The Wool Coat

 Ok you all know I love versatility, and mixing things up. So while I was working on Abbey's winter jacket, I decided to make one using the Abbey Jacket Pattern I made a few alterations. I used wool this go around and lined the coat for extra warmth. Because I love the Abbey Jacket, but our winters get a little too cold for just fleece.

 The extra flounce in front allows for extra coverage and warmth, while maintaing the ease of a swing coat.

 And I love the lining which is a fun little "pop"
So if you have the Abbey Jacket Pattern I will show you a few changes you can make to get a different jacket.

 To start I decided that I only wanted the front to be two pieces (instead of three like the Abbey Jacket) SO I taped Front A and B together so they were the same height as the piece Back A. Then I cut the pieces out as the instructions state.

 The only other change I made to the pattern was when I was cutting the Front C piece I added a few inches to the width which would make the front nice and full.

I cut the pattern out of the wool and then the same pieces out of the lining (except the collar which I only cut out the wool, I just cut two of each)

Keep in mind I used a cotton for my lining which was thin so I left the size the same as I used for the Abbey Jacket, however if you were using a heavier fabric you may want to go up a size or make certain areas larger like a lower underarm.

 Then when sewing the jacket together you will basically follow the directions of the pattern only you will pleat the Front C piece to the top front piece so they become the same size.

 Then your front pieces will look something like this.

 The other thing I changed is I added pockets to the front of the jacket to help keep her little hands warm. I made a welt style pocket. To do this it is almost like making a very large bound button hole. Start with a rectangle that is wider and taller than the pocket size you want. Pin it to the front of the jacket where you want the pocket to be. (I made mine quiet low so it was at her hand height you can put it wherever) Then draw the size you want your pocket to be in a rectangle on the piece you pinned to the front.

 Then you will sew along the rectangle and cut a slit down the middle angling into the corners.

 Then for better instructions on how you turn the rectangle to the back and sew the flaps check HERE. (it is much more clear than the pocket pictures turned out)

 Now you will grab a piece of fabric that is twice the length of the pocket size you want. You will sew one edge to the bottom of the flap. (don't sew it to the front of the jacket just to the flap.)

 Then fold the fabric up and sew it to the top flap. (again not the front of the jacket just the flap) Then sew up the sides of the pocket. I didn't worry about the raw edges or how it looked because the lining would cover it up.

 Then you have a pocket. (see a lot like a bound button hole right?)

 Finish the assembly of the jacket as per the instructions, getting the sleeves and collars on and sewing up the side seams.

 Do the same for your lining piece (sorry for the horrible picture, my battery died so I used my phone)

 Then sew the collar lining right sides together and turn it right side out.

 Next and I know this is not the best picture but this was hard to show properly. You will sew the lining to the jacket. You want to line the right sides up together sewing the collar and neckline to each other and sewing along the edges leaving an opening along one edge to turn the jacket right side out.

 Then turn the jacket pieces right side out and fold under the part that was left un-sewn. Then I made little tabs for the front instead of the long tabs from the pattern.

 I added button holes to the flaps.

 Add some buttons and you are done. A sweet new winter jacket. I have to say, wool is pricey but worth every penny I love this jacket.

 I especially love when I see the lining peaking out.

 And I really love the high collar to keep her neck nice and toasty from the blistery winds.

Oh and what's not to love about the fullness to the front.

Incase you are wondering, larger sizes of the pattern are coming.
Girls sizes 5-10 will hopefully be release on Saturday so stay tuned for that :)

The double knit top

 Oh man so blog posts have been a little spaced lately. We (our household) have been down and out with a horrible batch of colds. I really had no idea that a cold could take us down like it has. So I have a lot of projects building up, which just need some tutorials written, as we all get ourselves back to full health, I thought I would share a project that nearly slipped through the cracks. A while back I shared these jeans, and Abbey was wearing this top in the pictures. Then the tutorial for the top got set aside, and almost forgotten about, but it is one of may favorite tops, especially with cozy layers for fall, so it's time.

 I call it the double knit because the top part is knit and the bottom half is jersey knit. I love the combination of textures. There is even some crocheting thrown in for fun.

 To start I just learned how to knit, literally a month ago I had my mom visiting and she taught me how to knit and crochet. I am no Anya and some how coming up with amazing things after just learning, so I had my amazing mother knit up a bodice for me. (although I have officially finished my first knitting project this is not it) We found a basic dress pattern a lot like this one and I had her just knit the top portion. You could also use an old sweater and cut out a top part for the bodice, it would just be a little trickier since you have to finish the edges. I also crocheted two pockets myself since it is literally like making a wash cloth. I made a small square for the chest and sewed it to the bodice with some yarn. Then I made a larger piece for the skirt part. I am not one to teach you how to knit or crochet but if you don't know how there are some great you tube videos out there that teach you.

