Pattern Review: Burda 9780 Toddler jacket

I love sewing for my kids. Unfortunately they have lots of hand-me-downs from friends that are in pretty good condition already, so there is no need to sew more clothes for them. My daughter just had a growth spurt in the last couple of weeks and her clothes are getting shorter and tighter. Her spring jacket that she wore all last Fall is now above her navel. And there were nothing in her size in the 2 local thrift shops. I guess I had to make her something myself! Oh how I relished this opportunity!

I'm still on the pledge to sew from stash fabrics and stash patterns. Fortunately I had accumulated some kids' patterns in the last few years. I dug up Burda 9780 and thought it looked cute. I also found some remnant coated yellow cotton fabric that I got from the cheapy bin a few years back that could work well as a windbreaker material. I know the pattern called for knit fabrics. But with the kimono sleeves I thought I could make it with a stiff coated woven material.

I had to sew it up really quickly because it had been raining on and off last week and my toddler had nothing to wear. I didn't even look at the pattern instructions. I just took out the fabric and the pattern pieces and started cutting. The pattern pieces seemed straight forward enough and I was able to sew it up pretty quickly. I didn't have enough of the yellow fabric and had to cut the sleeves shorter by about 3 cm. I want the jacket to last at least until next winter so I lengthened the front piece to almost the same length as the back, used a zipper instead of a button front to add more width, added a storm flap in the front as well to make it more rain/shower proof. I also made the hood a bit deeper by added 3cm to the front of the hood. I put in elastics into the front edge of the hood as well.

When it comes to the lining, the only kiddish fabric in my stash that wouldn't show through the yellow cotton was this white cotton flannel with numbers on it. I actually didn't have enough and had to cheat. The sleeves linings were pieced together and not all in 1 piece. I figured no one would notice anyways.

I'm quite pleased how it turned out. My daughter has already been wearing it for a few days and it didn't seem to stop her from being her usual active-exploring self. It hasn't rained for a few days so I will need to see how it performs when it rains. Let's hope she won't stain the jacket/lining with mud/food too soon!! LOL!

I signed up for Me-Made May'13!!! Panic starts here!!!

That's right! I have signed up for 'So, Zo...'s Me-Made May'13 challenge!! Panic now! I have even set a higher challenge for myself this time around that I will wear at least 2 self-made/self-refashioned garments each day!!  Arghhhhhhhh!!!!

But seriously, I really enjoyed it last time around and I hope to be more organized this time and remember to take pictures of the outfits in the mornings before the kids wreck them. My daughter likes to smear food on my hair/clothes all the time. If I don't take the picture first thing in the morning then I will have no chance for a good picture of the outfit.

I'm also panicking because in my part of the world, I honestly have no idea what type of weather we will be having. Last week it was raining and above 0 Celsius. But the last 2 days it was freezing and snowing! I remember a few years back it was still snowing until the middle of May but then a day later it was in the mid-teens and we were in t-shirts and shorts. I guess I need to make some sure I have some layering pieces for different outfits. I think I'll have to add some lightweight jackets/cardis to my Spring/Summer wardrobe this year. I'd better look through my fabric stash and pattern stash right now!

Odd Ensemble Part 2 - Pattern Review & Refashion: Simplicity 8764 Vintage-Inspired Dress

Remember that odd nun dress ensemble that I thrifted last week (see post here)? Well, I had refashioned the red-knit-sleeveless-button-down-duster part of the ensemble! I'm pretty happy with this 'Vintage-inspired-Rockabilly' dress! I was able to use the red duster as well as remnants of the black part to make up this dress (there wasn't enough red material to begin with).

I was looking through my pattern stash for inspiration and I found Simplicity 8764 from 1999. I think I had made a strapless dress with it a long time ago but I didn't wear it much and donated it soon after. The fit was fine but I was constantly pulling the dress up that became a nuisance. This time though, I thought I would add straps to this dress so it would be more secure.

