mad mim

March 1, 2013

Sew Kate Sew’s Envelope Clutch

Clutch is a really funny word. Clutch. Like, she felt the canyon wall crumble beneath her white-knuckled grip, so she desperately clutched her shaky hand-hold. Man oh man do we really cling to our essential clutch-contents just as vehemently as we would our life! Like, I am NOT going to that movie without my chapstick, Ya’ll.

I was so excited to have a go (along with Krista and Delia) with See Kate Sew‘s new (free!) envelope clutch pattern! I’ve never actually owned a clutch, and this was such a great one to start with. It is a breeze to put together, and such a great size and design. And it just takes 2 fat quarters to make, I like that little perk.

For my design I decided to keep up my leaching phase, and do some shibori bleaching. Shibori (for any of you not in the tie-dye-know), is the technique of binding, folding, gathering, etc before either dying, or in this case, bleaching. I wish I would have started with black fabric as it’s the funnest to bleach (more pronounced effects), but I still really loved how the warm brown cotton turned out. I cut my fabric into a fat quarter, and then starting with the center of the cut, I bound it into interesting designs using rubber balls and these little plastic cubes I have for a Montessori math activity. There wasn’t any rhyme or reason to it, I just secured those suckers in there: bouncy ball, cube, bigger ball, and then little cubes in a circle all with rubber bands and my daughter’s hair ties, and then stuck it in a pretty concentrated bleach bath (1-1 bleach/water ratio) for about three minutes. The look is a lot like tie-dye, but the color results are more mono-chromatic and always a bit of a surprise, which is fun.

I love the earthy tones!

For the front envelope flap I added a bit of leather fringe (inserted like you would with piping), which adds a nice pop and emphasis to the design.

I also really like how the clutch looks folded in half, depending of course on what you have stuffed in there. Fringe is just fun, I always say..Such a quick and satisfying little project, go make one yourself!

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tagged as Sew Kate Sew Envelope Clutch, Shibori bleaching

February 21, 2013

By Miriam

Houndstooth Toggle Coat (of death) for the Girl

Get cozy folks, here’s a tale of toil and sorrow that fortunately ended well:

This coat (Ottobre 6/12 #29) has been taunting me and my sewing ego since November. I have to say in all modesty, that it was only my sheer will power and general stick-to-it-iveness that brought me through to the end of this project. It’s been one mishap after another,and the heartache started early; I had a devil of a time figuring out cutting instructions, and then cut the whole blasted thing out before I realized that I had forgotten to add a seam allowance! Nooooo! (Since then I got this little gadget that adds the allowance as you cut, so hopefully I won’t have to deal with such a cuss tragedy again.) Anyway, so I had to cut the whole cuss thing out again and choose a different lining because I didn’t have enough of my first choice.

So I recut (luckily I had plenty of fabric) and decided to do some embroidery details because I knew without a little girliness Twinkle might not dig the black and white. That took a fair bit of time, and by the time I finished I had to set the whole project aside to make room for more important Christmas presents. After that Stretch Yourself dominated my sewing time, and yada yada yada, this coat goes to the back of the queue.

So finally I got back to it, (now that Winter is almost done!) and couldn’t for the LIFE of me figure out the instructions for attaching the lining. I even went to my friend and sewing mentor Merline to see if she could interpret, but we both ended up scratching our heads in confusion. I think part of the problem was that their instructions were obviously different from how I had done this in the past, and I just couldn’t visualize what they were describing. I have never given up on instructions, but in the end, I just decided to quit trying to understand how I was supposed to do it, and just do it how it made sense to me. I ended up attaching the lining at the neck seam and down the front to the zippers, and then slip stitching the sleeves and hem. It worked fine, although it’s not perfect.

