An A-Line Dress for Summer

Christine Jonson’s A Line Dress is one of those deceiving little numbers.  It might not look like much on my dress form but on the body it transforms into something truly special.  I never fail to get compliments on this dress when I wear it out in public.  The dress is made from a knit which makes it as comfortable to wear as a nightgown.  The fit is fairly close in the upper body area and then flares just the right amount to skim over any “trouble spots”.   The dress can be made with or without the diagonal contrast section, an element I particularly like, but pay close attention when matching the two bands at the side seams.  The neckline and armholes are simply turned and stitched, making this a very simple dress to put together.

I hope everyone reading this is enjoying some summer sewing (if it is summer where you live J).  I’m still working on some swimwear and hope to have something to show for my efforts soon.   I’ve also been busy planning for and making samples of the crafts I’m going to teach in a couple of weeks at my church’s Vacation Bible School (I love this job).   I’d love to hear what you’ve got on your worktable.

Girly Apron

It’s been an action-packed week, but with a birthday party coming up tomorrow afternoon I needed to get some girly sewing done.  One of my son’s classmates is celebrating her 4^th birthday tomorrow and, as I’ve written about before, any chance to sew for a girl is an opportunity not to be missed.  With my tight schedule this summer I knew it had to be something fairly simple and decided on a personalized apron to go along with a store-bought cooking set. 

I am pleased that everything in this project came from my stash.  I started with a piece of pink denim and added two pink and brown coordinates for ruffles and binding.  Since the denim is very thick I decided against a double-fold hem along the sides and bound the edges instead.  The bottom ruffle was sewn onto the wrong side of the apron along with a bias strip which, when flipped to the right side, was topstitched in place.  This finished the reverse side nicely.  I embroidered the birthday girl’s name on the bib. 

I based this project on the apron tutorial I wrote last July.  I also took inspiration for my project from some aprons my friend Kathy made for her friends' little girl, pictured below.

This week I’ve also been working on several more swimwear pieces, some embroidery for a friend and some “Good Samaritan” repair work on some church garments.  All in all, a satisfying week of sewing.

Join me and other creative types over at Today's Creative Blog for Get Your Craft On.  Lots of great ideas there.

Custom Swimwear, Aqua and Brown

I’ve been spending a lot of time at the pool this summer, something that is pretty new to me.  This probably sounds pretty silly but I don’t have a thing to wear!  It’s really tricky to find bathing attire that is fashionable (i.e., not frumpy) but provides the coverage I want these days.  I particularly like to wear a camisole-style top and boy-leg shorts.  It’s often difficult to find what I’m looking for (and without spending a lot) so I’ve decided to try making some things for myself.

I’ve got several pieces of 4-way stretch knits in my stash just for this purpose.  I have a large amount of this aqua/chocolate brown print so I decided I would start with it since I would have the chance for a do-over if my first attempt didn’t work out.  I used the Shelf Bra Camisole by Jan Bones as my first pattern.  I took a class with Jan at the Sewing Expo a few years ago and was very impressed with her knowledge of sewing with knits.  This pattern has a built-in shelf bra and separate pattern pieces for different cup sizes.  All of the edges are finished with ¼” elastic which ensures a nice fit.

I feel much more comfortable at my sewing machine than my serger, so I chose to construct this piece using my conventional machine and a zigzag stitch.  Some day I'm going to learn to use my coverstitch machine (a friend recently suggested I bring it to a sewing retreat and make it my goal to learn to use it, an fantastic idea!) but the old Stretch and Sew methods still work great.

For a first try this top is great.  I wore it to the pool over the weekend and thought it was very comfortable.  When I make another I am going to try one size larger as this one is pretty snug and I would like to see the difference.

Working with this pattern gave me the confidence to try some other tops with patterns not necessarily designed as swim wear.  I feel that I could easily add a shelf bra to other tops, and want to try one of the camisole-style tops I particularly like.  Pamela Leggett’s Perfect Tank Top (more like a cami, really) is another one I think I’ll try.  After I’ve got the tops down I’ll move on to the shorts.  Stay tuned.

Pool Cover-ups for My Kids

We’ve been going to the pool quite a bit this year.  My kids are finally water-savvy enough for me to take them both by myself.  The biggest challenge is what to do when it is time to come home:  take the time to change them into dry clothes or let them sit in their car seats in their wet suits?  I’ve tried the “burrito method” (wrapping them in a towel) but the littlest one is always tripping on the hem and it is impossible to buckle them into their car seats with the towels in place (I can hear other parents nodding their heads at this dilemma).  First I thought about buying some robes to wear home from the pool until I priced them.  Next, I searched for instructions for making my own and came across exactly what I was looking for on Sew, Mama, Sew.  These instructions use a towel for the fabric (I bought mine at Kohl’s on sale) and are very easy to follows.

I added appliqué sea friends (a whale and octopus) along with some button embellishment.  I started with a couple of clip art drawings for patterns and satin stitched the quilting cotton to the towels.  I decided to use wide quilt binding instead of narrower double-fold bias tape to finish the cut edges as I thought it would be easier to apply given the thickness of the towels.  While I like this at the center front, I don’t like it around the neckline very much.  In fact, the only thing I don’t like about these cover-ups is that the necklines are too wide and don’t sit nicely on my boys.

The day I completed the first of these garments I came across a new pattern by Dana over at Made for a beach robe also made from towels.  I think I may put this on my list to make next year – we’ll see how the current versions hold up to washing and wearing.

I’m still hoping to get some pictures of these robes on the actual subjects but so far I haven’t had any luck with that.  For now you’ll have to be satisfied with shots taken on hangers.  Hopefully I can update with some “action shots” soon.

Update on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 9:27PM by Julie Bowersett

Here are a few shots of my kids wearing their cover ups.  You can see how wide the necks are.  I've decided to make a center back pleat and take up some of the extra width with hopes these will fit a little better.  I don't know if the neckline stretched (I would advise stay-stitching it immediately after cutting) or if a smaller arc would be better.  The instructions call for a 9" wide opening.  Next time I would try something smaller.

A Tomato Update: EarthTainers Rock!

For those of you out there who are curious whether the elaborate tomato planting system I wrote about a month ago was worth all of the effort, check out these tomato plants.

If you need a reminder of how far these have come, here is what the plants looked like four weeks ago:

I think they like their new home.  This system is very easy to keep properly watered and is weed free.  I really recommend you give it a try if you have wanted to grow tomatoes but weren't sure you had the right location to plant them in the ground.

I finished up a couple of projects tonight for my children, and tomorrow should be picture day (if they are feeling cooperative).  Check back this weekend for details.  Hope everyone is enjoying summertime!