Tiered Skirt

I couldn't resist giving this skirt a try. My daughter has boldly declared that she does not like skirts, so this will be for the shop. I'm going to make a size 2, just cuz I know it will add to the cuteness factor. I had this fabric in my stash. It had originally been bought for curtains, but I just don't like making curtains. So it is finding a new purpose. =)

 Tiers getting sewn together, and seams pressed open.

 Hems are added to the bottom of each tier.

 Layering the tiers.

 This was a new trick to me. Three fabric layers is hard to gather with thread. But a wide zig zag stitch over dental floss does the trick very easily!











The waistband holds the gathers in place. Elastic makes the waist stretchy, and easy for a little one to put the skirt on all by herself.

Tiers =)

The one thing I do not like about this pattern, which comes from One Yard Wonders, is the inside of the waist. The gathers and sewn against the waistband, and is top-stitched toward the waist. Woven fabrics fray. So it looks ugly. So here's this professional looking skirt on the outside  and a little less so on the inside. Too much top-stitching has gone into this one to make a change at this point, but any future skirts would definitely be surged to give the inside a nice neat finish. Otherwise, this was fun to make and I love how it came out! I decided during the night (when I do a lot of my sewing planning!) to make one in a woven denim. I already love it. =)

The DydeeDaze Challenge

Being a seller on Etsy is challenging. There are so many, many sellers, and a whole lot of them make and sell baby stuff! It is easy to get swallowed up by it all. Listings are buried in an hour. No one finds you unless you make something utterly unique, or you list constantly. Big sellers also seem to have large inventories. I have decided to hike up my inventory fast by giving myself a challenge.

I want to try to have 100 listings in my shop by June 1st. Now to someone who has time each day to work and list, that would not be much of a challenge. But my sewing time is extremely limited. I have to cut pieces while the kids are watching a tv program. I have to sew when hubby takes them outside for 20 minutes. You get the idea. I have no set sewing time, so I take it where I can. So things get done slowly, some days nothing is done, and I can't really predict what and when I can get stuff done. But I feel the strong need to get in there and compete, so I'm going to push myself to the limit.

In order to motivate myself, I've created this challenge. I am going to boost every shop section I have by making 10 of each item I currently have offered in the shop. No new stuff until I have 10 of each current item. So I've made myself a typed list, and I will create and cross off as I go. (I have already made one amendment to this, as I accidentally discovered a cute item while making another cute item.... more on that later) I am breaking the numbers down by month, and then by week. If I get ahead of myself, I can choose to use the extra time to make stuff for the kids/house/friends/etc. Or I can use it to continue to make progress on the challenge.

At the start of the challenge, I had 34 listings. I will post each new listing as I go. So basically I figure I need to make 6 listings in March. (I have 5 more days to accomplish this...) 30 listings in April. 30 listings in May. That's a lot. Here goes nothing!

#35

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#38
















#39
















#40















#41

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#43

Burp cloths are done for now. On to bibs. Today (3/31) I didn't feel like sewing. I felt exhausted and unmotivated. But then my children like to take over my computer, and that happened this afternoon. I didn't know what to do with myself, so I sewed! And that's how it goes! So 6 bibs are in the works... Considering I thought it was a bit of a stretch to finish and list 6 items by the last day of March, I am very pleased with the 9 that are listed, and the 6 that aren't far from being done. Very pleased indeed!

April Sewing:

#44

 I listed this bib and the next in the shop yesterday. I am more drawn to the one below, with the sweet kitten prints prancing all over it, but the etsy shopping population is far more interested in the sports theme on this bib. It's a good reminder to keep fabrics in stock that are not necessarily my first choice.













#45

Meow. =)


















#46

 Velour. I made my daughter a shirt out of this once and she loved it. It got lots of compliments, too. Nice.

















#47

#48

 Dora the Explorer


















#49

Dinos. And the bibs are done. On to cloth diaper inserts.

















#50

 I love this fabric line.


















#51

Working with organic hemp fleece, which I just love, and fun cotton wovens makes me want to make other stuff, such as moon pads. I have been thinking a lot about that. I love when one projects inspires me to move into another area.













#52

Three-tiered skirt from One Yard Wonders.












#53

I love how this skirt came out. I broke my serger trying to neaten the inside seam, but still.












#54

Variation. =)














#55

Keyka Lou pattern
I love these totes and have made quite a few of them. I did one with butterflies and have received many compliments on it, so I thought I'd try another like it for the shop. These totes are great for everything.













#56

I made this a while back and retired it from the shop for a while. I've put it back on now. It just fits the theme of the shop so well at the moment.
















#57

Trying the tiered skirts with different colors/patterns.

Grocery/All Purpose Tote

This was made using a Keyka Lou sewing pattern. I love these bags. This is the 7th one I have made. Three for me, one for my son for school in September, two as gifts, and now one for the shop. It's fun to play with colors and patterns with these, and they're easy to put together. They're surprisingly durable - I have really put them to the test. I stuff one that I use every day for my wallet, diaper stuff, and all sorts of junk that I carry around for no reason. I also use them for library books and videos, beach stuff, and for groceries. After a year of using them, I have yet to see any wear and tear, which is amazing. They do get dirty, but are easy to clean in the washer and drier. Oh, and they're lined and reversible! So happy to get rid of the plastic bags, which are terrible for the environment.  These are bigger than the typical plastic grocery bag, and can be used a million times.

 These fold up small and a bunch can be squished into another one for easy toting or storage.







Reversed!