Made By Rae

Someone call the Fashion Police

Posted January 27, 2012

{fleece hat \ polka-dot top \ green pants \ yellow jacket \ backpack }

Wearing handmade isn’t always fashionable. Especially when your mother never bothered to “Gymboree-it-all-up” so everything matches.

And this is what happens when she picks her own outfits (which is pretty much every day now):

Bonus points to the first person who can correctly identify that thing tied around her neck.

I’m sure many of you have even better pictures of your self-dressed children hanging around!

Categories: Uncategorized

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The Poncho

Posted January 25, 2012

I’m a guest judge on Project Run and Play this week, and this week the theme is “Outerwear.” As part of our judge-ly duties, the guest judges are asked to do a post relating to the theme, and so at first I was like what tha heck do I know about Outerwear? but then as I started to look around I realized that no, it’s totally cool, I’ve made two coats for my kids this year and one of my free tutorials is a fleece hat. So I put together a little roundup of some of the outerwear-ey projects I have put together over the last couple of years over at Project Run and Play so go over and take a look!

Being the over-acheiver slash procrastinator that I am, I also whipped up this little fleece poncho for Clementine thinking I would put it up as a tutorial or pattern or something for the post. But of course when you start something like this two days before it’s due, and you’re also working overtime trying to get a skinny tee pattern completed by the end of the month, that’s unlikely to happen. So I’m letting that go for now, with the thought that maybe it can happen soon, we’ll see.

I’m not completely happy with the Minnie Mouse bow: it was supposed to be more huge and over-the-top but instead it ended up just looking super-girly. The overall effect is still ridiculously cute though. After my kids were in bed the other night, I kept staring at these pictures trying to figure out how this little person can look so fetching and sweet and still spend what seems like an entire day whining and crying at me until I want to pull my hair out. That’s what being two is all about I guess. And being a mom, too, really. I still love her so much it hurts.

Categories: clothes for girls, knits

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KNITerview with Meg of Elsie Marley

Posted January 24, 2012

Please welcome today’s KNITerviewee, Meg of Elsie Marley!

I love Meg’s thrifted-modern style and her sense of humor. It’s hard to explain, but her voice is so different and refreshing from anything else out there, making her blog a must-read for me. Meg invented the fantastic Kids Clothes Week Challenges online that so many of us have come to love and anticipate over the last few years. Another thing I love about Meg is that she is never afraid to try new things, and even better, she is always brutally honest and hilarious when things don’t work out. I love the eclectic feel her blog has, everything from crochet to kids room decor to sewing. Be sure to check Elsie Marley out if you haven’t already!

Here’s our interview about knits:

RAE: Did you ever FEAR knits?

MEG: Yes! I thought you couldn’t sew knits successfully on a regular sewing machine at all. I was so excited when I got my serger, I immediately drafted a t-shirt pattern from one of my favorite tees. Then I grabbed some random knit fabric I had and sewed the sucker up. I do believe there has never been a more sad, potato sack of a shirt. Oh, the shirt was so bad. I didn’t know there was such a range of knit fabrics, which is silly because it’s most of what I wear. Interlock doesn’t behave the same way jersey does, duh. It’s the same with wovens: different kinds are suited to different projects.

RAE: Do you remember a specific turning point?

MEG: When I realized I need to find the right material for the right project. Then things just work. Honestly, I think this is true for any sewing project–woven or knit. Quilting cottons can be super cute, but they make crap pants.

RAE: What types of projects do you usually sew with knit fabric?

MEG: I use a lot of old t-shirts. They have been washed over and over again, so I have a sense of how the fabric actually behaves.

RAE: Do you prefer sewing with knits or wovens?

MEG: I don’t know. Again, if the fabric is right for the project, then I’m probably having a good time.

RAE: Do you have a preference for sewing with a particular type of knit?

MEG: I use most of them. I haven’t made a swimsuit yet or tackled my favorite knit material of all–that super thin tissue-y stuff that the extra expensive t-shirts are made of. I mean it’s got to be like sewing with kleenex!

RAE: Where do you usually buy your knits?

MEG: I get the t-shirts I use at this bizarre place called the Dig & Save. There are vats–really vats–of all kinds of clothes and you, well, dig through them. Then you pay for whatever you’ve got by the pound (half price Wednesday!). The fabric is so cheap I don’t feel that awful pressure not to screw up when I’m sewing with them.

RAE: Any hints for buying knits online?

MEG: I don’t buy a lot of fabric online in general, but I have bought knits from one place online: Girl Charlee Fabrics. They have a huge selection of many different kinds of knit fabrics. And many have pretty fantastic prints on them too.

RAE: What brand/model machine do you use primarily when you sew with knits? Do you recommend it?

MEG: My sewing machine is a super duper basic model by Kenmore, which is made by Janome. I recommend it without reservations. It doesn’t do a lot, but everything I’ve sewn I’ve sewn with it.

RAE: Do you use a serger? Do you use it more/less/same as your machine when it comes to sewing knits?

MEG: A few years ago our local sewing machine shop was going out of business and unbeknownst to me, my lovely husband bought the last floor model in the shop (Bernina 700D). The serger looks a little sad–there was a part that kept falling off, so I glued it, and glued it again, and finally had to tie it on with a scrap of fabric. Classy, right? But it sews like a dream.

When I first got a serger I used it for everything, but I found that a lot of my seams on knit garments were tearing after a while–especially on my kids’ clothes–so now I sew all seams with my sewing machine and finished everything off with the serger.

RAE: Do you have a “default setting” that you use when you’re sewing with knits?

MEG: I think I maybe set my stitch length a bit longer on my sewing machine, but otherwise everything is much the same.

RAE: Walking foot?

MEG: If I have it on then I’ll use it, but I probably won’t get it out unless I am extra nervous.

RAE: Do you have a trick or tip for sewing with knits you’ve found helpful?

MEG: I usually trace my patterns on to freezer paper when I’m sewing with knits. Pinning is a pain, but especially with knits. You iron freezer paper on, so there is no pinning, and it can be used again and again. Make sure your scissors are nice and sharp because cutting knits can be tricky–knits are shifty suckers. Whenever I am feeling intimidated by a fabric or a project I go back and read this post about learning how to sew by Sooz. Makes me feel better every time.