Ponytail Hat

Sewing Muse Sandra is doing a hat which reminded me that I bought a hat pattern I needed to try. 

It's a reversible ponytail  bucket hat.

front

Back with regular snaps instead of the magnetic ones the pattern calls for.

Other side!

The pattern directions call for magnetic snaps that are sewn in so they don't show from the outside.  I love my colored snaps and want to show them proudly.  Besides, my snaps were easier for me to put on and already in the house.

My purchased pattern is froFrom Winnie and Clem, and you can find it here:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/104042408/pony-tail-bucket-hat-pdf-sewing-pattern  
They also have a smaller size bucket ponytail hat pattern for sale.

 As it turns out, there are numbers of ponytail hat patterns out there--winter, scrub, baseball, and bucket hats.  Some are even free.  Here are a few of the free ones:

Winter Hat/Scarf,Mitten, Fingerless Glove AND a pocket pattern: http://www.instructables.com/id/4-in-1-Hat-Scarf-Fingerless-Gloves-Mitten-Pock/

Cute Vintage Ponytail hat:  http://blog.bramcostpublications.com/files/5/8/1/7/6/276039-267185/1149_pony_tail_hat_PDF.pdf

Blog tutorial to change a bucket hat to a ponytail hat: http://eatcraftsow.blogspot.com/2011/11/tutorial-wednesdaythe-ponytail-hat.html#.UZjOnZymX7M


If those don't work for you,  here are a few patterns for sale: 
Ponytail Scrub Hat:  http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/sewing/accessory/ponytail-pouch-and-mens-scrub-hat-/25244

OR you can get All 7 of her Surgical Scrub Hat Patterns:  http://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/121082965/all-seven-surgical-scrub-hat-sewing?ref=market

Winnie and Clem also have a Baseball-style Ponytail Hat Pattern for Girls and Women: http://www.etsy.com/listing/113008080/morgan-cap-pdf-sewing-pattern-reversible?ref=v1_other_1

Japanese Knot Bag

After the dragon stuffie, I needed something nice and easy.  This pattern is from Helen Heath's blog, Show Your Workings, and it's free!

This is what it looks like opened:

You slide the longer loop handle through the shorter one.  You can put your hand through the longer loop and let it hang on your arm or wrist. The pattern at Helen site has pics of hers.   This was so quick and easy!  Check out the pattern.  It's such a cool little bag.

The Dragon Has Arrived - Review of DIY Fluffies Yoki the Dragon Pattern

I'm naming him Skye Blue (Yes, I am name stealing from Beyonce)

My very first dragon and likely my last.  This was from a pattern, DIY Fluffies Yoki the Dragon.  I paid $9 to find out that I would need to draw in the one centimeter seam allowance on most of the pieces.  What an absolute pain that was!   Some pieces such as the arms and wings could just be traced onto the fabric with that being the sewing line.  Most of the larger body pieces, though, are sewn to other curvy pieces.  The seam allowance is not only essential, but needs to be exact.  Why create a pattern with sewing lines rather than seam allowance lines???  I also needed to figure out placement of the wings, arms, eyes and nostrils--no nice little dots marked on the pattern pieces.  Also no nice little dots to match one pattern piece to another.

After making about 40 stuffed creatures last year, I felt I would easily be up to this, but I found the pattern to be confusing or vague in several essential places.  I finally blew the pattern up to twice the size (if I'm going to do this work, I want a good size beast to show for it),  ignored half the directions, and improvised.  Some of the changes were to make it more kid friendly.  The original seems more like a "I'm going to sit on the shelf stuffie" rather than a "I'm going to get dragged around by the ear" one.  I started to write up the changes and take pics, but this would have been one very long post.  Should you decide to make one and have questions, I'd be happy to share.

This is the third time in the past few years that I've gotten a pattern from a small company only to find that I am going to be doing a lot of work to actually have usable pattern pieces.  Too bad we can't see what's inside before purchasing them.

Hood from Simplicity 5857

This is what you do when your resident model is still sleeping and you
want to get a photo of the new hood.  Kinda creepy, isn't it?

This hood is from the same pattern I used for the beret last week.  I wanted this to wear with a couple of my jackets that don't have hoods.  I love both hats and hoods, but I tend to lose my hats when shopping.  With this I can just push it back while I'm at the mall or getting groceries.

The pattern called for fleece, but I went with a corduroy and silky lining.  I wanted it to lie flatter when I push it back. While there is no give when sliding it over the head, there was more than enough room for me to get it on and off comfortably.  I will admit to having a bit of a pinhead, though.  If you try the pattern in a material that doesn't have stretch, do a muslin first to be sure it will be okay for you.

Here is it on the in-house model, Melissa.

I love this fabric!  It's from Joann's.  Those embroidered bits look so much better in person.  By the time I went back to buy more, it was gone!  Maybe it will be back next year--I do hope so anyway.

Beret from Simplicity Pattern

You have no idea how long I've been hanging on to this pattern (Simplicity Accessories 5857).  This month's sewing challenge from Sew Much 2 Luv has given me the push to actually accomplish a few things.  All the waiting to do this and it took about an hour from reading the pattern to finishing the sewing.  I used a small piece of leftover fleece from last year's scarf.

