ABC, easy as 123

A is for Angie! This super-simple dress was a big hit with our testers, and they all get an A+++ for their great work!

Sara from Sew Sweetness made a beautiful little dress out of Fuchsia Marnie from Jen's Poodle line. She is rocking it with a black belt and leggings! You can read about her testing experience here. She's the one who hosted the great sew-along for our Jamie Dress, so we just knew she would do something amazing with the Angie Pattern.




Here is April, up in wild, wonderful Wyoming! Even though Angie is a sleeveless dress, she shows that it is perfectly suited for cold weather with the right wrap! This gal has to trek half a day to get fabric and notions, but she gets the job done!
She said "Hands down the easiest pattern I have made in a long time. I loved the bias tape and really liked how the elastic went in so easy. "




Ooooh, and here is our dear Jenny Fish, who picked the most darling fabric combo to test Angie AND Leighanna! Her dress makes her feel like a total "Betty" and you can read all about it here!




Here is my girl Cathy (head lab tech for Scientific Seamstress), in her lovely Angie. Check out her blog to see the other amazing things she has been making with Sis Boom Fabric this holiday season!




My good friend Jeanne made an Angie jumper for her beautiful daughter #1. She said "I love and adult dress with no buttons or zippers! So easy to make!"
Stay tuned to see beautiful daughter #2 in her Leighanna.




Shannon made a beautiful Angie, and photographed it on a dress form in front of her tree. Who needs lights and ornaments when you have Sis Boom fabric, right?

OK, here I am in an Angie prototype. Not the best picture, but no one ever likes pics of themselves, right? I wore it with tights and a cardi, and I was warm and comfy all day.

The reason this dress is so darn fast and easy is because the neckline and armholes are finished with bias tape. If you have any concern about sewing on bias tape, don't worry - I give step-by-step instructions in the ePattern. If you want to make your own bias tape, check out my free printable bias tape folder. It is so easy to use...just check out this great video from the Greek site ftiaxto:

Two new Sis Boom patterns!

Jennifer and I are happy to announce the arrival of our latest sewing patterns...Angie and Leighanna! They are available on the Sis Boom website and in the Scientific Seamstress Etsy Shop. Look for them soon on the other great sites that carry our downloadable patterns!

Now, we usually release a woman's pattern and a matching kiddo counterpart at the same time. In this case the little girl's version was already available in Jen's book. The very retro, easy-to-make Mary's Fancy Sash Dress was such a hit, we were getting requests for a mama version. So I got to work on that, but I had this nagging feeling that I would be in big trouble if I didn't have something new for the little gals. Jen always has a big list of ideas for me, so I picked her darling little pom-pom trimmed peasant.

Over the next few days, I'll talk a bit more about the two new patterns and show of some gorgeous tester creations. Today I want you to meet the real Leighanna and Angie. Even though the patterns aren't technically a "mommy and me" set, we named them after a lovely mother daughter pair.



You all know Tom, right? He has been making beautiful creations for his wife and daughter for years, and now he is selling custom creations...his business is booming! Like his Facebook Page to see what is sewing for HeavenleighBlessings Boutique.

Jennifer had the amazing opportunity to meet Tom and his family at the Country Living Fair in Ohio. She was so inspired, she wanted to name the next pattern after Tom's sweet wife, Angie. Since I also had a girls' pattern in the works, the logical name choice was that of his adorable daughter, Leighanna. Incidentally, Tom already has boxer shorts named after him :) .


As soon as the testers got ahold of the Leighanna pattern, they demanded a mama version. I had time to whip up a prototype just before the Sis Boom Holiday Show last weekend.



I actually wore the peasant under my new Angie dress, and the shoppers loved it! If it had been a little warmer, I would have considered selling it off my back. Since the instructions will be just like those of the Leighanna, it shouldn't take me long to get the pattern ready. Louie donned a coordinating Festive Vest and Bosco Bow Tie. The apron is to protect his dressy duds from the yummy pasta Jennifer made just for him...awwwww!

