A Little Sidetracked / New McCall Patterns

I've  done all of the mental planning and alot of the prep work needed to complete my corduroy jacket (mentioned in my last post). I'm really excited about it. I've  had to make decisions on what type of tailoring I wanted to do. And although I think I may work mainly with fusibles, I may try to throw some traditional tailoring techniques in the mix as well. I mentioned that I was going to take my time on this project and hope it will be done by the end of next week.

However.......it seems that I've gotten sidetracked a little bit. Not to worry, it's only for 2 days, I'll be back to work on my corduroy jacket on Sunday evening. It just so happens that I ran across this Butterick 5546 pattern and just KNEW it would work PERFECTLY with fabric I bought a month or so ago. I'm telling you as soon as I saw that pattern it hit me like a bolt of lightning.

(Here's the snakeskin print fabric I plan to use with the dress on the right. It's a Rayon/Poly/lycra blend from Fabric.com. I'm currently sewing the pattern on the right)

(Here's the upclose pic of the dress (sans the flash). I'm making the one on the right)

The interesting thing is the pattern is so simple (not a complex design at all), but it's completely perfect for snakeskin print fabric which is, in and of itself, quite dramatic. Anywho, I cut it out tonight and have gotten 75% done, all I have to do is sew on the sleeves and the skirt portion and do the finishing touches. It's so easy it could be done in a couple of hours but I'm so meticulously slow! LOL! Let's just hope it turns out as well as it does in my mind. It should be ready by Sunday.

On a side note, I've been doing the James Brown shuffle in celebration of the new McCall patterns I picked up on yesterday. Like you, I've been drooling over pattern 6243, so I'm delighted to have it in my possession. Here are all of the patterns that were to my liking.......

I can't say that I'm feeling that whole "return of the 80's vibe" style that's apparent in the current season's patterns, but some of the patterns are cute. Honestly, I'll have to pass on the big puffy sleeves excessively baggy shirts.

I also picked up this old Vogue pattern that I've been smitten with for some time now. I can't remember what season it's from but I LOVE it!  The top is ridiculously cute. I love the exaggerated sleeves and the bow! It's perfect paired with wide leg capris.It's so feminine and flirty! Spring can't get here fast enough. It will probably be the first thing I make!

Well I've got to hit the bed so I can get up at the crack of dawn for a quick grocery shopping trip. I've got to get my chores done so I can settle back to sewing. Happy sewing to ya.......

Used Pattern Storage Problem.......Solved!!!

Hey Guys, 

Thanks for all of your responses to my last post! As I figured you guys would be a wealth of information and help me solve my little debacle. As soon as I read some of your entries the light bulb went off in my head.

As I said before I really don't want to fold down my ironed patterns too much so I won't be putting them back in their the 6X9" manilla envelopes assigned to them (remember I archive the original pattern envelopes in sheet protectors within large binders). I know it's crazy, but once I've unfolded them I don't like to fold them back up all that much. Plus some of my popular patterns are interfaced (to increase longevity) so there's no way I can squeeze them back into the envelope anyway.

So I've decided to organize my used patterns 2 different ways. For those used patterns I repeatedly sew, I will store them in a larger manilla envelope (9X12 or so), write the pattern name and number as I do with my regular filing system here and file them away by number. Thanks Joy for the HELPFUL suggestion (wink)! Now I can easily distinguish my favorite sewing patterns because they'll be in larger manilla envelopes. I love the manilla envelope system!!!

For patterns that aren't as popular, I'll store them in ziploc bags labeled with their name and number, or maybe even think about storing them back in their originally assigned manila envelope. I failed to mention in the last post that I've tried storing patterns in plastic ziplocs before---it works great with my daughters patterns. Again, I didn't want to put my favorite patterns in ziplocs (since the large one's weren't large enough for my taste) so I brushed off the idea.  Either way, with the infrequently used patterns I don't care about them being folded down, and provided they aren't too bulky for my plastic filing bins I might consider putting them back in the 6X9" envelopes. There's always room for compromise.

Whew........I can breathe better! So happy that's solved. I have to have a good system. Without it there's chaos. Thanks again for your help!!! I can't wait to get home and get my patterns organized:)

There's got to be a better way.......

.....to store used sewing patterns that is.

I have an awesome system to neatly organize my sewing patterns. In short, I separate the pattern contents from the envelope. I store the envelope in sheet protectors and three ring binders. The envelope contents is stored in a manila envelope, is numbered appropriately and filed in a cabinet. You can get more details here.

HOWEVER......... I DO NOT have a great system for storing used sewing patterns. I refuse to fold them up and place them back in the assigned manila envelope. Instead,  I organize my used and cut out patterns in a large plastic bin. I pin together all the pieces of one pattern and stack them neatly in side.

 (Plastic bin with stacked patterns)

(Stack of patterns removed from the storage bin. BTW, the canned goods on my cutting table are my pattern weights. Don't you judge me, you know I'm cheap! I stole the idea from someone else and they work GREAT! LOL!)

Well, the more I sew, the more stacked patterns there are and the harder it is to find patterns. Although the method is so simplistic it still frustrates me. I'm currently trying to track down Vogue pattern 879---you know the cute wrap dress pattern. And I can't find it anywhere. I'm sure it's hidden within my stack of used patterns. I need to explore other storage ideas. I'm sure for the moment I'm extremely frustrated because I can't find my beloved Vogue pattern. I'm sure if I organized my patterns a little better I wouldn't have this problem. That issue aside,  I'm still open to trying another method. So I'm curious, how do you store your used patterns. Do you fold them back into their original envelopes? Use pattern hooks? Please help a Sista out with some suggestions! Thanks in advance........you guys are always a wealth of information:)

The "Boppy" Knock-off /Sewing for Shoes!!!!

