BOSC Holiday Craft Boutique - Fairfax, VA

Owls and Vampires and Mummies Oh My!

Need Halloween Fabric? I have some adorable prints from the "Boo to You" Collection by My Mind's Eye for Riley Blake Fabrics - and they are on sale! :

http://www.etsy.com/shop/hootcouture?section_id=10361233

Got Chevron?

I do!  This yummy print is from the Summer Soiree Collection by Paula Prass for Michael Miller Fabrics & is no longer in print. Yardage is available in my Etsy Shop~
http://www.etsy.com/listing/83359857/1-yard-chevron-black-from-the-summer


Jen Of "Tater Tots & Jello" has a fantabulous tutorial for a chevron Halloween wreath:
http://tatertotsandjello.com/2011/09/halloween-chevron-wreath-tutorial.html

*the stripes run parallel to the grain*

Copycat Nightgown

I love love LOVE sewing patterns. I really do. I have 3 Rubbermaid containers full of patterns.

 I use them. Sometimes.

Occasionally I just get impatient and trace a piece of clothing right onto the fabric.

This is one of my daughter's favorite nightgowns from Target~

She needed more nighties,  but I had (ok - "have") a huge stash of knits waiting to be used (and Target gets way too much of my $$), so I decided to make a few :-) 

I traced (actually I just cut right around it) the original~

I had to stretch the neck & arm hole/sleeve areas to make sure I would have enough for gathering.

I decided to dig out the clear elastic tape to reinforce the seams at the shoulder~

I love my serger!

(not a necessity - especially if you are a precision cutter and/or using a pattern and knits don't fray)

topstitching at the shoulder~

The pieces are uneven but the Serger will take care of that :)

I used 1/4" elastic for the neck & arm holes, attaching it with a small zig zag, stretching the elastic as I stitched~

Stretching the elastic  (sorry for the blurry shot :-()

 Ruffles! :-) (that is paint on my thumb nail)

voila!

RIley Blake Holiday Prints!!!

So adorable! Available in my Etsy Shop ~ http://www.etsy.com/shop/hootcouture

New Prints in the Etsy Shop!

New goodies from Alexander Henry~

2D Zoo Yuletide

Holiday Starling

*2D Zoo and Willow Shrooms are back in stock!*

Who needs an overlocker when you have a double needle?

I love my Babylock Imagine serger but it doesn't have an overlock option (uugghh).  I have been meaning to try out the double needle that came with my sewing machine - it's been on my "aroundtoit" list forever.  So when I saw this tutorial on the Make It & Love It Blog I decided to finally hunt through my sewing stuff & get down to business ~

http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/05/sewing-tips-basic-stitches-plus-double.html

This is my first "double needle" project with ruffle fabric & FOE (fold over elastic)~

Like I could resist these owls....

Hoo's In The Forest

by

More Fresh Squeezed :-)

One of my favorite print collections by Sandi Gervais for Moda~

Applique from Planet Applique

New Prints in the Etsy Shop!

I just added a few more Michael Miller Prints to my Etsy Shop - all speacially priced for "Spring Cleaning " :-)

It's official - I have a teenager!

A little sewing tip/ tutorial

Ok- so the clothing line design has been slow going ~ partially due to making goodies for my daughter & niece. I have also been experimenting with new patterns... and mixing pattern pieces from different designers/manufacturers.... and making my own alterations to patterns... resulting in too many UFOs (unfinished objects).  Necessity is the mother of invention - right? For me it is also known as "taking the scenic route" in sewing :-)


One such "alteration" resulted from dealing with making waistbands - not a difficult thing to do but sometimes it drives me crazy ~  especially when I realize (after the fact) that the elastic is twisted (even though I triple checked it) or is too short/long ~  and seam ripping is on my dreaded things to do list - right up there with cleaning the bathroom (and thus a large part of the pile of UFOs).


I found that putting a buttonhole in the waistband area is a major time saver ~ Especially if the skirt/pants/shorts is handed down to a child with a different waist size.

Make sure the buttonhole guide thingy is large enough for your elastic ~

I found that it's easier to start the button hole from the top part of the waist band~

Ready to thread the elastic :-)

Finished product~

If you accidently make the hole on the front side of the waistband (this has happened to me when making a separate waistband added to the bottom part of the skirt later or when making a skort) you can easily cover the "error" with a bow or fabric "yo-yo" :-)

Happy New Year!

 Changes are coming to the business & website! I will be focusing on a small Spring/Summer clothing line - one of a kind pieces - that will be marketed locally as well as online. I will continue to take custom orders from current clients. Please contact me to place an order~


I would also like to put some color on my "builder beige" walls, make some window treatments, make a duvet cover for my bed- oh- and squeeze in some regular exercise- phew! :-)

Wishing all of you peace, health & happiness in 2011 !!!