So THEN, finally, I’m all done, and it’s adorable, and she loves it, and on the very next day it’s a cold morning and she says “I want to wear my new coat but it’s not warm, Mom.” Cuh. Rap. And she was right too, it was just kinda flimsy. I was super annoyed and frustrated that I didn’t do something about that earlier, but I guess I kept on hoping that it would be fine (the houndstooth is warm and fuzzy (wool??), I thrifted it several years ago–it’s definitely natural fibers). My sweet sweet friend Jen had been SO awesome and kind to send me some leftover thinsulate she had, which I got after all the cutting drama, and was trying to delude myself that it didn’t need anything extra so I could avoid anymore cutting and use it for another project I had in mind. Bad move, Mim. So I based up, dug in my heels, and took the whole cuss thing apart again.

Attaching the thinsulate was not as bad as I anticipated (I assembled an interlining and then attached at the neckline and then hand stitched to all edges), and in the end was so worth it (I was so grateful to have it Jen!) The coat is now toasty and warm and actually looks and falls much better to me. There’s a little wonkiness (especially near the neckline and hood), but it’s really not too noticeable, and overall I’m really happy with it. The ONE down side is that with the thinsulate the coat fits much snugger, and I’m starting to doubt that this will fit her next season. I hope hope hope that she can get at least a little wear out next year…grow up not out, Twinky!

This has been another riveting episode of “Sewing Tales and Misadventures with Mim”, stay tuned for my next installment inevitably coming all too soon!

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tagged as Adding thinsulate to a coat, Embroidered coat, Houndstooth Toggle Coat, Ottobre 6/12 #29

February 13, 2013

By Miriam

Hand-Carving Small Details DIY // Personalized Valentine Stamps

Growing up my family had a tradition of making homemade Valentines for each member of the family usually involving pop-out accordian style hearts and other little gimmicks. They were so fun, and since we were home-schooled my Mom always went big with the candy so we wouldn’t feel like we were missing out on all those school parties our friends were having. The Valentines that I treasured the most were my Moms, because I loved to see her be creative (cutting and gluing with us!) and it was so special to get something just from her. Candy, kindness, and construction paper….isn’t that what it’s really all about?

As an adult its harder to keep the tradition up with my siblings, but I always do something if I can. Last year’s peep-show Valentine will always be one of my all-time faves. This year I’m gonna take it down a notch, but I still wanted to do something that still says “I made this for you”.

This tutorial is nothing revolutionary really , but after tons of trial and too much error, I’ve finally come up with a few tips that really work well for carving those tiny fine lines and details.

First of all you need to transfer your design onto your carving surface, this time I grabbed a cheap eraser. I’ve shown a couple different ways to do this, but here’s the one I use the most. Generate your design either by drawing it, or in a design program like Illustrator. With tracing paper, trace over your design with a soft black lead pencil (I use an 8B, but a #2 will work okay) Then with the written side facing down, gently rub the back of the tracing paper with something, I used the metal tip of the pencil, but just find something hard and smooth. That will reverse your image onto your stamp so that it will print in the right direction. Can’t tell you HOW MANY times I’ve hand drawn a design on my stamp and forgotten to reverse the image!

Now go find a nice warm place to carve. I recently discovered this trick, and couldn’t believe what a difference it made! I was stamp carving in my in-laws basement next to a toasty woodburning fireplace, and my cutter was slicing into the eraser like butter, much more precise and clean than ever before! (I was carving my kid’s stamps pictured below). So if you can, sit by a vent or space heater or whatever, and grab the smallest tip from the standard cutter set.

Go over your fine lines once, and do not try to go back and perfect any of the details. This is where in the past I’ve been so unhappy with my designs–the cutter tool is not great for tidying up and perfecting, and inevitably ends up taking more than you wanted resulting in sloppy carving. The trick is, and my daughter discovered this, to use a blunted pointy tip to fix any imperfections. I use what I think may have one day belonged to an eyeglass repair kit, but you could use a large darning needle, the metal tip of a mechanical pencil etc, to do the job. Run the tip through the groove of your designs over and over and the carving block or eraser will start to crumble away, making it easy to connect, smooth, or deepen your design. I used this technique especially with the itty bitty tiny letters of my last stamp carving project.

