Make The Look

A Pair of Anthropologie Skirts

Looking through Anthro's site, I came across some similar skirts, the Cloudless Skies Paperbag Skirt, and the Helios Batik Midi.  Both have a similar waist design, the paperbag waist.  This is style I remember from the 80's, but all things come back around eventually.  If you can find a vintage pattern for this style, then you'll have a very easy time replicating this skirt.

If you can't find a vintage pattern, then Simplicity 2413 , one of the Project Runway patterns, is pretty close to the original skirts.  View A has the right waist, and to make it more like the original, you'd need the width of View B, with the waist treatment of View A.  Of course, you might like it better as a straight skirt and not have to modify at all!

As far as fabrics, the originals are made in cotton and a cotton/linen blend and probably would look best in medium to lightweight wovens.  Fabric.com has quite a selection of linens, but even at your local craft/fabric retailer, you could probably find a woven that is the right weight for a cute summer skirt!

All photos from respective websites with links included.

Parting Shot:  Almost.  We almost have irises!  Just a few more days!

The Bucket Bag, Part 2

The Math

To start working the bucket bag, I needed to do a little drafting because I don't have a pattern.  Really, there are only 3 major pieces:  the bottom, the sides and the strap.  Anything else, like pockets is extra and I'll deal with those in a later post. 

I started by drawing a circle with a 6" diameter.  To do this, I pulled out some simple tools, the ruler, compass and the calculator (which will be used later).

I started there because that was the size I thought I wanted.  Once it was drawn, I realized it was a bit smaller than I wanted, so I added 7" diameter circle and an 8" diameter circle.  I liked the 7" the best and the 8" was good to have because that is now the cutting line, giving me a 1/2" seam allowance.

The next thing I needed to determine was the size of the piece I'll need for the sides of the bag.  Since this bag is basically a cylinder with a drawstring at the top, the base is a circle and the sides will be cut in one long piece as a rectangle with just one seam.  I wanted a bag height of 10", so that side was easy to figure out.  The length around the circle was a simple calculation away.  The circumference of a circle is equal to the diameter times pi (which is 3.14).  So, 7 x 3.14 = 21.98.  Not quite 22", but I'm going to round up to 22", the difference of .02 inches is not enough to worry about. 

Now that I know the raw dimensions of the rectangle, 10x22 inches, I can add in seam allowances and design features.  I wanted a solid band at the top and bottom of the bag, and decided on 1 1/2" wide.  Subtracting 1 1/2" x 2 (top and bottom) from 10" gives me 7" of center section.  I just drew up a quick little diagram, noting all the dimensions and pieces.  I'll use this later when I cut all the pieces with the rotary cutter.  There's really no need to draw pattern pieces if cut with the rotary cutter.

Lastly, I needed to figure out the placement of the eyelets for the drawstring.  I figured out that I needed 8 eyelets;  2 placed 1" apart at the center and then 6 more evenly spaced from there.  So, 22" finished length, minus 1" between the center two eyelets gives me 21" to work with.  I need 7 even spaces total, so 21" divided by 7 equals 3".  When constructing the bag, I'll mark those spaces with a water soluble marker to make sure that this will work out correctly; if not I can always adjust it before putting in the eyelets.

Next up is cutting everything out and getting the lining made.

Parting Shot:  Not Permanent.  Thankfully.  Every time my son gets his haircut, he comes home with a different color, which washes out the next morning.

New Purse Project - The Bucket Bag

For a new project, I'm going to be making a self-drafted bucket bag.  For inspiration, I saw these great bags on Net-A-Porter, the first one is from Bally and the second from A.P.C. and thought some version of that would make a great summer bag.  If all goes well, I might make one in more luxe fabrics.  Not sure yet.  

 

Here is the fabric and supplies that I have so far, minus the large grommets and zipper which are still in the notions drawer.  I've got cotton duck - stripes for the outside, plus solid white; a print for the lining, fusible fleece and cording for the draw cord. 

I'll be doing all the math tomorrow and I'll post the measurements so that you can see how it is done.

Parting Shot:  Trillium.  I went hiking yesterday, and saw several wildflowers in bloom.  Both the white and purple trillium are in bloom, but I only photographed the purple variety. 

