The Imaginative Seamstress

Last night I was playing with an idea for a nursing top. This is what came out of it...  The fist try seemed cute, but not for a nursing top. The over layer, being sewn into the side seam, kept the fabric too restricted for nursing. Pardon the rough edges on this one. I didn't take the time to finish the armholes and neckline when the photos were taken. And so I tried again..   Front  Back This time the over layer went all the way around the body. It was cut fuller and was much easier to lift up if someone desired to wear it as a nursing top. (If its to be a nursing top, I will cut slits in the under layer) I did finish the arms and neck of this one. Its a size 16 and will be for sale in my etsy soon.   

I cried my eyes out after a very long day! I should have known not to spend more time in town with 2 very tired little children after swimming lessons. But I extended the trip to include dinner with extended family. I ran errands before dinner to fill in the time ((I didn't know dinner was going to happen today, it was a last minute thing. I decided that I could squeeze it in. Even though I'd not planned, wouldn't get a shower, and didn't even have a hair brush after swimming lessons!)) I showed up to see everyone else had time to make themselves pretty. My kids were exhausted and fussy. The food took forever to get there. I didn't eat much and what I did eat was cold. I was too busy caring for my baby who was not herself after such a long day . Being a mom is hard sometimes. In all we spent 9 hrs away from home today. So hard doing errands when your baby just needs a nap! Thankfully my 3 year old was adamant that she push the baby stroller, and she did a...

I came to a point of needing a mental break from orders. And it was really great to take a break! If I don't take time for some creativity I'll go crazy with all these custom orders that require me to pay close attention to details all the time. This was my mental break... I took some time on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning to finally put this idea together! It had been sitting, cut out on my table for at least a week. And this idea has been rolling around in my head for about a year now. Its a criss-cross styled nursing top. I had one cut out last Summer and just never got it all put together. Its still in pieces. Just recently I cut out 2 from this shiny teal fabric I'd gotten in. It was light weight and sparkly! Like I said, I cut out 2. Both would look exactly alike on the outside, but the nursing access would look different on the inside. I had asked a friend if she'd be willing to try them both out and tell me which she liked better. Well, I put one together and d...

I made this for my daughter, Jubilee, just before Christmas time. Its my version of an Elsa dress. Needless to say, she is in love with it. Its made from a light nylon lycra fabric, so it stretches easily. It was quick to make since I didn't need to add a zipper or buttons :-)I lined the bodice, front and back I think... I went almost completely without a pattern. I used my swimsuit bodice pattern, and then used a shirt of hers to go by for the sleeves. And just measurements for the skirt and train..  When it snowed, I took a couple pics of her wearing it outside. She didn't like the cold, so it didn't go over really well. :-)  "Mom, its cold!"  

Now this is something I'm working on getting the style right... Its a girl's scrunch top and bottoms. I'd been using one method for getting the scrunch in the sides of the suit, and then I went to make this suit and changed the way I was going about that. The result was a better look and more/better scrunching.. but then my length was off and this top turned out a bit shorter than I wanted. So, its still a work in progress, but its coming :-) The skirt also needs some re-designing for sure... This one is a little blurry, but one of the only full body shots I took. The skirt droops too much at the center front and back...  Side view... this is where you can tell its not quite as long as I'd like it to be... All in all, its absolutely adorable!  Cute headband with bow!

 So, I was asked a few weeks ago to put a lining in a swimsuit. The customer did not want to wear a bra with the suit, and thought it would be just fine without only the lining. However, I knew better than that. It wouldn't work, not ever..simple as that. Come on ladies..who hasn't gone swimming and afterward been cold? What happens when you're cold??? Well, obviously you show through...  A couple years ago I bought a 'Stop the Show' bra from 'Lily of France'. That bra is awesome! No way you're gonna show through, even if you were an icicle! I don't understand how most swimwear takes care of this issue, in my opinion it doesn't really...even ones with thin cups don't do a good job.    I'd considered once before putting a bra in a suit when someone had asked for it, but I shrugged it off when my mom said "Don't do that, its not worth the hassle" :-) But... this time I was sorta feeling like I wanted to try it out. So ...

One of my recent customers, a lady who lives in Isreal, asked me to try a new waistband. She was a repeat customer from last year. She's been pregnant last Summer and ordered one of my maternity suits. This was her feedback for that suit: "Hi there, Thanks for following up. I received the suit last week and wore it to the pool on Friday. It fits well with plenty of room to grow. So far I am very satisfied with the product and would recommend it to my friends. Thanks again, Tamar"  (July 1st 2012) So this year, after baby, she was thinking she didn't want the elastic band at the waist. I get that, the elastic band, especially if you have a 'fluffy' middle will cut into the waist and might be uncomfortable. She asked me for a band of fabric, sort of like I did for the maternity, but not :-) At first I told her I'd not done that before and that I'd probably just do the 3/4" elastic band. But afterwards I got to thinking and gave it a whirl...