DIY Luggage Tags - Easiest EVER!!

I scoured the internet in search of luggage tags I could make for my DD for Christmas.  There are plenty out there, but they all seemed to be so complicated to make.  How hard can it be really??  Then I came across this tute and loved, loved, loved them!  Super easy and very quick to make.

I had an interior decorator give me about 30 old books of discontinued fabric years ago, and they were perfect for this project.  I had them monogrammed since I have yet to find an EM that I like.  But I digress.....

The front has a pocket just big enough for a business card to slide right in or a printed address card.

She used a specialty stitch on her binding across the plastic, but I chose just to use the coordinating fabric.  I was able to get 9 of these out of these 4 small fabric pieces and still have another 4 I have yet to stitch up.  I had the plastic in my stash.  I just needed the ribbon.  So these were about $10 total for the monogram and ribbon. Not bad at all!

They make perfect gifts!  I gave some to Robbie's teacher this year for Christmas too.

Now my DD can use her black luggage when she travels and still be able to see it clearly on the luggage conveyor at the airport.  She loved them!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and pray for health, joy and happiness in the New Year.

Angela

Simplicity 1605

I've made this pattern before a number of times, but I don't think I ever reviewed it.  At least I can't find it. LOL

But this pattern isn't just for boys!  I made these for a 10 year old girl from our Angel Tree at the local YMCA.  I found this really cute flannel fabric from Joann's and even found the coordinating chevron flannel for the ruffles.  One leg looks longer than the other in the photo, but I measured it later, and it's perfect.  It must be the way it's hanging on the hanger.

I also made a pair for a boy for the angel tree.

And of course, I had to make a pair for Robbie.

I am super happy with my plaid matching on this pair.  A closer look at the side seam.

I always seem to struggle with plaid matching but practice really does help.

And now for the pattern review:

Pattern Description:  Simplicity 1605. I made view C.

Pattern Sizing: Boys S/M/L and Men's S-XL.  I made boys size M in all 3

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, very clear instructions.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the ease.  And the time was less than an hour!

Fabric Used: 100% cotton on the baseball and flannel on the other 2.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: None.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I absolutely would sew it again. And I definitely recommend it to others.

Conclusion: This is my go to pattern for jammy pants.  Very easy for a beginner.

Thanks for stopping by my little world.  Feel free to ask any questions.

Angela

McCalls 4060 - ladies' boxers

I have been wanting to make boxers for my dd, Britt.  I probably should wait to post this, because she'll probably see this before Christmas. Oops!  Anyway, I tried the first choice boxers, but they don't fit girls as well as boys.  I found this pattern on e-bay from one of my favorite sellers and bought it.

I thought about doing a lace insertion on the front but didn't have the right type of lace and needed to get these finished.  I opted for a monogram instead.  I sent this out since I don't have an EM. :(

I wanted a back pocket but wanted it girly.  I had some 4" lace on hand, so I decided to make a pocket with it.  It was super thin, so I lined it first with satin batiste but lined it just under the eyelet.  I used a rolled hem on the sides, then used a straight stitch to sew it to the boxers.

Love this pattern and will definitely use it again.

Pattern Review:


Pattern Description:   McCalls 4060 Misses classic pants and shorts.  I made view D. 

Pattern Sizing: XS - Med - I cut a small.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, very clear instructions.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? It was super easy and great for beginners.  These sit higher on the waist.  The fold over is about 2" for the elastic.  I folded it twice for a total of 4".  My dd likes them to sit lower.

Fabric Used: 100% cotton - Moda dot

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I folded over the top twice but will just cut off 2" next time.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I absolutely would sew it again. And I definitely recommend it to others. 

Conclusion: This pattern was super easy and quick.  From start to finish, they were finished in about 90 minutes.  That includes preparing the pattern, tracing it onto tracing paper and cutting out, and sew time.

Feel free to email any questions.

Thanks for stopping by.
Angela

Kid's First Choice Boxers

This is my all time favorite boxer pattern for boys!  It is so easy, and I've done them so much, I rarely need the instructions now.

I made these for my BIL's grandson.  He is 3 I believe, so I made the size 4 but shortened the elastic just a bit so they wouldn't fall off. :)  I wanted to make a matching shirt, but I ran out of time.

