Top-Toberfest...it's a coming

It's that time again.  What time?  Top-toberfest time.  What's Top-toberfest you ask.  A celebration of shirts, tops, blouses, that sort of thing.

Top-toberfest is going to be starting up October 15th and will run through November 2nd.  I have some great guest bloggers lined up, and I'm super excited to share some new projects with you.

Are you wondering why in the world my Top-toberfest logo has a speech bubble? You don't care, well let me tell you anyway.  Way back in college (8 years ago), I bumped into my future husband.  He was wearing a vintage button up shirt, with pearl snaps (which is now sitting in my re-fashion pile).  I liked the shirt, but more than the shirt, I liked him.  I told him "Hey Jake, I like your shirt".  To which he responded, "it's shirty".  Yep.  It was a shirty shirt, and that was the line that won me over.  Alright it wasn't. In fact we waited two years before we went out next. Anyway, much like my husband's shirt, Top-toberfest is shirty.  We'll  have some fun new tutorials to share with you. I hope your looking forward to it.

PS- Do you ever write with certain voice inflections in your head?  I don't know if I worded that well, but whenever I think of Top-toberfest, I want to announce/yell it in Oprah fashion.

PPS-I just signed up for a craft fair, right in the middle of Top-toberfest....eek.  I'm nervous, and a bit overwhelmed, but I seem to be much more productive when I have a lot going on.

Tips For Tuesday

I've been really about about Technique Tuesday.  It's something that I love doing, but haven't gotten around to doing much of lately.  I'm convinced that things are going to get back to normal around here soon, but more and more I realize that they're just becoming more chaotic.  With Christmas a coming there's not going to be any slowing down around here.  I guess it's time to change my routine, and make things work.  Anywho, rather than sharing one technique with you today, I have a whole round up of sewing tips from the web.  Such Clever ideas.  Enjoy.

Measure and secure hem as you sew.

Source: hmartin.shopregal.ca via Tricia on Pinterest

Make 5 yards of bias tape out of one fat quarter.

Source: jonag.typepad.com via Tricia on Pinterest

A must read about speeding up your production speed at home.  I agree with SO many of these tips.  Pattern weights, skipping the pins, sewing order, etc. 

Source: coletterie.com via Tricia on Pinterest

Sizing Chart for babies.  Helpful little measurements for when your model isn't present.

Source: craftyarncouncil.com via Tricia on Pinterest

Halloween Costume: Boys Green Lantern

Here's costume number 2.  My friend's little boy LOVES green, and he's five.  Naturally, the only thing he wanted to be for Halloween was a Green Lantern.  

Like with the Wonder Woman Costume, I made my own pattern for the outfit.  I used some slim fitting knit pajamas as a guide, and went from there.  The top has some piecing on the front bodice piece, and the sleeves.  I probably should have thrown in some briefs, but what's done is done.

The thing that I love about making these outfits out of knit is that they can be worn as pajamas when Halloween is over.  They are soft, and will launder well.  

I made him a green lantern cape to go along with his costume (because boys love capes).  I added a small green ring to give him all of his green lantern super powers.  I found the ring at the Dollar Tree in the craft section.  It's actually a crayon ring, but I didn't find that out until I got home.  I was complaining to my husband, and he made the whole situation a lot better.  He suggested that I carve into the wax to create the green lantern logo.  Great idea.  Unfortunately my crayon carving skills are less than impressive, so no close up for you.

A simple felt mask.  Anyone making Green Lantern costumes this year?  Let me know and I'll share my mask pattern.  It was simple to make.  I cut out my initial shape on a single layer.  Then I pinned it to a second layer, and stitched around the perimeter of the mask.  Cut away the excess material, and attached the elastic. Done.

 Shoe boot covers to complete (or destroy) the entire look. I have a feeling that I should have waited to drop off this costume.  As soon as I showed the little boy he wanted to wear it around.  Hopefully it is still in good condition by Halloween.  His favorite part? The ring.

Want to make your own superhero cape?  You can find my pdf sewing pattern in my shop.  Great for the Holidays.  I've also decided to sell a limited number of my capes.  So if you'd like me to make a cape for you little superhero let me know soon.  I'm not going to overload myself with custom projects. Email me for details or to set up a custom order.

Wonder Woman Halloween Costume

Last week I finished up four Halloween Costumes. I got to choose what to make for my friend's two year old daughter.  It was harder than I thought.  Not having a girl, I felt overwhelmed with the possibilities.

Initially I thought I'd turn her into a Disney Princess, or maybe a butterfly, but then she'd have the same costume as every other girl between the ages of 2 and 10.  Then I worried that maybe she'd want to have the same costume as every girl between 2 and 10.  Finally I decided to turn her into a superhero princess.  After making her mom a cape a couple of weeks ago, I thought that she might like to be like her Mama. So the wonder woman costume was born.


