My Friend Sally

 

Remember my friend Sally? 

She came home with this girl quite a few seasons ago now,

but alas, 

completely ignored

and rather neglected

she has sadly been.

Until now.

For this girl got a hankerin' for a dreamy dress

to wear this Easter Sunday,

which is rather a silly thing to hanker for

considering Easter Sundays 

are known to be quite chilly in this corner of the world.

Infact, only one or two Easters 

out of these 29 years we have been abiding

in our beach town so lovely,

can I remember being warm enough to dawn a springy dress to church,

but designing a dress

I determined was a must 

for this girl.

A dressy dress 

made from a sheet of course 

that can be worn with jeans

and a sweater

and a wool jacket

and boots.

 Although some would say that doesn't really work,

and perhaps some did,

this girl was pleasantly pleased,

my dear one via a phone picture loved it,

which is my favorite compliment, indeed,

and married man didn't take a hit to the wallety wallet.

 

Being my dear one's first Easter away,

making a little something for her was a must!

This girl used Anna Maria Horner's Flirting the Issue Skirt.

Sending it sneakily in the mail

to her home far away,

made this slightly sad momma 

feel much, much better, indeed.

This girl is always amazed

at how thinking of and loving others

brings joy to ones heart

when it might be a wee bit weepy.

And back to my friend Sally...

she was surprisingly a help.

For although her waist is designed for women of the 50's,

who it seems had itsy-bitsy waists,

I found laying the pieces over her shoulders and 

around her neck

to be much more useful

than my flat, 

curveless,

figureless,

kitchen table.

So this girl

with her friend Sally,

will soon embark upon 

the Lovely Summer Dress challenge.

A Lovely Summer Dress Challenge

Last year I participated in the Spring Top Week over at Made by Rae.

I made these little lovelies:

Again this great little competition has begun. Check it out and join in on the fun if you can!

* * * * *

Oh, bother. This girl has two little problemy problems with entering this lovely grand yearly contest. Problem one - As can be seen from the above photos, this girl just doesn't really wear 'tops', but rather dresses that one wears with jeans or leggings. And problem two - school is not out so this girl is still busy homeschooling two home-remaining totally awesome students and teaching a few classes for other homeschoolers at CFT.

So what is one to do when one cannot join in on a creative party filled with fun and fabulous sewists? This girl decided she must try a party of her own. A dress party! A summer dress party! A celebration of creative fashion goodness!

So get those creative juices flowing! Dream. Make a pencil sketch, or begin the hunt for that perfectly dreamy dress pattern, then embark upon the search for the perfectly 'you' fabric. Then sew away, my friend! If you are anything like this girl, it all takes time, but no worries. We will have till August 31. But if you have bunches of free time on your hands, head on over to Made by Rae and join her fun contest, then come on back this way, to make a lovely summer dress.

Dresses may be entered any time between now and August 31. I will have a few of my very fashionable friends be our friendly judges. And there will be prizes of course!

Here are some simple guidelines:

1 - Put a picture of your newly made creation on the Lovely Summer Dress Challenge flickr group, with the link to your specific blog post where you tell your lovely dress-story.

2 - Link back to my blog in your own post. If your heart so desires, grab my Lovely Summer Dress Challenge button and add it to your blog page.

3 - Spend a goodly amount of time strolling through our flickr group. Get inspiration. Meet new friends. And leave happy little comments. We all love words of praise and encouragement.

If you would like to contribute prizes to this grand soiree, please email moi at tinaratliff@gmail.com

Happy sewing, friends!

* * * * *

Here's the ever so lovely button thanks to youngest boy:

and the html stuff to make it work - thanks to married man.

<center><a href="http://paisleyandlace.blogspot.com/2011/04/lovely-summer-dress-challenge.html"><center><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcMXiX7Zi1OWYexbK8ng6SvRMVD4Riwmm2e8Jsc8Abi0N_Z1BkCGUDUuubUMkgy8RXF4Quy6Buh7SqguKsiA1ff4kJ11-RMdJOSllTdhLjodynD6vfsHiu1IAm6f7J9pbRekMDh6tNlNs/s1600/summerdress.jpg" /></center></a></center>

Clothes Design - Country Girl Tunic

Here is my Country Girl Tunic. I it designed myself and made it with Anna Maria Horner cotton toile fabric and is now for sale in my Etsy shop. It is also in the Sew Mama Sew Make It Wear It Challenge photo pool. 

I originally made this tunic a few months back using a vintage fabric, but I soon confiscated it for myself and have worn it waaay too often, but you can see it in it's pre-loved condition, and learn how I made it here.

I am really just a country girl and am loving this long tunic with jeans thing.

Just gotta find a gently used pair of cowboy boots!
fifteen: a patient husband who takes pictures of his silly wife

Clothes Design Tutorial - An Invite From A Fellow Blogger and A Contest

Over the last few weeks, I made two tops for a contest at Spring Top Week. It was a good challenge for me as I haven't made clothes in a while, and I have some new summer clothes, to boot!

The blue top and a clothes design tutorial is blogged here.

This shirt, with a clothes design tutorial is blogged here.

