During the Family Day long weekend, I picked up some more fabric to make some more toys with. I’m pretty excited to see how these turn out. Let me know what you think!

I’ve mentioned them here before, but I’ll say it again. Needlework here in Hamilton has an amazing selection of fabrics for all types of sewing projects. They run classes for beginners and up, are always willing to help out in picking fabrics or any other kind of question you may have. Did I mention they have a shop dog. Peggy is adorable?

They may not have an enormous (overwhelming?) selection, but make up for quantity by curating their selection very well. Which I appreciate as I’m usually running in on my lunch or during nap time. So its great to know that I’m going to find something that suits the project I’m working on.

Currently, it appears I have a thing for Denyse Schmidt (FB). Could be worse, right?

Talk soon,

Graham.

I must admit to really looking forward to writing this post this evening. Writing the post last night really highlighted what I have been missing. I think I see this as a form of escape and a way of emptying my head of everything before bedtime…..when I eventually got to bed last night I slept really well.

So here I am ready to go.

But we have a problem. The camera has run out of charge!

NOOOOOOO! (She takes a deep breath.)

It’s not a problem. I didn’t want to show any pictures anyway. ..She says lying! Ok so what can I do before disappointment sets in?

Well I have to admit to having had problems with the camera before Christmas, so much so that I bought a cheap standby just in case we didn’t have anything to capture the precious moments with. Unfortunately the quality is not as good as my old faithful, but I can at least show you some of the crafts that were made before the Christmas festivities.

December

Can you see what I mean about the quality? Ho hum…it’s better than nothing I suppose, and I so want to restart the blogging mojo.

So what is it about. Well as you can see by the date this was Christmas Eve and I was still making. Upon the tree, mixed into the other decorations you will see gingham hearts, pom poms and Scandinavian hearts. I decided that I needed to take precautions due to these little fellows……

Now I love my Christmas tree, especially all the little memories that go with each one of the ornaments and baubles that I have collected over the years. Unfortunately most of these are glass. Having survived Moo, Boo and Roo, I didn’t want any of them to succumb to the feline monsters.  So they were left safely snug in their packaging and replaced, for this year at least, with less fragile trinkets. I know you can’t really see them, but I think you get the idea. It was good thinking in the end, as it soon became clear as the branches were left to settle, that both of our kittens enjoyed scaling the dizzying heights and were up and down it like rats in a drain pipe! Can you see how the tree is leaning? It actually toppled over completely on the 29th of December and had to be replaced by our artificial standby…..Boo!

Can you also see what is sneaking into the bottom of the picture?

Want a closer look?

Tadah! Baby christmas tree decorations.

You don’t really get the true sense of these due to the grainy picture. The materials were a mixture of Christmas prints and silks. They were not as big as the summer trees that i made, but they were very popular. I finished up making seven of these. I made a couple for a Christmas Bazaar, but that led to orders being placed for five more. I could have made even more, but I just ran out of time. I am sure you know how that is before Christmas. You can also see one of the Christmas tree, Christmas tree decorations that I made……can you see it? Green and to the left of the picture. Very fiddly to make to be lost in the branches of the tree. I don’t think I will be making any more for next year.!

Christmas seems such a long way away now. All the work and preparation that goes into creating the perfect day passes by and the feeling of  ‘what was all that about?’ sets in.

Other crafts that were accomplished was the making of home-made mincemeat, Christmas hampers including jams, chutney, biscuits and gingerbread, and a few patches being sewn to the union flag patchwork. ( Yes it is still on the go!)

Looking at the evidence of the flurry of activity it looks really pathetic, but I worked for hours for very little. Never mind, I have all the decorations for next year…..and I already have orders for more trees! (If you want one let me know now so I can book it in!)

Anyway bed is calling. I can assure you that the camera is on charge for more reveals tomorrow. I have Most of November and all of January to show so I will be back tomorrow …..I promise!

