Susannah's Pink Shirt

Back in early December when we were at the "big" WalMart I was tickled to find a lovely print of soft cotton fabric on clearance. I purchased all that was left on the bolt, just under 7.5 yards, I liked it that much and knew it would make really cute little girl clothes. (I mentioned finding it here.) Susannah expressed that she liked it, but after we got it home and it had been sitting upstairs in my sewing corner for a while she more frequently mentioned how much she liked the pink fabric. I had in mind to make something for her with it anyway, and knowing how much she liked the fabric helped.

Earlier last fall I purchased a couple of girls dress patterns to make clothes for Susannah. I looked through my collection and settled on using Simplicity's New Look 6884 as my base. I wanted to make her a shirt and knew that if I could easily shorten the bodice and skirt to the lengths I wanted, it would be exactly what I was looking for without having to try and find another pattern.

I spent one Sunday afternoon cutting out the pattern pieces (the paper part). Oh my goodness. That was a headache and I wasn't sure I wanted to keep going with this pattern but I stuck with it. I can understand why some people get frustrated or just don't like sewing. The pattern is for 4 styles, each in 6 sizes, and finding the pieces I need among four different, big sheets of pattern paper was like trying to find Waldo. THEN (my biggest frustration!) only a very few of the pieces have the pattern sizes marked where the pattern piece is labeled, so I had to unfold and hunt on the cutting edge to see the size of most pieces just to find the piece in the size I need. I am convinced that patterns are not printed as easily to decipher as they used to be. Or maybe I'm just not that familiar with little girl clothes patterns?

Over the next few afternoons and nights I cut out the fabric. It was a little tricky because not only was I shortening the bodice and skirt, but I also wanted to make it long-sleeved. This pattern doesn't have a long-sleeved option. I ended up using another pattern's long-sleeve pattern as a gauge for length and width. (I saw patterns for dresses with long sleeves that I liked the sleeve but not the dress, and vice-versa. Is it not possible these days to find one pattern that has everything? Maybe not.)

Once I had the fabric cut out I was so eager to start sewing! I like gathers well enough, but I fell in love with the box pleats for the skirt. They are so easy to make and look so lovely! 

It didn't take me very many nap-times and nights to get the main part put together. It was very exciting and motivating (and fed my "addiction!") to have it go together so quickly, easily and turning out beautifully.

Then I got to the parts that were new territory for me. Interfacing and the collar. I purchased fusible interfacing from WalMart, and after carefully reading the directions I tried fusing it to the fabric. It would not fuse no matter what I tried. I eventually went to the manufacturer's website and facebook page and saw that someone else had the same problem with their product purchased at WalMart (but the same brand from a fabric/craft store worked great). A sweet friend offered to pick up some interfacing for me since she was already making a trip to JoAnn's. That saved me from having to wait until a town trip AND from having to go into a fabric store with 2 little girls.

After that, it all went fairly well. There's a few things I would do a little differently next time, but nothing big or major. It was a learning experience working with the interfacing and I'm glad it turned out well. :)

One thing that I discovered about this pattern is that the collar and bodice do not match, size-wise. I cut both for size 4, but when I went to attach the collar to the bodice, the points that were supposed to match up did not (the collar was shy of each point by about 1/2"). Not sure how it would or would not effect the finished product, and knowing that sometimes points shift/move with sewing, I put the collar on anyway.

After I got the facing put in for the neck and front opening, I realized that the collar was not going to meet in the middle over the buttons, but instead there was going to be about a 1 1/2" gap. Since it still looks cute and I didn't really feel like ripping that much of the shirt apart to figure out how to cut a longer collar, etc., I opted to leave it. My guess is that most people will not even notice it, but I wanted to make that note. I am hoping to have a friend look at the pattern and the shirt and see if I made a mistake somewhere, or give me advice on how to adjust the pattern for future uses.

When it was time for the buttons, I looked in my button stash and found these perfect, ivory-colored, glossy buttons that look so elegant with this fabric. At first I thought I would try to find pink buttons but I don't have any of a matching pink color. I love the subtle but sweet accent these ivory buttons add to the piece.

