Reverse Your Purse

I mentioned in a previous post that I am not a purse wearer. I don't like having my hands tied up and, frankly, I'm always just a little nervous that I'll get up and leave my purse sitting in a restaurant/taxi/shop/etc. But a couple of days ago I stumbled across a tutorial for an easy bias tape bag at my new favorite craft/sewing site, Prudent Baby. It looked simple enough, and I'm always looking to expand my skills - I've never done pleating before and I really suck at bias tape- so I thought I'd give it a whirl.
I made the pattern (our printer isn't working so I had to do some improvising) and cut out the material the night before, and yesterday while the big kids were at school and Johan was taking his morning nap, I threw the above bag together. It took me just about 2 hours to complete and that's including the time it took me to make my own bias tape (I didn't have any to match the materials). It's reversible and I love how the two sides go together in a Japanese-y way. And the best part - the red side is plain old cotton for every day use but, although you can't tell from the photo, the white side has a silky texture and a fancy look so if you're planning on hitting the town after work you can reverse your purse and be ready for a night out!
In fact, I loved the purse so much that I had to try it again. So after I put Johan down for his afternoon nap I picked out a couple more fabrics that I love and got to work. This time, though, I shrunk the pattern down a bit and as it turns out, I happened to have some bias tape that matched perfectly and I had exactly the right amount with just 2cm to spare. (I can't tell you how much I love it when that happens!) I finished the second bag in just about 1.5 hours (or 1.5 episodes of my current favorite drama which, being the multitasker I am, I have to watch as I sew). Now I'm so obsessed with these little purses that I'm thinking I'll have to change my ways and become a handbag gal!

Pillow Case Tops

One of the simplest dress ideas out there for little girls is a top called "The Pillow Case Dress." And, you know what? It's also one of the cutest and most practical! The name comes from the fact that one can easily make a simple dress for a toddler/small child by using a pillow case (or a scarf really). I originally got the idea from my sister-in-law (THANK YOU, Shannon!!) This was way back when Irene was just a toddler and I had never really sewn much, if anything, in the way of clothes before. I decided to give it a whirl and, while my first attempt's results were less than pleasing*, I was on my way.

For the past 2 summers, the pillow case dress/top has been a staple of Irene's wardrobe. In fact, because of the loose cut of this style top and the fact that Irene was a chubby toddler, many of the tops I made for her last year still fit this year. Of course this is great from an economical standpoint (and remember, one reason for me starting to sew in the first place was $$) but from a creative standpoint, it's a little disappointing. I was really looking forward to making a whole new wardrobe this year, but her drawers are busting as it is so I've got to be content with only a handful of new tops this year. Here are some of my more recent pillow case dresses/tops:

*I blame it on the fact that I'm not actually able to use pillow cases since Korean style is not suitable ;)

Animalwearing Revolution

My daughter loves to play "umma" ('Mommy' in Korean). Not so much to her dolls though. No, my daughter has just one special little one: her puppy...aptly named "Puppy" (we're a creative bunch here...my son's best buddy is a sheep named "Sheep") Because they saw me carry their younger brother around in my carrier everywhere we went for the first 10 months of his life, naturally carrying their "babies" was something they wanted to do. Irene was content using our discarded Baby Bjorn when Johan outgrew it, her apron, Oscar's overalls...pretty much anything that would hold that puppy to her chest, but I had another idea.
My first attempt at making an animal carrier for my kids was a semi-success. I wanted it to be simple enough that they could get in and out by themselves. I ended up with this cut-off apron style seen above. It had one strap that just went around the neck and another that could be tied behind the back (naturally I'd have to tie it but once tied it could easily be slipped on and off.) While Oscar's carriers seems to have fallen off the face of the earth, Irene's animal carrier has gotten considerable use in the past few months, but it's limitations were quickly made obvious - it doesn't work so well as a back carrier. (think noose around the neck!) So, I've finally gotten around to revising my design and created the following:

I presented it to Irene yesterday afternoon and she was thrilled. It now fits more like a backpack with an adjustable hip strap held together by velcro and two shoulder straps. I had to add the chest strap because the actual square of material was quite wide due to the awkward shape of her "baby"and as a result I was worried that the straps wouldn't stay on her shoulders. All in all, I'm quite satisfied with the carrier. She loves it, I love the material (cute little stuffed elephants), and it's got room to grow so hopefully it should last a while!

