Handmade Confessions: Anshu From Blooms And Bugs

It's that time again... Another Handmade Confession. I'm especially excited for this confession-- Anshu is not just the talented blogger behind Blooms 'n' Bugs and Sew Pretty Sew Free, she's also a friend! She is such a sweetheart and has gone out of her way to encourage me since I started the blog.

Anshu's blog is full of free project ideas and tutorials. Just this week she released a free pattern for this summery Fourth of July Dress!

 And of course, who could not love this adorable birthday dress?

 She also makes fascinators and baby headbands!

 And she's recently reopened her Etsy Shop! Check out her flower girl collection if you'd like to buy a custom handmade dress.

And now... lets find out what she's hiding. :) Anshu's what's your confession?

---

Hello, This is Anshu from Blooms And Bugs - A girls clothing boutique.

I was introduced to Make It Handmade via Palak's comprehensive and easy to follow post on sergers Serger Relationship Rescue Series on Sew Mama Sew. It was simply phenomenal! The initial story sounded so much like mine, although me and my serger are still in counseling ( at Make It Handmade Serger Relationship Rescue Series of course, where else?). Over time, I kept running into Palak's awesome work and tutorials ( and super cute kids) at various big crafty websites I used to follow like UCreate, Craftgawker and Moda Bake Shop. Finally I succumbed to the pressure and started following her blog so I don't miss out on any awesomeness.

So when Palak asked me to participate in her series, I said yes before I could think. And then I thought...hmm...Sewing gotchas, shortcuts, goof ups...hmm. My problem was not that I don't do silly things while sewing, my problem is that I do way too many of them to write in a single post, in fact I could write a whole book titled "Sewing Accidents of Anshu" which will have you laughing till the tears came out of your eyes. So which one do I pick and where do I start? But fear not - I'm not going to hijack the series and do all the remaining posts myself , although the thought did cross my mind. With the help of Palak, I decided upon one particular area where I have...err..room to improve.

But first a little background on how it all started...

I started sewing (again) right before my daughter was born. That means that I learned in a very busy and new season of life when I was trying to cope up with the realities of motherhood. In a way sewing was the thing that helped me escape the constant demands on my time, even if for a short period of time. It was almost meditative for me. However, it also meant that even though I had a gazillion projects on my mind at any given time, I could manage to ever sew only a handful of them. Since I was re-learning to sew,  most of my projects led to unwearables. This shortage of time and desire to sew something useful and functional led me to adopt a ninja like approach to sewing. I tried to finish my projects as quickly as possible with a single aim of making something wearable or useful. I paid little attention to small details like finishing inner seams or embellishing and decorative details. This way I had something to show for my efforts and would get the satisfaction of seeing my daughter wear my crafts. It also helped me test different patterns and projects and helped me become a better seamstress.

Fast forward two years, I now have an etsy store and a sewing blog, but that ninja style of sewing that I adopted early on is proving really hard to shake. I am now reasonably competent in sewing kids clothes, but I still feel like racing to the finish line when I work on a project. Before I start something, I have grand vision about the details I'm going to put in, but by the time I'm done sewing the basic garment, I'm already envisioning and planning my next project. The result? blah clothes that are totally wearable, in fact they last forever, but totally boring, especially to kids.

Want some examples? Sure thing!

 These both skirts were made with the exact same tutorial. Which one do you think my daughter loves?

This dress was the perfect canvas for any embellishing technique I wanted to try, except that this canvas remained empty.

The same construction when I spent just a little time to add a few details. Gets picked up every-time we get ready for the pre-school.

 I could go on and on..but you got the point, right?


Now that I have so publicly accepted and identified my sewing issues, the most logical course of action would be to try and resolve them. So from now on, I will try to not declare a project finished until I add at least one small embellishment or decorative detail on it.

In fact, I did a project just to let you know that I mean it.

Here is a Collar Dress Tutorial that I did a few weeks ago on The Ribbon Retreat blog. I took my time in drafting the pattern and sewing the dress so I know that the basic dress was fine, the print beautiful and the fabric is a joy to sew with. However, my daughter would have nothing to do with it and really could anyone blame her.

I ironed some wonder-under to contrasting fabric pieces and drew some fishes on these pieces

Then I cut out the fishes and arranged them near the hem. Then I ironed them on highest setting with no steam.

Stitched the fishes down with a contrasting thread. And added a 1 inch wide grosgrain ribbon parallel to the hemline.

Then I added another ric-rac just a bit above grosgrain ribbon. Made a daughter for the fish eyes with a fabric marker.

Since I was adding them AFTER the dress was sewn, I had to pick out the side seams about an inch to finish the ribbon and ric-rac.

A little love to the back as well. The slit just seemed to be begging for a bow.

