Sewing

Summer means the beach

June 14, 2012 by froggygirl 1 Comment

At least for a large portion of people anyway! I was testing another design for Studio MCA and I couldn’t get the image of this dress out of my mind so I had to make it happen!

I’ve been working on using up some of my “vintage” stash fabrics (aka…they’ve been in my stash for 2-3 years lol), and the middle fabric in particular was the one that NEEDED to be in this dress. It’s a Michael Miller print from a few years ago. The top fabric is also Michael Miller, it’s called Red Quarter Dot I think. The bottom fabric is Amy Butler “Seeds” from either Belle or Lotus (I can never remember which is which!).

I didn’t use a pattern for this one, I just took a purchased tshirt (another stash I’m trying to work through since I now make myself almost all of the tshirts you see in my shop) and added tiers to it. The little lobster dude just pulled this all together perfectly! Now tell me..are YOU hitting the beach this summer?

Filed Under: Sewing Tagged With: beach, embroidered, lobster, machine embroidery, Sewing, studio mca, summer, tshirt dress, twirl dress

Learning to ruffle on my Brother 1034D Serger

May 17, 2012 by froggygirl Leave a Comment

I’ve been sewing for a few years now, and I’ve tried pretty much every method of making ruffles out there I think! Over time I’ve settled on just doing the ruffles by hand, but recently with ALL of the ruffling I’ve been doing I got a little desperate. A friend of mine asked me why I didn’t use my serger, and really the only reason I could give was that I wanted to have plenty of control. Well, I decided to give it a go, and after some pointers from her (she has a different serger than I do, so some of it was guesswork and trial and error!), I finally figured it out! I decided I’d do a little “lesson” here for ya’ll today, since my serger is definitely one of the more commonly used ones out there. Hopefully this will help someone!

This is my serger. A Brother 1034D. I LOVE this serger. It’s VERY reasonably priced and I definitely make it work for it’s dinner. I had a Singer before, and it tended to hate the bulkier seams that come with ruffles, bias tape, etc. This one goes through them like butter!

This is what my serger settings normally are for a standard seam finishing. I pretty much stick with what they came set at from the factory! For ruffling though, you’ll want to change them to this:

If you can’t tell what changed, the little lever on the far right is pushed all the way to the top, and that middle dial is turned all the way to the right as well. When that is done, and you leave your tension dials set at the regular settings (mine is set at 4 all the way across), you get a ruffle that looks like this:

It’s not gathered very much huh? This is great for some things, but I personally tend to like things a bit more ruffled! So I played around with the settings and found that if I set the tension dials like this:

Then you end up with a ruffle like this:

Much better! I still make some adjustments by hand if something doesn’t gather quite enough but this is saving me SO much time! I hope I’ve explained it well, and that someone gets brave enough to try it themselves now! If you have any questions, please comment and I’ll answer as best as I can!

Filed Under: Sewing, Tutorials Tagged With: brother 1034D, ruffle, ruffling, serger, Sewing, tutorial

Renaming my studio to sweatshop

May 4, 2012 by froggygirl Leave a Comment

I did it again, dropped off the face of the blog. I’m not even going to try and say why, so just…HI! I’m back, kinda…

The last couple of months I’ve taken “off”, to mostly let things flow along and ‘recharge’ a bit. But now I’m heading into massive crazy season that likely won’t let up until Christmas. Awesome, but WOW!

Why so busy you ask? Well, last year I told my husband that THIS year I would be focusing on growing Froggy Girl Designs. That means doing more shows, teaching myself more about marketing so I can be more effective at it (SO hard!), working harder on improving everything about my online presence, getting my items into more brick and mortar stores, and..a biggie-a 3 day sales event with Zulily. This one wasn’t even on my rader AT ALL, but when I got contacted, I said yes! Well, before I said yes, I hyperventilated. Then I had a LONG discussion with hubs and the kids about everything involved. The event won’t be until late August/early September, but every picture you’re seeing in today’s post are items I’m working on for that event! SQUEE!!!

My first show of the season is next weekend, and it’s the Spirit of Women Mommy & Me Expo here in Greensburg (Indiana, not Pennsylvania! LOL!). Then after that I’ll be setting up every Saturday morning from June until the end of September at the Columbus Farmers Market (again, in Indiana lol). Then we’ll be into fall shows WOO-WEE!

And of course, I’ll still be here taking care of anything ya’ll need. I’m going to try and remember to post pictures as I finish new items for the event, and I will definitely keep you posted as the date gets closer. Do you shop at Zulily? What are your favorite things to shop for there?

