Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Aprons

My friend, Emily, requested an apron after making one as a gift for a recent bride. After looking at some patterns and books, she decided on McCall's Easy stitch 'n save M5358. She selected fabric from my stash. I would have never thought to make the bands and ties out of the contrasting fabric - it turned out "sew cute!" The green vintage fabric was leftovers I inherited from my husband's grandmother's estate. This was a great pattern for trying out my new ruffler foot.





































My daughter has an apron for our play kitchen but my son has been playing with it more than she has, as of recent. I thought he needed a little chef's/BBQ apron, as well. He looks like he's working at a little restaurant in the photo. When we put it on him, my husband said it's time for him to help out with the grilling! When sewing this apron, I traced my daughter's as a pattern, but any basic apron pattern could be sized down, or I have seen child apron patterns sometimes included with the adult pattern.

Ties - Simplicity 4762

This pattern could be addictive. I think it will change the way I look at fabric (will this make a good tie?). Here are the ties that I made for my son. Unless you buy an entire set (pants, shirt,vest) for little boys, it is very hard to find ties. I decided to try this out and was very pleased with the results...very cute. The baseball tie will extend his black dress pants into the summer. The red tie will be worn on Easter with a gray and white seersucker suit.

Read my entry at www.patternreview.com (use link to the left side of this blog posting) for details on sewing the tie.









Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Last-minute Wrap for a Formal Event

The night before leaving for our church's couples' retreat, I decided I needed a wrap to keep the chill off. Frantically going through boxes of unorganized fabric due to a recent move, I came across two pieces of off-white organza. With a french seam down the middle, the length was just right. I used the rolled hem foot for the sides and on the diagonal edges, I used a decorative stitch. I tied it behind my back, received many compliments, and surprisingly, it kept me warm!