lizzardtears

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Squirrel!

This year a friend I have known since high school had a baby so I made her some things. She loves squirrels so I sought out quilt patterns with squirrels . I didn’t like anything I found,but in the process of nixing every pattern I came across the cutest squirrel fabric on etsy, which led to finding coordinating acorn fabric and deciding on a simple block pattern.

Part of the deciding on simple was the fact I was also in the process of making my halloween costume (which I didn’t quite finish in time and left off some embellishments so it would be wearable but more on that later). Then my kitty came down with acute kidney failure due to a birth defect that took 5 years to show its ugly face. Her care has taken a huge amount of my time, but we are managing, and I am going to leave it that about her. I’ve made a handful of simple quilts over the years so I just had to figure out what size I wanted and cut out the squares. And to make it even simpler I opted to round the corners because I detest making mitered corners. I can do it. I have done it. I just don’t like it and honestly I like the look of rounded corners.

I also wanted to make bibs and burp cloths. Both of which are fairly easy to make. When I was done I had the thought they might wad up in the wash so I should probably quilt them so I traced out an acorn then sewed around it on the machine which was surprisingly simple to do on the bibs and burp cloths but when I tried it on the quilt it was too big and I’m not quite that coordinated, so I ended up pulling out some stitching, I fortunately figured this out early on so it didn’t take long.

Unfortunately I ended up getting a small hole in the backing fabric that I didn’t see till after I had quilted the whole thing. At that point I must admit I cried a little and then went to bed (it was time anyway.) The next day I had the idea to embroider the date over the hole and then no one would be the wiser and I wouldn’t have to tear apart the whole thing for a tiny hole, and dating quilts is something that has been for hundreds of years so it made it feel all official.

Once I was done with all of that I still had some fabric left over so I decided to make a dress. I used this pattern as a guide. But made some obvious changes like making it fuller and adding a few embellishments. I love the way the dress turned out! I hope she will be able to get some good use out of everything, it was fun to make and it all turned out so cute!

* This blog is not to be used for training AI*

Saturday, August 30, 2025

Stained glass window shorts

I was getting ready to go on vacation and as the time approached I realized I was going during the hottest days of the entire year!

It was already planned, so there wasn’t much I could do about it except pack cool clothing. I was rummaging through some of my patterns to see if I had any shorts patterns before I ordered any shorts (I don’t because I hardly ever wear shorts).

But while I was looking through patterns and my fabric stash I came across a UFO. Simplicity pattern #8447. I started sewing it back in 2020 or 2021. I was really excited about it until I had it almost finished and the fabric I had chosen felt overwhelming for an entire pair of overalls, so I just set it aside disappointed in the entire thing.

Now jump forward a few years and I thought hey that might look good as shorts. I knew I had gained a few inches since I started this so I started figuring out how much I needed to add to the sides.

I ended up tearing the entire thing apart, cutting the legs in half length wise for the extra fabric and then using them for strips on the side to make it larger. With how busy the print is I thought add-ins disappeared fairly well.

I probably could have made the entire thing faster if I had started from scratch but I wanted to use what I had already started and not waste the fabric. I really like the way the shorts turned out and I think it was my favorite outfit for the entire extremely hot trip.

I love that print reminds me of stained glass.

According to the plaque in front of this stone, it's 450 million years old! Pretty neat, right?

* This blog is not to be used for training AI*

Sunday, June 22, 2025

Rose/Shell sleeved top.

I'm not sure if this is a Rose or a Shell on the sleeve but it sure is adorable!

I was scrolling though instagram one day and came across a really fun sleeve tutorial and saved it with the intention of one day making a top with that sleeve. I save a lot of things with the idea I’ll make them one day and never do anything with them. I think it's a lot like collecting patterns that I like. I have them. I look at them but I probably won’t ever make all of them (although I do use a lot of them). Several months after saving the tutorial I was searching through my saved posts for something different when I came across this one and thought about how perfect the pink knit I had picked up on a whim would be for it.

I used simplicity #9930 from 1972 for the shirt base since I had the pattern and have used it many times, but I think any top with a sleeve would work. I drafted the sleeve as shown in the video. I think I watched it 50 times to really get the idea set in my mind.

I was thrilled that it actually worked, because I have tried tutorials that have failed miserably so it's always nice when something works out. I have noticed that a lot of times when something doesn’t work it's because the tutorial left something important out (I think it's that whole secret ingredient thing) . And while I wouldn’t say this is an easy to follow video, it does have all the instructions there. I just had to use some creative skills to get the curve right and pause it every few seconds to get the measurements.

