hand stitching

hand stitching

Maggie Kempner
sewing techniques

final post in technique week! if you are just joining us here is what we have covered so far: 

on monday i did a tutorial for making your very own fabric labels with just fabric, stamps, and ink.  on tuesday i covered french seams, or rather the do's and don'ts of using french seams. on wednesday i talked about straight stitch seams and what i feel are the three key benefits of using them.  on thursday i wrote a guide to facings, which are my personal favorite finishing technique. 

for our final post today we are talking about the benefits of hand stitching.

facings

facings

Maggie Kempner
sewing techniques

technique week marches on!

if you're just joining us: on monday we had a tutorial for making your own fabric labels, on tuesday we discussed some do's and don'ts of french seams, on wednesday we had three reasons you should use straight stitch seams in your next project. 

today we are talking about facings, which are probably my favorite technique. (i'm only saving hand stitching for tomorrow because so often it's the final step in a project, so it feels right to end the week on it.) 

french seams

french seams

Maggie Kempner
sewing techniques

for those of you who don't know a french seam is a finishing technique whereby you see the seam twice: once to attach the two pieces of fabric, and once to enclose the raw edge in a pocket on the inside of the garment.  

diy fabric label tutorial

diy fabric label tutorial

Maggie Kempner
sewing tutorials

all this week we'll be talking about techniques to make your sewing more professional. today it's all about labels.

when i first started sewing i ordered my labels online. however i always felt they were a tad overpriced ($1 apiece), took a little too long arrive (6 weeks or more), and no matter how much time i spent designing them they didn't quite have the look i was going for. so last year i decided to try making my own. they turned out great so i thought i would share my process. 

five {relatively} easy techniques to make your sewing more professional

five {relatively} easy techniques to make your sewing more professional

Maggie Kempner
general

i think of my early sewing projects like i think of high school: sure at the time i thought i had it figured out and was doing a bang up job, but man there were some cringe worthy situations.

however unlike my high school experiences i am better for it and am willing to talk about them. so i thought i would put together a list of my favorite techniques and tips that i've found make my sewing more professional. 

happy third birthday maya!

happy third birthday maya!

Maggie Kempner
little girl apparel

the birthday tradition continued in 2015!

recap: for maya's first birthday the theme was balloons and i made her a dress from this great balloon fabric. for her second birthday the theme was farm animals and i made a tunic with a pig embellishment. 

for her third birthday the theme was the lorax. not to brag but this was the direct result of a certain fun aunt (who works in the solar industry) buying her the book years ago to encourage environmentalism and reading it to her on many occasions:

polka dot playdate

polka dot playdate

Maggie Kempner
little girl apparel

also know as polka dots for maya part 3

i picked up the playdate pattern from oliver + s on sale at stonemountain & daughter while visiting victor a while back. then it just sat in my stash for months. i have no idea why, but for some reason i just wasn't drawn to the picture on the front. 

however as soon as i saw gail's version i suddenly had to make it. so one friday night with a nitro milk stout and some polka dot fabric i picked up from gather here that was in my stash i set to work.

spunky polka dot library dress

spunky polka dot library dress

Maggie Kempner
little girl apparel

also known as polka dots for maya part 2

as previously mentioned, when i first saw the library dress from oliver + s i was smitten. i mean a wrap dress fit for a little girl?! how could you not love that?

the only issue was the back. it was all buttons and i knew nora and etta would not be down for a dress that required assistance. so with plans to eventually make an zippered version in the back of my head (see those versions here and here) i decided to get the hang of the pattern by making a standard rendition for maya.

i found this purple and yellow polka dot print and coordinating solid at stonemountain & daughter. it was a bit higher quality (and thus a bit more expensive) than the standard quilting cottons but i had just nailed a job interview so i treated myself. 

polka dots for maya (part 1)

polka dots for maya (part 1)

Maggie Kempner
little girl apparel

a few days ago i texted my sister and mom asking if they had any picture of maya in a few outfits so i could blog about them. it went something like this:

me: do you have any pictures of maya in that red polka dot dress?

me: what about that orange and purple [polka dot] long sleeved dress?

me: or that orange and white polka dot skirt?

me: also the green [polka dot] top with the purple accent and that purple and white [polka dot] top?

it was around this time i realized i should probably examine my relationship with polka dots.

