Crossover pinafore on baby

So my niece is finally big enough to wear the cute little dress made her. She is over 6 months now.  She is just cute in this thing.  I posted a blog a while back with shrink to the tutorial for this.  I made two of these so far and am doing a third one soon for a friend.

Pinafore tutorial 

Adventures of a Denim Trench: Done!

I took a day off to relax then got back to the finishing touches today.  It took just shy of 3 hours to finish everything! It's beautiful and me! I put the sleeves on, and the buttons.  I washed it and its hanging to dry.  NOTE TO SELF: this is a hand wash only item! washing it in the machine made it fray pretty bad.  I definately need a surger!!! Im very pleased with the outcome and I have enough material left over to make another one.  I think I just might and try to sell it.  Well, here's the finished trench!

 The buttons.....to keep with the mismatch theme I used 5 buttons, 3 of a dark color and 2 of a silver!

This is what happened after I washed it.  It took almost two hours to cut all the fray off but I got it done!  If anyone out there has tips for how to keep this from happening without a surger or burning all the edges I would love to hear them!!!

Adventures of a Denim Jacket part 2

This is the second part of my denim trench! It's almost done.  I put together the top piece and sewed it to the skirt.  I also put together the sleeves at this point, but didn't take pics of them.  during this process I had a needle snap.  Part of it went in my eye.  When that happen I closed my eyes and not paying attention the rest of the needle went through my finger.  I ripped the finger out which of course caused it to bleed. :(  However, I got the piece out of my eye and super-glued my finger shut and got back to sewing.  I got lucky it didn't go through to the point that an er visit was necessary.  Just a little rip.  well, enjoy. 

 The injury, after I super-glued it.  NOTE TO SELF: if machine starts to jam....don't force it! Just stop and figure out the problem...might save a finger (or eye).

 Front of jacket

 Back of jacket

Side view

pinup girl dress!

This is my pinup dress! It took 6-8 hours to make.  I made it for an event at a local bar. It was actually super easy to make.  The only issue I had was the pattern I was using was a little to small for me.  So I had to resize it! That too ended up being super easy!  I'm loving these new tricks I'm learning.  The pattern I ended up using came from here.  However I didn't follow it exactly.  I used this tutorial to resize the pattern.  This slashing and cutting method was amazing.  However, it made the top a little big still.  So as a result there was a lot of taking in on this dress.  To get the full instructions of how I made this dress go to my burdastyle page.  I have decided that I will post most of my instructions and tutorials there.  I hope you enjoy the rest of my pics and try to make one yourself!

easter basket

this is my little easter basket! It was super quick and easy to make.  I made it in less than an hour! the most difficult part was getting the bottom on but I made it work.  I used this pattern to make the basket.  I did make a few adjustments.  I made the bottom 7.5" instead of 7.25".  I also only did interfacing and I think it calls for a layer of batting or something.  I plan on adding little buttons onto the sides where the handles meet the basket.  I think I'm going to make little fabric eggs and buy some plastic ones to go inside this.  I also plan on making one that is a little bit larger, maybe a 10" diameter.  use the small one as a table display in the family room and the larger one on the kitchen table.  I was so worried this would be hard to make but I was so surprised at how easy it was!

These are my little gnomes!  sorry, I don't have pictures of their cute little faces.  I made them for several people this year.  They were quick and super easy to make.  There is a tutorial out there somewhere but I don't remember where and I made some slight adjustments. 




1) cut a 5x5" square.  fold in half and sew the two sides together.  grab the middle of both sides and fold in half again to sew the two sides together.  make sure to leave the top open.  It should resemble a bag.
2)  Stuff your little bag.  You can also put rice or beans in the bottom so it sits right.  I didn't.
3) get a good sized bead.  I had to grab a dremel and make the wholes bigger, well, my husband did. grab the top of the stuffed ball thing and twist it til you can shove it through the bead.  Shove it. i used needle nose pliers to pull the fabric through once enough came out the top.
4) I trimmed the top of the fabric and hot glued it in place on the bead.
5) using felt, cut a triangle big enough to go around the bead.  sew it into a hat shape, turn so the seam is inside.  Hot glue the hat onto the bead. 
6) draw some cute little faces using a fine point sharpie.