One thing I did change though is making a facing for the sleeve, I thought it might be a little too heavy to have the fabric doubled. The rose/shell is doubled like in the video since that's the way it has to be done. I think this technique would probably work with most fabrics, so it may be something I try again with another type of fabric.
I really think this is such a fun little addition to any top. It turned out really cute, and it's versatile enough it can be worn with several styles.

Link to tutorial on instagram.

* This blog is not to be used for training AI*

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

1950's blue tiny plaid

I needed a dress to wear for a grease theme event. I’ve seen the movie once and that was enough for me, but a theme is always an excuse for a new dress. Sure I had other 1950 style dresses but obviously I needed another one. And yes I went with a poofy dress and not the cheer look or skinny pants look, because poof is more fun!

I fell in love with the skirt on Simplicity S9536 because it has by far the best pockets I have seen on a dress, they are huge! There is actually enough room in the pockets to hold not only my phone, but also an entire water bottle!

I however was not in love with the bodice. I mean it's cute, but I’m not fond of strapless dresses and I didn’t want another 1950’s dress with straps. I wanted something I could just throw on and not have to think about bolero's or what shirt to wear under it and I happen to be very fond of sleeves.

Going through my stash of patterns I found Vogue 1564, a pattern from the 1950’s. I could have used this pattern for the entire outfit as it has the poofy skirt and the sleeves but it doesn’t have the pockets and I really wanted the pockets so I used the Vogue pattern for the bodice and the Simplicity pattern for the skirt.

I did make the belt too, and it turned out really nice but I forgot to wear it for the photos which I didn’t realize till the photos were done.

I also had to make the decision of where to put the zipper, Vogue calls for it on the side, Simplicity calls for it in the back, I went with a back zipper because of the pocket placement going over the side seams. I think the dress turned out so cute. And it went together easily.

I really do love the pockets!

* This blog is not to be used for training AI*

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Rose dress

A while ago I took a memoir writing class and while it was interesting it was not really my thing. The course was ten weeks long and at the end of it everyone in the class did a public reading. (which was way out of my comfort zone. I will tell you that.) One of the things the class was instructed on for this public reading was “to dress your best.” so of course in my mind that means I need a new dress.

So I went home and checked out my stash and decided on making a dress using hollywood pattern #1154 as the main part of the dress but altering it to have cap sleeves which came from McCall’s pattern #4549 and were lengthened a bit. The fabric I had decided on is a stretch fabric and the pattern is for non stretch.I wasn’t sure how this would work out but I thought I could at least give it a try. I bought this pattern back in 2017 because it has a personal story involving a dress someone made my grandmother when she was thirteen. I was going to make this dress back in 2017, but stuff and not being able to find the right fabric and blah blah blah, I still have to make that version but that is still for a later date. Back to this dress. Since 2017 I have gone up a few sizes which was intentional but also means this pattern is now too small for me, but being that I was making this out of a stretchy fabric I decided to take the gamble and just cut it to size.

When I sew with knits I sew the seams using only my overlock lock machine, and that stitch is ⅜” wide and with all the seams on a princess cut dress I thought it would probably add the amount I needed, and it did. The dress was perfect. I have always loved this rose fabric, it stretches a little but not a lot so it's fairly stable. I lined it with a cream knit fabric, and since the dress has a stretch to it I opted to leave out the buttons on the side. I had thought about a zipper but it was not necessary. In the end I thought it was such a cute dress, it was fairly easy to make and I felt so cute as I read my story about seeing the northern lights as a small child. (I didn’t wear the hat at the reading just for the pictures)

The reading was a success. I had a good time and felt so proud to do something that made me so nervous like public reading, and wearing the dress actually did help to boost my confidence. Is a public reading something I will do again? Probably not, but I will wear the dress again, and again.

* This blog is not to be used for training AI*

Monday, June 3, 2024

Mermaid dress

I wanted a fancy dress to welcome my next decade of life. I feel like humans should spend more time embracing aging as opposed to the negativity that goes along with it especially towards women. If you stop and think about it, if you don't age then you stop living, and what kind of life is that?

