to do that.
I'm also incredibly grateful that my kids get to spend so much time with their dad. Both Chris and I have wonderful dads. They're strong, hard-working, faithful men. I cherished those quiet moments with my dad in the car enroute to Home Depot on Saturdays. I'm excited that Penelope and Felix will grow up with cherished moments with their dad as well.
We will be covering a lot of material over the two-day workshop, you don't want to miss it. The workshop is perfect for designers, illustrators, photographers, hobbyists and DIY brides.
Day one will cover:
I picked up this burnout fabric (
I'm not entirely sure how the idea came to me, but I thought about the circle dress I made a while back and thought if I added a hood, it'd be a great summer coverup. I made the opening smaller than my own waist and just winged the hood part. I grabbed one of mine and one of Penelope's hoodies and quickly drew up a pattern. I didn't even test it beforehand. Look at how perfectly those edges overlap! Huzzah!
Penelope's impatience for mom (she stopped calling me mommy last week! WHAT??) is really showing here. She's rearing to go outside and join her friends for some water games.
I opted not to put any arm holes in it. Laziness or simplicity? I'll let you guess. It certainly doesn't seem to bother her at all. Penelope got a few approving nods at the pool and with Chris on a fast-food run.
Felix is the cutest photo-bomber. He's even trying to show off by standing up!
I don't know if you've gathered from how much I've talked and instagrammed about Fabric weekend that I had way too much fun. I bought about 40 pounds of leather and fabric. I couldn't help myself! Especially when it came to the leather. The pink and blue leathers were the first things I pulled out of my bag to show to Chris when I got home. Being just as excited as me about my spoils he asked, "What are you going to do with it?"
"Something awesome!!" I'm thinking leather handbag, leather skirt, leather trimming, leather books. . . .
Here are just a few pieces that I picked up while on vacation. I had to buy a 
I just took a simple top from my drawer ($5 at Kohls or something?) and matched it as best I could to fabric I had on-hand. After the 
The refashion was easy enough to pull together. After drafting the pattern, it took just over an hour to complete it. I could've finished it faster had I not been distracted by tv shows.
Outfit Details
I think I would prefer the pattern to be reversed, stripes up top and the solid as the peplum, but it's fun and funky. I'm thinking I may wear this to my 10 year high school reunion on Saturday. Or maybe I'll sew up something completely new. Wait. What? Ten years has flown by so fast!
Click the button below for the full tutorial!
Try your tee on, with a mirror or help of a friend, pin right down the center front where you want the peplum to start. Typically this is right at, or just above the navel. Measure 5/8 inches down from that pin and cut. 5/8 inches is your seam allowance.
use the above formula to draft out the peplum part. You can use a pencil and string to make your circles, or measure along the radius with a ruler every few inches and connect the dots. If you want a full peplum, cut out fabric using the diagram above and skip straight to step 10. If you want a more fitted peplum, continue on.
Cut or fold your semi-circle in half. Add 5/8 inch seam allowance to one side, and have it clearly marked as the seam allowance.
Fold your quarter circle in half, then in half again. Use those fold lines as guides as you cut from the outer edge to the inner circle. Don't cut all the way. Leave about a 1/2 inch of paper uncut on the inside.
Now overlap each piece by 3/8 to 5/8 inches for each slit. For my top above, I overlapped 5/8 inches. Tape in place and cut out your fabric using the diagram in step 8.
Open up pattern pieces and pin right sides together. Sew each edge, keeping in mind your seam allowance. Press seams.
Turn your cut shirt upside down (right side out) and pin to your peplum, making sure right sides are together. Use the above stitch if you're not using a serger. A zig zag will be okay, but it won't lie particularly flat.
You don't have to hem a knit, but for a more polished look, you can turn the hem under 1/2 inch and use a straight stitch. If you get lazy like me, you can use some handy-dandy no-iron 
It's been about 7 years since she passed, and I miss her still.
My grandpa Scott sends out weekly email updates to his kids and grandkids. He often leaves us with little stories about her, but this week it was a several-paragraphed tribute to her and her legacy. I've been thinking about her a lot and the things that she taught me.
