Sewing for me!! Two Josephines

September 5, 2015December 5, 2017by Patricia5 Comments

I finally did some (blog-worthy) sewing of clothes for myself! I made Rae’s Josephine blouse and tunic. Actually, I made the first one quite a while back when I took a sewing class at Stonemountain in Berkeley, but had trouble with the taking-photos-of-myself part of blogging. So I am just getting around to posting it now. My first one was a ‘view b’ blouse made with a lightweight cotton print (lawn I think). It’s soft and comfortable and breathable so that it’s even nice to wear in the summer (at least in San Francisco, where it’s never really hot).

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clothes for kids

Two More Pairs of Comfy Pants

August 21, 2015September 30, 2015by Patricia2 Comments

I had to try out all of the Parsley Pant options…and make my (growing) son a couple more pairs of comfy pants.

So, I made this pair out of french terry (love french terry!) with the tuxedo stripe option:

I call these ones the ‘retro red track pants’. When I first showed them to my husband, he said, “oh, just like The Royal Tenenbaums“. Huh. Hadn’t thought of that. Luckily, he’s a big fan of The Royal Tenenbaums, so I think it was a compliment:)

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stuff for home

Laminated Cotton Curtains

August 14, 2015September 30, 2015by Patricia1 Comment

I recently made a pair of laminated cotton curtains for my son’s preschool, and thought I’d share the process here. The classroom has a couple of sinks with open shelving underneath, previously covered by a pair of well-worn, paint-splattered, curtains. The teacher requested something that would stand up to the usual preschool messes of paint and play-doh:)

Our first thought was to use oilcloth, which would be easy to wipe off, but after a bit of searching online I came across the warnings about unhealthy levels of phthalates present in oilcloth. Oilcloth is essentially vinyl (or PVC) – phthalates are used to soften the PVC so that it is flexible. When shopping online for oilcloth or laminated cotton, you may see statements about whether the product is ‘CPSIA compliant’. CPSIA is a U.S. regulation primarily regulating chemicals (namely phthalates and lead) in children’s products. Needless to say, I decided against using oilcloth in a classroom full of 2-3 year-olds!

Luckily, there are other options…enter laminated cotton! Continue reading “Laminated Cotton Curtains” →

bags and such

Summer Sewing: Poolside Tote!

July 9, 2015September 30, 2015by Patricia1 Comment

or What I Did [before] my Summer Vacation

I’ve been wanting to make a Noodlehead Poolside Tote for a while now…and admiring all the cool versions online. So, with summer vacation plans including several trips to our cabin in the Sierras (read: swimming at the pool or lake every day), I knew it was the perfect time. I had an image in my mind of what I wanted my tote to look like and headed off to my favorite fabric store to search for blue stripes, yellow canvas, and something floral…

The ‘something floral’ was the toughest one to find – everything was either too floral or the wrong color Continue reading “Summer Sewing: Poolside Tote!” →

clothes for kids

Four Pairs of Comfy Pants

March 27, 2015September 30, 2015by Patricia8 Comments

My son will only wear what he calls ‘comfy pants’. That basically means pull-on elastic waistband and soft knit material … so basically sweatpants. Most of the options available in stores are functional, but pretty boring. Mama’s sewing machine to the rescue! Having created a ‘collection’ of comfy pants I thought it was time I posted about them.

I started out using Dana’s free pants pattern and crafted this simple lightweight pair using a dark grey cotton knit. I used an old t-shirt for the green pockets.

Then I decided to make a pair with some navy blue stretch corduroy. Instead of the patch pockets, I went with jean-style pockets, which I lined with a blue and white polka dot fabric. I don’t remember where I found the tutorial for the pockets, but I do remember that it took me a few tries to get them done, and they still came out a bit wonky. Continue reading “Four Pairs of Comfy Pants” →

clothes for kids, doll clothing

PJs for the girls

February 24, 2015September 30, 2015by PatriciaLeave a Comment

So I had this plan. I was going to make some cute matching pajamas for my nieces and their American Girl dolls for Christmas. There was a big sale at an online fabric store on Black Friday, so I bought a couple Birch Organic flannel prints and waited…and waited…and waited… It took weeks to show up. When it finally arrived, alas I found that one of the fabrics they had sent me was wrong – right print, but a quilting cotton instead of the flannel. Oh well, by that time I realized that I had been overly optimistic about my ability to get this done before Christmas anyways, and it was actually a bit of a relief to be given a reprieve:)

So now it’s mid-February, and guess what?? I made the PJs!

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bags and such

Lined Canvas Tote Bag

November 11, 2014September 30, 2015by PatriciaLeave a Comment

Lined Canvas Tote Bag

This weekend I tried my hand at making a lined tote bag and I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. I’ve been wanting a new bag to replace the Falletti’s canvas shopping bag I’ve been using to tote my laptop around.

Lovely laptop tote?

Notice how it won’t stand up on its own!

So I decided to give this tutorial from The Inspired Wren a try. First off, I wanted my bag to be a bit bigger than the dimensions in the tutorial (8½″ x 11½″ x 4″), so I adjusted them based on my trusty grocery bag. I actually loved the size of the Falletti’s bag, including the strap length. My finished dimensions were 11″ x 13½″ x 4″ with 1″ wide handles. I also decided to add a pocket to the inside of the bag because who doesn’t want more pockets?

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