This morning I finished sewing the buttons on before the girls awoke. I had prewashed the fabric so as soon as I finished sewing it was ready to wear. Susannah saw it on the couch and asked if she could please wear it today. :)  She loves it and I love seeing her in it! It fits her perfectly and is exactly how I pictured it in my mind. I do wish the elastic in the sleeves were a little tighter fitting, but I don't plan to change it at this point.

My next project is already in the works, a pair of pants for Susannah that I actually started before I started this shirt. They will pair with the shirt and I just need to do a little work to have them finished. I think I might be able to do that this week and she can have a whole new outfit to wear for our town trips next week!

** I do want to note that two people have cautioned me on the quality of fabric purchased at WalMart nowadays. I am anxious to see how well the colors of this fabric hold up as being quick to fade is one of the issues I have been cautioned about.

My Sewing Corner {Before}

Sorry for the phone-quality pictures; I was too lazy to run downstairs and grab the camera.

The sewing bug is biting hard, but after making our Christmas stockings I mentally committed myself to getting my sewing corner cleaned up, a little better set up, and organized before I started any more sewing projects. Since I don't have anything that I need to make before a deadline and since the space has never really been properly set up or moved into, it is much needed.

Now is not the time for me to be looking at pictures online of other ladies' sewing rooms, with all their beautiful sergers and Berninas and what-not set up in neat, spacious, dedicated "studios". I can't say that I haven't peeked at a few pictures, though.

My sewing corner. I love the two windows; one faces south and one faces west. Both let the daylight pour in!!

On the left is my 40 year old Singer Futura II 920. I am currently in a love-hate relationship with it. I love that it has the ability to do some cute vintage stitching patterns (Scottie-dogs and tulips, anyone?) and I have a bunch of the stitching pattern wheels (it uses these disc-like wheels that you put onto the machine for different stitch patterns beside the basics). The hate part is that the feed-dogs are worn and broken completely smooth and sewing on it is very difficult, or almost impossible now, for that reason. I plan to call the repair shop and find out if it is repairable. If not, I may be sadly kissing it goodbye.

On the right is a machine my mother-in-law loaned me and it is newer (maybe only 15 or 20 years old, ha!) but a very basic, bare-bones sewing machine. I'm not sure if there's a manual with it and it has a few quirks that I have to work around, but for basic sewing it does what I need it to (I have yet to figure out button-holes on it, eek.).

My lovely sewing chair is at the top of my "get a new one" list. The folding chair sits too low and gets uncomfortable when one is parked in it for a length of time (thus the pillow). It is also awkward to maneuver around and in. A swivel, wheelie chair is what I plan to get, hopefully before too long.

Both Daniel and I aren't sure that this is the most efficient set-up for this space. Storage is a major issue (for everything sewing related) and I would like to turn the end wall into storage in some way. Perhaps a low cupboard or bookshelf or two, side-by-side. We'll have to see what I find that fits the budget. For now I think diaper boxes are going to be my friend for storing my fabric.

Speaking of fabric, the den couch has been holding many stacks of my fabric collection. Most of the fabric has been given to me and I am so very, very thankful for it. Several weeks ago I started sorting by general color, but that got disheveled when I started sewing for Christmas gifts.

The ironing board is definitely moving. I may put it at the end of my nook for now and see how I like having it there. On the floor beneath it are bags and boxes of fabric. 2 of the bags are flannel and felt that a lady from church gave me!! The flannel is primarily pastel children's prints so I hope to turn it into pajamas and nightgowns. I haven't decided what to do with the felt yet, it is several yards of red and black. Another bag is dresses and jumpers that I plan to take apart and re-use the fabric. A woman's jumper of dark maroon corduroy? A floor-length dress covered in white eyelet? Yes, please!!

After taking these pictures I went through two smaller boxes of notions that I have collected ever since I started sewing (what feels like years ago!) and got them both emptied and the contents sorted and organized for the most part. Finding so many spools of different colors of thread really makes me want to halt the organizing part and just sew something!!