Bag it!

A month or so ago I had a small pre-mid-life crisis. I realized that I've become a frumpy, boring old mom. I'd gotten so used to carrying around a backpack for extra kids' clothes, diapers, groceries, etc. that I even used it when I went out on the town for ladies' night! I'm not much of a purse kind of gal. I've tried it several times before, but before long the purses usually end up in the corner collecting dust. I just don't like being tied down. I can't stand having to hold something in my hands as I walk, or having to constantly push straps back onto my shoulders, and I certainly can't walk with a bag in the crook of my arm for any length of time. So rather than spend time and money on searching for an acceptable purse (that would probably end up in the corner a month from now) I decided to expand my sewing horizons and make myself a bag. Enter, the "Hoo-s hoo" of bags (hihi, get it? owl print = hoo...yeah, I'll work on the name). I opted for an extra-long strap so I can just sling it over my head and go. I was smart enough to add an extra pocket inside for wallet & keys and it's even big enough to throw in an extra diaper & some wipes for my days out with Johan! I'm thinking I'll have to make a mini one for Irene as well. She's tickled pink that my bag matches her top so I can't imagine how happy she'd be if we had matching bags.

Shirr is Fun!

Every season I try to learn a new technique. One of this summer's techniques was shirring. It's something that I always imagined to be so difficult but in reality was really, really easy. I mean, ridiculously easy. Even for me. As a result, Irene has a wardrobe full of shirred shirts this summer and of all of them, the shirt above is my favorite. Ok...or maybe the one below. I also got to to experiment with the different stitches on my sewing machine to embellish the top & bottom hem of the shirred shirt. Too bad it's almost impossible for a 3-year-old to keep a white shirt white!

Bottom two photos by Lindsay Nash

Building blocks

Funky Prints

One of the key factors to sewing attractive, wearable clothing is obviously the fabric. This has been a bit of a hurdle for me, living here in Korea. The city I live in is a fairly large city, yet there is only one sewing/fabric store that I am aware of and most of the fabric sold there is of the pastel flower variety. This is not what I'm looking for so I have learned to keep my eyes open for nice looking/feeling fabrics in any shape and form, be it scarves, old shirts, or pants. I was in heaven when my family spent 6 months of last year in Japan. I lived in walking distance of a fabric store and could easily take a train to 2-3 others. I loaded up on fabric but, upon arriving home, it appears that I was being "sensible" and I've almost burnt through my stash. I have ordered online a few times in the past but have often been dissatisfied with the fabric I received, but being desperate, I decided to give it one more go. My order arrived this afternoon and I'm beyond excited!

Choco-dots

It's only been about a week since I started this blog, but already it's fulfilled two of its purposes: 1) to organize my projects and 2) to see what needs to be worked on should I start my own online business in the future. The answer to #2? Just about everything. At least to start a real business anyway. After taking another look at some of my favorite crafting/sewing blogs, reality hit me - there's no way I'm ever going to get my blog to look like that. And those women sew circles around me! But, I'm not discouraged since, after all, my main goal was never to get rich or even make a living from sewing but rather to enjoy sewing and hopefully be able to make something that someone else would be interested in having/buying. So, I ordered these fabrics for my foray into the world of flea market sales. Some of these fabrics will be shoulder bags. Some will be kiddie aprons or "animal carriers" and others will be fabric swatches waiting to become a little girl's custom-made dress. And some, like the fabulous seersucker below, will be used to make a couple of little boys very, very happy.

Seersucker (a.k.a. "train conductor pants material")

The Tank

As we lounge around the house today, a sick day, I snapped a few photos of Oscar in his summer bus tank. Again, it's the same great material that I used for his train carrier, but I think he likes the tank top much (much) more. Sadly, I didn't have enough to make shorts to match.

