Sorry I am a few pages behind. We had a super crazy busy week last week so I am just catching up now.
As usual, I get back to a computer and the creativity of you all is astounding.
Thought I would share a kind of nice story if you don't mind. We moved our son and fiance' to Orlando last week. We took a few days to visit my parents (ages 83 & 85) at their active adult community. The ladies had decided on a project and they needed a little assistance from me.
The project was to purchase 10-15 sewing machines and teach young mothers how to sew, either for themselves or as a possible job skill. My job was to refurbish all the machines they had collected. It was fun yet tedious to teach these ladies how to thread the newer machines. They all can sew on a machine (except my Mom). Of course, they had so many brands of machines I hit
Walmart several times to get bobbins, oil, needles! Then took them shopping on Craigslist to see what else they wanted to buy.
One lady donated a machine that belonged to her Mom. I googled it. It was worth way more than she thought. Pristine Singer Featherweight 221 with all the attachments, case and original manuals. They decided not to put that in the project and resell it for the cash.
It was the BEST working vacation I ever took! While I worked on sewing machines, DH made his way around the complex fixing toilets. sinks, putting up shelves, changing oil in cars. We drove back north after 9 days when it was supposed to be a 3 day trip feeling it was time well spent.
This is not solicitation, just thought you all would enjoy hearing about what these ladies are doing for their community. Now they have 10 machines ready to go, a room to put them in and everything is up and running for their launch date of Sept. 2013.
What a nice way to spend a vacation! Thank you for sharing your work. I am sure the ladies appreciated the hard work you and your husband put in. I hope their launch will be successful.
Could all you sewing pros help me out please?
I made some clothes for my 2 kids for our trip and now that we are back I was wondering what's the best way to wash them?
Would it depend on what it is?
Two are dresses made of cotton fabric, one store bought dress with a sewn on minnie patch (made on felt), some easy pull on shorts, a store bought tshirt with a sewn on mickey patch (made on felt), and then finally a store bought tshirt with an iron-on from special printer paper.
Can I do them in the washing machine maybe on gentle or do I have to hand wash everything? Is there a detergent that you would recommend? Is it better to hang them up to dry or lie them flat?
What if there are stains on them? I haven't looked at them closely yet since we just got back but just wondering. The kids wore each outfit a whole day in the park (along with getting rained on) so I wouldn't be surprised if there's something on them.
Also, one of the dresses has a tulle underskirt - anything special I should do for it?
And if I need to hand wash them could you please suggest the best way to do it? I've only hand washed a few things in my lifetime so I'm not sure if there's a right way or a wrong way.
Thanks so much!
Welcome! I would suggest washing them inside out in the washing machine. Modern detergent does a pretty good job at stain removal (even my scent free, dye free detergent), but if it is bad, I will pre-treat with Shout. For the dress with the tulle underskirt, I would probably wash it in a mesh bag in the machine. I hate hand washing anything (both clothes and dishes!), but if you do, use a mild detergent (I use liquid hand soap) and rinse it out well. You can wrap the garment in a towel, roll it up, and press it gently so the towel will absorb the water. I then lay it flat to dry.
Here are a few things I made for our Universal trip:
These were for our Universal day - Sponge Bob and Patrick theme. The yellow shirt is for Curtis and I wore the pink one.
Casey wore the pink tank and her dad wore the yellow shirt
The kids wore these our first day at Islands of Adventure when we went to Harry Potter "land". When I was packing I could not find my son's shirt anywhere. Everyone looked but we could not find it. I ended up making another one the night before we left. Of course, I found it yesterday on the front porch where I took it to take some pictures.
I made these for my daughter as "extras". My son wore his Scooby Doo shirt and Casey wore her Mystery Machine shirt after they got soaked in Curious George's playland. We never found Scooby and Shaggy this day I think because we were in TS Andrea and they were not out.
These are my first "felt" designs and I am planning on taking off the appliques and reusing the shirts since we don't have much of a use for them after our trip.
I made a few Dr. Suess themed items but I have to get some pictures of them.
Curtis wore this shirt to his end of year movie day since he was planning to watch Monsters Inc. I had just purchased this design so I quickly made this shirt for him. One item done for our Oct trip.
