Long pants to shorts

We all get them. The hole in the knee. Katerina had a pair of wine-coloured pants that got the knee tear. I turned them into a pair of cuffed shorts.





For those that don't know how, fold under 1 cm and press. Then fold under again to desired cuff height and press. Fold a third time back to the front so the fold is even with the bottom of the cuff and press. Sew near bottom of the cuff.

A too big shirt for me

This is my first attempt at sewing something for myself and I made it too big. I went by my bust size but I should have gone by my RTW size, I think.

The pattern is Jalie 2794.

I'm not sure what I am going to do with it. I don't really relish the thought of ripping the seams and sewing the proper size. I'll probably throw it in my clothing recycle bin and make something for one of the girls at a later date.

Underwear for Joshua

I had bought some fabric a while back for Joshua but never made anything from it. Now that he's 7 years old, the fabric is just a little too young for him to wear as clothing, so I decided to use it up in underwear. I first tried out Jalie 2328 in the boxer brief style.



I also tried out the boxer brief style in the other Jalie pattern, Jalie 2327.



He said he liked both of them but the first one would be better in winter as they make him feel a little too warm right now. Fair enough. I thought I would also try the briefs style from Jalie 2327. He said he liked that style the best, so I was able to make 12 pairs from that fabric. I used size 8 on all pairs.

Rugby Shorts for Isabella

The ready-to-wear (RTW) rugby shorts are expensive and they really don't make them small enough for Isabella. I used black twill for these as that is what the twins' shorts seem to be made from. The pattern used is Kwik Sew 2132, view B, size 5, however the pattern is now out-of-print. I used a larger elastic than called for. I used 1 1/2" elastic. I also topstitched down the inseams and the centre seams for added strength. I did not install a pocket.

Swimsuit for Katerina

Katerina needed a new swimsuit. The pattern used is Jalie 2317, view A, size 10. I used 3/8" plain elastic. Even though the pool is chlorinated, she'll grow out of the suit long before the elastic becomes compromised.

Ballet warmup wrap

I actually made two of these but different sizes. The one shown here is size 128 (size 7-8) but I also made a size 110 (size 6-6x). I used Ottobre Issue 4/2006, Design #19. I modified the front crossover so it would be a straight line down, plus I did not add the bottom ruffle. I eliminated the side slit for the tying string, too, as the string now sits at the bottom.

I also used binding, first binding the front and neckline. Then, I did a continuous binding on the bottom so as to incorporate the binding as the tying strings.

The fit turned out to be a bit loose. I don't think I will use this pattern again without some major fit alterations.

Thermal wicking undershirt

Rugby season has started and it is still cold (freezing temps). Isabella and Joshua still have their shirts from hockey but Katerina has outgrown hers. These are a combination of thermal and wicking. The wicking part is the dark fabric. The pattern used is Jalie 2448, size 8. I cut the collar shallower. I used the depth of size 2 but the length of size 8. I also top-stitched all seams. I had made this pattern before without top-stitching and I found the underarm cross-seam stressed too much.

Thermal wicking leggings

After making 4 pairs out of non-stretch fabric, here are 6 pairs made from stretch fabric. The wicking fabric is still not extremely stretchy so the leggings fit snug but they still work well. It will do for this spring on the rugby pitch but I'm going to have to hunt around for some wicking lycra, I think, for next time. The pattern used is Jalie 2444, sizes 5 and 8. Two pairs are size 5 and four pairs are size 8.

Non-stretch leggings

I had some thermal wicking fabric and I used it to makes 2 pairs each for the girls for rugby. However, I neglected to check the stretch. So, 4 pairs of non-stretch leggings are now sitting in my scrap bin. *sigh*

She might have won but . . .

. . . the chaos makes me twitch.

I was Stumbling today and I came across this old video. A young woman is showing what her grandma left behind in her sewing room after the grandma passed away.

Whilst the stuff in there is a goldmine, all I wanted to do when watching was to go and organize the room. If you have an OCD complusion for order, you might not want to watch this.

And her name is . . .

Meet Esther:



She arrived today and I'm excited about being able to sew some thing for myself now that I have a dummy. I still need to pad her in a few places as she doesn't have the twin skin that I have.

A sewing to-do list

I think I need to start writing down a sewing to-do list. I keep thinking of things I want to sew but then I forget about them. My memory sucks. So, without further preamble, here is my list.

