Scrap Busting with Doll Clothes

Do you have a go to scrap busting project? For me it’s doll clothes. Every month I participate in Karen Mom of Three’s doll clothes sew along.  Each month she links to a different free doll clothes pattern and then posts pictures of everyone’s completed work on her Facebook page.

In May we made a reversible wrap skirt with a Velcro closure. Another sewalonger used a button in place of the Velcro, a great option for people who don’t keep Velcro on hand. It was so quick and easy to make, I have no idea why I put it off until the end of the month.

I threw together this bonus tank top at the last minute as well.  It’s made with a free Liberty Jane pattern and a tank top that my girls had outgrown years ago. I cut out of a size 4/5 and  had just enough fabric, so anything smaller probably wouldn't work.

Doll clothes sewing is picking up in my house this summer. My  youngest daughter just got a new doll for her 7^th  birthday, bringing our total up to 4 dolls; one American Girl Doll and 3 Madame Alexander Dolls. Then in September my older daughter will be making a trip to the American Girl Store, so we may expand our collection again.

I have two matching girl and doll projects coming up. One of the projects will be skinny jeans using this matching girl and doll pattern. The second will be skirts. I’ll give you more details later in the month.

In the meantime tell me about your favorite scrap busting project.

Saving Time Money and Gas - Quicker Summer Tops

Supposedly there is a heat wave on the way. I say supposedly because the news hasn't been very good at predicting the weather lately. But, just in case I am trying to get prepared.

My summer sewing got off to a good start last week, when I made these quick summer tops. Now I need a few quicker summer tops, because this heat wave is supposed to start tomorrow.

Living out in the middle of nowhere means that a trip to the store is a 45 minute drive each way, plus the time it takes to shop. I could sew a shirt in that amount of time. In fact I could do better than that.

½ hour + sharp scissors + thread = three summer tops

Here’s how.

I cut the sleeves off three long sleeve shirts. They’ll grow out of these before they need long sleeves again.

Then I hemmed the sleeves with a simple straight stitch on my machine.

I cut a Hello Kitty Applique out of an old pair of winter pajamas. 

It already had a border so I used a straight stitch again to attach it to the black t- shirt.

There you go, 30 minutes to three quick and free summer tops. Save your gas. Don’t go to the store, you have everything you need at home.

My Evolving Signature Style

Project Sewn has once again forced me ask myself some tough questions. I wonder if they knew from the start that they were leading their followers on a journey of self discovery. This week I had to ask myself what my signature style was.

How do the clothes I choose to wear define who I am? What message do I tell the people around me without ever saying a word?

A signature style is what you are known for. It says something about you. Classic, sporty, earthy… It could be anything.

Most days I just throw on one of my six pairs of black yoga pants and whatever stretched out t-shirt happens to be at the top of the drawer. So what does my style say about me? The only word that comes to mind is "indifferent". Not exactly the message I want to portray, and it doesn't reflect who I feel I am either.

This article is getting some attention from the sewing and fashion communities. It is about how people dress now compared to the past, and what it says about them.

Personally, I won’t be wearing gloves and a hat on my next trip to the grocery store, but I will think twice before wearing something that could pass for pajamas.

Despite all of the thinking and reading I've done, I still have no clue what my signature style is.

Because this is a sewing completion, I am bound mostly by my sewing ability.

I started with a simple refashion for the pants. They're a mix of the skinny jeans that are popular now and a retro high-water style pant. I think I  hit the mark with them. I love the style and the fit, and they work great with my lifestyle.

Coming up with a top was much more frustrating. It took three attempts to find a pattern that I could actually sew and that fit me well with the few adjustment I know how to make.

I ended up using a free Colette pattern, which was amazing. It was more professional than most of the paid patterns I have used, and reading it felt like being taught how to sew by a friend. Since I also own her  book, I used that as a reference for adjustments.

Despite loving the pattern, I don’t think I would call this shirt my signature.  I’m sure that my style will evolve as my sewing skills improve. But for now I will call this look my signature style in progress.

Joining In June

June Sewing Events

So if you've read my blog at all, you may have noticed that I have a slight obsession with sew-alongs. I just can't seem to help myself.

Here's a look at the upcoming events in the sewing blog world.

 

Flip This Pattern - This is a year long event featuring a different pattern each month starting in June, with the  Bubble Pocket Shorts. Giveaways, Voting, Sew Along linkies; just about everything you could wish for in a sewing event.

Skirt Week - This is the second event I am participating in June. I've already entered one skirt into the competition, and I'm thinking about doing a second (You can enter up to three skirts per category).

Update - I will also be sewing up a pencil skirt for the Stitch Once, Rip Twice challenge. Thanks for the tip Amy.

What June events are you excited about. Did I miss anything?

Quick Summer Tops

I am really good at making plans. Not so great at following through. I made a lot of plans for this month.

In the month of May I wanted to:

• Sew along with all four weeks of Project Sewn
• Make two outfits for the Knock It Off Sew Along
• Finish a complete summer outfit for every member of the family
• Sew three baby blankets for the triplets.
• Finish two doll skirts and possibly matching shirts

Simple, right? I should be able to get them done with plenty of time to spare.

Oh crap, I just remembered. I don’t have super powers.

What’s a mere mortal supposed to do when they realize the month is 2/3 of the way over and she’s not even half way done with her list? Oh yea, cheat.

Ashley pinned this photo of a denim tie front tank top from DKNY a little while back, and my favorite pattern shop  just happened to release a pattern that would work well for recreating it.

So I got the first Knock it off project done, and summer tops for both the girls in one swoop.

More about the Tank Tops

Pattern: Hattie Button Up Tank Top 
Fabric: Denim and Medium Weight Animal Print Twill.

Pattern Alterations:

• Skipped the ruffle on both
• Added One inch length to both
• Skipped the bias tape on the denim version. My machine just couldn’t handle it.

I automatically add an inch to the length to any Peek A Boo Pattern I use for my daughters. They are such skinny little waifs, my girls.

I like that I am so comfortable with a pattern company that I know exactly what changes will need to be made before I even start to sew.

If you are planning to sew the Hattie Tank Top  pattern make sure you take a look at the Susie Sundress as well. It's half price today only.  The half price sale is over for this week, but don't worry, she puts a different pattern on sale every Thursday!