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.