...and more sewing

Or, one photo, two sewn garments. We're all about economy here at Mingling Yarn.

Both patterns are from Style Arc -- I absolutely LOVE that pattern company! Great personalized service, and did I mention -- the patterns actually fit me with very little tweaking. The top was the free (with purchase) pattern for this month -- Amy Knit Top. It's sewn in a rayon/Lycra blend. An alternate view shows the top tied at the sides -- not my best look, but the multi-level hem gives a different look too. Quick and easy to sew, and I really like the cowl neckline.


The pants are Willow -- a slim, cigarette style pant. They're made from a poly/Lycra blend from Fabric Mart , which they describe as a "microfaille". This was a recent selection from Julie's Picks, so I'm not sure if it's still available. These are most definitely a slimmer pant. Darts in front/back, side seam zip, no pockets, slit on the outside lower leg seam. I forgot to do my usual leg length shortening on these (when I first made them) and boy, that was NOT a good look! I really think these look better when they hit the ankle without any folds or puddling in the length. I was concerned about the close fit, so made another pair adding a scootch more room in the hip area, and keeping the legs as they were. I'm not sure if my scootch was more of a sco-o-o-tch, or whether the different fabric I used made a difference, but those could have been just a bit tighter. Both pairs are certainly wearable though, so I guess now I have options -- skinny day/chubby day!

To Dye For

Just playing around with color -- Rit Liquid Dye (tangerine) to be precise.

The idea was to dye some wooden beads and string them for a simple summery necklace.




It didn't take long (10 minutes?) for the unfinished wood to soak up a nice shade of orange. Also pictured are a couple of beads that were colored with marking pens, then given a light wash of diluted acrylic paint.

I thought it might be fun to see if I could jazz them up a bit with a little primitive decoration, so out came the wood burning tool --






Burned beads are on the left -- I think I like the looks of the undyed one best. Just a little dicey working with such small surfaces -- careful not to burn those fingers!

Of course, there's always dye left over, and who wants to waste? So, a mad dash through the sewing room to find some stuff to dunk. How about a little lace and some buttons? Still the same dye bath as the beads, but isn't it interesting how different materials take up the dye differently?




Nylon lace, natural shell buttons on the left, plastic (I think) buttons on the right.

Now, I wish I had some different colors to play around with -- that was fun!