16 week Pregnancy OOTD x2!

I bring you two Outfit of the Day's today :) How exciting, huh? Actually, it's only because I completely forgot to put up yesterday's ootd post and so you get two today. Oh well, either way, it works out just fine. I hope you like them. The first outfit was yesterday's.

 I made the dress and the cardigan is from Target. The necklace is F21. Flats are from Target.

 My little guy is rocking a fedora hat from Target, vintage shoes, jeans & shirt are Target, sweater is Gap Kids.

I wore this today to church, the dress I made. You can check out that blog post HERE. The jacket was thrifted for a quarter. The belt I won from Victory Vintage Boutique, and the shoes are Shiekh, a store in Houston, TX.

I made it more casual for the rest of the day by trading my suit jacket for a red sweater and heels for flats. Sweater is thrifted for a quarter, flats are from Target.

 lookee my baby:) Actually, most of it is pizza. I bloat after I eat carbs. As you can tell by my first picture on the blog, I'm actually still small and this dress has volume plus added bloating from eating at Cici's pizza 30 min prior. LOL.

 Come back tomorrow to see the new shirt I made for my teenage son! :)

16 Weeks Pregnancy OOTD

Hello all, today the weather was nice. It was very cold! Yesterday we were in the 80's and today it dropped down to the 30's. Tonight we are supposed to be in the 20's! Also, it is Friday and I only had one class at 10:30, but before that was my 16 wks OB appt. So, I decided to dress semi-casual today. My appt was quick and went well. I was able to hear the baby's heartbeat and it sounded so cute. Made me happy :) So far I've gained 1.5 lbs in this pregnancy. My goal is to stay in the 25 lbs range if possible and no more than 35 lbs. OB said I was doing very well and made my appointment for the gender reveal sonogram in 2 1/2 weeks! Yay! Anyways, on to my OOTD. 

Vintage Multi-Colored Jacket: Thrifted for 25 cents!

Scarf: Thrifted

Top: Motherhood Maternity (I thrifted it though:)

Leggings: Walmart

Boots: Shiekh (Houston, TX)

Watch: Bulova

Ring: F21

Hope you loved the comfy & casual outfit. 

On my Sewing Table...

I thought I'd show you what is currently on my sewing table, what I'm busy working on. It's fall break and instead of sewing I have been spending a bit of time getting much needed relaxation and sleep. My first trimester I wasn't tired at all, but this week (Week 15, see my baby bump here) I have felt exhausted. I haven't even gone to the gym or ran in two days, I've just been sleeping in and eating a tad bit too much. Anyways, here is my desk. 

 Can I just say how difficult and time consuming it was to cut out these pattern pieces in a silky, georgette fabric. I had to use my rotary cutter and I really couldn't cut the notches out so I cut them in 2/8". The seam allowance is 5/8" on this pattern. Pattern: McCall's M6467.

 My essential tools while cutting and sewing this project and a sketch of how I'm hoping this top will come out looking. It looks like it will have a lot of room for my expanding belly, so I hope it will work well.

 My actual sewing table, that we got for FREE by the way. A neighbor, one street over, put it on the side of the curb for the trash men to take it, hubby knew I could use it. So far, it is a great addition to my sewing room. I have the rest of the fabric on my mannequin, hopefully I become inspired and make something else with it. I have about 2 yds left over.

 My view while sewing. All the leaves have turned yellow and they were dancing around in the wind as they fell from the trees. Love the fall colors!

 My drawing of my "hopefully" shirt after it is sewn together.

Boys Jacket, Burda Kids 9486

Last week I made my son a jacket since I couldn't find one like the one I wanted at a store. I was looking for something that looked like Dean's jacket on Supernatural, but for a six-year-old boy. 

I went to different stores: Gap Kids, Gymboree, and the Children's Place, none of them had a cool jacket like this. Finally, while looking through pattern books at Hancock Fabrics, I found the Burda Kids 9486 pattern and I had to get it. It looked exactly like what I wanted. 

Here is the front of the pattern envelope. I made jacket A. 

I am going to review the pattern and then at the end I have the jacket on my son. I hope you guys love it and if you decide to try it out or have tried it out, leave me a link to the picture or blog. I'd love to check it out! :)

What pattern did you use: Burda 9486. Sizes 6-13.

Price:  About $5.00.

Description: (Jacket A) Semi-fitted Parka & Blouson Jacket for boys. 

Materials from Pattern Package: For size 7: 1 3/4 yds of fabric, interfacing, cord, buttons x8, metal zipper.  

Fabric Recommendations: According to pattern package: Poplin, coated fabrics, nylon; also imitation leather. 

Fabric Used & Purchased: Charcoal Grey Broadcloth, 2 yds. 

Fabric & Material Total Cost: $13 + $5 pattern = $18. Pattern can be reused since I copied the pattern pieces.

Difficulty: I would call myself an intermediate to advanced sewer but even I didn't know what the pattern package asked for in the descriptions at the back of the envelope. I had to ask a sales clerk to help me. She also had a hard time figuring it out because there are no names of the materials listed, just pictures, amounts, and sizes listed under the picture. Other than that, the pattern was pretty easy to follow. The instructions weren't confusing. I would say that this pattern is for the intermediate sewer. You have a lot of pressing to do, there is a collar to put in, and a zipper. Also, there is topstitching in many places. 

Diagrams/Images: Good images, not the greatest for detail but they are professional in nature.  

Pattern Pieces:  There are a total of 12 pieces for jacket A. They are labeled well, not too many markings. I copied the pattern pieces to Pattern Tracing Interfacing Paper so that I wouldn't have to cut the pattern paper out and could make other sizes if I wanted to. Patterns were easy to read. 

How long did it take you: Including copying the pattern pieces, cutting them out and fabric, plus the sewing and pressing: 2 days sewing off and on throughout the day.

Rate this pattern on a scale of 1-4: I give it 4 stars for how easy they made it, how great the jacket is style wise, and the ease of sewing the jacket.

Would you recommend this pattern: Yes, even my husband wants one in his size!

Anyways, hope you liked the jacket and that the review was helpful. Let me know if you try it!

How to Make a Ruffled Skirt Using a Straight Skirt Pattern

Hi everyone, on this tutorial I want to show ya'll how to turn a straight skirt pattern into a ruffled skirt. This is inspired from these skirts that I have seen in magazines and on the runway. I made a mood board for ya'll to see my inspiration. 

This is the first draft of the skirt I made with my own drafted pattern, pictured here:

This is just my muslin and the hemline is still unfinished. As you can see the ruffle is 1/3 of the way on the left side of the skirt. (The mannequins left) I am currently in the process of making the final garment. I will post a picture of it in my next blog post. It's looking very nice in a pretty fabric though:)

In order to make this ruffled skirt, there are a few changes you need to make to the straight skirt pattern you have (or have drafted). Follow the following steps to ready your pattern. 

1. Take your pattern and place it on Pattern Tracing Interfacing Paper (yellow in picture) or whatever kind of paper you have available to trace your new pattern. Make sure it is placed on fold so that you have the whole front pattern. Make sure to transfer markings also.

 2. After you are done tracing, cut it out. Don't cut out darts yet. This is what it will look like.

3. I have transferred the darts to the new pattern piece. You don't want to mess up your original front pattern piece for your straight skirt. You can now put it away. 

4. I will add the ruffle to the wearer's left front side of skirt. But first I must make that side into a one dart instead of two. If you already have one dart then you do not have to make this change. 

5. Measure both darts at the top, add them up, and then mark the middle between the darts. This will be the middle of your new single dart. Now divide the total of the 2 darts in half and this will be the measurement of each of the side dart legs on the new single dart. Also, it will extend longer than the others, 4 1/2" total length.

6. Now that you have that done, figure out where the 1/3 of the left side of the wearer's skirt is. This will be your cut line for where the ruffle will be. 

7.Make a straight cut line perpendicular to the hemline or parallel to the Center Front of skirt. 

8. Cut at your cutting line.

9. Place your pattern on top of extra paper (pink in photo) to add 1/2" seam allowance to either side that you cut. Mark that you have 1/2" SA in case you have any other SA on the rest of the pattern.

Your one pattern piece will now be two. Hash mark out the old darts. Add grainlines parallel to the CF lines. Add Cut 1 to each pattern piece and name them accordingly.

Now that your front pattern pieces are ready, you are ready to cut out your your fabric. Use your Back piece from your straight skirt pattern or draw one up, whatever you'd like. 

I have attached my own Pattern for the ruffle. Just print out the 3 pages, tape together, cut out the pattern and your Ruffle Pattern is done. (directions on pg 3 of 3 in pdf)

PLEASE NOTE: If you have a solid color for the fabric you are using then you only need to cut 1 of the ruffles, (1/2" SA included) but if your fabric is not the same color in the backside as the front you will have to self line and thus add 1/2" SA to the outer edge of the ruffle so that you do not make the ruffled pattern any smaller.

PRINT RUFFLE PATTERN HERE

Next blog post will be more on how to sew the front skirt together to the ruffle:)

Pregnancy Update: 15 weeks + Pics!

Wow, it has been a while since my last post on here. Did ya'll know I have a whole separate blog now for my Sewing posts (and anything related to that)? Well if you don't, go HERE and follow along:) 

Anyways, today I am 15 weeks pregnant! Gosh, time is flying by. I finally saw an actual baby bump on me today. There is no hiding it, if I try to squeeze it in, it doesn't work that well, my abs get tired and it hurts so I know it's not just an "I ate too much food" bump. It's not that big, maybe an inch or two bigger below my belly button. In the pics it's a little bigger bc I do have two shirts tucked into my skirt which adds another inch or so, but I do finally have a little bump there. It's kind of nice seeing my baby growing. I haven't really felt pregnant so it's nice to actually see it happening. I decided to do the pregnancy questionnaire for ya'll and then show you the pics. Hope everyone is doing wonderful. Oh & I made my Sunshine a jacket and my oldest stepson a button up shirt, which will all be shown on my other blog, so make sure you go and follow it:)

How Far Gone: 15 weeks.

How big is the baby: Baby is 4" long, weighs 2 1/2 oz. About the size of an apple.

Know the Gender:  Not yet. We were supposed to find out next week but hubby will be out of town for work, so the OB made the sonogram on our 18th week appt. I'd rather have hubby here for the reveal:)

Cravings:  Nothing really. I finally started liking coffee again. For the past 3 days I've drank it every day!  

How are we Feeling: I'm feeling just fine. I haven't had any morning sickness, neither did I have it with my first pregnancy. I felt tired the 2nd month and needed a nap every day, but besides that, I've felt pretty normal the entire time.

How much weight have you gained: I've gained only 1 lb. (actually I thought I gained a pound, but I just weighed myself and I weigh the same. Maybe it was the water weight last night:) Though I've lost weight on my back & arms because I've been running consistently. I think that my weight gain is more muscle than actual baby fat or my own fat. 

Have you got a Bump and Feeling anything yet? I finally have a bump. Pictures posted below:) I'm not in a big hurry to get a big baby bump. I want to make sure that my baby bump is a baby bump, not me eating too much or making the mistake of "eating for two." lol. (Been there, done that. Hello 1st pregnancy.) I'm making sure I exercise every day, eat healthy, and drink lots of water. My goal is to gain the recommended 25-35 lbs for my height & weight. My last pregnancy I gained 55 lbs. Not healthy at all since I didn't exercise and ate whatever I wanted. This time, I'm making sure I stay healthy, take care of myself and the baby, and not let this pregnancy be a selfish time to indulge in anything and everything I want. Sometimes it's ok to say NO, even to cravings. My body will regret it afterwards if I say yes to everything.

How are you Sleeping: Great.

Do your clothes fit: Yes, so far all my clothes still fit. Luckily 90% of my tops are loose so I should be good to go until my last couple of months. Plus, since I lost weight, I still have lots of pants that are too big and I could wear in my later months. 

Names you like:  For a girl, my mother's name: Miriam. She passed away when I was 4 so that was always the name for my little girl. As far as a middle name, we are still trying to decide. For a boy, we are thinking of a greek name, but I don't want to say yet.

Birth Worries/Plan: Exercise Routine:  Hospital birth, same as the last one. No worries. I feel a lot more peaceful and serene with this pregnancy. I'm (We're) in such a great place, we feel blessed to have this child, we are extremely happy, and currently, thank the Lord, there are no worries and the baby is healthy. That is all we can ask for. God is great! 

Exercise Routine/Meal Plan: I alternate running 3 miles then 5-6 miles every day, except for Sunday. I weight train 2-3 times per week. I drink lots of water. By lots I mean 10-12 bottles of water/day. I eat every 2-3 hrs, my snacks consist of grapes, a spoon of peanut butter, a yogurt, or a pb&j sandwich. My meals consist of 1/3 meat, 1/3 spinach salad, 1/3 beans, rice, potatoes, or corn. 

15 weeks Baby Bump Pictures. "Hello there my little Apple Pie!"

Hope everyone has a great week! Don't forget to stop by my NEW BLOG!