SOM Costumes - Sailor Suits!

"Do a deer, a female deer . . ."

What is more iconic than the Von Trapp children in their sailor uniforms?  This particular costume was pretty easy (and inexpensive).  First, the boys needed navy blue docker pants - very easy to find at Goodwill.  Likewise the girls needed navy blue school uniform skirts.  The high school girls at our school wear the uniform I wanted to use, so I only had to find some Goodwill versions for the younger girls - not too hard.  Pair that with white knee high socks and black shoes and the only thing left was the shirt.  The sailor shirt makes the outfit.  To make these shirts you need a white long sleeve crew neck t-shirt, about 1/2 yard of navy blue poplin or cotton fabric, about 1.5 yards of white satin ribbon 1/2" width and a package of white Velcro.

First, cut off the neck and sleeve cuffs. Turn the raw edges on the neckline under and sew so you have a finished edge on the neckline. (The second picture is before I turned the raw edges under.)

  

To make the sailor collar, start by measuring the shoulder width on the back of the t-shirt.  Then in the front, measure the center point of the neck opening diagonal to the shoulder seam.  Cut your navy fabric with the dimensions of shoulder width x diagonal measurement + 8".  For example, one of my shoulder widths was 16" and the measurement from the center of the front neckline to the shoulder was 8".  The result is a rectangle 16" x 16" (because I added 8" for the back).  Next you are going to cut out a neckline, using your t-shirt as the pattern on the navy fabric.  You also need to cut the curve of the neckline in the front.  When you're done, it looks like this:

To make your collar, cut two pieces of navy fabric in this shape and then sew them together, right sides facing, leaving a small opening on the collar so you can turn it inside out.

After you turn it inside out and close the opening by hand stitch, you can sew your ribbon about 1/2" from the edge and then another 1/2" inside of that.  Notice how the ribbons will overlap as you get to the front of the collar.  Use a lot of pins to keep it straight while you are sewing, and for a finished look, use navy blue thread in your bobbin so the white thread outline of the ribbons doesn't show on the wrong side of the finished collar.  Pin the collar on the neckline and sew. 

 To make the cuffs, cut the navy blue fabric into 2 rectangles, 2.5" x 10" (for each cuff).  Sew the two rectangles together, right sides facing, leaving a small opening to turn it inside out.  Using two pieces of fabric this way gives more body to the cuffs and makes the seams invisible.  

Apply two satin ribbons, turning them under the wrong sides on the ends so you don't see any fraying.

Now cut a small square from the Velcro (you will have one "loop" piece and one "hook" piece).  Sew the loop piece (it's the soft part of Velcro) to one end of the cuff on the right side, and the hook piece (it's the rough part of Velcro) on the other end of the cuff on the wrong side.  Looking at the right side of your cuff should now look like this:

The reason you are using Velcro instead of just sewing the closed cuff onto the t-shirt is because the t-shirt is made from a stretchy polyester and your cuff will not stretch.  Lay the cuff onto the sleeve and sew along the top edge so the entire cuff is over the sleeve.  Don't be surprised if the length of the cuff doesn't go all the way around the sleeve.  It will look fine.

If you need more help making the sailor collars, don't forget to check out my Pinterest SOM Costume Board where I found inspiration for all of my costumes (and detailed instructions as well).

cindy

SOM Costumes - Nightgowns and Pajamas

"One little girl in a pale pink coat . . ."

I know I posted in January that I would be making costumes for Sound of Music and I thought I would be able to post as I made the costumes through the Spring.  Uh, not possible.  So now I can go back after the production is over and go through the various costumes I made.

In the musical, the Von Trapp children gather in Maria's bedroom during a thunderstorm to sing "The Lonely Goatherd."

These were the first costumes I made because they were the easiest.  Bright colored cotton nightgowns in the same pattern from Simplicity:

This was a great opportunity to clear some of my cotton stash and the rest I found at my favorite discount fabric store in Phoenix - SAS Fabrics.  Because I already had the pattern and some of the fabric, I was able to make all 7 Von Trapp kids nightclothes for about $4.00 per costume!