- under-armour for all 3 for rugby (it's still quite cold)
- rugby game day shorts for Isabella
- gymnastics leotard for Katerina
- swimsuits for the girls
- swimsuit for me
- wrap-around ballet warmup top for the girls
- produce bags
- grocery bags

That's it for now although I'll probably think of more later.

4 PJs for Joshua

Using Kwik Sew 3042, I made Joshua 4 PJs with 3 of them also having matching summer shorts.

The dummy saga continues

Well, the full-body dummy is a no-go. Shipping through USPS, although more cost effective, can't be done because the box is too big. Shipping through a courier is too expensive (about 3/4 of the actual item cost).

So, I have ordered this gal:



It's not exactly what I wanted but I'll make do.

My personal dummy - Part four - Final

After much discussion with Joel, and phoning around town pricing out plaster and two-part urethane foam, I closing this DIY chapter. I've already spent a tidy sum on the previous supplies and there is no guarantee the plaster/urethane method would work either. I read about some plaster-setting failures.

So, I'm going to purchase this dummy. I'll pad out the dummy on spots to make it fit a bit better. I'll also double-check the measurements to make sure that this is the correct size.

My personal dummy - Part three

Failure.

The expanding foam doesn't expand very much nor very well. A 16 oz. can only expanded a small amount.





Even if it expanded nice and evenly, it would cost me a small fortune in foam to fill up my dummy form.

I'm going to see about getting the marine "pour foam" or "two part foam" and using that instead of the cans.

My personal dummy - Part two

Okay, don't laugh. It's not the most flattering getting this done, you know. But, I figure if I can post my very round self all taped up, it might help someone else.

It took about 3 hours to tape me up. The crotch was awkward as was under the arms. I also had to add extra tape after I was out of it to the breast area. I think if I had to do this another time, I would add one more layer to that area before being cut out. I used one layer of duct tape, one layer of sheetrock tape (which isn't very sticky, btw), and then another layer of duct tape. Then next step is to fill it with foam. I will be doing this in layers.

So, without futher ado, here I am.

[picture removed]

My personal dummy - Part one

I've been pestering Joel to help me with this project for quite awhile, now. This weekend is the weekend! Yay!

Unfortunately for me, I am short and round. This is what "they" call an apple shape. It is also impossible for me to buy a standard commercial dressform. All the custom ones cost a fortune, plus they would have to come from the States. So, my alternative is to make one. How do you ask? By using duct tape and expandable insulation foam.

I've scoured the internet for instructions and have settled with two sites' instructions. The first site has a 30-minute video showing the proper taping technique. The second site shows how to use the expandable foam, instead of using poly-fill batting.

Why use expandable foam? Well, after reading quite a bit about duct tape dummies, it seems that the plus-sized poly-filled ones fail easily because of too many non-standard curves and pooches. And, I definitely have a pooch (thank you my darling twins). This is also why I have a difficult time with RTW clothing. The fit is awful. Baggy here, too tight there, too short on this, too long on that. Bah! So, as much as I cringe at having my body duplicated in all its bumps, it will ultimately help me sew for myself.

The first step, of course, is gathering your materials. I went to The Home Depot today and purchased my items. I am also going to be building a stand for my dummy and it will have a crude skeleton in the form. Both of these will be built from ABS tubing. Here are my supplies:

- 3 large rolls Duct tape
- 1 roll Sheetrock tape
- Expandable foam (I bought 4 cans but will return the unused)
- 1 bottle woodworkers glue
- 1" foam tape, otherwise known as weather-stripping (I bought 90')
- 1 1/2" ABS tubing
- 6 "T" joints
- 4 90º joints
- 2 couplers

Here is my crude rendition of my dummy plans:



Yes, one arm is longer than the other. I want to have a full arm on one side for full-length sleeves. So, tomorrow morning the taping begins.

5 PJs for Katerina

Time for some Spring PJs. I just love this pattern. It is the same Kwik Sew pattern I used previously, KS 3042.

1 ruined shirt = 2 pairs of cute underwear

Isabella ruined a shirt by getting some hard tar-like substance on it. Since I couldn't give the shirt away, I made a couple of pairs of underwear for her from the shirt. The pattern used is Jalie 2564, size 5. The elastic was attached flat, as opposed to in the round.