Flash and Trash - Part XXIV

Finished!

It is done and photographed!  First, front and back:

Now for the fun shots: 

My son did the photography for this one and he's getting better.  The children have been doing this for about four years or so, and it is much easier because they know what mom wants!

As you can probably tell, those cups are a bit big.  They're meant to be that way!  The reason they're large is that part of Cathy Frank's runway act at quilt shows is to wear a lime green bra over her regular clothes and then pull out fat quarters and spools of thread as give away prizes to throw into the audience.  So, I've copied the idea.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the outfit.  It is certainly not meant to be worn every day and it is a bit costumey, but it captures exactly the fun and exuberant spirit of the woman who inspired it.  She will get the outfit mailed to her eventually, she's already seen it and loved it.  It was fun to make and even with the little bit of trouble of the dye color the hook and eye closure it really was one of my easier projects!

Parting Shot:  In the Sun.  Pix is enjoying the sunshine taking up one whole window sill for herself.  Oh to be a cat!

Another Hat, Finished

Although today was pretty busy, I was able to finish up the hat and get it photographed.  All I had to do was bind the edges, add the elastic strap and the net embellishment.  The net embellishment is just 4 layers of netting gathered in the middle, secured and stitched to the hat.  Nothing fancy.

I think this was a fun little project - something to keep me busy while working on larger projects!  If you know anyone interested in purchasing or trading for the hat, email me.  There is a link on the right.

Parting Shot:  Project.  The school year is quickly coming to a close and the children are busy finishing up their last projects.  Thankfully, mom has a collection of stuff to make their projects complete.  Notice she also has a furry helper, who is trying to look disinterested.

Just For Fun - Another Hat

Sorry, no final post of Flash and Trash yet.  The weather has been cloudy and rainy pretty much for the last week or so, and when it was sunny on Saturday, I was at a music recital.  I get much better pictures with natural daylight.  I will try to get those photos done in the next few days as we have sunshine predicted.

Meanwhile, I've been working on finishing up another hat, just for fun.  I thought I'd combine some beading and stitching on a hat.  I think it might be a bit heavier than I'd like, but I can add a comb underneath to help anchor the hat in addition to the elastic band. 

I'm at the point where I need to add the binding around the outside edge and add an extra bit of embellishment to it.  The green basted line will be removed before adding the binding.  I only needed it as a reference point so that the beading wouldn't go to far over the edge. 

I'm thinking this will be done tomorrow, not sure yet!

Parting Shot:  Stuck Inside.  Wellie loves an open window, but can't go outside.  He doesn't have any front claws; his previous owners had his front paws declawed (I can't imagine why!  LOL!).  It wouldn't be fair to send him outside without one of his main defenses. 

Seahorse, Continued

I finished up the seahorse piece today.  First, I added some fuzzy fiber for the seaweed. 

You know, I thought I'd never use this green piece of fiber, as it is a bit reminiscent of Oscar the Grouch in color and texture.  This happened to be the right project and I was happy to have it.  To attach it, I just zigzagged over the fiber, very easy.

After a quick discussion with my daughter, we decided to do a pillow cover.  I had first suggested a wall hanging, but she wanted a pillow cover.  No problem, and it was actually easier.  To frame the seahorse and make a back for the pillow cover, I found a great piece of batik in my fabric collection.  I trimmed the seahorse and framed it with strips of the fabric. 

For the pillow back, I decided on an overlapping back style so that I wouldn't have to stitch one section shut and it would be easier to remove the cover for cleaning.  This is easy to do, and I could have added buttons, too, but it really didn't need any because I made my overlap pretty deep. 

I cut two pieces of fabric, the width of the pillow plus 1/2" seam allowances and about 2/3's of the length of the pillow (this provides enough overlap), plus 1".  I put a 1/2" double fold hem on the width-wise side. 

I then put the back pieces right sides together with the front piece, aligning the top and bottom edges and overlapping the two pieces in the middle.  The pillow was stitched around the edges on all four side and turned right side out.

Here's how the overlap looks with the pillow inserted:

The pillow is done, front and back.

Here it is, in her room, along with another coordinating pillow:

I'm really pleased with how this turned out.  I have to admit, I wasn't so sure about the orange brain coral once I got it painted, thinking it was too bright.  With the addition of the seaweed, the orange was toned down a bit and was much better!