 Then for the skirt I cut out an "A-Line" shape out of some jersey knit. I made it the length I wanted for the top and the width to match the bodice.
Sew it together along the sides.

 Then I hemmed the bottom. I used a double needle so it would have a nice looking finished edge but also a double needle allows for some stretch in the seam which is nice.

 Next with right sides together I sewed the knit bodice to the skirt.

 To secure the seam and make sure it wouldn't pull any knit stitches I top stitched the seam as well.

 Then pin the pocket to the top and using the sewing machine I stitched the sides and bottom of the pocket.

 That's all there is to it. I simple double knit top. With a nice big pocket for keeping treasures.

I just love the different textures, which makes me want to make a couple more...

My Memories giveaway!

Alright ladies, how many of you are just like me, you have a million pictures sitting on your computer. You have intentions of doing something really great with them, but you are lucky if you get the chance to throw them in a blog post. Yep I think a lot of us are there, it is so much easier to just take the picture than it is to find the time to do something with it. Before I got back into sewing, when my son was just a baby I got into digital scrapbooking. I loved it, I didn't waste a ton of money on supplies (in-fact I didn't spend a dime) I could easily erase and start over on a page without getting upset about wasted paper, or cut pictures. It was great but boy howdy it was time consuming, so I gave up. Then recently I was contacted by My Memories to try their product. I was really excited since I love the idea of creating digital scrap books, I just wanted it to be easier. Well My memories is just that. In about 10 min I had a page done. It is so slick and easy to use. Unlike photoshop that I used to use this program is way cheaper (around 40 dollars) and is specially designed just for scrap books. It comes loaded with thousands of embellishments and papers, but you can also download more from their online store some free some for a low cost. Also as an added perk you can use any scrap book downloads you already have on your computer. 

Shown here I started with my blank page (you select the size) I decided on a blank one but you can also choose from a variety of templates to help you get started. Then simply click "add embellishment" You can choose from the wide variety that comes pre-loaded or down where it says "browse other" you can select anything on your computer. It's that easy.

Another great thing I love about this program is the grid feature. You can turn it on and easily tell if your items like words, or letters, are straight. Love that!

You can easily add and resize pictures to your pages. Seriously within a few min, (less than 10) I had the first page of Jude's year 4 scrap book done. It's a great start.

What's even better is since it only takes a few short min, and you can create several albums. You can easily create a page during the moment so you don't have to play catch up later. You don't want those memories to slip away.

Here are a few of the other features I LOVE about this program:
It's super easy to use you don't have to sit down and read a manual to get started
It has spell check which I can not live without!
You can add video to your scrapbooks
You can add sound or music clips
It is easy to share online with family or friends
You can print it in a book or burn it on to a DVD for digital viewing (my fav)
Plus it can totally do so much more, like make calendars, cook books, cool home movies, and more!

So are you guys ready for the best news?
My memories is giving away one of the My Memories Suites 2 to one lucky reader!
Amazing right?

So here's how you can enter to win:

Go Check out My Memories.com and then leave a comment telling us about your favorite feature, or why you need this product!

If you want extra entires (who doesn't right?)
Visit the My memories blog and become a follower
Become a Fan of My memories Facebook page
Follow My memories on Twitter
Follow Shwin&Shwin
Become a Shwin&Shwin facebook fan.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry (since that is how they will be counted) Also please please please leave your email address, or I can not contact the winner and that would be horrible.

Giveaway is open until Sunday October 23rd at Midnight.
A winner will be selected and announced on the blog Monday October 24th.

Good luck!

Oh and if a giveaway is not your thing or you just can't wait you can get $10 off your purchase of my memories suite when you enter the code: STMMMS16240
at check out and save! 

Project Runway: The final Challenge

Well the end is near. This week was the final challenge on Project Runway. They decided to send 4 of the 5 remaining to fashion week, although we have seen them cut it down to 3 the week of final show, so we will see if all 4 show at fashion week or not. I agree with most of their judging this week, but not all of it... So let's break it down shall we?

 Who did the Judges LOVE LOVE LOVE this week? Anya. Here is the deal, when I was watching the show, it really didn't bother me at all that the girl needs help sewing, frankly they harp on that way too much and I feel like this week they were trying to point it out a little too much. I don't even really care that her dresses were obviously hard to wear somehow, or hard to get into. Even Tim said then dress will have to come with an instruction manual, so do infinity scarves, and they are fabulous but they instruct people how to wear them. SO I am not bothered by any of that, I do however find all the designs, well boring. The white one did change my mind a little when I saw the pictures and could get a better view, but the red and black one just seem like fabric thrown on the model, and well boring. Anya didn't even seem to be confident in her looks this week. That is until the Judges told her they were great. Don't get me wrong, I really like Anya and I think she was created some great things, this just really bored me. I am glad that she is showing at fashion week though.

