Work in Progress: Selfish Sewing

You're tired of me talking about how I'm going to do some selfish sewing and design summer clothes for myself aren't you? I've had some good excuses and lame ones too. But finally after months of talking about it I finally sat down with my new machine and started sewing.

 My first task was drafting my own shirt pattern. I figured it was a good place to start and if I did it right the first time I could alter the pattern to make pretty much anything I wanted: tshirts, tank tops, dresses, vest, hoodie, long sleeves... you get the point. Now if the idea of drafting your own pattern seems intimidating- really, it's not. It's a matter of taking measurements and plotting them out onto a piece of paper then playing connect the dots! (I used parchment paper... because that's what I had on hand) Mad Mim had a good tutorial for drafting your own tshirt pattern.

I also decided hemming and finishing edges is for the birds. Read: I'm picking up this roll & shell hemmer foot Saturday.

Here's the finished tank, along with a sneak peak at an upcoming campers camera strap project (yep, even more selfish sewing!) you'll see on Oh My! soon.

Searching the webbernet for some more fashionable freebie patterns to try out- I stumbled upon Made By Rae's  Spring Ruffled Shirt on Sew Mama Sew. I can do that, I thought. And I did- whipped it up using 2 vintage bed sheets. Which between you and I are the BEST resource for beginners (and advanced) sewists alike. You'll be able to find them for a few dollars at the local thrift shops, yard sales, or even in your own closet. Added bonus if you mess up, you're not out $30 worth of fabric.

And finally, I made a bathing suit... from a tshirt! I kept seeing all these itty bitty teenie weenie bikini tutorials made from tees, and hello! I'm beyond the days of string bikinis! It has less to do with self image confidence (but trust its lurking in the background) and more with the fact that any bathing suit I wear needs to withstand the "Picking-Up-and-Carrying-A-Kid-In-Midst-Of-Full-Blown-Tantrum-Because-We're-Leaving" scenerio or you know anything similar to that. (pictured below with the No Sew Skirt) You'll be able to find the Teekini Tankini Tutorial on WeAllSew.

 So, there you have it my selfish sewing spree and all done in a matter of a week. What can I say the sewing bug bit me and the mosquitoes too! What have you been working on?