sewing | Home Front Economics sewing | A Vintage Education for a Modern Army Wife

Posts Tagged ‘sewing’

kelly skirt in nani iro

February 19, 2013 by Megan

A few months ago I got pretty frustrated with this post-baby body of mine.
{pretty sure every female who has had a child or 3 has been there}
Still loosing rapid weight, but hadn’t plateaued yet.
Definitely a good problem to have except that the wardrobe that I ♥ so much was all too big.
This meant that eventually I could buy smaller clothing but since I was still loosing over a pound a week that shopping spree was a ways off.
So logically I sewed something.

This is my most favorite pattern sewn in my most favorite fabric.

It’s the Kelly Skirt pattern by Megan Nielsen.
It’s a dream.
{a dream i tell ya}
I sewed it in Nani Iro’s Painting Muji which is a lightweight canvas.
I loooove this fabric.
There is actually a panel of it hanging on my bedroom wall.
I hoarded it for the duration of my pregnancy saving it for this very project.

The pattern is totally sewable exactly as drafted and written.
It’s actually the second Megan Nielsen pattern I’ve sewn if you recall the Darling Ranges maternity dress I sewed last year.
The only changes I made were to use gathers instead of pleats, make the raw selvedge edge the hem, and to make the waistband and placket a bit wider to accommodate the larger buttons.
The reason I went with gathers instead of pleats is because the pleats weren’t very flattering on the post-baby-belly squishiness.

When I say I love this pattern, I’m not exaggerating.
The Nani Iro version was the 3rd version I had sewn in the span of 3 days.

Version 1 was made in a lovely chambray.
(pardon the instagram photo)

Version 2 was made in a rayon challis.
(and again with the instagram photo in my dirty bathroom nonetheless)

The only changes I made on these two was to do gathers instead of pleats.
I also used fusible interfacing along the placket of the rayon challis version because it needed the added stability for the buttons.

I hope you like them.
I sure do.
And if you sew at all I HIGHLY encourage you to try Megan Nielsen’s patterns because they are just that lovely.

I hope you have a happy Tuesday.
We are hunkered down at home on this gray and rainy day.
My Helper has a stomach bug so we are catering to that with lots of couch time.

Category sewing | Tags: clothing,sewing | 3 Comments
my pegboard window

February 13, 2013 by Megan

Let’s get real for a second.
My house is rarely clean.
Certain areas of my home might be clean at any given moment but rarely is the entire thing clean.
Case in point:

This was my sewing closet a couple of weeks ago.
Sadly this is part of our bedroom.
{obviously I missed the Martha Stewart issue about the bedroom being a sanctuary}
I could easily blame it on the holidays, or the fact that I was the wedding coordinator for my brother-in-law The Hot Shot who got married at the end of December, or that The Cadet was diagnosed with The Diabeetus and spent a week in the hospital….etc.
but it probably would have ended up this way regardless.

I realize that I do MUCH better at keeping The Southern House clean and void of clutter when there is a place for everything
{even if everything is not often in it’s place}
so with that in mind I tackled organizing my sewing area.

I purged, and purged {and purged some more} and then folded heaps of fabric all so I could reward myself with a trip to Lowe’s!!

That nice man is cutting a discounted piece of pegboard for us.
It was $9 because Jesus loves us.

I also got to hit the antique mall because My Soldier loves me.
$25 later I came home with a loverly vintage window.

Here is the before:
{because it’s some unwritten code of the blogoshpere to have a before picture}

3 hours of indentured servitude was provided by My Soldier who smashed all the glass out of the window and then meticulously cut individual panes of pegboard to fit each of the frames.
{i ♥ him}
And here is the after:

Tada!
It’s mounted above Betty and holds all of the various things I frequently am reaching for while sewing.
There is even a tiny little shelf that is perfectly sized for my 2nd-7th cups of coffee I tend to consume while sewing.
The whole project came to around $40 with the damaged pegboard, the window, and the pegboard hooks.
I hope you like it.
I sure do.
So much so that I might stare at it for prolonged periods of time.
{i realize that’s not normal}

Cheers!