Parting Shot:  Recital Day.  Today was music recital day for both of the children.  The both played the piano and my daughter played the flute.  The lighting wasn't wonderful, and it was a bit busy the way schedule was because I was playing accompaniment for the flute number and had to be back in the line up while my son played the piano.

Seahorse

I've decided to keep working on my daughter's little quilted seahorse piece, so I've added some more elements to it.  To start this project, I screen printed a purple seahorse onto a piece of white muslin. (You can see a t-shirt she made with the screen here, scroll down for the photo.)  I had it hanging in my workroom for a couple of months and finally decided to do something with it.  When you saw it yesterday, I had added some lighter purple paint to the seahorse and had quilted it with sparkly purple thread.

After that, I dyed the whole piece so that the background would be mottled blue-green color.  I love how that turned out, and decided to add a few more elements to the piece.

The next part was adding the brain coral in orange.  I had to use a few thin layers of paint to achieve the right opacity, but I'm pleased with the result.

To make the brain coral look more realistic, I quilted it with a thread that is a twist of orange and yellow.

It is hard to see the detail on the spool, but it comes through on the quilted piece.

Since I am not going to do any more painting on the piece, I decided to quilt in the background in an apple core filler.  I think it looks like moving water, too, and used a pale blue sparkly thread. 

This piece isn't quite done, as I've got some dimension and texture to add to it in the way of seaweed and maybe a few beads.  I'll see what I think in the morning.

Parting Shot:  Bud.  This the first iris bud this year!  We've had a lot of rain recently, and with a little bit of sunshine, all of our plants will really start growing.

Flash and Trash - Part XXIII

Skirt Finishing

The skirt really only needed the lining inserted and the final finishing done, so that's what I've done.  The top edge is finished with a piping/binding like the armholes of the vest.  Included along with that is a small tab and snap at the top of zipper.

All the hems are now done and the lining has been pressed and stitched in place at the edge of the godet, too.

I've also added the label.  This means that the ensemble is pretty much finished!  I should be able to do a photo shoot and final post either this weekend or on Monday.

Parting Shot:  Apple Blossoms.  All of our trees now have leaves and our small apple tree even has some blossoms on it.  It is too small to actually produce edible apples, but it is nice to see some signs of life!

Quick Pajamas

Going though the children's clothes, I discovered that daughter did not have any summer pajamas that fit.  After going through the pattern collection with her, she chose two patterns, one vintage and one modern, both by Simplicity.  The vintage pattern is from 1972, and she wanted the plain top in shorter length with no trim or pockets.  The modern pattern was used to make shorts, and she did not like the shorts included with the vintage pattern at all.

Since there wasn't any fabric in the collection that she liked in a big enough piece, we went fabric shopping and came home with the two pieces below.  They don't exactly match, but they do coordinate.  They wouldn't be my first choice for pajamas, but she thought the owls were cute.  Since I don't have to wear them, nor is she wearing any of this in public, it is fine with me.

The shorts took about an hour to make.  They're really simple and I pinned the front and back pieces together at the side seams to make one large piece to eliminate having to match the plaid at the side seam.

I've also included a ribbon at center back to distinguish the back from the front.  I've been doing this for a long time, since the children were little, as with most elastic waist pieces it is hard to tell the front from the back.

The top was pretty easy to make, nothing really hard about it.  The pattern originally called for buttons and loops at the back of the yoke, but I ended up just sewing on the buttons through both layers and not even making the buttonholes.  Why go to any extra trouble with something that is big enough to fit over your head in the first place?  I almost didn't even do that much, and cut the back on a fold, too, but thought it would look nicer if I actually tried a little harder.

The whole thing turned out pretty nice and I was able to finish it in one day.  She was really excited to see it all done and loves those owls.

Parting Shot:  Seahorse.  The seahorse piece caught my eye the other day, so I've been working on it a little bit.  I made the original image into a silkscreen from my daughter's artwork, and printed it in purple on white muslin.  I've filled in the spaces on the seahorse with lavender paint and once that was dry and heat set, I dyed the background a mottled blue-green color.  Now it's time to think about what else to do with it.