Finally here’s the post I promised to do after the craft fair I did (see my previous post here). Thanks to all who were able to make it to the St. Teresa Fair and for stopping in to see me at the Craft Fair portion in the Parrish Center in Titusville, FL last month. This small venue was a lot of fun and I met a lot of great people there that I’m sure I will be seeing again. I even had the chance to meet a few fellow Etsy shop owners there as well and it was fun putting faces with some of the online shops.
Since then on Fridays I have been showing up at the Farmer’s Market in town and keeping busy in between making more bags. I have been adding new bags to my Etsy shop at http://stufffrombarb.etsy.com and will continue to add more a little at a time. The latest is made from a recycled t-shirt that my nephew, Jason, had made with a drawing he did of a Dungeons and Dragons type of character. We always get comments from people when we wear the shirts he made and this one had been put away because of a stain we got on it. When I started making more and more handbags, purses, totes and anything else I can think of, I started digging through all the clothes I had put away because I just couldn’t bring myself to throw them away, I came across this shirt and knew just what to do with it. You can see it in the picture above or you can click here to see the listing of the re-purposed and recycled t-shirt. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
I’m not sure I will be able to live off the profits I am making with these bags anytime soon but I am certainly having fun sewing them and selling some here and there too. I know I’ve gotten a little off track for this site but I promise I’ll talk more about sewing dresses in my future postings. I am still trying to learn a few more internet tricks and am working on a link for this site to sign up for monthly sewing projects. They will mostly be sewing projects but I have a few things I make that you don’t need a sewing machine for. Hopefully, I will have that link up and working soon. In the meantime, I hope you are finding what you need on my site from my previous postings and will check back soon. Thanks for reading and for checking out my Etsy shop too.
My daughter’s school puts on a fair every year and each class puts together a basket of stuff to sell in a silent auction. This year her class basket is supposed to have stuff that is environmentally friendly. Going Green is something I’ve been thinking about and wanting to do more of anyway, so I thought this was a good time to actually get something done. I started with crocheting some plastic grocery store bags together to make a mat. I used up some bags and got it done but I was not real thrilled with the way it looked. Next I tried making a fabric totes, fabric lunch bag and fabric sandwich bag. They both turned out pretty well and I sent my daughter to school to try it out the next day. She got a lot of compliments and some “make me one” requests. So, I made another one to add to the class basket.
During the fair they also have some craft tables they rent out for local talent to sell their wares. I had so much fun making the lunch bags I thought I’d make a few more, rent a table and see what happens. The fair is not for a couple more weeks, so we’ll see how many homemade projects I can get done. So far I have several fabric lunch bags, vinyl bags, a handbag/totes made from re-purposing 3 pairs of pants into my own design. It turned out kind of like a hobo/totes. I’m planning on getting a few purse/totes, fabric lunch bags, denim bags and who know what else. I’ll post again after it’s all over and let you know how I made out. In the mean time, I started a shop on Etsy.comto see what happens there too. Check out my site and let me know what you think. There are only a few things on there now but I’ll put more on after the fair.
Sew Dresses has found another great video from Threadbanger that shows you not only an easy way to alter shirts to make them fit better, (also works great to alter dresses that do not have a waistband) but also how to make your own body double form with just an old t-shirt, duct tape and a friend. I love their videos, as you can tell.
I found this site with the video below and thought it had some great ideas for how to dress for success whether for the office, evening or casual look. Katie Stiles features videos to deal with the fashion issues of having large breasts, not that I have this problem. My problem areas of what she calls the “mommy tummy” but I like her suggestions in this video and think they work well for how to dress with my fashion challenge as well.
