It HAD to have the piping

April 15, 2013 by hungie gungie

Don’t you think?

I would have been finished with this Oliver + S “Music Box Jumper” days ago, but after I sewed the yoke to the skirt, I knew something was missing. Piping! It had to have piping. I just couldn’t leave well enough alone. So I made a date with my seam ripper, instead of my husband. Boo. He understood. And he agreed, it needed piping.

I constructed the yoke out of a white linen skirt that my older sister never wore, and passed on to me. The skirt was pretty see-through, so I never wore it either, but like a good up-cycler, I threw it in my stash and knew I’d at least use the buttons from it. These are those buttons! Avery patiently waited as “almost done…” turned into “frrmmshmerrdurr…” and then ” *bleeping bleeeeep!* ” and then finally…

“Praise the Lord, its finished!” And we LOVE IT! Seriously, I’m pretty obsessed with this dress. Skirt fabric is from Anna Maria Horner’s “Loulouthi” collection, and is called Coreopsis in lime. The Music Box jumper (view B) was an impeccable pattern. I had to buy it after I saw it sewn up at Les Fabriques by the talented Jamie (shout out if you’re reading!). I took it slowly and even made french seams, learning a ton the whole way.

The white linen was tricky to work with, so soft and delicate. It did not appreciate all the seam ripping! But, it feels like buttah, and gives the dress an old-timey vibe. Like out of a Dick and Jane book.

I’m not really sure when I will let her wear this dress. Maybe a certain garden party coming up ? I hope I don’t hover nearby with a wash cloth when its time for cake. After all I went through in the construction process, I will probably insist she vacuum seal it in archival tissue paper, and pass it down to her first-born daughter! I told you I was obsessed! Anyhoo, here are some pics of our photo shoot. Avery is very into making me weed bouquets!

Love the dress, LOVE the girl.

~Caroline

Two new additions

February 17, 2013 by hungie gungie

Hi everyone, I’m baaaacckk! After a long hiatus, I’m finally stepping out of the fog, and ready to introduce you to the little something that’s been keeping me so busy these past few months…

Isn’t it the most beautiful hallway that you’ve ever seen?! It is when you’ve been living in 800+ square feet for 6 years! We added 3 bedrooms and a basement to nearly double our living space and create a small roller-rink below. Slab basement for now = future cave for stinky teenagers (or home theater, mini gym, sewing studio … endless possibilities). In progress photo:

Living in a tiny house, I learned a lot about organization and space management. I love getting rid of STUFF! It is like a giant *EXHALE*

However, even with my diligence to conquering clutter, I was losing the battle. Pei’s cookbook collection ~~was~~ is getting out of control, my sewing stash was bursting out of our closet, and Jet and Avery would NOT STOP GROWING!

Oh yeah, and there was this other little thing:

Meet Wes Charles Chang, born November 10, 2012!

I’m such a slacker, he’s already 3 months old. Best baby EVER! Don’t tell Jet and Avery I said that.

So, yeah, just to add to the chaos of living in our home during construction, we decided to bring a newborn into the mix. The only thing that kept me sane through the holidays was knowing that I would soon have a walk-in closet. And, a second bathroom! *high-fives with husband*

Slowly we’ve been moving into our new rooms, but we left a lot of the finishing work to ourselves (painting, plumbing, light fixtures, tiling). And, as most of you know, newborns and getting-sh*t-done don’t really mix! Looking forward to sharing many DIY reveals with you in the future!

While my sewing machine enjoyed a long winters nap, I did manage to squeak out a few holiday crafts…

Inspired by one that I pinned, this door mat looked so cool for about 2 weeks. I spray painted an old one with silver, taped off the triangle shapes, and painted them shades of green. I won’t show you what has become of it. Next year, I will leave it on the covered porch that no one uses.

I made these beaded icicles out of a necklace that my mother-in-law made me. She doesn’t read this blog, in case you are wondering.

I wish I could’ve captured how beautiful these looked on the tree with the lights sparkling through. My photography could not do them justice.