A matching headband of course! Fortunately the vendor I buy crafty things from just happened to include a freebie in my package - a yellow crochet headband!

It took me an hour to finish all this. Was it worth it?

I will let you decide. By the way, little miss happily wore it to the swimming pool next day.

---

Thanks for sharing such a heartfelt post Anshu! Love those sweet little fishies-- totally worth it in my book.  I think so many of us can identify with 'ninja sewing' and not having time to finish up projects the way we wanted. That being said, I only just recently realized how even our kids appreciate the small details; when I noticed my daughter wearing a pair of shorts I made backwards. When I asked her why, she said she liked the back pockets. Next time I'll keep the extras where they can see them!

And thanks for reading everyone! If you get a chance, stop by Anshu's shop and take a look at her lovely dresses. And definitely stop by Blooms 'n' Bugs, and give her some comment love for sharing with us today!

I've gotta be honest...

I feel like this about Google Reader going away:

The Cotton Candy Dress

My handy google reader next button was a huge part of my morning. Between making breakfast, changing diapers, and having tea, I'd click the button and see what awesomeness was going on in the bloggy world. I also used it to keep up with news, comb craigslist for deals, and just general entertainment.

I'm slowly moving through the stages of grief, and hopefully by the time Google Reader finally goes away on Monday, I'll be at acceptance.

In case you are a hanger on like me-- you can still move all your subscriptions to Bloglovin' or Feedly.

And if you've already made the move; here are some links to subscribe to MIH:

SUBSCRIBE WITH FEEDLY

SUBSCRIBE WITH BLOGLOVIN'

GET EMAILS

FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK

I love having each and everyone of you as a reader-- and I hope we stay in touch! See you back here in a bit for a confession from Anshu!

Peekaboo Pattern Tour--The Vivienne Dress

I finished a dress! No... not the one I started ages ago (but that's on my list for this weekend...) but a new one from Peek-a-boo patterns. After finishing the swimsuit I'd made Amaani a few months ago; I was so impressed that I signed up to become a Peekaboo affiliate.

And I was absolutely thrilled to have a chance to become part of Peekaboo's summer pattern tour!

For my stop on the tour, I chose to take the Vivienne dress and summerize it-- just to show you all how versatile the pattern is. To transform the dress all I did the was following:

• switch out the fabric from a satin to a summer cotton gauze
• omit the lining and just serge and topstitch the armholes and neckline. The serging curves tutorial has tips on how to do that. 
• Finally, I reduced the ruffles to just two at the bottom; instead of going up to the waistband. 

All the changes made the dress come together very fast on a Saturday morning. After it was done, I interrupted my daughter's blueberries and waffle breakfast to take some photos.

Looks pretty summery... right? The fabric is a gorgeous cotton gauze that I've been hoarding for over a year. It's nice and cool for our hot, hot summers and definitely got a vote of approval from Amaani.

I also decided to go ahead and embrace my daughters inner 'pinkilicious'... I topstitched the sash with rainbow pink serger thread... a bit too precious for my taste, but she went crazy for it.

See you all back here tomorrow for another Handmade Confession-- I'm especially excited for this one. It's from my friend Anshu at Blooms and Bugs. Can't wait!

The Big Star Baby Blanket! Free Pattern!

Do you all remember that sneak peek I posted last week? Well, the pattern is finally up! Head on over to the Sewing Rabbit to get the tutorial.

I'm excited about this blanket/quilt. It's a great introduction to piecing, matching seams and half square triangles-- all while creating a classic quilt design. Sigh... I love the 8 point star!

 The quilt is actually not quilted at all-- it's turned and topstitched (which is also called 'birthing a quilt'). This eliminates all that basting, batting and binding that can sometimes intimidate beginners.

 I also tried something new on this quilt-- I used a white on white print for the background. It's barely visible in the photos, but it add a lot of depth to the quilt in person.

The blanket also has another secret-- Since I used an oh so soft and thin cotton voile for the backing, I sandwiched in a old, loved, worn, (but extremely clean and thoroughly  washed) flannel receiving blanket from my kid's baby years. The blanket was printed with stars, so if you look very, very, very, carefully, you can see tiny stars showing through the  grey backing.

I'm ashamed to say, that sometimes when I make quilts or bags as gifts; I get a bit attached. It's hard to let go! This blanket is going to a very, very dear friend who is expecting her first little one-- and I'm so pleased to say that I don't have even a twinge of regret. I can't wait to give it to her!

If you'd like to make your own-- or just see more about how this blanket was made, pop on over to the Sewing Rabbit for the full pattern and tutorial!

Oh-- and a huge thank you to my husband for being a 'quilt model' and helping me take all these photos!

The Great Bias Tape Conspiracy

We need to talk ladies...

