Whale Dress from Flashback Tee pattern
The Flashback Tee is proving to be one of (if not THE) most versatile pattern I’ve got in my arsenal…it’s so easy to mix up and change around (with minimal fussiness) that I decided it was about time I made it into a dress. And actually, this was a couple months ago, so it ended up being one of Clementine’s Christmas dresses (I’m a bit behind on my blogging if you really must know). Now I realize that a knit whale dress is perhaps a bit casual for big occasions but I’ve never really been one to pull out the tulle and satin for Christmas or Easter, so it didn’t really matter. Do you dress your kids up big-time? See, I probably would…
On the Sixth Day of Christmas [NOW CLOSED]
Thanks for entering! This giveaway is now closed, but you can come back tomorrow morning for another lovely giveaway!
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me….six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four colly birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree!
….and Rae gave to me a Flashback Skinny Tee Pattern! Today’s giveaway is for the 12 month – 5T size (You can probably guess without thinking too hard what tomorrow’s giveaway will be!).
This is a go-to pattern on so many levels. Not only is it a great way to practice sewing with knit fabrics; it’s proven to be even more versatile than what I imagined. You’ve made it into pj’s,…
Faux Fur Fun
Hello friends! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for some happy. Like many of you, I have a very heavy heart. One of the things I’ve learned about life, however, is that joy and sadness are not always mutually exclusive. This blog is not really sad. It is full of happy things. So maybe this will make you smile today, because it makes me smile:
This coat was a totally spur-of-the-moment eyeball-a-bathrobe-and-draw-up-a-quick-pattern project that happened rather suddenly Friday afternoon while Clementine was napping. I ended up sewing it all together in a frenzy of fuzzy fur Friday night, which resulted in some uncontrollable sneezing fits. It’s still not quite finished as I ran out of magnetic snaps, so I need to go out and…
Rae talks about shopping for knit fabrics online
After the tee-making-frenzy settled down around here last week, I found myself with a dwindling, pathetic little knit fabric stash. A problem that is quickly remedied, I say!!! There is little I approach so enthusiastically as fabric shopping. I’ve talked already about my proclivity towards using thrifted knits, and while I am always a fan of the upcycled garment, thrifting has some obvious limitations that purchasing knits can overcome (yardage being the main one). Unfortunately for me, the only fabric shop within an hour’s drive that carries knits is Joann, and my experiences with their knits has been pretty bad — of the maybe 10-15 jersey knits I have ever purchased there, all but two ended up super-pilly. I do want to…
Sewing with KNITS: luvinthemommyhood presents the twisted slouch hat pattern!
I couldn’t talk about sewing knits without mentioning a fun series on sewing with knits that ran this past fall from two lovely bloggy friends of mine, Shannon of luvinthemommyhood and Anna of Noodlehead: Sewing with Knits Mondays! When I asked Shannon to contribute something to the Knit-Mania that’s been going on around here for the last couple months, she mentioned that she had a new hat pattern for knits in the works! I’m thrilled she’s here today to share it with us all as part of the KNITS – Stretch Yourself! series (my let’s-get-sewing-follow-up to the KNITerview series, all posts for both can be found right here).
What is a walking foot? (with a video!!!)
I made a video about my walking foot! I’m telling you, it’s superduper hard to make a good video, but I tried it anyway, JUST FOR YOU. I can’t watch this one without cringing a little, so please don’t judge. First I had to fight the overwhelming urge to use the word “UM” repeatedly (but, I lost that one). It’s also something of a miracle I managed to talk in more than one continuous run-on sentence of sound. And then finally, is that really what I sound like? GAH.
I figured some of you probably had no idea what a walking foot was, and there’s been alot of talk about it lately here with all of the knit posts (particularly in
Hemming KNITS: 6 ways to beat those pesky puckers
I am really truly excited that so many of you are commenting to say that the KNITerviews have inspired you to get over yourself and try sewing with knits! I wanted to offer a few more posts about sewing with knits to help you S T R E T C H yourself (haha, GET IT??) and try it out. While I think it’s great to jump in and try new things, it’s realistic to expect a few bumps along the way. And while I strongly believe that mistakes are required if you want to learn, I also don’t want…
Rae debriefs the KNITerviews
We had the last of the awesome KNITerviews last week, and I couldn’t help but notice a few themes. Here’s my takeaway:
Thrifting/Upcycling for knit fabric is the way to go
Most if not all of our KNITerviewees said that the best place to get knit fabric was harvesting it from larger garments from the thrift store or sale racks. This comes as no surprise to me as that’s definitely been my favorite way to procure knit fabric (for baby tights, for example).
But can I just say: I think this represents a MAJOR FAIL on the part of the fabric industry?!?! Although many of the major quilting fabric manufacturers have branched out into garment textiles (Free…
Flashback tee
Do you remember when all of your clothes were primary colors?
I do. There were apples and rainbows and whales on my t-shirts back then.
Later, we wore stirrup pants and tuck-rolled our jeans. There was alot of mauve and peach. It was pretty ugly.
I always liked the early eighties better.
That’s pretty much what I was going for here: bold colors, retro print, shaggy blond hair (exactly like I had). I love this little flashback.
(Pattern went out to testers today, should be ready soon)
KNITerview with Sascha of Piccoli Piselli
Please welcome today’s KNITerviewee, Sascha of Piccoli Piselli!
Sascha has some mad knit-sewing skills, and I’m thrilled she was able to contribute to our series today! Her blog is chock full of great projects that she’s made for her kids and herself. You may also remember her and the amazing Lego/chalkboard table that she contributed to the Celebrate the BOY series last year. She often repurposes knits, and recently has begun to wander into the fascinating realm of sewing unmentionables, which is pretty much the grad school of knits, in my opinion. One of the best things about Sascha’s blog though is her fantastic personality; she is down-to-earth and irreverently hilarious. If you…
about Rae
Hi! I'm Rae, Head Boss Lady of Made By Rae Enterprises. I love to sew. This blog is a showcase for my crafty stuff.
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