Tag: 5 Out of 4

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The Weekend T-Shirt Blanket

You might have noticed I’ve slowed down a bit on the blogging. While I’m setting up Sly Fox Fabrics, I’ve been a bit busy and not sewing as much. But I have fit a few things in! If you’d like to follow that journey, check out my summary blog over on the Sly Fox Blog. Plus, I made a dress out of one of the new fabrics that I’m completely obsessed with! I used the Summer Haze in Navy on the 5 Out of 4 Patterns Lucy and just love the combo!! On top of that, I also filmed a new class for this month’s Sewing Summit, which is all about upcycling!!! So if you like salvaging, upcycling, and generally limiting some of environmental impact, be sure to check out the entire week of classes!

When Virginia and I were chatting about this Summit and what I might want to contribute, the one thing that jumped into focus was the BOXES of t-shirts we have stored. T-shirts from trips, from school, from activities. Just memories like crazy. I’ve been meaning to make some t-shirt quilts for a while, but the process is just so time consuming and I am severely lacking in time. Instead, I decided to tackle a much quicker project while using not only Virginia’s stored t-shirts, but also some scraps of her favorite fabrics! (Also entertainingly, she totally matched the blanket while we were working on it! I think she is in a color rut.)

This project was so, so fast. Even with filming, it only took a couple hours. Most time was spent on cutting out those squares. This makes it PERFECT for beginners. All straight seams. Simple techniques. And, thought slightly longer than a couple hours, it is definitely doable in a weekend. So there is low risk of starting, getting distracted, and walking away to let it gather dust in a corner. (Anyone else do this sometimes? No? Just me?)

Check out my class on the Sewing Summit for how to make this fun, cozy blanket. Plus, I couldn’t resist a few bonus options! Pillow covers are one of my favorite things because they’re quick, fun, and hella easy. Also, the envelope style cover makes it so easy to wash and change out the covers regularly! Making these out of knit fabrics made them even faster! Which was great! And, to add a little flair, I also show how to make these adorable knit tassels. This are great for pillows, keychains, cat toys, or even a festive string of garland!

Be sure to sign up for the FREE WEEK of classes starting 24 August 2020. And if you like the classes, or just want to be able to watch them after the week is up, you can grab an All Access Pass and watch them at your leisure. Plus keep an eye out here as I have more free time to keep rambling on while sharing my projects!

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Work It: Edition 5.2

This month, I am so excited to be making more swimsuits!! We are lucky that our local pool as implemented a TON of safety features so they could open! We are going to be checking it out next week to see how safe it is, get some sun, some exercise, some water. We always need new suits! More suits! ALL THE SUITS!!!

Virginia’s favorite swim bottoms are the Bondi Swim Shorts from Rebecca Page Sewing! She loves the ease and comfort, plus coverage. She made her first two pair last year and has been asking for more in more colors. We also grabbed enough of this polka dot and stripe fabric from Fine Fabrics to make suits for both of us and that other sister who lives far away! So it just made sense to make her favorite bottoms in this fabulous fabric!

But for a top, that’s a whole different thing. I’ve been thinking about hacking a swim top for myself for…a year, at least. I doodled out my idea and showed it to Virginia. She immediately stole my idea and asked if I could add a skirt to it. Thief. But also, super cute addition to my desired top. So I can’t be mad.

I mashed two patterns together, and made up my own bits for this top. The bust is from the 5oo4 Escapade. (We both love this pattern actually!) I didn’t cut the back on the fold, and in fact shorted it by several inches. I also cut a 1.5 inch strip to make the loops and ties on the back. There is elastic in there for extra support. The loops are 3 inches long and next time the ties will be 30 inches because they’re a tiny bit shorter than I’d like them to be. Thankfully, she doesn’t actually need to untie this one to get it on. I evenly spaced the ties in between the seam allowance along the back and basted them in place. I also basted the ties and some elastic at the center V. Make sure the loops and ties are in between the layers, right sides facing, before sewing. But the elastic needs to be on the wrong side! Ask me why I’m so adamant about those placements…. I put elastic along all the edges of the top, after I sewed the seam. Keeping seam allowances as bulk free as possible.

Turn it right sides out and press. Yes, press. Pull the center elastic and zig-zag over the top to get some ruching. Really show off the decolletage. Then you can baste or serge the two layers together along the bottom edge if you want. I’m lazy and didn’t, but swim is slippery and you might prefer it.

For the skirt, I used the 5oo4 Laura peplum piece. I finished the scoop in the skirt just like in the tutorial, then attached it to the bottom of the bust pieces. It turned out the scoop was a bit wide for Virginia, so I was planning to just add a center seam and take it out. But when I clipped it to ask Virginia what was comfortable, she LOVED the pleat that I clipped out. So we went with it! It turned out so dang cute. She just loves the end result and I can’t wait for us to wear matching swimsuits. That’s going to happen.

I hope you’re all enjoying the warmer weather and sunshine, and staying safe and whatnot.

Stephanie xx

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TCCF American Spirit

We might all be enjoying extra time at home right now but whether you’re looking at the positive side of things (enjoying the extra time versus stuck), or feeling a little trapped, I think most of us are looking forward. To when we can get out and see our loved ones. Grab a drink. Enjoy places that aren’t our homes. One of the things I’m hoping to find some normal in, are holidays! I LOVE celebrating. The little things. The big. My favorite holiday is the Fourth of July!

We do it up every year!! It was always a BIG day growing up. Now we fly home when we can, or find some cool ass parades, fireworks, festivities here! Either way, we dress to impress!! When Threaded Candy Customs showed off this American Spirit preorder, I had to have some glitter!! It is perfect for all my Memorial Day (staying hopeful) and Fourth of July celebrations!! Plus, I am in LOVE with this top.

TCCF cotton lycra is so lovely to work with. The colors are vibrant and beautiful. The fabric is just the right thickness, with amazing recovery. It curls a little at the edges, as do all CL fabrics. But it isn’t so much that it is annoying to work with, and it is WORTH IT!!!

Let’s talk about this top!! I saw a similar top online and knew I needed it! I also knew exactly what pattern I could use to hack it!! This is the 5oo4 Knot Tee! And I did a YT video showing how to do it!! Check it out here and let me know what you think!! (You might notice my fabric for my tester hack is the scraps from Virginia’s recent dress! I was able to JUST sneak it out and could not be happier to have used a bit more of the gorgeous fabric!)

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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