These adorable little personalized Valentine stamps were what we came up with for my kids to hand out this year. I used this technique exactly, but started with their hand drawings which I scaled down to size. I couldn’t bear the thought of handing out Dora the Explora perforated sheet Valentine’s (not that there’s anything wrong with that, I don’t judge!), but I couldn’t even think about helping them individually make all that they needed to. So this was our happy little compromise, and they’re proud as punch to hand them out. Truth be told, I planned this whole post around THESE, but once I had edited the photos I realized that they both said my kid’s names on them which I didn’t want to risk floating around Pinterest. Sad because they’re WAY cuter than my stamp (and my stamp isn’t even my best carving job, doh!), but I just couldn’t let that slide, you know? Well you get the idea, anyway.

Aren’t they so great? You don’t have to answer that, because seriously, they’re great. They make me super happy, which is a good thing to be the day before Valentine’s Day.

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tagged as personalized valentine stamp, stamp carving small details tutorial

February 6, 2013

By Miriam

Back to Twinkle // Take Manhatten

So yeah, I took it again. Manhatten.

Way back when I was preggo last time and I was making all those roomy Twinkle Sews designs, I had some hard words for Twinkle and her illogical pattern layouts and confusing instructions. But here I am, back again. Of course everything I said is true, but you know I gotta hand it to her–she has some pretty cool designs. They’re just special, is what they are. I pretty much wore the tuna salad out of the first Take Manhatten, and Poetry in Motion was another big fave. And I have plans to print another million pages and puzzle my way through her instructions some more because I like her designs that much.

For this tunic I used a lovely striped linen I got at JoAnn’s on clearance years ago, and added some slouchy pockets because I’m into those lately.

The cowl is supposed to be lined, but I felt like it would be too stiff so I decided to ditch the second layer and just add some bias tape to the neck seam, and then turn the end of the cowl under to create the casing.

I look like a burly pubescent teen in this picture. Just saying.

I also added some bias tape on the back seam, and put a little elastic in the casing of the pocket to reign that slouchy sucker in.

Fun. I really love it. Not sure my pear shaped figure is rocking the loose a-line silhouette, but I don’t really care. Still gonna wear the tuna salad out of it. Have you ever sewn any Twinkle designs? What side of the fence do you fall with her?

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tagged as Take Manhatten Tunic, Twinkle Sews

January 31, 2013

By Miriam

Basic Pattern Blocking

As promised, a little tutorial on how to do some basic pattern blocking! This technique of course can be used with different fabrics (careful to use ones with similar properties and care!), but I love the look of blocking the same fabric with one of the blocked portions hand printed (more details of this discharged cabbage rose print top here). Pattern blocking is so simple, and has such a bold and graphic result!

Trace your pattern front twice to create a full front pattern piece.
Measure down 6.5″ from left shoulder and mark, and then 10″ from right side seam and mark. Draw a diagonal line from mark to mark, and then cut pattern on this line.
Add seam allowances now (I added a 1/2″) by either taping paper to extend the top and bottom pieces along diagonal, or simply remember to add seam allowances when cutting your fabric. Be very careful to cut both pieces exactly on grain.
Hand print top piece.
Right sides together, baste top and bottom piece together, check placement, then sew and finish raw edges however you choose. Press well (seam allowances down).
Trim any side seam excess, and then topstitch close to seam on bottom block.

Continue construction normally from there (except if you want to add a placket in back like I did!) More details here.

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tagged as basic pattern blocking

January 29, 2013

By Miriam

Rose-Blocked Discharge Printing DIY

Peeps. Favorite new printing technique, right here, right now.

Discharge paste! It’s all about discharge paste, guys! Let me tell you why I love this stuff: instead of depositing something on your fabric (like paint printing), you’re actually leaching out the color, so there’s absolutely no stiffness or chance of it fading or washing out. The design becomes part of the fabric, and will always look the same. And it’s so soft! It doesn’t always discharge to white, it varies and is sort of a fun surprise to see what color it will be. It’s a really fun process, and so satisfying to “reveal” the printing. It’s also so cool to do on really dark colors!

