Once upon a time, there was a lady who bought some fabric she didn't have any plans for. She saw it online and had to have it. No clue what she'd do with the fabric, she decided to buy it anyway. That's the tale of every sewist at one time or another, right? We buy fabric without a clue what we'll use it for. We love the fabric. Give us aallll the fabric!! Here are some spooky things you can make with Halloween fabric. Disclaimer: they're not really spooky. ;)

The air is crisp and the leaves are sprinkling the ground as I type. Apple picking season is among us. I tried to hold on to summer but, there's no escaping it. Fall is here. Yay! I am ready, bring on my favorite season.
My creative side has been lacking lately so, I wanted to try something new. Usually, I only share patterns that I love or havecreated myself. But, I wanted to shake things up around here. So, I'm sharing one of my sewing fails. Yes, a fail. A major sewing fail. Face-palm.
​Here's the circle bag.

I wanted to try my hand at something new for the upcoming season. I saw a circle bag in a shop and knew I wanted to make one. I had light brown vinyl and planned on using it for a cute Autumnal bag. After scouring the interwebs for a free pattern, I settled with what I thought was a good one.  Welp, the pattern was not great. I don't want to throw anyone under the bus so, I'm not saying where I got the pattern. But it was "meh" at best.


I knew from the beginning this was going to be an experiment. Yay for experiments! I created a Fall themed embroidery file to place on the front, just in case the purse turned out cute. I didn't want a boring brown circle bag. 
The embroidery design has leaves, pumpkins, and a scarecrow. Fun! Although, the scarecrow was a little wonky.... don't look too close. ;)

​
Following the instructions, I gathered everything that was needed and cut out the pieces. I embroidered on the front circle only, that's the only area everyone will see. I used mismatched hardware for the strap (it's what I had on hand) and I used a brown zipper. Fall bag, here I come!

My, oh my, the summer has flown by. I cannot believe we're almost halfway through August. Someone stop the clock, please!! 

We've spent plenty of time in our backyard this summer. Sprinklers, popsicles, and slip n slides, takin' it back old school style.

This month started with me participating in the #BRAugust challenge, hosted by Ying from Tailor Made Shop. She has a website, a blog, and an Etsy shop. I purchased bra making kits from her in the past. She is a sewist who creates and sells beautiful things for the lingerie sewing world. Yay for bra making!! Although, for the challenge, I did not make a bra. I opted to make a swimsuit. I've never made a swimsuit and I needed a new challenge.

• Stretch needles (Yes, you need these)
• Polyester thread
• Rubber or swimwear elastic- you cannot use regular cotton elastic. It will die in the salt and chlorine water. 
• Swimwear fabric which is a blend of lycra and spandex. I buy my knits online from Girlcharlee.com They have a swimwear section coming soon. It's usually in the dancewear fabric section at Joann.
• Lining fabric (must be swimwear lining)
• Set of foam cups (optional) 
• Sewing machine that can sew zigzag stitches
• Serger (optional)
• Rotary cutter and mat, scissors, measuring tape, ruler, and all your usual sewing notions
• Water-soluble pen
• Clips or ball point pins for pinning layers together
• PDF pattern of the Bombshell bathing suit

Make sure you practice stitching on your serger and or sewing machine first. My differential feed was on, on my serger. Below is a picture of the serger settings I used. I have a Brother Lock 1143DW which I believe is similar to the 1034D. Even if you have this machine, test stitch on a swatch piece first. Every machine is different. I mainly used my serger but did have to use the sewing machine to make gathering stitches, basting stitches, and to sew on the elastic. 

Wow, sewing sure seems to have made a popular comeback!
Let's debunk some common misconceptions about sewing and the people who do it. Whether you're new to sewing or a seasoned seamstress, you may have heard some of these tall tales. Let's put an end to them, now. Since more people are sewing nowadays, it'll be easier to make new sewing friends. Yay! 

Let's dive into some myths and bust them up! 

A common sewing myth is that sewing is for an older generation only. I'm here to tell ya, more young people are learning how to sew. And, men sew too. My husband learned to sew when I put him to work for mask making. If you don't know where to start, you can find online classes, head to your local college and sewing shops, or even ask a friend to teach you. Sewing people are everywhere, you just gotta look. 

I have taught a handful of friends and family that I don't consider "old ladies". Although, I do refer to sewing as one of my old lady hobbies. LOL. Oh and kids sew too. I have taught all 4 of my kids to sew at a young age. It's a good life skill to have and it's not being taught in school anymore. Here's an article I found online about young people sewing more and more. I'm not crazy, I swear! Sewing is for everyone.

​Busted!

LOL! I always laugh at this one. Sewing is often more expensive. A lot more expensive. 
Making something from start to finish is costly. You walk into the fabric store and buy a pattern (or online) for roughly $12. You need a minimum of 1-2 yards (for most garments) of fabric which costs roughly $20+. A spool of electric blue thread to match your new fabric, $3. You need a new pack of needles too, $5. Not to mention the price you paid for your machine and all those other glorious notions you've put hard-earned money into. The cost is $40+ just for the 4 items I mentioned. And, I didn't include the price for your time. Time is money and you know it doesn't take 10 minutes to whip up a dress for little Suzie.

You can buy a nice top or pair of shorts for $25 at a big box retail shop.   
This misconception always gets me and it hurts my feelings sometimes. I love making gifts but, I've gotten looks and questions asking why I didn't buy something instead. Sigh. It takes a lot of time and energy to sew something. It ends up costing more than if you purchased the same item in the store, usually.
Let's spread the word and lay this myth to rest. 

​Busted!

First, I'll share some back story about my own bra journey. I wear a weird size. I can't walk into Target, Wal-Mart, or Macy's and just buy a bra. I have a small ribcage and large... um... blessings. So, I order bras online and pay a ridiculous amount for them. They aren't made any better than what you can find at Target, etc. But, they carry more unique sizes, so I go with that route. I made my first bra last year and it was mind-blowing! It was also extremely easy, cost-efficient, and even fun (once I got the fit down).

So, a few weeks ago, I was walking through Dollar General and grabbed a large bra. I said to myself, I bet I could alter this band size to make it smaller. I held the foam cup up to me and it seemed to be the right cup size. I gave the cashier my $7.00 and drove home. When I got home, I tried it on and had my husband help mark where I would cut the band, to fit my back. I thought Eureka! This is the coolest bra hack ever and I need to share it!!

​Side note: I don't think this will work as easily if you need to increase the bra size. This is more of a cut and slash downsizing bra project. I wear a small band, large cup. If you have a small cup, it may be more difficult to do this bra hack.