On a Lark » pattern

The Schoolhouse Tunic!

Emily — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 01:16:37 +0000

After several years of seeing The Schoolhouse Tunic Pattern by Sew Liberated appear on blog after blog, I finally got it! Happy birthday to me courtesy of my very patient sweetheart who helped me pick out the fabric at Alewives. If you’re unfamiliar with this pattern, just Google it or check out their Flickr group. It’s become the most loved pattern around. And I now I know why.

The whole pattern, start to finish, took maybe two or three hours. The construction and instructions are extremely straightforward and you end up with a nicely finished piece. The sizing was exactly as measured, which I hardly ever encounter. I usually cut patterns several sizes larger than my normal size based on the measurements on the pattern and end up swimming in the result, but this fit great. It’s a little too short to wear without tights, so I think I might add a few inches for some summer versions.

I did make a few adjustments to the pattern. They call to have a little gather at the shoulder. I rarely wear tops with a gathered shoulder so I cut the sleeve out as they said, set it in without the gather, and I think it still turned out pretty well. Also, the pattern called for two smaller pleats in the front. I made one pleat that covered the same amount of fabric. I’ve seen photos where the two pleats looked lovely, but who wants two box pleats on either side of their torso? Not this girl.

And one more shot because I so rarely succeed at sewing clothing:

Now that I’ve gotten a hang of the pattern, I have some plans in the works for different versions. I’d really like one in a black and white or navy and white gingham like this one at mmmcrafts.com. I’m also day dreaming about a white linen version with some retro thick lace or crochet trim along the bottom. This will obviously be a disaster because two dogs are part of this home. Brown dogs. And who am I kidding? I spill stuff on myself all the time. Maybe it will be gray linen. Or navy. I’m also pretty sure I would not regret a voile version for summer time either. I just need a few more hours in the day. Is that so much to ask?

New Bag Design!

Emily — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:55:34 +0000

So, I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty excited about this new bag design. I used quite a few different bags I had seen around to create this design and I have a few changes that I’d like to make in the future, but I’m happy with the way this one came out. And it’s a good thing too because I made this bag for a very important guest coming to my brother’s wedding NEXT WEEK!

I used a magnetic closure for this bag, and sadly, no giant button. I think it’s better without it. I love this design because it’s so understated from the outside. It goes with everything, but then there’s just a peak of teal that shows through when you’re carrying it. I put in one large zippered pocket and two patch pockets on the inside. In the future, I think I’d like to put pockets on the sides on the outside. I was planning on adding them to this bag, but after I had I always seem to underestimate the amount of time I spend on new projects. Speaking of which, if any of you photographers out there have suggestions for how to photograph new bags, I would LOVE to hear them. Using my white blanket, wooden floor, and white door isn’t really cutting it.

Just outside the window while I worked on this bag, I saw three little robins hatch out of their little eggs and start cheeping. Spring is the best.

Spring Break trip = new clutch required

Emily — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:57:29 +0000

I’m heading down south for a job interview! And I’m also catching up with some college buddies that I haven’t seen for almost TWO YEARS!! If that doesn’t scream “new wallet” then I don’t know what does. I’ve been using this wallet for a while, but I finally got tired of my shady zipper installation and I decided to try a new pattern. I drafted one this morning the dividers and triangles I should have been using for chartwork practice.

I’m a big fan of a bright lining so I used the same pink fabric from this bag. And as always, Piper, the lion/golden retriever, helped out.

Piper doesn’t look too pleased with my design. Oh man, this is going to be a much needed trip. Wish me luck!

Operation Graduation Dress: Part 2

Emily — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:28:07 +0000

So now that my muslin is complete and (miraculously) fits, I’ve been doing some fabric shopping online. Luckily it’s been rainy up here because if it had been nice I would have wasted an entire afternoon indoors shopping for fabric online. Thanks to Powerpoint and Grab I made up a few “mock ups.” I’m pretty sure this is how they do it in the fashion world Anyhow, inspired by my buddy Shannon’s suggestion, I followed a trend I’ve been seeing around with two or three block colors. What do you think?

