Summer Sewing in the Cold

This is the time of year that I start really thinking about summer.  More specifically summer clothes.  I get my drafting supplies out and start making warm weather patterns and look for inspiration for my designs.  Even though it is still cold outside, planning and time are both necessary in order to be ready by the time warmer weather gets here.

I made this basic shift dress last year and hand drew a starfish and embroidered it in pearl cotton on this wonderful stone-colored linen.  If you do not know how or want to make your own patterns, there are plenty of really great ones out there.

When you are planning your sewing, think not only about summer cuts, but also summer friendly fabrics.  Linen is one of my favorites for warm weather.  I know, I know, it wrinkles, but I feel like that also gives linen it's distinctive summer look.

Dr. Seuss Birthday Dress Up

Every year at my kids school they celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday by having the children dress up like their favorite Dr. Seuss character.  This year the kids wanted to be Cat in the Hat and Cindy Lou Who.

Before we agreed on what characters the girls would be, we decided to evaluate what supplies we had on-hand that might be helpful in making a costume.  We had a hat and a dress I made last year out of Dr. Seuss fabric.  Therefore, their choices were perfect for the supplies we had.

My younger daughter's Cat in the Hat costume was super easy.  We had a black t-shirt with a heart on the front that I covered with white sheeting cut into the shape of a oval and attached it with a zig-zag stitch.  When I had mostly finished zig-zagging the oval but not completely, I stuffed it with three grocery store bags to give the oval dimension and loft.  In my ribbon stash, I had some left over double sided satin ribbon from making Christmas hair bows for the girls.  I cut a length, tied a bow, then hand stitched it to the top of the t-shirt.  We already had hand-me-down blacks pants.  We added the hat and some eye liner for a nose and whiskers, and we were done.

My older daughter used the dress I made for my younger daughter last year as a shirt this year.  I love simple a-line dresses for this reason,e specially special occasions dresses because you can get at least two years of wear out of them.  On most patterns the neck and arm sizes don't change very much from size-to-size.  We added some leggings that we already had (if you look really close, you can see that the colors in the dress and leggings don't match exactly) and used the same double sided satin ribbon for her hair that we used of our Cat in the Hat bow tie.  The hair is a loose copy of the Cindy Lou Who hair from the movie.

Tomorrow at school they will be more than ready for their Green Eggs and Ham.

Summer is Still Time for Learning

Although school is out, summer can still be filled with all sorts of meaningful learning. The school year is often overtaken with activities like dance lessons, sports games and practices, church, and piano lessons just to name a few. I like to take advantage of the slower summer pace to teach the kids skills that the school year just will not allow for.

I encourage my girls interest in sewing, embroidery, and other crafts by having "classes" once or twice a week for them. They look forward to "classes" and take and active interest in the "subject" for that week. I have even included my son, who is a typical teenager in every way, in the fun. We all spend time in the garden weeding, planting, caring for, and learning about plants in the garden.

Take time in summer to encourage your child to try new activities. It is wonderful bonding time, and it may just spark a life-long interest.

Pretty Crafty School Clothes

School clothes shopping can be a dreaded part of getting kids ready to go back to school. An inexpensive and fun alternative to joining the herds of people at the mall (all shopping from the same tired and often inappropriate selections) is to make your own. Now, before you sigh and say you are no seamstress, there are many outfits that are so easy, you need little to no experience with a sewing machine.

Seams So Fun

I am often asked to teach people how to sew. From what I can tell, their is a fair amount of interest out there. What I gleen from many would be sewers is that they believe the whole proces is mysterious and difficult. In actuality, it is mearly learning some glossary type definitions (bias, selvage, etc.), having a rudimentary knowledge of how a sewing machine (specifically yours) works, and the ability to follow directions (i.e. a pattern).