Hot Pads

More kits from Connecting Threads, these hot pads coordinate with the Market Bags in the previous post.  I used one layer of Insul-Brite and one layer of quilt batting to make sure they truly work as a hot pad.

Market Bags

I love to sew with kits as I love when the fabrics have been selected for me.  If I put the fabric colors together, I never seem to have enough contrast.  I made two of these bags that look perfect to take to the farmers market.  The green and purple on the outside of the bag are pockets.

Second Coffee Sack Bag

This is my second attempt at creating a tote bag with the coffee bags I brought back from Hawaii.  I thought the first one would be substantial with just the burlap and a cotton lining.  After taking it on a trip, realized that it wasn't substantial enough.  This bag was created using fusible fleece on both the outer and lining pieces and works much better.  Now I am in the process of taking apart the first bag and adding the fleece to the bag pieces.

Self-drafted Apron

Using scraps from the Market Bag and Hot Pads, a matching apron was in order.  I wanted something simple so drafted this on my own.  Turned out pretty cute.

Black and silver bra

This is the last bra I plan to make for a while.  Famous last words.  Love the fabric which is black knit with shiny silver flowers.  While bras are not too difficult to sew once you have the pattern fitted, they are tedious as none of the seams are very long.

White bras

One of my first projects with the new sewing furniture was to complete two white bras.  One is out of tricot and the other out of cotton knit.  The knit one is a lot easier to sew on and they are both comfortable.

New sewing furniture

I haven't been sewing lately because I have been working on a major organizing project for my sewing room. The local sewing store had a sale on Koala furniture and I decided it was a good time to move the sewing machine and serger off Costco plastic tables.  Furniture arrived yesterday so now it is time to get back to sewing.  While the delivery service did take the furniture out of the box and place it in the room, they didn't install the corner top and shelves.  Luckily the instructions were pretty good and I was able to get everything put together.  Love the new furniture and can't wait to get time to put it to use.  The good news is that the sewing room is really cleaned out and organized.

Black and White Polka Dot Bra

I took Ann St. Clair's bra making class a few years ago and have been making my bras since then.  Making my own bras enables me to get a custom fit and lets me have very fun bras that aren't always available in larger sizes in ready to wear.  This bra is made from the Queen Bra Elite pattern.  It is one the kits she sells and I think it cost me $16.00 for the kit.  Love the polka dots.

Three Slinky Tank Tops

I have heard that slinky was hard to sew on but I love the fabric for tank tops or shells.  I have a number of them from Chico's but they are getting expensive so decided to try to make my own.  These fabrics came from the Michael Levine outlet store in LA where you purchase fabric by the pound.  It wasn't that hard to sew on and now I have three new tank tops to go under my blazers.  The pattern I used was Silhouette Patterns #500 Tank Top/Pleated Top.

Vogue 1292 Ruffle Skirt

One of the online classes Sandra Betzina has online was how to make this pattern out of ruffled knit fabric.  I found this fabric in the garment district in Toronto on one of my business trips.  It was a really simple skirt to make and is lined with a black knit fabric to make it easy to slip on and off.

Silhouette Patterns #2850 Michelle's One Piece Skirt Version 2

This version of the skirt was made using a sheer fabric.  It also came in a kit from Silhouette Patterns but wasn't for this skirt pattern.  The kit instructions called for making a skirt using two layers of the fabric. I didn't have enough fabric to do that so fused black interfacing to the back of each piece and made the skirt this time with the seams to the inside of the skirt.  Hem and top of the skirt were finished with a serged rolled hem with a ribbon for the waistband.

Silhouette Patterns #2850 Michele's One Piece Skirt Version 1

Working through my stash, I finally have opened some of the kits I ordered a few years ago from Silhouette Patterns.  This is a blue rayon fabric.  This version of the skirt is sewn with the seams on the outside then serged.  The hem and top of the skirt are finished with a rolled hem.  The waistband is a strip of ribbon topstitched on the outside of the skirt top.  I perfected my zipper skills on this skirt with an invisible zipper.

Summer skirts Butterick 5391

It is very hot where I live in the summer and I love wearing skirts instead of pants as I think they are cooler.  These skirts when together really fast.  The first skirt is out of a stretch Sateen.  The next one is out of a micro fiber.  Both of these fabrics are from Fabric Mart.  The third skirt is a cotton border print from Windmill Fabrics.  I have a huge fabric stash and am trying to sew it down while decreasing the amount of new fabric I bring in.

Kwik Sew 2908

I have discovered that I really like to wear underwear made out of ITY knit.  The blue pair was made out of scraps from a tank top made last summer and the brown polka dots were made from some fabric I haven't made up in a dress yet.  Altogether, I made 8 pair so will have enough now for a long trip.:)

Tablet case McCalls 5824

I recently purchased the Microsoft Surface Pro tablet for work travel.  Love it!  Because most of the work I do is Windows based, I had problems with other tablet operating systems.  This gives me the convenience of a tablet with the features of a laptop.  The tablet is not cheap so I want to make sure I protect it so made a case for it reworking a McCalls pattern for a laptop.  The padding for the case is fusible fleece.  It came out brighter than my standard black work travel ensemble which needed a pop of color.

Silhouette Patterns Zoanne's Cape

This jacket is a modified version of Zoanne's Cape.  I rescued it from the scrap pile.  I originally made it too short so added a piece of fabric to the bottom to make the jacket a better length for me.  It is unlined with all the seams serged.  While a little casual, this will be a perfect travel jacket.  I love the bright color.  The fabric is a polyester eyelet from Winmill Fabrics in Boston.

Sewing Workshop Liberty Shirt

I loved the pistachio shirt I made while taking the Craftsy class "Sewing with Silks" so made another in a tan silk shantung.  The only change I made was to shorten the sleeves.  Love the buttons which, amazingly enough, came from Dollar Tree.

Sewing Workshop Mimosa top

I bought this kit from The Sewing Workshop on eBay.  I like the top pattern and fabric but not sure if I would make it up again in a thin knit.  It didn't seem stable enough so will try again later in a woven fabric.

Sewing Workshop Opal Jacket

I seem to be on a roll with Sewing Workshop patterns.  This jacket was made out of some fabric I bought at a thrift store for $1.00.  The reason I bought the fabric was because the knit resembled the knits they use in St. John clothing.  It was really lovely to sew on.

The first photo makes the knit look teal but the second photo is closer to the true color.  Instead of serging the raw edges, I used black fold over elastic.  A first for me and will use this again.

The jacket needs a good press.  I try to press my garments but never to great success.  One of the tips I learned early on was to take my sewn garments to the dry cleaner to have them professionally pressed the first time so that is what I do with all of my sewn garments.  It will look much better when it comes back.:)

Sewing Workshop Pearl Jacket

My second jacket sewn during the long business trip was the Pearl Jacket.  This was made out of a textured silk fabric but I don't know the name of the fabric type.  I tried to capture a photo of the fabric in the second photo.  While this jacket may not be dressy enough for business, it will be perfect to wear on travel days and more casual office days.  A very comfortable jacket that almost has the feel of a cardigan.