These were made for one of Robbie's best friends.  He plays soccer, so when I saw this fabric from Joann's, I thought it would be perfect.  I make him a pair every year, because he loves them.  And that's why I sew!!

It really makes a difference when you know what you make is appreciated and loved!

Thanks for stopping by my part of the world.  I have 6 more gifts to go, and time's a wastin'.  Wish me luck and say some prayers!

Angela

Tote Bag

I finished this tote bag last week for my FIL's fiance.  He was in the hospital recently, and she was there with him playing nurse maid.  She commented that a bag would have been very convenient in this circumstance, since she had a lot of things that she needed to be able to access quickly and easily.

I have made this bag before, and it is super easy and quick.  It came from the gook "Home Stuff" by Linda Lum DeBono.  This is a bag I did last year for my MIL with a matching crochet bag.

I added a luggage tag on the outside that she can take on and off if she chooses.  There are 3 large pockets across the front - the solid blue.  And I added one small pocket on top of the larger pockets just because I thought it needed something else.  The ribbons were added to hide the seams, because I didn't like them on this bag.  And I thought the added lace just made it girly.  And she is definitely a girly girl - and right up my alley!!

Here is the close up of the front.

This bag is very roomy.  I folded a king sized blanket and stuffed it down inside. There is plenty of room in there!!

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you have a wonderful Monday!
Angela

Adding ruffles to RTW jeans - Tutorial

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Big difference, huh?  I'll show you how I did this in about an hour.  Very simple.  I didn't choose these fabrics.  My friend, Cheryl, did.  She had a shirt embroidered for her dgd and wanted the jeans to match.

The belt was easy.  I cut a 4" strip the WOF.  Folded that in half, opened it back out and folded the edges in to meet the fold line.  Fold again and stitch down both long ends turning in the short ends and stitching those closed.

Now for the ruffles.  This is not rocket science, so no worries about getting these perfect.  We wanted the ruffle on the bottom slightly larger than the other two.  

Here are my pieces.  I cut the pink polka dot at 3.5" X WOF and the other two 3" X WOF.  2 strips of each, but I wound up only needing one.

I hemmed the long edges using a rolled hem on my sewing machine because my serger is in the shop.

I tried ruffling the pink and purple together, but it wasn't as full as I wanted. You can see the pink isn't as full.

So I took it apart and ruffled them separately.  I used my ruffler foot, but you can easily do this with a gathering stitch.  I ran it right on top of my stitch line of my hem.  We didn't want any length added to the jeans, so I only dropped the ruffle down 1/2" below the hem line of the jeans.  I pinned the ruffle in place.

When you get back to the first pin, overlap the ruffle by 1/4" and mark with a pin.

Take it off and to the machine and stitch a 1/4" seam at the pin mark. I pinned it here to show you.

I used my pinking blade to trim the seam.

And it should look like this now.

Pin this back to your jeans legs and use a basting stitch to attach.  **Note.  I put a piece of tape on my machine and lined up the hem line of the jeans to be sure the ruffle was stitched on straight.  If the ruffle 

And here it is stitched on.

Repeat the same procedure with your next ruffle. I aligned it on the same seam so the seams would be stacked.  I used a basting stitch again.

You can see them better here.

Now stitch it along the ruffled stitched line.  I still used my tape as a guide.

This is why I say no need to worry about exact measurements.  I have a smidge extra width on my purple ruffle.  See where my finger is poking through?  That's roughly 1/2" too much.

 To fix it, I simply pinched the excess.

 And folded it toward the seam (toward me).  Stitch right over it.

 It just blends right in.

 Now it's time for the last ruffle.  I ran my ruffle stitch line right down the middle of this last piece.  I wanted to be able to move it just above the first two ruffles to hide the seams.

 I used the same procedure for attaching this ruffle.  Line up the ruffle stitch line right on top of the previous stitch line.  Sew it on the ruffle stitch line (right down the middle of the top ruffle).

 Lift the ruffle edge just to be sure you are covering the other ruffles.  You also want to be sure to catch the other two ruffles on this stitch line since they were only basted.  This last stitch line will secure all of them.