Night all. xxxxxxxx

You can see some of the process in the gallery below and in posts here and here.

I’m currently working on a post about all the fabrics I picked up on the Family Day long weekend – stay tuned.

Talk soon,

Graham.

I thought, “Hmm, I wonder if I could make something like that?”  So I gave it a shot.  Instead I used a drop cloth that I had on hand instead of the burlap.   It’s actually the same drop cloth I used to make my sewing machine cover.  Here was my attempt…

I had a cute little bag on hand from valentines that I used as a model for how I could tackle this project.  I waned to keep it as simple as possible, so for the seams I just used a zig zag stitch.  And according to the heart bag I only needed 3 pieces of fabric.

I did a test run on some scrap fabric . . .

I used one piece of fabric for two sides and the bottom.  The other two squares made up the other two sides…  I pinned the two squares, sewed with the zig zag stitch, flattened the bag to trim the top of the bag to make it a little more even.

I had some trim on hand and I sewed it to the bag too.  This kind of took care of the rough top seam…

I covered a piece of cardboard with the same material.  Kind of like a little pillow case with the end sewed up with a zig zag stitch…

Now for the handles.  The bag was a little more floppy than I had hoped.  So to give the bag just a little more structure, I inserted some floral wire into the seam of the handles.  For the handles I actually used pieces of the existing seam of the drop cloth.  Boy, that was a nice shortcut!  However I did have to hand sew the handles to the bag.  I’m not a strong hand sewer.

I sewed the handle to the inside of the bag just behind the lace of the trim.  So you couldn’t really see my “handy” stitch work…

Not quite like the Pottery Barn version, but PB was inspirational none the less.

Look, it’s a sewing project to hold my other sewing projects…

Gosh, do I have a sewing bug?

Until next Monday!

Jennifer

What can I say?

I have no explanation really….only that I am back at work and busy, busy, busy.

Those of you that work in the education sector will know what I mean. Those of you that don’t will probably be saying …’But they have all that time off!’ From the outside looking in I can see your point, but sitting where I am right now, having just completed three hours work, marking and prep for tomorrow, I can tell you that the reality of teaching is toil and hard work…….but I love it!

Little faces ready for the day to begin, light bulb moments when it finally clicks and the sheer joy of working with fantastic little human beings. You can’t beat it.

I have to explain that even though I am back at the chalk face, I have not stopped making; it was the making that I started this for so that has continued even though there has been a lull in the blogging. As a result I have so many pictures to share with you, including a certain ‘Blast it’ that is finished and has been a God send over the winter months. I am determined to sit down tomorrow and get the pictures uploaded. Tonight however I am ready to turn in. It is already 11.50pm and I have not stopped today.

I must admit to you that just sitting and typing my ramblings again is showing me how much I have missed the blog. I also have nearly finished my year, so I have got to keep it up.

Definitely see you tomorrow.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

I think that these would make a great Mothers day gift, either in the kit form if your Mum is a keen sewer (or washer upper!) or you could make one up for her. I decided to make up Felix the fox into a cushion for my Mum.

The instructions are quite clearly printed on the tea towel, so I cut the pieces out

I followed the sewing instructions and then I just stuffed it with soft toy stuffing.

I chose Felix the Fox, but there are 3 others to choose from Oswald the Owl, Marmaduke the Cat, and beautiful Bertha. Here is Felix nestled in amongst some of my other cushions

Baby Ruffle Strap Dress

So I finally finished this dress for my little girl. I bought the pattern almost a year ago and well I kept putting it off, until I realized that if I didn’t get started soon she would be too big to fit into it! This was the size Large on the NewLook pattern A6112 and I think it equates to about a size 24month. I really like the fun spring patterned fabrics I found for it and I’ll probably be making a matching hair flower to go with it. But most of all I am so happy to be finished. Let’s just say the seam ripper is my best friend!

But I wanted my coffee. So I was drinking it. I heard the small voice in my head saying “Really? Best plan?” I imagined the look of a couch with massive coffee stains.