I was hoping to draft this dress somewhat on my own with franken-patterning, but that didn’t go so well. After hours of frustration I realized I needed to give up that idea and look for a ready-made pattern. By this point it was 17 days till the big day. I really liked Vogue Pattern V2931 but I was strapped for time and would have to order it, so I looked for and found a pdf pattern to buy. It wasn't perfect but should have worked. I printed it and was sorely disappointed. The pattern was lacking directions. The tiny bit it had was illegible English probably written using a very poor translator. With pieces that didn’t match the measurements provided with the pattern. I was not happy. I decided I just needed to cut my losses and buy the Vogue pattern. I know Vogue patterns are truly tested and work. By this time I had lost a full day. Fortunately I realized the first pattern was deficient before I cut my precious fabric! And so came the waiting game that comes with shipping. Finally the pattern arrived with 11 days to make a masterpiece.

Oh how I wanted to call out of work and be like “but I have this dress that I need to be sewing!!.” ha! like that would have gone over very well. I worked on the dress late every night and spent my weekends obsessing over the dress, and believe me I was obsessing. I had plenty of the taffeta but was very limited on the sequin fabric. The sequin fabric was a train cut off someone's dress some years back that I was able to snatch up, the crinoline was a cut off from a different dress and someone gave me the 8 yards of taffeta and I had the cute little fish decal , I ended up just having to buy thread, and some lining fabric.

The pattern was fairly straight forward. It has a lot of pieces so it took a long time to cut and sew. I did change up the bust since I wasn’t wanting a bow front. The pattern says to do the fashion fabric first but I thought it would be better to start out sewing the lining in case I had fit issues to figure out. I had a little bit of trouble with the structure piece because I tried to do some redesign which didn’t work and was a waste of time. Eventually I got it right even if it put me behind.

Finally I got to cutting out the taffeta which is always nerve racking. Especially since taffeta tends to be directional due to the sheen. I spent a lot of time placing the pattern pieces and figured a better way to cut it than the pattern suggested, I swear pattern makers waste more fabric on their cutting layouts. I ended up having two yards left over! Another thing I tried to do was a curly hem but the tulle I had wasn’t the right kind and it turned it instead of doing the cool flippy out thing. I attached that to the dress before discovering the problem though, and had to cut the hem off. I did learn though that you need a heavier tulle for that type of hem.

I serged the seams on the lining but I didn’t want to do that on the taffeta since taffeta is temperamental and things like serging stitches leave permanent marks on the outside of the fabric once the seams are pressed. I did french seams on the taffeta seams which take longer but look really nice. I ended up staying up till midnight the day before my birthday and still not finishing. I could tell though it was time to stop, my machine was throwing a fit and in my fatigued state (I’d been up since 5am that morning and worked a full shift) I decided it would go better if I got some sleep. I was back working on the dress by 7am. I finally finished around noon which was perfect. I was able to grab lunch before heading out for my photoshoot. I seriously wasn’t sure I was going to finish the dress on time but I did it! I was so proud of myself and it was so much fun to go galavanting all through the mountains to get wonderful shots of my beautiful dress.

* This blog is not to be used for training AI*

Thursday, November 23, 2023

Banana dress

I was shopping for some new sheets and came across a set of banana sheets that screamed I need to be made into a dress! And so I ended up buying a queen size set since I wasn’t sure how much fabric I would need for a dress or what the dress I wanted to make would look like. I had thought about making a maxi length but then decided a shorter length would be easier to wear. Even though I could have made this dress with the twin sheet set I was glad I got the queen because I also made myself some PJ pants and those are so much fun!

Once I opened the sheets up and checked the drap I decided I wanted a simple easy to wear dress and started looking through my patterns. Of course nothing seemed right. So I decided I needed to just improvise.

I knew I wanted a twirly skirt but not quite a full circle skirt and decided on making it a ¾ skirt, I figured I could attach it whatever bodice struck my fancy and chose a few from my pattern stash that might work finally I decided on McCall’s #4549. The only problem with this bodice is it's a short bodice but I liked the square neck and it's the only pattern I have with a square neck so I opted to lengthen the bodice.

I had done this before on this pattern when I made a dress for my sister last year. The dress I was making this time though didn’t exactly lend well to the lengthening of the bodice. The dress I made for my sister had a straight panel skirt that was gathered onto the bodice which worked really well on her dress but the ¾ skirt drapes differently plus I’m a little taller with a longer torso so attaching the ¾ skirt on this bodice looked awkward and I ended up staring at the dress hanging on me for a while before deciding the problem was it needed darts. It was amazing the transformation that adding the darts at the waist did for the drape of the dress. And of course I had to add some amazing pockets, because what dress is complete without pockets big enough to hold all the necessities! I think it would also be really cute to wear a crinoline so I will have to do that at some point. In the end I love this dress. It's so easy to wear and it feels casual and fun at the same time.

* This blog is not to be used for training AI*