Outfit for Alice

You Scratch My Back...

... or, How to Barter.

A while back I thought about selling on etsy. I had (have) a store on hyena cart but I am not great at self-promotion and, so, it has never taken off. I have made a bit of money selling custom-made dresses locally. With that, most of the time someone will see Alice, drool over whatever she's wearing and ask if I can reproduce it for their daughter / granddaughter / niece / etc. Sewing for money is okay, but what I love to do is to barter. I have exchanged sewing for other crafts, professional massage, childcare, music lessons for Alice, and rehearsal time with a pianist. Bartering is awesome because it allows me to do things that I otherwise could not afford in exchange for doing something that I love to do.

Over the few years that I've been bartering I've developed a pretty good system for making sure both parties come out feeling like they've gotten a good deal.

First we define specifically what they want me to sew. Curtains for one room? Lined or unlined? A little girls dress? Smocked? Monogrammed? Are we using my material or are they providing material?

Then I assign an hourly wage to my sewing. This is not always the same. For example, I charge more per hour for projects I detest, like home dec, and people who are good friends get a reduced rate. I don't have a good formula for figuring out my wage, it basically boils down to how much makes it worth it to me to take on the project.

Once I've figured out how much I want to be paid per hour, I estimate how many hours it will take me to complete a task. This is important for exchanges that might take place before I've finished sewing, such as for childcare.

Then I ask how much the person I'm bartering with charges for their good or service and we figure out what the exchange will be: 10 hours of home dec sewing for 4 hour long massages, 20 hours of clothing sewing for 20 hours of child care, 10 hours of home dec sewing for an original piece of art, etc. When I sew, I keep track of my hours. I have a project notebook for this where I keep all the details of each project along with any expenses I incur and the hours I spend working.

Sometimes I will temporarily suspend a barter if the exchange of services is not happening at an equitable rate. For example, right now I am bartering sewing a wedding dress for childcare. So far I've spent about 3 hours sewing but I've already received about 10 hours of childcare. Since I'm upside-down in the deal (and because Christmas is coming and everyone needs the extra cash) I'm going to propose to pay the bride to babysit until after Christmas when I'll be more caught up.

If you are new to bartering, my advice is to start small. My first barter was actually a simple swap. A friend was sewing purses, which I've never really done, and I was sewing children's clothing, which she had never really done. We swapped a purse for an outfit for her daughter. A good first swap could be for Christmas gifts. If you are making a bunch of the same thing to give and a friend is making a bunch of a different thing to give, it's not so hard for each to make one or two extra and trade. Kind of like a cookie swap, only on a bigger scale.

I have found that most people are pretty excited at the prospect of trading services. I've also always been the first to suggest a swap, so if you want to try bartering, don't be shy about it.

Making a Muslin

For this dress I am making a "muslin" which basically means I will be making the wedding dress twice, once out of the "real" fabric and once out of super cheap muslin. Making a muslin allows you to adjust things to get a perfect fit before you cut and sew on your expensive fabric. Since I'm re-drafting the neckline and there are so many things to fit with this dress (and since I'm not paying for the $$$ fabric!) a muslin is a must.

Here's my task list for the muslin:
* copy pattern onto butcher paper DONE!
* re-draft bodice pieces to sweetheart neckline DONE!
* cut pattern out of muslin DONE!
* sew bodice
* sew skirt
* attach bodice to skirt
* insert zipper
* fitting #1!
* adjust muslin to reflect fitting changes, redraft pattern as necessary.
* fitting #2! Check for fit and finalize style elements
* adjust muslin again if needed
* fitting #3 if needed!

Wedding dress!

I am doing something I swore I would never do.

I'm making a wedding dress for someone. Now, I've wanted to make a wedding dress for awhile, the problem is that a lot of women morph into crazed bridezillas the moment the ring hits their finger. I have dealt with enough crazies through playing for weddings. If people get psycho about their music I don't want to witness the insanity that comes with the dress.