My green dress ( from my last post) just got moved over a bit so I could fulfill a promise to my Sister-In-Law and my "New" nephews. Two months ago we welcomed my twin nephews, Jaydon and Jordan, into the family. They came a couple of months early and Jaydon has gotten up to weight and has just been released from the hospital. We're still waiting on Jordan who should be out in a couple of weeks. Their arrival has been a long time coming. I promised my Sister-In-Law that I would send her nursing pillows with a cover of her choice. Let me just say that this is one baby gift that I always love to make for my family/ friends and their new babies and it's so easy to do. The Nuture Nest form is found at Jo-Ann's fabrics and with a 50% off coupon you can leave the store with it for only $10. The pattern is on the back of the pillow form bag and aside from that you need just a little over a yard of fabric and a 14" zipper (I make mine with a 20" zipper to make it easier to slip on an off). I've made these more times then I can count and for sooo much less then the $30-$40 a Boppy can cost you!

Well I whipped up the 2 you see in the above picture tonight so I can mail the off on tomorrow. My Sister-In-Law wanted them covered in "Finding Nemo" fabric, and fortunately for her, I made my own nursing pillow out of this fabric (can't believe it's been almost 3 years ago---sniff, sniff) and had a bunch left over. So here they are and I hope her and the boys like them.

Ok, so now since my promise is fulfilled I've got to get back to my green dress and also have to begin working on my Father's Day dress. I planned to make this a while back but am revisiting the idea.

 I'm still undecided but hopefully I will make up my mind.  I told my husband I was making a dress for Father's Day and he wondered why I would make a dress for a holiday that wasn't "my day".  I told him I was simply trying to look good for him.------Nice save, huh? LOL! Holidays are the best reasons to sew something special!  No seriously, I think I'm really trying to find a reason to wear these shoes I bought from Ross' Dress for Less a few weeks ago! LOL!

 Man, I looooovvvveee SHOES!!!

New Butterick & Simplicity Summer patterns

I was pretty happy to get my little paws on some of the newest Summer Butterick & Simplicity patterns. Of course I had to wait until they made it to my JoAnn's Fabric/ Hancock Store and were on sale for $0.99. My laptop's down, until I can get a replacement power cord, so I can't really elaborate on each of these patterns since my Hubby's waiting to use his laptop, which I'm currently hogging up! But here they are. Sigh. I just like to let my imagination run WILD. I hope to tackle one of these in the near future:)

(All Simplicity's are new with the exception of the the upper right pattern, I can't remember when that one was released)

Well here's what I just finished and I'm just waiting the time to get my hubby to take the picture! It was pretty fun to make:)

New Simplicity / McCall Summer patterns & Past Due Butterick patterns

Although the Butterick Spring patterns made their debut a few weeks ago, I've been waiting for them to go on sale so I can pick them up from JoAnn's or Hancock. So they're currently on sale at Joann's and I plan to pick them up on tomorrow. Well I just found out that Simplicity and McCall's just released their early Summer patterns. Wow, this is getting crazy and I have so many patterns to pick up now. Gotta love those $.99 & $1.99 sales.

There are way too many patterns that I want but I'm just too lazy to post. I'll post them after I actually purchase them (I don't want to jinx myself---LOL). But here are just a few of the looks from each company that I'm really feeling!

Simplicity--- Early Summer

 (I don't even have to explain this one--it's so cute!  I feel like squealing with delight when I see this pattern!)

(I'm feeling brave enough to wear a jumpsuit so I'd like to take a stab at making this one. It looks so comfortable, especially in a knit!)

McCall's Early Summer patterns--- I'm not so crazy with new patterns but I was able to found a few I liked---here are two of those.

M6072

 

 (Love the crop dress with the leggings. Something tells me leggings will be a big part of my Summer!)

M6078

 

(I like the back on the far right top!)

Butterick Spring Patterns---once again I'm too not crazy with the new line but I was able to sift through and find some that I liked.

B 5450

(All 3 of these looks are perfect for me. I'm loving the short and long tunics. I can just imagine them in beautifully printed poplin fabrics!)

B5469

(I'm liking the brown jacket view--- a cute, short sleeved jacket, with neat pockets!)

These are just a few of the patterns I have on the radar. I'm still in the middle of planning my March/April Challenge wardrobe. Not to worry, I've already got started on the challenge and am currently working on a cute yellow top. By the week's end I'll have a better idea of the 8 or so items I want to sew and will post them.

New Spring Pattern's

I'm sure most of you know Simplicity and McCall's released their new Spring patterns a couple of weeks ago. Well I've been sweating bullets, waiting for them to go on sale (because you know I don't pay full price for a pattern--I know you don't either). Finally Hancock's had McCall's for $1.99 and Simplicity's  for $0.99. If you missed this sale, Joann's I believe have them on sale either next week or the week after next.

Boy, I could't get off work fast enough to get to them. I headed straight to the pattern cabinets since I always look them up ahead of time online and make my picks. Finally, I got my "babies", before they were sold out and I'm so glad. This is what I wrangled up. Sorry the picks are blurry!

 (I'm so happy I finally got Cynthia Rowley's pattern. I could live in that knit dress--seriously--like everyday. It looks so comfortable.)

 

 (I got some good picks for everyone in my family. I've always wanted to make a shirt or two for my hubby. I'm looking forward to taking on that challenge in the future.)

 

(And a few accessories. Ok, I finally gave in and got a Snuggie pattern--not that a patterns needed to make it since its so easy to sew! I can't believe these things are so popular The idea is indeed a great and simple one!!!)

Overall I was pleased with the McCall & Simplicity spring patterns and was able to get some good one's. I can't wait to see what Butterick & Vogue releases.