Well, what do we have here? Since I’ve been gone, dust bunnies have taken over and grown to the size of small toddlers. I need a broom, a vacuum cleaner, maybe a turbine engine to fight them back. While I’m battling these wayward bunnies, I have two sewing projects to drop off.
Last month, the family went to Awesome Con, a local comic convention, and I knew I wanted to dress up. I decided on a skirt but battled for days on whether it would be a circle, pleated or gathered skirt.
Uh oh, Red Shirt
The decision was made for me when I bought the last yardage of Star Trek Enterprise fabric on the bolt. All 1 3/4 yards of it. The fabric was about 50″ wide so I cut it in half to have to ~20″ panels.
Because the fabric was quilt cotton weight I decided on lining the skirt. I reused the lining from an old dress that never fit correctly. Upcycling for the win. Gathered the fabric, stitched it to lining, added a waistband and handpicked zipper and scrambled to finish so we could head to the convention.
ETA: How could I forget to mention the pockets? I LOVE pockets in skirts and dresses so the addition was a must. I used some pieces of the lining for the pocket bags in the side seams.
Upcycled lining
Can I say that this was my first time hand sewing a zipper and I love the look of it. I may sew all of my zippers this way from now on.
I’ve almost subdued these gigantic hares so lets go from the far reaches of space, to the crashing waves of the beach.
Last year I bought this fish and seashell swimming knit from Girl Charlee with the intention of making Closet Case Pattern’s Bombshell swimsuit in view A. I was ALMOST done when I got distracted by other projects and my swimsuit became a lonely UFO (unfinished object). Fast forward to this month, and an upcoming beach trip with Big T and some friends inspired me to revisit it. I pulled out the UFO with the intention of finishing it and decided to try it on first. Surprise surprise, well not really, it didn’t fit since I’ve gained weight since last year. I tore the swimsuit apart and between the pieces and some remnants, I had enough fabric to make view c, the bikini bottom.
I was so nervous about making a swimsuit. Would it hold up or would I be on the beach trying to cover myself? There was no need to worry as I danced around on the beach with no problems. The pattern worked up with very little problems. I made some adjustments to account for my waist but I probably could have just gotten away with only grading to the biggest pattern size. I’m planning take in the sides for a better fit.
Crotch area hidden under the swim skirt
The dust bunnies and I have declared a truce for the moment, and they agree to back off as long as I post again soon. So, as long as I can get my thoughts typed out there are plenty more posts to come.