fireworks playtime dress & lullaby layette top

fireworks playtime dress & lullaby layette top

Maggie Kempner
baby apparel, little girl apparel

about a year ago i was searching for the perfect wool for maya's paddington coat. a few options online caught my eye but having never bought wool before and seeing a wide range of prices (and presumably quality) it was apparent i would need to see it in person before making a decision.

after exhausting my east bay brick and motar options, stonemountain & daughter and a verb for keeping warm, i knew a trip to the city was necessary. armed with an iPhone full of taylor swift and iced coffee from the hip local shop (exposed brick, menu written on the chalkboard wall, and light fixtures made from old bicycle parts...am i painting a mental picture for you?) i set off one saturday for my quest.

paisley hide & seek dress and music box jumper

paisley hide & seek dress and music box jumper

Maggie Kempner
little girl apparel

i have to admit, i wasn't in love with the hide & seek dress (available for older children here) when it first came out. (i'm willing to bet it had something to do with my deep rooted fear of making 'frumpy' dresses, caused by my sister referring to my first creations as the 'duggar dresses' and the relaxed fit of the dress.) 

but then it started showing up on the blogosphere. first i saw gail's version, then this one, then this one, and i knew i had to try it. 

 

chevron dresses

chevron dresses

Maggie Kempner
little girl apparel

beginners luck. that's what i had the first time i made the roller skate dress by oliver + s.

i got this chevron print at the fabric depot in portland oregon when i took nora to pick out materials for thefairy sisters dresses. i had originally planned to just dresses for nora and etta, but realized pretty quickly i couldn't exclude maya. so i planned my cutting and was able to squeeze out an additional dress from my limited fabric.

let me tell you getting the chevrons to match up was not easy, but somehow (let's give credit to the watermelon beer i was drinking and my critical thinking skills, but mostly the beer) it all came together perfectly. 

maya's mountain dress

maya's mountain dress

Maggie Kempner
little girl apparel

as previously mentioned maya and neela have beautiful complexions and can pull off very bright colors. where other kids would get washed out or overwhelmed by bright bold prints, these girls look amazing. which means aunt maggie has a lot of fun picking out fabric for them. 

when i came across this remnant of amy butler voile (spearmint buttercups from the soul blossoms | joy collection) at gather here i knew immediately it would be perfect for maya.

back to school 2015

back to school 2015

Maggie Kempner
little girl apparel

while i ponder the all too quick passage of time we're gonna finish off back to school week by talking about the skirts i made nora and etta for the first day of school.

since this was etta's first year I let her call the shots. bucking tradition (she's a firecracker my bo betta) she requested a skirt as opposed to a dress. naturally i saw this as an opportunity to try a pattern i've had for a while, but haven't yet sewn: the hopscotch skirt by oliver + s. 

back to school 2014

back to school 2014

Maggie Kempner
little girl apparel

let's continue back to school week with what nora and etta wore last year. 

the instant i saw the library dress pattern by oliver + s i knew nora and etta would love the faux wrap style. however the back presented a problem as nora and etta are past the age where dresses that button up the back are practical.

at that point i was pretty confident i could alter the pattern to close with a  zipper, but when i saw this tutorial post over on the oliver + s blog i had no excuse. after first making it one time as instructed for maya (will blog about that rendition next week), I tried my hand at a zippered version.

it turned out fantastic. (as have both subsequent versions, one of which was the show & tell dress in corduroy.)

happy second birthday maya!

happy second birthday maya!

Maggie Kempner
little girl apparel

the tradition of making each girl a special dress or outfit for their birthday continued in 2014 (read aboutmaya's first birthday dress here and etta's third birthday dress here) and first up was maya's second birthday.

a few months earlier i had made a polka dot class picnic tunic by oliver + s that was incredibly popular with maya and her mom. so when it was decided that the party theme would be farm animals i decided to do a twist on that much loved style by adding a pig embellishment.

back to school 2013

back to school 2013

Maggie Kempner
little girl apparel

let's kick off back to school week with a throwback post to the dress i made two years ago for nora's first day of kindergarten.

earlier that summer i was back in michigan visiting my family and took nora to the store to pick out fabric. we settled on this gradient sprinkle print in pink (for her) and blue (for etta) as well as some accent ribbons.

i came home to cambridge, poured myself a harpoon summer ale, and set to work on two roller skate dresses by oliver + s. since we couldn't find any accent fabric that went with the sprinkle print i made version a. lined in white cotton batiste they ended up being perfect for the first day. 

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