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I love this pattern! Let's just get that out of the way. This playsuit was fun and quick with lots of room for modifications to make it custom to you or to change it up each time you make it. I am always hesitant when making nightgowns or Pjs of any kind because when I sleep in them I want to be sure ahead of time that they will be comfy as well as attractive. The Hot Patterns Retro Playsuit definitely fits the attractive bill but does it also meet the comfy qualifications? Only making one will answer the question.
I opted for a navy charmeuse satin because we all know dark colors make us look slimmer but I don't look good in black. I am a naturally pale Irish girl so I wanted something with a bit of color. The fabric arrived and it was dreamy (quite apt that it was destined for sleepwear). I then decided to trade the lace trim in for some cotton, ruffle accent. I loved the romantic look of the lace but I love the feel of cotton so much more. Using approx. ½ yd of 45 in. cotton, I cut 3 in. straight strips of quilting cotton (about 5 yds) and pressed it in half widthwise, wrong sides facing. I then ran it through my ruffler using the 12 st setting. This created about 4 yds of ruffle trim, just right to finish off my playsuit.
Overall this was a dream pattern. It went together exactly as instructed. The satin was not the hassle I was expecting. Just be prepared with a sharp needle and quality thread and it should be as manageable as cotton. The ruffle really worked well with the style of the playsuit. I attached it to the right side of the top and leg openings and then folded the raw edges toward the inside and topstitched the seams down on the right side. Be sure and finish off the seams with a zig zag or a serger otherwise your satin will fringe. The ribbon details are also a nice touch though you can create some spaghetti straps out of your satin. I picked one of the complimentary colors from my ruffle for my 1/4 in. ribbon. The lavender really works well with the navy and my skin tone. This is a great addition to my PJ drawer and I like it even more then my satin gowns because the shorts keep the playsuit from riding up in the night. A + in comfort!
A good cardi is always a pleasure to knit but I hated the buttonholes. "Too much math" I would to mumble when seriously considering another cardigan with delicate buttons. I hated knitting the button band because inevitability I would get the buttonholes wrong. By the time you figure out that your placement or buttonhole size is wrong you have worked two whole rows of knitting. However with this great tutorial, from Knitting Daily, for a one row button hole my knitting world became bright and sunny again. Once I had this handy technique under my belt I was planning cardigans left and right. I knew that I would only have work one buttonhole to determine if my sizing was correct and I would only need to work one row to see if my placement was right. It was amazing and very encouraging.
While the technical drawings included with the tutorial are nice, they don't follow all the steps and sometimes just seeing it worked in actual yarn as you go can really help master a new method.
I recommend practicing this method in your favorite yarn to learn and then adding it onto your swatches when you work it up before your project. This will help you plan sizing before you have 100 sts to work and will also help you visualize your buttons with your stitch pattern. Trying your buttonholes in your swatch can also help you work out how to incorporate your stitch pattern into your one row buttonhole row. You can practice how the bind off and cast on stitches in the buttonhole will affect your stitch pattern and how to work around it for the best finish.
This is an exciting month for Blog of the Month because we are featuring Sew4Home.com. This site suffers a misnomer because it should more correctly be named "Sew everything for everyone/tutorials galore.com". This is a gorgeous blog full of projects that are specifically for your home but you can also find tote bags, outdoor cushions, and gift ideas. One important aspect that you will notice right away is that Sew4Home loves Minky. Many of the projects use it to add softness and great, low maintenance texture to your home. Here are some of my favorite Minky projects featured:
· Minky and Satin Baby Blanket (which we featured on our blog as well)
The creators over at Sew4Home whip up project after project that combine style with ease and functionality. There are no silly projects or create for the sake of creating with no real purpose besides being pretty. Their nursery projects rival Designsponge; I especially love their Michael Miller Citron and Grey series. It is a great inspiration for both baby girls and boys and I am willing to bet it is something both moms and dads can agree on. These animal pillows are seriously fun and so easy!
You can find something on this site that is your style or easily adapted to be perfectly your style. Any pillow, linen, cushion or home décor item that you can think of, they have it and you will love it. This site is also very easy to navigate. Their drop down menus at the top allow you to search by project, find tips, offer a shopping directory and features a glossary of terms to make everything easy and understandable. Sew4Home is a great resource for the Do It Yourselfers out there and is my new favorite website! Thank You Thank You Thank You
All pictures are property of Sew4Home.com. Please visit their website to find all the featured projects and more!
If you remember my embellished tank top with knit and crocheted doilies, you will know that I love to think of different ways to use classic motifs. Decorating your favorite ensemble is just one way to put a good doily to work, another is to put your creation to work in the kitchen and add some vintage modern style to your traditional tuna casserole. By working any doily pattern in a worsted or thicker gauge cotton (or wool) yarn you can turn a delightful lace doily into a glamorous trivet. When not in use hang your trivets on your back splash, cabinets or in an offset pattern on above your desk. Work several in different patterns, colors and sizes to accommodate all your needs. Choose colors to coordinate with your kitchen colors or servingwear or to bring in new colors.
