Valentine's Day Boxers

So, I am pretty sure everyone needs ridiculously exciting boxers for Valentine's Day, so I made  my boyfriend these.  

When I sent him a text telling him I made him something cheesy he sent back 'oh dear' and I almost lost it because, of course they are deer. 

The fabric is something my parents bought me a couple months ago from the thrift store, apparently this is just the sort of thing that screams me. As soon as I saw it I knew that it was destined to be boxer shorts. 

The pattern is a free download from Measure Twice Cut Once  called the Darcy Boxer Shorts. I cut a size small after comparing it to a pair of boxers that I might have borrowed (without asking) from my boyfriend. They were labeled 28-30, and another pair said small, so I think the sizing is pretty accurate. 

I used exposed plush elastic, the instructions have you butt the ends against each other and then zigzag stitch which I hadn't tried before but it gives a less bulky finish and seems pretty strong. 

I didn't follow most of the directions because I wanted to do flat felled seams. I have never done these before (I used french seams last time I made boxers) but I really wanted them to have that strong and RTW looking finish. You know, with deer hearts.

I was confused about how to do the fly with the flat felled seams and the order to do them in, so I followed this bloggers construction description and it worked out pretty well. 

Other changes I made from the pattern, I used one button instead of two, this just seems to be how most of my bf's RTW boxers are so it's what I did, and doing a double fold hem at the bottom instead of just an edge finish and fold, that just seemed sloppy after I had already done the flat felling.

 Showing the inside finishes and stitching.

The only problems I had were due to not paying enough attention to what I was doing. For example: cutting two of the left front piece instead of two of the back piece and then not noticing until after I had flat felled the inseams together...sewing after the bobbin thread ran out...not properly centering the button hole, ect.

Inside, showing the fly shield 

Overall I was pretty happy with how they turned out. I would use this pattern again, but I might tweak the seam allowances to make the flat felling easier and the bottom hem a little wider. I might also add to the top next time to encase the elastic, which I think is a little neater and bf thinks more comfortable (although he said these were fine and wore them for the rest of the day without complaint.)

I will definitely be on the lookout for more boxer worthy fabric...

Black and White Striped Rug

I've been really wanting a rug for the little area between my bed and closet lately, particularity something with stripes (a symptom of too much time on Pinterest?) The prices of rugs however are a bit ridiculous and not in my budget, so I sewed one. I couldn't really find any tutorials online other than several that involve covering a rubber mat with fabric and coating the fabric with polyurethane, which didn't seem suitable for my situation. So I kind of made it up as I went along.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the result! The fabric I used is Nate Berkus - Ondine Paramount Onyx, which sounds pretty fancy. Available from Jo Anns here. It says it has a soil and stain repellent finish, which I didn't even notice until after I bought it, but that should help with cleaning. It's not exactly a high shoe traffic area either, so I think it will hold up okay.  

This is the bottom of the rug. To make it I just ironed fusible fleece to the back leaving an inch gap on all sides, then folded the edges in, and in again so it has a 1/2" edge and sewed. The fleece gives it a bit more body and cushion.

Stitched edge on the right side

I also bought a no slip rug pad at target to go under it. It helps stop it from moving and also gives it a little more cushion. For this size (3'x5' I think) it was about $6.

 I wanted to make it big enough to go under the legs of the bed to also make sure it wasn't going anywhere. It's a little bunched up in this photo, but I was trying to lift the bed and move it under with my foot (and surprise surprise it didn't go so well), everyone else in my house was asleep (and I'm not patient). 

My closet doors are mirror so I can make it look extra trippy (or maybe like I made a bigger rug?) 

Tree Print Pillow, Hamper, Arrow Curtains

I've been revamping my bedroom a bit, got rid of a much of clutter and garbage, and did some sewing. So far I've made curtains, a hamper, and some pillows.

For the drapes I used this tutorial. The fabric is from Fabric.com, and I used blackout lining from Jo Anns.

Inspiration photo from here

I've been seeing this tree print pillow around a lot and I decided to make my own. I also really love the print of the bag and want to use that too.

I used a pillow form that I bought at the goodwill for like $2 because I am too cheap for the ones at Jo Anns (even on sale). I just unzipped the cover that was on it and bam!, pillow form.   

The fabric is white bottom weight cotton from Jo Anns. I printed out the inspiration tree, traced that onto my lino block, carved it and inked it up with some acrylic paint mixed with textile medium. After it dried I ironed it to set it and sewed in my zipper.

I got fancy and put in a lapped zipper using this tutorial for help. I happened to have a white metal zipper in the right length that came from a bag of them bought at a thrift store. Mine definitely has a hand stamped look about it, but I'm pretty happy with it. My mom said she really liked the fabric and thought I bought it like that, so there's that. I'm planning on doing the half circles in lino the same way.

I made the hamper using this tutorial. I changed it by making it slightly larger, not folding the top down into a cuff, and I lined mine. Oh, and I used fusible fleece to give it a bit more body. The gray spotted fabric is home decor but not very thick. It's still not very rigid, but it stays up and open with clothes in it.

Both the fabric and the fusible fleece are from Jo Anns. I kind of like the play between the geometric outside and frilly floral inside.

Handles!

I wash my work uniforms separate from the rest of my clothes, so I have two hampers. I'm planning on making a half height one to put next to it and replace the cheap plastic one (dollar store). I might print the half circles for it, not sure yet.