I cut the dress front and back and I barely had enough. I had to cheat on the top because there wasn't enough fabric for the top. So I used the remnant of the black nun dress to create a band on the top. I sewed the button front opening shut. I used a zig-zag stitch to stitch on a 3/4" elastic around the top band. Then I zig-zagged elastic again to the straps and made the straps crossed at the back. I look at my button stash and found these plain black buttons that would fit the theme of the dress. I also created a back centre seam to take the extra material in. Everything was from my stash - I was too lazy to go out and buy anything anyways!! LOL!

The pattern was very easy and quick to sew up. It calls for a shelf bra but I didn't do it because I figured I would have to wear a strapless bra anyways. However on hind sight, I should have done a full slip because the knit is a bit thin and if I don't wear the right type of panties the panty lines will show. I really like these simple clean line patterns that allow one to add/customize them to one's own liking. I'm pretty sure I will use this pattern again to make some other knit dresses.

Pattern Review: OOP Mccall 9295 dress

This is an out of print McCall's pattern from 1998. It was one of those those 90's simple, clean line style knit dresses. I like simple and easy to sew and I like sewing with knit so I snapped it up right away.

I chose to make the halter long dress. It was super easy and fast to make! I made it with some black stretch velvet that I found at the cheapy bin in my local fabric store. I had just enough to make the dress. I lowered the neckline a little (so that it doesn't look like the dress was choking me), did my usual short waist adjustment and shorten the hem a little. I added a shelf bra inside the dress but I still need to wear a strapless bra for the dress to look okay. I had to shorten the straps a lot to fit my frame. The back is a little low for my taste but at least it didn't show my bra. It wasn't supposed to have a back slit but I added a high back slit so that I could walk and dance.

I do like this dress. It was super comfortable to wear. I usually try not to wear long dresses because I'm short and broad. But this one seemed okay. I wore it to an office X'mas party and some gala. It may not be the super party dress of the decade but sometimes one just can't go wrong with a simple black velvet halter gown!

Odd Ensemble Refashion Part 1: Nun dress to Party dress

I bought this odd ensemble from a thrift store a couple of months ago. I can see why no one was interested in it. It's like someone in the design department just gave up and had the manufacturer tacked 2 completely separate dresses together at the shoulders and under the arms. It was only a few dollars and I thought what a bargain for 2 good size separate cotton knit dresses in colours that I like!

I took apart the 2 dresses (just a few threads) and started working on the black dress first. My hubby saw me wearing it and asked me if it was a nun's dress. I knew that the dress was crying out to go to a party! LOL!

First I chopped off the dress at above the knee. It was already looking a lot better. Next I changed the mock neck into a boat neck. I sewed a piece of clear elastic at the neckline with a zig-zag stitch to prevent it from stretching further. I also reduce the back width by 3cm.

I couldn't decide how to embellish the dress. I wanted to use what I already have in my stash instead of buying some new trims. So I decided to move the year back to 2011 and try to embellish the neckline with......safety pins! I actually don't have enough safety pins so the neckline looks a bit sad and sparse. I guess I have to buy some more safety pins after all. I figured that the safety pin embellishment is not too permanent - if I decide to change the neckline later I can easily do that.

So what do you think? Too DIY looking? Too 2011 all over again? Or passable as a party dress?

Yummy Persian grilled chicken recipe....and a Persian recipe website

I have always loved Persian food - ever since my good friend brought me to her mom's house for an authentic Persian feast almost 20 years ago. I've been trying to find a good Persian restaurant in town and I was also googling for easy Persian recipes. I think I've found the blog for me: Tumeric and Saffron by Azita. I have only made 1 of her recipes so far and wow! I was running out of ideas what to make each week with chicken for my family and I found her recipes. I had a quick look at what I had in my fridge and decided to make her Persian grilled saffron chicken (Joojeh Kabab) recipe. It was soooooooooo delicious! Since then it has been in regular rotation in our family meals. Her food pictures are also really gorgeous which makes it even more enticing to try her other recipes!

