Friday, June 14, 2013

Handmade Confessions: Angie from DaniKate Designs

I'm excited to share another confession with you all today! Angie from DaniKate Designs is a sweetheart; and I'm so glad she agreed 'confess' here today. If you haven't visited her blog, you should! She's incredibly talented and her blog is full of gorgeous, girly dresses.

I love these colorful chevron dresses and this princess dress made entirely from Dora fabric. (Can you say best mom ever?)

 You can tell she's one of those hardcore, by the book sewists... she even made a muslin for this puppy outfit.

 But don't think she's no fun-- check out this embroidered toilet paper...
 And this adorable got milk newborn onsie!

She's also got quite a few tips and tricks on her site-- and some fun embroidery project ideas (with or without toilet paper). Without further ado... Here's Angie!



Palak was way too kind to ask me to confess on her blog. I'm not very risky, or exciting, and I certainly don't throw all the sewing rules out the window! I pre-wash my fabrics, follow pattern instructions, and use appropriate colored-thread when sewing...I'm a bit of a sewing goodie-goodie. So what's my confession?

I iron what I sew!

Doesn't sound like much, until I tell you the rest of it.

You see this skirt?



It's about as Plain Jane as it can be. Just a lightweight denim, paperbag-waisted skirt. And I iron it.
Every time I wear it.
My trousers for work? Don't iron them.
My button-up shirt and suit when I went for a job interview last year? My husband pressed them for me.
My military uniforms, back in the day? I bought the kind that have permanent creases and learned when to take them out of the dryer and hang them up.
But this slightly hideous, definitely casual skirt gets ironed.

I don't know why I am only willing to iron things I've made. I know that pressing seams can make a garment look Handmade and not Homemade, and that's definitely something I strive for. I know that I iron my finished projects so they look extra nice and will hopefully make up for my lousy photography skills.  But even after the item has been blogged and makes it's way to the closet and is washed and worn, I continue to give it that special bit of care.
I should emphasize the"bit"-- you can see clearly in my picture that I absolutely STINK at ironing! But I still do it for each seam as I sew, and for each garment I make. And so that, my new friends, is my confession. It's not the best, but it's mine :)

Some of my favorite ironing tips:

  • Press each seam 2 times--flat the first time, and then open (or to the side if it's serged). Remember, the goal is to "Make it Handmade" (see how I did that? )
  • Hems, especially on children's clothes, are MUCH easier to iron if you do it while the sleeve is still flat. Don't wait until you have a tiny little arm opening to try to work your way around, go ahead and press it while it's a nice, straight, flat edge. Your fingers will thank you! Then, once the sleeve seam and the armhole seams have been sewn, you just need to do a tiny touch up with your iron where the seams are and your hem is ready to be sewn. 
I also have a great tip for getting a nice, flush seam on something long and relatively skinny, like a sash or a strap or a tie, but it really needs pictures to explain it well. I will try to get those ready before this series is over and will let Palak know when I've posted it. I'm not trying to be coy and drive traffic to my blog, I promise! I've just over-extended myself a bit trying to get a 4-piece outfit sewn for my son's dedication at church this weekend (eek!)

Thank you so much for having me here Palak!



Thank you so much for coming, Angie! I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one whose husband does most of the ironing. Remind me to tell you about the time that I accidentally poured a glass of lemonade instead of water in the iron before one of my husband's interviews. Not fun. Anyone else not allowed near most of the ironing in their homes? Or have any other ironing confessions? We'd love to hear them!

If you have a minute stop by DaniKate Designs and give her some encouragement to help her finish her son's dedication outfit. We're all rooting for you!