And then it happened. Our little guy made a leap up towards the back. I quickly switched the coffee from my right hand to my left in just the nick of time. Then, I sat there smugly thinking, “That’s right, I can do this.”

At which point, he squirreled onto my lap. Onto both arms.

Lets just say that my project focus may have changed.

Slip covers anyone?

To make this lovely corsage all you need to do is cut out 5 or 6 circles of fabric, in various sizes, using a variety of thicknesses and textures, I used a bit of netting to add variety. I also used pinking shears for some to give added interest around the edge.

Sew 4 lines across the circles forming 8 segments

Cut between each line of stitching to just short of the centre.

On the back, pinch each segment together and hand stitch in place to give the flower a 3-dimensional shape

Attach a brooch pin to the back.

Wrap it up nicely and give it to your Mum for Mothers day!

]]> http://intraordinary.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/combination-consummation/ Tue, 19 Feb 2013 23:50:39 +0000 intraordinary http://intraordinary.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/combination-consummation/
Shoulder Bag, a photo by intraordinary on Flickr.

This past weekend I went fabric shopping with something specific in mind. I wanted a medium size pattern done in neutrals with a pop of color. I spotted this one and thought it was perfect. Then I went to the section where the orange fabrics were and the one I found matched so well it’s almost like they were made for each other! I even got all kinds of compliments from the customer service ladies at the fabric store. I put a small swatch of what the orange fabric looks like because you can’t really tell from this picture.

I can’t wait to try this combination out on some other projects.

check out the tutorial >>> here

Here it is without the peplum

And here is the back, I made a button hole and used a vintage style button. The herringbone fabric and buttons are available at Trixie Lixie

The lovely blouse was made by my teenage daughter and is the Colette Violet blouse, the lovely Ivory Georgette fabric and pattern for this are also available at Trixie Lixie.

I am now looking forward to joining in with the Elisalex dress sewalong, for more info follow the link

I wanted to make two dresses in one, in a project I ended up calling the Kinder Surprise Dress.

The competition rules stated that I had to create my version of one of the patterns featured in the book BurdaStyle Sewing Vintage Modern. I could use ne of the existing patterns or I could alter one or more of the patterns. I opted for the latter, making a princess seamed bodice from the Elizabeth Gathered-Waist Dress. I changed the neckline, lowering it in front and back, and making the back neckline square instead of rounded. In addition I decided to make a front closure on the dress.

In order to get two dresses in one, I fastened a jersey underskirt and four layers of tulle to the bodice, making a dress with a wide, fluffy skirt. In addition I fastened the hook-side of hook-and-eye tape at the waist, and made a half-circle-skirt from the same satin as I used in the bodice, which could be fastened to the hooks.

As a finish, I decided to trim the whole satin skirt with shiny satin bias tape and a satin ribbon was used to make a belt.

I’m happy with my resulting LBD with party factor and I had fun making it.

Vintage 1960s Forstmann Jacket. This Ivory colored Winter coat was wonderful ribbed fabric. It is VERY heavy thick fabric. Perfect for snowy weather. A Line shape. It is a project piece! Some one not very nice stole te fur of this baby. I rescued her from being put down, heh She needs some loving hands to replace her collar and she will be PERFECT! There are a couple snags on the front right side, shown in pics. Very small. I would love to see how this one turns out!

All measurements are clothing laying flat, measure likewise to a garment of yours or double the measurements for circumferences.

Dimensions: Feels like a petite small to medium
shoulder to hem 38″,bust 22″, waist 22″, bottom width 29.5″, sleeve length 20″

shipping is high for clothing because of its size and weight.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/123659506/vintage-1960s-jacket-forstmann-winter

I was seduced by their sale table and also picked up some for a future, as yet undefined, project.

Let me know what you think!

Any lookbookers? Click the picture to see my ‘Valentines’ look.