 Joshua is also moving on. I didn't really care for his looks this week. The grey gown looks like a statue of liberty wanna be, the middle look is really unflattering on the girl, and Joshua needs to be done with the circle skirt like the other designers need to be done with the jumpsuit. The white dress I liked and the back was cool, but the rest of the looks all just blah. I also am just not a huge fan of Joshua, he is just too big headed for my liking.

 Victor was cursed for being commercial this week. I agree, he is commercial, he is designing looks each week that I want to buy right now. Except the black dress that has a weird bubble at the hip, which I think it part of the design? I love the other too looks. I am glad that he is making it to fashion week, I am always excited to see what he comes up with even if it is commercial. He knows what women want.

 Kimberly was the last one chosen to move on this week. I actually liked her collection so I am glad that she gets to move on. There were a few issues with her jacket, but I really do love the design, and color, maybe her model could have been a little cleaner and classier looking and it would have helped it from looking frumpy. I loved the dress even if it does remind me a lot of the top she made for the Nina challenge (fabric and all) I liked the top then and I like the dress now. The skirt is interesting. I kind of agree with Laura that it looks like a goiter is sticking out the side, but I don't hate it, it's just well interesting... I look forward to seeing what she comes up with for the final show.

Laura was the one sent home this week. I do feel bad since she wanted this so bad, but I think everyone does honestly they just didn't cry about it. The only design I really like here is the jacket, which the judges hated. I think the dress is cool, but there were all sorts of fit issues there so it was a bit of a train wreak. And the night gown dress was pretty horrible. Overall it was her time I guess, the only one I think was in a "tie" with Laura for going home (in my opinion) was Joshua, but the judges clearly love him so I guess it is Laura.

SO what were your thoughts? Are you happy with the top 4? Do you have an old favorite you wish were there instead? Do you think all 4 will show at fashion week?

Guest Post at Train to Crazy

Want to make the Peacock tutu to complete the peacock costume?

We were invited to play over at train to crazy for the awesome dress up series! SO go check out how to make the tutu as well as all the other amazing dress up ideas!
 The tutu can now be found here

The Pretty Peacock

Ok, I am pretty excited about today's costume, (or at least part one of the costume) I thought long and hard about what Abbey should be for halloween. You see I love when siblings "go-together" as these kids have each year. This year however Jude had an opinion and as you have seen, is going to be Hawkeye the Archer. So I couldn't think of anything that would go with that for Abbey, so they parted ways. After a lot of thought and debate and ideas, I decided on the peacock. It's my favorite animal and it would be so perfect for a girlie girl. 

The pieces are all so simple to make and they come together really nicely to make a nice fluffy tailed peacock that has some whimsy to it. Oh and the peacock inspired hair-do, just makes me smile :)

After some face scrunching from the little one however the mask may be vetoed for some face painting on halloween night... but we will see... So you want to make your own? We will start today with the base of the costume, the top and skirt. 

For the shirt I bought some super cheap costume knit. They had it in the pretty royal blue you expect from a peacock so it was perfect. Then I cut out a basic bodice and sleeves. I sewed the bodice pieces together at the shoulders.

Then I put the sleeves in place at the arm curve.

Then with right sides together I sewed along the sleeve and down the side.

Then since this was a weird knit without a ton of stretch I cut a slit in the back. Then I added a rectangle strip sewn to one side and added button holes to the strip and buttons on the other side so I had a little button flap. Sorry I don't have a picture of those steps, my camera was acting kind of goofy and they were black. You will see the button flap on the finished pictures below. 

For the skirt I made a simple circle skirt with a slit in the back. There are a lot of tutorials for circle skirts if you have never made one before, I usually just wing it, cutting out a circle and then cutting out a little circle in the middle.

Then make the inner circle lay in a straight line of sorts and cut a strip that is the width of the inside circle. You will be folding the strip in half to be a casing for the ribbon.

Sew it to the right side of the skirt along the inner circle. Then you should have a casing to slip some ribbon in. I usually stitch the ribbon in place in the middle of the front so that the ribbon doesn't slide out of place. Then you have a little skirt that ties in back the slit allows for the fullness of the "tail" to poof out.

I love the bright colors and texture of the "feathers" from the tutu.

The cute little buttons down the back even add to the look.

I just can't get enough of the poofiness. For the hair, incase you are wondering I simply made a little "mowhawk" of pony tail loops down the middle of her head. I was going to make a headband but as you can see with the mask even she is not a fan of things on her face or head for that matter so I figured at least with her hair she can't pull it off.

Come back tomorrow for the tutu instructions!