Oh, Thank Cuteness!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The fun folks at GenerationQ Magazine are stuffing us full of adorableness this week. They are sharing pictures and stories about the cute critters (2 and 4 legged) they hold dear, and are inviting readers to do the same. So in the spirit of "Oh, Thank Cuteness" week, I'm shamelessly showing off some recent pictures of my precious ones :) .

When Louie was a bald headed, sweet-smelling infant in a tiny onesie, I didn't think he could possibly get any cuter. Then he became a happy, giggly little toddler with wispy blond hair. I figured he had to be at his cuteness peak. Before I knew it, kindergarten came along, and that little guy with the huge backpack could not have been more adorable. Now he is seven - a big kid for sure, and he still blows me away with his cuteness.

We have lots of great pictures from the last few months - first day of school, Halloween, birthday parties, random precious moments, etc., but I have to say my favorites are from Cub Scouts. Not only does Lou look great in navy, but he is always beaming when he has a scouting event.




My other cutie in uniform is my husband Delmar. He doesn't usually wear his work garb at home, but the other night we had our den of cubs over for a food-centric activity. The Chef talked a bit about healthy eating and the food pyramid, but his amazing crepes were the highlight of the evening.




The "Sous Chefs" helped out by slicing strawberries.




I tried to get some posed pictures with nice smiles, but that doesn't seem to be feasible with 1st grade boys.




Can you tell they are excited to eat???




This is the best picture I got of them enjoying their crepes...only one of them is under the table.




And I can't do a post about cuteness without mentioning Madyson, the 4th grader I watch before and after school. When Lou was little, he happily tried on twirl skirts and dresses for me. Then it got to the point that I had to 1) pay him 50 cents and 2) let him wear a manly hat for the pictures. Now he just flat out refuses to be a fitting model. Thank goodness for Mady! Not only is she sweet and beautiful, but she loves to dress up in my handmade frocks.




Here she is modeling the Leighanna, a Sis Boom pattern that we are about ready to launch. She picked out the fabric and trim herself...that girl has great taste!




She and Louie are like brother and sister - best friends one minute, mortal enemies the next. Even when they act like maniacs, they are just too dang adorable.

So that is my dose of cute for the day - now I have to go peel potatoes! I can't complain because the hot chef is doing the rest of the work. I can just sit back and be thankful :). Want to join in the Oh, Thank Cuteness fun? Just go to the first post of the week on GenQ and add your link. Hope you have a wonderful day of family, food, and maybe even a little sewing!

Double or nothing

Your comments on the 0.5" wide single-fold bias tape maker made me so happy, I just had to follow up with a 1" wide single-fold bias tape maker! The great thing about 1" single-fold bias tape is that it is but 1 fold away from being 0.5" wide double-fold bias tape, which is incredibly useful for binding and finishing edges.

It works exactly like the 0.5" tape maker, I just widened the appropriate parts. It took some tweaking, but once I got it optimized it went together quickly since the instructions were essentially the same. Now I'm going to take the laziness a step further and recycle some blog content :) . The free pdf contains instructions for printing and assembling the tape maker. There is some careful cutting involved, but it goes together pretty quickly and can be used over and over again. And if you happen to smash/tear/burn it, simply print another.



The contraption is optimized for folding 1.875" bias strips into 1" wide single fold tape. You can tweak the starting strip width a bit to get slightly wider or narrower tape.



Here is how it works: The strip is fed into a "slide" that does the folding. The top notch and tabs keep the strip centered, and the "splitter" keeps the outer edges from curling or overlapping. The folded tape is pressed as soon as it comes out of the slide, and it goes under two more tabs to set the folds as they cool.
Now I'm hearing the How it's Made music in my head AGAIN!

The result is 1" wide tape with folds that are a bit over 1/4" wide (just like purchased tape of this size).




I played a bit with a single-fold to double-fold tape maker, but honestly, the easiest thing is to fold the 1" tape in half lengthwise and press to make 0.5" wide double-fold bias tape. You can make the folded edges flush, or leave a bit of an overhang for single step application (described by Angry Chicken in this video).




Now that I have an easy, foolproof way to make double-fold bias tape, I'm going to have to knock out a bunch of Betsey Aprons for the holidays!

Download the free printable bias tape maker here.
See this post for more information about cutting bias strips.