From Hen's Feather's on Etsy

... talk about bias tape that is. It's a conspiracy. I'm convinced that sewing notion companies created overpriced bias tape to sell us, and then when we sewists realized that it was over priced, they sold us dinky little bias tape makers. And then when we realized that those little bias tape maker are a pain, they sold us really huge electronic bias tape makers.  Ahem... excuse me while I remove my tin foil hat.

I know what you all are thinking-- why would she risk the wrath of the bias tape mafia* to tell us this? 

Here's why. A few weeks ago I posted this ironing board tutorial; and received this wonderful comment from our very dear reader Susan:

I can't tell you how much that one comment kept me up at night.

Here's a secret that 'they' don't want you to know-- you very rarely need to make bias tape. In fact, I would say about 90% of projects and patterns that call for bias tape (double fold and single fold)  can be done without it. Especially home dec projects.

I make it a rule to make projects as simple as possible; so I've been wanting to write up a post about this for some time; since I'll be sharing more home dec projects with the Making Home series. 

I ended up breaking my own rule and making some bias tape for a project last weekend. All the while I was folding and ironing and folding and ironing and burning my fingers and ironing some more;  I was thinking about Susan and her ironing board cover.  And I couldn't let this post go any longer.

Here's the deal-- you do need bias strips to bind curves, and to finish armholes without facings. But for most applications, you don't need to iron them into double or single fold tape (which is the most tedious and time consuming part!)

Here's how:

For these pictures, the blue is the bias tape, and the striped fabric can be the edge of a bib, pillow, potholder, dress, etc.

Grab your bias strip-- either pieced from scraps (like mine) or cut from whole cloth.  Fold it in half, wrong sides together. No need to iron!

 Align this with the raw edge of the right side of whatever you are binding.

 And sew!

Now we have 3 options:

Option 1. Simply iron the bias tape down, so no raw edges are showing on the outside. This is the method I used to create the ironing board casing and the hem on the sunshine skirt. Keep in mind that the raw edges will show on the inside with this method. You can serger or zigazg them.

Option 2: is to simply turn the bias tape back to encase the seam allowance and top stitch down. All raw edges (inside and out will not show. This the method used for sleeves on this dress.. and,  of course, quilt bindings.
This is inside:

 And this is the outside-- No raw edges!

Option 3: Finally, the third way is use the bias strip to create a facing. In this method, you don't actually see the bias binding at all from the right side. I used this method for the neckline on the dress from above.  Here it is on the inside...

 and here it is on the outside. Once this is ironed and topstitched-- you'll never know that the garment wasn't traditionally faced or lined.

Handy right? And all without tedious ironing! When should you use traditional bais tape?

• When you want to avoid any extra thickness in a garment or item
• When you are making straps (say, for pillow case dresses or bibs)
• When you want to be very exact about how much bias tape shows on the right and wrong side of the garment. 

Other than that, give this method a try-- even just as a small protest against the bias tape mafia*.

I'm totally curious-- do any of you all use this method regularly when sewing garments and home dec? Or do you prefer double and single fold bias tape?

*I'm joking about the mafia thing... really I am! Well, kind of.
 ** I'm also not as paranoid as I come off in this post. Really! 

Handmade Confessions: Vidya From What's Ur Home Story

It's that time again-- another Handmade Confession. Today we have the incredibly talented Vidya from What's Ur Home Story. Vidya's blog is full of amazing home DIY's-- like this painted and reupholstered chair.

She also has a great collection of pillows... I fell in love with felt circle pillow the first time I visited her blog.

 She's also an amazingly talented artist... check out this painting-- I couldn't believe she created it herself.

She is so talented-- I was am a bit jealous! I have to admit... I was interested in hearing what skeletons she had hiding in her closet... (In a completely friendly non judgemental way. promise.)

---

When Palak first approached me for this series I was drawing a blank on what to write. No, not that I don't fess up on projects or take the easy way out. I do, a lot of times and blog about it too. But to come up with something worthy of a guest post.....

Then I watched an episode of House Hunters and knew exactly what this post was going to be about. Every time someone on that show walks into a room with let's say a not so great paint job and exclaim, "What were they thinking?" I cringe and say out loud, "That could have been our home! The kids' room!". 

Rewind back to 2009, my pre-blog days in our NJ town home which we were getting ready to put on the market. That's when I decided I wanted to paint the kids room yellow! If you've worked with yellow paint you know that yellow is one of the hardest colors to get right as it almost always looks at least three times brighter on the wall than on the paint strip. Little did I know this universal fact when I decided to jump in without even trying out a test patch. Another rookie mistake, I opted for semi gloss finish. You know, the only thing I took away from a earlier conversation with a Home Depot paint dept rep was that it is easier to wipe away finger prints etc on semi gloss. My logic was, kids room = lots of finger prints = Semi Gloss.

