Nah Nah Nah Nah... Batman!

For his birthday, I made for my boyfriend some Batman flannel pajama pants. I think they turned out pretty good, with the exception of the pockets which I accidentally placed too low. They're usable, so I left them as they were and called them cargo pockets. ;) This was the first time I've ever made a pattern from scratch. I took Ryan's measurement's (somewhat ruining the surprise, but what can you do?) and made the pants according to them. In addition to the pockets, the pants have a loose fitting elastic waist with a string to tighten it (as requested by Ryan).

I know it's a bit hard to see, but here is the pattern in progress. The pattern making book I used was really terrific.

Voila! Finished pants.

The only thing I would do differently in the future (besides not inadvertently making cargo pockets) is to taper the leg just a little bit. I wanted them to be loose fitting so the cuff is actually the same diameter as the thigh, but it hindsight, it may be a tad too baggy. I may make the cuff be a few inches smaller next time.

Question...

So I can see that the post regarding the crown making tutorial has been getting a lot of traffic. I've been wondering if anyone has made their own. If so, please let me know and I'll post it to my blog. :)

Like always, you can email me at sewlesliecrafts@gmail.com

Renaissance Dress: Update #1

So I finally have started to put some real work into my new Renaissance dress. I've made some progress with the bodice, as you can see below. The top picture is the lining and the bottom picture is the exterior with the lining in place. Again, I apologize for my terrible photography skills. They were taken with my phone.

Tonight I'll probably install the boning.

In other news, I made my first pattern entirely from scratch and it actually worked out extremely well. The pattern is for pajama pants for my boyfriend's birthday (Batman pajama pants!). I will definitely post some pictures once they're finished. If you're curious as to how I designed the pattern, I used the wonderful book I posted about back in October with a roll of tracing paper. The instructions were pretty easy to follow. :)

Renaissance Dress Fabrics

So I found a great little fabric store that I can walk to from work that also happens to be very very affordable. So I've finally been able to purchase the main fabric for my new Renaissance dress. I wanted this new dress to have a heavier feel so I am using home decor weight fabric. This is also why I've put off buying the fabric because it's so much more expensive. I'll probably also buy an A-line hoop skirt like the ones used for wedding gowns to wear underneath. They are pretty inexpensive online.

Anyway, time for the big reveal.....

 The red is the main fabric while the light gold is for the front panel, the inside of the sleeves, and the lining of the bodice. The "novelty braid" is for the trim along the dress.

 I'll be following the pattern for the dress with the bell sleeves in the upper left corner. Don't worry, the pictures are almost impossible to see even in person.

I'll probably be working on this on and off while I make smaller projects at the same time. I'll definitely post updates when I have something interesting to show.

Simple and Easy Single Evening Project - Cute Trash Bag for Your Car

So last night I completed a super quick project. It only took about an hour and a half when it was all said and done. I have this really great book called "One Yard Wonders" and I pulled this project from it. The only thing I changed was I added a lining to make it feel a little more substantial. My car is usually a little bit of a mess, so I thought this was a really cute way to help control the chaos. Did I mention it matches the color of my car? It's lime green. :)

In other Sew Leslie news, I bought fabric for my Renaissance dress! Woot. I'll be sure to post some pictures when I have some.

Now I Have My Own Hobbes!

I love my most recent project. Inspired by my favorite comic strip, I decided to make myself a Hobbes and was even lucky enough to find a pattern saving me the trouble of designing one myself. I think he turned out absolutely perfect. I had to buy some orange fleece, but a lot of him was made from left over Totoro fabric.

If you would like to make your very own Hobbes, you can find the free pattern and tutorial at Instructables.com. Here, I've given a direct link even:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stuffed-Hobbes-with-pattern/

Enjoy!

Commissions

I've received a few requests to do commissions. If anyone is really interested in something I've posted to my blog, please feel free to email me at sewlesliecrafts@gmail.com and we may be able to work something out. Keep in mind I do work full-time so this will be on a very limited basis.

In other news, I have another finished project! When I'm not in such a hurry, I'll post it. :)