The boys' pajamas were even more interesting because I was able to find plaid cotton pajamas in men's sizes at Goodwill on half-price Saturday (about $3.00 each).  It's almost easier to choose pajamas that are several sizes too big because cutting them down is not a precise endeavor.  I took measurements at the chest, waist and hips, as well as the rise (waist to crotch).  Then the cutting began.  You want to keep the stuff that is hard to reproduce - collar, lapels and buttons, sleeves and sometimes the waistband (although I didn't use the waistband on either set I altered).  

First I cut off the sleeves right above the seam.

Then I cut a few inches on each side of the torso from the side seams.  Don't bother to open the seams when you are cutting this much, just cut the whole seam off (with an inch or two on the front and back) and then resew a new seam on each side.

For the pants, I had to convert them from an adult large to a boy's large.  That required cutting off the waistband (because of the size of the waist and the rise between the waist and crotch being too large); cutting some of the width of the legs and cutting length from the bottom.

I turned the pants inside out and then folded them so the crotch was on one side and the side seams were opposite.  Then I was able to cut just an inch or two from both legs (make sure you need to cut that much!).  I needed to cut off the waistband, but had to leave enough length above the crotch to create a new casing for a new elastic waistband.

Once I finished with the other parts of the pants, I cut off the length to fit.  And that's it!

This project was perfect for me because the combination of creating something new and upcycling is very satisfying.  This was a great start to the other costumes too because I started with the easiest Von Trapp costume.  Only 4 more sets to go!

cindy

The Hills Are Alive - With Some Costume Making!

Welcome to 2019!  I'm excited to tell you about my first adventure in sewing this year - making costumes for The Sound of Music for Ville de Marie's first musical!  Yeah!  My husband agreed to direct and I jumped on the opportunity to be the costume mistress.  I'm familiar with the show, but after reading the script, I was a little intimidated with the number of costumes and how costume-driven the plot is in this show!  So, with a minimal (no) budget, I'm challenged to make/buy costumes for a full musical!

The show isn't until May, so you will see a number of posts about the various costumes I have to make.  I work full time outside of the home, so I will be mostly a weekend warrior!  (I'm sure I will have some help on some things, so don't worry - I'll survive.)  The difficulty with The Sound of Music is that the 7 Von Trapp children need several matching sets of costumes.  Combined with 5 nuns in full habit and that makes for a lot of fabric.  I started with my own Pinterest board "Sound of Music" where I have collected and categorized the various costume ideas I could find (and there were many!).  Feel free to peruse for ideas and follow me on Pinterest!

In addition to some full costume construction from fabric, I'm hoping to upcycle and adapt some inexpensive new clothing items.  I'm excited about this challenge - stay tuned to see the updates.

cindy

Sew Practical: Quilted Water Bottle Carrier

Knowing how to sew means you can create those little items you can use everyday out of fabric you like and in sizes that work best for you.  Here is another one of those little items that I learned to make and now I can whip one up in a half hour or so (which is great if you lose water bottles like I do).  This same idea can work with a lot of sizes of bottles and have shorter straps for kids.  This bottle carrier will hold many standard size manufactured bottles, but if you want one to fit a specific bottle, you can alter the pattern by using the circumference of the bottom of the bottle and its height as a guide.  Here is the pattern I used to make mine.  I borrowed heavily from this pattern from ilovefabric.com.

You need:

2 pieces of fabric 12" x 10.5" (I use home decorating fabric.)

1 piece of batting 10.5" x 9.5"

2 fabric circles 4" in diameter

1 batting circle 3" in diameter

1 strip of fabric 3.5" x 50" for adult size strap (Use 42" long for child)

The 2 main pieces of fabric can be the same design or if you want to have a coordinating fabric as a liner, you can use 2 different fabric designs (which is what I did on this bottle carrier). 

As a cheat, you can use a roll of duct tape or other circle to get that circle pattern. 

You can use twill tape or heavy ribbon for the strap.  I chose to use the coordinating fabric because I think the straps hold up better.  If your strap fabric isn't 50" long, don't worry - here's how to piece strips.  Take two pieces of fabric and lay them perpendicular with right sides together.  Sew a line diagonal across the area where the pieces intersect and then cut the selvage.

Taking your new 50" strip, sew the ends under and then fold the long side in half, right sides of fabric facing each other.  Sew a seam with a 1/4" seam allowance from end to end, leaving the ends open on either end of the strap. 