 And now stand back and admire your new ruffles.

And I thought I'd give you a modeled picture.  Isn't she adorable??

Happy Birthday Emma!

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to ask any questions especially if I haven't made something clear.  

Angela

Smocked Pillow Case

I am making a pair of these for a Christmas gift for the daughter of one of my best friends.  The pattern is from an old AS&E issue and the smocking plate from an old Sew Beautiful magazine.  The floss is DMC but I can't remember the number.  I'll look and update this post later.  The fabric is a cotton sateen that I picked up from a fabric shop in Savannah called Fabrika.


The pattern called for piping between the case and the smocked panel.  I decided to use a satin ribbon.  It really didn't have the affect I was going for, so I'll rethink that on the next ones if I decide to make anymore.  I had quite a few issues with these and won't go into a lot of detail.  But many ugly words were said and tantrums thrown.  And I even walked away for a week at one point. LOL

The pattern calls for doing a simple scalloped hem, but I wanted a little frill, so I stitched on some lace with a little entredeux.  I hadn't used this method in I'm guessing 10 years or more.  I definitely need some more practice with this technique.  But I will add more projects to get the practice, because I'd forgotten how much I enjoy heirloom sewing.  The entredeux is from Capitol Imports and the lace I had in my stash.

I hope Gracyn loves her new pillow cases.  Despite all my problems with them, I really enjoyed them after the fact. Lol

Happy Tuesday.
Angela


Linking up with:

Show and Tell Tuesday
Sew Many Ways

Bolster Pillow

This is my official first bolster pillow.  I had attempted one the week before this one, and it did not work out well.  I used the Pi method for determining the circumference, and it did not work.  Let me just give you a word of warning.  Pillow inserts are not perfect!  My insert had a diameter on one side 1/2" off from the other, so when I did the calculation, I used the smaller side.  I hadn't checked the other side, so I didn't know there was a difference.  This pillow insert was off one full inch from one side to the other.  I chose to measure the circumference of the insert itself to be sure I had the right amount of fabric.  Your calculations are only as good as the pillow measurements.

I chose to use a lapped zipper on the pillow versus an invisible or exposed.  There wasn't a lot of extra bulk in the seam, so it worked well.  If you have really thick fabric, this may not work especially if it is piped as this one is.

Because my pillow insert is off in its size, I think it's distorting the shape of my cover. :(   You may want to make adjustments down in the size of your pillow case to fill in any gaps.  This particular customer wanted it true to size, so it isn't filling out all the spaces.

It was also very hard to get perfectly round circles despite my best efforts.  I think in the future, I will interface the circle in hopes that it will retain its shape when stitching it on.  I'll let you know how that works.  I'm still working on another bolster.  I cut is too small using the Pi method, so now I'm trying to decide how to fix it.

Let me know if you have questions.  And as always, thanks for stopping by!

Happy Monday,
Angela

Mad Scientist Halloween Costume

Here is Robbie in his Halloween costume this year.  Isn't he a ham??!!  LOL.  We went back and forth between a number of ideas, and he finally settled on this one.  Best part is it was about $10 to make.  $6 if I count the fact that I removed the $4.00 in grommets and will use those again.

Of course he had to be silly.  A little black powder eyeliner helped get the dirty look.  I used a cotton ball and just pat it round his face and on his lab coat.

He was trying to look menacing here, but he is just too darn cute!  That's a syringe from my pharmacy and I used a coffee stirrer as the fake needle.  We put red food coloring in the test tubes to look like blood.  Not sure why he wanted that.  I told him we should use gooey ooze.

 Here he is again trying to look smexy!  Yes that is a word he and his friends made up.  They aren't allowed to use the word "sexy" at school, so they say smexy instead.  I don't even think any of them know what it means.

 I have no idea what he was trying to do here.  LOL

This is the back.

Oh, and here are some of his best buddies.

The one in the middle is Andrew, and he is Slenderman.  Pretty cool huh?  And the fella on the left is Christopher sporting his Fozzy Bear costume.  I have no earthly idea who Fozzy Bear is.  Some game character I'm told.

Hope your little guys and girls had a terrific Halloween!
Happy Monday!
Angela