Sewing Pinspiration

Pinterest  

Just reading the name makes your heart beat a little faster doesn't it?  {grin}

Seven months ago I asked if you were using Pinterest on my post "Do You Pin?".   Most of you were.  Or were planning to start.

I'm thinking a whole lotta folks discovered it in the past few months because new pins, repins and likes seem to have exploded with activity.

It's so addictive that I try hard to limit my time to a few hours and only on the weekends. 

I was reading an article today "Pinterest draws interest online"  and it mentioned that the site is "dominated by home decor, fashion, food and crafts" . 

Um, yea.  That's what I use it for. How about you?

I pin a lot of things I may want to sew.


Like this Michael Kors skirt I pinned.    Only $1,195 at Neiman Marcus.  Use Simplicity 5259 and sew one yourself.  Add a waistband if you want a more exact look.  

I pinned another Michael Kors item.   This time a   - this time a reversible cardigan that reminded me of a Sandra Betzina Today's Fit pattern - Vogue 1243.

Anthropologie always provides a lot of inspiration.  I pinned this Anthro Polka Dot knit top some time ago.  I plan on using McCall's 6164 to recreate one for myself.

If you pin, be sure to follow my boards so I can follow yours too.   (http://pinterest.com/sharon_sews/)  The more pinspiration the better!

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A big sigh of relifef- she's back

Who's back? 

My little broken Pfaff machine, that's who.   She had to visit the sewing doctor a few weeks ago. 

See those looped stitches?  That was what she was doing.  Nothing I did could coax her into sewing properly.

As happy as I was to have another machine on hand - my Elna 8000 -  I sure did miss her IDT and a whole lot of other features. I never realized often I used the needle down function until I didn't have it easily available. 

I can't even tell you how often I found myself backstitching when I didn't mean to.  And vice versa. My Elna's backstitch function is located in a different spot than the Pfaff.

Now I can get back to work on my Vogue 8744 dress.

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Bound buttonhole tutorial

Making a bound buttonhole can seem like a daunting undertaking.  Trust me, I know. I avoided them for years thinking they were "too hard" and way beyond my sewing capabilities.

Pshaw!  Yes, they do require pre-planning and definitely take more time than a machine-sewn buttonhole, but they really are not that difficult.  As with anything practice, practice, practice!   It's a good idea to work one (or two) in some of your fabric scraps before making the buttonholes in your garment.

The one I made on my capelet was sewn using the patch method.

Mark your buttonhole placement on your garment.

If your garment does not call for interfacing, be sure to apply interfacing to the wrong side of the garment under each buttonhole marking. 

Cut a piece of fabric for your buttonhole that is about 2" wider and 1" longer than the buttonhole.  Here's a fun tip:  the fabric doesn't have to match your garment.  Contrast or coordinating fabric is a fun way to highlight your buttonholes.

Fold the fabric patch in half lengthwise and finger press. This marks the center of the patch.

With right sides together, center the fabric patch over the marked buttonhole on your garment. Pin in place.

Baste the fabric patch in place. Remove pins.   Notice in this photo how my fabric shifted? I wasn't careful when I basted and had undo the stitches and redo them.

On the wrong side of the garment, mark lines about 1/8"to 3/16" around the buttonhole line.  Mine are 3/16" because the fabric (cotton velvet) is on the bulkier side. I'd mark 1/8" if I was using a lightweight fabric.

Using a small stitch length, stitch around the buttonhole line following the markings. To make sure I ended up with the same size rectangle, on the short side I turned the handwheel of my sewing machine and counted out the stitches. 

Cut through the center of all layers - the fabric patch and the garment - very carefully.  Make diagonal cuts to the corners.  If you accidentally cut through the corners go back and restitch.

Turn the fabric patch to the wrong side of the garment through the opening.

This is what it will look like on the wrong side.   You end up with a little faced "window" in the fabric.

Now you're going to make the lips of the buttonhole.

Fold each long edge of the fabric patch over the opening.  Make sure the folded edges will meet in the center. Pin in place.

This is what it will look like from the right side.

Handbaste through the center of each fold. The folded edges should meet at the center.

On the right side, baste the folded edges together using a diagonal stitch.  Lightly press.

Place the garment on your sewing machine right side up.  Turn the garment edge back to expose that small triangle end of the buttonhole.  Stitch in place. Repeat for the other triangular end. I use a zipper foot so I can get close to that edge.

Fold the garment back so the long edge of the buttonhole is exposed.  Stitch in place.  Repeat for the other long edge.

Get rid of some of the bulk by trimming the fabric patch so it is only about 1/4" away from the stitches you just sewed. 

At this point you can add continue sewing your garment, adding your facings or lining.

My capelet is fully lined.  Once the lining was in I needed to finish the back side of the buttonhole so I could actually use it.

I finished the backside of my bound buttonhole with something called the oval method.

Baste around the buttonhole to secure the lining (or facing) to the garment fabric.

On the right side of the garment, place a pin at the end of each buttonhole.

On the wrong side of the garment, draw a line between the pins. Make sure the line is drawn exactly over the buttonhole opening. You can feel the opening with your fingertips as you draw the line.

