Faux Hem Band Tutorial

I recently discovered how I could make a band to finish off the edges of my knit garments. Now, I may be a little late to the party, and all of you already know how to do this, as it is quite simple. But, just in case you don't, I thought I would share this with you.

This is a top that I made with a dolman sleeve. The sleeve has a very shallow curve, not deep like the one I showed you last Saturday. The hem of the top as well as the sleeves is a faux band.

 Here's a little closer detail of the hem of the top above and the finished edge on the sleeve.

To do this, you will need to add a little extra to the hem of your garment when cutting. An extra inch should be plenty.

 Rather than turning the hem to the inside of the garment, turn it to the outside as you see above.

Now fold the top edge down to meet the fold at the bottom of your garment. 

Zigzag or use a double needle to stitch the edge in place.

 Fold the new band down, press, and you have a finished edge! 

On the inside, you will have a small finished edge as you see above.
This works great for knits. Because you have zigzagged or stitched with a double needle, there is stretch in the seam. This is my new favorite way to finish my hems on my knit garments. If you have never done this before, give it a try, I think you'll like it!

The Wednesday Showcase

Last Friday I posted this slipper and made the pattern available to all who happen to drop by. Just in case you are coming by for the first time today, here's the post that explains how to get the pattern.

First of all, I would like to thank so many of you for all the lovely compliments. So many have shared bits about their lives, "We just moved to Oregon this summer and the temperatures are dipping into the 30's in the morning," "my son loves slippers," and one of my personal favorites, "I'm going to use the pattern with my home ec class, it's something great for boys as well as girls." Lots of quick messages have gone back and forth and the slipper pattern is now floating all over the world. Such fun.
I've mentioned this before, some of you don't have your blog attached to your profile page, so when you become a follower of my blog, it's difficult for me to find out if you have a blog without some detective work. As it turns out, a few of you asked for the slipper pattern and attached your blog address to your email message. THANK YOU!!! So today, I am going to introduce you to two lovely and very energetic ladies.
First up is Miss Poldapop of  http://www.poldapop.blogspot.com/. I'll let her tell you a little about herself,
"My mother-in-law gave me her mother's Pfaff sewing machine in 2009. The machine languished in a closet until I decided to leave my intense job to be a stay-at-home mom. I thought that sewing would satisfy my need for focus and accomplishment, so I took some lessons in the summer of 2010 and quickly fell in love!
My love of sewing stems, in part, from my love of beautiful fabric. Long before I began to sew (and, some might say, I even had a sense of style) I found myself drawn to good fabric - fabric that has movement and strength, quality fabric that has a sense of artistry in it's making. Now that I do sew, I love the hunt for beauty: the gem buried on the clearance table or abandoned in a thrift store, the new designer, the scraps from my projects and the things they can become.
My current ventures include creating custom-made skirts, dresses, and handbags for local ladies and selling pre-made handbags and flower pins on Etsy. I love working with an individual to create something unique. Sometimes the item we create has been in my client's head for a while but she didn't have the means to make it on her own, sometimes a client and I mix options and fabrics around until we find the right fit, sometimes a client picks a starting point (a fabric or particular style) and gives me free reign to take it where I think it should go. Right now this is my naptime-nighttime business, but I'm hoping that by the time my kids are in school it can be something bigger.
In my past lives I've been a busboy, a waitress, a barmaid, a factory worker, a secretary, a paralegal, a reading teacher, a mom, and a supervisor, and I think I draw on all of these roles in my current one. I look forward to where this new role takes me!" Here are a few examples of her wonderful bags. You can find her Etsy store here.

Just what every busy gal needs!! Great item.

 The one below is a personal favorite. Love the fabric.

 Great detail on her bags.

 Miss Poldapop is a very busy mom. Look at the adorable little dresses she made for her cutie pie girls.

 So sweet!

Now her talents go further than bags. She has a tutorial on how to draft this great cowl neck top. You can find it here.

She saw this great skirt,

and drafted one for herself.

Fabulous!!! She plans to write up a tutorial on how she did the skirt.

Lots of talent, and as I said earlier, lots of energy. And lucky me, I found out that she lives in a suburb near me, so we have planned to get together at some point. How exciting. We have had a few messages back and forth and I have truly enjoyed getting to know her just a bit and I am sure you will too!  

Our second lovely lady is Patty of http://www.sewmuchknitting.blogspot.com/. Here's a little about her, "Sewing and knitting are my passions and I need a daily 'fix' of needlework! I'm a mother of 4 (28,26,24,21), married to my DH for 32 years. Find me on ravelry.com: PattyP." Wow, four children, 28, 26, 24, and 21, Patty you have been busy for a very long time!!!

 The first thing I saw on Patty's blog was this sweater. I love seeing a work in progress.

And here's her lovely daughter in the sweater.

 Then I saw this great dress. The pairing with the necklace is out of this world. Love it!

Patty is wonderful about showing which patterns she has used. A great resource. The pattern above and her rendition below.

Another great little dress. I just had to show you the back. The way the chevron pattern meets together at the waist is so nice.

Above is a Vogue pattern, and below is Patty's version. Great choice of fabrics.

There's a bit of left over hippy in me. I love big, bold patterns so I immediately loved this little dress.

 And I like it even better on Patty. Great necklace too!

Last but not least, I just had to share this wonderful pair of pajamas that Patty made. Talk about going to bed in style!!! So there you have it, two wonderful ladies with great talent and both are great ambassadors of the crafts we all love so much. May we all sew long and prosper!! Happy Wednesday Everyone! Rhonda

Monday Morning Inspiration

Welcome to a brand new week! I'm not much in the mood for spring or summer clothes. The temperatures have finally begun to dip here in Chicago and I'm loving it. But, the spring/summer 2013 collection from Gucci is so lovely, very reminiscent of Yves St. Laurent. If you have followed my blog for a while, you know that he was one of my all time favorite designers. For those of you who follow the Sleeves On Saturday posts, look closely as there are some fabulous sleeves in this collection. I've put at least one in the lineup. 

The model below looks a bit devilish, but I love the way the ruffle wraps from the sleeve and around the back. 

 Simple, yet so pretty.

 I love the clear colors.

 The dress below is one of my favorites.

Look at the sleeve below. Beautiful.

The pantsuit below is my absolute favorite.

I think it is always nice to be able to see the clothes move, so I've included the video. Clothes take on a whole new dimension when they move.



As always, wishing you all a lovely week!

Sunday Night Reflections

Character comes from within.
It is not what others think of you,
but what you think of yourself.
It is not not what others expect of you,
but what you expect from yourself.
It is not what others judge you to be,
but how you judge yourself.
For there are no standards greater
than what people of character place upon themselves.

By Bob Scarlatta
Written in remembrance of his father
The home in the photograph is on Monhegan Island, Maine and is the home of artist Jamie Wyeth.
I took the picture early one morning while I was visiting the island. As the fog rolled in, the island seemed to take on a feeling of mystery.