Here’s what Katie says:
Having large breasts can pose as a serious challenge for women when it comes to choosing and finding the right clothes. Whether it is business wear, evening wear or casual wear, it is important that the clothes fit correctly. Women with large breasts do do not want to attract unwanted male attention. This often leaves many women who have large breasts wearing boring and loose fitting T-shirts as a last result. This before and after video will show you some of the mistakes that women with a large bust make when it comes to choosing clothes and some great clothing selections that can flatter such a figure. You can be stylish and sexy but also be taken seriously when you choose the right clothes that compliment a full bust line. Check out more makeovers at: http://beforeandaftertv.com
Here is the question and answer from Yahoo Answers that I thought was interesting. I wonder how many of you would allow your man to sew for you? I’m not so sure I could even get my husband to pick up a needle and thread, let alone sew dresses as special as a wedding dress.
Question: I have the worst skill with designing stuff and when my to-be-hubby offered to sew my dress, I jumped at the chance! He even made my veil! I never knew that he could sew and it was so sexy to watch him make my dress. I want to know if anyone else has a hubby as diverse as mine? BTW He is a US Marine Vet and he said he learned to sew in the service! He can also cook!
Answer: Hey, if the dude has talent, why not? One of my grandfathers was a tailor!
Here is another video from Threadbanger from their SewingTips 101. Sewing dresses is so much fun using their tips. This one will show you how to shirr fabric and create a cool new summer dress. Links in this Episode: Mood Fabrics-http://www.moodfabrics.com/
I ran across this very cool video at one of my favorite sites, Threadbanger. If you’ve never been to thier site, check it out. They have all kinds of how to videos. The video below has a section about how to read a pattern. They interveiw BurdaStyle, which is another one of my favorite sites. At BurdaStyle you can download free patterns and print them out on your own printer so you can sew dresses and more anytime you want. Enjoy the video and remember where you heard about these cool sites.
I was talking with my best friend of many, many years the other day. We were discussing how to sew dresses and she was telling me how cold she gets at night and how she needed a new flannel women’s nightgown. She was having trouble finding one in the stores she liked and thought she might sew one. But since she hadn’t sewn in years, she asked me to give her a little refresher course. So, I thought I’d post a quick basic sewing lesson here.
Measurements and Pattern Sizes
For sewing women’s dressing gowns, you probably do not have to worry too much about the fit, except in the shoulder and sleeve area. If you normally do not have a problem with the fit there, I would recommend just getting the size pattern that closest meets your bust measurement. Measure yourself accurately but keep in mind that not all patterns measurements are fitted for the same body shape. If your measurements are in between two pattern sizes, always get the bigger size. Most patterns today are multiple sizes in one pattern, which makes adjusting to your size much easier.
Choosing the Fabric
On the back of the pattern it will give you fabric suggestions that will work best with that pattern style. It is important to use the appropriate type of fabric so that it hangs and stays put in the right places. For women’s nightgowns, you want a soft fabric that will hang loosely. If you used a stiff or hard fabric like linen or denim for this project, you probably would not be very comfortable.
When considering the type of fabric you are using for any project, you need to be aware of what will happen to it once the project is finished and the item is cleaned. Be aware of fabrics that will shrink when washed and do yourself a favor and wash it before cutting. This, of course, does not apply to dry clean only fabrics. Some fabrics shrink more than others and in different ways. Which is why pre-washing the fabric, when necessary, will help your projects continue to fit properly even after they are cleaned.
Cutting the Pieces Out
Fabric is made up of fibers woven lengthwise (from cut end to cut end) and crosswise (from selvage to selvage). The bias is at a 45 degree angle across the grain and has the most stretch in any fabric. When laying out your pattern pieces, make sure you line them up according to the directions in the pattern. In most cases you will use the lengthwise grain of the fabric. When lining up the lengthwise grain, use the arrows on the pattern. Measure from the tip of one end of the arrow to the selvage or the fold and make sure that the measurement is the same when you measure from the opposite end of the arrow. The grain that your pattern is cut will determine how your finished item will hang on you. For instance, a bias cut skirt will hang much different than a straight cut skirt will.
Sewing it together
Once you have your pieces cut out, pay attention to the markings on each pattern piece. Patterns are basically like puzzle pieces and need to matched together properly in order to fit well. In some cases some pieces will need to be gathered or eased in place and notches and dots need to be matched up to ensure the right pieces are put in the right places. The other information on the pattern pieces that is important is the seam and hem size. Getting the right size seams and the pieces put together properly will mean your flannel women’s nightgown will fit and hangs properly
There you go, a quick easy basic sewing lesson for those who haven’t picked up a needle and thread lately. Enjoy.