I didn’t get to spend valentines with my boyfriend as I was working a 10 1/2 hour shift! Luckily I’m not a big fan of Valentines day, personally I see as just a day for all the rubbish boyfriends to buy cheap tat to try and prove their failing love. If I want a guy to romance me I don’t want him to do it because he was told to!

Still, I decided to buy us the 2 for £20 meal deal from Marks and Spencers for when I got home, Ash had been wanting to eat steak for a while and it was such a good deal I couldn’t resist!

Luckily I went in early, things like this always sell out. When I passed the M&S later on there was a massive queue of cars coming out of the entrance. I definitely made the right move to go early!

Unfortunately the Wetherspoons I work in also had a Valentines deal on. I knew it would be busy but I didn’t actually realise how busy we would be.

It was absolute mayhem all night. Luckily we had one extra staff member as a girl didn’t realise her shift had been changed and turned up. She regretted it soon enough.

To put this all in perspective for you, a £300 hour is super busy for us, as in the bar will be full (sometimes 2 or 3 people deep) and we’ll be so rushed off our feet we don’t have time to wash any glasses, tidy up the bar or floor, or generally do anything other than serve.

We managed a £340 hour JUST ON FOOD. It was horrible. We ran out of the Steaks, a curry, cheesecake and all but our red wine from the deal around 7pm. This left 3 hours of serving (including a booking for 18 people) with a very limited menu. The managers did everything they could to help the irate customers, (although most were still in good spirits) and we did somehow manage to keep serving until 10.

Matters weren’t helped when customers kept moving seats and not telling us where so that we didn’t know where the meals were going. Near the end of the night a gentleman came and told us he was moving tables, we about nearly hugged the guy right then and there! He was definitely the favourite customer of the evening, I kinda wish we could have given him free dessert or coffee or something! (But that’s out of my control)

I was so knackered when I home that I actually found it hard to eat this delicious menu that Ash cooked in time for my arrival. Some how I managed it though and it really was superb!

For starters I know Ash loves his salmon, so I managed to find these strange salmon things in the offer. Apparently they were a pea, spinach and wasabi mousse topped with Creme Fraiche and smoked salmon pieces. I was a bit dubious about them, mainly because I had no idea what they could taste like, but oh wow we’re they good. Extremely fishy and creamy. Absolutely delicious! Unfortunately I was struggling in my tired state and gave my last couple of mouthfuls to Ash.

For the mains we had steak, I think the starter had woken me up a bit my this point (first thing I’d eaten for quite a while) and so was able to manage this course. Ash has been complaining for so long about having steak so it had to be done! I got these Rump Steaks with Peppercorn Sauce and a side of Gastropub Chunky Chips. First off, the chips were fantastically chunky. Light and fluffy on the inside, crunchy on the outside! Perfect! The steaks were also delicious! Ash cooked them to perfection! They were so tender and moist, it’s actually making my mouth water thinking about them!

Unfortunately I did learn that I dislike Peppercorn sauce. It’s just far too peppery! I”m not a big fan of pepper anyway (I know, what did I expect?!), but this was just horrible! I ended up scraping it off my meat so that I could taste it! It is a very overpowering sauce. However I don’t believe that was anything to do with M&S, I doubt I’d like any kind of peppercorn sauce!

For pudding I bought us these Milk Chocolate and Praline Pyramids. Chocolate mousse with a blob of praline cream in the middle, sat on a praline wafer base and topped with some Dark chocolate.

We didn’t actually eat these until the day after, but they were so yummy (although a little sickly)! It was delicious! Wonderfully smooth and chocolately, just what I needed!

I still haven’t even drunk my wine (I chose Petit Chablis as it was the most expensive wine that wasn’t a red) or eaten the little heart shape chocolates that came with the deal as well! I look forward to those.

Straight after our meal I fell asleep. I was so tired there was no keeping me up.

