Thursday, February 26, 2015

General Casimir Pulaski - McCalls 4676 - modified

Robbie had a project at school for a makeshift wax museum.  They do this every year in the 5th grade class. Robbie was given General Casimir Pulaski.  I searched and searched through photos of Gen. Pulaski to find one I could replicate easily.  Okay, maybe not easily but doable.

This was my inspiration.


I used my latest pattern McCalls 4676.  I reviewed that pattern here.  I wanted a pull over style jacket that could be easily taken on/off.  I used felt so I didn't have to hem or finish any seam.  I used a dinner napkin tied at his neck to replicate a shirt underneath.  I knew he would get hot.  I used shoulder pads under gold lame' for the epaulettes and hot glued fringe to the edges.

I taped together my yoke pieces to the front and back pieces and cut them both on the fold.  Then I stitched my sleeves in and sewed down the side seams.  That left me with one large opening in the top for his head.

I marked my center front and measured down roughly 7" from the neck opening and marked.  I then measured over 3" on either side of the center line and snipped the fabric at the neck opening.  Then I drew lines from those 3" snips down to my mark 7"  to get my "V".  I cut those lines.

I placed a piece of red felt on top and marked the same lines and cut them to match the blue felt jacket.  I used fusible web to place it on top.

I found gimp the same color as the lame' and tried to replicate the trim on his coat as close as possible.  I used hot glue, because I was running out of time.  It did not hold up well, so if you try this, stitch it on.  I could not find small gold buttons so I found a cheap bracelet at Joann's and took it apart and used those as buttons.  I did have the larger gold buttons in my stash.  I hot glued all of them on.  I should have stitched the larger buttons so I could remove them and reuse.  Oh well, maybe he'll wear this for Halloween?

Lastly, I wanted something to simulate a white sleeve peeking out from the jacket, so I cut a 4" wide piece of white broadcloth double the width of the sleeve, folded it in half and stitched it to the inside of the jacket sleeve.  And that was it for the costume.  Then all I had to do was slick his hair back, and he became Gen. Pulaski for the day.

He absolutely loved his costume, and that's all that matters.

And of course, he had to have one final pose.
He had to stand on his podium and wait for others to push his button to come to life.  I was so proud that he memorized all of his lines and didn't miss a beat.

Thanks for stopping by my little world.
Angela

Friday, February 13, 2015

Tea Towel - DIY

I have a friend's birthday coming up this weekend, and I needed a gift.  And unfortunately, time ran out on me, so it had to be a quick gift.  I found this tutorial on Sew4home, and I fell in love with all their tea towel tutes.  And this was a winner, because it took me an hour.  It would have taken me less time had I not been constantly interrupted (but that was my entire week). LOL  I felt like I was behind the 8 ball all week long. Anyway, I digress......

I bought a package of flour sacks at Walmart months ago, because I knew they'd come in handy.  I bought a pack of 5 for about $4.00 I think.  They are roughly 29" x 28".  That size was a bit big for me for the towels, because I was adding the ric rac and extra fabric.   So I folded it in half and did a rolled hem with my serger on all 4 sides.

Here is the before.

And after.
The rolled hem.
I pressed them really well, because as you can see, the edges will ripple.  So they should be as flat as possible before you add all the embellishments.

I won't go through the whole tute.  Click on the link above.  The instructions are clear and easy to follow.  The only thing I didn't like was the way the ric rac is tucked under.  But there really isn't a better way to do it.

I made two towels, folded the top towel making a little pocket behind, and bought some wooden spoons to tuck down in the pocket.  Then I tied my ribbon and voile!  A super cute gift in less than an hour.  What could be better than that?



I actually had another idea for my tea towels but didn't have time to test it.  I need some for my kitchen, so I'll try it then.  Stay tuned.

BTW, these towels are super absorbent and are great for cleaning granite with no streaks.

Thank you for stopping by.  And Happy Friday.
Angela