Natalie/Em's ramblings

Entry for March 31, 2006

Happy Friday! Yes it's that most favored day of my week again. With 6 classes and only 7 days in a week.. Friday is my bum day. And what a gorgeous Friday it is too. It's absolutely Spring outside. I have the windows and doors open. Today would be a wonderful day to sit and read in the park. LOL. Too bad I can't do that. Anyway, on to my weekly update.

Good News! Patrick made it in to the National Honor Society too. His mom is so excited. He can't be more proud of himself. He was just telling me that he'll be the only person in his family to have graduated from college and if he keeps this up, he'll graduate with honors cum laude or suma cum laude. I really want that for him, he didn't used to have much confidence and this has been a big boost to it.

Ooohh! was just talking to Amanda, those of you who are sewers or wanna try your hand at it... Walmart has some absolutely gorgeous peasant skirt material. It's already got the elastic, etc. in it.. all you need to do is buy your waist length, cut in half and sew side seams in (don't forget to zigzag the side seam edges!) and you have a skirt in under five minutes. The stuff they have is absolutely beautiful. They have summer material on the end of the isle across from the cutting table (purples, blues, whites, tye dyes, etc.) There's some gorgeous velvets in the bin the blanket material is usually in across from the bargain table. The velvets are just lovely. There's black, purple, green, etc. Great details on them. Even if you don't sew you could put one of these together. The cost of the fabric is about the same as buying a skirt. Am happy to offer instructions to anyone who wants to give it a try.

Actually, if I could motivate myself I could get out the sewing machine today. I was thinking about using the gorgeous red I bought yesterday for my out fit for the Honor Society ceremony. I might. Depends on how motivated I feel today. It is after all my bum day. LOL. I try not to do anything on Friday if I can avoid it.

Well, anyway I think I'll give some detailed instructions on how to make the skirts:

1. measure your waist all the way around. (Let's say it's 40 inches cause that's an easy number to work with).

2. add an inch for seam allowance. (41)

3. Go buy that length (41 inches) that's about 1 1/4 yards. A yard equals 3 ft and 3 ft is 36 inches.

4. Bring fabric home and fold in half.. should equal out to 20 1/2 inches. Cut in half.

5. Get the sewing machine out.

*optional* Pin inside out the side seams together. OR line up with hands and use the following technique to sew together. Pin top and bottom together.. fold in half, and at that midpoint cut yourself a very small notch (triangle shaped). This is how it's done in factories.

line edges together and start at the elastic. Use straight stitch ( a medium stitch because elastic is thick and a pain) Sew slowly!!!! After you've sewn about 2-3 inches line your notch up (if you've pinned you don't need to do this). Hold on to your notch with your right hand because you are guiding with your left. Don't forget to leave yourself that 1/4 to 1/2 in seam allowance. Sew to notch. If your notch comes out where it isn't touching (not lined up or off so much that edges don't touch) you need to take out the seam and adjust your feed. If you don't know how to do this or can't then sew from the bottom up and pull like hell on the side that's feeding in too fast. LOL. Don't forget to back stitch. REPEAT on the next side seam.

Now put in the surge (zig zag stitch). If you've used a half inch seam allowance now you can trim. I leave a half inch in case I make a mistake (no one's perfect) or need to let out some somewhere because of body shape (it happens to the best of us). Trim down to 1/4 inch from straight stitch all the way down. Move to zig zag stitch on the machine and change stitch size to the smallest available stitch and the widest available stitch. Line edge up so that needle is going to just miss the edge on the outside and catch it on the inside (this is the surge so that fabric doesn't unravel in the wash). Surge all the way down (go slow so that you don't go raw). Don't forget to back stitch!

TA-DA.. YOU ARE DONE!

It's an easy sewing project, especially for someone who hasn't ever sewed before. It's almost as easy as a baby blanket or pillow. If you give it a shot, give me a holler and let me know how it goes.

Blessings,

Natalie

2006-03-31 19:43:24 GMT

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		It's all about.. well.. whatever I feel like it's about that day.