For this top I once again turned to Grainline’s Scout Tee, and the fabric is an oh-so-soft combed cotton lawn dyed Kilt Green (a new color for me, but I really love it!)

I think sometimes people get intimidated to print an entire garment, so I wanted to highlight a project where I printed only a small portion of the top. You can do minimal printing and still get the same look as an overall printed piece. I actually love piece printing because it really emphasizes your design, and it’s a fast printing process. Some other designs that would work well with this idea is something with a yoke (here or here), or pockets (like my both my Briar tees!) So I decided on some diagonal blocking in the front (look for another basic pattern blocking tutorial later this week!), as well as adding a placket to the back, with different prints on both. I think if I were on Project Runway Tim would counsel me to edit and choose ONE print, but I can’t resist the temptation to mix it up, sorry Tim.

Begin by carving you stamp. My basic process was to freehand sketch this cabbage rose onto a rubber block, carve the outer lines using a linoleum cutter set, then the inner details, and finally cut that sucker out entirely with an xacto knife. I mounted mine to an acrylic block for easy stamping. With discharge paste, I found it was better to use designs that allow for overlap and randomness. Because it prints clear, it’s too hard to try and align exact repeat designs and precise patterns.

Scoop a little paste out onto an old plastic lid, and with a small roller or brayer, get some paste and roll it several times on the plastic so it evenly distributes onto the entire roller (important). Roll it onto the stamp, creating a thin and even layer of paste on the surface. You want a good amount, but not so much that it goops in between the grooves of your design. A small amount of paste will go a long way.

Now after making a test print to check placement and stamp distribution, firmly print your design on to your fabric. Again, discharge paste prints clear, so on some fabrics it’s almost invisible. To help me place my pattern (flexible placement is best!) I marked with a chalk pen around the edges of my stamp directly after printing so I could see where I had gone. Here on the right you can see all my marks, and barely discern the pattern. Allow paste to dry completely and then rub off your markings.

Using a hot iron with plenty of steam (as hot as your fabric allows that is!) and magically reveal your printed pattern by evenly ironing. Be sure my friends, to do this in a well ventilated area (windows OPEN), as this stuff stinks pretty bad and shouldn’t be inhaled. A mask probably wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Isn’t this stuff cool?! What kind of projects would you use this stuff on? I wanna hear some of your ideas!

And to announce the last of our Stretch Yourself winners, congrats seamstress60 the winner of Madeira Serger thread, Danica the winner of Fabrics A to Z , and to Sarah S the winner of the Ottobre subscription!! I’ll be in touch with you very soon!

And ps, how do you like my new haircut??

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tagged as discharge hand printing

January 25, 2013

By Miriam

Trouble Shooting Fabric Dying

So the other day I really screwed up a dye job. And not like a bad job, but a total fail, wa wa waaa. I dyed some fabric a deep blue green-blue color that was just a tad too blue for me. It was really lovely, but I felt like I might not wear it as much as I wanted to. I should have just dealt with it, but I decided I was gonna try to bleach it a bit. After TWO bleach baths, it was semi-messed up, but in a cool, I-can-still-make-lemonade out this kind of way. It looked tie-dyed, and it was actually really pretty. I should have just stopped there (would that I HAD), but like an idiot I had to try and bleach it one more time, and BUMMER, I ended up with completely shreddred fabric. My FAVORITE silk-viscose too! Agghgh!!! Why didn’t it occur to me that 3 strong bleach baths wasn’t a good plan? I dye fabric ALL the time, so I was mad at myself for going crazy with the bleach, I know better!

I learned a powerful lesson that I’ve learned too many times before. TEST your dye. Just do it. If you care about the project, it’s worth preparing a little cup of dye to test a square of fabric. Every fiber and blend takes the dye a little differently, and sometimes that little bit can make the difference. I usually just dissolve about 1/8 teaspoon and a teaspoon of salt in a little mug, and let my little test-square sit for a half hour or so. It will be a little different (probably more vibrant) in the actual dye bath, but this will give you a good idea of how the fabric will take the dye. If I find I don’t quite like the color, it’s easy to mix the dyes at this stage to try and play around with the color.