We decided that we hadn’t really seen much of each other and so yesterday decided to go on a nice little date together. We had a lovely meal at a local Harvester and spent some quality couple time together. It really was very nice.

I wore my new cape, Ash’s favourite dress to see me in and even did my nails all valentinesy!

Today I have another 12 hours of work, tomorrow I have an even longer shift! At least I have my pretty nails to keep me happy…

This really is getting too tiring, I just want to sew!!

Hopefully I will be able to update again soon!

Until next time!

My latest sewing project…a peplum blouse. I am in-love with the cotton and silk fabrics. They are beautiful together!

Finished Ruffle Scarf

All you need to make this ruffle scarf is some fabric, thread and elastic thread.

Just thread the elastic thread loosely onto the bobbin and put into your sewing machine. Thread the needle with regular thread. Then cut out your fabric.

Sew two straight lines down the middle about 4in from each side. And that’s it!

I bought this fun peachy/pink fabric several months ago with the intent to make a scarf and finally got around to it this last month. I love this fabric! And the scarf is SO easy to make. All I did was cut out a piece of the fabric about 84in x 12in. Then I sewed two straight lines, one about 4 inches from each side. And that is it! This is a knit type of fabric so the sides won’t unravel, which is why I didn’t bother to sew the sides (or possibly a little bit out of laziness! haha) But I love it. And the possibilities are really endless with type of design. You could use all sorts of fabric or refashion some old shirts.

As you may remember, 18 months ago we moved from Oregon to Texas, lock – stock – and barrel!!! The move was so that we could live near our son, daughter-in-law and three little and growing grandchildren. We desperately wanted to be a part of their every-day lives, more than part-time grandparents, and being in Oregon made that impossible!

So, we boxed and loaded everything up, and headed on down.

We decided to live in our 5th wheel for a time until we figured out where we wanted to live. That got old after about 6 months, so we rented a beautiful nearly-new home in a very nice subdivision. We moved in, I unpacked EVERYTHING as if it was our forever home, and enjoyed the home immensely!

Unfortunately, the year is up, and instead of staying the home we are heading back into the 5th wheel. This time we’ll be on the road a lot, traveling around the states and staying in California and Oregon for extended visits, so it won’t be as difficult – I hope:)

It’s 38 feet long, which sounds big, but when you’re trying to put your sewing room and myriad sewing projects in it, it gets a little crowded! 

This time it’s more difficult – I’m ready to settle down in my own home. I want to decorate, and paint, and do some DIY projects I’ve found on Pinterest!  But, the packing has to get done!  I’ve gotten pretty good at getting rid of a lot of ‘unnecessary’ things – but there still seems to be an awful lot of stuff! Wish me luck – in 4 weeks we’ll be moved out so I better get on it

Do you have some moves under your belt? What do you do to make them less stressful (short of hiring movers to do all the packing and moving)? (or is that just plain impossible?)

Oh, and by the way, Happy Valentines Day to all of you!!! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Linda

I got a new car this week! I’ve always wanted a Volkswagen Beetle and I finally got one. So I decided to make something to personalize it a little bit. I noticed right away that I wasn’t going to have anywhere to put my cd’s. So when I came across this tutorial online, I knew I had to try it. I modified mine a little bit by using less sleeves and I didn’t have any bias tape so I just used fabric. The hardest part was sewing the border pieces over the pockets because they are so bulky. I ended up having to take the stitches out a couple of times because they weren’t straight enough… Next time I’ll try it with the tape. I’ve never used bias tape before but it might have made all the difference.

If you’ve been following my recent posts you’ve probably noticed already that I used pretty much all of the fabric that I already own to make this. I didn’t have enough money to go out and buy new stuff for this particular project but that’s what makes this project so neat… because you don’t need large pieces, so you can just use all the scrap pieces you have piling up.

So, not only was I able to use the fabric I already had, it is simple to make, functional, and it added some character to my new VW Beetle. I love it!