If you like Persian food or just want to look for new recipes for your chicken, go visit her blog and have a look!

(source: Tumeric & Saffron)

Pattern review: OOP Butterick 6076 dress

This is an older OOP pattern from 1999. I am cleaning out my closets so I'm rediscovering a number of older self-made clothing. This is a Cynthia Rowley pattern with a strapless dress in 2 lengths and a beautiful knee length coat. I like the dress pattern so much that I made it twice!

The dress is strapless with boning on the sides. I like the simplicity of the dress as well as how easy and quick it was to sew together. Usually I don't do strapless because I have very broad shoulders/back and upper chest for my height and size and a strapless dress would highlight this. But this dress pattern somehow didn't emphasize my weird shape as much as I thought.

 I made the first dress in a hot pink cotton dupioni look fabric that I bought on sale at John Lewis Watford years ago. I used size 12 which was actually too tight for me. I did my usual short waist adjustment and shortened the hem slightly.

A couple of years later I had to go to a wedding so I made another one in a green poly taffeta. The taffeta has less give than the previous fabric so I added about 2cm to each side seam around the bust area so that I could zip it up. I got so many compliments at that wedding that no one believed I made it myself! (I guess I should have ironed it before taking this picture).

This is a very easy and quick dress to make and I highly recommend this pattern if you already have this in your stash. I'm glad I rediscovered this dress because I think I'll make another one in a floral cotton for this summer, just in case there is some sort of celebration coming up! LOL!

2nd batch: Very practical use of fabric scraps and an old baby change pad

I have made another batch of sanitary pads using an old organic cotton change pad and cotton flannel fabric scraps. This batch works really well! I made them really quickly again so the sewing is not perfect. Nonetheless they performed their function really well.

I'm really happy to have refashioned this very soft but hard to upcycle change pad. I don't think another mom would want to use a used change pad for her baby because there might have been a big poop mess on it at one point (which didn't happen to this pad). And I just don't like the thought of adding more disposable sanitary pads to the landfill every month. So this solution works for me. These cloth pads are so soft and doesn't make that plastic-y sound if I move the wrong way!

I change the shape of the wings for this batch. I find these batwings work better and the pads don't move as much as the last batch. I was able to make 10 pads from this one change pad. And here are the not-so-pretty refashioned project pictures:

Pattern review: Mccall 5671 dresses

Now back to clothing for the beach vacation this summer. Knit dresses definitely travel well and are easy to wear and care for. I used the Mccall 5671 pattern in my pattern stash and these yellow print and red floral cheapy bin polyester knit from my stash as well. I used a size 12 because for knits, size 12 usually fits me better (size 14 for woven).

The construction was super simple. The dresses came together really quickly. I made my usual short waist adjustment and shortened the hem. That was it! The bust actually fits without any tweaking which surprised me. That's why I love sewing with knits. If it was a pattern for woven material I would have to do an FBA. With knits - no worries! I didn't cut on the bias for the lower dress portion because with a drapey knit, I felt there was  no need. Also, I wanted the yellow print to be vertical on the yellow dress.

I highly recommend this pattern for the dress part. I have not tried the other pieces so I can't speak for them. I do think I will make more knit dresses with this pattern again!

NOTE: the red poly knit was clinging to my legs a bit because of the static in the winter. I should have no problems with static in the summer.

Pictures: Very practical use of Fabric Scraps

** Warning: NOT pretty sewing project pictures!!**

Last month I talked about a very practical use of the fabric scraps I had been saving (see this post). And now here are the pictures! They were leftover fabric from the pajamas I made for my son - too small for any garments except may be bits of a quilt. I used 2 to 3 layers of 100% cotton batting (also small scraps) between 2 scraps of 100% cotton flannel and then I just serged the entire sandwich together. Then I added snaps at the end of the wings. You can see that I made those pads really quickly and crudely. I figured that no one would see them (except on this blog - Oh No! LOL!) so they don't have to be pretty. They had been tested already and were very comfortable. Next I want to make some waterproof ones by refashioning my kids' old organic cotton change pad. That pad is really soft and thick so probably best for night time use.

