King Herod Costume

 I just finished up a King Herod costume for a certain 10 year old boy who will be performing as King Herod in the Christmas drama at our church this year.

Project details
Pattern: vintage pattern (1981) McCall's 7733

 Fabrics:
3 yards gold brocade fabric for the cape

2 yards royal blue crushed panne fabric for the robe

1/3 yard liquid gold metallic fabric for the belt

 Notions: 12 inches gold trim for the frog 'closure' on the cape

 I'm wondering if something like this can be bought in a store and if so how much it would cost. This definitely wasn't the most money saving project, costing almost $40 with $30 just for the cape. But he needed a costume quickly and I was appreciative to have the opportunity to sew up one. Also if it's anything like the king's cloak I made years ago, then it will be used a lot.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

PS Last year he played the role of Saint Joseph and wore his Saint Joseph costume that I sewed for him using the same pattern!

Scandinavian Christmas 2013 Guest Post

 The Scandinavian Christmas 2013 series is currently going on over at The Pickled Herring. Today, it's my turn to share, so feel free to stop by to learn more about my kid tomte outfit.  Thank you, Kathryn for this wonderful series, and honoring me with the invitation to participate.

 PS Here are my contributions to the Scandinavian Christmas series in the past:

Glogg Tote Gift Bag

Dala Horse Felt Crown

Nordic Crosses Gift Wrap

Lanvin Petite Military Coat Knock-Off Tutorial

 Here is a winter coat I sewed for my girl that was originally blogged over at Sewpony for The 12 Days of Christmas series. It's a knock off of this Lanvin Petite red wool felt military coat $1395 (modeled photo found here).

 Project Details
Patterns: Oliver + S Sunday Brunch Jacket with altered front, dropped waist, skirt is pleated instead of gathered, and skirt is lengthened. I added on-seam side pockets, pattern comes from Oliver + S Playtime Dress.
Size: 5
Fabrics: deep red 100% wool. For the bias binding on the interior I just grabbed what I had on hand that was all ready to go. It's light gray cotton and I had exactly the right amount!
Notions: 12 gold shank buttons (24K gold plated) and 4 gold sew on snaps (large size)

 Modifications:
What I kept as is:
The collar, sleeve and back facing from the Oliver + S Sunday Brunch Jacket and the on-seam side pocket from the Oliver + S Playtime Dress.
What I changed:
The bodice is 13 inches long and skirt 18 inches long (I chose these measurements because they are very close to the size 5 measurements of the Fairy Tale Dress, a pattern I have sewn for my daughter many times and know fits her very well). The skirt in the end turned out to be 15 inches long.
There are 10 pleats in the front, 6 pleats in the back, and each pleat is about .5 inch to .75 inch deep.
More specifics about the altered pattern pieces:
Cut one back skirt 22 inches by 18 inches.
Cut two fronts skirts 12 inches by 18 inches.
Cut two facings with length 27.25 inches.
Add two front center panels 3.75 inches by 28.25 inches.
Cut two shoulder tabs 3 inches by 6.5 inches, with right sides together fold in half lengthwise, sew with .25 inch seam allowance, turn right side out, topstitch, then attach to shoulder by hand sewing.

 The sewing:

• It turned out to be a bit of a labor of love, but so worth it!
• The wool is thick so when attaching the collar it was a bit difficult sewing at the shoulder seams through all those layers.
• There were a lot of finishing details that were very time consuming (a lot of hand sewing).
• Sewing many buttonholes through 2 layers of thick wool is not something I wanted to attempt. So I hand sewed on all 12 gold shank buttons on the exterior of the coat (so the buttons are non functional and purely for decoration). For the closure I sewed 4 large gold sew on snaps.
• One challenge that I encountered towards the end was when I brought the fronts of the coat together, it was off by a whole inch in length at the hem! I added front center panels that were not in the original sewing pattern and I think I didn't line it up perfectly before sewing it on, plus I think the fabric slipped/stretched while sewing, too.
• I didn't know that the red wool would give off so much red dust and that this red dust would stain everything it touched pink. Parts of my white sewing machine turned pink, the clothes I was wearing while sewing were stained pink… There is always something new to learn with sewing.

 The cost it took to make this coat:
1.5 yards deep red wool $30.00
12 gold shank buttons (24K gold plated) $9.00
4 gold sew on snaps $2.24
Cost $41.24

Lanvin Petite red wool felt military coat $1395
Savings $1,353.76

 During the winter it gets very cold where we live, so a nice cozy and warm wool coat will be very practical. This military coat would be the perfect thing to wear to go see a performance of the Nutcracker ballet, don't you think? I am hoping that this coat will fit for at least 2-3 winters and it probably will, given that it has generous sleeves plus the fold over (adjustable) cuffs are generous, too.

PS This coat was made along with a gold sequin dress, for that tutorial click here.

Golden Glow Sparkle Dress Knock-Off Tutorial

 Here is my daughter's Christmas dress for this year. It was originally blogged over at Sewpony for The 12 Days of Christmas series. In case anyone is interested in making a similar dress I will show you how I made this one and share my experience and advice when working with sequin fabric.