Category homemaking, sewing | Tags: betty,cleaning,decorating,home,organization,sewing | 1 Comment
inspiration and completion

October 4, 2012 by Megan

It’s one of those days where I wish I was Type A.
I look around the room and see project after project in various states of completion.
In my head Type A people don’t struggle with this.

That belief stems largely from my knowledge that Type A people can’t go to bed without finishing the dishes.
I don’t think twice about finishing the dishes first thing in the morning.
{that’s after my 1st cup of coffee of course}
I promise that whether or not you are able to sleep without doing the dishes is totally relevant to every other area in the Home Ec world.
I also believe that if you and your spouse don’t have the same dishes-before-sleep philosophy it will at some point in time be a source of marital contention.

My sink is currently filled with dishes.

The dishes aren’t the only thing currently left undone.
I’m currently plagued by several unfinished sewing projects.
Including but not limited to:
a pattern that I am testing for a friend that needs batting;
a quilt for The Minimalist’s Baby H that needs to be basted and quilted;
I have a dress for My Helper that needs button-holes, buttons, and a hem;
and several sewing projects for myself that I want to start but won’t because I’m only 3 months postpartum and still dropping weight.

Am I the only person who can’t seem to finish anything?
I can’t be the only person who gets a bolt of inspiration mid-project A and suddenly has begun project B.
Sadly all it does is make my To Do list less manageable.

I’m off to attempt to accomplish something.
It should probably be eating lunch since it’s 2pm and I have yet to do that.

Category homemaking, housekeeping, sewing | Tags: home,sewing | 2 Comments
the map project

September 7, 2012 by Megan

I ♥ maps.
Probably because I love to travel.
I’ve been blessed to travel a lot and just looking at a globe makes my heart warm with memories.
{my traveling days have gone the way of kids and life on a budget}
I knew when we settled into The Southern House that I wanted to use maps in the decor.
{but let’s be honest, maps are totally in right now so maybe i’m just a sucker for a trend}

I didn’t want just any map.
I wanted a vintage pull-down school house map.
Being back in the land of antique stores meant that there was a possibility I’d find one.
The wall space behind my couch was just screaming for a large-scale map of some form.
And then I saw one online that I really wanted and alas, it cannot be found.

image via pinterest via smile and wave

It’s a vintage Denoyer-Geppert chalkboard map and it is dreamy.
So I tried to find a suitable substitute.
Restoration Hardware made one once upon a time for $$$$.

image via restoration hardware

Honestly it wasn’t as cool.
I liked the vintage aspect of the Denoyer Geppert map.
So I started looking at all the other vintage pull-down maps and what killed me was the hideous color schemes.
I found some on Etsy that I liked but nowhere near the scale I was looking for.
I realized that all I really wanted was a large scale, rustic looking map in a muted color palette.
So finally I just resolved to making one.

it needs to be ironed again

This is what I came up with.
It’s 45″x60″
{large scale}
and it has a muted color palatte.
{so my living room doesn’t actually look like a schoolhouse}
Bonus: It’s made of fabric!
{i’m a textile junkie so it gives me a wee bit of a fabric high}

image via amazon

I bought a cheap wall map from Amazon (although any office or school supply store carries them).
I made sure that the dimensions were in the range I was looking for.
I also busted out my Kona Color Card and painstakingly spent a night trying to figure out what solids to use for the states.
I also bought some Heat & Bond at JoAnn’s while I was in HotLanta.

I traced the mirror image of each state onto the paper side of the Heat & Bond.
Then I ironed the states with a large boarder to the fabric.
(hint: it’s easier to assign each fabric color to one of the colors on the map, that way you don’t have to figure out how to arrange the fabrics)
After I ironed the state to the fabric I cut it out making sure to leave a portion of the state with extra fabric so I could overlap them on the map.