Refashion: Men's Jeans to Party loot bags

We are having a small party at home for my son's birthday this year. I have invited some of his friends and I have prepared little gifts for their loot bags. I thought, as part of my Stash Busting effort, why not make the loot bags myself with my existing stash? After 2.5 hours and some broken sewing machine needles (sewing too fast with thick denim on thick denim), I managed to transform 2 pairs of men's jeans that were given to me, into 6 little loot bags for the party. I still have lots of the jeans material left for other projects. I didn't buy any materials to make the loot bags -  all the fabric, ribbons, threads, bag template, etc are from my stash. I'm so happy to be reducing my stash this way!

From these men's jeans:

Using this plastic canvas as a bag template:

To these loot bags:

2nd Hand Clothes and Shoes....and a long rant!

I am a big fan of Zoe of the blog 'So, Zo.....what do you know?'. She is a very talented sewist/refashionista and has lots of measured thoughts that I can completely relate to. She recently posted about her purchases of 2nd hand shoes (see here), which made me thing of how I consume as well.

I love sewing, thrifting, and refashioning for myself, my family and my house. I haven't shopped for brand new clothes and shoes for a long time (just a couple of slip ups) and this year, I have pledged not to buy 2nd hand clothes/shoes unless I/my family actually need them. It hasn't been difficult at all; it's not like there was a period when I was craving to shop at the malls. I just adapted to it naturally.

My hubby and my kids don't know or care that they wear home-made/home-refashioned/2nd hand clothes. My kids love the 2nd hand books and toys I got them. They don't bug us to buy new things for them when we go to the malls because we rarely buy anything in front of them (except groceries). I use homemade olive oil/coconut oil/beeswax cream for our family's skin care (see here for recipe). And I started washing my hair only with water (no shampoo/conditioner/gel/spray/etc) after reading about it on Meggipeg's blog (her hair is gorgeous!).

I don't think of myself as an early adapter of any trends. I rarely talk about my sewing/refashioning/thrifting/homemade creams because my family, friends and acquaintances don't react kindly to it. They often think of me as some cheapo-crazy-treehugger-radical. Or they think I was disapproving their consumption habits when I talk enthusiastically about something I made. I made the mistake of talking about the 'magic' of using a water/apple cider/olive oil mixture to detangle my toddler's tangly hair and just had the other mom roll her eyes at me (she was endorsing this tiny bottle of $40 all natural ingredients detangler for her kids).  I just wish that I could find another suburban mom like me in my town (somewhere within 10 km!! LOL!) who shares my passion of sewing/crafting/thrifting/making your own skin care and hair care products, and the curiosity for alternative ways to make a less-toxic life for ourselves and our kids. Perhaps I need to start a local mom group myself?

I think we living in the west think buying something will solve any of our issue/need/want. I'm trying to break away from that. When I go walking in the malls for exercise with my toddler (it's snowy and windy outside 6 months of the year), I actually love going into the higher end stores and look at the underworkings of the jackets, dresses and pants in case I want to copy them (yea the sales assistants were rolling their eyes at me - LOL)! And I like looking at the windows at H&M and Forever 21 to see how they put their outfits together.  I take pictures so that I can put together something similar from my closet. I don't feel bad going to shopping centres at all.

Sorry about the rant! Sometimes it feels a bit lonely just doing all these 'wacky' projects by myself and no one to share this with face to face. When I go to the local thrift store or the fabric store, I'm surrounded by seniors and the rare student. So if you also like sewing/crafting/thrifting/making your own creams, give me a holler!