another play… another costuming frenzy…

Yup – I’ve been stitching, again. Our youngest son’s spring play, “The Elves and the Shoemaker” opens tomorrow night. The past few weeks have been the usual frenzy of planning costumes, frequenting thrift shops, spending a morning pawing through fabrics at SAS, and sitting behind the machines constructing a few costumes.My first task was to make a tailcoat for the cowardly, yet dapper (foppish, even) character “Trescott”.We couldn’t find the perfect fabric, but we came the closest with a quilt-weight cotton print. We decided to fully line it to “bulk it up” a bit.The pattern uses facings for the inside front collar and back shoulders. I simply cut the outer and lining fabric from the same pattern pieces. (I cheated by stacking the cloths so I would only have half as much to cut out!)My mom’s serger sure comes in handy!I made three covered buttons.I cut and ironed a huge strip of bias fabric since the directions call for that to trim all the outer edge. I chose to just apply it to the cuffs.There was quite a bit of hand stitching to be done for the sleeve lining and waist.I can not wait to show you pictures of the finished Trescott in tomorrow’s performance!

I’ll also bring you pictures of a special “transformation” dress and the elves’ raggedy outfits.

 

late to the camera strap cover party

So, last week I stitched my very first camera strap cover. I know, I know... what took me so long to try it?
I wanted to send a little thank you gift to the very wonderful Megan who photographed Zach's senior portraits. She spent oh so much time with him & did such a marvelous job!

I had a desire to stitch something that could look professional with somewhat of a girly kick to it. I decided that black & white would be perfect.

While the machine was stitching out the wording, I covered two buttons with a tiny check pattern for flower centers.

Sometimes if a piece might get some wear & tear or need to be washed, it is a good idea to seal the bobbin threads so the lettering doesn't unravel.

Toile side got the three flowers.

The ruffle is a coordinating Laura Ashley black vine print.

Close-ups of the flowers:

The one out of toile was wrapped tightly & fringed. Three black beads became the perfect center!

Little Miss Muffet sat on a...

Ever since I saw it on sew4home I've been wanting to make an Asian Ottoman -- especially since I can't find the "perfect" footstool.I had a length of upholstery that I'd used for cushions, so I thought that would be wonderful for my ottoman.  I wanted it a little taller, so I lengthened the pattern piece.

It was quite easy to cut out and stitch the 7 wedges together. The seams were a bit of a challenge to press flat.

The weight of the fabric made it difficult to hoop, but I "got 'r done!"

Years ago I bought the "Farsi I" collection from Sadia, but have never used more than a couple of designs on a jacket.

After finishing the embroidery came the hardest of all: making the points meet exactly. I was for the most part unsuccessful. So I did what all sewists do -- I covered some large buttons to  hide the mess enhance the appearance of the cushion.

Here's a pic with my "inspiration" fabric. This is the valance (& still un-finished coverlet) in our bedroom:

Finished!