Filed Under: Sewing Tagged With: new inventory, Sewing, zulily

Wordless Wednesday: Horse Skirt and Shirt

February 7, 2012 by froggygirl Leave a Comment

(Ok, a couple words! I’m SO super proud of this outfit, I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow!)

Filed Under: Sewing Tagged With: bustles, embroidered, embroidery, fabric, horses, michael miller, riley blake, Sewing, short sleeve, skirt, themed, tshirt, Wordless Wednesday

Pattern Review: Practically Perfect Tee by Muse of the Morning

February 6, 2012 by froggygirl 2 Comments

It’s time for me to start talking about some of the patterns I use! I’ve been promising reviews forever and not carrying through..well, now I am! LOL!

First up I want to review the Practically Perfect Tee by Muse of the Morning. Full disclaimer…I was one of the pattern testers on this back before it was released, so any issues I have with it now are my own fault for not catching it then lol. This pattern is pretty close to perfect though honestly. I use it ALL the time, it sews up super quick-about 30 minutes from beginning cutting to finished. This is definitely a more “girly” type of shirt as the fit is more slim than a traditional tshirt.

This is the gathered short sleeve option . As you can see, there is a very thin cuff that runs along the sleeve. I like that feature, but it is a VERY thin cuff so it can be a challenge to get it sewed on evenly. This is probably my favorite option on this pattern, she really makes the poufy sleeve very easy to do. I’ve even morphed the poufy sleeve with the long sleeve to do this:

This pattern also includes options for a cuffed long sleeve (which I have not done), and for a basic short sleeve. For that option, the sleeve is very much like a cap sleeve. I can’t find a picture of the ones I’ve made using that option to show you, but with a rolled hem on it, it turns into such a cute “flutter” sleeve. The neckband piece also tends to be a bit thinner than I like, so I’ve gradually increased the width of my neckband pieces by about 1/4″ and that seems perfect.

This one is an example of the traditional long sleeve. Love the simplicity! This really is a great pattern, and since it goes from size 18 months up to size 8 you can get a TON of use out of it! I’ve even used it to make tshirt dresses for Ree (which I no longer have pictures of since my hard drive crash)! If you do any sewing for girls, this is one I really recommend adding to your pattern arsenal, and at only $6, it won’t break the bank! You can get it here (disclosure: this is an affiliate link, if you buy through this link I think I’ll make a nickel..thank you!)

Filed Under: Sewing Tagged With: girls tshirt, muse of the morning, pattern, pattern review, Sewing

Scrapbustin’ January Day 4: Scrappy Fabric Shoelaces

January 5, 2012 by froggygirl Leave a Comment

OK, I’m so in love with todays project, I can’t help it! This is one of those completely mundane things that is transformed when done in cute fabric!

I pinned this tutorial ages ago, and today I just had to try it! Here’s my first pair:

Keep in mind, these are child length shoelaces in my shoes just to show you what they look like all tied up and everything. I couldn’t find a pair of my kids shoes that lace up and looks decent (seriously, these boys and their shoes!). How cute is that? I’ll be making a longer pair for my shoes for sure! One thing I definitely learned though, is you probably want to make the fabric strips a smidge thinner than they recommend. They say 2″, but I really had a hard time getting them into the tubing, and even lacing them was a pretty tight fit in the shoe holes. Subsequent pairs I’ll probably make 1 3/4″ wide and see how that works.

Are you playing along with busting your own scraps? Show me your projects! Leave a linkie in the comments for me (and everyone else!) to ogle your goodies (wait, that sounds bad..you know what I meant).

Filed Under: Sewing Tagged With: fabric, scrapbustin' january, scrapbusting, scraps, Sewing, shoelaces

Scrapbustin’ January Day 2: Doll Diapers

January 2, 2012 by froggygirl 1 Comment

Today’s project is one I never thought I’d make…doll sized diapers. See, I had 4 sons, then I somehow ended up with a daughter (I mean, I know the mechanics, but I..sheesh people, we’re crafty over here..hush). Anyway, I knew when she started putting diapers on the Transformers that I did actually have a girl on my hands. So I’d been wanting to make these for awhile. I found this template over at Skip To My Lou and went digging through my scrap bins for anything that was big enough to use. Here’s the final product:

There were more, but Ree already absconded with them. The tutorial recommends using flannel, but as you can see, I just used whatever I had. Most of them are knit, with one being made of a microfleece and others made of cotton wovens. All turned out pretty well except the ones made from rib knit. Those stretched like crazy and turned out..not so great. I’ll definitely be making some more of these to go with the Bitty Baby we’re getting Ree for her birthday in a few weeks. Nice and easy, and quick to make up!