I’m leaning towards the first pick because it’s all lightweight cotton lawn or hemp, so it’ll be a little less formal. The other two are silk/cotton pique or a combination of the two.
In related news, my sewing machine is all packed up and ready to go home for spring break! I’ll be in Boston for a few days and in Philadelphia for a few days, but the rest of the week will be quality one-on-one time with my sewing machine. My iron will probably be involved. And I bet my golden retriever will get in there somewhere.

Operation Graduation Dress

Emily — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:00:28 +0000

I am graduating! After 18.75 years in school, I am almost done! Woohoo! So I need a dress. But part of my New Years Resolution was to not by any new clothes. This of course excludes absolutely necessary items, like a suit for interviews, a bridesmaid dress for my brother’s wedding, socks, and underwear. Because no one wins if I abstain for purchasing said items. What to do? I’m making my own dress.

I’ve sewn a few pieces of clothing, but with pretty limited success. I have two or three pieces that I wear, but a graduation dress is a whole new level for me. I shopped around for a pattern for a while and I ended up finding this one, Butterick 5353. My boyfriend’s sister got it for me for my birthday!

I usually just start cutting and figure everything out as I go along, but this time I decided that I should probably start with a muslin to make sure it fit. I have to say, muslin sewing was sort of liberating. It was nice to sew with reckless abandon. Sort of. As much as you can ever sew with reckless abandon I guess. Anyhow, while my roommate and I listened to podcasts I tried to piece this thing together. It was little more confusing than I expected, but in the end, it fit!

I think I might just wear it like this. Start a trend you know? Despite difficulty just figuring out the muslin, I’m pretty happy with the fit and I’m ready to start on the final product. But first I need to pick a fabric. I found some great swiss dot at Fabric.com:

But then again, a print might be a lot more fun. And there are so many prints out there to be had, all of these are by Amy Butler:

Decisions, decisions. What fabric would you use? I’m more than willing to let someone else make the decision here. So seriously, what fabric would you use?

Recycling = iPod case

Emily — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:10:35 +0000

So I have a whole bag full of fabric scraps from my various projects. I don’t want to throw them away but I couldn’t think of anything to do with them except possibly to make a chew toy for the puppies and stuff the scraps inside of it, but I like the fabric too much to sacrifice it to the yellow puppy we are puppy sitting this week. So I made an iPod case! I looked at few blogs for ideas first, like this very cute one and this one.
In the end I made a sleeve of two of my favorite fabrics and folded and sewed. I used interfacing scraps left over from other project. And I took another stab at applique. I haven’t bee using any fabric glue or anything, but I did use up all of my tiny interfacing scraps to make the applique pieces keep their shape as I sewed them. I wasn’t feeling too creative so I went with a star and an ‘e’. I cut and stitched a little hole for the ear phones, I’m sure there’s a better way to do this, but it worked. Here are some pictures from the top:

And here’s the finished product. I lost a little steam on the photo process so I only have the beginning and the end. I used one of the buttons that my Aunt Jo sent me over the weekend. More on the buttons to come, but let me just say that I have enough buttons for a LONG time.

I’d like to find a way to make a case so that I could still use the iPod without taking it out of the case. Maybe a cut out near the bottom where the next and play buttons are. Has anyone had luck making iPod cases? It’s been great for when I toss it in my gym bag or accidently drop it on the ground when I take it out of my car. Maybe you’re noticing a theme hear. I have to make things that protect my possessions from me. This was a quick and easy project, let me know what you think!

Zippered pocket fun

Emily — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:07:09 +0000

I will soon have some representation in Boston! I made a bag for my friend Lauren this weekend. Its the blue and white leafy bag that I posted about a few posts back, so I won’t show you all the photos of the completed project. But, this time I decided to put in a zippered pocket as well as the patch pockets. Zippered pockets are great, mostly because I have been known to pick up my bag from the bottom and dump the contents out in places like restaurants and movie theaters. At least the items in the zippered pocket have never graced the floor of a classroom or grocery store. I used this tutorial from J. Caroline Creative. It’s a great step by step article.
Here’s what I came out with:

Measuring the rectangle:

Here is the rectangle all sewed up (pocket fabric and lining right sides together and then the cutting portion:

And here’s the finished product! Sorry about the color on the picture without the zipper, it’s a little bright. I’m happy with the result, and thanks to zipper by the yard from The Fabric Warehouse, the price is right too:

Anyone else have any sewing tutorials or sites I should check out?