Thanks to Melissa for modeling for me as always. There she was trying to eat breakfast, and I have her posing for me. (How does someone look this good right after getting up in the morning?)

You can join the challenge any week this month.  No need to do it every week.  Give it a go if you have some sewing project in the works or just go see what everyone's been up to.  I've gotten so many great ideas and found great new blogs while wandering through the entries.

Review of Uptown Coat Pattern from Favorite Things

I have a beautiful jacket almost completed.  I'm right down to the buttons and hemming.  Unfortunately, I just cannot make it fit well.  I used my measurements to decide on the size which turned out to be too big on the muslin piece.  I made the next size down, and it still does not look right in the chest area.  It looks great on the hanger--just not on ME.

I do need a better camera.  These fabric look so much richer in person.
 I have no idea why those white spots are there in the photo either!

Other reviewers said it was not for beginners, but I've had luck with a few clothing pieces before.  I am not skilled enough, however, to know how to make the shoulders narrower without changing the rest of the fit down through the chest area. I also think I would also need to put in darts to get rid of the slight bunching in the front armpit area.  Again, I don't know how to do this.  I could probably start playing with it, but I really don't want to put this much time and effort into altering patterns.  

I'm going to finish it and give it to the Goodwill shop.  Someone out there may have the figure for it!  For now I need to get back to my other sewing.  I owe someone an apron and still have lots of dish towels and cloth napkins to get ready for holiday gifts.

That Baby Dress Really Needed this Hat, Didn't It?

The finished dress from my last post was screaming that it needed a matching hat.  I found a free pattern for this one on Prudent Baby.

 Did I make changes?  Of course I did.  The pattern is designed so that the hat can be reversible, but I decided I wanted something at the top of the hat when it was finished.  It needed more cuteness.  My fabrics on each side were so similar that I decided to go for it.  I put a fabric yo-yo on top:

I also wanted ties which the pattern didn't have.  Since I originally planned for this to be reversible, I decided on buttonholes with knotted silky cording.  You can see in the photo below that you can pull the cord to have the knot on either side.  Does that make sense?  You knot both ends of the cording.  Then you can pull the ties so that one of the cord's knots will be on the outside when you reverse it and one will be at the loose end.

Make sure the buttonholes are tiny--big enough for the cording to get through, but not for the knot.  I made a few practice ones and tried it out.  You all know that you need to put some tape on the ends when you cut it to keep it from fraying, right?  The stiffness of the tape is really helpful in getting the cording into that little buttonhole, too.  I'm going to try thin fabric ties with knotted ends on the next one.  I think that would look great, too.

In retrospect,  I think I should have put the buttonholes up a bit higher.  That would allow the sides to flare out a bit more for sun protection.

All in all this is a great pattern--soooo easy and cute even without the yo-yo really.  If you read through the comments on the Prudent Baby post, you will get some idea on sizing.  The pattern can be enlarged or reduced to fit your needs.

Now don't they look just perfect together?

Sweetest Little Dress

Look what I made!  Is this not the sweetest little dress?   I used Jackie Clark Designs' pattern appropriately named Sweetest Little Dress.

The fabric, Junko Matsuda Tip Top Elephant Stripe in pink, and pattern were both from Pink Chalk Fabric.  I used one stripe for the bodice and put a few of the others together for the skirt pieces.

The pattern  has a hand embroidered design included, but I wanted to use this fabric which certainly doesn't need any embroidery.   My original intent was to put a blue ribbon across the bottom but Melissa talked me into something red and suggested the buttons be red as well.  The red was a much better choice.

This was my first time using rick rack.   It was really easy to work with, and I love the additional detail.

In the pic below you can see how I  cut the fabric so that a pink checked stripe would fold under for the hem.

The pattern is really simple for the most part.  I did have a one problem with it.  There are no markings for the buttons.  You have to wing it.  I was not really comfortable with that. I have never had a pattern without button and buttonhole placement before.   I spent a lot of time trying to figure it out. Finally, I emailed the designer who suggested folding the fabric to find the center placement for the middle button.   It's fairly easy to figure out the placement across the shoulders.

 I was more nervous figuring out how far IN from the edges to place the buttons and buttonholes. The designer didn't answer this part for me (although I emailed her again).   I don't have baby clothes sitting around the house to use for comparisons or the little person here to serve as a dress form.  I finally just guessed at it.  I hope it will look as good on the wee person as it does on the hanger.

According to the designer,  button placement would depend on the size and shape of the button.  The pattern, however, lists quarter-inch buttons.  I would have preferred having the markings for the quarter inch buttons.  If someone wants to change that, they should be the ones that have to spend time figuring out how to make it happen.

Another thing is that the sizing is quite vague.  The pattern is listed as being for "up to 24 lbs."  Since it sure isn't for a newborn, I don't know what the starting number would be as in maybe 12 to 24 lbs.  As I said, I don't have any baby clothes around to compare it with.  I think it would be better for the company to determine the comparable sizing used as in 6 to 12 months or whatever along with a beginning number for the pounds.

Will I use the pattern again?  Probably.  It's a cute dress.  I will be able to make changes in the button placement if I need to.