duct tape dress form

I don't always share on everything I make and I thought really hard about not sharing this cause it doesn't really shed me in a flattering light. Although .... I am a grandma and not 20 anymore, there are a few pounds I'm not proud of. I'm biting the bullet and just doing it. Stupid slow metabolism.

I saw a few posts online about making a duct tape dress form and I really liked the idea. Anyone who has made their own clothes can tell you it's super difficult to alter stuff for yourself.  Making a duct tape double was quite appealing.

So on New Years Eve, I enlisted Burke to help. This task called for "Extreme Man" at his finest and I definitely needed attention to detail here. He said he would help but I had to wear the duct tape over my mouth. Ha.Ha.

So we started with this. I didn't take a picture of the rolls afterwards, but I can tell you we used all the decorative duct tape and about half the silver. Actually, I should have bottom 3 rolls of the decorative stuff. When we ran out, there were a few spots on the back that needed covering.

I started with a nice snug shirt, which has only recently gotten snug on me. Stupid metabolism. Fat girl in a little shirt (sways arms and sings Tommy Boy melody)...

Starting with the silver duct tape, Burke started at the bottom and outlined the chest area.

And then moved upwards.

Admittedly the chest area was the hardest to do. The trick is making a lot of little relief cuts to get the edges to lay down.

Here's a picture of the back. (embarrassing moan)

Once it was done - we added another layer of the decorative duct tape. In hindsight, I really wish I had bought a different style of duct tape. This style made it look a little like a weird meat suit. It was a form fitting and definitely uncomfortable. The whole thing took about 2 hours and I was so ready to be done.

Once we were done, I marked out my vanishing waistline (or where I thought it was) and then Burke cut it right down the middle in the back to remove it - shirt and all.

I took my existing dress form which I love because it's adjustable.

Then put the new meat suit, I mean .... duct tape dress form and put it right over top of it.

I brought out an older pattern I had and some fabric I bought like 5 years ago. I had made it once already so I knew it was needed more precise altering. I was so amazed at how nice it was having a double me. I was gonna say mini me - both we all know that's a lie.

The arms were a bit weird, but they still worked. Hopefully in a couple of months we'll be making a new one ...... cause damn.

If you're someone who enjoys altering for making their own clothes - I would really recommend making your own duct tape dress form.

Sewing Desks

On the basement project list is to make a U shape craft desk. Last weekend, Burke and I got 2/3 of the project completed and I love it! I found the plans from Ana White's website. In this particular project, she teamed up with Jillian from I am a homemaker.com. I really benefited from Jillian's great description of her build for the cabinets. I modified the plans a bit. :)

In total, I have 5 machines and I wanted a work bench big enough for all 5. Can you believe it? Who has 5 machines? This gal! AND ... they are ALL Brother machines, except for the cute little 1972 Kenmore (green one) I found for $20 at Salvation Army.

I really liked this desk design, but if I had to do it over again - I would design it with corner cabinets and not in rectangle modules. I am a beginner at this though so live and learn.

Burke and I started our journey with a trip to Fingerle Lumber in Ann Arbor.

Then we cut all the lumber according to the cut list.

I wanted 2 cabinets, one for each desk.

First mistake, when the guy says, "Is it okay that it's not exactly a 2 x 2? Say no. You can see the top trim piece - you can see how it's wider than the legs.

I bought spindle legs at Lowes for the opposite end of the desk for about $15/each.

Mistake number 2. Never use caulk to seal wood products, especially when you bought some lovely birch. *Sigh*

Check and double check squareness. These were my very first drawers and I had a heck of time - but they turned out pretty dang square.

Mistake #3 ...wait, no - related still to mistake #1. Because of the shorter 2 x 2, I had to double up the back otherwise my drawers came out past the back.

And so, I painted. It took me a whole weekend to get the painting done. I put several coats of paint on everything.

Burke and I used 1x4's to join it all together using my fabulous pocket jig. I didn't take a picture of it, but we reinforced the corners with cross pieces.