The costume is complete with red leggings.  They reference her famous red boots, while still keeping her little legs warm.  The Star spangled hot pants were replaced with a simple knit circle skirt. And the bustier top was replaced with a long sleeve top with color block sleeves (because I ran out of red knit).

My favorite elements of the outfit have to be the armbands and the headpiece.  I love how they turned out.  The faux sequin fabric was picked up at Joann's.  The faux red leather stars were cut out with one of my new dies for my accuquilt Go! baby fabric cutter.  It made this costume to much easier to put together. Sew in Peltex interfacing provides the shape for the armbands and the headpiece.

I added a shiny gold applique to her cape.  I know that Wonder Woman doesn't traditionally have a cape, but in my opinion, if a kid dresses up as a super, they need a cape.  I used my Super Hero Cape Pattern, the pdf pattern is available in my shop.

I stitched the applique on the knit top.  I always trust a stitch better than a fusible adhesive, especially on stretch fabric.

Tutorial: Wedding Garters Three Different Ways

Hello Hello, with all of the wedding we'v e been having around here lately, it seems only fitting that I turn out a wedding based tutorial.  You can find me at the Ribbon Retreat Blog today, sharing some of THREE tutorials on Three different approaches to a wedding garter. Wedding Garter Tutorials here.

 All of the supplies can be found at the Ribbon Retreat. They have a great selection to choose from

 Handmade wedding garters are a great and inexpensive way to add a personal touch to the very special wedding day.

Come visit for the full tutorials.

Tutorial: Low and No Sew Scallop Garlands

Scallop Garlands aren't anything new, and I won't pretend to be the first one to write up a tutorial for one, but hopefully this low/no sew tutorial will make the construction process quicker, and easier.

No Sew Scallop Garland

Materials: 

Bakers Twine (Length of desired garland)

5 inch circles, edges pinked, and pressed in half

Fusible Hem Tape

Iron and ironing board

My garland uses sixteen five inch circles, spaced roughly 1 inch apart, and the total length is approximately six feet.  

I used my accuquilt Go! Baby fabric cutter to cut out the circles-super quick and easy.  Once my circles were cut out, they were pressed in half, and then pinked around the edges (while folded in half).

To assemble the garland all you have to do is open up your scallops, cut a piece of hem tape that is slightly shorter than the length of your scallop, and place it right up against the fold of the circle.  Place your bakers twine on top of the hem tape.  The adhesive on the hem tape will keep the twine in place, and secure the two layers of fabric. Close the scallop. Press.  Repeat. Like I mentioned, my scallops are roughly one inch apart.

Add done.

A super easy no sew scallop garland.  No bias tape, stitching, clipping, or turning required.

Low Sew Scallop Garland

The Low Sew version is constructed in much the same way.  Cut your five inch circles, and press in half.

Pink the edges.  Doing so will eliminate fraying at the edges of the scallops.  I used a pinking blade on my rotary cutter.  It makes quick work of it.

Sandwich your bakers twine inside your pressed scallops.

 Pin in place.

Sew around each scallop, starting at the folded edge, and stitching 1/4" away from the pinked edge.  Backstitch to secure the flags to the bakers twine.

 Repeat with all of your flags.  Press (I obviously hadn't done that here).  Sewing really doesn't take any longer than the no sew version.  It's just a preference.

Enjoy. Thanks for reading!

Photo Shoot Preparation

We're getting ready for a first birthday over here.  I can hardly believe that Miles is almost a year old.

In preparation for his birthday, we are making preparations for our preparations.  Isn't that odd. We'll be taking some pictures for his birthday invitations, so preparations are underway.  We have a finished bow tie, diaper cover, reclaimed glasses, and of course a few garlands.

We still have a few other projects to prepare for the photo shoot, but I'm excited.  Hopefully he's willing and eager to participate.

 I love making simple circle garlands.  They're bright inexpensive, and easy to whip up (especially with a fabric cutter).  I used my Accuquilt Go! Baby fabric cutter, and used the two two and three inch circles.  I recommend using three colors in two sizes, that way you can create a regular repeating pattern.

Remember how a while ago I mentioned that Clark was dead set on a Big and Mighty Machine Birthday Party?  Well that very day he changed his mind.  He decided that he now wants a Superman party, which sounds easy enough, except for the fact that everything in the stores is Spiderman, Avengers, and a few Batman items.  I'm sure that will all change next year with the release of Man Of Steele, but for now, I've decided I'm going to have to stick to the Superman color scheme, and forget most of the licensed birthday party products.

We're planning a joint birthday party for the boys, since their birthdays are fairly close together.

Baby Gifts

Some friends of ours are expecting their first son later this month.  I wanted to be sure and get something made up for them before the baby arrived. I love bow tie and vest onesies, so of course, I made one for their little guy.  I also happen to think that the "No Hablo" Bodysuits are hilarious, so I threw one in there as well.