Remove the pins.  Very carefully cut the lining (or facing) open along the marked line. You don't want this opening to be larger than the buttonhole opening.   If you slip a bit just stitch it up.  It might not look as pretty but it also won't be noticeable, except to you. {smile}

Roll the raw edge of the lining (or facing) under.  Stitch in place.   A slipstitch would look nice.  Which is not what I did.  You should probably do as I say and not as I do, LOL.

You're now done!  See? That wasn't so bad was it?

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Flashback Friday - Itty Bitty Baby Jeans

Flashback Friday returns!


Today I'm sharing the first pair of jeans my darling boy ever wore.  Aren't they sweet?

This little guy was a preemie just like his big sister.  But unlike his big sister he was only two months early and weighed over 5 lbs.   Huge, compared to his sister who was only 2 lbs.  (I've shared her story a few years ago on this post.)

He's 2-1/2 months old in this photo and I have no idea what he weighs.  That's because both baby books were LOST eight years ago when we moved.  Yes, LOST!  I'm still heartbroken over it - but better the baby books than the photos, right? 

Now, back to the jeans.

As a teen mama, my go-to outfit was jeans and t-shirt.  And I wanted my little guy to have jeans too.

Only one problem. Baby clothing wasn't as plentiful then as it is now - at least not in my price range - and itty bitty baby jeans were no where to be found.

Except this teen mama knew how to sew! And she saved all her fabric scraps.

So my little guy got his first pair of jeans - a pull on number sewn from the oh-so-seventies embellished faux patchwork denim. Paired with an awesome hand-knitted pullover sweater (a gift) embellished with little owls!  See those tiny buttons? Those are the owl's eyes.  Quite the fashionable little guy wasn't he?

The sweater is still tucked away somewhere, although those jeans are long gone.

And my little guy isn't so little any more - but he is still quite fashionable. 

And still doing well after his brain tumor/cancer battle.

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The “Frankly My Dear, I Don’t Give A …” vintage 60s capelet

Remember the bound buttonhole I mentioned in my last post?   Well, my project for this week's challenge at The Sew Weekly has been posted so I can now share it with you!

Just look at that lovely bound buttonhole!

 It belongs to my new 60s era velvet capelet. 

She's named "frankly my dear, I don't give a ..." in honor of Scarlett O’Hara’s curtain dress.

Um, Sharon? You do know this isn't a dress, right? And that it's not green?

Yes, yes, I know. 

But, it IS cotton velvet and it DID begin  life as a bedroom curtain.  Pretty resourceful, huh?  Just like good ole' Scarlett.

The idea came to me when I was hemming a new pair of bedroom curtains.  After seven years I decided it was time for a bedroom redo that involved more than just painting the walls.  As I tossed the old cotton velvet curtains in the washer to prepare them for the donation bin I took a hard look at them and realized there was a lot of usable fabric there!  Why donate something I would normally purchase from a thrift store?

The pattern I used is vintage Simplicity 5416, copyright 1964.   Since my copy is a small - and an early sixties small at that - I cut it a smidge larger. I also lengthened it four inches in lieu of an FBA.

Oh! And what's that you see? Could it be...

Why yes. It is indeed animal print lining.

This capelet itself was quick to sew.  In fact, that one bound buttonhole took more time to do than the rest of the capelet. 

Of course that could be because I took photos of the entire  process so I could share a bound button tutorial with you.

The best part of this entire refashion was the look on hubby's face when he realized I had turned our bedroom curtains into a capelet.

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Weekend sewing - two strikes and a home run

All week I've been busy, busy, busy, but not sewing, sewing, sewing.

Until Friday night that is.  Even though Friday night is supposed to be our date night, hubby rented a movie I had no desire to watch at all.  And trust me, he knew I wouldn't want to see this one. By mutual agreement we rescheduled date night and did our own thing.  He watched the movie while I retreated to the sewing studio to being work on The Sew Weekly challenge. 

This week it's buttons.

"Hey, no problem!" I think to myself.  "I have a fancy-schmancy sewing machine that makes mah-va-lous buttonholes."  (It's a Pfaff 2056 in case you're wondering)

Except my machine's in the shop - oops!  That means I would have to rely on my Elna 8000.  Which doesn't make such great buttonholes.

No  problem! I'll forge ahead.  I sewed for years without a machine that made automatic buttonholes, surely I could do it this time.

Now the only dilemma was to choose a project I could whip out quickly.

Aha!  I have a few projects cut out and set aside from last winter. Perfect!


I pulled out a lovely little jacket from Burda Style Aug. 2010.  It's number 115.  I even cut it out in fabric of a similar purple shade.   It only has one button, but the challenge didn't specify how many buttons and buttonholes needed to be done.

I sewed, sewed, sewed and once the sleeves were in I could hold back no longer. I eagerly tried it on envisioning which top and skirt I'd pair it with when I first wore it.


Aaaagh!  It's too small!  Silly, silly girl.  I cut it out last year but made no alterations to the pattern - as in no full bust alteration (FBA). Which you all know this girl almost always needs an FBA, especially in a fitted jacket. 

