I made some hats!!!

 I really enjoyed making these little hats. I keep a Pinterest board specifically for hats and these banded cloches/toques (?) have been calling me for some time. They seemed so easy to make and so ripe for decoration and embellishment. When caring for my skin cancer situation on the top of my head I needed some sort of coverage. It had to accommodate twice daily washes and applications of Vaseline and no head under the shower. To say it was nasty was an understatement and that lasted a few weeks. Baseball hats put pressure in the wrong spot and I never liked their style and kerchiefs seemed too tight. The looser top of these hats and the tighter band around the face held things in place with this hat and they looked like they would work out really well. However, I would have made these hats anyway. I think they are cute and they have been on my "to be made" list for a while. I now had the perfect excuse.  I will run you thru how easy they were and give you front, side and back views of the two I made. 

 The hat consists of three bands. One is the measurement around your head with a bit of ease. You decide but I found a bit under half an inch just right. The next two bands are both equal in size but an inch and a half larger then the facial band.  They are pieced together and gathered onto the facial band. 

The edge of the top band is stitched to a circle. I used and 8 1/2 inch circle but you can have fun and go smaller and gather it on. You will see different looks to the circle size on Pinterest. You decide.  I then made a lining for this one out of silk using just the circle and the two top bands and serging that all to the facial band. 

The fabric I used for this hat is one I dyed many years ago. I treasure my hand dyes, no matter how small the pieces and find they can be such fun to pull out and play with. They are the Barbie Dolls of my dotage. This is actually a vintage damask tablecloth I dyed maybe 30 years ago. It is so soft and I love the way it slouches in this hat. I like wearing it to the side and the scrimshaw pin to keep it that way. 

This hat is the same "pattern" but different fabrics so it falls differently. It does not want to drape to the side but looks good draped straight back and down. Without intention, the color and stiffness bring to mind the glorious headwear many of our black sewing sisters wear and that I admire. 

The orange bands are Essex Linen blend, one of my favorite fabrics and the white areas are some bull denim I stenciled and had leftover from a handbag project I did. I added a bit of piping to the join between the top band and the circle. I love the fun colors and I have a couple of outfits this hat will be perfect with. 

After getting the pieces all sewn together, minus the circle, I decided something was just missing. As I stared at the mess on my cutting table all the bits and bobs of leftover Essex linen stared back. I grabbed them and started raw cutting and sticking them down on the bands. Tadah! I went to the machine and did a raw edge applique on top of the painted band and it all came together. I put the whole thing together and then threw it in the washer and dryer to soften up the paints like they now were on my bag which had been washed many times and to give the raw edge applique a bit of a fluffy edge. It worked. The hat softened the bull denim and the paint and made things more wearable. I think it is great fun and can't wait to wear it with my periwinkle linen dress. Needless to say I will be keeping my head quite covered from here on in as well as other skin. I recently learned that a dear uncle who passed when I was a child passed from melanoma. I always thought it was throat cancer. So another family member to add to this scary list. I am so glad I love to wear hat and even happier I love making them and am able to share them with you . Stay covered, friends. Happy Sewing..................Bunny

Vogue 8630, an underlined sheath with portrait collar

The dress is done. The hat arrived on time and was the perfect color. The wedding was so lovely. It does the heart good to see all the hope of the world in the eyes of a beautiful young couple choosing to spend forever together no matter what life sends their way. The venue was gorgeous with a large outdoor porch and gardens that made catching up with family a delight, not always the case when the amplifiers are going full blast with the dance music. And I did dance! Now to the dress details but thanks to Dd Audrey who took the photos in her lovely yard. I told her I needed to have a picture of the back and this is what she gave me:

Forget Mom, show the sewing! She has learned well! Above you can see the handpicked zip with the tiny tortoise shell beads and a fabric belt I made for the dress as well. Let's get down to the real nitty gritty.




Pattern:  This is a Very Easy Vogue pattern, V8630. I have always loved VEV patterns. They have minimal pieces and can usually be made in quick time, that is if you leave out all the extras this dress ended up with.  A couple of things I really like about the pattern were the curves in the lower back bodice and the upper back of the skirt, perfect for those with some swayback issues. I did not adjust this dress for my sway back at all and it hugged my SB curves just right.  I did find the bodice a bit short all around and lengthened it a half inch and will lengthen it a bit more if I make it again. Another great thing about this pattern is that it comes in various cup sizes. I used a C cup but the missing length was all around,not just the front. The pattern calls for a lining. I underlined it instead.

Fabric: This is a 100%  rayon designer fabric and I wish I could remember who the designer was. It was on the tube when I bought it a few years back at Fabric Fix, right before they closed. The fashion fabric has a linen type weave and it's a perfect dress weight, not too light. I fully expected it to fray like mad but it never did. The lining is 100% cotton but much nicer than muslin and heavier than batiste but not as heavy as a Kona cotton. I used cotton because I knew the wedding would be outside for a good part and it could possibly be a very hot day. It was! I used a poly silk charmeuse for the Hong Kong seams and bindings.

As mentioned in the beginning of this project. I interlined the skirt with large hole nylon net from Joanns, the kind of stuff you make those scrubbers with. It did a wonderful job of keeping the wrinkles out of the skirt and I would definitely use it again. Since all the seams are enclosed, scratchiness was never an issue. It was cut out of the hem and vent area. You wouldn't know the netting was in there if I hadn't told you. It worked! The collar is 100% heavy white linen and faced with white cotton as well. Interfacing is in the collar and I used a woven interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply.  When this project was started I majorly stressed over matching the print which I soon discovered wasn't going to happen. I think my "sort of" matching looks fine, don't you? The goal was to keep the bulleye effect away. 