She had a rough childhood, her parents both dying when she was only 14. She moved from one sibling's home to another, ending up in Elko. Despite her misfortunes and poor circumstances she was well-educated, motivated and had amazing self-discipline. The kind that I wish I had when it comes to housework. She made dresses and suits for all 6 of her kids (I loved playing with her manual sewing machine - you know the kind with the iron push pedal on the bottom). She was stern, but oh so loving. Oh how I wish I could talk to her now and hear her stories about her childhood and her sewing. I'll just eat some of her texas sheet cake instead.
the original recipe calls for 1 cup boiling water instead of milk, the milk makes it really creamy. I also added cinnamon to this cake yesterday and it is divine. Next time I will be adding cinnamon and chipotle. Penelope will hate the spicy chipotle, but that just means more cake for me!
Do you have any traditional recipes that your parents/grandparents would make for you when you were little?
So I'm going to start a series. A virtual gallery stroll, if you will.
These kids are really inspiring to me, especially how they just freely create without any rules.
Penelope drew this bee for her aunt B. Get it? Adorable. She's always creating little pictures and sculptures.
On the first Wednesday of each month, I'm going to be posting her creative endeavors and maybe a couple from the neighbor kids as well. I would love to see you participate! Use the banner above and post your kid's creative endeavors on your blog on the first Wednesday of each month. We'll link up for a virtual gallery stroll. For this month, feel free to link up in the comments to any artwork your child has done. If you don't have a blog, feel free to submit your child's work to me before the first Wednesday (July 3) and I'll publish it here. I hope you'll participate with me! See below for submission requirements.
Artwork must be 100% done by your child 18 years and younger. Photo must be taken in natural light and image must be at least 550px wide.
This fabric was originally a painful juvenile raspberry color. I could have made it work, but it wasn't me. I had a few items piling up that weren't quite the right color so I had a dyeing party in my wash room. I didn't care what colors came out as long as they weren't the same colors that went in. I threw this knit and a couple of others into the wash with a high concentrate of teal dye and let it do its thing. It was awesome to see how different each piece came out!
The purple that came out of the dryer was just begging to become a galaxy print. I read a few things on 
Sewing up the peplum didn't take much time at all. I basically used the block I made from my 
Constructing this top took about an hour and a half. I feel like I'm getting much faster when I use patterns that fit me already. It definitely helps make sewing "cost" less.
Outfit details:
I'm so happy with how this peplum fits! I think they're such a flattering silhouette for any body type. At some point Chris and I will add another baby to our family. It's nice to know I'll have a few pieces in my wardrobe that will work for the first and fourth trimesters.
Speaking of the awesome pooch-hiding superpowers of peplum tops, I'm over at 
Supplies
Spread out your fabric and weigh down with bowls or weights. Mix up 1/4 cup of boiling water and 2-3 tablespoons bleach.
To keep the bleach from reacting and deteriorating fabric more, throw it in the wash, or mist with vinegar. Test out a swatch and see what the vinegar does. Sometimes it changes the color for good (or for bad) I found out that little tip from 
Now you need to heat set it. Ironing it helps. Do that. Microwaving it made the biggest difference. Put all your fabric in a microwave safe bowl and microwave it for about 5 minutes. Pull it out every couple of minutes to turn it over.
Launder on cold and dry at the highest setting allowed for the fabric. Cut your pattern pieces and sew!
I found these adorable fisherman sandals (I call them Jesus sandals, anyone else?) for $10 just outside of a great Mexican restaurant on Friday night. A couple of adorable women were closing up shop but stayed open for an extra 20 minutes so I could figure out what size to get for Felix. Of course the size they recommended was spot on.
I want to see Felix toddling around in these so bad! He's slowly taking steps between Chris and me, but he's still so far off from walking on his own. It's certainly a source of frustration, but I'll take every micro-milestone I can get.
I bought so much fabric and talked so much, I am utterly exhausted from my fabric shopping whirlwind weekend. Things have been really quiet around the blog front, but I've got a full week queued up already. And I can't wait to get my hands on the piles of fabric I just bought, you'll be seeing more than a few sewing projects around here, too.