The Hunger Games

Today is the day! Well, really, it was last night. The Hunger Games movie is showing. My daughter began reading these books a few months ago so I decided to read them also. Very interesting books. The most disturbing books that I could not put down. It's just fiction.....It's just fiction....

Anyway, I'm going to the afternoon showing today with my daughter. None of that midnight stuff for me. I want to be awake and alert so that I don't miss anything.

This is the Katniss outfit that my daughter put together to wear today. She has been counting down the days.

I digitized the mockingjay pin that Katniss wears during the Hunger Games. I embroidered it onto black wool felt and made it into a pin rather than embroidering it directly on something. She might not always be as excited to wear a mockingjay as she is today!

Simplicity 2599

I found this pretty fabric at Hancock's a few weeks ago and decided that it would make the perfect spring top. I don't usually like 100% polyester fabrics but this one is a little different. It has a slight crinkled texture making it more comfortable to wear because it has a little "give". I have used Simplicity 2599 several times for my daughters in the sleeveless versions. This is the first time I have tried it for myself. It's a great basic wardrobe builder pattern which I plan to use many more times in the future. It was voted one of the top 10 patterns of 2010 on Patternreview.

 
 I decided not to add the elastic because I thought it would be harder to put on and take off. I added a skinny belt instead.

I found these cute buttons in my button box for the back. I made thread loops for the closure. I love these thread loops and love making them! You can see the crinkled texture better in this picture.

I like the cut of the sleeves which are a little shorter than normal with a curved hemline.

These are the other versions of Simplicity 2599. Have you tried it out yet?

One Row Lace Scarf

Once in a while, I get a little worried that I am buying yarn and fiber faster than I am using it. When this happens, I pull out a skein of yarn and go to Ravelry to find a pattern which will work with my yarn weight and yardage. I bought this Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Lace a couple of years ago at Blueball Mountain Spindle and Needleworks in Elizabethtown, Ky. I loved the colors in it and thought it would be nice to wear in the fall. I tried several different scarf and shawl patterns before deciding on a simple pattern which I had knitted once before. I always end up with a simple, classic pattern but always have to go through the elimination process.

Ravelry link

The pattern is called One Row Lace Scarf because every row is knitted exactly the same, making it easy to memorize. The free pattern can be found here. It can be knit in many yarn weights just by adjusting the needle size. I double stranded the lace weight yarn and used a size 7 needle. It was a somewhat slow project to knit but it was worth the effort. I love the scarf!

What are your favorite tried and true patterns for destashing?

Copycat T-shirt

My daughter shops at a popular teen store at the mall where the clothing is trendy and not too expensive. I have to admit that I look around the store occasionally just to get ideas for sewing projects. I've noticed that all of their t-shirts are basically the same pattern with different neckline, sleeve, and hem treatments. I decided to trace the simple pattern for one of her favorite knits tops and use it as a basis for her summer top wardrobe.  I added a self fabric knit binding to the neckline and topstitched with my coverstitch machine. The sleeves have a narrow hem also stitched with the coverstitch and the bottom is finished with a band cut crosswise from the same fabric. I used Design Plus Ultra-Soft Double Sided Fusible from The Sewing Place to fuse the sleeve hem before stitching. With very lightweight knits such as this one, hems tend to tunnel even when stitched with the double-needle coverstitch. The fusible makes the hem very even and professional looking.

I decided that I really like the color of this knit and hated to throw away the small amount of leftover scraps. I cut a narrow scarf across the width of the fabric about 8 inches by 66 inches (the width of the fabric). I let the edges roll rather than finishing them.

I also had enough little scrappy pieces left to make a headband and a fabric flower. For the headband, I cut a strip 5 1/2 inches wide and 20 1/2 inches long. I folded the strip lengthwise, serged a 1/4 inch seam, turned the tube and stitched a seam in the back. I stitched on a fabric flower and it's done. Quick and easy. I had enough left to make another flower which I sewed to a felt circle and attached a clasp pin to the back.

I finally decided that there simply was not enough fabric left to make anything else and moved on to my next project. What are your ideas for using leftover fabrics from your sewing/craft projects?

Couture Dress Class

Check out this class on craftsy.com! An expert in couture sewing, Susan Khalje, is teaching an online class in the construction of a couture dress. The class is being offered for half price at $39.99 which includes a Vogue pattern. I told my husband that I would like the class for Valentine's Day so I am signed up and waiting for my pattern to arrive.  It is a sew at your own pace class. Once registered, you will always have access to the videos and can watch them over and over. I will probably make the dress for my daughter so that I can practice fitting techniques on her. This is the recommended pattern.

In May, I will be attending one of Susan's couture schools and working with her in person. The school is an intense 6 days of sewing and learning. I plan to make a wool boucle Chanel jacket for myself during my May school! Check out Susan's website!

Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ)

This is one of those projects that every knitter should knit at least once. I just finished my fourth for no reason other than the joy of knitting it. It is Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket, or BSJ, for short. It was "invented" by Zimmermann in 1968 and has been knitted by thousands of knitters since. On Ravelry, a wonderful social networking site for knitters (and crocheters), there are 16,589 (16,593, the number increases daily) projects from members all over the world for the BSJ. If there are that many posted on Ravelry alone, I wonder how many thousands more have been knitted!

The jacket is knitted in one piece and then seamed at the shoulders. It does not look like a jacket during the knitting process. It doesn't really look like anything until it is seamed. The pattern can be found here and here.

Ravelry link

This is my first BSJ, knitted in 2008 with a hand-dyed fingering weight yarn. 

Ravelry link

This is my second BSJ, knitted in 2008 with a hand-dyed DK weight yarn. 

Ravelry link

And this is my third BSJ, knitted in 2008 with Jojoland Rhythm, a worsted weight yarn. The buttons are coconut. 

Ravelry link

The pattern is the same, regardless of the weight of the yarn that you choose. The larger the yarn, the larger the jacket will be. If you like garter stitch and a little challenge, try out this pattern. There are great message boards on Ravelry to discuss this project, ask questions, and share pictures.

Sewing Undies

Now this was a fun project! I have always wanted to try sewing underwear. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on patterns, fabric, and elastic only to end up with homemade, ill-fitting undies. I ran across this free pattern on indigorchid's wonderful blog. The idea is to recycle old t-shirts to make underwear.

I had rescued a few old t-shirts from my daughter's trash can a couple of weeks ago because I never really throw anything away which is remotely related to fabric, sewing, etc. She agreed to be my guinea pig for this experiment.

I already had underwear elastic in my stash which came from a local, well-known underwear company. Someone gave it to me because, as I said before, I stash all things related to sewing. The first pair I made with foldover elastic at the waist sewn on with my coverstitch machine. Since I was experimenting with size on this one, I got the legs just a bit tight so I finished them with a self-fabric binding sewn on with the coverstitich.

I ran across this lightweight piece of knit at the local fabric store for almost nothing and tried a different type of elastic. This is picot edge elastic which I stitched onto the edge of the legs and waist with the coverstitch machine.

Birgitte at indigorchid recommends Sew Sassy Fabrics in Huntsville, Alabama as a source for elastic. Their prices are great and I received an order very quickly. Now I'm on the lookout for more t-shirts in need of a recycle!

Once you determine the correct size and the length to cut the elastic, these are extremely quick and easy to sew up and cost less than $1.00 each!