		Entry for March 31, 2006 Happy Friday! Yes it's that most favored day of my week again. With 6 classes and only 7 days in a week.. Friday is my bum day. And what a gorgeous Friday it is too. It's absolutely Spring outside. I have the windows and doors open. Today would be a wonderful day to sit and read in the park. LOL. Too bad I can't do that. Anyway, on to my weekly update. Good News! Patrick made it in to the National Honor Society too. His mom is so excited. He can't be more proud of himself. He was just telling me that he'll be the only person in his family to have graduated from college and if he keeps this up, he'll graduate with honors cum laude or suma cum laude. I really want that for him, he didn't used to have much confidence and this has been a big boost to it. Ooohh! was just talking to Amanda, those of you who are sewers or wanna try your hand at it... Walmart has some absolutely gorgeous peasant skirt material. It's already got the elastic, etc. in it.. all you need to do is buy your waist length, cut in half and sew side seams in (don't forget to zigzag the side seam edges!) and you have a skirt in under five minutes. The stuff they have is absolutely beautiful. They have summer material on the end of the isle across from the cutting table (purples, blues, whites, tye dyes, etc.) There's some gorgeous velvets in the bin the blanket material is usually in across from the bargain table. The velvets are just lovely. There's black, purple, green, etc. Great details on them. Even if you don't sew you could put one of these together. The cost of the fabric is about the same as buying a skirt. Am happy to offer instructions to anyone who wants to give it a try. Actually, if I could motivate myself I could get out the sewing machine today. I was thinking about using the gorgeous red I bought yesterday for my out fit for the Honor Society ceremony. I might. Depends on how motivated I feel today. It is after all my bum day. LOL. I try not to do anything on Friday if I can avoid it. Well, anyway I think I'll give some detailed instructions on how to make the skirts: 1. measure your waist all the way around. (Let's say it's 40 inches cause that's an easy number to work with). 2. add an inch for seam allowance. (41) 3. Go buy that length (41 inches) that's about 1 1/4 yards. A yard equals 3 ft and 3 ft is 36 inches. 4. Bring fabric home and fold in half.. should equal out to 20 1/2 inches. Cut in half. 5. Get the sewing machine out. optional Pin inside out the side seams together. OR line up with hands and use the following technique to sew together. Pin top and bottom together.. fold in half, and at that midpoint cut yourself a very small notch (triangle shaped). This is how it's done in factories. line edges together and start at the elastic. Use straight stitch ( a medium stitch because elastic is thick and a pain) Sew slowly!!!! After you've sewn about 2-3 inches line your notch up (if you've pinned you don't need to do this). Hold on to your notch with your right hand because you are guiding with your left. Don't forget to leave yourself that 1/4 to 1/2 in seam allowance. Sew to notch. If your notch comes out where it isn't touching (not lined up or off so much that edges don't touch) you need to take out the seam and adjust your feed. If you don't know how to do this or can't then sew from the bottom up and pull like hell on the side that's feeding in too fast. LOL. Don't forget to back stitch. REPEAT on the next side seam. Now put in the surge (zig zag stitch). If you've used a half inch seam allowance now you can trim. I leave a half inch in case I make a mistake (no one's perfect) or need to let out some somewhere because of body shape (it happens to the best of us). Trim down to 1/4 inch from straight stitch all the way down. Move to zig zag stitch on the machine and change stitch size to the smallest available stitch and the widest available stitch. Line edge up so that needle is going to just miss the edge on the outside and catch it on the inside (this is the surge so that fabric doesn't unravel in the wash). Surge all the way down (go slow so that you don't go raw). Don't forget to back stitch! TA-DA.. YOU ARE DONE! It's an easy sewing project, especially for someone who hasn't ever sewed before. It's almost as easy as a baby blanket or pillow. If you give it a shot, give me a holler and let me know how it goes. Blessings, Natalie 2006-03-31 19:43:24 GMT Site Home