Category: Just for Fun

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Reluctantly Crafting with My Sisters

Hi everyone!  It has been awhile since I have done a takeover of Stephanie’s blog but life got a little crazy in there. I graduated from my bachelors degree and I have the summer off (not counting two jobs) and thought with the sewing summit coming up, what a perfect time to do a takeover. 

So somehow I got roped into not one, but two videos for the sewing summit. One with each of my sisters. Don’t get me wrong, I love my sisters, but crafting is more their thing than mine. I don’t really have a hobby even. So, I got to hop into a hobby of each of theirs. One sewing and one using epoxy. Both were interesting projects and I got to create some pretty cool things (keeping it clean for the summit here).

With Stephanie I did a tutorial with how to sew the Roxy Wristlet and show it from a beginner’s point of view. Mostly you get to see how dummy proof it is. I even managed to actually make a purse. Wristlet…whatever. Thankfully she walked me through it and I wasn’t required to learn how to read a pattern. I only needed to learn one thing at a time. After all, I just finished school I have earned a break here.

I’m sure Stephanie got irritated with my lack of desire to even choose fabric for the project. Thankfully she picked out some great liners and saved the day. Now she just had to get me to commit to the filming. I, of course,  was available whenever she needed me (how does one type with sarcasm?).  Anywhos… 

I admit the end project coming together was really cool. You do a fliparoo and there is a Wristlet. Pretty snazzy. 

Now, I also got to do a video with out other sister, Vicki!  She, like Stephanie, does a bunch of different crafts. (Pretty sure they got all the crafty genes between the two of them).  Vicki and I did a really cool epoxy video. Definitely check out her blog and see what we did. It was really cool. I got to make my own tumbler!!!  And guess what?!  I used the same fabric as my Roxy. If you didn’t already figure it out, I do love bacon. 

It was a lot of fun to do a video with each of my sisters. Especially since Vicki lives like 1000 miles away. Thank goodness for graduation celebrations (or what consists of one during this thing called a pandemic) that bring family for a visit. 

Hope you guys enjoy BOTH of my Sewing Summit videos. They were a lot of fun to make. And since I am a super duper novice for both videos you know you can make both yourselves, easy peasy.

Virginia

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RP Roxy: A Beginner’s Guide

Y’all have definitely seen the Roxy before, but I am here with a brand new perspective. Virginia’s.

Well…I am not the sewist in the family but I am also not completely inexperienced. Sewing up the Roxy was different from what I normally help Stephanie with. I usually get roped into sewing clothes (typically last minute finishing up of gifts). I also have little experience with woven fabrics, knits are so much easier. The Roxy Wristlet is not something I would have chosen. A Purse?!?! This seemed way to complicated and with too many parts which I could royally screw up. Zippers, card slots, key rings, soooo many different things I have never, ever done before.

To start, I had to pick fabric, which apparently requires more than just a single fabric. I do not understand why bacon fabric throughout is unacceptable. I mean, bacon! Stephanie found some great matching fabric for liners. Stephanie did not use a pattern, me however, I would need a pattern and maybe even a backup pattern. You never know what can happen to the first one (at least with me). At least Stephanie was there to walk me through everything because I may have ended up with a dress instead of a purse. (Note from Stephanie – If Virginia ever tries to sew a purse on her own, I will film it, just in case it becomes a dress.)

Have you ever seen the magic of how a purse comes together? We did not follow the steps of the pattern. Well at least according to Stephanie since there was no pattern for me to read (not that I could have read it anyways, but was she hiding it from me? I’ll never know). She knows how I like to see results. We started with the wristlet part. By the way, I will be using very technical terms throughout the blog so if you get confused I do apologize. So, the wristlet part. Basically you have a piece of fabric put a bunch of thread into, and then add a clip thingy so you can attach it to the purse part.

I am absolutely sure I am missing a few steps, but hey! There is a video so you can see what I missed. We then got to create the card slots. Interesting concept, which I completely made uneven. Have I mentioned I do not sew on the regular? It is impossible to tell since the slots are on the inside of the Roxy. I just hope when you put cards in they actually fit.

There was a bunch of ironing, so naturally I burned myself multiple times. Stupid steam. Note to all beginners, intermediate, and experienced sewists: Watch out for the iron. (Also, the cord. It gets tangled around legs and stuff.)

When you are sewing a purse (wristlet), you have to sew everything inside out. So the magic (I mentioned earlier) is after you are done sewing. You turn it inside out, you are going to want to remember to leave a spot do to this part, and VOILA a purse!!! I have a tendency to watch Stephanie sew because it is so fascinating to see how a piece of fabric becomes a something.

I am still not a sewist, but this was kinda fun. And hey! A BACON purse! Hope everyone enjoyed the video!!

-Virginia

So that is sewing up the Roxy Wristlet from the perspective of a reluctant sewist. We definitely did follow the pattern (which I would have given to her if I thought she would even pretend to read it) (note from Virginia-totally true!), just not in the same order. But really, you can watch how we sewed it up with the Sewing Summit! Our video is free for 24 hours, along with a whole lot of other wonderfully talented people. Or you can buy the All-Access pass to watch it whenever you want!

If you want to see more from Virginia, and make her step out of her comfort zone more often, comment nice things here. She is a sucker for nice comments.

Stephanie xx

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The Ultimate Table Accessories Tutorial

Stepping out of my usual sharing, I’m back to expand on my Personalized Towels post from a few months back! We have towels, napkins, napkin rings, and a table runner (plus a how-to on a table cloth!). As my closet is getting more and more full, I am thrilled to add sewing for my home instead of my closet!

