Several months ago, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed and ran across a stunning image of a social media influencer on her front porch. She was surrounded by beautiful flowers and with her gorgeous two young daughters. While the scene was absolutely gorgeous, I was fascinated by her dress…It. Was. Smocked!!! If you want to take a peek at her gorgeous pictures, I’ll link them, here. Immediately after seeing the dress, I started down the rabbit hole of discovering who made it, where it was purchased, etc. etc. It should not shock you, that much like some of my previous favorite garments, it is crazy expensive. So I hatched…
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Attaching Gathered Fabric to Flat Fabric-quick tip
Don’t you love it when people show you a quick tip that changes your sewing life? I absolutely love it. My sewing mentor recently dropped this little gem on me so I thought I’d share! When attaching gathered fabric to flat fabric you can use this little tip to keep your gathers PERFECT. So next time you attach gathered trim to a sleeve, a skirt to a bodice, or gathered trim to beading, this is a quick trick that will make your life easier. Gather your fabric (in my case trim) as normal. Making sure gathers are nice an straight and evenly spaced. Lay a paper towel down on your…
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Ironing…the glamorous part of sewing.
To say that I did not enjoy ironing when I began sewing would be an understatement. I skipped ironing steps, sewed with only polyester blend fabrics, and even postponed projects if they included too much ironing. I did not like ironing because I did not know how to do it. Ridiculous right? You just iron out the wrinkles…enough said. Every single time I went to iron my garment or piece of fabric looked EXACTLY the same after ironing as it did before ironing. It was infuriating. As I watched women sew during sit-n-sews I learned (while trying not to creepily stare) the value of ironing. I also learned the value…
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Smocked Bonnet- Southern Stitches
This bonnet is so sweet! I mean does it get cuter? It’s reasonably priced and can be found here. But ya’ll know me…I like a challenge when I see one. I took one look at this and decided I could definitely make it. I went on a hunt for a pattern and hit a gold mine! Southern-stitches has some seriously cute patterns-this one included! I purchased the “Button Bonnet” pattern and made my own insert but she literally has this exact pattern. The patterns are clear, well written and available in PDF. Here’s my version! I used pima batiste and made my piping out of Spechler Vogel “Baby Blue Stripe”…
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Bulk Sewing
My entire family recently got the flu :(. Not fun. I’d had the flu shot so it wasn’t debilitating, just annoying. During our quarantine this nesting mama went a little nuts. I sewed everything and I’m out of things to embroider. If you find yourself in this situation or just want to prepare for the summer, here are some tips for sewing en masse. 1.Choose your pattern wisely. Pick something that does not have smocking. The fewer pieces the pattern has, the better. A few options I’ve had success with are the Children’s Corner Patterns Johnny, Creations by Michie Jumper, and the Children’s Corner Patterns Robert. 2. Choose similar fabrics.…
