Stud earring holder

Winter 2012/13
Stud earring holder (I did not make the box, sadly)
Difficulties - None, really. Though oh my gosh this used more polyester filler than I thought it would!

I don't know what it is, but I am incapable of taking my stud earrings out and actually putting them back onto my jewelry tree. A few weeks ago, I realized that the ring holders that come in jewelry boxes would also work for stud earrings. Yeah, I'm not the next Einstein here, but it was definitely an a-ha moment for me. So, I decided that instead of buying one, I would make something like this. I was originally going to make a larger one, but I realized I really don't have that many stud earrings. But I started just with two pieces of fleece that I bought as a remnant at JoAnn's. One piece was longer than the other, and I measured every inch on the short piece and every 1 3/4 inches on the long piece. I matched up the lines and pinned it along them.

Since I was stuffing this, I made sure to use the smallest, tightest stitches as I sewed along each line. I then sewed one side shut, stuffed each pocket with cheap crafter's filler, and sewed the other side shut. Simple. Easy. When it was all stuffed and done, I simply smooshed it into a box I already had. In this case, the box was a BEAUTIFUL handmade box from my woodworking uncle. Placed my studs along the creases between pockets, et voila!

(Oh and by the way, this is my first post of a craft I JUST made, not something old. Congratulate me. Whee!)

K

'50s Buttondown Dress

Summer 2009
1950's style buttoned dress
Pattern - Butterick B5315
Difficulties - I. Hate. Buttonholes. I JUST learned how to do them properly with my sewing machine, so I struggled with the buttenholes for this dress. Also, in the back there is an area where you use the same fabric to line, and since the contrast in the pattern is apparent, you can kind of see the pattern behind the fabric. Kind of annoying, but not major.

This is the dress that I wear all the time. While living in Chicago, I fell in love with '50s and '60s style, and this dress is just that. The fabric, which I LOVE, came again from Vogue Fabrics in Evanston, IL. The dress itself is fairly easy. It has pleats, and buttonholes, and sharp seams, but nothing annoying. I'm planning on making this dress in tons of fabrics and selling it on Etsy, so watch out for it!

K

UPDATE: Instead of creating a new post, I wanted to share my second version of the same dress, just sleeveless. I realized that the dress was a little Minnie Mouse-ish because of the pattern, but I think  leaving off the sleeves was a suuuuper cute solution. This one is the first non-costume sewing I've done for someone else, so I'll know soon whether it fits her! Oh yeah, and hand-made buttons!