Another Little Dress and Another Stash-Bust

Another McCall's 9227 for my granddaughter.

Those are not the cap sleeves from the pattern. I just wanted little ruffles so I made little ruffles. Also added the border, like on the last one. On this one I left off the sash and used elastic on the back waistline instead. (I do that on my own dresses that are supposed to have a sash because I really don't like sashes.) I feel like this photo doesn't do it justice. It's super cute and I can hardly wait to see her wear it.

I have had the pink fabric for about three and half years so it counts toward my stash-busting goal of sewing from my older-than-2-years stash at least once a month or an average of 12 a year. The blue pin dot fabric is much newer. Both came from the local quilt shop.

By the way, this and the other little dress are a size 5 in case you were wondering. It's a bit long because she's tall for her age and also she likes her dresses sort of long - well below the knee but not necessarily maxi.

Goal: Sew fabric that I have had for 2+ years at least once a month (or 12 times this year) 4/12

Birdhouses, Birds, and Flowers

This little dress is so freaking adorable I can hardly stand it.

It's for my granddaughter. She told me a while back that she wanted a dress with birds and flowers on it and this is what I came up with. I used McCall's 9227 view A but left off the ruffle and drafted my own curved yoke and butterfly sleeves and added a border to match the yoke.

Sorry I didn't think to photograph the process. Here's a quick tutorial for butterfly or flutter sleeves. To make a pattern piece for the yoke I cut a complete bodice front out of Swedish tracing paper (but you could use any paper) then I traced the edge of various large bowls and plates until I got a curve I liked.

More Online Shopping

I'll start with Etsy. I haven't been shopping at Etsy for very long but one time was all it took to get me hooked. Search options are convenient and ordering is super easy. Most recently, I have ordered fabric from HouseOfMamiWata and MoreLoveMama. Both of these sellers are located in Texas, practically right next door to me, geographically speaking, so I received my orders in just two days.

Shopping online for notions is even more of a necessity for me than online fabric shopping. The only place within 40 miles of me that has any notions at all is Walmart. They have very, very few and almost never what I need. You would think with such a small notions department they would at least have a few of the basics but that is exactly what is lacking. They have a few odd novelty buttons, but no standard shirt buttons, double fold bias tape but no single fold, and so forth. So online I go. Here are my three favorite sites for notions.

Create For Less - This site has all kinds of craft supplies but I mostly go there for buttons and trim. They have a lot of Dill buttons, which I love not only for the buttons themselves but for the packaging. They usually come in surprisingly easy to open blister packs. No staples!

Lots of Buttons - Like the name says, lots of buttons. Only ordered a couple of times but everything I received was high quality and in convenient packaging. My only complaint is that sizes are like 20L, 32L, and so forth and I always have to look up what those "L" sizes really mean. They do have a size chart but I wish they would just show the sizes in fractions of an inch like I'm used to in the first place.

WAWAK Sewing - Again, I have saved the best for last. This site has everything plus items you never thought of but my favorite thing is the zippers. OMG, the zippers! They have zippers from three inches to over 100 inches. They have brass jeans zippers in 27 different colors and sizes from 3 to 11 inches. Also jacket zippers and specialty zippers like ones that are closed on both ends, for example, and of course, standard nylon skirt and dress zippers. And the prices. Seriously, go look at the zipper prices. Some other items come in large quantities like, for example, a gross of shirt buttons and a 30 yard package of elastic if you ever need that much.

See my Online Fabric Shopping list, in case you missed it.

Fresh Oranges

I don't have just one favorite color but I'm really feeling the orange this year. It's such a happy color, don't you think? I feel like I'm spreading happiness wherever I go when I'm wearing orange.

The pattern is New Look 6963. The check fabric is from the Kona Colorworks 2 collection. I've had it in my stash for two or three years. It's a wonderful, crisp cotton with a sturdy feel. I keep hoping Kona will come out with a Colorworks 3 collection because Colorworks 2 is all sold out everywhere I go. The stiffness of the fabric makes for some weird wrinkles and some other wrinkles are because I've already been wearing it for over half the day but I don't care. I only mentioned it because I'm sure someone else will notice. You know, life gives us wrinkles. Wrinkles are just signs that we've been living our lives.

The floral fabric isn't exactly the right orange (you can't tell in the photos) but the way I saw it I had 3 choices: 1. keep looking for the perfect orange and white floral for the rest of my life; 2. tell my OCD self to just shut up and let me do this; or 3. abandon my original plan and just use the check by itself. As you can see I picked option 2 and it was the right choice. I'm totally happy with it.

Here's the back. (and, so sorry, the ugly backs of arms too)

And I have to show you the buttons. One of the buttons.

I rescued these from a blouse that I do not love. (Except for when I go through my closet looking for stuff to give to Good Will then suddenly I do love it very much.) Whether I donate it or keep it I will eventually have to put buttons on the unloved blouse but I do love these buttons and I think they look much better on this shirt, which I also love.

Goal: Sew fabric that I have had for 2+ years at least once a month (or 12 times this year) 3/12

Online Fabric Shopping

I noticed some discussion, here and there, of online fabric shopping so, since I have considerable experience in that area I decided to share some thoughts and links.

