Silverlinings Originals

DIY   - Halter Chain Maxi Dress -   New Look  6122 View C When I first saw this pattern I knew I NEEDED to make it! It was simple enough and just what I needed to satisfy my sewing itch! When I went to the Quilting and Sewing Expo this past April in Massachusetts, I decided to snoop around other local and not so local (bit more of a drive) fabric shops. One store in particular I fell in love with is Sewfisticated Discount Fabric Store in Framingham, MA. The fabric in here is of good qaulity and costs anywhere from $2.99 to $6.99 a yard. This is where I got this beautiful polyester fabric. I took what was left on the bolt. Maybe about 6 yards or so. I knew I was going to make more than one of something, just didn't know what. Sooo....3 months later I figured out what I was going to make with it. I honestly love when patterns are only 5-6 pattern pieces or less. It makes me happier to get to the sewing faster than to be cutting for hours.  Have you ev

DIY   - Kid's Romper -  McCall's M7151 View C I have no idea why these pictures came out so fuzzy.  It could be because it was a cloudy day, but I had to post this because it's too darn cute!! I don't normally make too much for my kids because honestly they don't like the patterns that are in the store.  I guess they aren't "Cool Enough" compared to the apparel that is in the store.  The other problem is my daughter DOES NOT like to wear dresses and there seems to be many "Girly Dresses" in the book that turns her off. We were flipping through the pattern book at Joann Fabrics and she came across the romper  in the McCall's pattern book. Now to her this was meant for her because the "Romper Style is In Mom".  She picked out her own fabric as well. We bought about 2 yards of a light weight jersey knit striped fabric.  I know I took a picture of the bolt, but it must have been deleted from my phone at so

DIY   - Halter Maxi Dress -  New Look  6122 View C I haven't posted in awhile!! I have been sooo busy lately with trying to work at my first job and run my home business.  I wanted to share this summer dress that I made for myself and for a Boutique Store. I'm using my iPhone to do this post so hopefully it comes out as nice as if I was to do this on my computer at home. I will admit...New Look patterns and I are not really good friends. I normally have a little trouble with them compared to other patterns. I don't know why that is, it just is. I decided to give this a try anyway! I bought this fabric when I attended the Sewing and Quilting Expo in Massachusetts this past April 2015. I look forward to that trip every year!! It was purchased from the Vogue Fabrics vendor. I purchased 8 yards of this beautiful stretch fabric at $4.99 a yard! I knew I was going to be making more than one. I did not take as many pictures during the sewing process

It is time to play a little catch up!!!  I will hopefully be able to spread my posts out over the the next few days or weeks.  I have sooo much to share!  I think it is better and easier for me to post to my blog from my iPhone.  I seem to have the phone to more accessible than the computer now a days. The first piece of news that I would like to share is that as of April 2015 I am now a legal LLC!! My registered name in the State of Connecticut is of course...Silverlinings Originals LLC!! Yay for me!! It is now hanging on my wall above my work station. I have been doing business out of my home as well as two store locations.  Everything I am doing is pretty new still and I am learning as I go, but I am super excited about this new journey I am on!! Soooo.....since I am my own boss (even though I am still working at the hospital as well...can't quit my day job just yet) I needed to have a more functional and appealing work space. I am very OCD about having every

How to Clean a Filthy Iron!! This is what my iron looked like after many interfacing needed projects. When it was time to iron garments, there was no way I was putting this on the fabric! I decided to go to the store and see what I could find to clean the iron instead of buying a new one. I found this in the household section of Walmart for less than 2 bucks.  I know there are a lot of people out there that try to find alternatives to cleaning in homes without using chemicals. But they way I see it, if my grandma did these things and she living past 91 it won't kill me either! LOL I grabbed an old white washcloth that no one uses. One capsule is all you need to clean the iron one time. Make sure you dump all the water out of your iron so the steam is not in use. Rub the iron over and over the spot. Even getting the sides of the iron that you have no idea how cakes on guck gets on the edges. You can wipe the excess off on other corners of th

DIY   - Tunic -   Simplicity 2255 View A I haven't posted in awhile because I have been working on some business ventures as of late.  Two opportunities have been brought to the table for me and I have decided to jump on them.  I will be sharing more on this in a later post.  Most of my posts are always about firsts.  That may still be because in my eyes I am still a beginner (novice) sewer.  I got up the courage to try my first button up shirt. I have had the pattern for a while but was very intimidated by it.  The shirting fabric I decided to use was purchased at Mood in NYC when I was there in September. So I did my best with the trying to cut all the patterns out to line up with each other in the end. I think I did pretty well. The only thing I had trouble with at this point were the pockets.  I had to sacrifice lining the plaid up perfectly horizontally and make it line up vertically.  Originally the pocket placement was too high for me according to

February Budget 'Cuse My French I broke the bloody hell out of the bank!! It has taken me a few extra weeks to get my budget post up for February because I knew I busted the bank wide open...I just wasn't ready to share yet! LOL I couldn't really be mad at myself though.  Even though I have set myself to stay on budget, some things just can't be helped. As every knows sewing IS an EXPENSIVE career or hobby in my case.  It is also an investment.  So with that said I will show you how I busted the month of February, but it was a one time purchase! February 4, 2015 Walmart: Pack of Sharp Sewing Needles = $1.27 February 6, 2015 Joann Fabrics: (7) McCalls Patterns = $13.93 (1) Simplicity Pattern = $3.99 (1) Vogue Pattern = $4.99 3 yd of Knit Fabric = $10.77 3 yd of Knit Fabric = $8.98 (2) Spools of Thread = $4.27 2 ¼  Cheetah Print Fleece = $17.04 February 9, 2015 Walmart: Serger = $190.53 February 13, 2015 Walma

Girl's Weekend Getaway Bag The Weekend Duffel So I decided to step away from making garments and try my hand at making a bag.  I didn't want to make just any type of hand bag, but some thing that would be useful on my weekend trips.  When it gets warm again this bag will be used regularly!!  I bought the Weekend Duffel class from Craftsy.com over the Christmas Holiday when they were having a sale.  I finally got to dig in. There was a crazy amount of template measurements cut out of poster board.  I used the long bag measurements which were 23¼" x 10¼" x 8¼".  If I was going to make the regular size bag the measurements would be 19¼" x 10 ¼" x 8 ¼". The fabric I used was purchased from Fabric.com .   The main fabric is ( HERE ) ,   The accent fabric is (HERE)   and the lining is (HERE) . I also purchased fusible fleece and interfacing from Joann Fabrics.    I bought all the fabric in 2 yards to leave room for error.