Flower Bib Necklace

Skills acquired: Zig-zag finish

My not so successful tulle skirt was my own silly design. This necklace is also my own design, but I feel it worked much better than the skirt.

I used more of the roses from my headbands and under the petals stitched them to some heavy felted cotton. The pearls were hand-stitched. Since I had a couple snarls, exposed ribbon ends, and a Frankensteinian back from altering my original arrangement, I traced another piece of cotton and zig-zag stitched the edges to my original back piece.

Quick Thoughts for the Week

I made a second Charm Pack skirt this weekend both to apply what I'd learned and to see how much faster a project would be the second time. Even with a couple unforeseen problems, the second was finished in under two hours. We won't talk about how long the first one took. (This is also why I'm posting something so scatter shot instead of a "look what I made!")

Working on this project has really built my confidence. I catch myself looking at lots of clothes and patterns now and thinking, "It's just some straight lines and some curved lines. I can do that."

I just realized that the Charm Pack skirt pattern can be altered using strips of fabric instead of squares in a light organza. Voila! Petticoat.

While on an excursion to Goodwill this past weekend, I picked up some men's shirts to make into skirts. (See the excellent photograph to the left.) Very excited.

When I cook, I look up several recipes and pull from each to make my own version. I've been doing the same with sewing projects.

I put in a tutorials tab to keeps tabs (ho, ho! punny!) on cool things to try. You're welcome.

I'm upping my level from super beginner to beginner. Break out the champagne!

Tools

One of my favorite part of Stitch by Stitch is that tools are broken down by necessity. Great! I'm totally clueless. Guide me!

I already had a seam ripper, measuring tape, iron, and scissors. Those are no brainer items, but I've been careful to note what frustrates me as I work and then purchase a tool to help with that frustration.

So far I've purchased:

- Seam gauge. This is a great little measuring tool with a slider. I found it especially helpful when trying to get my hem exactly 3/4 inches deep.

- Seam guide. It is so freeing to not need to stare at the throat plate guide lines. I do check the edge of the seam guide every so often, but I can focus more on odd bunching with the guide in place. Even if you abandon it later, newbies should try one when starting out.

- Rotary cutter/mat. After making my tutu and trying to cut a straight line for some bias tape, I felt like scissors were my enemy. I even got those for-either-hand deally-dos, but I still veer and get ragged edges. A rotary cutter will help me make continuous and swift cuts.

- Acrylic ruler. This stands on its own and pairs with the rotary cutter. Mine is 18 inches long. For quick measurements, I like it better than measuring tape, plus I can use it to get a perfect edge with my rotary cutter.

Next on my to purchase list is a wrist pin cushion, a ruffler foot, and a scarf hem foot. When I start making more clothing, I'll get a sleeve board, tailor's ham, and french curve.