01-chritmas to jets b-day jan 2013 001

When Avery decided just days before Christmas that the one and only thing she wanted from Santa was a rocking horse, this one, donated by a friend, saved the day! But, since Avery was familiar with said friend’s rocking horse, I needed to give it a new look (on Christmas Eve mind you).

Ah, the lengths we go to in order to perpetuate a gigantic lie, I mean preserve the magic of childhood! Don’t worry, Avery doesn’t read this blog either.

I will leave you with a few more photos of our new favorite kid. Did I just say that? Ha! Kidding! Kind of.

Wes is wearing a beautiful hand-knit Baby Surprise Jacket (a Soulemama go to), made for him by dear friend, and often-mentioned-here, Grayson Butterfield. She also made him these:

This is the Picky Pants Pattern that Grayson and I love. Could you die?!

Obviously we are in mad love over here, both with Wes AND our new rooms. Its shaping up to be a fabulous 2013! Happy Year of the Snake!

~Caroline

Geranium Dress

February 2, 2013 by hungie gungie

Happy February!

To celebrate the arrival of my least favorite month (bleak/blah/brrrrrr!!!), I made a Geranium dress for Ellery.

This a new pattern from Rae a.k.a. our sewing guru…. And just as I knew it would be, the pattern is clear and concise with many photos and plenty of options.

Really, if you’re looking for a great basic dress pattern, get this!

The fabric is sort of an odd choice, but i was feeling pressured to use a (soon to expire) gift certificate at my local shop and I was drawn to this… It’s Field Study Glimmer by Kristine Baerlin for Free Spirit. I think it’s suitable for February actually. Grayish/Green cattails with bits of pink and orangey-gold…. a little prelude to Spring. I didn’t have much else in enough yardage, so I kind of took the risk of her rejecting it but soldiered on….

Ellery seemed to like it right away, but told me (she loves to say this) “I’ll wear it to school when I’m 5!”

I made a 5T for my almost 5 year old girl- there is a little room for her to grow into it.

I lengthened the skirt by an inch and a half and I also added in the pockets from view B to my skirt piece (view A).

I intended to use snaps to close the back, just for ease of getting dressed in the busy mornings, but I forgot I had these cute purple oval buttons- I liked the look so I went with it.

Here she is discovering her pockets….it took her a while

….And here she is trying to play dollhouse with her hands still in the pockets…

Most importantly, this dress withstood the couch-jumping test.

I have a tunic version of this in the works for Corinne…

Until then, Adios!

-Erin

UPcycled: knit tees to girl’s dresses

November 10, 2012 by hungie gungie

My sewing-fun as of late has been upcycling some barely worn clothes of ours into E’s new favorite dresses!

I attached a never-worn silky jersey shirt of mine (Old Navy, clearance rack, $6) to a basic long-sleeved black tee of hers.

Took all of 12 minutes to do this… seriously… you should make a few…

She wore it several times before I got around to adding the embellishment (to hide a little un-intended pleat in the top). I cut circles of the purple fabric and stacked them up- about 5 layers from large to small, then hand-stitched them in the center to the front.

Awww… my poor sick girl. She’s been under the weather all week, we’re waiting for a test to come back to see if she’s got mono…

Not sure who she’s kissing at preschool!! hee hee.

Here’s another one, the bottom is an old dress of mine, the long-sleeve shirt came as-is- it has a cute corduroy print, some lace, and a couple lttle bows.

Just attached it to my old dress and voila! This one took me about 11 minutes… At the rate i’m going, I should be able to crank one out while the car warms up in the morning! ha!

No really though, here’s the quick rundown:

1. Cut your shirt and skirt to desired length- (I leave about 3″ of shirt below the armpit), the skirts I’ve been keeping pretty long since that’s how she likes them.

2. Gather your skirt by sewing a couple of long straight stitches across 1/2″ from the raw edge. Gather it up evenly and turn it inside out.

3. Insert your shirt piece inside the skirt piece, lining up the raw edges. and side seams (right sides will be touching). Adjust the skirt and the gathers to fit the shirt piece. Pin in place.