Using a safety pin attached to one end of the strap as a guide, turn the inside of the strap out so the right side of the fabric is showing.  Iron the seam.  At this point you can topstitch the lengths of the strap if you wish.  That gives the strap a flat look.

Next, lay the 2 main fabric pieces, right sides together and sew a 5/8" seam along the top (one of the 12" sides).  Iron the seam open.  (This would have been an ideal place to sew the strap onto the main fabric by placing either end of the strap between the outer and lining fabrics with about 1-2" of strap sticking out when you put the outer and lining fabrics right sides together.  The ends of the straps should be about 2" from either side of the fabrics.  You would then sew the ends of the straps to the wrong side of the liner fabric.  I didn't so it that way, so I'll continue with instructions for the straps sewn on top of the liner fabric.)

Pin the batting to the wrong side of the outer fabric.  This will hold it temporarily as you get started on quilting.  If you didn't already sew the straps onto the fabric, sew them onto the right side of the lining fabric, about 1-2" from the edges.  Be sure you are only sewing onto the lining fabric so the seams don't show through on the outer fabric.

Fold the lining fabric over the batting so the right side of the liner fabric is showing.  Topstitch along the top, right next to the seam you sewed to join the outer and inner fabrics.

Starting at the topstitch line, sew straight lines (about 1.5" apart) to the open bottom so the batting is evenly quilted.  Don't worry if you are sewing over the portions of the strap that are already sewn on.  I wish I knew the name of the tool, but see the metal doohickey in the picture to the right of the presser foot?  It has a bar that attaches to the machine and acts as a guide for sewing straight lines equidistant from each other.  You can also draw lines using a fabric marking pen (ink disappears).  Once you finish, if your batting is sticking out at the bottom, trim it back and sew the bottom closed. (Don't worry that the wrong sides are together and the seam shows.)

Take the circle pieces, right sides together, and sew around the circumference, leaving a 2" opening.  Turn inside out:

Gently insert the circle batting into the opening.  Hand sew the opening closed and then sew the circle with seams like a pie - 4 seams in all.

Take the main bottle piece and fold it in half WRONG sides together.  You will use a French seam to make the circular shape, and that is a two-step process.  First sew a narrow (1/4") seam along the raw edges to join the sides.

Now turn the tube inside out and sew another seam on the same edge, this time using a 5/8" seam allowance.  That will have the effect of "capturing" the first seam in a way that looks really clean.

Now you're ready for the hardest part - sewing the circular bottom on the open end of the tube.  Carefully pin the circle onto the bottom of the inside-out tube (striped side in the pictures).  Slowly sew it onto the bottom of the tube.  You can also hand sew it on if that is easier for you.

This is what it looks like when it's done.  It's not pretty, but it's the inside of the bottle carrier.

Turn your bottle carrier inside out and you're done!

cindy

Upcycling Goodwill Challenge - Pillows!

I have been in a serious pillow-making mood lately.  I have a pillow obsession going on my Pinterest page - check it out.  While I don't sell pillows or pillow covers in my Etsy store, Pretty Pretty Cindy, I might someday.  I am starting to sell on Sundays on my Instagram Pretty Pretty Cindy account, so follow me there.  In the meantime, I need some pillows at my house!

I have been working on our master bedroom for a while and wanted to work in some pillows on our blue/green-gray bedding.  The bedding set came with two European shams, but I wanted throw pillows for color too.  But have you seen the prices of home decorating fabric, and worse yet, pillow forms? My pillow fetish could easily break the bank.  Goodwill to the rescue!