Trains to Go

I probably shouldn't even include this little project on this site. It's not one of my proudest moments but it's so darn cute (in theory) I can't resist. As I mentioned in the last post, I really want to make more things for the boys since most of what i sew is cute dresses & tops for Irene. Of course I love my children equally, but it's just so much more fun & easy to make girls' clothes! So for Oscar's 3rd birthday a few months ago, I was determined to sew him something he'd love. I came across this great tutorial at another super-awesome sewing/crafting blog, Homemade by Jill, that I enjoy. The only thing that Oscar loves more than cars is trains, so I decided to mix it up a bit and go with a train/bus/car motif. Again, I had picked up this great fabric from our time in Japan (oh, to have been in Japan with my sewing machine! *sigh*)

It didn't come out as planned in that the pockets were either too small to fit the cars/trains or else they were too big and everything fell right out. I think if I had made one less pocket, made them deeper, and then added a row of thin elastic to the top of the pockets it would have worked much better. I would also make a much sturdier velcro strap to hold it closed. I don't know what I was thinking with that one. But, in the end it turned out to be a non- issue anyways because he took one look at it and threw it in the toy pile, never to be looked at again. Maybe in a year or two he'll get it back out and think it's the greatest thing ever. Or maybe not. But at least my conscience can rest a little easier knowing that, hey, I tried!

Monkey Madness

Just a few pictures of the kids in their current favorite Watermelon Dreams Design pajamas. I picked up Oscar's super-comfy monkey material during our time in Japan last year and knew it was just right for him. Sadly I don't get to make as many clothes for the boys as I do Irene but I'm working on it! Irene's breezy white material comes from my sister-in-law in the U.S. The both looks so cool and comfy, I'm considering making some for myself!

Starting Small

I thought I'd start out small. I'm currently in the process of going through my photos for pictures of the kids wearing my clothes. Anyone who knows me can guess that this is a monumental task considering the number of photos I take on a daily basis. The items that they are wearing this season I can easily take new photos of but many things have been outgrown and packed away so I'll have to make due with whatever photo I may have gotten of them at the time. One of the things I really want to learn to do is to take professional looking photos. A few months ago I saw a tutorial on this great site about how to make your own little photo studio (the site is a wealth of information about how to do other cool stuff too if you've got the time). I made my own photo studio and gave it a try with some of the smaller things I've made. It works great and is wonderful in that it cuts out the need for a squirmy little model! Now I just have to make a bigger one for the clothes...and find somewhere to store it.

Cloth hairband in action Designer bibs
Johan loves his!

Baby Steps

Welcome to my Watermelon Dreams Design blog! If you had told me 10, 5, or even 2 years ago that I would make a blog dedicated to fashion and/or sewing, I would have said you were crazy. To be honest, I've never been all that into fashion. But being a sewer has changed my outlook on things. I started sewing quilts as a hobby after we arrived in Korea a few years back, and when my daughter & son arrived I began sewing clothing - partly out of necessity (children's clothing here is not only expensive but it's also really not my style) and partly because it was a fun challenge. I now look for any opportunity to start a new project.

My reason for starting this site is two-fold. On the one hand, I feel like I need a space to arrange my sewing projects - past, present, and future- without muddling up my every day blog. Secondly, for some time now friends and family have been egging me on to sell some of my creations. At first I laughed it away, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to give a whirl - just for kicks. However, for a variety of reasons, I don't feel that now is the time to start my home-business so this website is a kind of in-between step. As I manage this blog, I can better understand what needs to be worked on should I make the leap to home-business owner in the future. One very obvious thing that needs work is my presentation so I'll be trying to get creative with my photography and presentation of my projects. Please bear with me & feel free to share any tips! And, although I'm not in business, if you happen to see something you like, feel free to drop me a line! Maybe we can work something out. ;)

*Note: the photo above is of me and two of my models - my oldest son, Oscar, and my daughter, Irene. They are sporting Watermelon Dreams Design mini-aprons.