Sewn For My Sis

Sewn For My Sis
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.


birthday_skirt
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.


champagne skirt
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.


Vintage Sheet Skirt
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.

My favorite model and sewing muse, my sister. You've probably seen some of these photos before (here or in the Wardrobe Remix pool), but I wanted to make a group post to see them all together. It's about time for another round of sewing for her, maybe some shirts or a mini dress now that she's wearing things above the knees. I've also been wanting to make one of these, which would combine my love of yarn and fabric.

I sewed the skirts from a self-drafted pattern based on the "Tourist Trap" from Sew What! Skirts. The dress is McCall's M4369 tailored for a streamline fit.

The dress is new fabric — it's dragonflies. The pink skirt is vintage, the bubbley champagne skirt is new fabric, and the green and blue floral skirt is from a vintage sheet. I did a quick search trying to find the names of the new fabrics, but couldn't easily find them. If you know what they are, can you leave a comment so people who are interested can find out?

Can't Stop Sewing: A Post With Many Photos

mini_quilt_detail_flowers
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.


mini_quilt_detail_cat
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.


skirt_tops
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.


skirt_bottoms
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.


marina's_quilt1
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.


marina_quilt4
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.


shirt1
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.


shirt2
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.

Firstly, the Carlos Fund auction is now live. If you want to bid on my art quilt go here. If you want to see what else is available go here. This auction is to help out a young boy who was injured and lost his family in a car wreck. You can see a couple details of my quilt to the right.

Secondly, I've been sewing — a lot. I've finished these four skirts for myself and two for my sister. Still using our Sew What! Skirts self-drafted patterns. Mine now includes two darts on the rear for, ahem, roundness. I used three vintage fabrics and one new, and have been experimenting with different hem options. I think my favorite is the old fashioned seam binding sewn to the fabric edge, turned under, and hand stitched.

I also made two baby blankets: One (shown below) with Heather Bailey's Fresh Cut fabric; The other was tumbling sock monkeys in light blue with red binding. I missed getting a photo of that one because it was thought up and made the morning of the baby shower. I had a quick lesson in binding from our quilting friend who was visiting — thanks, Kathy! And, I was only 45 minutes late to the party. I do like a deadline, probably because of the adrenaline.

And, (insert heralding trumpets here) I made my first shirt! I was trying to make and finish it before Bethany's Chinese New Year dinner party and I succeeded. It took me two days. Luckily my mom entertained the kids for a whole day while I did most of the work. The second day I was on my own with the kids and barely got the arm facings and hem done. The fabric is Daisy Days by Erin Michael. The pattern is Simplicity 5197 "6 tunics made easy." Since it's a pullover I added darts to the back to make it less tent-like. The front still hangs pretty loose, but I was afraid to take it in any more without putting in a zipper. This way it still works with my nursing lifestyle. Speaking of breastfeeding, the cute little guy in the bottom photo is just starting to walk, which, along with my compulsive sewing, is keeping my posting time to a minimum.

Next up: How I'm a slacker swapper. And, how cool is Julie Knoblock.

Zip Zip Hurray!

Becktress_skirt
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.


detail
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.

Sorry for the pun. Onto the post, shall we? Here is my beautiful sister modeling my very first skirt with a zipper, emphasis on the zipper. I bought the book Sew What! Skirts and it helped me get over my fear of the zipper foot. I always thought the button hole foot was the zipper foot. Those button hole feet still intimidate me, but the zipper one — no problem. They recommend gluing the zipper into place before sewing it. It works! I didn't have any sewing glue, so I used a regular glue stick, ironing it to set it quickly. Can you tell I have little patience? Or, maybe I just have little time, or both.

The book also teaches you how to draft your own patterns based on your measurements. This was really fun — it must fit my style of learning. Kristin was talking about this recently. I don't really know which category of learning style I fit in, but patterns are always a little intimidating to me. I'm a reference book kind of gal. That's what this is, all wrapped up in a contemporary and visually appealing format. After reading about what to do I would, then, ask my mom questions. If she tried explaining before I read it, I wasn't ready. So, thanks, mom and to all of you who have written about this book, because it was on your recommendation that I bought it. I already have one skirt finished and FIVE in the works. They're really fast. No wonder everyone sews!

Details about the skirt:
I drafted the "Tourist Trap" skirt, which is basically an A-line with no waistband. It has a side zipper and facing (because of the no-waistband). I didn't put on pockets, like in the pattern, or, do the double-fold hem. For the hem I used bias tape and wrapped it around the front for a decorative element. The fabric is a vintage sheet, much like this lovely stack.