I can't remember the first time I bought fabric online. I had said that fabric was one thing I could never buy online. I have to be able to touch it but maybe I needed something I couldn't find locally or maybe I read a recommendation on a blog and decided to take a chance. Whatever started it, I soon became hooked on online fabric shopping and now it feels like practically my only option.

I live in the boonies. The nearest major fabric store is in Tulsa, an hour away. I live about 12 miles outside a small town where there are two grocery stores, a Walmart, a Lowes, and about a thousand antique shops. (Okay, I exaggerate a bit.) And one small quilt shop. So you see, my local fabric shopping options are extremely limited. Online shopping was made for me.

I am hesitant to buy certain kinds of fabric online. I am confident buying quilting cotton because I know pretty much what I'll be getting. I have bought a lot of stretch denim and stretch twill online and I'm sometimes happy with what I get, other times less so. And I have had really bad luck buying knits online. There are just too many variables - weight, stretch, recovery - and even if a site gives ounces per yard and percent of stretch it's still impossible to tell what you're really getting. I have bought fabric that seemed like a good weight - like 10 ounces per yard - and it turned out to be much thinner than I expected.

Anyway, here, in no particular order, are some of the online fabric stores I have purchased from.

Fabric.com - Huge selection of fabric, good prices and you can get swatches of some fabrics, but not all. There are good search options too so it's easy to find what you want.

Denver Fabrics - Great selection of fabrics including some hard to find. I have ordered a lot of stretch twill and some cotton lawn from them and I've generally been happy. Some of the "stretch" twill I've purchased has been nicely stretchy but some has had barely any stretch at all. This has been one of my frustrations. Denver Fabrics seems to be an outlet store. If you see something you like don't hesitate. It will be gone tomorrow.

Girl Charlee - This is where my fear of buying knits online was confirmed. I bought one piece of cotton/poly knit that I was very happy with. Most of the other fabrics I've bought from this store have been either acceptable or disappointing. And it's really hard to find anything specific. For example all jersey knit is listed together so if I want 100% cotton I have to look through page after page of fabrics, clicking on each one only to find that most of them are cotton/rayon blends. However, if you like rayon blend knits (I do not!) this is your site.

Spandex World - Some very nice cotton spandex knit (as well as many other spandex fabrics) and they will send swatches. Unfortunately, shipping is beyond ridiculous. I don't really blame the store for that but I really hate to buy fabric when the shipping charge is more than the cost of the fabric itself.

Nick Of Time Textiles - Great selection of cotton spandex knit and sweatshirt fleece. (and many other fabrics but those are the two I've purchased) They send swatches. Same complaint as with Spandex World - shipping costs more than the fabric. If you're buying a huge quantity of fabric you can sometimes get a deal on shipping.

Rocky Woods Fabrics - Specialty outdoor fabrics. Windbreaker nylon, including waterproof nylon, Cordura nylon, canvas, wool, neoprene, mesh, ribbing, and lots of different camo fabrics.

Hemp Traders - A hemp store, not a fabric store but they do have hemp fabrics. I bought some of their 55%hemp/45% cotton knit and I love it. Must buy more!

Extra Special Fabric - Western theme quilting cotton, plus a little fleece, faux fur and a few others. This one is located in Guthrie Oklahoma, on the far side of the state from me but I have been there in person once and I ordered from them twice, I think. When I ordered they didn't even have an online order form; I had to place my order by phone. I don't know if that has changed. Excellent fabric and service though.

eQuilter.com - I have saved my favorite for last. Absolutely the most beautiful cotton prints anywhere! The website is super easy and fun to use too. Fabrics are organized by theme and you can also search by color. Mostly quilting cotton of course but they also have some flannel and yarn dyed shirting.

There are also a lot of fabric sellers on Etsy but this has taken me a lot longer than I expected so I will save those for another time.

Springtime in the Swamp

You might remember that I set a goal to at least once a month sew something that has been in my stash for two years or longer. Well, I started this one in February so I'm going to say it counts. Besides, as long as I have an average of one a month at the end of the year I will still consider that I've met my goal.

I have had this green fabric for several years. It was another of the two yard pieces that the local quilt shop used to sell before they changed ownership. I love it but for a long time I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. Then one day about 2 1/2 - 3 weeks ago I just knew.

The pattern is Simplicity 1538. It's a good basic shirt pattern that I've used several times. The contrast fabric is a piece that I originally bought to go with something else but later found something better for that project.

Here's the back and you can get a better look at this lovely green fabric. The mossy color with the lily pads, grasses, and ferns makes me think of a swamp and of course the flowers and butterflies make it springtime in the swamp.

This is probably going to be the last long sleeved thing I will make for a while. We can still have freezing weather as late as the last week of April (In fact, our latest freeze was May 2nd a few years ago.) but it's beginning to look and feel like spring and I'm ready to sew for it.

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As you might have noticed on Google this morning, today is the birthday of William Henry Perkin, the chemist who accidentally discovered the first aniline dye, a purple originally known as mauveine. So let's hear it for all shades of purple today. (Coincidentally, I just happened to put on a purple long sleeved t-shirt this morning.)

Stashbusting goal: 2/12