Go-To Cape and Winter Boots

This week, the challenge over at Project Sewn is "If the Shoe Fits". The idea is to pick your favorite pair of shoes and sew an outfit to go with. I live in Minnesota. And right now we have tons of snow! So for this challenge, I chose my winter boots because they definitely keep my feet warm and dry, which is perfect if you have to walk around outside in this weather!

Do you wanna build a snowman??

 

In case you're wondering, yes, I did build a snowman, by myself, wearing my Lady Skater dress, leggings and boots. I put my cape on afterwards though.

 

I thought my Go-To cape would be perfect with my winter boots. It is a fully lined cape made using purple plaid wool and plain purple flannel for the lining. I was actully getting hot standing in the sun while I took pictures. It is 40 degrees today - a heat wave compared to the weather we've been having here!

 

The cape has an oversized hood, which is one of my favorite parts! I also made the peekaboo lining - you can see the lining "peeking out" on the hood. The pattern calls for four 3/4" buttons, but I thought that size was too small, so I used four 1 1/8" buttons. They worked perfectly!

 

 

Andrea, of Go-To Patterns, designed this cape to hit at the hip level. However, I wanted a longer cape, so I cut out the long length, which is for people taller than 5'9" (I'm 5'7").

 I was having fun with the photo shoot! You can see the plaid in this picture too. It's harder than you think setting up a tripod in the snow and running back and forth after every picture. The snow is pretty deep too! There must be over a foot accumulated in the back yard - the snow almost came to the top of my boots.

Here's the back. I have always been afraid of sewing with plaid, but I did it! And the back seam matches up!!

I received the plaid wool from a friend and have had it for a few years. I knew I was keeping it for a reason! It is so warm and pretty thick. I bought the flannel at Jo-Ann Fabrics when it was on sale, and I was able to use a gift card, so I only ended up spending $15 for 4 yards of flannel. That's a deal!

Oh, you know, just contemplating life. :)

 

Finally, here's a better picture of my boots, since the snow covered them in almost all my other pictures. They were the whole inspiration for my outfit. As you can see, they're pretty wet in this picture, but they kept my feet dry!

Would you wear a cape?

~Elizabeth

The Rose T-Shirt

I've been following Project Sewn and there sure are some amazing designers this season! I decided to sew along for this week's theme, Make It Pink.

I thought the Rose T-Shirt from Blank Slate Patterns would be perfect. There are so many options when it comes to sewing this T-shirt. You can choose from four different sleeve lengths and two different shirt lengths.

 

Melissa designed this T-shirt to be made with woven and knit fabric. She says it's great for showing off pricy designer fabric on the neckline because it only takes 1/4 yard of woven fabric. However, I did not have any plain knit fabric on hand and I really liked this pink and black polka dot fabric. It is very soft and nice to wear.

I decided to go an opposite route of other versions I've seen and use a printed knit for the main part of the shirt, along with a subtle printed fabric for the neckline. If you look closely, you will see there are music notes on the black neckline fabric.

 

My favorite part of this shirt is the simple gathers in the front and the sleeves. The sleeves were made extra long so you could hem them to your desired length - I love this because long sleeve shirts are always too short! These sleeves are perfect.

 

This is definitely a new favorite shirt of mine and I will be making more! The best part? It cost $0 because the woven fabric was from my stash and the knit was from my mom's stash.

 

Have you been doing any sewing? Are you following Project Sewn?

 

~Elizabeth

The Infinity Sweater

 

This is the Infinity Sweater, from One Girl Circus and it is a great pattern! I made it a few weeks ago before school started, and it has been getting so much wear! It's been perfect to wear on these subzero temperature days we've been having recently. I get cold easily and it adds just the right amount of warmth!

 

There are so many options when it comes to styling this sweater. One of my favorite ways to wear it is knotting it in the front. So easy, but cute!

 

The wrap around is another one of my favorite ways to wear it, and I'm actually wearing this style right now. You just wrap the front panels all the way around and either tie it in back or tuck it in. It's nice and cozy!

 

You can drape the front pieces across your shoulders.

 

 

It looks like this from the back. I haven't really styled the sweater this way yet.

 

Dress it up a little by adding a belt around the waist. I really like this style too!

 

Just have fun with it!!

 

For this project, I used a navy blue knit from the thrift store. Between my mom and I, we got so much use out of it! The infinity sweater calls for 2 yards of knit fabric and after I made it, there was plenty of fabric left. It's a thin knit, which works well for this project. It does roll a bit, which is mostly noticeable on the sleeves since there is no hem, but I don't mind. The pattern doesn't call for hemming or finishing the edges, but if you really wanted to, you could.

 

The pattern includes 3 pieces - sleeve, front panel, and back. It sews together very quickly and cutting took the longest. I think it only took me about 15 minutes after everything was cut. That's my kind of project!

 

How would you style this sweater?

 

~Elizabeth

Decorated Plate {A Guest Post by my Sister}

Hello Everyone! Today, I have a special post for you. My little sister, K, is here to tell you about a craft she did over winter break. K is 11 years old and loves to do all kinds of crafts including sewing, quilting, latch hook, knitting, and drawing. She also loves to read, write, and play her flute.