I made these outfits for my nieces and nephews. There are two sets of cousins one boy and one girl, live near each other so I wanted to send something for everyone. I just appliqued some beach dresses from Walmart and both of the girls really love them.
These shirts were for the boys. My sister loved the shrimp boat since she calls her son Bubba. She calls it his Bubba Gump shirt but I just thought the design was cute.
I also made this for my daughter but I don't think she is a fan. She doesn't like that you can't tell what the letters are on the pocket. Of course there is no explaining the monogram concept to her.
Looks like you have been busy! I like everything that you made, even though your daughter didn't understand the monogram concept! Hooray for having one item done for your October trip! (Sorry I had to cute Spongebob and his friends out due to the picture limit)
My embroidery machine woes continue to depress me, but I took my kids to the splash park this morning for a few hours and they went down for a LONG nap afterward (I could have easily slept too!) so I finished my Dana Scientific Seamstress sew-along top today. It's pretty much outside my comfort zone fabric/color/style wise, but I am pretty happy with it. I am a t-shirts and not much else sort of person. Sadly I had a LOT of trouble with this, not any of which was the pattern, it was actually quite easy. I did the ruffle over like 6 times, first two times I sewed it to the wrong side... Then I tried to do the ruffle on the serger has I have done with most ruffling recently and it didn't work (though a sample fabric would work so I think it was the tiny ruffle or something.) so I had to cut off the ruffle so many times. The rest was OK, but ran out of bobbin thread about 1.5 inches from the end, the last 25 stitches of the whole thing. But I got through it. And it is done.
The Dana top looks nice. I haven't purchased that pattern yet because I am afraid it will make me look pregnant (espeically after someone at work asked me that question last week!)
Having seen yours, I may give it a try!
According to the rules on page one I see it is mandatory to share all sewing whether or not Disney related.
2.You MUST share pictures of everything (and unfortunately, we do mean EVERYTHING)!
I offer this post in order to comply with all regulations:
Has any one made the uklass dollhouse? I gave it a go yesterday. I went back and forth between making it as directed and modifying it. I went as far as I needed to go to get the general idea of how to make one and quickly discovered it would be too small for my broccoli family, so am done for now.
Just wondering if anyone else has made one. I can see how theyd be fun to make and personalize if you had someone (other than broccoli) to make one for.
The house . . .
Too small for Mr. Broccoli, let alone the rest of the bunch . . .
Open house . . .
You get the idea . . .
Ill eventually make another one.
When I do the preview the pictures are HUGE, but I think I've found out in the past that they shrink. If not, sorry!!!
I like your house Cheryl. Mr. Broccoli looks cute. I think your house may have just given me an inspiration for my lunch bag (yes, I am still using the broken one since I haven't found something that I like yet). If I ever get mine done, Mr. Broccoli and his family can come for a visit (before I put real food in there!)
Hello everyone! I am new-ish to the Dis and new to here. I lurked the Dis for months before joining (you don't have much to contribute when you are there to learn!). Once I felt schooled I joined in. I have been lurking your thread for awhile (which sounds so stalker-ish) and I am amazed and inspired by all the wonderful creations you ladies have made. While I don't know most of you I hope you'll let me hang around and learn the craft. My mil taught me to sew a few years ago and got me a sewing machine. While I'm not great, I have made a few things with her help, which I will post eventually. I'm gearing up for my 2014 wdw trip and I am starting to plan for my kids outfits, 2 dd 4&7 and 1 ds who's 1. It's our first family trip and I tend to go over the top. Eeek!
The reason to finally post is that I was excited today and you were the only ones who I thought would care. I've decided to make pillowcase dresses for our dis trip, but I thought I'd do a trial run with some July 4th ones. While shopping at Jo Ann's, I came across a clearance rack.....and I scored a gorgeous Tiana fabric for $2.50 yard! It made my day! I think I'm going to use some of it make a mixed piece tutu (well 2 of them of course, my oldest loves to match her sister). Since none of my friends really sew and dh could care less, I was busting at the seams to tell someone!! Thanks for letting me share and I look forward to getting to 'know' all of you
Welcome! I look forward to seeing pictures of your projects. Great find on the Tiana fabric! I am sure whatever you make will look great! Just think how cute your girls will look with their matching tutu's!