Now, for the countertop. Burke's sister Aileen gave us 4 boxes of cedar when we first moved into our house. I finally got to use them!

We took three 1x8's and joined them together by pocket screws and glue. The we took the thin layers of cedar and nailed them on top.

Using left over fake 2x2's, I reinforced the counter and will use them to join them to the outer edge of the desk. We cut those 2x2's to fit exactly inside the desk and they fit like a glove.

It was super solid. Burke sat on it and it didn't budge. Plus, we can disassemble it easily and move it if we had to.

And viola!

My basement smells amazing because of the wonderful cedar. I sanded them lightly and the top is super smooth.

The corner is reinforced for my monster embroidery machine.

I really love the nice wide area to move my chair between machines and the space for all 5 machines.

Not gonna lie ..... the drawers were a bear. Putting the slides in took nearly a weekend on their own. Lots of adjustments and sanding down to make them fit. The top ones work great - the bottom ones are stiff.  They work - but it takes effort.

The whole project took 3 weekends total and the cost was around $250.  I love that all my machines have their place and can be used quite easily. Mistakes were made, but they are my mistakes and were made with love. I really couldn't be happier.

Now on to the cutting table!

how I made graduation stoles

I make these stoles once a year for a group at the University of Michigan. Thought I would jot down my notes to refresh my memory for the next time.

If you need a pattern for your stole, there is one here.

There's another one here - little different design.

I can get 2.5 stoles out of 1 yard of material. I start out cutting strips of material that are 7 inches wide. You need 2 sections for each stole.

Embroider one side keeping closer to the edge, it will cut nicely this way.

This is why because the curve of the neck, you'll want to keep the embroidery closer to one side. You want a wider cut so that you have room for the hoop and to keep the material nice and tight.

Make sure you cut it out so the curve goes towards the right for the logo side. The opposite is true for the name side of the stole.

With right sides together sew the ends together. Then sew 2 sides together (right sides together). I start in the back where the start and end threads will be less noticeable. Set the stitch length down to 2 or 2 1/2 to keep the pulling of the material to a minimal.

Sew down on side. Then stop and go back to the middle and sew down the other side. Stop before getting to the angled cuts. Press open. It's much easier to press the stole open like this - than to work the satin for both sides flat to iron.

Once you press the seam open on the one side, finish sewing - starting at the angle and continuing around. Make sure you make nice sharp turns. This one pulled because my stitch length was too long.

Leave 3 inch gaps on the each end of the stole for turning. I do both end so I can get into the angled end real good to push out a nice sharp point.

Trim close to stitching before turning inside out.

Carefully iron the seams out. Use no steam and a silk setting on your iron.

Then go back over the stole do a trim stitch on the outside. And that's it!

sweetwater

To date, I think this is my favorite quilt. I made it for my son's birthday last year. It was also my first quilt using my new Brother PQ1500S. It took me about a month of weekends to complete it, including the quilting.

I love the colors. When I picked out the fabrics, I thought of circuity colors. My son is a fellow technology geek and likes the color black. I choose the green to compliment it. I really like the black with the words written on it. It's just random words in different languages. I found it at Joann Fabric.

I choose the pattern sweetwater listed in the quilt pattern book by Fons and Porter. The pattern was designed by Debbie Outlaw who works for Moda Fabric, and it was easy to follow along.

I always embroider the name of the person the quilt was meant for.

I completed the quilt well before his birthday and thought I would paint something to go with it.

So I choose a misty forest type of scene. Acrylics painting - Green and black. If you look close, you'll see slender man behind one of the trees. Also, is the heart of some poor animal hanging from a branch. Holly and Jason talked me into doing that.

I also had enough scraps left over so I made the little throw pillow to match. It's zippered so it can be removed and washed.

I think you can see the quilting here. I just did loops. The quilting alone took me about a weekend. It was fun doing free motion quilting for the first time. Getting used to the movement of the needle. I was able to do a Queen size quilt on my Brother with no trouble.

Happy 24th birthday son!