Another eclectic idea is to crochet up 6-8 large doilies to use as placemats. When you use your matching trivets at your next big family meal, dinner party or coffee with the girls everyone will gush over your delicate and bold style. Doilies knit 15-17 in. can serve as chargers while doilies 12-14 in. are better placemats size. Since they are knit from cotton, they are washable and can be easily reblocked with a quick run of the iron.
You can create a traditional atmosphere by choosing a light neutral color like cream, white or yellow and sticking to the same doily pattern but adjusting the size by using a different hook size. If you are looking for a French bohemian style (think Anna Maria Horner) than choose many different colors from bright to mellow all mixed together. Pick all your favorite doily patterns to mix and match together. If you want a more modern manner (think Amy Butler) than choose 3-4 medium toned colors (not too bright but not too neutral) and 4-5 doily patterns. Mix up the colors and doily patterns and adjust the size as in the traditional style but don't get too crazy.
My crochet doily trivet was worked in Lily Sugar n' Cream Mod Green using the Mini Trellis Doily Pattern. Given that I am still a beginner this was a tricky pattern for me, mostly because it was in the round and there were a few stitches/ techniques I had not attempted yet. The outcome was more beautiful than I had anticipated and actually not as difficult. I love my trivet. While it is not as thick as I had hoped it will still protect my tables and counter tops and gives me just the look I was after in my kitchen.
My first go at this one was done in a zebra minky. (I know, I know, my tastes are a little predictable!) In hindsight, minky isn't the optimal choice for this one. It's soft as can be, which is why I can't resist its siren song, but it doesn't have the ideal drape for this vest. A fur or knit with more weight, drape or cling would be fab -- that's probably why those are the fabric suggestions on the pattern!
I like the zebra version better with a belt, but if you're going the belt route, you might want to move the pocket placement down from the suggested spot or forgo them altogether. (Mine are sitting a little crooked on purpose -- I wanted to play with different levels to see which I preferred. Lower is better for me.)
I decided to make a second version out of a charcoal fleece, and I have to say, this is a seriously cozy garment, and is super cute with a belt. I am going to keep it at my desk at work for those days when the office is cold, because it will layer over almost anything I might wear.
As with many Hot Patterns downloads before it, the Baby It's Cold Outside vest gets high versatility ratings. Make it out of a floaty, light fabric and add a ribbon tie for a perfect poolside wrap. Elongate the hem and the sleeves, make a simple belt, and it's an easy light robe. Because the cut is so uncomplicated, this would be a great project to add embellishment to for a one-of-a-kind look -- I keep thinking of a repeating embroidered motif down the front edge. Print this one out and keep it handy, because you can use it again and again!
When winter's crazy weather gets you down, what do you do? Hibernate? Zone out on the couch? This winter, to overcome the cold-weather doldrums, I am making ridiculous hats that keep me warm AND make me smile. I like to run in my hats, so I make skull-cap style fleece headgear that I then add ears and other details to. This ensures a snug fit that stays put when I'm in motion. Here's the how-to:
First, you need a salad plate to make your pattern. Mine is 8" in diameter. I trace half of the plate, ending at the widest part of the circle.
Then, extend the line from the semi-circle down 2" on either side from the widest point, and connect the two resulting dots. This is the pattern for the sides of your hat. Cut two so the fabric stretches along the straight bottom edge.
You'll also need to cut a strip 5" wide by 15.75" long, so the fabric stretches across the 5" width.
The assembly is quick! Just use the long strip to join the two curved side pieces together with a 1/2" seam allowance. Try it on to check for any needed adjustments and to see how deep you want your hem. I just use a simple fold-up hem, and stretch the fleece very slightly while I sew to give it a little stretch.
You now a basic skull cap.
If you're not into whimsical animal hats, you can call it done. (I have about a dozen of these plain hats rolling around my house, for the record.) But come on! You want animal fun!
I like to just start cutting animal ears freehand,
but if you want some help with shapes, check out our Halloween ears and tails post for a few sample ear patterns. Unlike some of the patterns made for headband use, you want to leave the bottom edge of the ears open for this project.
Once your ears are cut and assembled (just a matter of stitching them together right sides together and then turn them right side out), you may want to shape them a little and baste any folds into place before you stitch them into your hat.
To place your ears, put your hat on (or on your model) and see where you like your ears. I like to mark mine with a small dot or two using a permanent marker.
Once the hat is off your model or self, use the width of your animal ear at its base to mark out a cutting line.
Snip your hat open along the line, then make the same cut on the opposite side.
Insert each ear into its opening and stitch it into place. Make sure to taper the edges of your seam into the curve of the hat, and check your stitching to make sure your ear is securely in place.
Flip your hat right side out, and get ready to model your toasty, cozy animal side!
