Tutu Times TwoTwo

Just a quick one to show my latest tutu.  I updated the tutu I made last week and made it fluffier.  So here's what it looks like now:

I also made a second tutu for when I go to cheer on my roller derby team, so I made it in their color scheme-Pink and Black-which is convenient because those are my favorite colors! That's actually how I chose my team once we moved to Portland. Anyway, here's what that one looks like:

Tough Tutus!

This past weekend I made a no-sew tutu.  I don't know what made me want a tutu, other than they're very fun, but I had seen a tutorial for a no-sew tutu and decided to go for it. In almost all of the tutorials you'll find, they say to take elastic and tie the tulle around it, and voila, tutu.

Well... This is true, to a small degree.

I did that, and it was an unstable ball of mess. The knots didn't want to stay in place, the elastic twisted, and it became a tangled blob of tulle. I don't recommend this. Here's what THAT looks like, in case you need a visual:

Not Pretty. 

So I decided to head back to Joann and see if inspiration struck to make it better. And it did. I found some stretchy ribbon-esque material that was like lace in that it had defined holes in it. Others may have thought of this as well, but I didn't see anything in any of the (dozens of) tutorials I saw-they were all just tie-tulle-around-elastic ones. But this worked out well because it gave the tutu a defined top of the waistband, and also gave it  a decorative touch.

Here's what my Tutu looks like as of now. I may end up adding more tulle to it to make it more fluffy, though.

As always, click the pictures for larger images.

My pretty ribbon accents. 

Since it's so easy, and tutus are so fun, I think I will make a bunch more for other things! :)

Bags for Sale

So, with my Cupcake Purse getting so much attention, and with how easy it was for me to make, I decided this would be the bag that I would make more of as a starter for things to sell. So I've been working on a couple more, and I will soon put these up for sale. (I will put them on Etsy, but first need to make an account.)

Here are the bags I made to sell so far. What do you think?

(The Door Knob doesn't make as pretty as a background as the window, but hey, it works to get the job done. Haha.)

As always, click on the pictures for larger images.

It looks like the clasp is right on top of the pocket, but I think it's just the way it's hanging.

Isn't this bow stinkin' adorable? I almost want to keep it for myself!

This bow is handmade by me-the first handmade one on a bag. The others are bought. What do you think? I love it!

Project Failure: Maxi Dress

Sometimes, even when following directions to the T, you get a failure when making a project. Sometimes, as in this case, following the directions is what CAUSES you to have a failure.  So I am here today to share a recent failure for education and hilarity purposes.

So, I was working on the Shirred to the Max dress from Brett Bara's Sewing in a Straight Line book (the same one I made this skirt from). The book, in general, has good ideas and I am still interested in trying other projects from it. But this project does NOT work, if you follow the directions as laid out in the book. Unfortunately, I learned after the fact that I am not the only one who had this problem-more on that in a minute.  The direction for taking your measurements is: (this is exact quote, for educational purposes)

1.measure + cut

Bust: Measure your bust circumference and add 1" (2.5cm) for measurement A.

Dress Length: Measure your desired dress length and add 2" (5cm) for measurement B.

Cut two rectangles that are as wide as A and as long as B. 

So, that's what I did. I made 2 rectangles that were 42" wide (chest plus one inch) and 44" long (desired length plus 2 inches for hemming), and got started following the rest of the instructions. I made the first French Seam, followed the shirring directions, which in of themselves took FOR-EV-ER to do, and then I noticed that even with the bunching that elastic causes, that it was VERY large. It would have been large on someone 6-8 sizes bigger than me.I wish I had thought to get a picture of that phase, but I was just too upset. 

In frustration and not knowing what to do to fix it, I gave up for several days. When I came back to it, I decided to just cut some off the sides and try and make it work, so I wrapped it around me to see where the parts would meet on my body, then subtracted a few more inches (since elastic stretches) and took the scissors to it. Them I did the second French Seam, and Hemmed it where I would ultimately want it to Then, because I am not a strapless person, I used coordinating (perfect match, really!) ribbon to make straps.

Then to try it on, and well....

