Loose Tank

Sometimes the simplest pattern and the easiest sewing job can turn out really good with a really fun fabric. Case in point.

Here's the shirt in action (with my hubby in Sicily). It was SUPER easy to make, very comfortable and it can be dressed down or dressed up. 

And it matches the local shrubbery! 

The stripes aren't perfectly lined up or perfectly horizontal but oh well! I still like it a lot.

Color Block Chiffon Shirt with Pocket

This is a color block chiffon shirt that I made for a friend for her birthday. I used the same technique as this, using royal blue, eggshell white, and adding a black pocket.

Making a pocket is super easy... just make a nice symmetrical pattern using some paper, sew together two pieces of chiffon, turn inside out, then attach to shirt on 3 sides to keep the pocket open.

Here is a view from the back:

I used black thread to do the top stitching, making a nice contrast:

Great shirt to wear over a tank top, tucked in to some jeans.
What do you think? Leave comments please!

1 Way, 2 Tops

Front Views

This top- or you could call it a blouse- is so easy to make that I thought I'd share. I have made it twice, both times with fun cotton fabric.

I used another top (one that I liked the fit of) to make the pattern, made it boatneck, and added some slightly puffy sleeves.

Back Views

The funnest part about these blouses (that's a fancy word, so I have to italicize it) is that I added flowers to the front of them. They are slightly camouflaged because they are made with the same fabric, which I like. Check it out:

Once again, let me know what you think! Any suggestions?

Funky Dress

Please excuse my fresh-out-of-the-shower unbrushed hair.

I made this dress a couple years ago, but I always get lots of compliments when I wear it (and who doesn't love compliments??) so I thought I'd share.

I made a very basic loose fitting dress with sleeves out of a very not-basic funky and stretchy fabric. It was a real b**** to sew but it is comfy and turned out great.

The dress is on the shorter side, so I wear it to work with leggings and flats, and I wear it out with black tights and boots.

The neckline is lined and slouchy.

View from the back.

And yea... of course you can dance in it:

Owl Bookend

Here's a very easy crafty project. I made these owl bookends for my bff's baby room. Here's how:

I drew a picture of an owl, made sure it was symmetrical, and cut out the yellow fabric with the pattern. I then added green felt wings and eyeballs, black circle eyes, an orange felt beak, and a belly.

Using the same owl template, I cut out the tree fabric (from the belly) for the owl's back:

With right sides together, I sewed the owl up, leaving a good 3 inch hole at the top of his head. I filled him up with rice* (cup and a half-ish) and some poly-fill, till he was nice and fat. *The rice helps the owl stand up and weighs him down to make a more useful bookend. I then stitched the hole up by hand.

The owl matches the bunting that I made for bff's baby room as well:

This is in my sewing room. It looks so cute hung up in the baby room. 

Hoot hoot!

Simple Dimpled Green Skirt

Alright, maybe it has pleats, not dimples. I was just trying to rhyme.

When I got married, my bridesmaids got dresses from J. Crew, I ended up making one of the bridesmaid dresses, so J. Crew sent me a few yards of the fabric, a beautiful green cotton silk faille. I had some leftover, so decided to make a nice little Fall skirt with it.

Using a rectangle the size of my waist x 1.5, I made three inverted pleats on front:

Put two wider pleats on back, and closed the rectangle with a matching zipper:

**** Disclaimer: I am not fancy, nor do I know how to curl my hair. This is the result of wearing a sock bun for a couple days and then taking it out.

I put on a waistband, doubled over, the size of my waist. Side view:

Obligatory blurry action shot:

Thoughts? Feelings? Suggestions?

Scrappy the Fish

My BFF is having a bebe, so I wanted to make a stuffed animal. I used a bunch of scrap materials, and so that is why he is called Scrappy the Fish!

I sewed a bunch of varied size and texture strips of fabric and did two different color schemes-

Oranges, yellows and greens...

...and pinks, blues, and greys.

I made a big construction paper cut-out of a fish (you could do lots of other animals too), placed it over the sewed together scraps, and snip snip snip.

I added little smiley faces on each side of Scrappy, and some felt eyes.

Then, I sewed together the fish, right side together, leaving a gap in the tail so you can fill the fish up with stuffing.

Scrappy Guts

Last, I zig-zag stitched the tail closed.

Scrappy likes to look out the window.