Theme Park Bag

Like most parents, we also go to theme parks often. And thanks to Texas heat, the kids are always thirsty and so we carry water bottles. Guess who ends up carrying all the bottles? Me, of course! I was having trouble keeping the bottles in place; the weight was pulling the bag and hurting my shoulders. I decided to make a bag for these trips. The outcome was our own unique Theme Park Bag.

Bag size: 16" X 12" I found this medium weight dark color fabric in my stash which was perfect for this project. I used one layer of foam in between the lining and outer fabric that made the bag softer and helped to maintain its shape. I quilted around the design with a decorative seam which gave it a 3D effect to the design on the fabric.

I measured my water bottles and sewed some elastic on the side to hold the bottle intact. I added different size pockets on the front and back inside with Velcro closure.

Earth Day Celebration

Project of the week:
As part of our Earth Day Celebrations, we decided to go green by recycling the students’ winter clothes. The idea was to convert their winter wear into summer attire! Each of them brought their blue jeans for this project. They learned to cut their jeans and sew them into a Capri and Shorts. The kids were really excited to try on their finished products. And they ended up saving a few bucks too!

Simple Skirt

Spring is here and it is time to do a little makeover in the closet. We at Sewing with Sella decided to do some skirts as part of our class project.
I wanted to teach them to make a simple skirt for our first intermediate sewing class project.

These skirts are easy to make once you get the measurements figured out
Measure the student’s waist in inches. Then measure how long she wants the skirt to be from the waist to the bottom hem.
I used a Stretch Cotton Twill fabric with bold big flowers in pink, black, and yellow in combination with a plain pink fabric for the binding.
The intermediate class students learned how to easily cut fabric strips using shape cut ruler (the slotted ruler with tear drop shapes at each end) and rotary cutter with a cutting mat.

The skirts were irresistible so I made one for me too! The girls are loving it. So am I. Turns out now my daughter and I have another Mother Daughter skirt to wear!!!

MS Mafia Walk 2011

We had signed up for the 2011 MS Walk as part of the MS Mafia Team from Tarrant County on Saturday, April 2nd. The day was bright and sunny and ideal for the walk. The walk was organized inside Trinity Park in Forth Worth, Texas. The 5 KM walking trail winding along lush green grass was simply breath-taking. It was heartening to see hundreds of supporters show up to raise funds for our fight against Multiple Sclerosis. Kudos to our entire team led by Cydney Grubb who signed up 140 walkers to raise $3,500! Way to go, Team MS Mafia!!! Quite a rewarding way to start off your weekend, wouldn’t you agree?

Dress to Dance Wear

My daughter was participating in her school annual talent show and had chosen a party dress to wear. The dress looked quite pretty but I felt that it was not flashy enough for the stage. I wanted to do something about it.

I decided to add some shine to it by using a sequined fabric. The advantage of this fabric is that it does not fray around the edges -which meant no hemming!!

I prepared several strips of one, two, three inch width. I sewed one inch strip on the neckline. Two inch strip went on the sleeves. I used three inch strip around the bottom edge gathering. One inch strips went around the legs of the tights to match the dress! My daughter simply glittered on the stage as she went through her graceful motions!

This glittering fabric changed the look of the dress from a simple party dress into a nice dance wear. When she was dancing, the little addition to the dress made a big difference on the stage.