anniemiz

Sewing: Toddler Sundress

I can't believe that I haven't blogged this yet.  I mean, I actually finish a project and don't tell the world about it?  How could that be?

This is a sundress and diaper pants I made for my niece, Sofia.  It's probably a Simplicity pattern, but I can't find the number at the moment.  I started making it around this time last year in anticipation of her birthday in May.  I got it to her in August.  I made a lot of progress and then boom!  All action ceased.  I don't remember what the problem was...anyway, I finally hemmed the damn thing and sent it out.  I hope she was able to wear it at least a couple of times before it got too cool out and/or she outgrew it.

Here's the front of the outfit.

And the back:

 

 And the obligatory quality control inspection:

This took longer than usual, in part, and only in very small part, due to the fact that I sewed it by hand.  I've done mending by hand...seams, hems, buttons, etc....never a whole item.  I thought that it would help me better understand the whole qi of the thing -- the drape, the heft, the relationship between the thread and the fabric, blah blah blah --and that, in turn, that would give me some vital insight into sewing, otherwise unachievable by machine sewing.  Don't remember if anything like that happened.

Sewing: Potholders!

I'm sure I've mentioned somewhere on the blog about how I've turned back to sewing recently.  I thought I should start w/something small bc it's been sooooo long since I've sewn anything.  I ended up going real small, choosing to make potholders from McCall's Home Decorating Pattern 2018.  I didn't really need a pattern for potholders, but I figured I'd see if patterns were any different these days.  I thought they also might call for new materials that might not have been available when I was last sewing.  As I type this, I'm thinking it sounds like I last sewed something when one had to spin one's own thread, but it's  just not true!

One day I will scan and post a picture of me in a Gunne Sax dress I made to wear while ushering a high school dance.  Readers will get to see a) that I really do know how to sew and b) me in a light green floral Gunne Sax gown and white gloves (!).  From Wikipedia:

the term "Gunne Sax" is often associated with its 1970s fashions, which could stylistically be called "prairie-revival", drawing on many elements popular in late-19th and early-20th century American fashion such as pinafores, gingham prints, and calico. The company was named after the "gunny sack" or burlap trim used on some of the earlier dresses.

'Praire-revival' pretty much sums it up.  Anyway, back to the potholders.  This was a spur of the moment, late night thing so yer usual fabric stores weren't open, necessitating that I go to (gulp) WalMart.  The pattern called for fleece for inside the potholder; I didn't realize until I opened up the pattern and read the directions that they meant fusible fleece, which I've never used before.   I bought regular fleece, like the kind you might use to make a jacket or sweater or cozy pyjamas.    I used two layers; it made for a thick potholder, but one layer was too thin; I didn't think it would sufficiently protect hands from heat.  The external fabric is just regular cotton. 

First, you arrange the fabrics right side out, i.e., the way they'd look in the finished potholder.  Then you quilt the material.  Then you pin the pattern to the fabric and cut out two rounded squares.

 

Here's a close up of the quilted fabric.  I drew pencil lines with a ruler on the fabric to keep the lines fairly straight.  I think there's a special kind of foot that helps you do this w/o having to draw the lines, but I don't have one.

 

Here are the potholders post-cut and pre-edging.

 

Here's where I tried to pin the double wide bias tape around the potholders.  The potholders were too thick to pin effectively, probably bc I bought the wrong fleece, so I ended up just holding it in place.  I made a mess of sewing the tape on the first one, misjudging where I needed to position the needle; I did better w/the second one.

 

I tried two different kinds of loops, that's why the loops look a little different.  The finished potholders:

 

It was kind of a wasteful project; here's the leftover material.  It doesn't look like much here, but it looks like more IRL.

 

Since I haven't sewn in ages, I had to get some supplies new.  I love my new tomato and yes, I bought green pins to go with the green leaf on the tomato.  Doesn't it look beautiful?  It looks like a still life with pins.

 

Now that my sewing muscles are stretched and warm, I figure I'm ready to move on to a real project.  I'm sure I've discussed making my own curtains.  I was going to start w/dining room curtains, but decided to start w/guest room curtains.  The material for the dining room curtains is a lot more expensive so I'll practice on this cotton print and muslin lining first.  The curtains will be very simple; just panels.  Of course, I'll post about them once they're finished.

 

Of course: