Monday, February 22, 2010

I Need a Victory

Here’s my next Weeknite Whip-up. Normally this would not be a project I’d do during the week. This is actually my go-to project when I’m having a bad sewing day. You know….when the machine keeps jamming or you’re constantly ripping out to re-do, or when you finish a project only to discover it looks like crap on you. On a day like that, I need a quick victory. Something to remind myself that I AM great sewist. This is typically my I Need a Victory project:



That’s a hobo bag using Butterick 3925, View D. I typically use 1-5/8 yards and can get the bag plus the half-square head bandana out of it with scraps leftover for quilting. And I can get the whole she-bang made in a half hour, restore my sewing sanity, and get back to the project that was frustrating me.

But about today….I have this thing where my stuff has to match. Look at this picture (aside from the fact that the mannequin looks like a Hell’s Angel’s escapee that got caught in the rain & had to pull a dress out of the rag bag).



But look at those shoes. I see blue, green, orange, and apricot in the dress. Yet the shoes are….red. What the heck is up with that?? That totally doesn’t match. Accessories are supposed to enhance the outfit –not stand out like a sore thumb.

I think my need to match goes back to when I was a kid. I read this book (can’t remember the title) but one of the characters had a pair of shoes and a matching purse – a different set for every day of the week. I so, so, so wanted to be that girl. The idea of matching accessories with every outfit was just so very Grown Up.

So that’s why my I Need a Victory projects are always a hobo bag and scarf. It’s a set. It matches.

But variety is the spice of life. Sometimes I don’t want to wear a scarf. I’d rather wear a headband. So far, I’ve only been able to make them out of knit fabric since it’s got the stretch. I couldn’t come up with a good way to make them out of wovens except to do a simple long, oblong scarfy thing. And I don’t like those because I don’t like a big knot under my hair and most times they slip off. Then I stumbled upon Suzanne's blog She crafted her own pattern for a woven fabric headband and was generous enough to share her pattern as a free download. Awesome!

And on days when my potbelly’s not too embarrassing, I like to wear a cute belt. In even more serendipity, I stumbled upon Kari’s post for quickie webbing belts for babies. And inspiration struck. I mentally smacked myself on the head because it never occurred to me that a matching belt could be so easy. I took Kari’s idea and added the steps of: making a casing out of my bag/headband fabric, turning it right side out, and running the webbing through. Then I added the D-rings. And this is what I came up with (please excuse my potbelly):









And I made the whole ensemble in less than one hour, after working all day. Now THAT'S a victory.

2 comments:

  1. What a cute ensemble! I think it turned out great. Nice color combo. I have a question for you. I noticed you said you were from the Milwaukee area. You might think I'm crazy for asking, but do you take requests?? You sound very skillful and creative and I am in a predicament. I cannot seem to find holders to put my sunglasses in that are big enough. I am tired of getting my trendy sunglasses scratched up and broken because I have nothing safe to put them in. Have you ever used your fabric to make sunglass holders? You know, something you can easily slip your glasses into that has enough padding? What can you suggest? Now that would be a nice little treat for this upcoming birthday girl!

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  2. Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier... you could make a matching shower cap to go with that ensemble... haha. :)

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