So hubby dutifully goes to Home Depot buys the paint (forget the exact color) and I start by attacking the biggest expanse of wall space in the room. Don't know about you but to me painting is part therapeutic part escapism. That's when I day dream about buying an island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, building a vacation home there, and plan the heck out of decorating/ landscaping it etc. In a couple of hours I finish the mammoth wall and step back to asses my hard work. Ta da.....

[Insert really heavy tragic background music here.] The paint was actually GLOSS! It looked ghastly on the wall reflecting every ray of sunlight that flowed in through the three big windows next to it! I let out a cry of despair and for the next 10 mins stared back and forth at the wall and the paint can. I also painfully or rather gleefully realized (as I was glad to get rid of the GLOSS) that we had grossly miscalculated the amount of paint we needed and were out of paint. Hubby was sent back to the paint store (he refused to go to HD this time and went to the Walmart which was closer, another no no) with specific instructions to get "Semi Gloss".

For the second round I made sure to check the label on the paint can before I started and it read "FLAT"! Seriously? This was one of those projects that was set to doom from the start! Naturally I went bonkers but hubby put his foot down and said we'll just use what we have. On a side note, he bought quite a few other paints, all flat, that day for the rest of the rooms. So there might have been a legit reason for the mix up. Coming back to the story, the "FLAT" finish actually ended up being a blessing in disguise. It kind of toned down all that gloss paint on the other wall. Somehow the other three walls now absorbed all the light that bounced off of the gloss wall. Still, when staging the room we had to use a lot of white in curtains, art, and other accessories to tone down all that yellow.
Here's a real estate listing pic of the room in question. I tell ya you would've needed sunglasses to enter that room. :) 

 

Takeaways:

• The rule "go a shade or two lighter than the color you like on the paint strip" should be set in stone when it comes to yellow.
• Always buy a sample can of your paint color and try out a test strip on the wall. (A rule that I have difficulty following even now.)
• Double check your calculations on the amount of paint you need and get it all from one place at the same time.
• Before you leave the paint store, make sure the paint finish is what you had asked for.
• Save the GLOSS finish for your trim.

PS: I haven't touched yellow or gloss paint (except for my tone on tone stencil) ever since! :) Thank you so much for having me here, Palak! Have a great weekend.

---

That is an incredible shade of yellow Vidya!!! Dont worry-- I have my own share of paint horror stories that I'm not brave enough to share ... yet. In my defense, I didn't know about those little tester bottles until recently. 

Don't forget to visit Vidya at What's Ur Home Story and check out her gorgeous projects! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you back here next week!

Square A Quilt Block... Without A Special Ruler

I have a little sneak peek for you all today-- I started another quilt! I'll be showing you all this pattern later this month, but I wanted to share a quick little tip about squaring up quilt blocks.

Squaring up your quilt blocks is the secret to getting accurate sized quilts, matching up seams and reducing overall frustration during the piecing process. Even though I love cutting corners, I really recommend squaring up your blocks. There are quite a few special rulers made just for this purpose; but what if this is your first quilt? This quick little tip will show you how to square up blocks without using special rulers.

---

We are going to use half square triangle (HST) blocks for our squaring up practice, but a similar method will work on other square blocks.

First, lets take a look at squaring up blocks with a square ruler.  These blocks square up to 9.5 inches. To trim the first two sides do the check the following:

• First match up the seam on your block with the 45 degree line on your ruler
• Make sure there is a slight overhang at the 9.5 inch marks on the ruler. 
• Make sure there is a slight overhang at the edge of the ruler.

Here is a close up-- see the slight over hang at 9.5 inches?

Once your ruler is in the right place, trim the block at the edge of the ruler.

For the other two sides, flip the block around, so the edges that you just cut are exactly on the 9.5 inch mark. Trim the slight overhang around the edge of the ruler.

If you don't have a square ruler, you can also use any ruler and the 45 degree mark on your cutting mat. Before you make any cuts check the following:

•  The diagonal seam is lined up with 45 degree line on the cutting mat. 

• There is a slight over hang at the 0" lines and the 9.5 inch lines.

You can tell from this picture that I used the 1 inch line and the 10.5 inch line to give myself a little extra cutting room.

Then simply use your ruler to trim each side of the square to the proper measurement.

This gets a bit tedious when you are doing many, many blocks at once. I'll be looking for a faster way-- believe me! One thing that helped me a bit was marking those 9.5 inch lines with washi/masking tape.

I hope this nudges you all toward taking the time to square up your blocks! I'll be showing you all the finished quilt later this month; so stay tuned.  And don't forget to stop by on Friday for our next Handmade Confession. We'll be hosting the fabulous Vidya from What's Ur Home Story!