Today I am doing a guest post for my sister Elizabeth. My aunt showed me how to do this awesome craft! It is a decorated plate.

First, I needed to get gather my supplies which are:

      · a white plate

 

· colored permanent markers

· Clorox wipes

· stencils

Some of my supplies

Next, I took some permanent markers, stencils, and a white plate.  I wasn’t exactly sure what to draw, so I just started drawing but I didn’t like it, so I wiped it away with a Clorox wipe.  It took me about twenty times until I knew exactly what I wanted to draw! 


My awesome plate!

Finally, I put the plate in the oven at 350 degrees for thirty minutes. Then I turned the oven off and left the plate in the oven for two hours. After that, I took the plate out and let it sit on a counter for twenty-four hours.
Now I can use the plate to eat off of. I would only use it for non juicy things. The plate is not dishwasher safe.  

Plates made by my older brothers

Plates made by my younger brothers

Thank you, K!! Didn't she do a wonderful job? I just love how her plate turned out. I made a plate too with quotes from the Hobbit written all over it for a friend. These make great gifts and there are so many possibilities! Plain white mugs are another option if you don't want to do a plate. It was a very inexpensive project too - we found the plates at the dollar store.

~Elizabeth

New Favorite Accessory

With the weather we've been having here, you definitely need something to cover your ears when you step outside! These embellished earwarmers are just the thing and I've been wearing mine everywhere!

I received Kay Whitt's newest book, Sew Serendipity Sewing Workbook, for Christmas and this was one of the projects in the Winter section. The book has many tips and tricks from Kay and 8 different projects separated by season. There's also room for taking notes - I've been using the note section to keep track of all the projects I make this year!

 

This earwarmer project is completely handsewn and features wool and fleece as well as hand embroidery and beads. I don't know a lot about embroidery, but this project uses a simple backstitch and I was able to learn it quickly after looking up a tutorial online.

 

The flower is made from six heart shapes and leaves a cool three dimensional effect once you sew it on the headband. The headband attaches behind your head with velcro.

 

These headband make great gifts too! I made one on New Year's Eve for myself (the one I'm wearing in the picture) and another one New Years Day for my aunt. They are quick to sew and would be great for on the go projects since you don't need a sewing machine. I already have ideas for more color options! I'm thinking red fleece, black wool, a red wool flower and red beads.

 

Perfect for cold winter days!

 

Do you prefer to wear a hat or headband in the cold?

~Elizabeth

Maxi Skirt Success

 

Have you heard about the Sew Crazy Monthly Challenge over at Crazy Little Projects? Each month this year, there will be a sewing challenge with a chance to win prizes! You can pick from a few different projects and sew that project. Then you can show it off and enter to win the giveaway! I decided to participate this month and chose to sew the maxi skirt.

 

 

I used this tutorial from The Train to Crazy and it was a success! I have tried making knit maxi skirts before, but none of them have been as perfect as this skirt. Andrea shows you how to use the slash and spread method when making your pattern, which is such a great idea! Most maxi skirt tutorials only have you using your waist and length measurement. I like this method, because you know the skirt will actually fit over your hips since you spread the pattern apart until you reach your hip measurement.

 

 

The only thing I did differently when following the tutorial was to make a yoga waistband instead of using elastic. I cut it out at 14 inches wide by my waist measurement. That way when I fold it in half, the waistband is about 7 inches. I also hemmed my skirt, but you don't have to since knits don't fray.

 

This skirt is a new favorite! It is perfect and feels so summery. Maybe it will help me forget about the subzero temperatures we've been having (although it is starting to warm up)! 

 

~Elizabeth

Sisters & Red Lace Christmas Dresses

It all started when I decided to make myself a Christmas dress when I found this tutorial from see kate sew. I loved the big collar, the lace, and the gathered skirt. The pattern was free and my size, and as soon as the idea was in my head I couldn't stop thinking about it. The dress had to be made! And in red lace with black lining!

I bought the lace and black knit from fabric.com. It was my first time sewing with lace, but it was easy enough! I basted the lace and knit together and treated it as one fabric. My belt is just a strip of leftover black knit that I twisted together and tied around my waist.

The collar is my favorite part of my dress! There is also an invisible zipper in the back.

There was enough fabric leftover to make matching dresses for my little sisters. I used the Peony Petal Dress from Ruby Jean's Closet for my 11 year old sister, K's dress. Since I was using lace for the whole dress, I left off the flower detail that the pattern called for.

It is a simple peasant dress with elastic around the neck, sleeves and waist. I used black cotton for the lining of the dress and lengthened it about five inches because K is so tall.

Sleeve close up

Finally, for my baby sister V's dress, I used the Junebug dress pattern from Craftiness is Not Optional. I used the lace and black cotton for the lining. I didn't think the buttonholes would work well on the lace, so I decided to only use cotton for the flap piece.

 I love the puffy sleeves!

She's such a little lady!!

I left the lace a few inches longer than the lining on all three dresses. I had so much fun making these dresses for my sisters and I! We were matching, but we still had our own style because they weren't exactly the same.

I hope you are all staying warm, where ever you are! The temperature is -15° F and wind chills are at -38° F, so we are definitely staying inside today!

~Elizabeth