Last month I visited our local Goodwill store on a half-price Saturday.  For only $22, I brought home the following stash:

2 26x26" European pillows

2 18x18" pillows

2 14" round pillows

2 large pieces of fabric

Large scarf (it's that pink silk in the corner)

Minky baby blanket (not shown)

Obviously I bought the pillows for the forms, but not everyone is comfortable buying used pillows.  I pick pretty carefully.  Once you get them home and remove the fabric covers, you can always spray them with a diluted bleach solution and put them in the sun.  I was lucky these pillows (while ugly) were very clean.  I think the two pieces of fabric were originally a table cloth and maybe some curtains.  By looking in slightly different places for fabric and pillow forms, I was able to engage my pillow obsession without breaking the bank!  Here's the result:

For the two big pillows in the back I used the forms from the Goodwill pillows and the shams that came with the bedding.  Buying ONE pillow form alone in a 26x26" size could cost more than $22.  I made the pillow covers on the other four pillows.  Two of the pillows came from forms I bought at Goodwill and the fabric mostly came from Goodwill.  I didn't buy any new fabric or trim for these pillows.  Isn't that awesome?  These are also all "envelope" style pillow covers, so I can remove them to dry clean or just change for a different design.  

I'll post how I made these pillows, but I will admit that I shamelessly copied designs I found on Pinterest.  

The best part - this isn't even using the whole Goodwill haul!  I still have other pillows and was able to recycle some of fabric from the Goodwill pillow covers.  Upcycle!

More pillows to come.

cindy

Sew Practical: Drawstring Backpack

This pattern can now be found in my Etsy store, Pretty Home Threads.  Just click Drawstring Bag Sewing Pattern to go directly to the post.

Be sure to check out all kinds of items for home and baby at Pretty Home Threads on Etsy!  Thanks for your support of small handmade businesses!

Sew Practical - Essential Oil Sachets

Did you know I sell Scentsy products?  I have my own website at www.straddlingthegap.scentsy.us so you can order for delivery to your house anywhere - no need to have a local party.  If you are a Scentsy user without a local consultant, it's a great option. Anyway, I'm always looking for ways to extend good smells wherever I am, including places where melted wax and electrical outlets might not be practical.  Today I'm combining my favorite smells through Scentsy with a little practical sewing to make sachets scented with Scentsy essential oils.  Oh, you didn't know Scentsy sells oils and diffusers?  Get over to my Scentsy website and check it out!

These sachets are so easy to make.  You just need some scrap fabric, a bit of ribbon, uncooked rice, scented oil and a plastic bag or bowl to mix.  I used Scentsy Lavender Orange Blossom.  Mix about 1 cup of rice to 6-8 drops of oil.

   

To make the heart sachets, you just need two pieces of cotton fabric about 3" x 5".  My hearts are the same fabric on both sides, but you can use different fabrics.  Because you will be cutting these without a pattern, it also doesn't matter the exact size.  Fold each piece of fabric in half with the right side showing.

 

Slide one of the pieces inside the other, and using pinking shears, start from the bottom left (folded) side and cut to the right on a diagonal until you get near the top right and then curve back around to make the middle of the heart.  When you finish and pull the fabric pieces apart, it will look like this.  Unfold to reveal two identical hearts.

Every heart looks a little different (which is why you cut two pieces simultaneously) and you can practice with paper to get it just the way you want.  Using the pinking shears gets you that jagged edge look, but if you don't have any, just use regular scissors and you will have ragged edges.  Place the hearts on top of each other, wrong sides together, and cut a piece of ribbon about 14".  There is nothing special about this length, other than if you want to hang one of these from your car mirror, you will need that length or more.  You also don't need a ribbon if you don't want to hang the sachet.  Pin the ends of the ribbon inside the heart.

Now you're ready to sew.  You will be sewing on the right side and need to leave a hole to fill the heart.  I've found it easiest to begin sewing from the left top corner, so when you come around and leave the top of the left "hump," it's easy to open and fill.

As you come down to the center where your ribbon is pinned, go about 3 stitches past the center and stop.

Backstitch 3 stitches to the center again, lift the presser foot and pivot the heart so your presser foot will be facing the upper right portion of the heart.  Now backstitch 3 stitches and then stitch forward around the right side of the heart all the way to the other side, leaving about a 2 inch opening.

If you're wondering why you did all that backstitching stuff where the ribbon goes into the heart, this secures the ribbon with several stitches and allows you to pivot with a little decorative X.  Now you are ready to put the scented rice in the heart.  Don't fill it too much or you won't be able to use the sewing machine to close the heart.  Sew the gap closed and you're done!

These little sachets are great in clothes drawers, hanging in the car, on door knobs or closets.  They also make nice gifts.  As a Scentsy consultant, they are a great way to "sample" the oils for customers.

cindy