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@chemistbyday

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I had intended to tackle some non-knit sewing projects this summer... but after my third or fourth mock-up of a top that didn't quite fit right, gave up and went back to leotards for a bit.
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This one is a knockoff of Eleve's Fabiola style, made in a remnant of this watercolor print from @greenstyle_fabric that I've been holding onto for just the right project. I think this ended up being a great use for it - I LOVE the way this leotard turned out 😁
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(I'll get back to my woven top project eventually, I just needed a break to do something I knew was going to work!) taken in Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre by @chemistbyday

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2 months ago

I recently ordered a bunch of faceted stones from @gemsofscience. Most of it was Ti:sapph laser crystals (more on what I'm doing with those later), but I couldn't resist throwing in a couple of these LuAG crystals for a pair of earrings as well - the bright green is just TOO fun 😁
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Anyway, 99% of the jewelry I actually wear is earrings, so I figured these would get the most use if set in earrings as well. A few findings from @firemountaingems and my local bead store later, and here we are. Super cute and very wearable... can't wait to add these to my regular rotation! by @chemistbyday

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4 months ago

This project has been languishing in my WIP pile for... uh... nearly 14 months, but I finally decided to rescue it and finish it up. Yellow is not normally one of "my" colors, but somehow, this print was just screaming for it, and I love how cheerful it made the finished set!
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Bra is the Lusamine Bra from @lilypadesigns (albeit with an almost entirely re-drafted band), and the undies are the MyFit Underwear from @apostrophe.patterns. Fabric and notions are all from @brabuilders, notions dyed myself using Lanaset yellow acid dye.
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I admit I've sort of slowed down on sewing bras just because I have enough that fit now that I don't really *need* a ton more, but this was a really fun and satisfying project, so I'm glad I picked it up again :-) Bra and underwear in a red, purple, and yellow print, with yellow lace and notions by @chemistbyday

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5 months ago

Here's the final pink version of the leotard I posted yesterday. Same pattern, very different look! This one was pretty hard to photograph (it really just wanted to look all white) but hopefully you can see the subtle floral pattern in the print... It's understated, but rather pretty, I think 🙂 by @chemistbyday

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6 months ago

Now that the bee quilt is done, I'm playing catch-up on other projects in my WIP file, and first up is this leotard for my ballet teacher Madeline.
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When I asked Madeline what style of leotard she would like, she requested a simple camisole in a muted pink print. While I was able to get most of her measurements from the @pbtcostumeshop, I had to guess at a few of the ones I needed for my leotard pattern generator, so decided I ought to make this test version out of fabric from my stash first. Turns out this might not really have been necessary (the fit was basically correct already), but I think it turned out pretty cute, so I thought I'd share it on its own anyway - pink version coming up shortly! by @chemistbyday

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6 months ago

Time for a big project reveal! When we found out that @ballerinabees was expecting, @alexarose313 and I decided we ought to make her a bee-themed baby quilt. A bunch of sewing later, and here is where we ended up - a bright, cheerful quilt that we were thrilled to gift to Caitlyn last week ❤️
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The pattern is the Daisy a Day pattern by @flamingotoes, scaled down to 75% of its drafted size (yes, there was a spreadsheet involved) to make it more suitable as a crib quilt. We sourced the fabric locally at @firecrackerfabrics and worked with quilter TaMara Howard @folkquilts to get the entire thing put together on her long-arm. TaMara was WONDERFUL to work with - she was so enthusiastic about our project, found us this adorable bees-and-flowers quilting design, and was just incredibly generous with her time and expertise in helping us make this quilt durable and something Caitlyn's family can enjoy for years to come. Thank you, TaMara, for helping us bring this project to life!
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#quilting #quiltersofinstagram #babyquilt by @chemistbyday

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6 months ago

My mom gave me a gift card to the @pghglasscenter for Christmas, and I used it to take a glass fusing workshop last weekend. I had SO much fun - instructor Ellie @graphiteglassworks basically gave us a quick intro to fusing and taught us how to cut glass, and then set us loose on all of the kiln shop's glass stock. It was like being a kid in a candy shop! I decided to play with transparency and contrasting a geometric design with more organic curves from vitrigraph stringers, and I love how this piece turned out. Thanks, Ellie, for a great class, and giving me the encouragement to just go for it with this design! by @chemistbyday