My oldest sister offered for me to look through her fabric collection over New Years and I am eager to see what kind of treasures I might come home with. Susannah will need summer clothes before I know it and I would really enjoy making them for her (but I need to get on the ball with that because I doubt I will be doing much serious sewing for a while after the new baby comes)!

I can't wait to show you "after" pictures. I haven't figured out yet what my best option is for storing the fabric, yet, but something must happen and it won't happen with me sitting here pecking on the keyboard. :)

When You Have Sewing Fever...

...and you discover that "the bigger WalMart" actually has a sewing section, then see a sign marked "Clearance" over bolts of fabric, you just have to go look. And when you see two bolts of fabric that would look darling made into little girls' dresses, and you feel the fabric and it is nice and soft (not coarse and stiff feeling), and then you look at the marked down price-tag and think it is a good price...

Well, it just couldn't stay there at the store any more. I don't have a specific dress pattern in mind but I did buy a couple patterns a few weeks ago and will likely use them to make Susannah and maybe Sylvia dresses or jumpers. I can't wait to decide what to create and then have fun finding all the trimmings to go with!

Being Random

This is in no order at all, just things I've thought or thought about recently.

I am a member of an online local "for sale" group. I frequently see people selling name-brand - like BIG name-brand - shoes, clothes, decorations that are brand new and never use. Things like "cleaning out my closet and found..." or "bought this and never use it..." often accompany. Sometimes it's multiples of the same thing, like "6 pair of shoes, new in boxes, never worn."  Seriously?? It blows my mind to consider buying something expensive and then never using it.

Over vacation I asked Daniel to get our 2nd toilet brush out of the attic. We only had one bathroom for so long that our second toilet brush was packed away. While he was up there I asked him to get down three boxes. Just any boxes he chose, so that I could sort through and purge the contents. I have yet to open the boxes but know they are all full of glass dishes that were wedding gifts. I hope it's an easy purge; not for sentimental reasons because I honestly won't remember who gave us what anymore, but because I am being picky with how much I fill up space with stuff.

An empty box, a small handful of nails, a toy hammer and some pre-poked nail-holes has provided lots of entertainment for the girls lately. So much so that today I had to make a second box so they could both hammer nails at the same time.

We got new flannel sheets several weeks ago. Our old set had worn completely through. The new set is so lovely to snuggle into each night!

I never liked grapefruit as a kid. For a long time we only got yellow grapefruit (when the neighbor boys sold it for the FFA), then pink became an option and Mom started ordering that. Mom and the other grapefruit likers in my family exclaimed how much sweeter the pink kind was; I still never liked it. Then I was pregnant with Sylvia and one day decided I needed to taste pink grapefruit. I have loved it ever since. This summer I wondered if I would still like it this winter (since I typically only buy it in-season) and I sure do!  Susannah and Sylvia like it, too, though not quite as much as I do. Sylvia will eat a bite and make the most horrible sour-face and then ask for more.

I am still loving having my sewing machines set up and operating. I have so much sewing and creating that I want to do. Early this fall I finished sewing the kitchen valences that I started several years ago. I love seeing them hanging in the kitchen and they look perfect there. Then Susannah was in desperate need of bigger clothes to wear for church this winter. The fabric stash did not yield enough of the right kind of fabric so we went fabric shopping. By burning the midnight-and-beyond oil for a week, I made her dress. From purchasing the pattern on Sunday to her wearing her new dress to church the following Sunday. Her excitement made the early mornings so worth it.

I hope to become more efficient and familiar with sewing (again) so I can continue to turn out clothes for our children to wear. Each day when gets dressed and I see that her pants are getting shorter and wearing thinner, I toy with the thought - for just a moment - of re-purposing Daniel's jeans into new jeans for her. I think that's a bit beyond my ambition at the moment plus the demin from his jeans would be very heavy for her.

On that note, I am off to start the dryer for two of four sweaters we bought at Goodwill so I can get them turned into Christmas stockings. :)  Then I will head upstairs and very carefully try to sew the second sleeve onto a doll dress (that I've already ripped off once).