Exciting things!

So as I mentioned before, one of the prizes of the Candy Castle Sewalong was a spot as a tester for her next pattern, the awesome Triple Layered Cake Tunic.  Testing just finished so I'm finally allowed to post pictures!

 

This was my very first time being a tester EVER, and I lucked out on not only an amazing designer, but an amazing pattern as well.  As soon as I saw a picture of the pattern I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  It screamed "ombre!"  Choosing the color was a bit more involved, I wasn't expecting to have such a hard time finding 5 shades of the same color, but finally managed to find 5 shades of blue that looked fabulous together.  

  

I've got so many more ideas for it swimming in my head, I'll definitely be making more of them.  Unfortunately the pattern won't be released for another month or so, when they release the rest of the Fall line.  You can expect more from me about this pattern as the release draws closer though. :)  You can also stay up to date on the progress of the Fall Line and get in on the many awesome contests and games that Candy Castle Patterns offers by joining the CCP Facebook group.

In other exciting news, I also managed to score a position as a tester for Fishsticks Designs which I am incredibly excited about.  I've been trying to break into the tester world for months with zero luck, then suddenly I manage to get in not just once, but twice!  

That about covers everything exciting going on here, so I shall leave you with more pictures of the unbearable cuteness that is my daughter in her Blueberry Creme Triple Layered Cake Tunic. 

Candy Castle Sewalong Conclusion!

 Bah!  I meant to post this a week ago, but apparently I haven't yet mastered the schedule feature of Blogger.  *sigh* I suppose late is better than never.  Sorry for the delay.


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I apologize for the amount of time between this post and the last one. I had intended to post pictures of the dress as soon as I finished, but then the very day after, I dislocated my finger.  I don't even have an awesome story about how I did it, like fighting a ninja or getting caught in a stampede of unicorns.  I tripped over a curb.  Or my own feet, I'm not really sure.  All I know is one minute I was walking and the next I was falling. I thought for sure my finger was broken, but after a 4 hour wait in Urgent Care found out it was only dislocated.  It's all sorts of pretty shades of purple, and still pretty sore, so please forgive any typos.

Anyways, here's my finished dress. 

My girl had so much fun with our little "photo shoot".  She had so many ideas about what she wanted to do.  All I heard was "Mommy, how about one with my backpack, and now one of me twirling.  Can I hold the pencil like this?  Now of me sitting down."  It was fun to see her so excited about it. In the one on the right I had written " I (heart) Candy Castle Patterns!" and below it a math problem for her to do, and then she wrote "I luv my new dress".

If you didn't guess from the sneak peek I posted last time, my "special detail" was a pencil applique. (Tutorial in the works!) I really love how the applique turned out.  While in the process of making it I wasn't sure how it would turn out and how it would actually look on the dress, but when I finally put the two together I was thrilled.

Turns out I wasn't the only one thrilled with it though, because I was chosen as the winner! I was so unbelievably shocked to wake up and see that I won.  There were SO MANY beautiful dresses, each one was really a work of art.  Looking through them all I was in awe, I thought no way did I even have a chance of winning.  I'm so excited though, not only do I get two free patterns, but I get to be a pattern tester for her next design which I got to see today.  I already have an idea in my head of what I want to do with it, so I'm anxious to get started.

As hokey as it sounds though, I really think the best prize of the sew along was the experience.  It was so much more fun than I thought it would be, working along with so many wonderfully creative women and seeing how each one brought their own spin to it.  I can't wait for the next one, I might be a sewalong addict now!

Almost finished!

Woohoo!  We are heading into the final stretch of the sew along!  Tomorrow is the last day for skirt construction, and then we move on to the finishing touches.  It's been really hard to make myself follow the schedule and not skip ahead, but I've done it. I am so anxious to move on to the next step though, delayed gratification is not my strong suit. I'm one to stay up til 2:30 in the morning to finish a project rather than put it down and go back to it in the morning.

I'm really pleased with the way the piping turned out.  I like the separation it gives the bodice and the skirt.  I also added a little band of yellow at the bottom between the letters and the red. True to form though the cautious side kicked into my crafting. The decision making process about adding it was extensive.  I wasn't sure if I should keep it just the simple red or add the yellow pop. Then it was deciding which yellow to use. Then second guessing myself. 

At this point I'm still unsure about the dress overall.  I think a large part of that though is still that it's unfinished.  I have a really hard time seeing the end product when I'm in the process of creating it. And that I haven't seen it on my girl yet.  I guess we'll see in a couple days though!

Retro Cherry Dress

Hello everybody!  Not a whole lot to report on the sew along, tonight is the last night for bodice construction part two.  For the most part it looks the same as it did when I posted a few days ago so I'm not including a picture.  We move onto skirt construction tomorrow, I'm pretty excited!

I do have a recent project to share though. I mentioned in my post about making a circle skirt that there were a few patterns I wanted to modify to use a circle skirt. The Anna's Sweetheart Halter Top by Create Kid's Couture is one of them. Make sure to check out their shop, they've got a ton of adorable patterns.

Here is the original Anna.

This is a stock photo that is property of CKC.  I did not sew the item pictured. 

It is an awesome pattern as is.  A quick sew that even beginners could do, with a beautiful end product. I made one following the original pattern and loved how it came out, but it appears I forgot to get a picture.

Anyways, here is my modified version.

 I substituted a circle skirt for the gathered skirt, added piping to the bodice, and left off the ruffle.  I originally intended to include the ruffle, but with the large circumference of the circle skirt I realized it would have taken over 300 inches of fabric.  That's a lot of fabric to gather.