This is about the point where I was cursing any state that had a river as a border.
{i officially hate any state on the mississippi river, the red river, the ohio river and all of new england}
It was helpful to have the map on the floor as I cut so I could figure out what part of the state to cut exactly and what part to leave to be overlapped.
{basically i created giant USA jigsaw puzzle out of fabric}

Once the states were all cut I traced the proper US map image onto a 45″x60″ piece of linen I had lying around with disappearing ink.

tracing on the sliding glass door

This served as my guide to line up all the states.
Then I ironed and ironed and ironed some more.

Heat & Bond is really strong but I wanted to make sure it was all secure so I sewed the state borders as well.
Bonus: it gave it some added visual interest.

This was a wee bit difficult.
[see previous statement of states with rivers as borders]
As you can see from the picture, I didn’t sew on the exact state line, but sewed to the side of the line.
Because every state technically overlapped another state everything was secured.

Et voilà!
My wall is covered!

Category homemaking, sewing | Tags: decorating,fabric,home,sewing,the southern house,tutorial | 2 Comments
wiksten tova maternity style

April 26, 2012 by Megan

See! I told you was sewing a maternity wardrobe!
This is the Wiksten Tova dress pattern that I put the simplest of maternity alterations into.
It actually doesn’t look like the pattern has been altered at all which I love!

I cut my normal size but before I cut the front piece I added 1.5″ to middle fold.
{yeesh, how can it be so difficult to explain something that was so easy?}
The front portion of the pattern is cut on the fold.
Before I cut the fabric I shifted the pattern over 1.5″ and then proceeded to cut normally.
:::see picture above:::
Because the pattern is drafted to be straight at the bottom of the yoke and the center of the hem that is the only alteration I needed to make.
It adds a full 3″ of fabric to the front of the garment to cover the bump.
When it calls for you to gather this section of the garment I just did some extra gathering to make sure it lined up with the yoke.
{hopefully the picture helps with that abysmal description}

Here’s a close up of the extra gathers and the yoke section.
You can also see the lovely woven fabric I used for the dress which I bought at JoAnn’s 2+ years ago.
{and yes, i have been known to hoard fabric for that long}

Oddly enough, my favorite part of the Tova tunic/dress {besides wearing it} is hand sewing the inside of the collar.
Something about hand-finishing a garment makes it that much more enjoyable to wear.

I’m off to take a nap, because I’m sick, pregnant, My Soldier is home…and I can!
Cheers!

Category sewing | Tags: clothing,sewing | Comments Off
wiksten tank dress

February 13, 2012 by Megan

So there is this wicked virus traveling around this wee rock we live on.
It comes complete with awful congestion and a cough that keeps you up all night.
Bonus: we’ve had it for 2 weeks and there is no end in sight!

So now that I can kind of breath, {emphasis on kind of} I finally got around to taking photos of my Wiksten Tank dress.
{i’m not sure if i’ve mentioned this before, but i ♥ wiksten patterns}

To accommodate the growing baby bump, (and all other lady lumps that are need accommodation) I sewed it up a size.
Actually, I’m between sizes in Wiksten patterns, so I rounded up a size and then sewed a full size bigger.
Right now it’s a little tent-like but oh-so-comfy.
I wore it to church last Sunday belted above the bump and it was per-fect!

I also got to use some fabric I have been hoarding.
I have a wee small collection of select prints in the Moda Etchings line by 3 Sisters.
Specifically all the script, map, and architectural prints.
I took a page out of Karyn’s book and sewed it in a map print and pattern matched my pocket.
Instead of bias binding the neck hole and arm hole facings I decided to use some cording to add a visual pop.
I wish had used bias tape for a prettier hem finish but I didn’t have any and barely squeezed this dress out of the 2 yards of fabric I had on hand.
The hem and I did not get along, not one bit.

If you look closely you can barely see the pocket above the word ‘Front’ in my watermark.

I love how it turned out and it will be so easy to wear in Hawaii or layer when it gets cold.
I plan on taking it in at the side seams after baby has arrived.

:::Apologies for those who anticipated seeing a photo of me in my maternity clothes.:::
My Soldier/Live-in-photographer is down range at the moment.