So, I had pretty much resolved myself to not ever sewing a wedding dress. I mean, I guess I could have made one for myself out of black for concerts and gigs, but somehow I don't think the symphony fashion police would appreciate a cathedral length train and black veil.... Then I found out that a new friend was engaged. The thing that tipped me off that she might be "the one" was that she was seriously looking for wedding dresses at Goodwill. I offered to barter sewing for childcare. She took me up on it, so now I get to make a wedding dress! (yay!) AND I get some babysitting! (double yay!)

Here is the pattern we picked:


I'm going to modify the neckline to make it a sweetheart neckline. Also, the bride is unsure of her final fabric choice. Not sure if we're going with the lace or not. The wedding is in May, so there is plenty of time to decide.

Halloween!

Okay, here is Alice's Halloween costume. (Simplicity 3663) I have wanted to make this for a few years now, but the thought of buying 6 feather boas at $6-8 apiece stopped me in my tracks. This year I decided it was my last chance to influence her choice of costume since I'm sure peer pressure will kick in next year in 1st grade. (ugh!) So I was prepared to bite it and cough up the dough. Luckily I found an online source where I scored 12 boas for $18. MUCH better!

I highly recommend this pattern. First of all, it's hysterical. The pictures are cute, but they don't do it justice. SO cute. It's also really, really easy. It's basically a coat with wings instead of arms. I didn't do any of the finishing the instructions recommended because the feathers cover all that up anyhow and fleece won't unravel. I also didn't line the head piece. I also didn't sew the boas on, I opted for bazillions of safety pins instead. I pinned from the inside. This went MUCH faster than basting, and you can't tell that it's pinned. Also, I used more than 6 boas. I had to order a dozen and I think I used about 9. You wouldn't have to, though. I was just free with the feathers because I HAD them.

I'm trying to think of the "hard part" with this costume, and there really isn't one. The instructions are horrible, as with all the instructions from the big pattern companies. If you can sew by feel this shouldn't be a problem. Obviously I don't have a problem with that since I didn't do half the stuff they told me to do....

Annika's Bishop

I chose this fabric at the same time I chose the fabric for Miss M's dress. As soon as I saw this fabric I knew who I would be smocking for. I pleated both dresses at the same time, and, as you can see, this one took me a good deal longer to complete than the other. This one gave me fits. (But I learned a lot!)

My biggest problem was choosing an embroidery color. The background of the fabric is pale pink and the print is tiny red heart flowers. Choosing the color for the smocking was difficult. The little girl wearing the dress is only two, so I really didn't want to smock in red. White was not quite right either. Eventually I settled on a light pink. I smocked a bit and really didn't like it, so I put it down for awhile.

By the way, this is a good sewing tip. If you get frustrated or something just doesn't seem to be working, put it away for a day (or month.).

When I picked it back up I decided the pink was okay so I kept going. I'm happy with how it turned out. The smocking doesn't hit you over the head: it's delicate.

Also, my photo-taking skills are b a d. Oh well.

Hug your Babies

Today is a day to remember the babies that didn't make it and the parents who lost them. I am no stranger to pregnancy loss. I have had four miscarriages, the most recent just a few weeks ago. The pain and loss is terrific. As much as we've been through and as much as it's hurt I cannot even fathom what it is to lose a baby to still birth or prematurity. There are no words.

Last summer I learned how to smock. Soon after I discovered Wee Care and began making gowns to donate to area hospitals, first on my own and now through an interdenominational group of women. The gowns that I make are primarily bereavement gowns. That really really seems to bother people. They think it's macabre and I'm often asked how I can possibly make something like *that*. Or people will insist that living babies sometimes wear those garments. Okay, if that makes you feel better, yes, sometimes living babies wear the things I make. I wish that were true for all the gowns I made. It's not.

So, why do I make them? I make bereavement gowns because when Alice was born I got a quick glimpse of the hell of prematurity and infant loss. Those mothers deserve the absolute best. There is nothing I can do to take all their pain away, but with each stitch on every gown I pray that having something beautiful that fits their child will bring them at least a little bit of peace.

Here is my most recent bereavement gown (almost done). I used a Lays Stax can for size comparison. This gown will fit a baby that is between one and three pounds.