Another thing I’m relearning is how important it is to keep the fabric moving. I use the tub/bucket dying method, and have been a little lazy with this lately–just stirring every so often when I pass by or remember, and consequently my dye jobs were getting a little splotchy and uneven. I corrected this by planting myself by the bucket/bath (grab a book or something), and stir frequently. This prevents the setting of the dye in the creases and folds of the fabric.

My all-time favorite dye is dharma trading‘s fiber reactive procian dye, which I’ve talked about lots round here. It involves a chemical reaction (with the soda ash fixative) that permanently fixes the dye, so you don’t get fading with every wash (I’m looking at you, Rit). It’s also about the same price as Rit, but you get wwaaaaaaay more than one dye bath with a little tub. I’d say each little tub is good for around 5-8 projects (guesstimate) depending on the size. And there’s so many lovely rich and vibrant colors to choose from!

Other tips:

-Make sure you have enough water! You want enough for the fabric to move around freely–if you don’t then your fabric will likely end up with variation in saturation and a mottled, creased effect. I use a big five gallon bucket and set it in (an empty) bathtub in case of spills. Just to clarify, I don’t fill UP the bucket, I use enough water for the fabric to move around freely, (this chart is very helpful).

-Don”t skimp on the salt (non-iodized or “does not contain iodine”), it really matters. It’s what makes the dye “stick” to your fabric, so be generous.

-I just started using this calsolene oil which you add to the bath in the beginning and helps to produce more even results, and I gotta say I’ve noticed a difference and am pleased with the results.

So now I’m working on another project, and I prepared like ten little dye baths and really learned a lot about the fabric and dye results. It was a half hour (I did it while doing my dishes) well invested!

I really love dying fabric; I enjoy the process, love the results, and am still learning! What are your dying secrets?

Congratulations Emily K you won Victory’s Lola Tunic Pattern!

Congratulations Amy U you won Figgy’s Banyan Tee Pattern!

And Congratulations Sarah (“Wonderful! Such a cute twist on the regular shirt.”), you won Megan Nielsen’s Briar Tee Pattern! I’ll be in touch with all of you soon!

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tagged as dying fabric, tips for fabric dying

January 22, 2013

By Miriam

Personalized Hand-Carved Stamps

Ever year there’s at least one Christmas gift that I don’t get done in time, and I’m forced to offer a pretty lame I O U_____. Something happens, I take on too much, whatever…and I always end up with a straggler or two. Sometimes I get to the promised gift a few weeks/months later, and sometimes they never happen (Don’t hate me, Jeff!)

These personalized stamps and card kit was just such a gift. My sister in law (who I’ll keep anonymous…hee hee, I’m super funny!) wanted personalized note cards, and I thought that even better than that would be some rad, hand carved stamps with a card kit and printing supplies. It was actually kind of cool that I did it all late though, because she helped design them, and so I know she’ll like them. We settled on three different designs, and I went to work with my carving tools and rubber carving blocks (you just need a small corner for these!)

I am so happy with how they turned out, and am actually pretty jazzed about a new technique I’ve been using for carving small words/letters (tutorial soon to follow! )

And now to announce a few winners from our Stretch Yourself giveaways! Eva from Spain is the winner of Sewaholic’s Renfrew Tee pattern, and Holly Sharp is the winner for the O + S raglan Tee pattern! I’ll be in touch with both of you soon to get you your patterns!

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tagged as cardmaking, personalized stamps, stamp carving

January 19, 2013

By Miriam

Stretch Yourself Week 2 Review + Madeira Serger Thread Giveaway

This series is sponsored by Baby Lock. For over 40 years, Babylock has been dedicated to the love of sewing by creating machines for sewing, embroidery, quilting and serging – all with ease-of-use, high quality and a touch of elegance.

If you haven’t noticed we’re ending the Stretch Yourself series with a bang and an assuage of giveaways, which you won’t mind I’m sure!;) We’ve loved doing this series, and are now going to collapse in a big heap from exhaustion. Don’t mind us if you happen to chance upon us, we’ll be the ones buried neck-deep in the pile of knitwear. No seriously, it’s been great, you’ve been great, and we’re already scheming round 2……??

