Fiance's Flannel Shirt

I thought today I would take a break from home decor projects and share a shirt I recently made for Fiance.

It fits him really well, but he hates having his picture taken, so I elected to model it instead. It's a bit long on me, but it has that comfy wearing my boyfriend's shirt feeling. I like it so much I might make myself one too! When he put it on he pointed out that the pockets are not level, but they really aren't off by much. Oops. I probably should have measured before I sewed them on, instead of eyeballing the marks on the pattern.

The pattern is Negroni by Colette Patterns. I really enjoyed making it. The instructions were easy to follow and they actually tell you how to make a fully finished garment, which I appreciate. The pattern uses flat fell seams. I did make one modification, They call for a 3/8" seam allowance on the shoulders, but I used 5/8". I though the stitching on the flat fell looked prettier that way, it seemed disproportionate at only 3/8" and Fiance has fairly narrow shoulders, so the extra 1/4" on each shoulder wasn't detrimental to the final fit. 

The only other change I would make is to the buttons. I think it would look much more handsome with 7 buttons placed closer together, instead of the 5 that it called for. I also wouldn't place the buttonholes so far in on the facing, just because I think it looks a little funny. All in all, I like this pattern very much, and I'm pretty sure I will be using it for more flannel shirts in the future.

Learning to Use the Serger

When my Grandma passed away a year and a half ago I inherited her sewing machine and her serger. I have been using the sewing machine nearly daily since then, but the serger just sort of sat, forlorn and forgotten because I didn't know how to use it. I told myself it was because I wanted to get really good at more traditional clean seam finishes before learning to use the serger because it seems like cheating a little bit, but in reality I was also afraid to try and use it. I had used a serger on only one prior occasion and when I did I managed to cut a large hole in the fabric when I caught some excess fabric in the seam and I had to start all over again. It made me swear off machines that can so easily ruin projects.

Last weekend I finally screwed up my courage and pulled out the serger. I am a much better sewer now than I was a decade ago the last time I tried to use one so I was hopeful that this time it would go better.

The first thing I did was read the manual cover to cover. It had some very helpful tips on using the machine.

The second thing I did was clean it thoroughly. Check out the nice big ball of lint I got out of it. I'm guessing that Grandma's last project was green and white.

Then I surged the edges of a couple of fabrics that I needed to launder. I also took the opportunity to play with the tension so I could get a better idea of what was right or wrong and how to correct it. Much to my surprise adjusting the tension on the serger was actually easier than my sewing machine because everything is clearly labeled. 

And finally I actually made a couple of pairs of flannel pajama pants. (Did you know pajamas keep you even warmer if they have pictures of sweaters, mittens, socks, and hats? True story.)

I'm pleased with how well I lined up the pattern on the seams here.

And look at that nice, clean, serged seam.

I also made a pair with cupcakes and snowflakes, although I don't think you can actually see the snowflakes in the picture because they are white on very pale blue. 

The pattern I used is Butterick 5432 view G. I did have to make a few changes. If I had folded the waistband where they indicated the pajamas would have come up nearly to my nipples, so I folded nearly 4 inches down for the waistband. In the future I think I will just cut that part off. I also had to hem the pants higher than the pattern thought I would. Either I have really short legs, or Butterick was working on the assumption that the person making these pajama pants is 6 feet tall and nothing but leg. 

All in all, I am very happy with my new pajama pants and even happier that I finally conquered my fear of the serger. 

.

How to Make a Rice Pack

I've been seeing a lot of tutorials lately for making your own ice pack, but have you ever thought about making your own rice pack? They are pretty much the most awesome thing ever. I love my rice pack because it can used hot or cold, it's already soft and snugly so I don't need a towel to protect my skin from the cold, they don't get covered in condensation as they warm up and if it gets cut/punctured/ripped the only thing it leaks is rice, instead of creepy blue chemicals.

This is my old rice packs.

I've had it for years, but it's starting to get a bit of a fridgy smell to it, so today I thought I would make a few new ones. All you need is some flannel, a needle and thread (or sewing machine) and rice.

I had some super cute flannel in my fabric stash that I got on sale for only 2.99 a yd. I only had a yd because it was all the store had left and I figured I could make some pajama shorts out of it, but I wanted new ice packs more. I used about half the yard and got 4 rice packs out of it. You don't have to buy any flannel if you have remnants already in your stash.

So decide on your size/sizes and cut your fabric. I went with two packs that are about 18"x8" and two that are 8"x8"

The longer packs are great for draping cold across your forehead or the back of your neck if you get migraines like me, and hot they work wonderfully for backpain/cramps. You can use the same pack or both, it just takes longer to heat when you start with it in the freezer. I'm only bothering to making two because I had plenty of rice and plenty of fabric.

So, after you cut your fabric put two pieces right sides together and sew around three sides, leaving the fourth side open.

Turn the pack right side out.

Repeat this for all of the packs that you are making.

Now fill them with rice. Any grain actually works, I think my old one has millet in it, but rice tends to be cheapest. A note on stuffing them: about halfway full is plenty of rice, you want the pack to have some give and me flexible with you are using it. I used an entire ten pound bag of rice stuffing these four rice packs.

Now sew up that last side. You could do it by hand with a blind/ladder stitch, which is what I did (great tutorial on how to do that here). I just used smaller stitches than usual to make sure my rice couldn't get back out.

You could also just fold the ends in and stitch across on your machine.

That's what I did on my old rice pack because I didn't know the blind stitch when I made that one.

And here are your finished rice packs

They are a wonderful, quick, easy, and useful project. I hope you enjoy them!