Stitching in the Barn

In my son's middle school, they have restrictions on the size of the bag they can carry around. Last school year I made my own pattern thinking it would be easy but it ended up very involved. I used the one I bought from the school, at the beginning of the year for $15 that was coming apart at the seams as a guide. It was made from cheap nylon and no lining. My remake had a cotton print outside and a ripstop nylon lining inside with grommets in the corners like the original. I used some thick cording for the straps/drawstring and it worked. It took me all day to figure out and 3 hours to make but it held up the rest of the year and his friends wanted to buy it off him at the end of the year.  It was successful but this past summer I saw this pattern at a Jo Ann's and decided to buy it. It comes in mini to medium and the biggest size was within my 17" X 15" maximum limit.

This top was the first time I worked with a knit fabric. I was previously scared of them & I don't have a serger so I stayed away from them. Then I saw this lovely purple butterfly print I just couldn't pass up.  I looked in my pattern stash and on Pattern Review.com and found McCall's 6326 was an easy top that came out good. I chose view C and cut it out in a size 20, one size smaller than the pattern flap measurements. Front

My coworker turns wood and got what he calls an eclipse bowl. There's a small bit of a ring in the bottom you can see when you hold it up to the light. I took it and made it into a big weighted pin cushion. My first idea was to make the cushion into a hexagon flower shape to fit in the bowl.

You can skip straight to the review under the break. I bought Burda 7670 at Jo Ann's when they went on sale for $2.50. I buy most of my patterns when they go on sale for $1-$2.50. They go on sale at different times but usually once a month. Burda used to never go on sale but now they do and this one was one of the first I picked up. Before the sale, I get on the company's website, look through the catalog & write down the pattern number and sometimes a brief description. It saves time but sometimes, when I look at the pattern envelope I decide to not buy it because it looks different in a larger picture. Sometimes, I flip through the books at the store and see patterns I wouldn't have picked because the pictures are so much bigger than online, even though they are the same pictures. I've picked up a lot of patterns for basic things like button down shirts, boxers, pants, jeans and coats. I don't ever stitch them up right away but I do read the instru...

This pattern intrigued me this past spring. The shorts were unlike anything I had seen before so I decided to make a muslin for it. It's a misses size pattern and I cut the biggest, size 22.

It's been a long time but I actually got some projects done. I've been focusing on sewing my own clothes and making thrift store items fit. I've had a lot of success this past weekend on both fronts so I'll have quite a few posts scheduled for the next week or so. I think I've caught a fall sewing bug! I took a 3x large knit shirt I found at the thrift store and took it in 2 inches on each side to fit me. I could probably take in a bit more but loose & comfy is OK. Then there was an unknown size, long, purple, knit camisole that gaped a lot under the armpit that I just darted in on the side seams and now it fits beautifully & hides my bra. The most I spent on those two items together was $4 so I'm pretty happy with that. I had a skirt that was two sizes too big with stretched out elastic in the back of the waist. It also had a facing instead of a waistband so I took out the elastic, sewed three channels into the facing around the waist and threaded i...