Author: Crafting Against the Grain

Hi! I'm Alexis! A Sewing Enthusiast - A Lover of Wearable Art - A Mom.

Diamond’s are a Girl’s Best Friend

Leave a comment

One of my favorite pattern designers for children is branching out into women's patterns and I couldn't be more excited! Misusu's Diamond Sweater for women is finally here! The children's version has been one of my favorite patterns for a while now. I love the unique piecing of the front and all of the different options that come with one pattern. So when I saw Elles was planning a women's version, as well as extending the size range for the children's pattern, I knew I wanted to be apart of the tester group!

It’s Time for a Road Trip!

Leave a comment

This last week we packed up and headed to my small hometown in Wisconsin to visit friends and family.  We like to drive because let's face it, flying can be pricey especially with having to rent a car and the large amount of cheese curds and other goodies I tend to bring home with us.  Traveling is something that I loved to do before I became a mom and was something that I wanted to continue and introduce J to too.  I found that traveling with an infant was relatively easy as long as you had all of the essentials and they had a full belly and were dry.  Once J became a toddler, it became a little more difficult to keep him entertained; especially on those cross-country car rides.  Since I was unpacking J's backpack today, I thought I would share some of my favorite activities and car friendly tips and items for our road trips.

Fierce Fashion Week Sew-Up

1 Comment

My latest make is one that I am so proud of and definitely deserves its own blog post.  I haven't had the chance to sew on such a grand scale in quite some time and it was so wonderful to break out of my comfort zone and get back to my roots.  Many may not know, but I started my sewing journey when I was nine and mainly worked with woven fabrics.  It eventually led to me designing and creating my own prom dresses in high school and then branching out into knit fabrics after I had J.  So when I saw the call for seamstresses that were interested in creating something over the top and amazing, I knew I wanted to be a part of this journey!!

Sewing 101-Misusu FREE’kin Sewing Challenge [Bruno Cardigan Pocket Modification]

Leave a comment

Woo Hoo!  I'm so excited to share the first ever Misusu Patterns FREE'kin Sewing Challenge and blog tour with you all today!  I'll share more on how to enter to win a free pattern of your choice, a coupon,  as well as contest details below but first I wanted to share my blog tour contribution, complete with a pattern modification I made from Elles' amazing patterns.   The best part...two of the patterns I've used are free!   If you haven't checked out Misusu yet, you are seriously missing out.  Her patterns are modern, fun, and full of unique details that will take your baby and toddler's wardrobe to the next level! 

Sewing 101- DIY Toddler Art Smock

6 Comments

The other day I realized that summer is almost over and J will be starting preschool in under a month! I can't even believe it! As I was perusing his school supply list, I noticed that on it was an art smock. After looking around a little, I realized that I could easily make one of my own! So I went on Pinterest in search of a free pattern and found this great one from The DIY Mommy.  In her tutorial, she uses a pre-laminated cotton fabric. I didn't have any on hand and I was wanting to use these amazing art print scraps from Rockerbye Destash instead, so I decided to laminate my own!

Baking with Children-Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Leave a comment

Some days I get woken up by J saying "Mommy, good morning", other days it's "I have to go potty", and then there are the days where I wake up to him eating a muffin in my bed at 3 am with crumbs everywhere. (Yes, this is my reality!) It just so happens, that the last time this occurred was when we made these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. He absolutely loves them. If I let him, he would probably eat them for every meal until they were gone. That's how amazing they are! They are also easy to whip up and are great for when you have a little helper. So, let's head into the kitchen and whip up a batch!

Crafting Against the Grain

Wearable Art-Coloring with Appliqué

11 Comments

To say I'm addicted to applique may be a bit of an understatement. I’m always trying to come up with new ways to apply it to my makes and I'm always on the lookout for new techniques I haven't tried yet. This idea came from a late night sewing session where I had the perfect panel for ”coloring” but I wasn't quite sure how to go about doing it. I tried a few different ways to sew on the appliques, including cutting the individual tiny pieces out and sewing them on but I soon realized that this wasn't going to work, and was much too time-consuming. So I thought about reverse applique and how the same principle could technically be applied here but in the reverse sense. (Hopefully, that makes sense lol. If not, don't worry because I'm going to explain it!)

He has risen, just as he said…

4 Comments

Palm Sunday will be here in a couple of days and with it, comes one of our annual traditions of making our yearly resurrection garden. It's a beautiful little garden/Craft that helps us to remember the reason for the season. While we still love our yearly egg hunts, egg dyeing, and Easter bunny, J loves seeing the story unfold through his own little garden. Plus it's a great teaching tool for even the littlest of littles.