This set was so damn fun to sew up! And I got to film the whole thing for the Sewing Summit!!! It is a week of free classes from tons of different speakers sharing how to make up different fabric crafts! All the projects are from free patterns, so you can participate completely free! If you want to access the classes after they expire, you can grab an all access pass.

Let’s dive into these fun projects!! Check out the towels I talked about over here, and just how personalizable they are! Then we can start off with the napkins! I learned so may things about napkins. There are different sizes for different occasions. Tea (12 x 12), lunch (14 x 14), dinner (18-20″ square), and formal (22-26″ square). So really, if you have fabric you love, whatever the size, you can probably make a napkin or four. Just add 2 inches to the size you want, press each edge in a scant half inch, twice, and topstitch. Check out the sewing summit for my tips and preferences on beautiful corners!

Now, we need napkin rings to go with them. Not because napkin rings are really a necessity, but more because there are always scraps leftover and they are really fun! The next paragraph is the quick instructions on sewing them up. Skip this if you aren’t sewing, already watched the video, or just don’t care about how to sew these cuties up.

Sarcastic Sewist Napkin Ring PatternDownload

Grab the pattern above and cut out two each of the backer, the loop, and one center, then one 4.5 inch strip of FOE for each napkin ring. Everything has a half inch seam allowance already included. Interface the backer and loop pieces. Sew the backer pieces together, right sides facing. Leave that gap for turning. Repeat for the loop pieces. Fold the center in half, right sides together, and stitch. turn everything right sides out and press the hell out of it. Topstitch around the backer and loop, closing the gaps. Line up both short edges of the loop with the center of the backer. Use a zig-zag stitch to stitch the loop to the backer. You might need to stitch halfway through, then turn and start again from the other side. This is now ready to be the bow! Align the short, raw edges of the center and stitch with 1/4 inch seam allowance. You can serge or overlock stitch the raw edges if you’d like. Slide the FOE inside to loop of the center piece, overlap the ends by 1/2 inch and zig-zag that elastic into a loop! Slide the center over the bow. Tweak to your heart’s content and you are done!!

Now let’s get into this table runner (or cloth, even though I didn’t sew one up!) First, you want to measure the top of your table. If you’re going to a full table cloth, you want to add 24 inches to each of those measurements. If you’re going for a runner, you want the 24 inches on the length and about 1/3 of the width. There is definite wiggle room there because, surprise, when you sew, you get to make shit exactly what you want!!! I decided I wanted to color block my table runner. If you want exactly mine, here are the cutting dimensions for the pieces: one blue and one green of each of the following, 19×2, 31×3, 43×6, and two stripes each of, 7×3, 7×7, 32×17. My table is 72×41. I used french seams to sew this beauty together and could not be happier with the end result!! My sister has already asked for one for each holiday, with coordinating napkins! And we have a running list of snarky phrases to personalize some towels!

I really hope these table accessories spark some creativity for you! These are fantastic beginner projects, and wonderful kickstarters for anyone lacking some sew-jo. Or if you just have a full closet and want to keep sewing your ass off. Be sure to check out the Sewing Summit! And since I’m completely crazy, also check out the other class(es) I participated in!!

Stephanie xx

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5oo4 Sydney

Y’all know I LOVE a half circle skirt. So pretty, just a little swish. Perfect! I just keep making them! I was so excited to add a dress with a half circle skirt to my closet. It is clearly something my closet is lacking. Ok, lacking a knit version, I have a woven one. That’s not the point.

Then, Virginia and I were talking about this gorgeous 5oo4 Sydney and she just claimed it!! Picked out fabric, and sent me off to sew it up. I can’t even complain because she totally cleaned up my studio while I worked!!! Like, sorted my scrap pile and everything!!! WHAT!? She is basically the best. I should sew more stuff for her.

We picked up this bundle from Sly Fox Fabrics almost two years ago, which is crazy talk! Definitely happy to be sewing up some of our lovely stash fabrics!! She hadn’t decided what to make out of it, wobbled between a few things, but never gave the go ahead. But Sydney was the perfect project!!

We went for sleeveless, because the bundle only had 1 yard of this gorgeous blue, and a knee length skirt to round it out! So perfect and another dress in Virginia’s closet!! I’m so excited she is wearing more dresses. They’re just so quick! This one took less than two hours from print to hem. Now I need to make Sydney for myself!!!

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5oo4 Sheila

Y’all know I’ve been just loving t-shirt dresses. They are so damn easy to wear and convenient and comfortable and really just a never ending list of positive things. I’m really excited that this love might be rubbing off on Virginia! When we were choosing something to make with this gorgeous Sly Fox Fabrics double brushed poly, I assumed she would choose a v-neck top or a maxi skirt to show off the print.

Then she saw Sheila and said, oh, what about a dress. Y’all, my mind was BLOWN! And I was just so dang excited to make her first one from a pattern I knew would fit well and look lovely on her! Plus, I always appreciate when she picks patterns that are so quick to sew!!!

She has worn this one so many times since it was finished. I think I’ve seen her in this more than anything else since it warmed up here and we have the windows open. Pretty sure she’ll be rocking it as a swim cover-up. She has definitely already asked for more!

Since this one comes with the option of the built in full bust adjustment, it saves me time in giving Virginia a fit she is more comfortable with! Plus, this one comes with top or dress length, and a variety of sleeve lengths, no calculations or guesswork needed!

I hope you enjoy Sheila as much as Virginia does!

Stephanie xx