This is a very, very simple hat, which means it's great for experimenting. Add eyes and a nose if you want a full animal face on your hat. Make a dozen different animals so you have one to match any outfit. This version is for a medium-sized adult head, but this method of making a hat is so simple that you could easily scale it down for a child. Just start with a smaller semi-circle, and measure your resulting side pieces to determine the length of your center strip. You'll also want to adjust the width of the center strip for smaller heads.
Here are a few samples of variations on this hat:
Kermit, just for giggles.
And the zebra I was threatening at the end of the Halloween ears and tails post. I used minky for this one, and while it's not as warm as fleece, it's still pretty darned cozy.
This last example is a hat I made a while back to mimic a
character from a video game. It's a little more involved, but it's all fairly simple applique.
Recreating your favorite animal is as simple as looking at pictures to determine the right ear shape, and then experimenting with your scissors and your creativity. Have at it! It's cold outside!
I am still in love with the Fiskars' Circle Cutter and have not been able to stop playing with it or finding new ways to put circles together for fun projects and accessories. For this post I have created a graceful, stylish flower pin or hair clip. The base is a modified yo-yo technique and the petals are simply folded small circles stitched together topped with a vintage button. This pin is a quick project that can be modified to a smaller size for bouquets or made bigger to embellish bags.
Cut 4 two in. circles from lightweight fabric, like quilting cotton, and 1 five in. circle from medium weight fabric, like drapery or linen.
Base: Fold the five in. circle in half and in half again and finger press to determine the center. Place a spool in the center and trace on WS. Use a running stitch and hand sew around the circle. Do not pull thread but leave a 6 in. tail and clip.
Petals: Fold each two in. circle and stitch together according to the pictures. Place petals over center of base and secure center of petals to center of base.
Pull base thread to draw in center of base, tucking in the center of the petals at the same time. Pull thread to gather tight and knot. Attach button to the center and pin backing.
My Circle Cutter flower pin is perfect to embellish a scoop neck t-shirt, border a pillow case or top a fold over elastic headband. Have fun making your own.
Check out Circle Cutter Part 1
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I have been taken by this tutorial I found featuring Fold Over Elastic. It seemed to fun and easy and I loved that you could wear just the headband or add a little something whenever it suited. So I tried it though I was hesitant over using my glue gun. I wasn't convinced it would last but once I got that sucker heated up I couldn't stop. This was a fun project because the gratification was so instantaneous and the results were darling.
I used one package of our Babyville Fold Over Elastic in Red/Blue because I am hot for red polka dots at the moment. I made one headband for my little one (almost 3 yrs) out of each and cut them to 17 in. as per the instructions. Each took approx 5-10 (probably closer to 5 for just the headband part) and they looked super cute as plain headbands. The next part was the really exciting bit. I wanted to add something really fun but still sane enough that my daughter could still wear them out. Her new favorite activity is going through all my buttons (well, really dumping them out and then picking out the cute ones and putting them in a "mine" pile) so I decided to make an embellishment starring her faves. The shank buttons I lopped off the shank with wire cutters and glued them in place scattered among her other favorite buttons. The base can be downloaded here. Just glue the 2 felt pieces together, glue the buttons on top and use a running stitch to attach to the head band or you can glue a hair clip to the back.
Her red head band features a collection of circles I cut while testing our Fiskars' circle cutter, linen and felt (well the felt I cut with scissors, see article for more info). The largest is 5 in. going down the to smallest at 1 in. They are all stacked and attached to the headband with a costume jewelry pin.
You can add your own embellishment to these great and comfy headbands (my little one asked to put her headband on as soon as she woke this morning!). Flowers are very popular but you can clip any of your existing hair clips or make something new.
For my version, I used ITY, and it was a breeze to work with -- I didn't need to edge finish my ruffles! I opted to use the knit for both the body of the tank and the ruffle accents.
I found that the armscye on this pattern runs a hair tight for my taste. It may be perfect for you -- it's great in that you get full coverage, and you won't fall victim to gaposis or risk exposing your undergarments, but I am a wiggler and I like a little more space at for my flailing at points of articulation. In the interest of full disclosure, my upper arms are not exactly svelte. Even so, it's super easy to trim the armscye just a little wider and augment the length of the binding to match, and I want to stress that this is a personal preference issue.
I altered the neck ruffle on my version as well. Because I used my knit for this detail, the weight of the fabric seemed to pull the ruffle fairly flat initially, so I added a bit of pleating.
One of the best things about this pattern is its versatility, which really encourages creativity. You can extend the neck ruffle to go all the way around the neckline. You can play with with contrasting colors for the accent pieces. You can make it in novelty knits as a pretty-as-can-be pajama top, or splurge on a luxurious Liberty of London interlock to make a really special garment. It could be a dramatic black-and-white statement piece, or a neutral everyday favorite. The correct way to make it up is any way you can think of!