My good friend, Lindsay, found a better job on the east coast and has left Chitown She is a fan of corgis and has been saying for years that as soon as she has an apartment that allows dogs, she’s going to get a corgi and name him Crumpet. So I decided to make her a “Baby Crumpet” to keep her company on the trip. 

Hand puppet stencil
One square “goldenrod” felt
One square “white” felt
Black embroidery floss
Antique white embroidery floss
Pale pink embroidery floss
Brown embroidery floss
Polyfill
Scissors
Pencil
Tapestry needle

I used the same hand puppet stencil that I used to create the Trekkie Monster plushie, using the pencil to create the shape of the back and front stencils.

Once the stencils were finished, I cut out the front part of the corgi in white felt and the back part in golden rod felt. Since most corgis have ginger fur that runs over their legs, ears and parts of their face, I cut out several strips of the goldenrod felt to highlight the corgi belly, ears and nose. 

Once the pieces were cut to fit, I used the pale pink embroider to attack the ears, antique white floss to attach the felt at the sides, and the brown and black floss to create the paws, eyes, nose and mouth. 

After both the front and back sides were finished, I used antique white floss to whip-stitch the outside of the plushie and filled it with polyfill,
 

I’m very pleased with how Baby Crumpet turned out and Lindsay seemed very happy with her present. Zoe, my cat and familiar, was more sleepy than impressed (as usual)

It was a bit of a struggle and isn’t fully completed yet, but I’m so proud of what i’ve achieved and just couldn’t resist taking some pictures, especially when the snow started falling!

Ashley took the pictures (and complained about getting snow in his shoe!) whilst I twirled around in my cape and posed awkwardly (I always feel super self conscious when modelling things). The snow acted as a natural light box despite the sky not being particularly bright, one of the reasons why I love snow, it’s almost impossible to get a bad photo!

I’ve always wanted something with a big floppy hood so I knew I just HAD to include one. The hood turned out to be quite a challenge, easy to make but just very awkward to attach. I’m happy I decided to add it though as I got to learn a new skill! I think I will change the shape of the hood for future garments though (this one is maybe just a little too deep, although you can’t tell in this picture).

The outer fabric is thick and sparkly, keeping the warmth in and adding a little bit of glam! I fell in love with this fabric at first sight and knew I just had to make some kind of coat out of it!

I originally wanted the lining to be a dark, flowery patterned, silk-like fabric but it turned out there wasn’t enough of it. In the end the only suitable lining fabric I had enough of was this stunning blue, silk I bought from my trip to china! I think it’s just fate that I decided to buy more of this than all the others because I absolutely LOVE the result! It’s just so pretty, and so silky smooth!

I can’t wait to finish it off completely so that I can wear it out and about, but first I have an order to complete. My minecraft tie has sold again! This will be the last tie for a while as I don’t think I have enough fabric for another. I must restock! (What a good feeling it is to sell out of a product!)

Hopefully there will be many more new projects on the horizon soon! I have so many already started and so many more still to start! I better get cracking!

Claire

The Penguin Theory

Side note: drunk knitting may sound fun, but should be avoided.  It leads to irresponsible pattern decision making, ugly products, and additional work for your future hungover self.  It also leads to misplaced/mismatched needles which is the WORST.  Nothing is more annoying than being unable to finish a project because the fourth DPN you need is now couch fodder at the friend’s house where you were playing last night.

My solution to this problem was obviously to obtain enough needles to accommodate the numerous working (and seemingly always unfinished) knittings I have, while also sustaining a reserve supply of equipment.  Not: don’t knit drunk, or: don’t start another friggin project when you already have 6 going, or maybe:  go get your needle from the Brown’s house.  No, my entirely reasonable solution was to overnight an Amazon order of 70 bamboo DPNs….and while I was at it, what the hell, go ahead and get that heat mat and iPad mini case (or 2) you’ve been thinking about.

Um.  Yes, please.

