#thelittlereddressproject

”Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,  and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Luke 1:39-45

       Hello everyone:) I hope everybody is enjoying the Holiday Season so far! I've been a little MIA lately, lol. I'm about 4 months along right now and have been a bit tired and unmotivated to do much sewing. I really wanted to participate in the #thelittlereddressproject this year though, and it definitely helped perk me up. I feel more excited to sew now overall & I have a maternity friendly coat pattern that I'd like to get at once Christmas & New Years is over.

 

    For my dress I chose this beautiful stretch crushed red velvet (Fabricville) and used a McCalls pattern I've had in my stash for a few years now. Its unfortunately out of print, but I think burda has a similar one available. I had already cut my pre-pregnancy size 10, so I made a quick muslin to check the fit. I was able to just use a smaller seam allowance on the side seams and front under the twist and I was fine! I had to add a curve to the back, otherwise it looked like a sack, lol.

    I used a new blade on my rotary cutter & my trusty cutting mat. I definitely found it helped reduce slipping to have the fabric right side against the mat and cut in a single layer.

    This is one of the front crossover pieces that I trimmed a bit of the SA off, then overcast the edges and just turned over once to hem (with the help of wash away wonder tape).

The recommended double hem was too slippery so I found this worked better for my particular fabric choice.

     I reduced the back-waist length a bit and forgot to add a bit of length to the skirt. I wish I had made it an inch or so longer:/ I had to make a very small hem. Not sure what the proper way is to hem velvet, but I used a simple machine hem (plus I was in a rush to wear it to church the next day Sunday!). I overcast the edges of the skirt  and used my 1/4" hem foot, just eyeballing it. I think it works:) I did the same for the sleeve hems. I used a straight stitch throughout and stretched my fabric slightly as I sewed. I probably could have used that method on the neckline, but I was winging it as I went, lol. If you're using velvet for the first time, definitely practice on some scraps first.

     The front twist is pretty plunging so I tacked to keep it modest for church:) I may take the stitches out and re-tack it slightly lower though. I received so many nice compliments on it. I realized its not often I sew solids, I usually gravitate towards prints. I'm really liking this deep red & its very "Christmasy":) I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

See you all next year!:) xo

Member Spotlight

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (which means "God with us".

Isaiah 7:14

"You (Mary) will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus."

Luke 1:31

Hello my beautiful friends, I hope you're doing well today!:) I was recently asked to answer some questions for a "Member Spotlight" in a Facebook group I'm in. It was fun to participate & I thought I'd do up a blog post and include some photos with my Q&A.

My sewing group has monthly challenges. This one was made for a recent M6886 Pattern Hack challenge.

1. What is/are your DIY craft(s) of choice?

Sewing. Mainly garment sewing but I do enjoy making plushies & Barbie doll clothes occasionally. I love Pinterest and do other DIY stuff from time to time. Sewing is my first love though

2. How did you learn, and how long have you been practicing your craft?

My mom taught me the basics of using a needle and thread & how to use a sewing machine. My Grannie (dad's side) sewed with her treadle Singer for as long as she was able to. Her love of sewing left a lasting impression on me. I didn't seriously pursue garment sewing til I was in my 20's but I always knew I wanted to make my own clothes. As a kid I was a big fan of Archie Comics & one character, Betty, made her own stylish clothes. I was amazed by her. I've been making (wearable) garments since 2011

Singer sewing machine like Grannie had:)

Plushies I made for my sister:)

Barbie clothes I made a few years ago for my niece:)

***I tried to find an image of Betty & a sewing machine but nothing came up. There was one story I recall where Betty re-created a bunch of Veronica's Paris Originals, lol. Not sure if this image is from a similar story, but I decided to include it here anyway:) Betty was definitely a talented sewist. It was so cool to think I could make my own unique creations or copy designer looks;).**

Fun maternity dress, modified V1314

Canada Day dress 2013

3. What is the most important thing you have learned about your craft?

Have fun with sewing and enjoy the process.  Learning to sew and improving your skills takes time, practice & patience. That being said, anyone can learn to sew if they have the desire and will put the effort in to learn. My non-sewing friends often comment, "Oh I couldn't sew to save my life". I always say, "If I can learn to sew, anyone can." I didn't do very well in high school sewing (I was an insecure, self-conscious teenager). My mother put me in a sewing class when I was young, but I hated it, lol. Learning as an adult on my own & at my own pace was far more enjoyable.

A few years ago with my little Boris:( 

  4. In what ways have grown since you first started? 

   When I first attempted garment sewing I shed many tears of frustration and was tempted many times to throw my sewing machine out the window (my mother bought me that particular machine though, so I stopped myself;). Once I stumbled across patternreview.com it was a major turing point & my first encounter with the online sewing community. My skills have definitely improved since then and I'm far more likely to stick to a project until its finished (unless I'm certain its going to be a wadder, lol).

My first review on P.R. was my Nintendo Dress, 2012:)

I try not to compare myself to other sewers (especially if they're far more skilled than I) and keep in mind that we all have different sewing goals. You may want to sew certain types of, or more simple garments, someone else may make more advanced bridal wear (or whatever). Be inspired by and appreciate other sewers. Take the time to compliment & encourage. We all have something to offer the sewing community. I am continually challenged to improve by seeing what other sewers make but I won't force myself to make a garment I have zero interest in. Its only recently that I've developed an interest to make a button-up collared shirt. I haven't really made pants either (just leggings). We all only have so much time to sew, so choose wisely. Also, don't feel pressure to sew for others if you don't want to, but be gracious about it. Take it as a compliment when someone asks you to sew something for them. They probably have no idea how long it takes. 

Sewing really helped with the baby-blues. I made this Minoru a few weeks after the birth of my first son in 2014.

I've certainly learned to be more choosy & thoughtful when purchasing fabric. I got quite carried away early on, (and I still have my moments ;) especially when fabric was on sale. My taste has definitely improved too, lol. When I gather items to donate, I usually donate fabric too (but only stuff I'm certain I won't use or fabric that makes me stop and wonder "What was I thinking when I bought this?").

Funny story, before I learned to sew I didn't care much about fashion. My brother half-jokingly said once, "We're going to nominate you for "What Not To Wear" Lol! 

One of my favourite dresses. A modified version of V1314.

5. Do you have one tip/techniques you can share with us?

I use up the partial bobbins of odd colours for things like basting (mostly by machine). I often baste main seams to check fit so this is a nice way to save on matching thread if I'm concerned I might run out. 

Thank you for the feature Sew Much Talent! My blog is http://caper81.blogspot.ca/.