Even after chopping it down, and adding straps to help hold it up, it's STILL too big for me. Note the sad face. This is what happens when you spend, between all days it was worked on, more than EIGHT HOURS OF YOUR LIFE working on something  and it turns out to be for nothing.

I took my frustration out on the dress by reclaiming the fabric. I had my husband hold it taught and took the seam ripper to it all. So the bright side, if there is one, is that I learned how to deconstruct garments, and I was able to reclaim all but the shirred part of the fabric-so I have about 3 yards to make something else with, which I will.

So I did say that I learned too late that I was not the only one that had this problem. The first day, after I saw it was going to be too big, I went internet searching for solutions to the issue (which there are none, it seems, at that phase of the game)  and I found some Amazon reviews that basically said the same thing I had issues with. So at least I am not alone. Other sewers, I commiserate with you!

So I think IF I ever try this again, which I don't know that I will, I think I will attempt it with half the measurements. i.e. If My Chest is 42", I will cut the rectangles to be 22" inches each (chest divided by 2 plus 1 for each side). Maybe that would work better. Maybe some day I'll find out, but for now, I'm good with not doing so....

I hope that if anyone stumbles on this blog, that it is before you begin this project, and that you  learn from my troubles! Good luck to you, and please comment if you tried it and had success! I would love to hear from you!

Tasty Bag

A couple weeks ago, I found instructions online to make a bag with a fat quarter, and when I found this cupcake fabric, I knew right away what I must do with it!  It combines two of my favorite things, pink and cupcakes, and it's just begging to be used and shown off.

I had started on it about a week ago (cutting, etc.), but didn't have time in the week to work on it. So yesterday, I sat down and finished it. It was really easy! I followed the instructions in most ways, and added to them in some ways. For instance, the bags in the instructions don't have pockets, but I added one, because really, you need pockets! Or at least I do.  This was also my first time installing a magnetic snap, and it was such a snap to install (no pun intended). Had I known how easy it is, I would have used it for this bag--although, I struggled with that bag anyway, so who knows.

Anyway, here is my latest creation and the bag I am carrying as of now. I LOVE it and how it turned out.  The photos just don't do the color justice. At least for the inside, which is a vibrant, almost tie-dyeish look. When I was done with the bag, I felt it needed something. So I went to Joann and found this. Voila! Perfect for the bag! :)

What do you think?

Outside of Bag

Pretty Flower :)

Inside of bag, and pocket.

Close up of inside of bag.

Cherry Blossoms Skirt

Yesterday, I made the "One Hour Skirt" from Brett Bara's Sewing in a Straight Line. This is a great book for people, like me, who are new to sewing or need to brush up on their skills. There are a lot of great projects in it that look like they will teach you a lot.

While this skirt took me closer to three hours, instead of one as its name implies, that was more because I spent an inordinate amount of time staring at my fabric wondering how I was supposed to get two 22.5'' pieces of fabric from a 42'' width fabric, not accounting for the fact that I was cutting it from the length. Lalala, special moment there. I was surely not with it yesterday. 

It also took me more than the one hour because I was reading every step carefully to make sure I understood it correctly because I did not want to destroy my beautiful fabric-so at least there's that. I also had some elastic that I had to put in 3 times because it kept slipping out-little pest! But I thought of a genius solution to that: Once you enter the end with the safety pin to slide through the casing-safety pin the other end to the fabric itself. Voila! No more end slipping into the casing where you can't grab it.

With this skirt, I learned a new skill: a French Seam. This seam is used in garments to encase the raw edge of fabric so it looks nicer and, and also keeps it from unraveling. It's really easy once you learn it, and now I can say "Yay! I have a new skill!"

I am really proud of this skirt and I can't wait to make more! I think I will experiment with lengths and fabric weights and get a whole collection for my closet And I bet it will be much faster next time. :)

Under the Sea Pillows

Last week, I randomly felt the urge to make a small pillow-what I would use it for, who knows-but make one I would! I think it was more to know I could... So I made these out of  a fat quarter. The first one was smaller that I would have wanted-I think I was thinking of other measurements and did that-but it's OK. So seeing it was small, I used the rest of the fabric and made a second one, and ended up with two cute decorative pillows:

The Husband Unit is pretty happy about having Octopus mini-pillows.