Ember Costumes and Crafts

To go with my previous post, I made a cute "casual" NASA outfit for my doll! I used the free t-shirt pattern , The jeans bundle , and pixie sweets slip-ons all purchased from Pixie Faire .  The shirt took a few tries because I'm not great with hemming knits. I tried a few different ways and ended up taping down the hem with washi tape to keep it from stretching out, sewing over it, and then ripping the washi tape off. It worked great, but getting the bits of washi tape out was a pain. It worked, but I need to do more research on sewing with knits, and definitely more practice! The NASA logo I just ironed on...the first shirt I tried, I held the iron on too long and burned a shiny yellow iron print onto the shirt. Oops. The pants turned out good.. I had a few problems. I love this pattern, actually, but I used a stretchy fabric with too much bulk. I also had trouble placing the pockets properly on the butt--they are too far down and too wide set. I also,

For this project I used the Koski Flight Suit from Pixie Faire, with the intention to dupe the official American Girl brand NASA flightsuit , but I made some changes and if I make it again I will make even more changes! Overall it was a good pattern and pretty easy to make, with excellent details and options that you can skip for a simpler suit if you want.   I found the pant legs are too short and the crotch was waaaay too small. I ended up having to add a gore to the crotch seam to make it work. (User error?) I'll try to remember to take a picture of the gore. The pockets were also...well, I don't know if you can tell form the picture, but the breast pockets aren't perfectly symmetrical (my fault). The official AG version appear to have fake pockets outlined in stitching, which is lame. This pattern gives the option for zippered pockets or these welt pockets, which I opted for. I highly suggest doing a few practice welts! It took a few tries to get it to

I've been having lots of of fun making doll clothes lately. I tried out the Victorian Unmentionables pattern from Pixie Faire because I thought it would be a good base layer for any fancy ball gowns or princess dresses I want to make in the future. I also have a deep love of Civil War era dresses and underthings because of my previously mentioned Little House on the Prairie obsession of my youth. I made the corset, petticoat( underskirt), and crinoline (hoopskirt). I didn't feel the need to make another chemise (underdress) or another pair of drawers (underpants) and just re-used the ones I made from the Kirsten's Pretty Things pattern.   This is how the hoopskirt turned out. Pretty good! I didn't have enough boning of the right size, so I used some heavy-duty zip ties and cut them in half down the center--this was not ideal because the edges were a bit jaggedy and got caught a lot as I tried to slide them into the channels...which were not perfect and every time

The smallest bedroom in the house is the "office" that I use as my crafting space. This is the view when you're standing at the door. The bookcase between our two desks holds various fantasy and sci-fi series, plus all of Gunnar's D&D manuals and school Textbooks.  These bookshelves were bought from a friend of mine who salvaged them from a bank that was closing. They are very heavy and solid! The one closest to the door holds Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings. (The empty shelves used to have kids books, but we recently got them their own bookcase.) The shelf in the middle picture is directly on my right when I'm sitting at my desk and has top to bottom; my favorite childhood books, photos in boxes and a few comics, scrapbooking paper and supplies, and more scrapbooking paper and my fashion and sewing books. The shelf beside it, closest to the closet, holds CDs, Terry Pratchet, Nonfiction, and a bunch of unsorted stuff we aren'

John's workshop is in his garage!  Pros: Nice space, can be as loud as he wants Cons: Not air-conditioned, someone wants to park a car in there Panoramic Overview  On the left; cabinets salvaged from an office demo job On the right; metal shelves for storing projects, tools, and materials.   Work Bench! This is made from an old wooden door. Mounted on the wall behind is a power strip and a computer monitor (for Netflix, mostly). Video camera is mounted directly above the table for close up filming. There is a ceiling fan and a box fan to help with ventilation.  Commonly used supplies. Shelf to the right of the work bench holds current projects and materials. A beginner's collection of Sortimo T-boxx es. (Inspired by Adam Savage's Workshop .) That's it for John's workshop tour!  Stay tuned for Angela's Craft Room Tour in the coming weeks!