Kindersewing: Connect-the-dots Sewing Sheets

In a previous post about getting started on sewing with kids I told you that sewing paper is a great first step toward true self-directed sewing. Eliminate the thread and you don't have to worry about tangles and jammed bobbin casings. But sewing straight lines on ruled paper won't keep kids interested for long. Connect-the-dots, meanwhile, totally will. 

Following the dots is good practice for pivoting around corners, sewing curves, and lifting (and putting back down!) the presser foot. By the end of sewing all three of my printable sheets, you kid will be well on his or her way to stitching safely and consciously. 

It's actually harder than you might think. You have to go slowly, but the result is fun: as the needle punches holes in the paper while you sew, the secret picture is revealed:

 My daughter is almost six, and she loves this activity. It buys me a solid half-hour at my own sewing machine. Win-win!

It was hard to get her to guide fabric under the presser foot when she first started sewing on a machine. But look how she uses both hands with the paper:

Look Ma, no thread!

This activity is great practice and really fun. If your rookie sewer tries one of my sheets, please post a pic on Instagram or Twitter and @ me (sewyorkcity). I'd love to see it!

Click here to download the printable file 

And here

And the last one

(Why can't blogger attach a link to a picture? It's enough to make a lady want to move to Wordpress!)

Happy sewing!

Weekend Sewing: What's on my table

What's on my sewing table this Friday? (In addition to a big mess):

Bathing suits!

It's pool (and sprinkler) season, after all. So I'm testing the waters of swimsuit sewing, which it turns out, is actually no harder than any other stretch sewing project. I'm using this free pattern from Prudent Baby, which I found on Pinterest:

But, as you can see, I made the pattern (a size 5) much bigger for my solidly built almost-six-year-old:

I slashed the pattern and spread it an inch at the waist and vertically too. I then used my French curve to redraft the leg hole, side seam and neckline. 

The tutorial at Prudent Baby is very easy to follow. I love the little ruffle:

Also: I love any chance to use a twin needle: 

The other thing I am really excited about is these matching swim caps I'm making to go with each suit:

My daughter takes swimming lessons now and pool rules stipulate a swim cap must be worn in the water at all times. It's hard to find small kid-size swim caps though, so the one she has (an adult size) slips off her head every time.

I drafted the pattern for the cap and used remnants of swimsuit fabric. She's going to look like a classic bathing beauty with her matching set.

So what's on your sewing table this weekend? Ever made a bathing suit? What's your fave swimsuit pattern?

Remnant-busting Salme Cami

Does anyone hate remnants as much as I do? Not big enough to make anything worthwhile but also not so small you can feel fine about tossing them in the trash — they take up space in your sewing room/tiny New York apartment, but you spent your hard-earned fabric funds on acquiring them in the first place....a sewer's conundrum.

Hopefully you have a few patterns that let you put your remnants to good use. My new fave is Salme's Double-Layer Cami, which I previously made from an upcycled dress in cotton voile. Because you know what? Though the pattern calls for you to make both layers from the same fabric, you totally don't have to. You could bust through two scraps to create a single, wearable top. And by adding a ponte band on the bottom you can turn it from cami into slightly sportier tank. Boom. Stash, busted:

Looking at the photos above, you might notice the neckline lays much flatter in my second, striped iteration of this tank pattern. I took out a little excess in the neckline by rotating it into the bust dart. My pattern modification worked perfectly:

I used up the annoying piece of fabric that remained after making Pattern Runway's Short Sleeve Kimono Dress. My one other small modification was the black ponte band at the hem. Not only does it add some visual interest (and length), it also saved me from hemming two layers of this poly (I serged the band onto the two layers even though for some strange reason my poor serger just hated it). Boom. Annoying task, averted.

I like this top, with its darts, neckline and spaghetti straps (though I am not in love with actually making spaghetti straps).

You know what else I am not wild about? Taking photos in my building's hallway when my neighbors are coming up the stairs:

That's the face I make when I want to alert my husband to the fact that this photo shoot is over. Like, Boom. Over.

So what's your favorite pattern for using up remnants? Do you make toddler tees until your scraps are in tatters? Headbands? Coffee cup holders?

Sewing Sins: Time For Confession

All of us commit them from time to time — and though we know it's wrong, we don't even really care. Because who is watching after all? You only have your own conscience to worry about when it comes to the sewing sins you commit in the privacy of your studio/nook/kitchen table.

Though I follow many of the sewing commandments (Though shalt not cut off-grain; Though shalt not use the wrong needle; Remember the seam allowance, to keep it holy), I also can confess to breaking a number of them.

1) I often cut out my paper patterns (even tissue!) rather than devote the time to tracing. Of course I regret it later when alterations need to be made, like this men's shirt here:

Major d'oh!

2) I have never sewn a button on the proper way. I use the zig-zag butonhole stitch on my sewing machine:

Haven't lost a button yet

3) I'm not religious about matching my thread to my fabric, such as this black twin-needle topstitch on the bottom of this gray and red skirt:

Meh, close enough

 4) I don't tuck in the tail of thread that remains after serging a seam. Of course, those tails often end up enclosed in another seam or hem, but when they don't, I just trim them and pray:

Care to confess your sewing sins? What are the commandments you always keep?

Me Made May — C'est Fini!

Ladies and gents, we have a tie.

The two me-made garments that got the most wear this May were (drumroll):

My Scout tee made from a men's button-up shirt (I wore it three times):

And my self-drafted silk bomber jacket, which I also wore on three occasions (you can't see it in the far right photo, but trust me, it's there):

The only reason I didn't wear that jacket more was weather-related. There were many days in May that were too hot, while others were too rainy (somebody told me once that silk gets spotty in the rain).

While I didn't find it a serious challenge to wear me-made all month, I did find it a wardrobe workout for the fact that I was showing the world what self-sewn garments I was wearing. Normally, I would wear the same self-drafted hoodie five days a week, which would technically qualify me for a successful Me Made May. But, knowing that the world (OK, 150 Instagram followers) was watching made me want to dig a little deeper into my drawers for those me-mades that don't get as much wear.

I made a number of new items in May to help flesh out my me-made wardrobe:

Pictured above are: two pairs of Hudson Pants, a pair of self-drafted leggings, two Double-layer Camis by Salme Patterns, a Scout tee and a Dixie DIY Summer Concert Tee. Though that's a lot of items for one month, as you can see all of them are casual and none of them is complicated. I think that's a result of both wanting to add some easy-to-wear items to my me-made wardrobe and that fact that I felt like garbage for much of May, thanks to allergies. So I wasn't feeling very ambitious (and I couldn't take much disappointment beyond the daily wear of itchy, sticky eyes and constant congestion).

Much of my handmade wardrobe is self-drafted, but the commercial and indie patterns I wore in May include: the Minoru Jacket, the Scout tee, the Tiny Pocket Tank, the Short-Sleeved Kimono Dress, McCall's 6404 leggings, McCall's 3341 A-line skirt, Salme Patterns' Double-Layer Camisole, True Bias' yet-to-be-released Hudson Pants, and Dixie DIY's Summer Concert Tee.

The really interesting thing about documenting this all on Instagram was seeing which way I parted my hair throughout the month (evenly split; My haircut is ambidextrous).

My June sewing plans involve some swimsuit experimentation (for my daughter) and a dress (for me).

What about you? Swearing off selfies forever now after Me Made May? Happily wearing your ready-to-wear? What are the gaps you want to fill in your handmade wardrobe?