A self-bound receiving blanket, and a serged edge swaddling blanket (36" square, with rounded corners), and the gifts were good to go.

I saved a few scraps of the flannel, serged the edges, and tied the blankets up in with a contrasting bow.   Clark and I worked on this project while Miles was down for his afternoon nap.  We had a good conversation about repetition with variation as elements of design.  I explained that the blue and white color scheme united the two fabrics, while the different patterns created visual interest, repetition with variation.  Who knows if his nearly four year old mind will file the information away for future use, but I love that he asks questions, and likes to help me out.

So I've been sewing up a storm lately, and crossing things off of my "To Sew" List, but unfortunately I don't have any tutorials.  It's been a while since I've written up a tutorial for you.  Any requests on particular projects?  I'll try to squeeze in a tutorial sometime next week.

Pretty Dresses & A Promo Code, What Every Girl Needs

It's been a busy year for us when it comes to weddings.  My brother was married last month, this coming Friday my Sister  In Law is getting married, and then mid-November, my husband's baby sister will be getting married.  With each wedding comes the stress of having to find a dress.  In our families, we usually try to dress in the wedding colors.  Finding the right dress, in the right colors, that is wedding appropriate can be a difficult task. Thankfully, no matter the color scheme, I've found modest, and beautiful dress options at Shabby Apple.

Golden Afternoon Dress

 The wedding in November is shades of pink with light green accents.  The Golden Afternoon and Love Me Do dresses would both be lovely.

Love Me Do

Sierra Nevada

In July jewel tones were what we were looking for.  The lovely Sierra Nevada, or Tea Time Dress would have been perfect.

Tea Time Dress

Rodeo Drive

This upcoming week, the bride to be has chosen grey and hot pink.  I love the clean lines of the Rodeo Drive dress, and the simple and feminine Look of love dress.  Both great options.

Look of Love Dress

I think that every girl deserves to feel comfortable and beautiful in a lovely dress.  From now until 9/14/2012, you can save 10% off your Shabby Apple order, by using code favorite10 at check out.

One Super Woman, and Progress

I had the privilege of sewing a very special cape last week.  Just over a week ago, a good friend from our neighborhood was diagnosed with Leukemia.  She has two kids close to my boy's ages.  Her oldest started kindergarten this week, but sadly she didn't get to see him go to his first day of school.  Instead, she sat in her hospital room, dealing with the side effects of her chemotherapy.  She is a trooper, and has maintained a really positive attitude.  It is such a helpless feeling when people get sick.  There's nothing that I can do to make her sickness go away, and there's nothing that I can say that will change the reality of the disease.  Sewing though, that I can do.

I sent her a message shortly after she was admitted to the hospital, and offered to make Halloween costumes for her children.  I was absolutely thrilled when she accepted my offer.  I was even more thrilled when, in her response, she requested a superhero cape to wear over her hospital gown.  She was concerned about gaping in the back (which I always do as well), and figured that the cape would provide her with the coverage that she needed.  She also knew that her son would love to see his mom in a cape, and he did. Illness and disease is hard on everyone, and I love that she thought of a way to lighten the mood with her son, and make the experience a bit more approachable for him.

I typically make my capes out of satin, but satin just isn't practical when it is worn in the hospital, and will need regular washing.  I had inherited some sparkly purple cotton fabric, and thought it would be a good alternative.  The sparkle adds another dimension to the cape, and honestly, I had zero project ideas in mind when I received it.

If any woman should wear a cape, she should.  She deserves it, and all of the honor that comes with it.

At church we typically have a large crafting party a few months before Christmas, I am so excited that this year, all of the crafts and projects that we make are going to be handmade for her family.  She had wanted to make all of her gifts for her family, so this will give many of us the opportunity to feel like we are doing something to lighten the load, and ease the burden.  You can find many of the projects that we'll be working on, on my pinterest board "Relief Society Ideas".

Adding a few more projects to my list really kicked me into gear, but slowed down the progress on my half finished project challenge.  I'm happy to say that I did complete the following: 12 CTR bands, 1 sweet pea dress with diaper cover, 2 vest onesies, 3 pennant banners, 1 tortilla cozy, and 1 burp cloth.  Progress was definitely made, but my drawer still isn't empty:). I'm happy though.

Last week I did manage to make a few items for an upcoming birthday photo shoot, sew Clark's Halloween Costume, make a thumb print tree for my Sister In Law's wedding later this week, and sew the cape.  So it was a super productive week for me.  Hopefully I can keep things going and turn out another costume or two this week. Is anyone else feeling pressure to start on Christmas projects yet?  I honestly feel like I am booked through New Year's, and it's only the beginning of September.