Sewing easysewing stitches is the best way for beginners to get started. There are often times when machine sewn projects also need some hand sewing done. Once mastered each sewing stitch can add to the beauty when you sew dresses, make a sewing tote or add to any other handmade ideas.
Here is an excellent chart I found from Britannica Online Encyclopedia.If you need further instructions on how to perform these sewing stitches, I added some sewing directions below.
Running stitch is made of up and down stitches of equal length. When finished, take needle through to other side and run under the stitches on the wrong side of the fabric for 3 to 4 stitches. This stitch is used to sew seams, as a gathering stitch, when quilting and is great for outlining in decorative thread.
Hemming stitch is made by beginning the stitch inside the fabric that is folded down and taking a few threads from the outer fabric, then bring the needle back up through the edge of the fold. This stitch is mainly used when hemming any sewing project.
Basting stitch is similar to the running stitch in that is is made of up an down stitches, however, the basting stitch is made with long stitches and can be made without knotting the thread so it can be easily taken out. The basting stitch is used to hold two or more pieces of fabric together, usually so that the fabrics do not shift while stitching the permanent stitches.
Catch stitch, also known as the Herringbone stitch, is worked making a diagonal stitch from left to right across the fold, turn the needle to the left and make a small stitch in the fabric from right to left, bring the needle out and up towards the right to the folded fabric (forming an X with the thread), then with the needle still turned to the left, make a small stitch in the fabric from right to left. Continue making small stitches from right to left but crossing over the previous stitching to form an X. This is another stitch used to hem sewing projects or to securely attach something like handles to a sewing tote.
Slip stitch is made by bringing the needle out from the fold of the hem, hiding the knotted end in the fold, pick up a few threads of the outside fabric and then sticking needle into the fold and sliding it along the inside of the fold, bring the needle back out and continue across in this fashion. This stitch is another hem stitch.
Back stitch is made by bringing the needle up from the back of the fabric, stitch back to the right and bring the needle back up to the left leaving a space between where the needle comes up and the beginning of the last stitch, continue across repeating these steps. The back stitch is the strongest hand stitch and is made to imitate machine sewing and as an outline stitch in decorative stitching.
Overcast stitch is made by making diagonal stitches over the raw edge of the fabric. The stitches should be the same length and equally spaced. Overcast stitches are used to prevent the fabric from fraying. The length of the stitch should be related to how badly the fabric will fray.
Invisible stitch is made in between the two fabrics, taking a few threads from the top fabric and then a few threads from the bottom fabric. This is used to draw two edges together invisibly for projects that have two edges that have been turned under, such as lining when sewing dresses and suits, sewing on an applique.
There is no doubt that even if you plan to only sew dresses by machine, that you will find many times that you will sew stitches like these to add beauty to your finished project. Practiced often you will be sewing easy each sewing stitch.
Beginner and Intermediate sewers will find helpful sewing tips and techniques in Sew Fast Sew Easy. Get started Sewing dresses and Learn how to sew with the 3 patterns that are included with the book. Learn to custom-fit commercial patterns, how to use your sewing machine to express your creativity, the best way to use the latest fabrics and even includes a quick reference of sewing terms.Click Here to Order Your Copy Today!
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I've been sewing since I was a child (a long, long time ago) and recently my daughter showed an interest in making something special. Bringing out the sewing machine always makes me wonder why I ever put it away. I really enjoy sewing and creating things to wear and look forward to sharing all the tips and tricks I use to help make things fit and flatter me when I sew dresses and anything else.
Too Funny Video of Chelsea Handler gets advice on how to dress for a date by 3 older ladies. 
Here is another video from Threadbanger from their SewingTips 101. Sewing dresses is so much fun using their tips. This one will show you how to shirr fabric and create a cool new summer dress. Links in this Episode: Mood Fabrics-
