Monday, May 21, 2012

Vests for my Boys

I wanted to do something special for the men who are going to stand up for us, so I found a pattern and started on some vests! I have never sewed men's wear before, so this was quite the adventure. The pattern was pretty simple - I had a front, a lining front, back, a lining back, welts (pretend pocket looking pieces), and a back strap closure. This made it super easy to cut out all of my pieces and get started. I used a linen for the front and satin for the lining and back. One groomsman has yellow satin and the other has green - this will match my girls. I also made a vest for my Dad using a tan satin.
The hardest part I ran into was all the pleating. There are two pleats in the front and two in the back, two in the front lining, and two in the back lining. This turned into a measuring and pinning game. After the pleating was finished though the rest of the vest just really pulled together pretty quickly.
Everything was machine sewed with the exception of the first sewn stiches on the side seams, i hand stiched those then machine stiched (I wanted to make sure I caught every edge and made it look professional).



The vests, after they were completely sewn, got buttonholes. I am so thankfur that my MILTB has a machine that you can program to complete buttonholes - it made the finishing touches go so fast!



Over all, each vest took about 45 minutes to cut out, an hour and a half of initial sewing time, an hour of hand sewing time, and 20 minutes for finishing touches. I know these pictures are kind of hard to really see how the vests look, so by sure to check back to see the wedding day photos. Of course, the boys will make the vests look far better than I could ever dream just by putting their handsome selves into them.




Saturday, May 19, 2012

Coffee Sack Table Runners

I was looking for table runners for the reception, something country feeling. Flipping through bridal magazines I saw a photo where someone used burlap as a table runner. Burlap seemed like the perfect way to add some texture and visual interest to a plain table - I was sold on the idea; however, looking at fabric stores for burlap came with a large price tag (Joann's was going to end up costing around $60+).
Fortunately I mentioned to my mother-in-law-to-be the burlap runner desire and was met with an idea. There is a warehouse type store in Youngstown, Ohio called Star Supply - they have a little bit of everything and nothing of spectacular value. There we came across a stack of old burlap coffee sacks that were $0.45 a piece and couldn't pass them up. They are each printed with labels and were shipped with the goods they once held from other countries, which of course made them more beautiful in my eyes.



We snatched up ten sacks and ended up cutting them into table runners. But had to cut them apart outside as they smelled like coffee, dirt, and Mexico.




Of course Callie Girl had to help us out a bit. We had to cut the side seams, unfold, and cut in half the full length. Thank goodness my MILTB had extra craft tables, rotary cutters, ruler, and lots of patience!


We did run into a small problem after we started cutting - the burlap began pulling apart from itself. Again, praise the Lord that my MILTB is fast on her toes, we used the surger to run up the edges of the runners (this gave the runners a look that was polished and made our $0.95 cent find look like we spend much, much more).


I can't wait to post pictures of the wedding day. These runners will look awesome with all the vintage colored glass vases we found at the thrift stores!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Survival Kits for Wedding Day / Boxy Bags

I know that my girls probably read this blog, but I am going to go ahead and post anyways. Sorry ladies for ruining the surprise!


I read about an idea of giving bridesmaids a survival kit to make it through the wedding day and knew I had to make something similar for my girls. I had been waiting to try making a cute "boxy bag" and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to test out a new sewing project in combination with a wedding idea.


So here is it - 
You'll need two printed fabrics and interfacing (I used left over material from the ties and vests to make mine), a zipper, coordinating thread, and about 30 minutes.


I started by cutting the fabric and interfacing into squares that were 8" by 10" - you will need two squares of your inside material, two of the outside material, and two of interfacing (craft weight works best for this project).


I ironed the interfacing to my outside material, then I matched my two fabrics (right sides together) and sewed the long length. I opened up and pressed the newly sewn edge flat. Do this for both sets of squares. 


I pinned the newly pressed edges of the squares to the zipper and sewed to secure in place.
After the zipper was secured, I sewed the bottom edge (opposite long side) with inside material together (right side out). I trimmed the material close to the seam then turned right sides together and sewed the long edge again (creating a french seam for the bottom of the bag). 

I then folded the bag in half long way and pressed. Following the ironing, the short ends were sewed (be careful to not have the zipper zipped close!)

This point is a little tricky - pinch the corners out and sew about a 2 inch length triangle in each of the four corners. After you have them sewn, trim close to the new seam.

There it is - your new boxy bag! Turn it right side out and enjoy

I filled my new creations with "survival items" for the wedding day - travel sized items that the ladies may need to save the day (or just to make being on the ranch easier)
{hair spray, mini first-aid kit, deodorant, clear nail polish, emery boards, 
tide-to-go pen, bobby pins, lotions, mouth wash, and advil}