Skirting the Issue Donations

I just finished my skirts for Skirting the Issue.  I made three for little girls and one for an older girl.

This first one is a dark blue cord skirt with darts for shaping and an invisible zipper in the back.  It is a Juniors 11/13.

Ruby Dress

I decided to give Made By Rae's Ruby dress a try.  From Rae's blog posts,  have determined that she and I have similar proportions so since it worked for her, I figured it would work for me.

The first one I made was in regular old woven cotton.  I knew it was not the best choice for a dress since quilting cotton doesn't have great drape but I have had this piece of fabric in my stash FOREVER and I love the print.  I decided it was time to use it up.  I was a little short on fabric so I added a band at the bottom.  I also added a little to the length.  I am about 5'9" and I am teacher - I wanted to be able to wear this to work. These photos stink because I took them while learning to use the timer on my camera.

Even though the fabric choice was not ideal, I love the dress. I was actually really surprised that I like it so much.  When I saw the the gathering is ABOVE the fullest part of the bust I wondered how it could be flattering but it is!  I know some people are adding belts to this dress but I have never been able to getting into the cinching style; it just doesn't do it for me.

For my next Ruby, I decided to use a geometric print ponte de roma fabric.  I used stretch black denim that I had leftover from a pencil skirt I made for the top part.  I added a few inched to the length.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this dress.  The only issue I have with this dress is that I used store-bought bias tape.  It is a little stiff and it makes the neckline gap a little.  I would love to make my own more often and I even have the little bias tape maker to use with my iron but I rarely have the time to do anything that requires an iron.

I have three more Ruby dresses planned.  The dress is a quick project and I highly recommend giving it a go.

Hide and Seek Dress

I made the Oliver and S Hide and Seek dress for Maya.  I really love it.  I read a few reviews before I started so I was prepared for the fact that it has a lot of pieces and that seam finishes would be an important part of this dress.  I see so many possibilities for other dresses from this pattern!

Winter Knits

The cold and snow this winter has put me in the mood to knit.  Here are a few of my projects:

This is the Knit Night hat from Ravelry.  The only change I made was that I decreased to the band at the bottom by row (by accident- I was knitting while following the kids).  I love the hat and the pattern.

This is the Honey Cowl (short version). I made the longer version a couple of years ago but I wanted a cowl in the same grey as the hat I made.

These are Spate fingerless gloves.  I participated in the Journey Knit Along on Ravelry.


All of these projects were knit with Cascade 220 superwash in Silver Grey.

Another Skirt

 I made another Everyday Skirt this weekend.  This one is grey chambray.  I took these pictures after I wore it for a few hours so it is a LITTLE wrinkled.  This fabric makes the skirt very practical and easy to pair with tops and boots.  As you can see, my foster dog (who will soon be our forever dog since we have been fostering her for over a year and no one has applied to adopt her) stayed about a foot away from me for all the pictures.  That is pretty much how it goes all day around here.  She has attached herself to me pretty well!

Liesl + Co Everyday Skirt

I had a feeling I was going to like this skirt when I saw the Liesl + Co Everyday Skirt pattern.  I tend to buy fitted skirts because I feel like full skirts add too much bulk to my hips but the way this pattern is constructed prevents that.  There is gathering in the front (attached to a flat waistband) and gathering in the back (with elastic so no closures are needed), but the side panels are flat.  Also, there are pockets and I love pockets!  I was determined not to buy new fabric until I knew if I liked the pattern so I made my first version from this quilting cotton I had in my stash.  I think the print and color say "fall".  

 The side view.  See the pockets and the flat front waistband?

 Pockets!

 And then my hair elastic fell out so I called it quits.

I am definitely making more skirts with this pattern.  I have some charcoal chambray on the way and I am hoping to make one in lightweight cord as well.  I made the medium this first time but I might try the small next time.  I had to gather the elastic quite a bit in the back and with cord, I don't want it to end up too bulky.  If you are looking to start sewing some wardrobe basics for yourself, I recommend giving this one a try.   If you have sewn a few simple projects and you are relatively comfortable with your machine, you will have no trouble with the directions.

Bimaa Sweater

I bought the Sew Fab epattern bundle and here are my first two Bimaa Sweaters.  The pink is a size 5 in a lightweight jersey blend.  The blue is a size 5 too sort of.  I accidentally cut it in a size 5 instead of the 3 I intended.  It turned out to be a good thing since the fabric is not super stretchy and if I had made it in the 3, I don't think she would have been able to get it on.  I realized my error the second I finished cutting and so I simply shortened the sleeves and the body.  It came out just how I wanted!  I love the pattern.  I will be making a few more of these - I actually have a dress in mind based off of this.  THe rest of the bundle is pretty great also - a purchase that will get a lot of use.