There you have it.  I made around 10 or 15 of these in just a short time.  they make great little gifts.  and did you know that gnomes are a symbol of luck.  so when you give them out make sure that people know that they are to watch over them and bring them years of luck! happy sewing!

purses

Over the last couple months I made a couple purses.  They were both christmas gifts for family members.  I had bought the handles a few months ago and decided it was about time I used them.  I decided to make these two cute little bags.  Both bags have pockets inside the purse.  Each one has a larger pocket for storing small notebooks, possibly a kindle, or other things.  The other side of the purses has a multipocket that has a few slots.  One big enough for a droid phone or iphone, three for pens and pencils and one that can hold a couple markers or checkbook.  It was fun learning how to make pockets and line purses.  The main reason I made these was to learn how to line items and how to use those dang handles.  They are both the same style.  One is flowery and the other is Star Wars themed.

both have a strip of denim at the top and have pleats to add style.  they aren't large pleats so you can't see them in the photos. 

Adventures of a Denim Trench part 1

Its been a long time since I have posted.  The reason is because I was enjoying the holidays by making a bunch of stuff for family.  Over the next few days I will be posting a lot of stuff I have worked on the last month or so.  So keep your eyes peeled for more posts.  This post is to show off my progress on a trench I am making.  I have a picture that I drew up myself that I am somewhat going by.  I am making some changes along the way so by the end, my trench will look nothing like my drawing.  Well, here's some pictures since I know you want to see them.

This is the drawing.  front and back.  it has the measurements on it and everything.

This is the front and back of the skirt portion, not quite done, but almost.

This is front and back of the finished skirt portion.  The only part left is the jacket part of the trench. Its going to have to wait for now as I am out of time for the evening and out of denim!

Christmas trees

I made three stuffed christmas trees.  I was so happy I found this fabric.  Its perfect.  All I did was draw the shape I wanted, cut it out, sewed and stuffed.  Pretty simple stuff, all though none of them turned out the way I wanted.  That's ok, they have character.  I think im putting these on my kitchen table for the season. 

Candy Cane dress

So, I have decided I love coming up with new ideas!  If you've been reading I have cut up a bunch of old t-shirts to make a quilt.  well, in the process, I ended up with a bunch of scraps.  I have taken a few of them and made myself a cute little dress. I didn't realize that it looked like a candy cane til after I made the dress.  all I did was take a few of the bottoms of the shirts, sewed them together into strips, and now I have a cute dress for christmas! I might add straps or something but here it is.....my candy cane dress:

christmas PJs!

I have finally got our christmas PJs done! I did a pair of pants for him, and pants and a dress for me! It was really quite easy to make them all. For the pants all I did was trace a pair of PJ bottoms I already have, cut it out, and sewed the pieces together.  There are tons of tutorials out there showing you exactly how to do it.  Most of them are for childs sizes but you can use the same technique for adults, I did! For the dress I used an old tank top and made it longer.  I also went with a square neck instead of a rounded neck.  I had fun making these.  I love seeing things come together!

His pants.....


<<close up
                                  far away>>>>














 showing off pants                                the whole thang                              the dress

jolly thanksgiving table

I decided to kill two birds with one stone this year.  I made placemats and a table runner for my kitchen table.  I did dancing fun loving christmas penguins on one side, and a thanksgiving theme on the other.  The placemats are quilted with just regular batting on the inside.  Each one is quilted differently.   The table runner is also quilted.  however, each side is quilted different and the inside is that hot pad batting stuff.  The idea of the table runner is that you can put hot pans on it and it not ruin the table underneath.  I haven't tested this theory out yet, but I'm confident that it will work out.  I decided to do this so that i don't have to fish for pot holders all the time and so that i could just use the same stuff all season! hope you enjoy!

 front and back together

 penguins up close

Pet placemats

I made cute little place-mats for my pets.  I have a cat and and dog.  They are both christmas place-mats so I will need to make more after the season is over. I know its the norm, but I made a fishy for the cat and a bone for the dog.  I'm not the best at drawing so they are perfect but they turned out alright I think.  They do not have batting in them because I figured the pets don't need it.  Hope you like them!

just some accesories!

I've made a couple of things all of you readers out there might enjoy.  The ideas are not entirely my own, yet again.  but I made them me! The first is a wallet.  It is 90% jean, the lining is just a plain cotton.  I used a couple different shades of jean.  a darker on the outside and a lighter on the outside.  I'm thinking of adding an applique or some bejeweled stuff or something to spice it up a bit and make it less plain.  It was fairly simple, however between the layers and the thickness that is jean, it got very difficult at times.  The tutorial I used for my wallet is at THIS site! it's very simple to follow.  Here are a couple pics of mine:

 

The next item is a tote! completely jean! completely my pattern.  I used the whole top portion of some jeans.  I then added strips of various other colors and styles of jeans at the bottom to give it something different.  I also took the opportunity to practice different stitches to see what the look like. I also didn't seam everything the way everyone normally does.  for the panels i just overlapped them and stitched them together. the idea is to get a somewhat frayed effect over time.  I have already used this tote once.  I don't need it for everyday.  However, I needed something big because the movie theatre in town quit selling mountain dew and good candy.....therefore, i need a bag to sneak some in.  I used it to hold 2 bottles of soda, 2 bottles of water, and 6 packages of candy.  It was heavy as heck, but it held up very nicely.  I also made the strap way to long, so I knotted it and I like it, it added something different.  Here is a front and back picture:

 

 Well, I hope you enjoy my accessories! I love making them and I love working with jean! It's so much fun to tear up the jeans that laugh at me because they don't fit! It's so much fun to come up with ideas or even to used old ideas!

advent calendar

This is my advent calendar! I made it, if you couldn't tell. It was quite easy.  My inspiration for this project came from THIS one.  again, I couldn't find a how-to.  so i used a tutorial to learn how to do a pillow case and I chose the envelope style pillow case because it looked easy! The whole case is satin.  I had a set of satin sheets and used those.  the Belt is removable using velcro and is just plain fabric with that stuff you used for tote straps inside to give it stiffness. All the writing was done with fabric markers! My embroidery on my machine is too small, so I hand wrote.  I also added a fabric belt buckle and fabric loops.  the idea is to slide the belt each day as you get closer to christmas! I was excited to do this one. hope you like it!  

holiday chairs

Everyone loves a little holiday cheer.  So how about dressing up your kitchen chairs for the season.  I saw this idea all over the internet. All the sites I saw these on were to buy them for outragous prices.  Then again, I'm a poor retail worker.  I can afford fabric on sale but not the covers.  I could not find a tutorial anywhere for these, so I kind of made it up as I went.  My inspiration can be found on THIS site. I'm pretty sure the price is $30 each.  so for a set of 4 you are spending over $100!! I have four kitchen chairs, not 1! So I took fabric I already had and made it up.  Mine aren't nearly as professional or as good.  As a matter of fact, one of mine started tearing apart in the washing machine! Teaches me to do a small seam on satin! But, I hope you like these.  This is the first finished project for the holidays I have.  I love how easy these were to make.  If anyone wants to know how to make their own let me know and I'll post a tutorial when I make my next set!

 This is the whole set.  The pics below are close ups of each snowman. 

 this hat is shiny!

This is the one with the satin ribbon.....not my fav.  But it's also my first one made.

 This hat is shiny too. 

This one is probably my favorite cause it's so different and so fun!