Week 2 of Stretch Yourself we had so much fun reviewing patterns specifically for knits–this was probably my favorite part of the whole thing. I loved making each of those patterns, as well as using the adorable fabric from the Fabric Fairy. So fun. It was also a blast to share with you the amazing talent and creativity brought to the table by our wonderful guest posters. A big thank you to all of them, they were totally the bomb (I can say that cause I’m thirty). And lastly,a massive thank you to all of the Stretch Yourself sponsors! I get a real kick giving awesome stuff away, and boy did they load us up with awesome stuff! Thank you!

For our very last giveaway we’re excited to have Madeira provide some of their wonderful Aerolock Premium Serger thread! (Madeira is a sister company to Baby Lock, fyi). This giveaway is for 4 cones of Salmon (peachy pink), and 4 cones of mustard yellow. Here’s your chance to build your serger thread collection, as well as do some fun topstitching and flatlocking! I hear this thread is amazing stuff, and I can’t wait to try it out myself! For a chance to win, simply leave a comment below by January 25 (open to USA only, sorry international friends!)**closed**

Thanks everyone! (If you have anything you’d like to see in another edition of Stretch Yourself or would like to be a sponsor or get your pattern reviewed, feel free to contact Miranda or me, we’d love to hear from you! )

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tagged as madeira thread giveaway, stretch yourself wrap up

January 19, 2013

By Miriam

Stretch Yourself Week 1 Review + Fabrics A to Z Book Giveaway

Well the time has come, my friends, to wind down our Stretch Yourself series. I definitely stretched myself doing this series, and so many of you have shared with us your big plans to stretch yourselves with some of the techniques and projects we talked about. Yes! More jazz hands! Miranda and I have been so happy with the response you guys have given us, and all your enthusiasm made all the hard work payoff. You’re awesome.

The first week was our best shot at a knit-sewing resource guide. We hope that our posts on fabric selection, cutting, construction, and finishing techniques will help get you comfortable with the basics, and our posts on drafting patterns and tee variations will get you inspired. There’s a lot of information there, so read now or read it later, it’s there for you when you have a question or are ready to break it down.

To go along with all the resources we’ve put together, we are so excited today to offer another giveaway (we’re on a rampage today!) for the fabulous resource book Fabrics A to Z, which is a reference guide for getting to know and selecting fabric by Dana Willard from Made. I’ve heard nothing but great things about this book, and I’m sure it will come in handy as you go in for the tackle of your next knit project (It has a section dedicated to it!). For a chance to win this book, simply leave a comment below by January 25!**closed**

pictures via

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tagged as Fabrics A to Z, stretch yourself wrap up

January 19, 2013

By Miriam

Ottobre Design Review and Giveaway // Stretch Yourself

mad mim stretch yourself Ottobre harem pant03 680x1024 Ottobre Design Review and Giveaway // Stretch Yourself

Many of you have heard me gush about Ottobre before, but I’m always happy to spread the European-fashion love. Ottobre—if you don’t know already—is a Finnish fashion design magazine that includes about 40 complete patterns per children’s issue. The designs are amazing! They’re modern, playful, functional, well-designed and creative. My heart skips a beat every time one shows up in the mail, and my kids love to slowly peruse each issue, making special orders for what they want me to make (especially Twinkle). They have become my go-to source for kid’s clothes patterns, especially for their wide range of basics, and well-designed , professional collection of jeans, pants and jackets. Each issue is loaded with patterns for both knits and wovens, and the project’s difficulty range from beginner to advanced. I absolutely love my Ottobre subscription!

Each Ottobre issue prints 40 patterns onto the front and back of four 3’ X 2’ sheets. There are probably around 5 patterns on each side, and each are color-coded for you to trace onto separate paper (love my exam-table paper!). Most of the time it’s not bad, but sometimes with patterns that have a lot of pieces it can get confusing. I suggest lots of good lighting, reading the instructions completely through before cutting out, and referring often to the diagram of cut pattern pieces diagram.

