Friday, March 20, 2009

Spica Skirts & Swap Purses

There's so much going on I don't know where to start...

I've been doing a lot of sewing. I'm so thankful if Kaitlyn must be in a body cast (aka, spica cast) she can wear skirts. I've made her four skirts and a t-shirt dress since her first surgery. Yesterday I completed a bandanna skirt that turned out really cute. I had purchased her a black and hot pink pirate shirt in Galveston that needed a skirt. A bandanna skirt with the points down seemed like a good complement.If you look close in this picture you can see I made the waistband out of bandanna remnants. This skirt was really easy. I love the results.

Here's Kaitlyn riding her tricycle with her new skirt. What? You've never seen a pirate wear a sun hat? Of course they do. Hehehe... I would just like to point out Kaitlyn isn't fat she is still wearing her spica cast.

Because I make her skirts and pants often enough, I knew her pre-surgery waist was 19" and her spica cast waist is 23". I'm amazed the big cast only added 4" to her waist.

This is my trial Charming Handbag that we are doing for the Bend-The-Rules Sewing swap. I'm so glad I tried the pattern out before trying to make the actual swap purse. The seam ripper came in handy on a few places of this purse. I used fusible fleece to give it structure, but ended up having to pull it off the fabric and allow it to "stand" alone. If you try fleece as a stuffer I suggest overlapping the seams 1/4" and using a zigzag stitch. For some reason the pattern doesn't say how long to make the handle. Yes, they show a demo of the finished product, but that doesn't tell me inches. It also didn't say how wide or long to make the casing for the handle. What I did like was my own handle sewing technique. The pattern says to finish the ends of the handle as well as sewing down the side; loop it through the handle casings on both sides and sew the loop together. I was then supposed to turn the handle so the ugly part was hidden in the casing. Instead I folded and ironed the handle, slipped it completely unsewn through both casings, unfolded the ends enough to sew the two together 1/4" from the edge. I then refolded the handle and sewed it completely around as one big loop. Sure that meant me working the handle through the casings, but the end result was great!!! I didn't have an ugly, bulky seam. =) I plan on doing the swap purse handle the same way.

2 comments:

Hilary said...

1st Kaitlyn skirt is ADORABLE I love it!!!! If I lived by you I would ake you make me and Lanta one and your purse well my dear that is too cute..is it hard to be as talented as you are?! hehe!! If it does involve glue or staples I'm so clue-less!! Such cute stuff!! :)

erika~ the inspired mama said...

hi! i found your blog through the bend the rules sewing swap blog. your charming handbag is adorable! the measurements for the handles and casings can be found in the errata over at the flickr group :)

the reason i decided to leave a comment here is because i have been reading your posts about your daughter's hip. i was born with congenital dysplasia of the hip as well. i did not have surgery until i was 12 but i did wear a cast similar to the cast your daughter has when i was a baby- except mine was plaster! ugh, can you imagine!! i bet the treatment for such conditions has improved 10 fold since i was born!

your daughter is just precious- take care!

xo,
erika