Sewing Summer Shorts

 Hello Readers. It is "Me-Made-May". That just means people are wearing and sharing their self made clothes on social media. It has inspired me to sew some new items for myself. I have had this Simplicity Super Saver 8035 pattern for ages. I decided to try the shorts pattern with some blue fabric I had on-hand. Summer is coming and shorts would be handy to have.  

 New shorts for summer.

I cut out the pattern pieces. It seemed simple, there were not many pieces and shorts are not complicated, right?? Spoiler, It wasn't as easy as it should have been. Let me share my experience and ideas. 

I sewed my pockets together first. This was a mistake. I was supposed to sew one piece of the pocket to a front piece of the shorts and one pocket piece to a back piece of the shorts. Then I was supposed to sew the shorts together. At least I think that is what I was supposed to do, I found these directions very vague and the pictures not very helpful either. Even though this project is simple, this pattern might not be the best for a beginner. 

I sewed one piece of pocket to one front piece of shorts, then sewed one back piece of pocket to one piece of shorts. Then I sewed the pocket together. This wasn't quite what the directions told me to do but I was just trying my best at this point. 

 

I ended up with half a pair of shorts. This picture is of one side of my new shorts with the pocket sewed in place. I ironed all the seams with my iron so the seams would be flat and smooth. I did the same process for the second half of the shorts. When I had a complete right half and a complete left half, I could sew them together and I would have a full pair of shorts. 

 

I sewed all the pieces together with my serger because this was linen and linen frays easily. Here is a look at my shorts from the inside. Did I sew my pockets inside out? Yes, but let's just ignore that. No one is going to see that, and no one will ever know. Shh, don't tell. 

 

I turned the top edge down to make the waistband. 

 

I sewed the waistband casing from the outside to make sure my stitches would be very neat. My bobbin stitches can be wonky sometimes. The pattern called for elastic to be put through the finished casing. OK, let's do it. I left a small opening in the casing for the elastic as directed. 

 

When elastic is fished through the waistband, it gathers the waistband together and that will make the shorts fit around my waist. I finished the elastic and connected the ends together as directed by the pattern and closed the opening in the casing. This was easy enough.

   

I turned the bottom edge of the shorts leg under and sewed the hem of each leg. The hems looked nice and neat. That was what I wanted. This pattern was long enough to choose what length of shorts I wanted, if you want long-ish shorts, this pattern would be good for that.

 

 I used matching thread  (Similar here.) to get a nice neat look to my seams. Sometimes contrasting thread looks nice too but I wanted the thread to match and blend in for these shorts. 

 

 These shorts were fun and I was pleased with how they turned out. This was not a great pattern for a first sewing project but it is simple enough for someone who has sewn a little and ha some sewing knowledge already. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lace Dress to Top

 Hello Readers. I loved this lace dress. It was so fun but the shape just did not work for me. I decided to make something I would wear more often. A new top. 

 Before and after. 

This dress was great. I just didn't love it on me. The dropped waist made me feel thick in the middle. I have 3 kids, I might be thick a little thick in the middle, I don't need a dress to remind me.  

I used a shirt i liked as a guide for the length. I cut my dress a bit longer so I would have fabric to fold under and stitch down.  

 

I turned the edge under and stitched it down to make a nice neat hem. I wasn't sure how the holes of the lace would sew together, but it was fine. 

 

My new shirt was a nice layer for warm days. It gave more coverage but no extra heat. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

 

Make a Cropped Shirt Longer

 Hello Readers. I love a matching set. Give me a two-piece outfit. I loved this blue set but the top was a little more cropped than I wanted. Let's make it a bit longer. 

 Before and after.

This top was cute but I am 53 and I have had 3 kids. My stomach does not need or want to see the light of day. I prefer to keep it hidden away. If this shirt was a bit longer it would cover my mommy tummy when I wore it with the matching high-waited pants from the set.  

 I decided to open the seam at the hem of the shirt and add this trim. That would add about 2 1/2 inches of length to the top. 

 I used my seam ripper removed the stitches all around the hem of the shirt. 

When the hem was opened, I could iron the hem flat. This was precious length that I wanted to have on my shirt. 

Next, I sewed the trim to the hemline of the shirt. I sewed around the hem of the shirt and made the shirt look nicely finished, and it made the shirt longer. 

 I loved the outfit. It was light weight cotton and would be great for summer. I made a matching bracelet too. You can read about it in the previous post. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.  

Make a Bangle Bracelet

 Hello Readers. Let's make a fun bracelet. This is easy to put together and you can make it unique for yourself. It uses an empty roll of shipping tape (Or any tape.) and I love an easy re-use project. Let me show you how I made it. 

Before and after. 

This kind of shipping tape comes on a plastic roll. It is a great base for a bangle bracelet. I used all the tape on this roll for other things. I was left with the plastic tape roll. 

 

Here is my empty roll and some cotton based trim that I had on-hand. You could also use ribbon, cord or yarn, anything you have available.

 

 Any trim or ribbon would work for this project so use whatever appeals to you. I dug around my sewing stash to find some blue trim but you can use whatever you like. 

  

I used a hot glue gun. I used one small blob of glue inside the roll to hold one end of the trim. As you can see, my glue gun has been through a lot but any glue gun will work. You just need a tiny dab of glue.

 

I held the trim to the glue until it had cooled down and set in place. Once the trim was secure in place, I could get wrapping. Wrapping the trim around the roll that is.