I think it turned out pretty cute even without the ruffle.  I love the slight retro look it has.

She loves the twirl factor.

Did you know that if you have your photos auto-upload to Google+ it will take pictures taken in quick sucession and turn them into a GIF?  I didn't!  At least not until I logged in after the mini photo shoot and found this.

She's laughing because she farted.  True story.

I've got another one of these planned, and will take pictures so I can do a tutorial for anybody who might be interested.

Before I sign off for the night, here's a hint about the other detail I'm adding to the Bubblegum Dress.

Any guesses?

Sew Along Progress

The Candy Castle Patterns sew along is progressing nicely!  We've moved on from the prep to the actual sewing which is exciting.

Here's what I've got so far. I'm adding a piping detail along the bodice.  When I sewed my first one up the other week before starting the sew along one I felt like it needed something more, a little pop.  I'm hoping this does the trick. This is my first time working with piping so we'll see how it turns out, I'm a little nervous.

Nervous about more than just the piping, honestly.  For some reason what I've got so far doesn't seem to match up with what I'm envisioning. I was so excited about my fabric in the beginning, then I saw all the absolutely gorgeous fabric combos the other ladies had and I developed fabric insecurity. And now with it partially sewn up I'm still unsure.

I'm sticking with it though.  I'm determined to see it through.  I'm hoping right now it's just because of how unfinished it looks.  We move on to part two of constructing the bodice tomorrow, so I'll be back to let you know.  I do have another special detail planned, but I'm keeping that one a surprise til the end, you'll have to come back to find out!

Sew-along with Candy Castle Patterns!

One of the things I love about PDF sewing patterns is the community that comes with them.  Many designers have their own sewing groups that fans can be a part of and ask questions, chit chat with the designer, test new patterns, and a myriad of other things.

I'm participating in a sew-along with one of those groups right now, Candy Castle Patterns. The sew-along is being led by the designer herself. She is showing us how to take the already super versatile Bubblegum Dress...

Check out how many different ways this dress can be made! Photo property of Candy Castle Patterns.

 and turn it into this...

Photo property of Candy Castle Creations

In case you aren't familiar with how sew-alongs work, the person leading the sew-along sets a schedule, and you sew the project following the schedule.  It is a lot of fun to see the creative choices everybody makes and what their take on the pattern is. 

Right now we're on step 2 of the sew along, step one was to purchase the pattern and fabric. Step 2 is wash and iron, and prepare the pattern pieces.

This is the fabric I'm using for mine

I love this print so much.  I scooped up 3 yards so I would have plenty to make several outfits.  It has been so much fun to see the fabric combinations the other ladies in the sew along have chosen.  I can't wait to see all the finished projects.

Now, I didn't want the sew-along to be my first go at this pattern, so I whipped up a version following the original pattern.

Get a load of those sandal tan lines!

The hardest part now is making myself wait and follow the sew-along schedule instead of going ahead and making the dress.  I will be back to share more as we progress in the sew-along. If you haven't already, I strongly suggest checking out Candy Castle Patterns, she's on Etsy and Facebook!

Circle Skirt Tutorial

Remember when I warned you that I wasn't going to be able to post as regularly as I'd like?  And when I warned you that my pictures aren't always going to be stellar?  This post exemplifies both those things.  Well, actually I suppose the amount of time elapsed between this post and the last post exemplifies the irregular posting.

Anyways, this post is going to be mostly copied over from my old blog, The Chronicles of Mercy's Mom.  This was part of a tutorial on making a twirly top, but the pictures got all messed up.  I'll move the full tutorial over eventually, but for now this is just the part on making a circle skirt.

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First you need the measurement of where your skirt will be worn at. If you are attaching the skirt to the bodice of a top, measure the length of the bodice.  If you are making a skirt, measure around the waist. 

This one was made to be attached to a shirt bodice, so the measurement was 20".  Divide your measurement by 3.14. (20/3.14=6.37).  Divide the answer by 2. (6.37/2=3.18). I rounded down to 3". This is the measurement for the radius of your inner circle. 

To get the second measurement needed you first need to determine the length you want the skirt to be.  Mine is 9". Add the radius of the first circle to this number, (9+3=12).  This is the radius of the outer circle.

Take your fabric and lay it out, folded in half.  Make a compass using your measuring tape, a pin, and a marker.  Use this to draw a half circle. You want the flat part of the half-circle along the fold. 

 (Ignore that inner circle, I forgot to take a picture while I actually did this part, I had to go back and reenact it.)

Now do the same for the smaller circle.  Make sure you pin it in the same place so the inner circle is centered.  I usually make a little dot where the pin was so I know it's in the same place.

Now that you have your two half circles drawn, cut along each line.  After you've finished cutting, unfold the piece you just cut.  You should have this-

 

You've got a circle skirt!  Now all that's left to do is attach it to a waistband if you're doing a skirt, or the bodice if you're making a top. 

I love circle skirts.  I love the way they drape whether it's as a skirt or top.  I love how perfect for twirling they are. 

One of the things I love most about them is that it's a great way to change up a pattern for a different look.  If the pattern calls for a gathered skirt it's pretty easy to sub in a circle skirt instead, just measure the bodice where you'd attach the gathered skirt and use that measurement when calculating your inner circle. 

Remember the Delaney I showed you a couple days ago?  This is the same pattern, only I did a circle skirt instead of a gathered one. 

And did I mention circle skirts are perfect for twirling?

I have at least two patterns that I've sewn in the last week that I'm itching to try with a circle skirt.  I'll make sure report back when I do.  

For now though, I'd love to hear what you're going to attach a circle skirt to!