4. Sew (i used a straight stitch) together using a 5/8″ seam (i also then zigzaged over that for no reason.. er.. just good measure I guess?). Turn your dress right side out.

** For a better idea of this easy technique (and photos), you could go to my Vintage Pillowcase Tank Dress tutorial to get the gist. Same idea, (only I did not use elastic thread here).

Since Ellery boycotted the last dresses I made her because “they’re bumpy” a.k.a. made from woven cotton, I’m sticking to these strechy ones for a while. They’re comfy, easy to make, almost free, and she’s wearing them all the time.

I plan on raiding my husbands drawers next. I know there are some goods just waiting to be hacked up!

-Erin

p.s. We are still waiting to meet Caroline’s baby… she’s 6 days late and starting to get a little crank-xious (yep. new word for ya!).

Send her your good vibes!

….And For some more UPcycled inspiration, see these:

Vintage Thift Store Frock into Dress

Dad’s Sweater into Girl’s Cardigan

Cashmere Sweater into Ear Warmer

Vintage Sheet into Spring Top

School Daze and a Gift for Haze

September 27, 2012 by hungie gungie

Please excuse me while I take a moment to come to terms with the fact that I most assuredly deleted the one and only first-day-of-Kindergarten photo that I took of my first-born child. There was only one shot taken, candidly, because he was not in a paparazzi mood that day. It was adorable, and now it’s gone. I can’t believe I did that. I thought I’d already uploaded it, and just erased it from my memory card… for good.

*Exhale*

Okay, well, here’s Avery on her first day.

I’m a terrible mother.

Back to the blog…

Holy back-to-school, blog-on-the-backburner bloggers we are! I think after a month in, I have finally adapted to this elementary school schedule. 6:30 am used to be an ungodly hour for this night-owl gal! Fortunately Jet and Avery were not super early risers either. But I have to say, I am really thriving with all the morning clock watching, lunch box packing, and bus stop dashing! It’s forcing me to be more alert and organized. (Edit-I wrote this paragraph before the above stated disaster took place.) Of course with 5 more weeks of pregnancy to go, there is a bit of nesting going on, and conscious need for more sleep. So, yeah, not a whole lot of sewing going on these days. I can proudly say, however, that Jet is killin it in Kindergarten and Avery is perfectly pleased with preschool! And for 8 hours a week, I am worshiping my free time! Still, no sewing, but no shortage of ideas buzzing in my head, and half-finished projects lying around. I’m sure you all know how that is! You know you’re a crafter when corners of your house look like this:

Are those raw edges? Yup. Still figuring out if we can commit to yellow chevron cafe curtains.

Awe, how cute, a baby boy sweater just hanging out for months on the needles. (Also a random paintbrush chillin on some Marthas that I just can’t let go of.)

Oh and look, there’s an acorn wreath that I swear IS GONNA HAPPEN!

Anyhoo, while those projects might actually, one day, be blogged, for now, I will have to share a finished product from over a month ago…

I have made these slip-covers, or “cozies”, for Baby Bjorns before, but was psyched when my BFF from highschool, Kelly, registered for the type of Bjorn that I do not own. It gave me the chance to draft a pattern for Bjorn’s original style (mine is an “Active” Bjorn Carrier, which is bigger and slightly different shaped). I snatched it off the registry immediately and got to work on my design. Kelly’s daughter, Hazel Ellery (gotta love that name!), was born ahead of schedule, by 11 weeks or so, giving us all a good scare. She was so teeny and fragile then, but she’s packed on a quite a few by now and is probably close to taking her first Autumn Bjorn ride!

Here is my prototype (and no, that is not Hazel, it’s a doll!) :

I really wanted to see how an all-fleece construction would work. Even though my first pattern attempt was a little too small, the fleece was able to stretch to fit.

After I adjusted the pattern a bit, and found some adorable Hazel-colored fabric, I went for it, with fleece only on the inside for warmth.

Perfecto! I even had the opportunity to meet sweet baby Haze in her Boston NICU apartment last month! I just had to be there for that shower, and to encourage her mom and dad, who are such special friends of mine, to keep up their fierce parenting. Its been a long road, but she will be home soon! And she will also be a cutie-pie girlfriend for my future little man!