 

I wrapped the trim around and around and around the tape roll. I made sure the trim overlapped a bit each time I wrapped it around. I didn't want any tape roll to show. I wanted only the trim to show. 

 

When the roll was covered well with trim I added a small blob of hot glue to hold the end of the trim to finish the bracelet. This would keep the roll hidden and all my trim wrapped in place really securely.

  

Here is a bracelet close-up. I liked how wide this bracelet was. A more narrow tape roll would make a more narrow bracelet. You can make whatever suits you best. 

 

I made this fun bracelet to match this outfit, the big bracelet really pops. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using Tea as Dye

 Hello Readers. There are so many natural sources of fabric dye, let's try using tea and see what color we get. I am using tea bags in a large pan on my stove. Most people have these supplies so this is something you can try at home too. 

 Before and after. 

 I wanted to dye this white cotton dress. It is a lightweight gauzy material and cotton is a natural fiber that usually takes dye very well. I thought it would take the brown color of the tea well too.  

I used some Barry's Tea that I had in my pantry. This is my favorite tea to drink and I was really curious about how it would dye the dress. Would the dark brown color really stay in the fabric or would it be lighter? I thought it would be a lighter brown color, more of a tan color when it was all said and done, but I wasn't sure. I decided to try it and see what would happen.You can use any tea bags you have in your kitchen.

 I heated up some water on my stove in a large stock pot. When it was simmering, I added my tea bags. I used about 15 tea bags. I wanted the water to be really dark so that the dress could sit in that dark tea color. The steam made this picture a bit blurry. 

I stirred and "cooked" my dress for about 40 minutes. When using fabric dye, it is important to stir and keep the tea dress moving to get an even color. The longer the dress sits in the tea, the darker it will be. 

When I put the dress into the washer to wash off the excess tea I could see that the color was an oatmeal color. I liked that better than the stark white the dress was originally. 

When my dress was fully washed, I put it into the dryer. I dried the dress and waited to see the color when it was finished.

 

This simple dress was a much warmer off-white/tan color now. I liked how the tea worked and it is non-toxic and environmentally friendly too. 

 

 I dyed this dress for my daughter and she really liked the color it became. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too Big Dress

 Hello Readers. Sometimes clothes are fabulous and just need a little change to make them work. This linen dress was so nice.

 Before and after. 

  I love linen because it is a natural fiber and breathes so well. This dress was a bit shapeless on me. It was a size or two too big. I wanted it to work for me without messing up the pockets. I love pockets. Those need to stay put. 

 I decided to sew elastic around the waistline to create a waist in the dress. it would give the dress a little more flattering shape and still be comfortable. And my pockets would be safe.  

The elastic made a gentle gathered waistband. It doesn't disturb the wild pattern of the fabric, which I loved, It just gives me a waist. That shape looks best on me. The best detail for me is that the pockets are not removed or changed with this elastic fix. I didn't want to lose my pockets.

 

 This dress is so fun and I love the warm colors. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.  

 

Make Your Yard Bird Friendly

 Hello Readers. Spring has arrived and it makes me want to get outside and enjoy fresh air and all that Mother Nature has to offer. I have a little backyard that is my little piece of the earth to enjoy. I try to make it comfortable for humans and small animals. I enjoy hearing and watching the birds (And squirrels.) in the trees. I wanted to help them feel at home to enhance my backyard and make it feel more like a little patch of the great outdoors.  

Enjoy nature and welcome the birds in your yard.  

To welcome the birds I thought the most important thing to have is snacks. Bird snacks. Humans of all kinds love snacks and animals do too. Some birdseed would go a long way to bring the birds into the yard so I can watch them and hear them sing. But I did not have any bird feeders.

  

I gathered some dishware. You can go thrifting or search in your kitchen cabinets. There are usually a few items that are not used often or at all. Teapots, teacups, pie dishes, gravy boats can all be used in your yard as bird feeders and watering containers. Let me show you what I did in my yard. 

I poured some birdseed into my teapot but it isn't going to sit on a tray or a table. It was going to be up on it's side and hang it up in a tree. 

By standing the tea pot on it's side like this it makes an opening that the birds can fly into and the rim gives the birds a place to land and take some seeds.

I blocked the spout of the tea pot with some self-adhesive foam pads. I use these under vases and pottery but they work here too. I just wanted to keep the seed from spilling out of the spout when it is hung up.

These pads. (Similar here.) were easy to stick in the spout but you could also use tape or a cork. Anything to block the spout of the teapot. 

 

The seeds are all together just inviting a bird to come have lunch. The handle of the teapot makes it easy to hang on a branch of the tree. I used a shower curtain ring to connect the handle of the teapot to the tree branch. 

You can also use an S-hook like I did with this gravy boat. It is a bit smaller than the teapot but holds seed and has enough space for a bid to sit and eat.  

I also added a tea cup. It fit right on the short branch by itself. A bird can have a delicious snack here.  

 If you do not have a place to hang a feeding dish, you can use a pie pan. Set it out to invite some bird friends to come eat...

 Or drink. Water is great to put out even if you do not have any seed to share. In the heat of summer birds can be desperate for some fresh drinking water.  

If you do not have a pie dish to use, these aluminum pans are very inexpensive. I added a large stone to help weigh this pan down. I didn't want it to blow around in the breeze. 

The lantern/candle holder can be useful too. I filled mine with small fabric scraps. The birds and squirrels can grab these tiny pieces to help build a nest. The open sides of this lantern make it easy to grab pieces easily.   

I added all of these to a tree in my yard and hope to make some bird friends soon. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself, or your backyard friends.