TodaysGiveaway.net

I did it again! I entered one of the giveaways at Today's Giveaway and won! It came as a total shock to me when I read the email that I had actually won a Flirty Apron from flirtyaprons.com. If I can win something, so can you! Enter any of the giveaways on any of the giveaway sites I have listed on the bottom left. Best of luck to all!

The apron I chose...can't wait to get it! ^-^

Scrub Top

Firstly, I never knew how much fun it would be to make a scrub top. ^-^ As a Christmas present for my sister-in-law, my parents-in-law asked me to make a Realtree scrub top. The scrub was both easier and harder than I imagined (the pattern altering and fitting that is). But to get to the bottom line, I'm proud of it! And as an added bonus, my sister-in-law loves it too! She wore it the first day back to work, and I've been told there are many envious nurses. Thanks for the sewing opportunity!

My sister-in-law showin' off her awesome scrub. ^-^

Sales

Jo-Ann's pattern sales.

Butterick patterns $.99 July 18-24.

Simplicity patterns $1.99 July 29-31 (Simplicity has the best selection of scrub patterns)

McCall's patterns-No current sales
Vogue patterns-No current sales

If you don't feel like waiting for a sale, Simplicity has cheaper patterns (It's Sew Easy and New Look) from $3-5. They can be found on the racks instead of the drawers.

I use Jo-Ann: Fabric and Craft Store, Hancock Fabrics, and Wal-mart as my local "suppliers." Check Jo-Ann's  and Hancock's weekly sales flier for any fabric or pattern sales and coupons (please be sure to check whether it's valid online or in-store).  Also, don't forget that Wal-mart price matches. :)

If you know of any other fabric store in the North Little Rock to Cabot area, please email me. I would love to check it out!

Policies

Here are a few guidelines/tips for both my customers and me. Check back from time to time to see if there are any additions.

--Please do not call or text before or after the preferred calling hours (before 8 a.m. and after 8 p.m.). Please do not call or text on Sundays.
--If I do not answer, please leave a message.  I will get back to you as soon as I am able.  Call/text back times are Mon-Sat 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Call back days--not times--also apply to replying to emails)

When needing a hem altered, please bring/wear the shoes you plan to wear with the garment.

I reserve the right to decline altering/mending/constructing a project or garment.

I only accept clean garments. DO NOT bring a garment that is dirty.

I check my email Monday through Saturday.

If there is damage done to your garment during the alteration/mending process, I will mend my mistake, report the damage to you, and you will receive no charge for the procedure in which the damage occurred. i.e. A pair of pants needs a hem taken down, and waist taken out. I accidentally tear a hole in the seat of the pants with a seam ripper. I will patch the hole, finish the waist alteration and hem, and report the damage. I will not charge for altering the waist, but I will still charge for hemming the pants.

I am not responsible for unsatisfactory alterations if the customer will/did not try on and have me mark the garment to be altered. i.e. If a hem is too short and the customer did not try it on and have me mark it, it is the customers responsibility and the customer must still pay for the alteration.

I will try my hardest to finish all alterations/mendings or projects as soon as possible. The time will vary depending on the responsibilities of my home and work.

Please pick up your items in a timely manner (as soon as the work is completed you will be notified). Items not picked up by 10 days after completion of the alterations/mending/construction will be donated to Goodwill, Care Channel, etc.

I do not work on weekends.

What's with the scripture?

If you're wondering why I put Mark 2:21 up. A simple explanation: My previous employer-the Sewing Goddess-had this (or Matthew 9:16...they say the same thing) posted on a wall in the sewing room. The scripture was her policy for customers who came in wanting their "favorite" pair of pants patched again...yes, again. The pants would be hanging together by a few threads sometimes. I have adopted this same policy. If I've patched it once, I ain't patchin' it again! Especially crotches.

Business cards! Hurray!

My free business cards came in yesterday! This is what the front looks like. Mark 2:21 is written on the back.

Shirt to Dress Project

I finally finished one of the little girl dresses. I made it out of an old shirt of mine that was way to small. Here is what the shirt looked like before:
and after:
I got the idea from: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=170402.0
I made a few changes on the construction, but the basic idea is the same. I will admit, my "tutorial" is rather scanty on details. The original tutorial is much better at giving step by step instructions.

First, rather than cut the shirt apart I picked it apart...more time consuming, but I wanted to get every possible inch of the fabric (it was a rather small shirt compared to the tutorial). I also had to unpick all the darts.
Once that was done I folded the front and back of the shirt in half,measured, and cut the shape. The chest needed to be at least 19 1/2 inches around, including ease. (For the front of the shirt, the tutorial taped the shirt together. I found it much easier to unbutton the shirt and then lay the two sides on top of each other to cut.)
Once the fabric was cut I then cut and basted on some plain white fabric to the shirt because the shirt was rather thin.

The blue lines are the cut edge and green are the finished edge. (for a larger view, click the photo)

With that done, I sewed the three pieces together. The back of the shirt became the front of the dress, and the front the back. I also turned the back of the shirt inside out because it had a decent looking patch that added a nice effect to the dress front. ^-^ Because I don't have a serger I did a flat felled seam on the sides so wouldn't have to clean finish them (tutorials for those seam finishes will come in another post).

The next step was to make some arm holes. I measured the width between my daughter's underarms, marked the fabric, cut, and then clean finished the armholes and top of the dress.
I took the two sleeves, which I also lined with fabric, trimmed them down and clean finished the raw edge. To straighten out the inner part of the sleeve (the side that would become closest to the neck...it used to be the outer edge of the shirt sleeve) I sewed some ribbon on, it also served as a nice decor. Because I straightened out that one edge the other became gathered
I safety pinned the finished sleeves onto the dress and had my daughter try in on to make sure the sleeve wasn't too long from front to back and also to mark the hem.

That done, I tacked down the sleeves and hemmed the dress with more ribbon.
Here is the finished product.
Pictures will be a bit less nerve racking once she can stand on her own. Again, the original tutorial is much more detailed and easier to follow. I promise to be more specific on future projects.