TuTu Tuesday

Subtitle: My Mouth Gets Me in Trouble Again

First off, I know it isn't Tuesday, but I like that title so you're stuck with it. The moral of this story is control your outrage and your mouth, or else it's off to the sewing machine for you.

During the summer months, I was at the shopping mall with Biker Chick. Now, I'm not a shopper, while Biker Chick is quite the trend setter. We stopped at one of her favorite stores, where she admired the tutus. I looked at the garment and expressed my outrage at the price, the lack of a lining, and at the poor quality of the scratchy tulle. (You know what's coming next!) "I could make a tutu much cheaper and much nicer than that!"

To which Biker Chick replied, "Oh Mumsy, would you?" I saw that lovely smile and I was trapped like a fly in a web. So off to the fabric store I went to purchase tulle, lining, and gross grain ribbon. I could not find a pattern, so I winged it by cutting strips and sewing them together. I also purchased flowers to go on top of the ruffling.

This first tutu was created for elder teen daughter in her favorite colors of lime green and purple:



And this tutu was made for Biker Chick:


The girls love their skirts so it was all worthwhile, but next time I will keep my mouth shut at the mall.

Oh Where Have You Been Lottery Girl, Lottery Girl?

I've been super-swamped, just like I am every October with school events and Halloween. I'm so excited with the results of my hard work. Some of you got to see the Marie Antoinette costume I made last year, which included green lace (sleeves) and toile (white and green skirt) from the bargain section of the fabric store:

This year I swore I was not making another costume. But of course, that was a lie because middle child is now a senior in high school and will not be with me next year for Halloween. So this is it and it had better be good!

At first, I decided I would only make a quick fairy skirt. Then while I was sleeping, the top came to me: How about something fit for a Forest Queen? Click on the photo for a more detailed view. I made all the leaves myself, as well as the ribbon roses. The top has sewn-in boning as well.

And here is a photo of my beautiful fairy daughter, all set for Halloween:

Halloween Skirt #2

Done with skirt #2 for other daughter. You might remember skirt #1 from the summer. I am done, done, done. Yeah me!

Creepy Crawlies

I love driving from Boulder to Estes Park, which takes about an hour.  The small town of Lyons marks the half-way point, and I've always wanted to stop and take a peek in the charming shops on Main Street, but I'm always in too much of a hurry.  Last month I finally made the time to stop, and look at what I found in the quilt store:  

Rather than get out the can of Raid, I decided to turn these guys into something cute for youngest child.  We even found a darling neon green friend to sit upon the bow:    

Another Skirt

Daughter picked out the fabric for this skirt from the home decor department. The underskirt is dupioni silk, while the overskirt is a synthetic.

Dupioni is one of my favorite fabrics. The way it reflects the light is one of the reasons I love it. It does have a huge drawback: it sheds horribly. That is why I make French seams (basically a seam within a seam). Here's how the French seam looks on the wrong side:

The AP Scholar Skirt

I finished this skirt late. It was supposed to be for one of my daughter's birthdays. So instead of a birthday skirt, I told her she can wear it for the dreadful AP (Advanced Placement) test on Friday. Works for me.

Turning 17

Do you remember turning 17? I don't. It's pretty much a blur for me, sort of like the photo above, where my daughter has made it to one of the final rounds of Musical Chairs at her birthday party last Friday night.

To commemorate the event, she ordered a very special frock from the design studio of yours truly. She needed it by 5 p.m. I finished it at 4:59 p.m; and no, I'm not kidding. Tensions were high, but it turned out beautifully.

The pattern was a Vintage Vogue pattern from 1952. Daughter chose dupioni silk, woven in two shades, one a hot pink, the other a green. Strangely enough, the resulting color is periwinkle, but changes according to the light. First, I made tiny button loops, the sort found on bridal attire:

Finally, I got the whole thing together.

So was she happy with the dress? You can see for yourself.