Everything thing I’ve ever made from Ottobre patterns has fit really well, been very well-designed, and turned out so professional-looking. The construction techniques are logical and extremely well-written (I’ve always been so impressed with whoever is translating them! It is important to note though, that there are no step-by-step diagrams, only written instructions. This means that you do have to be familiar with basic sewing techniques and terms beforehand. I wouldn’t suggest Ottobre to most beginners, but that being said, you don’t have to know everything to have success. I would say if you have a good foundation then you’ll do well, and you’ll certainly learn a lot as you go, I know I have. The sizing takes a bit of a learning curve as well, because it’s all done in centimeters. When determining what size to make, in my experience it’s best to base it on your child’s height rather than their chest and tummy measurement.

For Stretch Yourself, I decided to highlight the Harem pant pattern (#2 and #11) from the Spring 2011 issue, as it has become a real favorite around here. I have made this pattern FIVE times (they have a baby size as well), and my daughter is STILL asking for more. It is so simple, so unique, and so comfortable, which is why we both love this design so much. She calls them her “genie pants”, and she has even gotten requests from her friends for some (not happening!) I actually would love to sport some of these myself! (hint hint for the women’s issue!)

I seriously can’t say how much I love Ottobre! You get a ton of bang for your buck, and even one year’s subscription would give you an amazing collection of patterns. To me it’s just so exciting to have patterns for such modern and playful European designs, and to be able to produce such professional looking clothing! Here are some of my favorite knitwear Ottobre designs that I’ve made in the past! Merritt’s Grandpa Sweater, baby leggings, the Frenchie Stripes Tee, Birthday Flounce, and a cardigan and tee. In the pictures below Twinkle is also sporting a basic puffed sleeved tee from Ottobre that I’ve made close to 10 times (1/2011 #24)!

Details:

Pattern: #2 and #11 from Ottobre’s Spring 2011 issue. Child’s size 110.

Fabric: a slinky rayon knit I got for $2 a yard.

Check out Miranda‘s Ottobre project, I adore that little hoodie! I love the binding and owl print!

For your own chance to win a one year’s subscription (!!!) to Ottobre Design magazine (children’s AND women’s editions!), simply enter a comment below before January 25, 6 pm MST! PS that’s like a MILLION patterns!**closed**

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tagged as Ottobre design magazine review

January 18, 2013

By Miriam

Twist on a Basic with Lladybird and A Little Gray // Stretch Yourself

To wrap up our rad guest posters our last ladies are embellishing or doing a twist on a basic. Embellishing or varying a basic is when we get to take our homemade garments from cool to special, where we get to stamp our individuality all over it and make it personal and unique. Go see Lauren’s amazing front-hand pocketed tee at Lladybird (it’s a variation of the Renfrew tee!!)

And hop over to Jessica’s for her super cute embroidered (!!) rainbow road leggings at A Little Gray.

Thank you SO much to all our guest posters this week–I absolutely loved seeing all your creativity and talent! I hope you all were as inspired as I have been!

Stretch Yourself Week 1:

Knit Fabrics and Selection at OLM // Cutting Knit Fabric at MM

Making a Pattern from a Tee Shirt at OLM // Drafting a Tee Pattern from Measurements at MM

Basic Tee Shirt Construction at OLM // Finishing Details for Knit Fabric at MM

Tee Shirt Dress Variation at OLM // Peplum Tee Variation at MM

Drafting and Sewing Leggings at OLM // Drafting and Sewing a Maxi Skirt at MM

Serger and Coverstitch Techniques at OLM // Baby Lock Diana Threading and Converting to Coverstitch at MM

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tagged as guest post a little gray, lladybird

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all the stuff (photos & tutorials etc) that you see around here is copyrighted by me (miriam tribe) for madmim.com. when using any of my stuff (photos & tutorials etc) for your stuff (blog, website or forum) please cite my website & work by linking back. thanks!

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