Drat!  No use even trying to save this one as that fabric's long gone.  Strike number one.

No problem.  I have another garment cut out and ready to sew.   A blouse from Burda 7891.  A quick check confirmed I had made the needed pattern adjustment before cutting out the blouse.  Hmmm, not so crazy about the white fabric I choose but I'm sure it'll be fine. 

On Saturday I sewed, sewed, sewed making beautiful tiny hems on that flounced neckline.  As I was preparing to begin the sleeves I suddenly stopped.  Something wasn't right.  Noooooo!  It can't be!  For some reason I never cut out the sleeve - and trust me, the extra fabric used for the blouse is long gone.  Strike number two.

Panic is now setting in as I only have a few hours on Sunday to work on my challenge project.   Well, okay, not really panic because the world won't end if I don't finish a garment in time for The Sew Weekly.


Hmmmm, what to sew?  Something with a button and buttonhole.  Something fast.


And that, dear readers, is when I hit my home run.  I only used sewed one buttonhole, but I made it bound buttonhole.

Until it's revealed on The Sew Weekly I won't be sharing the entire project.

But soon, very soon, I'll share it with you.

How was your weekend sewing?
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Everythings coming up roses - Simplicity 2599

I did it! I finished my first challenge over at The Sew Weekly.

I even managed to finish it on time.

The challenge this week was to sew something inspired by an accessory - shoes, hat, shoes, brooch, shoes, jewelry, belt, shoes.  Yea, I had shoes on the brain. I figured I'd sew something inspired by a great pair of shoes, after all I have dozens to choose from.

But when my eye landed on this clutch I knew this was my inspiration piece and that I would sew something that mimicked those gray fabric roses.

That's when I remembered a pair of silk/rayon pants I had purchased five years ago.

The. Perfect. Color.

Knowing I had very little fabric to work with, I planned to sew a sleeveless tank and embellish it with fabric roses.


As I searched my patterns for a simple tank and came across Simplicity 2599.  Not only was it a B, C, D cup pattern (woot! no alterations) it included instructions for fabric roses.  Perfect.

I managed to squeeze the sleeveless version out of the fabric from the pants as well as three fabric roses - versus seven as shown on the pattern illustration.   The pants were fully lined so I used the lining fabric for the neck and arm facings.

The only change I made to the instructions was to use Unique Stitch instead of sewing the roses.

I'm happy with my new top, especially when I discovered I now have something to wear with my orange Simplicity 2343 skirt.

And with my mustard Vogue 8355 skirt.  Which is currently too small as I'm unable to actually sit in it, LOL. (But I'm working on it, remember my Hello 2012 post?)

It works with basic black, like my black Burda #121 (11-2008 magazine) pants.  Even after two years these are still my go-to pants.

The top also goes well with white - and it's perfect with my little Sophia.

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Knock, Knock. Who's There? The nineteen eighties: A review of Vogue 8771

Color block?  check
Tunic length ?  check
Leggings?  check
Mullet hemline?  check

Ah, yes, all trademarks of 1980s fashions.I'm just missing the huge hoop earrings, heavy eyeliner and big hair.

All joking aside,  l must tell you that I like this top. I wanted something casual and comfy for at home and this is it.  

I used  Vogue 8771 - a super-duper easy pullover knit tunic top.   Vogue describes it as a Semi-fitted, pullover top with sleeve and hem variations.  Personally, I don't think of this as semi-fitted. I cut and sewed my normal size and found it to have more than enough ease.  Of course it may be that we're moving back into an over-sized fit fashion-wise and that will take some getting used to.

It has a high-low hemline which I find attractive as I like having my backside covered.  

The scoop neckline is perfect - not too low, not too high, not too narrow, not too wide. The dolman sleeves are right on trend and extremely comfy to wear.


There are only 10 steps included in Vogue's instructions for sewing this top. That's how easy it is.

I used knits I had on hand since I sewed this top to test the fit and to determine if I liked the style.  The gray knit - used on the dolman sleeves - is a RPL (rayon-poly-lycra) and the black is a bamboo knit. 

I'll shorten the next version I sew as the proportions on this one are a little bit off for me, especially if I choose to wear flat shoes.  I need something shorter to help my legs appear longer.  I'll also go down one-half to one size to see if I like the tighter fit better.

Overall it's fun and trendy top to make. It may only be fashionable for a season or two so sew it up quickly and have fun wearing it.

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Beating the mid-winter blues

I'm kind of excited.   We're only four days into the New Year and I have already begun a new dress for the new year.  Go me!

I've begun sewing an easy dress using Vogue 8744.  

Image from http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/

The only description provided is "fitted".  Now c'mon Vogue, we know you can do better than that.

I would add that this dress has front and back princess seams, raglan sleeves, a high rounded neckline, slightly lowered waistline that dips at the center front, a multi-seamed straight skirt, a center back walking slit and a back lapped zipper.  All of the seams are topstitched.

So far so good.  Even though matching seams and topstitching are a bit time-consuming.

Isn't that the loveliest shade of blue?  Perfect to lift one's spirit in the midst of the mid-winter blues

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