Last month, a friend gave me a Little Skye catalog. Going through the pages, my daughter fell in love with the sequin dresses. I found some teeny tiny gold sequin stretchy fabric at a fabric warehouse, it was exactly the type of fabric I was hoping to find!

This is the perfect season to wear sequins. Adding *s*p*a*r*k*l*e* to the holiday season. The dress becomes one giant disco ball! Bringing light to our dark winter days.

She thinks the dress is gorgeous :)

I'm so pleased with the perfect fit and am thrilled that she loves it so much. She has already worn the dress, to church and to a gingerbread house decorating event. Running around in it, dancing, rolling on the floor. Happy news the dress did not fall apart! I must mention when she was decorating the gingerbread house she was wearing a long sleeve art smock I sewed her.

 Project Details
Patterns: Oliver + S Fairy Tale Dress, bodice 3 inches shorter (like I did for the Red Poppy Field dress) no darts (it is advised to avoid darts when sewing with sequin fabric), 'sleeve' shape adapted from Oliver + S Roller Skate Dress
If you are looking for a similar pattern that is all ready to go, try the Oliver + S Bubble Dress
Size: 5
Fabrics: teeny tiny flat gold sequin stretchy fabric, lining is light yellow cotton blend
Notions: 12 inch zipper

 My sewing notes: The key for me was to keep it as simple as possible, the fewer the seams the better, that is why I decided with no sleeves, do not cut fabric folded (to avoid that I cut out my front bodice pattern piece all in one piece), cut pattern out on the wrong side of the sequin fabric, use old rotary cutter and scissors that you don't care if they get dulled, I used a thin ballpoint needle size 9/65, zigzag stitch 0.5, long stitch 3.5, sew very slowly, finger press seams open, finger press hem, do hem with facing.

These were helpful when learning about sequin fabric: click here, here, here, and here.

 For the skirt I used 18 inches by 50 inches (which was the total width of the sequin fabric), the skirt has 14 pleats and it's about .75 inches deep for each pleat. First I finger pressed the pleats, pinned them, and basted them using the sewing machine.

 The most difficult part was sewing in the zipper. It did not turn out 100% perfect. I decided to not waste time and try to fix it because thankfully my girl has long hair to cover it up :) Hopefully I will do a better job of installing a zipper in sequin fabric the next time around.

 The dress is fully lined and the skirt lining is gathered.

 I used the skill that I learned sewing up the Oliver + S Lazy Days Skirt when adding ribbon to the bottom of the hem in the front. Instead I used 1 inch wide polyester twill tape underneath. First machine sewing the twill tape to the bottom of the skirt fabric, then hand sewing the facing to the back of the skirt fabric, making an enclosed hem.

 I have to admit I was a little nervous about sewing a sequin dress because I've never worked with sequin fabric before! Cutting out and sewing up this dress went so much better than I thought it would. I was so fortunate to find such teeny tiny sequins. I really benefitted from the fact that the sequins were so small and flat.

There definitely was the potential for failing at this sewing project due to lack of experience. But I tackled my fear of sequin fabric! And I encourage you to tackle one type of fabric we've been afraid to sew with.

 Warning: when working with sequins be prepared to pick up all those little sequins ~ they end up all over the place! I read somewhere that it is suggested to lay down a large piece of fabric (like a bed sheet) under where you are cutting out the sequin fabric and where you are sewing it for a quicker and easier clean up.

 Not only was sewing up this dress a big learning experience for me, but it was also money saving.
.75 yards of teeny tiny gold sequin fabric $11.25
1 yard of lining fabric (light yellow cotton blend) $3.50
Zipper $1.31
Total cost to make $16

Golden Glow Sparkle Dress $196
Total savings $180

PS Looking for a similar sequin dress in a woman's size to knock off? Here's one.

My Favorite Oliver+S Sewing Pattern

Today I am visiting the Oliver + S blog sharing what my favorite Oliver + S pattern is. Please stop by and tell me what is your personal favorite Oliver + S design, I'd love to hear.

Happy Tuesday!

Leggings Giveaway

 

Updated to add: The winner is Lindsay!

*****

It's Giveaway Day! Many thanks to Sew, Mama, Sew for hosting this fun biannual event.

The prize: Girl leggings size 3-4 years. They are 100% cotton jersey, red and white striped leggings, very festive for this holiday season. I sewed these for my daughter, but they don't fit her, so my loss is your gain.

Enter to win:

• Please leave an answer to the following question: Who will wear the leggings/who will you give them to?
• One entry per person
• I will ship internationally.
• I will pick the winner.
• The giveaway will be open until December 13 at 5 p.m. PST, I will pick a winner and email the winner by December 15, and I will ship the item by December 20.

St Nicholas Day 2013

Happy Saint Nicholas day from our home to yours!

This year there were little white Christmas lights... bringing light to our dark winter days and nights.

St Nicholas day from previous years:

• 2012 
• 2011 
• 2010
• 2009

Please share links to your St Nicholas day photos in the comments, I would love to see, thanks!

PS It is -9 degrees Fahrenheit outside today and we have about 4 inches of snow. What is the temperature where you are right now and how much snow do you have?