Construction:  I read through the pattern a few times before I started but really didn't follow it at all. The first issue was the underlining. The cotton and the FF  were stitched together as one. All seams were bound, including the hem edge and vent. No facings! Holes were bound with bias strips of charmeuse. 

The zipper a hand picked beaded zipper. This was done by first sewing the seam shut with a machine basting stitch. An adhesive measuring tape was then placed a quarter inch away from the seamline on the right side. This allowed me to accurately place the beads exactly every 3/8ths of an inch on both sides. I used a back stitch and the zipper is as sturdy as any if not more so. Once completed I removed the basting. The zip on this dress stops about three inches from the top of the dress and the end is hidden under the  collar. 

The edges of the zipper seam have the Hong Kong finish as well. I also covered the inside of the zip with a folded strip of bias charmeuse. I love this touch. I feel like a princess whose tender skin should never touch anything mechanical! I can dream, can't I?  The three unfolded edges are catchstitched to the underlining. 

The neckline and armholes were bound with bias, understitched and catchstitched to the lining. 

I added the vent to the construction. The pattern has a "slit" at the center back seam and the skirt definitely needs some accommodation for movement. Personally, I think slits at the back rear don't do a very good job, pull apart, and just look cheap and like someone  didn't try, my personal opinion. So added a vent to the skirt. the edges wre bound. The outside of the vent was secured with a tiny zigzag. I saw that touch on a garment and really liked it.

I also added a self fabric belt to the dress. My hat was the major accessory so a contrasting or thicker belt would have competed too much. I had to "make do" to make my belt but it came out really well. I will try to do a tute on it soon. I used drapery header to make it, fashon fabric and an antique buckle, all pretty low key.

You can't see it but with the dress I wore alligator pumps in dark brown. I packed a pair of coppery sandles in my bag and put them on for the serious dancing! I told you I danced!  There is no black in this fabric. It goes from snow white to the deepest chocolate brown. My hat is the same color dark brown. I picked it out at a store in Disney, Chapel Hats. They accommodated me with the info I needed and I ordered it on line when I got home. Unlike my Macy's bed set, this hat arrived in perfect shape. I will definitely use Chapel Hats again. DD bought one of their hats as well.

The wedding is over. I am craving another round of "event" sewing but for now will settle in on some projects that I have been dieing to get going. First off will be a tunic out of the rust dyed fabric. It is near done already and I can't wait to show you.............Bunny

My first ever Loom Bag

I am not even sure anything such as a loom bag exists but I thought I needed one. The loom has parts and I travel a lot to visit our grandaughters. They are into beading and I bought , or rather, Santa brought, each of them a small bead loom and lots of beads. So bringing my loom when we visit will be lots of fun. And a travelling loom certainly needs a special bag! 

The fabric above all but kidnapped me and dragged me out of the store. I was thinking a bag for myself at first. And then Van Gogh's Starry Night fabric knockoff hung on the closet door in the studio for quite a while, other things just getting in the way. But "Starry Night" is one of my favorite paintings so I let it hang and I enjoy looking at it. Then my loom arrived at Christmas and it was kismet. 

I've worked up measurements and details in my trusty notebook.  I really couldn't find anything in retail patterns that came close to what this loom bag required. There are lots of small parts that could get lost and they will have their pockets. Then there are beads, scissors, special threads, etc. that need storage as well. So I took some graph paper and taped it together so I had the two insides of the bag, the front and back. I laid my loom on it in "shut down" mode and took advantage of the negative space to place the pockets on the lining. Here are my two patterns, sort of:

So I worked out the layout of the "goodies" and these will be in pockets placed on the lining, some with zips, some not. My lining fabric, like the bag fabric, is 100% quilting cotton and I found it a week ago. It's perfect! It is a stylized version of Monet's Iris Garden. My two favorite artists honored in one bag! The lining colors are lighter than the outer bag which is what I like inside a bag, makes things easier to find. The outside of the bag will have a faux black leather gusset on the bottom and maybe black leather facings on the zippered pockets. Not sure yet and I am still working out those details. I will probably do the "Koos Zipper" which you can find in the tutorials as it is so strong. Zippers will go up the sides and meet at the top in the middle so the bag opens up wide for access. It's odd, now that I see my schematic in print in front of me as I write, I am getting all sorts of other ideas as well for storage. So this design will probably grow into something else by the time the lining is complete. Here is the lining fabric:

Pardon the pre-pressed condition.  The Starry Night fabric has been cut out and fused to fusible fleece. In between the fashion fabrics/fleece and the lining will be "boards" of either Peltex or foam core. The lining fabric will probably be fused with some inexpensive weft insertion. I hate baggy saggy linings. The Peltex boards will be separate and added in at the very end. The fantasy of being able to sew Peltex is one I have given up on. What I do now is insert it in between, almost free floating. The gussets will just be soft with fusible fleece. I am excited about this project and it has brought my mojo back.  It's been fun working up the design. Today is the first day I feel normal. Bye bye Bug! Things are working out with hubby slowly but surely and all seems positive.

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This pale pink cabled sweater? If you have seen the darling hat Rhonda of  Rhonda's Creative Life   made you will know what I am making. It is just the cutest, warmest hat, perfect for our climate. See it here. If you are not familiar with Rhonda's amazing creativity, pattern designing skills and generosity, you are missing out on one of the best bloggers out there. Check it out!

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I haven't forgotten the felted jacket. I just haven't looked human enough for pics and I know you want to see it on. They will come. I did wear it all day the other day and received quite a few compliments. I discovered the button I considered really is a necessity so will put one on before I get the pics done. Your patience is appreciated ....Bunny