"My Mom LIkes to Sew"

My oldest (M) wrote this little composition last year. I was happy for many reasons; his writing is getting better, he chose me to write about (you had to choose a family member) and he focused on my sewing. The last part, well...it warmed my heart. 

One of the most difficult decisions I had to make when my kids got diagnosed with autism was to quit my job and stay home with them. Working from home can be quite isolating and it is still something I struggle with. This is part of the reason I started this blog, an attempt at community and a desire to want to be seen.  

When my oldest came home with this essay it felt like he was saying "I see you, I see you sewing, and I know you like it, and I know it's your job, and you are contributing to our family."  One of the issues some kids on the autism spectrum have is their inability to see outside their world. M would spend long stretches of time, by himself, lining up cars and playing with strings. He still will talk to you, hours on end, about sports, not caring whether you are interested or not. The fact that he now comes home, asks me about my day, what I sewed, who I printed on what t-shirt, well, it's just so amazing for me to see. He has come such a long way. 

Peek a boo, I see you. I played this with M all the time when he was younger. Well, guess what. He now sees me too. 

International Working Women's Day this Saturday

This is where I'll be this coming Saturday! This is the second year I was invited to attend this event and I am so honored. I met some lovely, cool, intelligent, ladies last year and am looking forward to the same this year. I will also be selling my shirts, so if you are in Spanish Harlem in NYC, drop by!

Sew and Tell: Sweatshirt Jumpsuit #2

I know that spring is coming soon and I will have to hang up my sweatshirts but it is still cold here in New York and I am still sporting these so I might as well show you this second sweatshirt jumpsuit while I still can! Remember the first? I also made this one from 2 1/12 sweatshirts. 

I thought it would be too bulky if I made the pockets from sweatshirts so these were made from t-shirt. Unlike the first jumpsuit, these pockets are also deeper so they appear less drapey.  Like the first one, though, the bottom part of the legs are made from left over sleeves. I really do have to post a tutorial. 

Like my striped socks! The overlapping v-neck contains less fabric than the first as to, again, do away with the bulk.  

What do you think? Would you wear one of these? Attempt to make one?  Which do you like better? The first or the second?

Tutorial Tuesday: Turning Fashion on its Head; Upside Down Jacket Tutorial

A while back I accidentally put one of my jackets on upside down and voila! A new idea was born. 

I noticed that by putting the bottom part at the top, a very wide collar on a cropped jacket was created. I liked the collar idea but not the cropped part so I decided I was going to reinvent this whole upside down jacket concept. 

I started out with this jacket
that I bought at a thrift store. I knew that I wanted lettering on it because I wanted people to tell that I had turned it upside down. I also wanted it to be green as I knew St. Patricks Day was approaching.

This Audubon Soccer jacket was perfect.  It was green, had lettering, and it also had snaps which could add some interest. I don't know how Coach Accardi (coach's name is in the front) would feel about my refashioning his team's jacket. Oh well. 

I started by cutting it apart; arms are cut and the bottom was cut shorter in the front than in the back.

This is still right side up. I sewed up the lining on the bottom of the top portion and did the same for the bottom.

Then I turned the top and bottom upside down where you get a wider collar on top and on the bottom, you get a triangle hemline. 

I stitched the two halves together this way. I had to create pleats on the middle lower back so the two halves could line up evenly. Can you tell that the collar is the lower back now?

This is what it looks like from the front.

This is how it looks on me

 Front and back.

For the most part, I used the snaps from the original design but I did add 2 snaps at the top and one snap on the bottom of the top part. 

I also did away with the sleeves and simply sewed the green part of the sleeves over the lining turning it into a vest. The upside down pockets are useless now!  

I really liked the way it came out. It's a great vest for transitioning into Spring. Happy early St. Patricks Day!

Update on Frida Kahlo Color Block Custom Order

Hello! Last Saturday I told you about this custom order I was working on.

Well, here it is! My client wanted it in blue and red. I really like the way it came out, very super heroish with this color combination.

What do you think?

Refashioning Something I Made Myself: Ruched Green/Blue Dress

Lately, I have been overwhelmed with lack of sleep, my Dan's fussiness, and my older son's constant complaining. I also have not been feeling well. That said, I have not completed many sewing projects. 

However, I wanted to show you some pics of a dress I made from a self-drafted pattern. I have been working on this project,  on and off, for quite a while but am not super happy with it. The ruching got away from me, it's too long, and I don't like the color anymore. Not what I had in mind.  

I do think there is hope for it somewhere. I am into refashioning, so this time, it will be from something I made myself! I am thinking of either cutting it and making it a tunic or making a high waisted skirt from the bottom half. I might cut the sleeves off too.  

You can tell from my expression that I don't love it, lol. 

Do you have any ideas for refashioning this?

Tuesday Tutorial: Boy Pants from Sweatshirt Sleeves

Rarely, do I sew for my boys. I know, I know, how aweful! I just find male clothing, well, a bit boring. However, my mind was changed when I worked with a really cool male client last year who wasn't afraid to think outside the box in terms of style and really appreciated my design aesthetic. Anyway, I digress, I'll write about that in another post. 

All this to say that for this Tuesday tutorial, I transform sweatshirt sleeves into boy sweat pants! Remember when I made my sweatshirt jumpsuit? I had a couple of sleeves left over and this is what I came up with; a really easy, fun, fast tute:

 I used a pair of Dan's pj pants to outline the shape of the pants. Four piecs make up a pair of pants, two front pieces and two back pieces. Each sleeve will make up a front and a back piece. 

I wanted to sew as little as possible, using the natural shape of the sleeves and the seams already sewn. I cut along the white lines making the shape of the pants.

This is what it looked like after I cut along the white line on each sleeve.

With right sides together, pin the center seam and then sew.

Now you can either fold and add an elastic or attach a waist band.

When I compared them to Dan's current PJ pants, I realized they were too short for me to add an elastic so I pulled out a waistband from another sweatshirt project, 

measured, cut and attached (sewed) it to the pants. I used the waist measurement from the PJ pants. This added a bit more length to them.  

There you have it: boy sweatshirt pants from two sleeves! They were still a bit too short but not as much as they would have been had I folded the waist down and added an elastic like I originally planned. Next time I will use sleeves from a 3X sweatshirt. 

Yes, Dan loves to play with cables! It's one of his little quirks

My model stayed put long enough for me to take a picture of him in his new sweatpants!

I hope you liked this refashion. I particularly enjoyed this one  because I finally made something for my boy. Now I have to make something for the other one to avoid any sibling rivalry!