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6 months ago

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6 months ago

This fall, my big sewing project (which, yes, I'm only just now getting around to posting...) was making a new men's tunic for @balletclub_pitt. Ballet Club is an entirely student-run organization at the University of Pittsburgh, and despite their extremely busy student lives, they put on a full production of the Nutcracker every year (which I find SUPER impressive!).
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Anyway, when I saw last year's production, I noticed that the sugarplum fairy's Cavalier was wearing an actual suit jacket, and it seemed to be limiting his arm mobility a fair bit. So, I asked the club's board if they would like a proper tunic, and... well, here we are.
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The pattern and fabrics are from @tutu.comofficial, decorated with some random gold trim off Amazon (we decided to keep the decoration simple so that the tunic can more easily be used for other roles). The costume is constructed in two pieces, with the sleeves set on an inner vest made of powernet and the outer tunic constructed of (mostly) non-stretch fabrics. Tutu.com's digital version of this pattern is only available in a size 38, so I did have to adjust it a bit for fit (especially at the armscye - the armscye on the outer vest was way too high for the dancer), but overall the construction was pretty straightforward and I'm very happy with how it turned out.
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Thanks to dancers Mia and Cooper and photographer Allen Howard @allenhoward.photo for giving me their ok to share the photo on the first slide - Mia and Cooper were absolutely stunning as Sugarplum and her Cavalier, and Allen did a wonderful job of capturing their performance. It was super fun to see this costume come to live on stage, and I hope you all had as much fun dancing in this show as I had watching it! by @chemistbyday

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7 months ago

I realized this morning that it's been more than two months since I shared a project here on Instagram. It's not that I haven't been sewing and such, but... it feels weird to post "hey, check out this cool thing I made!" when people are literally being snatched off the streets or killed by masked government agents, you know? We have a lot of friends and family in the Twin Cities, so the situation in Minneapolis has felt particularly close to home, but I have friends who are volunteering for ICE-watch and immigrant aid organizations in other states, too, and folks, even if it's not making the national news as much right this second, this shit is still ongoing, and it's probably happening closer to you than you think.
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Anyway, enjoy this picture of the most recent @itchtostitch Hepburn Turtleneck that I made out of a cotton/lycra knit purchased at @sewingloungemn over the holidays... and then please go call your senators and representatives to tell them that ICE needs to get out of our communities and face consequences for their actions ( @5calls has a bunch of call scripts if you need somewhere to start) and/or do what you can to support your local immigrant aid organizations. K? Thanks. by @chemistbyday

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8 months ago

A full year ago, @alexarose313 and I set out to make custom leotards for some of our favorite teachers at @pbtdanceandfitness. Because life is... well, life... it has taken AGES to actually get these done. But, here's the leotard and skirt that I finally made for @quichi_gc this fall!
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Pattern is self-drafted to Chris's measurements. The leotard has a mock turtleneck at the top and then a low cutout back in the mesh. The fabric is a William Morris pattern on @spoonflower's Sport Lycra, and the skirt is seafoam power mesh from @bluemoonfabrics dip-dyed in black acid dye. It didn't go totally black at the top (which had been my intent - I wanted the top of the skirt to match the black mesh at the top of the leotard) but ended up complementing the print pretty well anyway :-)
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Anyway, I really like how this turned out, and Chris said she's very happy with it, so I'm considering this one a job well done. Now, on to the other two that were part of that original plan... think I can get them done before *another* year passes me by? 😂
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#CustomLeotard #SelfDraftedPattern #SewingActivewear #SewistsOfInstagram by @chemistbyday

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10 months ago

I'm teaching freshman chemistry this fall, and I thought it would be fun to show up as Ms. Frizzle for Halloween. Enter a bit of very last-minute sewing (thanks to a grant proposal that had to go in earlier in the week, I literally started this at about 11:30pm on the 30th, 14 hours before I needed to be on campus, in costume, in front of my class...) and voila - here she is!
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Last-minute sewing stress and short night of sleep aside, the responses I got while wearing this costume were IMMENSELY satisfying. My students loved it (glad to know that the Magic Schoolbus is still being shown to and loved by today's kids❤️), and I also had a ton of people just stop me on the street to tell me how much they liked my costume (or try to hide smiles and covertly snap pictures as I walked past). It is clear that folks really, truly love this character, and it was a delight to get to bring her to life for folks!
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FWIW, I think part of the reason this costume worked so well is that I really tried to put in some of the details that are missing from the cheap commercial versions, including the WIDE button placket and the poofy skirt - yes, I'm wearing a petticoat :-). The wig also was a critical piece of the overall look, and I'm super glad that @ardawigs had a wavy orange wig in stock that I just needed to pull back into a messy french twist!
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Anyway, pattern is self-drafted, fabric is @robyriker's Super Cute Science on 3 yards of @Spoonflower's Modern Jersey, and the wig is from @ardawigs. This was not an inexpensive project, in the end, but it was totally worth it, and I hope I'll get some continuing mileage out of it in the years to come :-)
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#HalloweenCostume #SewistsOfInstagram #MeMade #SelfDraftedPattern #MagicSchoolbus #MsFrizzle #MsFrizzleCosplay #ChemistryProfessor by @chemistbyday

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a year ago