Tag Archives: sew

The owl. Is back.

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Remember the crazy owl quilt I made? Visual:

A few months ago my boss happened to see this photo and told me she wanted me to make her a wall hanging based on the quilt. So naturally I pretended like I didn’t hear her. I mean I had a wedding to plan you guys. About a week later she brought me a frame from Ikea followed by, “no pressure”. Sure. No pressure. Your boss says jump, right? Well last weekend I finally sat down and busted it out. Thankfully it turned out to be easier than I expected once I figured out what I was going to do. First I printed the above photo so the owl was the size I wanted (about 13″ high x 8″ wide). Then I cut it into pieces and added seam allowances to create the pattern. Visual:

Yes, those are the pattern pieces. Somewhere out there my former pattern making instructor just got a migraine.

I didn't think about how creepy the pins in his head would look. Sorry.

I put scissors in the photo to give a size perspective.

If someone asked me to make the quilt again, I’d laugh manically. But if someone asked me to make the wall hanging again, I’d totally do it. I’d charge more money than they’ll want to pay (because for some reason “hand made” translates to “cheaper cost” to a lot of people), but I would do it for sure. Someone else at work wants me to make an elephant. Stay tuned for that adventure.

DIY: Yoga pants fix

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I would like to preface this post by saying that it isn’t very exciting.

Now that we’re all on the same page, I had a pair of yoga pants that I never wore because they had a slit at the back calf. There’s nothing wrong with this per se, but it happened to bother me.

Before:

During:

I took the stitching out of one side of the slit, pinned it under the opposite side to close it off, and sewed it shut on top of the previous stitching.

After:

Cute as a button.

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Brace yourself for just about the cutest little outfit you’ll ever see.  I made this for friends of mine who are expecting a baby girl in July. Hopefully this will fit her when Summer 2012 rolls around. If not, I’d like to think they’ll re-gift it or sell it for a top dollar amount. (Since as mentioned above, it’s the cutest outfit ever.)

 

Made by me: Twirly skirt

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Blazer: Silence + Noise, Thrifted / Top: Gap / Skirt: Self-made / Tights: Uniqlo / Shoes: Nordstrom Rack, self-dyed / Belt: Gap / Shades: Target

I think I’m in love with this skirt. But I know the biggest challenge with it will be to make sure it looks more “Fashionable” and less “Easter Sunday”. The best part about it is the length (not too long, not too short)…and obviously how twirly it is.

Zipper fix

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I was really intimidated by the thought of replacing a broken zipper on Steve’s jeans. “How does one do this?”, I thought to myself. I stared at them for a few days and actually thought about pretending to fix them and then telling Steve it was a lost cause. But on Sunday I sat down semi-determined and with a combination of luck and magic, I was able to complete the task. Hot damn. I was giving my sewing machine mini fist bumps after this one.

Before:

After:

Finally.

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I have something in my closet that I made! In the last 12 months! Since starting this dress last week, I have also made myself a skirt. Look out, I think I’m on a roll.

Side note: I bought this vintage fabric back in September of 2009 (see that post here). I got it for $2/yard at a random fabric store in Pullman, WA. And let me tell you – my only regret is that I didn’t buy every single bolt of the $2/yard vintage fabric that was for sale. You win some you lose some, eh?

Dress: self-made / Belt: Forever 21 / Tights: Target / Shoes: Target / Earrings: Anthropologie

 

Steve’s Levi’s

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Steve is one of those people who will wear the same pair of his favorite jeans or shoes or his favorite sweater until they are literally falling apart. Once he finds something he likes, there is no stopping him. For example, the slippers I got him for Christmas a few years ago got thrown away only after 2″ holes had been worn through the bottom of both soles. Or the cargo shorts he had for years that I used to fantasize about cutting up and burning – they had paint on them, holes, discoloration and <sigh> he just didn’t care. I mean to each his own and whatnot, but…eek. He let me take pictures of them right before he finally agreed to throw them out. I am horrified to be putting them on the Internets, but I think it really drives my point home. VISUAL:

Steve has this pair of Levi’s. They’re not even that old, but I suppose when one wears them 6 days a week, they’re bound to break down a bit. I decided to do some minor repairs so that Steve can continue wearing them to his heart’s content. (The difference between me helping him out with these and not with the cargo shorts is because I actually really like these jeans.)

Before:

(That little hole on the pocket that has some hand stitching on it is a repair I did a couple of months ago).

During: (I adhered interfacing to stabilize the hole, and then pinned some fabric to the inside of the jeans. That way when I sewed the hole shut there would be something for the jeans to be sewn to.)

This is a photo of the inside of the jeans.

After:

I had to hand sew the holes on the pockets because the machine couldn’t get in to such a small space.

New pillows!

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Remember how I saved $760 by hand sewing a tear in our new couch? Meet the pillows that came with the couch:

I really wish there was someone to shake and ask “WHY??” to, but there’s not. So they have stayed in the closet until last weekend when I had the opportunity to re-cover them. I wanted to re-use the zipper and the pillow itself because both were in perfect condition. The pillow is really comfortable, but the odd thing about it is that it’s the shape and size of a bed pillow. I didn’t know it until I was finished with this project, but apparently I don’t like rectangular pillows the size of a bed pillow on my couch. It just feels weird.

Step 1: Remove pillow from pillowcase.

Step 2: Using a seam-ripper or a small pair of scissors, remove the zipper from the old pillowcase.

Step 3: Pick out, pre-wash* and cut your fabric. I used some dark brown cotton twill fabric from Joann’s and a printed scarf that had a hole in it. (It’s really soft and I just couldn’t bear to part with it.)

*Because these pillowcases have a zipper, I knew I wanted to use fabric that could be washed. I mean what would be the point of having a zipper otherwise? Pre-washing the fabric is absolutely necessary because if you sew up the pillowcase, use it for a while and then wash it, there’s a good chance that it will shrink and not fit right over your pillow.

Step 4: Sew those pillowcases up.

I had wanted the front of the pillows to be made entirely of the printed scarf, but it turned out that the hole in the scarf I had was at just the right spot to make that idea impossible. So I improvised and made it a panel-front pillow.


Since completing these pillows, two naps have been taken on the couch. I think that’s a good sign that they’ll do just fine for now.

How to make a Doodle Monster

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I made this little guy a couple of years ago. I was trying to create a stuffed version of a fictitious character my brothers had created. His name is Gordin and he’s pretty much my favorite. I hope they bring him back to the drawing board. (This is not a subtle hint on purpose. Ahem.)

If I remember correctly, Derek went through different versions of the illustration which meant I went through different versions of the stuffed animal. I think I was at number 5 or 6 when I was satisified enough to move on to something else. The version seen in this post was number 3 I think. Who knows though, it seems like ions ago.

Meet Gordin. The cutest rock monster there is.

And if you want to create a square version of a previous Gordin, here is your very own step-by-step tutorial. (I put it together for a project when I was in school.)

Click on either image to see bigger versions or to print from my flickr page.