Well...Andrea, at The Train To Crazy, checked out the Spring Top Week Flickr group photos, and has invited me to put one of my tops on her weekly blog party. There are alot of other great tops. Check them out. There are even some tutorials, like this one that was made with a bedsheet from Urban Outfitters. I love the idea of using sheets! There are some great tutorials for children's clothes, too. This one is adorable. Little people's clothes are a great place to start with some simple clothes design.

So, if you are looking for more clothes design tutorials, or reviews of patterns, check out The Train To Crazy on Thursdays.

Clothes Design Tutorial - sort of

I started with this beautiful piece of vintage fabric given to me by a dear friend.

Then I saw another friend wearing a lovely blouse. I tried to take notice of the details (while being a good friend, of course, and carrying on a conversation) then sketched a picture when I had a spare moment.

When I had an evening to myself to work on my clothes design project, I took a few of my own shirts out of the closet. I chose each of them for a different aspect. One had the curved shape I wanted in the back. Another had the measurement I would need across the back and chest so I could slip it over my head. Still another one had the sleeve shape and the flair below the waist.

I laid the clothing,  one at a time, over  the a piece of butcher paper (I usually use muslin for this) sketching the desired shapes the best I could. Next I cut them out. It was nice to have a large piece of fabric for this. I didn't have to worry about making mistakes. I knew I had plenty of room to work with for this clothes design project.

I put in all the pleats and gathering, then sewed it all together, trying it on several times to check the fit. The sleeves were definately the toughest shape to figure out. I had to give them a second try. Wherever I was unsure, I set my stitching length to a basting stitch just in case I needed to make changes. This makes using the seam ripper easier. After trying it on again to make sure the fit was right, I re-stitched seams with a regular stitch length set on my machine.

I also added a vintage button to a belt and large ric rac to set off the ruffle.

So there it is.

My clothes design tutorial. Sort of.

All in all, it was pretty simple.

So. Find some lovely fabric. Now. Go into your closet and find your favorite shirt or dress. Or go raid your friend's closet. Tell her you will return it unharmed in a day or two. (I plan on raiding my daughter's closet soon.) Look for designs without zippers and complicated collars. Simple is best.

Now. Give it a try. And when you do, put a comment with your blog link. I would love to check it out.

How to Design Your Own Clothes

Here is how to design your own clothes:

Take a shirt or other garment that fits well.
Here is the shirt I used:

Find a fabric that you love. Hold it up to your face to make sure it is a good color on you.

Here is the fabric I used:

Take large pieces of muslin and lay it over your original garment. Draw pencil lines around each shape. Cut out the shapes then place them on your new fabric. Cut out the fabric making sure to leave seam allowances. I left a hearty 5/8 inch around each piece. Place pieces on fold as necessary to insure even shapes.

Here are some of the pieces I made by laying muslin over my original shirt and tracing desired shapes.

  

Sew. Sew. Sew. A few hours later, and voila! You have designed your own clothes! Refer to old patterns if you are unsure how things are put together. Or, better yet, join up with a few sewing friends and have a project nite where you can put your heads together to figure things out. This can be quite helpful and make the process more enjoyable.

(My husband/photographer makes me laugh)

Now that you have made one pattern, think of little adjustments that you can make and try another one in a very different fabric. The second one always takes half the time because you have already done all the puzzle solving.

I think I will add a piece of fat grey ric-rac to the hem.

What design changes will I make for the next one? A scoopier neck? No puffed sleeves? A little less fabric in the front and back pieces. Something appliqued? Hmm. Endless possibilities.

Pretty cool. I didn't spend a penny or leave the house, and I have a new spring shirt. Oh. And I was able to watch a movie with the boys to boot. (Speaking of boots, I'm picturing a pair of thrifted cowboy boots, don't you think?)

Clothes Design

Clothes design. If you have a favorite shirt or dress, have you ever thought of making another one? Without a pattern? Well, today, that is exactly what I did. Crazy, I know.

Why would I consider clothes design? Several reasons. First, I have recently perused through a few books on clothes design like this one at Harts Fabrics that really made it look do-able.

I have also seen beautiful hand designed clothes in various etsy shops. This is one of my favorites.

Clothes design from scratch is a new idea for me, but having been sewing since I was a kid, I have followed many-a-pattern so I kind of know how things are put together, although I usually don't follow all the rules. Sometimes patterns have way too many detailed steps for my liking. Patterns can also be pricy adding a good deal to the cost of the garment being made. Then there is the ordeal of going to the store to look through all the books and find a pattern with fabric that makes it work. I tend to get overwhelmed with all the possibilities and go home empty handed and too tired to sew anyways.

Another reason I decided to attempt clothes design is to be frugel. I have to admit, it has been frustrating having frugality forced upon us, but it has also helped me see things differently and encouraged the creative side in me and my children. One of my friends recently gave me some lovely fabrics, and with things being abit tight around here, I decided to turn said fabric into something to wear. I even used different colors of thread because it's just what I had on hand - two nearly empty spools. Funny thing is that all this penny-pinching has changed me. I am finding I enjoy the process of creating more than the process of shopping. I don't think I will give up the creating even when the economic tide changes.

My final reason for designing clothes - from scratch - is that I want a new Spring shirt. A fresh burst of color in my wardrobe. Now. Tonight.

Here I go...