The Imaginative Seamstress

 I just put the last touch on this little swimsuit for my 2 year old. I had this mostly finished from last summer, when I tried to get it to fit my then 3 year old... but it was too small. I had only this small remnant from a suit my mom made me when I was 11 years old. That was 17 years ago people. The fabric is still in perfect condition. I have always loved this fabric, & I spent like four years searching for the perfect orange to match. This still isn't as perfect as I wanted, but I can't wait forever!! Indoor photos because I finished it at night. I'll get outdoor photos another time.   The skirt was perfect length in the back, but it could stand to be of quarter inch shorter in the front.

In my fabric choices you'll find some that are labeled "Heavy Weight" Well, what does that mean? Today I'm going to talk about heavy weight swim fabrics. These are different than the standard 6oz fabrics that I grew up with, these are 8oz fabrics. What are the differences? I'm about to tell you.  In 2012, after 20+ years of being around swim fabrics, I thought I knew something about them... Something, maybe, but everything? No. My first encounter with heavy weight fabric was when the supplier sent me what I thought was the wrong fabric. In truth, I may not have read through all the details before purchasing. What happened was I had bought a small piece of yardage, in a print that I liked. I did this to get a feel for what kind of fabric it was before buying more. Because, as I've said before, its difficult to tell the type/quality of a fabric when you're just looking at a picture online. When I received the fabric in the mail, I was really happy with ...

First off I have to tell you, I am very picky about quality in swimwear fabric. How it feels, stretches, even what color it is on the back. (imagine that) I'll explain that a little later...  Now I can't always remember which technical names I'm looking for when I'm searching swimwear fabric on the internet, but I've got to be sure I'm looking at the right thing. Its not like I can touch it and immediately know that I've got the right stuff. I know words like nylon, spandex, lycra, and polyester, and even cotton are thrown around. I know enough to stay away from anything that says cotton-lycra on the label. When I was growing up swimwear fabric was simply called LYCRA.  But these days so much clothing is made from stretch fabrics and the word LYCRA is in everything stretchy. Knits have LYCRA in them, but they're not for swimming, they're for stretchy t-shirts, leggings, etc. I found these helpful little notes on ehow, while I was searching for a li...

I stinking love the fabric swap! Can't remember who invited me to it but its cool! So earlier today I'd posted some destash photos so I could sell some of the things I didn't want and so I'd feel like I could buy some zebra printed flannel. I'm wanting the zebra print to make some burp cloths for a friend who's doing baby's room in zebra (Black, white, and pink). Usually I wouldn't think twice about it... But, we've managed to spend quite a bit of money lately, and when that happens I pull in the reigns a bit.  Anyway, earlier I'd posted a few fabrics that I didn't need. Most of which haven't gone anywhere, but... the first person who asked me for this fabric, V asked if I would be willing to swap. I told her that it wasn't exactly what I had in mind, and told her of my plan to get some zebra print. Later she comes back and asks if I was the person she was looking for zebra print for? I was like "Did you find some? That wo...

So I had this huge  pile of scrap swim fabric that I was just going to throw away but I had this idea to make a baby toy out of them. I've seen many people make similar things, and I've even heard that they're sold in stores by a company called T a g g i e s.  I've never bought one from them.. But today after I'd made a few of my own design, I came across this article that said the owners of  T a g g i e s  had a  patent that said its illegal for anyone to make and sell blankets, burp cloths, toys, etc with ribbons on them or just make them for home use. "Any loop sewn between two pieces of fabric" they say they own it. As ridiculous as that is, because people have made things with ribbon loops on them from the time of my Grandmother's sewing days, they do have a patent that affirms that you can't copy their idea (even though it didn't originally come from them) Mine do have a loop or two but if I was to sell any of them, I'd probably cut...

Just for kicks I kept all of my swimwear scraps from just the month of January. Its quite a pile! I saved them long enough to take a picture , and as I was about t o throw them out, an idea hit me. I f it works out , I'll be able to use 2/3 of the scraps! Stay tuned for what might become of these scraps :-)

Through out the year, here and there, I put in orders for swimwear fabric. Okay, I'll fess up...I buy fabric almost all the time lol! My hubby knows its true! Not that its constant, but I do keep an eye out for things I think I'd like. This past Summer, in with some of my fabric orders, came this heavier weight fabric that I'd never seen before. My first feelings were despair, frustration, and simply not knowing what to do! I thought, "This is not what I wanted! What am I supposed to do with it?" This new fabric was different in several ways. It was heavier, a little stiffer, it may not even stretch as far as the medium weight fabric did! The medium weight is what's known as 6oz fabric; this new stuff was 8oz weight; heavier stuff. :sigh: I was not thrilled but I did give it a try here and there. Maybe there was hope for it yet... ~ I made my second nursing suit from it.~   It turned out really great. Sure, it was a little snug getting over my sh...