fabric shopping

If you are in the Dallas area, I highly suggest Golden D'or Fabrics. I *heart* this place. It is huge and a little unorganized, but the prices are ah-mae-zing. Check 'em out!

moving right along

Since the husband is working out of town and I need him here to finish his shirt, that project is being put on the back burner for something else.

And that something else is a dress for my oldest. I was cruising through Half Price Books when I noticed a basket full of old sewing patterns. The one that caught my eye was Style Kids 2814. For $1.98, I couldn't pass that up!

I took her with me to the fabric store so she could pick out her own fabric... peach with green, turquoise and white flowers. It should be so pretty!

an awesome book

One of the books Peter (of Male Patterned Boldness fame) recommends is Shirtmaking by David Page Coffin. After reading it from cover to cover twice, I would also recommend this book to anyone interested in shirt construction.

it started with a shirt

A few weeks ago my husband said he wanted to order a custom made shirt. He already has a few, so this wasn't an 'out of the blue' idea. However, they can be somewhat expensive. So, I got to thinking... why pay someone else to make his shirts? I could do it! I mean, I thought I could do it. I'd have to practice for a while, get back into the swing of sewing, make a couple of 'samples'. But this is something I could do!

A bit of savvy searching on the interwebs about making shirts brought me to an awesome blog called Male Pattern Boldness. Peter is this guy in NYC who bought his very first sewing machine in 2009 and today makes all my own clothes using vintage patterns and vintage sewing machines. Heck, I've been sewing on and off for years. If he could make a shirt, so could I!

More searching brought me to a blog called Macaroni & Cheese, written by my dear friend Jacki. Among all her sewing projects for herself and the kids, she had also been making shirts for her husband. Better yet, she had blogged about it! She mentioned Kwik Sew 3422. I checked it out and thought it was something I could manage. Off to the store I went.

first fitting, however the shirt is clearly not for her.

I bought the pattern and some sample shirting fabric in a nice shade of blue to practice. Ugh... the first time of making anything takes me sooooo much time. And it didn't help that when I wasn't working on it I was reading all I could about shirt construction and sewing techniques. Several times I tore apart what I had done the day before just to do it another way. Remember, I have a healthy working relationship with my seam ripper. ;-)

It took a couple of days, but I finally got the first shirt together. However, I already want to make several changes in the construction of the next one.

in the beginning...

Sometimes you just need a place to jot down ideas, share tips, and document the things you've done. For me, this is such a place. In theory, I will post pictures of projects and oddities. I will probably rant and rave depending on my mood. All in all, it should be fun.

So, get a cup of coffee and chuckle along with my adventures in craftiness.