Are you playing along with me in busting your scraps this month? Feel free to leave a link in the comments section to your blog posts about it! I’d love even more ideas!

Filed Under: Sewing Tagged With: baby, cloth diapers, doll diapers, dolls, fabric, gift, scrapbustin' january, scraps, Sewing

Scrapbustin’ January Day 1: Tattered Flowers

January 1, 2012 by froggygirl Leave a Comment

Happy New Year everyone! And welcome to Scrapbustin’ January! As I mentioned last week, my goal this month is to work my way through at least SOME of the massive amount of scraps I have living in my sewing room. So here we go, a project a day (Lord willing!) for the whole month!

I call these “kitchen sink nachos” and they’re what’s for dinner tonight. Start with tortilla chips and layer on whatever’s in your fridge-thus the “everything but the kitchen sink” vibe. Tonight we had tortilla chips, a layer of shredded cheese, refried beans, grilled chicken, queso sauce, crumbled bacon, black olives and more cheese. Pop in a 375 oven for about 10 or 15 minutes until everything is all melty, top with whatever you like and go to town! We love these!

Oh wait, that’s not the kind of “scrapbusting” you’re here for? Oh well, crap..ya see, today’s project was a FAIL! It started out with this pin:

Source: Sew4Home via Pinterest

Super cute right? I’m usually not a huge fan of fabric flowers, but I liked these and thought..what the hey let’s give it a go! Well, #1 was a big..flop. I wanted to make smaller ones since I think a big one like that would just swallow the childrens items I make, and here’s what I ended up with:

It’s not horrible, but not great either. Not sure if I’ll revisit this one or not. Good news, see that heart fabric? That’s a sneak peek of the Valentine’s Day set I’m working on. And, tomorrow’s project is shaping up quite a bit better than todays!

Are you joining in with me in busting your scraps? I’d love for you to share your projects with everyone, so link it in the comments section!!! Now, back to my nachos…..

Filed Under: Sewing Tagged With: fabric flower, food, nachos, scrapbusting january, scraps, Sewing, tattered flower

Ree’s Crib Quilt

December 30, 2011 by froggygirl 1 Comment

So, I’ve talked before about how I’m not much of a quilter (although I have made a couple of quilts). One of my mini goals for 2012 is to become more proficient at quilting. I don’t forsee me ever moving away from clothing as my item of choice to sew, but there’s just something about a handmade quilt.

As you can see, I still haven’t ventured from the straight square piecing, but the main difference with this quilt is that I really concentrated on my seams and tried VERY hard to not quilt it like a drunk person.

I didn’t completely succeed on either front, but overall I’m really pleased with the result, and Ree loves her “bwanktet”. Now, the funny part is, this started out in my head as a rug for my kitchen (inspired by one I saw on a blog somewhere..I pinned the post, can’t find it now lol). My math was obviously very wrong as this turned out to be a perfect crib size.

The front is pieced simply from my charm square bin (yes, I have a whole bin of 5″ squares, don’t you? LOL!). The back is a print Ree chose that is a soft lavendar calico. The binding is an old stripe from the Freshcut collection I believe.

Next time, I’m going to challenge myself beyond squares! How about you? Any personal challenges you’ve set for the new year?

Filed Under: Sewing Tagged With: baby, charm squares, crib, handmade, quilt, scrappy, scraps, Sewing

Personalized Initial Ornaments

December 29, 2011 by froggygirl Leave a Comment

Still playing catch up on Christmas projects and things, but this should be the last one for this year! I didn’t finish these up until Christmas Eve that’s why I didn’t post them earlier. I got the idea for free hanging machine embroidered ornaments, one for each kiddo. I took a fabric that they each had mentioned liking at one point or another, then I used the initial of their first name and as you can see, included the date as well.

These were also kind of a trial run as to how to get the best result since I think these will be an offering in the shop next fall (see, planning early!! LOL!). Wyatt’s was the one I did first and I didn’t add anything but the fabric and ribbon, turned out way too flimsy. The rest I added a layer of felt between the fabrics and they turned out wonderfully!

As you can see, I didn’t even manage to get all the stabilizer off of these before they got tied to stockings. That’s how close I was cutting it. The kids thought they were awesome though, they love having their initial on anything. Kids are so funny.

How about your Christmas projects? Were you done early? Or burning the midnight oil like I was?

Filed Under: Family, Sewing Tagged With: Christmas, custom, dated, embroidery, gifts, initials, kids, machine embroidered, ornaments, personalized, Sewing