As for my Bjorn cozies, I still have romantic visions of an Etsy store full of them. One day people, one day.

~Caroline

backyard sundress

July 13, 2012 by hungie gungie

Have I mentioned before that my 4 year old ONLY wears dresses? In fact, she probably hasn’t worn a pair of shorts or pants- besides leggings or pj’s- in almost a year…. While I think it’s cool she’s got a strong sense of…a-hem…style… I’ll be honest and say, yeah… it bothers me slightly that I have a stash of pants and shorts that just sit in her closet while she recycles the same 3 dresses each week.

Anyway, the girl could use some new ones.

I have a lot of home-sewn ideas for her in my head that are looming around. Just not a lot of time to dedicate to the sewing machine these days. So, I really wanted to create a simple dress that wouldn’t require too much planning, thinking, or cutting or tracing of any pattern pieces (all those beignet skirt pieces burned me out). Something where I could just keep the measurements and some notes handy, and whip up one whenever I had an hour free.

I’m happy to say, this is it!

Here’s how it rates on Ellery’s Wearability Scale (1-10):

comfort: 10. She wore this 5 days in a row (i kid you not) and slept in it once…

twirlability: a solid 8.

pinkaliciousness: 8. there is enough pink here to satisfy both daughter AND mother (if ya know what i mean).

backyard capabilities: off the charts! This dress can easily adapt to tricycle riding, firefly catching, toad-spotting, garden grazing, sandbox-squatting and hill rolling. It’s loose where it needs to be loose, and snug where it needs to be snug.

A bit about the fabric: It’s a ‘specialty’ seersucker from Joann’s… definitely higher quality than their normal seersucker. I bought a few yards at 40% off…It’s so soft and light. I love the dusty rose color, and the hints of yellow and purple.

And can you see the gold thread running through it (better in person)? Adds just the right amount of snazz.

As far as the design goes, I was inspired by Rae’s spring ruffle top (Caroline made a couple, here and here), the simple band around the chest, the gathered skirt, and the ruffle straps. My kid seems to prefer dresses that are long, so i made sure it was a few inches above her ankles. For the straps I cut a long piece of fabric, folded it, then cut along the raw edges getting wider as I got to the center (so the ruffles at the center of the strap would extend almost to the end of her shoulders). Then, I shifted the top layer over just a bit so you can see the under layer of fabric, and sewed in a casing for elastic along the fold. Easy as can be. I left the ruffled edges raw, but later zig zag stitched them so they wouldn’t get too fray-crazy.

I like the almost-unfinished look it gives, as if this dress doesn’t take itself too seriously…

though it is seriously loved by this girl.

Bless her little tomato-pickin’ heart.

-Erin

***if anyone would be interested in a little how-to, please let me know in the comments. I plan on making a couple more of these soon and am happy to put a tutorial together to share with you***

The Rookie Seamstress (a guest post and tutorial)

July 6, 2012 by hungie gungie

I never thought I’d see the day. Our sister Erika, dubbed “the uncrafty one”, learned to sew! And get this, after only two hours at the sewing machine, she is here to offer you a tutorial! Seriously guys, this is how big sisters roll. They also declare things like, “Watch me dominate the sewing machine,” and “Sweet! What What!”, as they go.

Erika and her adorable one year old, Sean, are visiting from Chicago for a few weeks, staying at our parent’s house. Since a terrible storm last week has left us (the Chang 4) without power, we’ve been squatting at casa de parentals too. 6 days and counting, people!

Anyway, I came back here with the kids after a pool day, and found Erika in our mom’s sewing studio, completed project in hand, looking oh-so satisfied…

My jaw dropped. What just happened?
I will let E take it from here.
-Caroline

I admit that crafting isn’t my thing. It takes too long, gets boring, requires lots of clean-up, and I just don’t have a head full of creative ideas. However, I always admire the things my sisters and mother make and think, “Well I can do that too.”

Here is my first sewing project: Bibs!