Mr. Scared Eyes happened to walk in shortly after the UPS man left….and after patiently listening to a very excited explanation of how I was going to knit AND curl my hair AND watch Portlandia on the mini, he quickly retreated to the bed where he could work AND send worried glances in my direction.  These glances became more worried and more frequent when the fabric bin was pulled from the closet and the sewing machine was plugged into the wall.

 “…..are you sewing now? I thought you were going to knit or curl something?”  READ:  Holy crap, what is she doing now?!?! I don’t know if the cookies she makes really make up for the amount of crazy I have to put up with.

“Oh, nothin much, don’t worry about it.” READ:  I know what you’re thinking, Blue Eyes.  Calm down.

Well, obviously I needed something to organize my new stash….and justify the sewing machine that is STILL setup next to my bed.  Ingredients handy:  a yard of fabric, a strip of elastic, a stretchy headband

Who has a bedside sewing machine???

Tada!  Even Mr. Scared Eyes thinks my lil’ needle tote is pretty neat (which may be because it also cuts down on accidental stabbings in bed).

There is a table in this book that talks about figure flaws and suitable solutions.    Some of these flaws include heavy hips, small and large bust lines, short and long waists, long and short neck, etc.  Solutions to these common problems  can be found in many places so I am not going to go into detail.  I want to talk about fabrics.  The color and texture of the fabric that you choose can enhance your look or take away from the look that you are going for.  You don’t want to destroy the look that you are trying to create by choosing the wrong fabric.  I will admit that I have done that numerous times.  The first quality that you want to consider is reflection of light.  A lustrous, shiny fabric will reflect light and increase your size.  A dull fabric will minimize your size.  Heavy and bulky fabrics that have texture tend to conceal your figure too.  Light to medium weight fabrics don’t seem to influence the size and shape of you.  Stiff fabric conceals your silhouette but can increase your size.  Clingy fabrics show off your figure and can distort it or make it appear larger.

Fabrics with a print can have  a flattering effect on your figure if chosen carefully.  Horizontal motion will create a rounder appearance while a vertical motion will create height.  When choosing stripes analyze how your eye reacts to the pattern when held up to you.  Ask another shopper that is close by or go seek one out.  Most customers and sales associates in a fabric store or department are more than willing to give their opinion.  Large and bold prints and plaids can overpower a small figure while small ones can get lost on a large figure.  Fabrics with a medium size and all over pattern are generally the most flattering.  In my opinion, a large print fabric for a skirt can help to hide large hips or a large bottom.  Now, only if the right print with the right background color can this be achieved.  The best way to hide flaws is to use a solid and not a light colored one.  The brighter the color the larger your figure may seem.  When using two colors in an outfit your height will appear shorter.  To draw attention to a pleasing feature use color accents.  A contrasting or complimentary colored color, belt, accent to the bottom of the skirt or pants.

When choosing what to make keep in mind what the occasion is and what your needs are.  At this moment I am making garments that are loose-fitting and not that flattering to my figure because of a medical situation and more situations that are coming in the near future.  Essentially, the garments that I am making are not much more than the proverbial potato sack.  That is what I need for the situations.  However, I believe that even a loose-fitting garment can be made to look good just by choosing the right fabric depending on what look I am going for.  I believe that the fabric should do the talking , so to speak, for the garment.  This is a link to a blog interview on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2013/featured-shop-dahl/?ref=fp_featured.  Read it and judge for yourself, please.  For the most part I like to keep the lines of my garments simple and streamlined and let the fabric do the talking.  I like that because I like fabric.  There are many people who want the great designs and use a solid and basic fabric.  Nothing wrong with that.  I will make and wear something like that at times.  I do like good design.  This goes back to what I said at the beginning.  I don’t think that design is too good at the moment.  Thank goodness for vintage patterns.

One last note.  I did finally finish the yoyo necklaces that I talked about several posts back.  I have them featured in our shop on Etsy if you would like to go and have a look.  Until next time, Happy Sewing.