Category sewing | Tags: clothing,pregnancy,sewing | 2 Comments
pattern storage

November 17, 2011 by Megan

Huzzah!
I finally have a home for my pattern collection.

After weeks of trying to figure it out I had a light bulb moment one day last week.
After lots of searching with the intent to purchase something to house my patterns I realized I already have a solution in house.
{pretty sure nothing makes my soldier happier than more organization for less $$}

I took a Banker’s Box and divided it down the middle with a hanging file creating 2 sections.
I then purchased a set of 12 dividers from Tar-jay and made dividers.
Each pattern company has a labeled section with vintage patterns currently in one big group called ‘Vintage.’
{the genius of that title is by no means lost on me}
In the hanging file in the middle are my larger Vogue patterns, my Wiksten patterns and any PDF patterns printed from home.

The dividers I made by cutting standard file folders on the fold, then cut them to 6.5″ wide, and rounded the edges with a corner punch.
I even got to use my label maker which ranks up there just below my laminator!
{my odd love for office supplies is exposing me as a total nerd}

I realize that it is far from beautiful but it’s functional and inexpensive.
I’d love some loverly way to display them, particularly the vintage ones, but it would likely cost more $$ and it’s not nearly as practical.
Currently, I can throw the top on this box and put it in the closet so it’s out of the way.

The lid and closet scenario forced me to think through how the practicalities of not being able to just leaf through them on a whim and whip something up accordingly.
{let’s be honest though, there is lots-o-leafing and very little whipping up on a whim}
Currently I have them all cataloged in the Awesome Note (aNote) app on my iPhone with little photos of each pattern.

{sadly you can tell which pictures were taken on my old iPhone 3G and which ones where taken on my new 4S}
I also use aNote to list all the vintage patterns I’ve stumbled upon that I’d like to add to the collection.
The one thing that is missing from the current set up is Mylar bags to place each pattern in.

I’m grateful that this little organizational challenge is solved.
Now I can focus on the sewing and the collecting.

Category housekeeping, sewing | Tags: organization,sewing | Comments Off
preparing to prepare

November 16, 2011 by Megan

Hello little blog!
My family left this weekend and we hit the ground running trying to get the house back in order.
{not to mention the vast effort we’ve put into getting the army brats back in order}

Yesterday I finally felt like we were back in the swing of things and then I realized that Thanksgiving is next week!
Whoops.
So today I hit the commissary and picked up all the items that will be out of stock come Saturday;
Cranberries, pecans, pumpkin, Karo syrup and a handful of other things this island notoriously runs out of.
The one thing I ended up frantic about was turkey brining bags.
{is brining even a word? what would you call a bag that you brine turkey in?}
Seriously, I fear dry poultry of any form and I will not subject my Thanksgiving dinner guests to dry turkey.
I ended up frantically searching 3 stores and and ended up with the last package on the shelf at Target.
:::wipe sweat off brow:::

On top of the Thanksgiving preparations I also hauled out the Christmas decoration bins.
{and by i hauled out i mean My Soldier hauled out}
Advent starts on the 27th this year which is the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
Yay Advent, the season of preparation for the birth of Jesus!
I have dug through everything and pulled out our Jesse Tree ornaments,
essentially I have been preparing to prepare but preparation is SO important.

In other news, I solved my ongoing issue of pattern storage.
I’ll post on that tomorrow.
I also finished the quilt for my BFF who’s about to pop with her 1st baby girl!
{to clarify, not her 1st baby, she has a studly baby boy but this woman is totally made to mother girls so it’s extra exciting}

I’m off to attempt an hour of straight cleaning ala my friend Melanie.
{i give myself 27 minutes before i give up}

Category cooking, extracurricular, faith, homemaking, housekeeping, sewing | Tags: advent,cleaning,cooking,home,organization,sewing | 1 Comment
wednesday wanderings

November 9, 2011 by Megan

The pattern edition.
{this really could qualify as a friday confession and since my parents are still here it will have to suffice for both}

So ever since my mom arrived we been jointly wandering through the interwebs specifically perusing vintage patterns.
Ah yes, my latest weakness.
The madness tends to start by looking for a specific pattern and then 30 minutes later I have found 10 others that I must have.
Thankfully vintage patterns for the most part are cheap and I do make clothing from them so I tend to justify $3ish here and there.
{yes, i realize that reasoning is very weak}

Here is where my wandering has lead…
and the subsequent purchases that were made in the last few weeks.