Choose your fabrics. For this bib I chose a red gingham and a Dick and Jane print. I also used a piece of flannel fabric in the middle to give the bib some additional structure. However, the flannel is optional. I made some bibs without it and they turned out just as well.

The first step is to iron your fabric. Apparently this is the key to sewing, according to both my mom and mother-in-law. Did they have the same Home Ec. teacher??

Next, trace your pattern onto your fabric. (Who knew they make fabric markers that disappear when you iron it?! Love it!! I’m a gadget girl and I’ll buy anything that makes life easier and more convenient so this marker was right up my alley.) Make sure you trace on the wrong side of the fabric and make sure the flannel fabric is on the bottom, not sandwiched in the middle. I made the mistake of putting it in the middle and after I finished sewing and went to turn it right side out, I realized my error. This led me to my next “first”….the seam ripper. My sister and mother assured me they make mistakes all the time and have to take out stitches. Yeah right.

Start by tracing your favorite bib onto some card stock or heavy paper.

Place your fabrics on top of each other and pin together. They should be inside out. Trace around your bib pattern on one of the outside fabrics.

Don’t cut out the shape yet. Sew it first, then cut it out. Trust me. It’s much easier!

Sew along the line you traced on the fabric. Remember to leave an opening (2-3 inches) so you can turn your fabric right side out later.

Once it is sewn, cut out the shape staying about 1/4 inch from the thread.

Turn the bib right side out. Then use a tool like a chopstick to push out all the edges from inside the bib.

Iron your bib making sure to iron a nice seam at the opening.

Sew the opening shut.

Optional step- I went back and added a top stitch after I was done. I did it because I made a mistake sewing up the opening. Apparently, this is an “advanced” sewing technique

Actually, it made the bib look more finished and I really liked it. It was easy with the aid of a quilting 1/4 edge foot in place.

Add a snap.

Hardest part- trying to fix my many mistakes: retreading the bobbin, switching feet, threading the needle, trying not to sew too fast, remembering all the steps.

All in all, not too tough and I’ll admit, pretty fun. I plan on making more of these bibs to give as gifts to friends. But this one, is for my little guy, Sean!

Thanks for having me!

Erika

Rest a-shirred…

June 26, 2012 by hungie gungie

…I figured it out! Shirring (pronounced sure-ing), or smocking, is a skill that I have been wanting to learn for quite some time now. Erin has made some cute shirred dresses for the girls, and has expressed how fun and simple the technique is. The idea is that you fill your bobbin with elastic thread while keeping regular thread up top, sew rows and rows, and watch it pucker! I chose The Mendocino Sundress pattern, by Heather Ross, as my first shirred project. As our blogger guru Rae often suggests, I made a muslin version first, before subjecting my special lawn cotton to this unfamiliar pattern. I thought this pretty old sarong would be so-right for practicing (I know, so many puns, so little time). The edges already with a rolled hem!

Pretty, yes, but also a pain in the you-know-what to work with! It was like sewing with gauze! Things didn’t go well in the beginning. I think I had cut the pattern too small, and as soon as I got going I knew I would not be able to stretch this thing over my bust. So, I chopped off the top, and that became a skirt for Avery!

Starting over, I hopped online to watch some shirring tutorials. After gathering some handy tips and visuals, I got back to my dress, er… tunic. A couple of days, and a whole lot of elastic thread later, I was done!

Cute, right? I want to live in this easy, breezy top! It is so comfy and pregnant friendly! Here’s a close-up of the shirring.

There are tons of flaws, but who can tell? Shirring is evidently very forgiving. Which is why I’m in LOVE!

In keeping with my tan lines, I opted for halter straps. I can always change that later. Thanks to my mom, who happened by as I was finishing, I got a proper shoot with a real photographer!

If only there were a tropical vacation in my future! I am now fully confident in cutting up my nice fabric for the smocked sundress I have planned. Be back with that in a few days! Thanks for coming by.

~Caroline

Beignet Skirt

June 17, 2012 by hungie gungie

In a slow attempt to update my current wardrobe with some home-sewn flair, I made myself a skirt!

