my new friend - FOE

Have you ever used FOE (fold over elastic)? I'd been mildly interested, but I don't really sew enough clothing to justify ordering any. Then I saw some at the sewing expo a few weeks ago, and was sorely tempted... and when I saw the "remnants - all you can stuff in a bag for $10" bin, I fell for it. I think I scored a great deal - I got at least 45 yards, of several different widths and colors. Plenty to play around with now!

My first attempt to use it was for this simple circle skirt for the kid. Happy St. Patrick's day! I followed the basics of the MADE tutorial (could not be any easier!). When it came time to do the waistband, I cut a length of FOE about the same length I would for normal elastic if I was using a casing. I pinned it at 4 places, and stretched the FOE as I sewed it down with a zigzag stitch. Super easy, super quick!

The only problem is that it somehow turned out WAY too big! I wasn't about to redo it (me? rip out zigzag stitching? not on your life!), so I just made two really ugly tucks on the sides. On the upside, it will be really easy to let those tucks out, so this skirt should last for *years*! So I guess the stitching makes it so that the elastic doesn't un-stretch all the way back once you've sewn it down. Is there some magic formula for how much shorter you should make it? I guess I can answer my own question - for about a 19" waist, I had to take up about 4 or 5". So, about 25% less. There you go.

I did look around youtube to see if there were any videos about how to use FOE. I found a few, but nothing about how to measure it to fit a waistband. I loved the Angry Chicken video, but even hers didn't say anything about it. Oh well, I'm okay with trial and error!

And speaking of other new things to try - what do you know about laminated cottons? I picked up a couple of these remnant pieces at the expo ($1.50 each, for two extra chubby fat quarters), but they curl up like crazy! I can't imagine trying to sew when the fabric is like this. Especially for a laminate - aren't you supposed to avoid using pins? Any hints for how to get them to lay flat? I tried to press them, but it just seemed to make it worse. Should I wash them, or throw them in the dryer? Any other advice? I'm not even sure what I'm going to make with them, maybe snack bags?

Happy valentine's day!

I've amended my "no new projects" resolution. I'm still working down my list, but I'm also making room for small diversions. Sometimes you just gotta have a little fun! So now my rule is "no new UFOs". If I want to start something, I have to commit to finishing it before I move on to anything else. This way, when the little missy asks for a new skirt for Valentine's day, I can say sure, why not!

It's just a simple gathered tiered skirt with an elastic waistband. I did the ruffles with the serger by increasing the differential. I first tried it with some el-cheap-o fabric, and set the differential to 2, which made it gather about 100% (42" wide strips gathered up to about 21"). For the test skirt, I used seven 6" strips to make a 3-tiered skirt - the top tier was one strip, the second tier was 2 strips, and the third tier was 4 strips long. It was really, really twirly! For the real skirt, I decided to start a little smaller so it wouldn't end up quite so voluminous (and because I only had a yard of fabric, so I only had 6 strips instead of 7). The top tier would be 3/4 of a strip, the middle tier would be 1.5 strips, and the bottom tier would be 3 strips, for a total of 5.25 strips, giving me a little fabric left over for a comfortable margin of error. But even though I set the differential to 2 again, it somehow gathered more loosely than the first time!! What the heck? Oh well - it somehow worked out perfectly so that I had enough to make 4 tiers instead of 3, with about 12" left over. It could be twirlier, but it's good enough. And it's a little long, but that just means she can wear it next year, right? :-)

I picked up the solid shirt at Target a long time ago, and was so pleased that the color happened to match perfectly. One big appliquéd heart later, and her outfit was complete (and total pink overload!!).

quickie projects

I'm almost embarrassed to post about these, because they're such quick and easy projects. But what the heck! Here's what you can do with 15 or 30 minutes of sewing time...

Cut a pretty pillowcase in half, sew a casing and add elastic at the top. There you go - a cute little skirt!

Take a couple of old (but dearly loved) dresses that have become too small up top...

Chop off the dress tops, chop off the bottom 3 or 4 inches from a new shirt, and sew the skirt to the shirt (I just used my serger). There you go - two new twirly dresses!

Take one crappy old canvas bag and cover the random logo with a patch of cute vintage fabric. There you go - a new bag for your budding ballerina to take to dance class. Sweet!!

[PS. I haven't forgotten about the giveaway - I neglected to mention a deadline, so I'll pick a winner on Thursday 10/14.]

back from vacation

Ack - almost a month since my last post. I really did not mean to disappear like that! We went on vacation, and when we got back I just could not get my act together! I feel like I'm finally (sort of) back on track. Just in time to go on another vacation in a couple of weeks. Yipe.

Anyway, let me start back with a huge shout out to Amanda, who made some wonderful new dresses for Vada. I tried to get a good picture of the beautiful rainbow dress, but Vada was not cooperating that day. But do go check out the pictures on Amanda's blog - it really is fantastic! I thought the rainbow twirler would be Vada's favorite, but no - she fell in love with this sweet apron dress instead. Must be all that pink!



I love the little apron detail!



And it definitely meets the "twirly" requirement!



Thanks, Amanda!! Your sewing ROCKS!

I'll be back soon with some crafty stuff of my own. I've been sewing like crazy, and I've got lots to report....