Time trial sewing

Emily — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:36:51 +0000

This weekend I tried a new version of the pattern I’ve been working on to see how fast I can make a bag. It ended up taking me a full Saturday morning, including a break for grilled cheese sandwiches. I found a great canvas fabric from J. Caroline Creative and left out the pleats on the exterior. I also had a little “help”:

One grumpy brown dog and one extremely happy yellow dog who loves laying on fabric as soon as you put it on the floor.
I’m still amazed by how terrible a bag can look when you are sewing the final seams, and then you turn it in side out and, as my brother once said, bingo-bango it’s done! I took a series of pictures to show the final (and best) stages of bag construction:

What is this showing? The gusset, which gives the bag some 3-D shape. I’m taking votes on different names for it. Anything would be better than gusset.

And there it is! Ready for a little top stitching and button sewing. I’ve found a few different ways of hiding the seams, like just putting the interior inside the exterior, pinning it carefully on the top and top stitching. This avoids the seam at the bottom of the interior that you have to sew at the end but it’s definitely not as much fun as turning the whole bag in on itself. It’s sort of like magic. So I still haven’t put on the button. Maybe someone will come over and sew it on for me as a surprise. I just set it on top for the final pictures. Close enough for now.

In other news, I got a great suggestion for getting my giant buttons, fimo clay! I picked up some on the way home at the hardware store (who knew?) so that should be an entertaining project for this week. If anyone has an excellent source of abnormally large and amazing buttons, let me know.

Duck canvas = the answer to interfacing woes

Emily — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:21:55 +0000

So, my Mom’s birthday is coming up! For those of you who know her, she is a great lady and has some excellent fashion (some of which she may or may not have liberated from my closet). So, for her birthday present, she picked out some fabrics that she liked and I got to work.
On the other bags I have made, I was never completely happy with the interfacing on the exterior. (Interfacing is an iron-on stiffening layer). When I made the pleats, as soon as I pressed a pleat lightly, the crease was almost impossible to remove. Answer? Duck canvas! I got mine from Joann’s on sale, but it’s available all over, especially at fabric warehouse type places. So, for Mom’s bag, I drafted about a 2/3 size from the pattern I used from my charcoal and teal bag. I’m still perfecting my pattern making skills. At the moment, this mostly involves brown wrapping paper, a ruler, and scissors. There must be a better way. Here are all the pieces ready to go:

Anyhow, I used a dark red canvas for the exterior. The handle has two layers of fusible fleece and is made from home decorator weight fabric that I got at The Fabric Warehouse in Auburn, ME. If you’re in the area, they are amazing. Great prices and very helpful staff. The interior is the same design fabric but light blue. I made two pockets, one divided to hold cell phones etc., and one with a pen holder. And of course, a giant button. I wish I could find bigger buttons. Any suggestions are welcome. Because they are great.
Here’s the finished product! I’m going to make one for myself this weekend, so stay tuned.

Zippers can’t get me down- Part 2

Emily — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:20:07 +0000

So, the previous post is all about my first clutch making experience. Once I made it, and discovered that I needed some improvement in my zippers and the general design, I started doing some research. So, first things first, I needed to learn to properly install a zipper in a small pouch. I found tons of great tutorials on installing zippers in clothing or for zippered pockets, like this one from J. Caroline Creative.
But I still couldn’t find one for a small zippered bag until I found THE GREATEST ZIPPER TUTORIAL IN THE WORLD! Ok, that may be an exaggeration, but I would say that my level of excitement when I found this site was equal to when I find a bar that has Boddington’s on draft. So I was pretty excited.
Before I started I made a little pattern to make it easier to modify in the future:

Then I applied interfacing to both exterior fabrics and quilted the neon green fabric. I also double interfaced the pockets and put fusible fleece on the interior panels:

After putting in the zipper, I was really happy with the weight of the clutch. There are four credit card slots and a bill pocket:

I think I’ve conquered the zipper.