This is the beignet skirt from Colette Patterns. A high-waisted straight skirt with 12 buttons (and…12 buttonholes…yikes ) up the front and a skinny belt. This skirt could also be referred to as “the 7 week skirt” or “the skirt that took 4-eva” or the “put down that beignet and get to sewing me already” skirt. Hmmm….do I look knock-kneed up there? Yikes.

I mean, I know I’ve been a little busy… but I cut my pieces out a month and a half ago, and they sat around collecting dust for a bit. Here and there, I got around to sewing it together in the last couple of weeks. During a couple nights of the Hatfields & McCoys mini-series with my hubs, I blew through most of it. All that killing and backwoods family drama motivated me I guess?

I made a size up from what I normally wear since I’m post-baby. And like some other folks out there, in the end I decided to forego sewing the belt together since I honestly could not stand to look at my fabric anymore! I found an inexpensive braided red one at Old Navy instead- and I think it probably looks better this way.

Oh, hello split ends!

Wow. I need to make an appointment to shave my head this week. STAT.

Anywho, I would say this was an elaborate project for me- but, as with all sewing patterns I’ve tried, I learned a heckofalot! Made some side seam pockets for the first time, and also learned how to face and line a skirt- this being the hardest part of the process for me, since 1. I bought cheap yellow lining fabric that showed it’s cheapness in many ways…. and 2. once I went to sew my skirt shell to the lining, none of my seams matched up. My shell was wider than the lining… so, I took in a few of the shell seams and did the best I could with getting it to match up, but it wasn’t without belting out some of this: @#*$*^*#%&^!!!

There’s also a point where you have to attach the lining to the facing at a major curve. See below. I just had to go super slow… and it came out okay, but probably not perfect.

My buttons were a small splurge- but I really love the jade color. I was a little hesitant to use them because maybe they don’t quite “go”…but i’m happy I did. I’m not all for “matchy matchy” things anyway, and plus I need more color in my closet like nobody’s business.

I will say, this pattern was challenging for me, but defintely well-written… I plan on making another someday, maybe for Fall… though I’d choose a heavier weight cotton. Mine here is almost linen-like, and I did have some slight issues (mainly when it came to the buttonholes) because of that.

And like I said, I used cheapo lining material (don’t be like me- do a little research on lining options!) but I do like the little glimpse of yellow poking out of the pocket.

Now. Can i blatently show off the REAL (adorable) reason this took me so long to make?

I MEAN….

Who can get anything done with these baby blues gazing up at you??

-Erin

**update: this skirt was feautered on Colette Patterns blog, Coletterie… I’m blushing!!**

Another Spring Top

May 31, 2012 by hungie gungie

Alright, so these photos aren’t great. They were taken by my 5-year-old on the iPad earlier today. I installed a WordPress app and wanted to see how easy it was to post from it. I accidentally published to the blog! Whoops!

Anyway, here is the second spring top I finished:

You probably recall from my last post that this pattern is a free tutorial from Made By Rae.

The floral print is from Jo-anns. Our local store was just renovated, and it is SO MUCH BETTER. They actually have TWO bathrooms for customers (with potty training children)! They used to send us to TJMaxx for that.

The coral cotton is an Amy Butler solid, “mango” I believe.

All in all this one came together pretty nicely. I opted not to do the pleats, and just gathered instead. I don’t think it is quite as polished this way, but still cute! You can see that I made little slits on the sides and was happy with that move. Might even make them deeper.

I’ll try to edit this post with a better photo as soon as I have an adult around to help me. Still, I’m thrilled to be sewing wearable items for myself! I urge you to try it!

Have a fantastic weekend!

~Caroline

hungie gungie

…not your momma's goulash

Category Archives: uncategorized

It HAD to have the piping

Two new additions

Geranium Dress

UPcycled: knit tees to girl’s dresses

School Daze and a Gift for Haze

backyard sundress

The Rookie Seamstress (a guest post and tutorial)

Rest a-shirred…

Beignet Skirt

Another Spring Top

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