Inspiration



Inspiration Scarf



Inspiration can come from anywhere.  When you sew, ideas can come from lots of different places.  I thought I would share a project that I did previously to show how sewing can be inspired by anything.

My husband treated me with a beautiful scarf for Christmas.  I loved the scarf, but had nothing to wear it with at the time.  I thought, maybe I can make something, but I had no ideas.  Later,  I was going through a catalogue that came in the mail and I saw a beautiful white wool dress.  I think the catalogue was selling purses, but I focused on the dress.  I tore out the page and saved it.  I bought the wool, but I could not find a pattern that I liked.  I thought I would have to give up. 

But I had a wonderful thing happen.  A friend, who knew I sewed, was cleaning out her mothers house and found tons of old patterns.  Some of these patterns were so old, 1920's I think;  they called a zipper a slide fastener.   I had such a great time going through the patterns. I have so many that I want to make.  The great thing was that  I found a pattern that I thought

would work great for the dress.  I added a lining because it was wool and shortened it a little more than the pattern. Check out the finished dress and I have to say it looks great with the scarf.  In the pattern, it shows a vest.  I made the vest, but some things are best left in a previous decade unless you can update it/ 

Finished Dress

Super Cozy Socks!!

I love these socks.  I think I may make a few more pairs of these.  They were so easy to make and with just a few changes they turned into socks  that I could use in  rain boots.  I bought myself a pair of fleece socks for my own boots and for about the same cost, I bought a pattern and enough fleece for 8 pairs of socks.  Awesome. 

The only thing I changed on the pattern was the addition of a cuff.  The fleece I used was really stretchy, so it was easy to add the extra piece without too many adjustments.  I am finishing up on my daughters socks, but here is a picture of my son in his socks and then a boot picture.  My son does not keep socks on his feet but he said these were "comfy".  I love the ones I made myself.  They are super comfortable.  The pattern was very easy and construction of the socks took less than 1/2 hour for each pair.  I think these would make great presents. 

Mitchell loves his socks and wants more.  My daughter is waiting impatiently for her socks to be finished. 

Back to sewing.

  

Finished - Yeah!!!



I found a pattern for free on the internet so I thought that I would share it.  The pattern already has the cuff added, which is easier than what I had to do. 

The boots below are the website example - go check it out.

Free pattern: Fleece boot socks

Cherie from Studio Cherie shares free pattern at Sew, Mama, Sew! for making fleece socks for a pair of boots. The socks are soft and warm to keep your feet cozy on cold, wet days.  The pattern is sized in women’s shoes 6-9.  .Go there now.

[photo from Studio Cherie on Sew, Mama, Sew!]



Simple Beginnings

I think if you are starting to sew the best thing to remember is it is ok to mess up.  I mess up all the time.  I started the fleece socks and after several pieces were sewn together I realized a piece was wrong side out.  Thank goodness for seam rippers - (They are the little pointy things used to undo stitches.)  Sometimes it is easy to tell the wrong side of a fabric and in some cases it can be difficult.  Wool is very hard to tell.  I usually place a safety pin on the right side of the fabric or make a mark where you cannot see it so I do not put my pieces together wrong.  I have no excuse with the fleece though; it was pretty easy to see the right and wrong side.  I usually start making silly mistakes when it is late or I am trying to hurry.  It helps to just sew for a specified amount of time so that I don't start making mistakes.

So my sewing room is all clean and ready to go!!  I love it.

As for the question that I received about starting with no experience, there are great resources right on the internet for someone who just wants to learn how to sew on a button or hem a pair of pants.

The website About.com has a huge amount of topics listed under "Sewing Basics" , from "How to Thread a Needle" to "How to Sew on a Shank Button" or "How to Sew on a Flat Button.".  The great thing about the website and links is that terms that someone may need explained are highlighted so that you can click on them and get a definition.

Still Getting Started

I had mentioned this jacket that I made in my previous blog, so I made my daughter model it for me.  I still love it! 

I have not started the socks; too many things going on this week.


I thought it would be interesting to talk about the many resources available for anyone starting to sew.  I am a book person.  When I started to sew I went to the bookstore and spent lots of time looking for books.  Some turned out to be very pretty but completely useless.  I have been sewing for awhile now and I still pull out my books for clarification or to finish something differently.  A pattern will use a term that I have forgotten, or sometimes I know there is an easier way to do something.  There are tons of reasons to have reference books around.


Two of my favorite books that I use all the time are The Complete Book of Sewing:A Practical Step by Step Guide to Every Technique and the other is Simplicity's Simply the Best Sewing Book.  It is a great idea before you start to sew to read your pattern and look up any sewing terms you do not know.  For myself, I had no idea what understitching was and found it very difficult to follow the pattern directions.  I learned how to understitch from a book.  another great source of information is the internet.  There is a lot of information on blogs and websites on sewing.  You can l, earn almost anything from tutorials.  If you have a specific question, there are many sites devoted to sewing that can help.  If you find yourself at the fabric store, as I often do, you can ask for help from the people at or around the fabric cutting counter. People who sew are always willing to help and everyone loves to know what you are making!

Here we go!

I am excited to begin this blog.  I just might learn something about myself in this whole process.  I am a stay at home mom.  I have two great kids and a super husband.  I am busy with family, obligations and all the normal day to day things we all have going on in our lives.  I try to do things for myself and one of those things over the years has been sewing.  I started to sew after my daughter was born.  Looking back I did not know what I was doing, but kids clothes are great and very forgiving.  I don't think my daughter cared if one armhole was uneven or if the collars didn't line up evenly.  Fast forward a few years and now I can make myself a pair of pants with a zipper in them. I also realized that sewing is not to save money.  Sewing may have been economical in a past age, but not anymore.  Sewing can be expensive.  If you are going to make something, it should be something that you cannot buy. I think my most recent favorite thing I made was a toille jacket for mysef and a similar one for my daughter.  The material choice was unexpected and I put some great piping on both jackets.  They turned out so cute.  I think I may make another in a different color.
 
 For the purpose of this blog, though, I thought I would start with a project I had planned for the fall.  I bought some fleece to make sock inserts for all of our rain boots.  After purchasing a pattern, I bought fleece for myself, my daughter and my son.  Whenever I start to make something, it is usually a given that my daughter wants to know if I am making it for her. So, I usually buy extra fabric just in case I need to make something else.  The socks look pretty easy. Lets hope they are simple to make.
To get myself organized,  I always make a pocket file folder to keep the pattern in becasue I can never fold the pattern back up and get it in those small envelopes.  I never cut the pattern because most patterns are multisize patterns and if you cut it you cannot use it for a different size..  Use tracing paper and copy the pattern onto it and then cut the pattern out.  Make sure to label your pieces carefully and transfer all the markings on the pattern.  You don't want to have to get the pattern back out for a marking you forgot to transfer. I am doing socks in three sizes so I have three separate plastic bags for the patterns pieces with the fabric after everything is cut out.  I like to do patterns and then cutting and then placing everthing into a resealable plastic bag.  I have a box in my sewing room where I keep my projects and I try not to have more than four going at any time.
Everything is ready to go for the socks now, but I need to clean up my sewing room before I can get started.  I am looking forward to making some socks.  Fleece socks for everyone!