Simplicity 2488 ~ 1940′s

Simplicity 4070 ~ 1960′s

Butterick 3031 ~ 1960′s

McCall’s 7040 ~ 1963

McCall’s 7298 ~ 1948

Simplicity 5449 ~ 1964

{i have my misgivings on this one since i have read that walkaway patterns are terrible once sewn despite how cute they are on the dress form}

Vogue 2333 ~ 1979

Simplicity 6672 ~ 1974

Vogue 6524 ~ 1960′s

Yikes!
Yes I realize that is a lot of impulse buys.
Every time a pattern arrives in the mail My Soldier proclaims that he needs a hobby.
I think he just wants to get stuff in the mail.

Not all the wandering landed in purchases, most of it didn’t.
There were a few elusive patterns out there that I can’t seem to find desipte the thoroughness of my looking.
Every time a pattern turns out to be completely unavailable it ALWAYS seems to be a Vogue pattern.
For example:

Vogue 1004 ~ 1960

and…

vogue 1340 ~1960′s

{my mom and i drooled over this for a while and then she requested that i sew it for her when i am finally able to buy it}

Gush.
Aren’t they all loverly?

Happy wanderings!

Category sewing | Tags: sewing,wednesday wanderings | 2 Comments
organizing my “collection”

October 28, 2011 by Megan

I confessed a few weeks ago to having quite the growing collection of patterns.
As I am still tackling the storage issue I realized I had an additional problem with all the patterns I have actually sewn from.
{the % of patterns that i have sewn from vs the ones that are just conquests that have been won is crazy low}
Since I trace all my patterns onto Swedish Tracing Paper instead of actually cutting the original pattern,
I am left with basically double the amount of pattern pieces by the end of each garment.
Previously I had just been shoving it all into the original envelope but they were leaving the poor envelopes a bit obese.

The other problem I was encountering popped up when I sewed the Oliver + S Jump Rope Dress for My Helper.
It had been 9 months since the previous one I had sewn and I had all but forgotten any modifications I made or notes on construction.

I had a total light bulb moment and realized I could solve both problems in one fell swoop.
{efficiency makes the left side of my brain really excited. not so much the right side though}

I bought a bunch of 6×9 envelopes from Tar-Jey and in them I placed all my traced patterns.
On the front I placed all my pattern info and notes and clipped it directly to the pattern.

So obviously here is the Oliver + S Jump Rope Dress Pattern.
{i refuse to insult your intelligence}
From this point on we’ll refer to this as the front…

…and this is the back.
In that top, right corner I have the following info:
Pattern Company
Pattern Number/Name
View
Size

The pattern company and number are how I intend to sort the patterns once they have a permanent home.
The view and size are of the actual pieces that have been traced and cut and now live snugly inside the envelope.
Below I have written my notes and stamped the date that the garment was completed.
In theory, because nearly all my modern patterns are multi-sized, I could have several little envelopes for each pattern all clipped to the original pattern.
{more so for the army brats. hopefully my size isn’t fluctuating that much. yikes}

For patterns that are printed from PDFs I have placed them into large 9×12 envelopes and written the same info onto the envelope.
For self-drafted patterns I have used the same small envelopes and written my notes on the envelope accordingly.
I intend to place my patterns into mylar bags (especially the vintage ones) to preserve them.
{it’s kind of impossible to preserve anything in hawaii since it is so warm and humid}

I think it’s a pretty good solution.
Except the fact that they are just sitting in a stack in the Book Room.
{my soldier is very patient with my very long term organizing projects}

We’re off to play tourists in our home town with my mom.
Hope you have a stupendous weekend!

Category sewing | Tags: organization,sewing | Comments Off

Older Entries