Shorts on the Line – Ottobre Style

I just love Ottobre patterns. I would pretty much flip out if I ever was given a subscription. (Just Saying, Hubs, I know you read this.) So when I was feeling a bit grungy about some challenging and craptastic sewing I was doing, I decided to join in on this year’s awesome Shorts on the Line!

Ottobre has many short patterns so I settled on one I could trace and cut out once, but style and change differently with ease. The Bermuda shorts worked really well as they are constructed with three leg pieces for color blocking or layering effects.

I started by making some shorty-shorts with a wide hem in Lisette fabric I picked up at Joann’s. The yellow/white lines I had a FQ of in my stash. I don’t even know what it is. I am hoping to find some more somewhere, hidden no doubt, to make a cute little matching anchor I can applique on the leg.

I really do love this fabric. As a general guideline, I tend to prefer to make these “pajama waist bands” where you attach the elastic directly to the fabric over waistband casings. The casings can be fussy, bulky, twisty on little one’s waists. These are simple and easy, the way I like clothes to be.

I can be ridiculous in matching up the pattern between seams. I know this. It’s a sewcialist thing.

Above you can see where I am marking my elastic for attaching to the waist band. For many years I used pins to do this. I don’t know why. Sometimes you learn one thing one way, and it works, so you never pause to think: this could be done easier/better/faster. This hot pink writing pen isn’t a fancy frixion pen, it’s just your standard bought it at Freddy’s singer fabric pen which removes with water (or spit, if you’re that kind of sewcialist.) Sewing technique is very personal. You can do one thing seventeen different ways and get the same product in the end. I want to learn it all so I can pick and choose!

The dramatic lighting makes him look even more awesome!

My second pair of Ottobre Bermuda shorts I was a bit tricky with the pattern piecing. There are three pieces to each leg, increasing the length. I combined the first two pattern pieces to make the body and then used the last one as a fat hem. That is the beauty of sewing. You can just #$%! around with things until they work for you.

The frog linen I bought from Japan through Etsy, and the green/white fabric is again from my mysterious stash. The linen made the elastic quite thick and stretched out, but after a wash and dry it shrank back down to the appropriate size. I am so in love with my own creation let me just share a million photos with you right now!

Bar Tacks on the fly and mega top stitching. (No really, I top stitched every seam in these shorts.)

Getting sleepy and making three hemlines, of which one is completely uncalled for. Bad hemline, you should not be here! You are not wanted!

Functional Pocketry!

This is when things got a little funny. I was Up To Eleven*, and my sewing room has bad yellow lighting, and I used one blue rivet and the rest green. The pattern calls for buttons but I don’t actually own four buttons that match. I scrounged and used rivets that came with my snap pliers. They look good to me. The accidental blue one I might be able to claim is my new trademark design aesthetic for that modern editorial look. (Don’t mind me as I channel Nina Garcia…)

I always love learning. Curiosity is what drives me to sew. New sewing technique for round pocket corners: gathers! So easy, so fast, so smooth! Use your iron and remove those threads before you stitch though or you’ll be cussing up a @#$% storm.

Well, so they are a bit long. However they are shorter by 1″ than pattern design makes. Which, if I had made correctly, would be Bermuda Pants on my little guy. His shoulders and chest are pretty big for a 22month old, so I always size big and wait for his legs to catch up.

Sorry I have been ignoring you, lovely blog, lovely blog readers. I have been getting so much sewing done though! I will post all about it soon… I am off to vacation in the lovely, hot and humid Kansas so I will read all your thoughtful and inspiring comments when I return. Unit then, keep it up to eleven! (Which makes me think of elevensies, and snacks and do I have any chocolate chips?)

Love,

MaLora

*

May Day Giveaway!

A beautiful day in Seattle had me indoors, whipping up three fun little zipper pouches for the Sew Mama Sew May Day Giveaway! As I am heading off for a mini-vacation, I am posting this today. The official day is May 23, and I am happy to accept all entries until Midnight, May 25th. Enter to win a lovely handmade zipper pouch by me – just leave a comment below with your choice!

A zipper pouch is the ultimate bag, perfect for travel or for sorting, storage or decoration, a zipper pouch can carry a lot. I use them for sorting art supplies, cosmetics, bike tools, accessories, sewing notions, and more. I love them, and enjoy making them, and hope you will enjoy the three up for grabs below. To enter, just comment below. Don’t forget to leave your email address, so I can contact the winners. I will also post the winners on May 26th.

1. Ruffles

I had a lot of fun with Ruffles. The collection works together so beautifully, and cheers me up when I see it. Inside is a pocket “Hey, good lookin’, what you got cookin’?” and the back has decorate stain red stitching across the border of the red/yellow fabrics. The light sky blue zipper is a nice smooth finish. The pouch is slightly narrow, 1″ deep, but 10″ across at the bottom so it will hold a great deal while still fitting easily inside a messenger bag.

2. The Bike Bag

The echino bicycle fabric is choice for summer. The green blue hues complement  a sunny yellow linen lining with green accents. One side has a large pocket that fits my iPhone and cards. This one would make an awesome companion for day bicycling trips, easily holding tools and a spare tire along with your essentials.  In this photo you can see the boxy shape of the bottom of the zipper pouch.

3. The (mini) Carpet Bag

The (mini) Carpet Bag is my favorite. Luxurious fabrics, rich deep gold and reds, a sturdy build and a girthy middle, this little zipper pouch will hold a great deal. It’s a bit smaller than the others, 8″ across the top but around 3″ deep so it has a true pouch appearance. The fabric is lustrous in the light, revealing intense hues that make me think of Persian rugs or Turkish food or luxury.

To see even more photos (I do love my sewing table!) check out my flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/birdandbicycle

To Enter:

Comment on my blog with the number of the bag(s) you’d like to receive. Yes, you can say any combination, but only one comment per person. I will draw a winner on May 26th. I am happy to ship internationally as well, and if you are also participating in the May Day Blog Giveaway, leave me a note – I’d love to see what you’re making as well. These three lovely little zip pouches were all handmade by me, in my Ballard home, today, during the nicest sunny day in Spring thus far. Each bag will have some extra some goodies in it as well!

Thank you for checking out my blog, and for participating in Sew Mama Sew’s May Giveaway Day! I am off for a much needed vacation, visiting Kansas and family for the first time. (I am hoping for lightning and storms!)

Love,

MaLora

UPDATE: May 26th – Giveaway is now closed. Thank you to everyone for checking out my blog!

Sweet and Sour

My sister is a fabulous teacher, and while I am not in K-12 as her student, she still teaches me many good things. On Mother’s Day I gave her a small set of the Sweet and Sour Apple Coasters from Scandinavian Stitches, with a holder I remember seeing on the internet somewhere. (If you know who or where I found this boxed corner tutorial from, please tell me! I made one months ago, and just whipped up another for this set.)

I really loved how they turned out! I used fabric from my stash, left over from Christmas and Valentine’s Day projects. The free motion quilting/darning foot is so gosh darn tricky.

I made 4 red (2 with seeds) and 4 green (2 with seeds) using a variety of fun patterns. Gingham, polka dot, solids. The thick linen base gave a nice texture while the red and cream plaid for the holder was a nice decor-weight, giving it structure (though I did use interfacing.)

Yay for teachers – and for sisters!

Also, yet another submission for my part of the 2011 Craft Book Challenge!

Love,

MaLora