Thursday, January 31, 2013

Friday, January 25, 2013

Those pesky facings!

One of my pet peeves as a seamstress and as a wearer of clothes is facings.  Facings that creep out of necklines, from around arms, from down the front of clothes.  Clothes that you pay $$$ for! 

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This little girls jumper is a prime example…when it was hanging in the store I noticed the facing stick out the neck!  I told you it was a pet peeve!

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Here’s another top with a facing askew!

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This cotton top of mine was a constant struggle to keep the facing in…so much that I hated to wear it!  I loved the color but not that dang facing.  So what can you do about it??

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Enter, this product…Heat N Bond fusible tape (it comes in several brand names, widths and I think it even comes in black).  You can find it at Hobby Lobby, Wal Mart, JoAnns, even Michaels.  It basically fuses two pieces together. 

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Just tear off a piece of the fusible and slide it between the layers you want to stay together.  It tears easily and works with just about every kind of fabric thickness and content.  Worked beautifully on this denim.

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Iron that baby flat and hold it for the amount of time the package calls for.  Sometimes I don’t really read the directions, actually, come to think of it, I never read the directions!

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Worked great on this cotton knit top, I fixed it about 6 months ago and have worn it a lot.  The stuff stays put through many washings. 

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I found this cute pink corduroy jacket at Salvation Army and it fits really well and it a great color, $5!  But that front facing flapping down both sides had to go! 

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I stuck my strip of Heat N Bond down the front and ironed it on.  I was afraid to iron the front side of the jacket because it was corduroy.  So anyway, it worked perfectly.  And looks so much more professional…

 

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Here’s the girls jumper and the next picture is a pretty all wool jacket that had flapping facing all down the front, I was constantly tucking it back where it belonged!  Now it is very easy to wear because it stays put! 

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I might be linking to these great parties! 

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Tea table for the office

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Here’s a peek at the finished product! 

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This lovely step stool is what I was using before for my Sunbeam Hot Pot….the office provides coffee in unlimited quantities but I don’t drink coffee.  I do love me a cup of hot tea though!  Who knew they even made the Hot Pot any more?  I used one of these in my dorm room in the 1970s!   Anyway, this situation worked, but was a bit unhandy!

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I found this little one drawer table at a thrift store called Love, Inc.  It’s a great little store and they provide a lot of furniture and kitchen things for immigrants and displaced families. I only paid $10 for it! It was a January day in the 60s so I hauled out the spray paint and my drop cloth (some folks may call them tarps, but that doesn’t sound as good to me!). 

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I primed it with some leftover Krylon primer and then used Krylon Ocean Splash on it.  Love that color.  It was looking pretty plain by that time. 

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Hmmm, what to do…

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I tried to fall in love with it this way…just couldn’t do it, so I painted a greenish blue stripe on the top of it…

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Cute huh?  Hard to see the stripes though…

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So here it is in the office…hides a couple of ugly computer/fax hook up outlets so that is a plus.  But best of all it holds my Hot Pot and my teas and Splenda, and a few other goodies!

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I also painted the drawer the same color as the stripes on top which is a custom mixed color (by moi of course!).

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I distressed a bit around the edges and on the legs, mostly to cover up some painting flaws (there, I said it!) and I love it like that!

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I am linking to these great parties!

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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Random Ramblings

I went to Hobby Lobby this evening to pick up some fabric for some binding for a quilt…I found this burlap chevron and striped printed ribbon…

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And these burlap flowers…

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And they had printed burlap by the yard, some with Paris theme prints.  All so cute, one was a coffee print!  I could think of so much to do with them, but I am trying to do some stash busting!  I took a big stack of dog blankets I sewed up for the Humane Society dogs to their office today.  That left a small space on my closet shelf and I figure it helps out a dog or cat or two as well!

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Love this wall hanging at HL as well.

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And these crazy Dr. Seuss-ish flowers.  Just fuzz balls on a stem!

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The sunset last evening was so beautiful!

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I sewed all day Monday…also worked a bit on organizing my craft room.  I got the ribbon organizers for Christmas and hung one on the wall and placed one on the shelf beside my sewing table.

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Milo sat and watched me while I sewed…he wanted me to play with him!

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Speaking of Milo, he has a new girlfriend…she just moved in across the street and they are innnnn love!

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They run around and wear each other out, they are both puppies so they are both clumsy and so fun to watch!

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They truly have tons of energy!

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I updated some of my etsy listings for the Mizzou badge reels.  That was long overdue!

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Working on making over this little table for my office…it turned out really cute!

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Did a bunch of sewing…made this pouch for diapers/wipes for my niece…you can read more about that here. 100_6913

And I made a protective padded case for my new laptop! 

And I also bound two quilts that had been waiting for me for months!  That’s about it…hope you are having a great week!

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