Finally I get to show you some of my sewing.
First up are the quilts I made Izzy's kindergarten teachers.
And a round neck dress for Izzy.
Must do her 4th of July outfit soon.
Those are very nice quilts! I am sure the teachers really appreciate them! The dress looks great too.
Photobucket and I seem to be getting along now so here are the projects I've worked on this week.
The first is a Hello Kitty sundress, hat and there are pink shorts under the dress.
My grandson's favorite toys are balls so the fabric for this shirt was perfect.
A friend asked me to make a bear for her from a suit that belonged to her father-in-law who died last year.
The dress set and the ball set look super cute! What a nice idea to make your friend a bear from clothing once worn by someone she loves. I am sure she appreciates the effort you put into the project to make such an important keepsake!
My turn for machine woes. My embroidery machine was not tracking properly yesterday and I needed to get Izzy's 4th outfit done. I took the machine in today and of course it worked for the service man. Anyway we scolded me for using spray glue and canned air. I didn't know those were no-no's. He's going to service it and check the tracking with the computer. Sigh. Didn't need more money out of my pocket this month.
Oh no! I hope your machine can be fixed quickly and at minimal cost!
I am SO not going to be able to keep up. Way too busy with this guy:
This is Loki. He was rescued from a shelter in TX along with his 9 brothers and sisters and mom when they were 1 day old, same day they were scheduled to be put down. A wonderful rescue found a brave foster family who raised 10 puppies until they were old enough to travel up north and be adopted (mom now lives happily with the foster family) and I was lucky enough to get this guy for myself. Hes a lab mix..no idea what the mix is of, but he is super smart, and super sweet and I am head over heels for him!
On the sewing front...my mother surprised me with a Brother Pe770..so I have been making tee shirts left and right And I made this dress:
Off to take Loki out to pee and collapse into bed...hopefully will find time to read up on what everyone has been doing!
Loki looks so cute. It is so nice to hear that he will have a loving home. By the way, DH walked by when I was admiring Loki and he said, "nice floor"
Mind you, he installed our hardwood floor so he tends to notice those things! Congrats on getting an embroidery machine. The snail applique looks cute.
Our little family is SO excited for Monsters University, I can't stand it. We are going on Sunday since that is hubby's day off, and I seriously wish I could fast-forward through the week to get there. (Especially since my darling children have decided to reject napping and the days are SOOOOOOOO long without that break.)
Here are the outfits I have been working on this week for my boys for the movie:
They are both the same (to prevent fights.) so the one on the left is the front, the right is the back. I do have enough of the Monsters fabric to make them bowling shirts later on if I find time.
AND...
(One of my sons took this for me, not too bad.)
I made myself another Dana top. I saw this fabric a few weeks ago and it screamed Monsters Inc to me, so I decided I needed a Monsters Inc shirt too. My friend whom I made the bowling shirt for our Disney trip is coming with us to the movie, so I am sure we will be quite the sight!
Thinking my husband NEEDS a Monster shirt, maybe I will do the Mike W face on a Lime Green shirt this week sometime so he doesn't feel left out!
Looks like your family is all ready for the movie! The second Dana top looks good too!
Another round neck for Izzy (she's wearing it over the bathing suit which is why it looks funny)
Matching doll dress.
And the first piece for Disney! Blouse for D!
Looks like you have been busy! Everything looks great!
Quick question... How many of you make these things for a living? I would love to quit my full time job and work from home but I'm not sure if that is just a dream or something I can make a reality.
Disclaimer: I don't sell my creations.
I found most people do not appreciate the time and material cost for custom clothing. Some people think they can buy a custom dress with appliques for $20 which is not even enough to cover the material cost, let alone my time. If I do anything for my friends, I simply tell them the number of hours and the cost of materials I put into it, and ask them to give me a fair price.
I know a number of people here have their own etsy shops so maybe they do better than my past experience.
Of course there is no explaining the monogram concept to her.
Ill eventually make another one.
When I do the preview the pictures are HUGE, but I think I've found out in the past that they shrink. If not, sorry!!!
And I made this dress:
