My Sewpbox

Well, I gave the Favourite Things slippers pattern a go before we left for Minnesota, but I definitely wasn’t impressed.  The stitching is “hidden”, but only from outside view.  The way that they have you sew them, you are just left with bulky seams on the inside where feet would go.  Also, I think that the instructions for inserting the elastic are shoddy and that you don’t end up with a professional looking item.  I would definitely not recommend this pattern.

I still really want to make a pair of slippers for Anya (and myself), though, so I am looking at other options.  I finished drafting a pattern for Anya’s feet just before we left for Minnesota, but haven’t had a chance to sit down and work on them as we just got back late last night.  Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to devote some time to them, but we shall see (Dan works from home tomorrow so we may end up spending the day doing things together when he isn’t too busy with work).  In any case, I’ll be sure to update on how the slippers are going!

Well, today was a Christmas sewing day. I had previously made a blanket for my niece, Lilliana, out of brown silky fleece and pink flannel-backed satin. My mother liked it quite a bit and was using it while visiting Jamie. I figured that I would make her one of her own for Christmas. For my mother I used red silky fleece and gold flannel-backed satin. Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of color choices available at JoAnn’s and I didn’t have enough time to order better colors. I’m very unhappy with how the blanket binding went on. This was the first time that I’ve worked with it and, honestly, I think it looks like complete crap. The one side (silky fleece side) is fine, but the back side is definitely not even.

My Janome CoverPro 900 came in today and I am beyond excited about that! I think I’ll order a binding foot and redo the edge of the blanket for my mom after it gets here. That’ll be after Christmas, of course, but I suppose it will have to do.

On a less irritated with my sewing skills note: I finished my younger sister’s Christmas present today as well. Katie will be receiving a Patriots themed purse.  She is a Patriots fanatic (especially, predictably, Tom Brady) and has Patriots clothing for just about every body part that you can imagine, but she doesn’t have a purse!  Well, now she does, but anyway.

I also ordered a ridiculously cute pattern for slippers from Favorite Things with a gift certificate that my Aunt Deborah sent me for fabric.com that I am looking forward to messing with. I think I have enough of the red Patriots fabric left over to make a pair for my sister to match the bag. If they turn out cute, I’ll make a pair for Anya! Probably a pair (or two, or three, or four..) for myself, too.

After this post I will be up to date on my sewing voyage (although I am, of course, planning much more sewing in my future).  I wanted to make something warm and snuggly for my new niece, Lilliana, as a Christmas present.  I picked out this lovely polka-dotted brown fleece and decided that it would be absolutely perfect for a snuggle sack.  I used McCall’s pattern 9407, view B.

This was my first chance to really use my serger (I have used it on two sets of rat hammocks, but they really aren’t the same) and it was just wonderful.  I have to say, the serger makes seams so much neater and I absolutely adore the underarm, especially.  It does also, however, make me nervous!  I was so afraid that I would do something wrong and then the fabric would be ruined, as it would already be cut so there wouldn’t be much point in ripping the stitches out.

I took it slow and steady, though, and did not end up feeling like I needed to rip out any stitches.  I found the instructions for the cuffs on this pattern to be rather vague (with pictures that weren’t much help) so I just kind of winged it.  I do believe that they turned out as intended, but even if not they still look very nice.

Unfortunately, I misplaced the pattern piece where the snap goes (up top, by the neck) and ended up having to wing that as well.  It definitely turned out crooked, which has me extremely disappointed, but hopefully no one aside from me will really notice it..

My review for this pattern can be found here.

This week / weekend I need to sew two rat hammock sets and finish my sister’s Patriots bag, but after that I am planning to put my skills and patience to the test by trying Simplicity’s Project Runway 2961 pattern! Supposedly the Project Runway patterns are designed to make you feel like a clothing designer because you need to mix and match the pieces how you want them. I’m imagining that it will take me a while to put together a PR shirt, so I’ll probably update throughout the process.

My second tackled project (and my first garment) was Simplicity pattern 2825.  My daughter and I found a lovely Christmas mice (we think they’re rats, but the description says mice) cotton.  Anya absolutely adored it and begged me to make a dress out of it for her, so I picked up another Simplicity Sew Easy pattern and set to work. This pattern was even easier, I would say, than the bag pattern.  It only took me a few hours to put together.  

Unfortunately, Anya was not home with me when I made the dress (she was in New Jersey visiting with my sister) so I couldn’t try it on her as I went.  I find that the hem is a little bit crooked and the waist is a bit baggy.  I would really like to add a nice red ribbon around the waist to give it a little definition but Anya is vehemently opposed to the idea.  The zipper also went in crooked, but that was completely my fault and had nothing to do with the pattern.  After a bit of trial and error I have now figured out how to correctly install a zipper.

As to my dislikes with the pattern — because it is so simple, the dress has no liner and I find it extremely thin for a long-sleeved dress.  If I make a dress in this pattern again I will either add a liner on my own or make it out of some heavier fabric (such as corduroy). Really, though, I think that this dress is an excellent starting piece for a new seamstress.

My review for this pattern can be found here.

The first pattern that I decided to tackle on my sewing journey was Simplicity 2625.  It is out of their “Sew Easy” line and the pattern is for two different styles of bags.  The bag being modeled in the picture to the left by my daughter, Anya, is view A.  I haven’t made any out of view B yet, although I may in the future.  This particular bag was made as a Christmas present for my sister, Jamie.  The picture to the right shows a close-up of some “yo-yo” flowers that I made and attached to the bag.  I absolutely adore the buttons that I found for it!

All in all, I would say that this was a very simple and easy pattern to follow.  I have pictures of two more in the gallery (my “test model” and a country-themed one that I made for my mother-in-law).  I still need to make a New England Patriots themed one for my sister Katie before Christmas rolls around.  I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up making more of these, as well.  They are very quick, easy, and fun. 

A little tip for this pattern:  You can buy a bundle of five fat quarters (or just pick five that you like) and it works out to be just about the perfect amount of fabric!

My review for this pattern can be found here.

I’m always so bad with these “first posts” since I don’t know whether to introduce myself or just jump right in!  I suppose I’ll go the “introducing myself” tack.  My name is Melissa (Missy) and I am an extremely amateur seamstress.  My sewing habit was actually formed when I began sewing hammocks for my pet rats.  I have a rat blog, Rattributes, where I blog about.. my rats.  Rattributes also serves as a hammock making tutorial site, since rat hammock patterns are definitely not readily available on the web!

More and more lately I find that Rattributes is also hosting pictures of my regular sewing projects, and so I have decided that it is time to set up a site dedicated to sewing things that aren’t for my furry little pets.  At this point I would call myself an “advanced beginner” when it comes to sewing.  I am able to follow a pattern (I have not tried any that are ridiculously complicated at this point) and can sew a straight seam.  I am the proud owner of a Kenmore 17892 (gifted to me by my grandmother, who no longer sews) and a Brother 1034D serger.  My Janome 900CP (coverstitch machine) should be arriving on Friday!

I am not entirely sure what this blog is going to develop into.  It will, of course, house pictures of my tailored creations.  I have a feeling that it will come to be the container for everything domestic in my life.  Don’t be surprised to see some of my favourite recipes, embroidery or other homey-type things here.