Sewing in my sleep

I seem to have been to busy to blog

2009-08-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

Mainly running,both the actual running which requires tight lycra and trainers,and the kind of running which is running everyones lives and a home.

I also feel the very unseasonal weather has made me feel unsure of what to make .....anyone else feeling urges to knit and make wintery things???

I have lots of ideas at the moment for autumnal wardrobe items for myself,but I am shrinking,and I need to see what size I end up at before I cut

This week

2009-06-30T02:48:00.001-07:00

I will make 6 more log cabin blocks for Solly's quilt..please prod me if I don't!

I promise to put together the tute for making upcycled T shirts from old t shirts like this one

I also want to sew myself a skirt from the green Ginger Tile fabric,tidy my sewing area,and make a beach bag which un -zips and truns into a beach mat.

Oh, and in other news I held a stall at a mini craft market on Sunday.

Knowing that people will buy my work is quite an inspiring feeling,and I collected a lot more than just pounds and pence from it

I got nice comments on my stuff and it has given me motivation to begin my "Christmas craft to sell" work sooner rather than later

Really teeny scraps and really big lengths

2009-06-26T16:39:00.000-07:00

See???
Never throw any tiny bits away,because you can always use them ,this is my down fall,clearly,I have the teeniest scraps,but so ,so many,this pin cushion and more like it will be going into my Folksy shop this weekend,it is rude not to pass on the mini log cabin love

Then some super,super,fabric arrived by post this morning,yum,the "Ginger Tile" is many times more stunning than I thought it would be ,I plan a skirt from some of it,and hope the scraps will be big enough to log cabin.........

Finishing off....

2009-06-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

This sweet bag inspired by the free tutorial over at the Lazy seamstress,seriously all it needed was a button sewing to it ,what is wrong with me? It has been in the ever growing pile of "finishing off" for at least a month.....shameful I know.

Then the log cabin cushion covers I showed yesterday I made the back for ,I love the back,nearly as much as the actual quilted fronts

I have the other cushion panel quilted and ready to sew to it's back too,then I am going to force myself to do more "finishing off" as it feels pretty noble and grown up !

Log cabin-ish fever

2009-06-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

I have a love for log cabin blocks
I tried making some log cabin inspired ones,I am way to lazy and undisciplined to find out how to do it "properly",so I made this way up ,with a vast amount of 6cm wide strips a rotary cutter and my machine!

What I love is the way I can really use up lots of strange ,oddly shaped,scrappy bits of fabric left from projects.

They are going to be scatter cushion covers ,some destined for the sofa,some for gifts and some for Solly's bed

Is it strange to have a favorite corner?

Well call me strange,as this is mine!

Then this one is only pieced so far,not quilted yet,I went for a more traditional use of the blocks here to create an orange half and a green half...I liked the effect more than the random ones I think

This one is for Solly's bed, he enjoyed greatly ,spotting the bits of fabric which his clothes are made from...sweet little observant boy!

(I have actually made 12 blocks the same size too,for a single bed quilt for Sol,but I am taking my time on that one................. )

Oliver + S Sail boat outfit

2009-06-22T04:04:00.000-07:00

I am really, really, pleased with this project,it was a great pattern to follow,and came together really fast.

I managed JUST to squeeze the trousers out of a remnant of red linen which as 50p,and then the buttons for me just brought the whole thing together so well !

I love how the shoes were just totally perfect too.

I liked how we were a teeny bit matchy matchy too

A nice close up of the contrast top stitching which brought the trousers and shirt together

Quite a lot of this and that

2009-06-16T00:42:00.000-07:00

Because I have a dress to make for a wedding on Saturday,of course I have been mainly sewing...not the dress !
Ha!
Typically I have lots of other very important things I need to sew!

This is a cute summeer dress for me
Simplicity 2591 again infact

Then the Oliver + S "Sailboat" pattern arrived ,which actually is a real sewing need,as Solly will be wearing this outfit to the wedding

It is being made in red linen for the pants and pale leaf green textured cotton for the shirt,with red topstitching,he has the sweetest red leather shoes to wear ,as do I!!!!

Also some experimental cloth food bags have been whipped up,yay once more for stash busting!!!

Also a new skirt ,not my regualar knee length one either,but shock ,horror a short one!!!

I adore this Kokka fabric and decided with leggings this would be a good look,my 14 year old daughter is pretty horrified with me,thinking I am "young"

For the record I am 35...not 65........just incase you thought I was elderly too

I am planning an upcycled T shirt tute as and when this wedding sewing is out of the way

It really is time................

2009-06-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

..........to begin blogging again

I will start with this weeks sewing so far ,here is a very speedy envelope neck T made for Solly,from a pile of my now too big t shirts

With an overlocker was so fast and satisfying

I have a plan to do a tutorial for this so stay tuned.......

Long time

2008-08-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

no blog,I know I need to do this more,I find the technology hurty head ish

I do not however find Echino overalls hurty head ish at all,I mean who could?

I found them a delight to make,I have this terrible habit of storing fabric I love and nver cutting into it,so I really enjoyed the actual cutting the fabric today,that sounds weird,the end results are cute too,bonus!!!

He is pretty happy about the panthers too,he growled lots!

I am in a real ideas and loving sewing phase,so tro record it for those floppy ,sofa lolling days like this can only be a good idea

The rest of the weeks sewing in pictures then.........................

Drip,drip,drop little April shower

2008-03-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

For fun I drafted a pattern for yet another type of boys/gender neutral tunic to be made from non stretchy stuff.
I am really happy with the way this one turned out

I decided to do some handwork too,which I really enjoyed and want to do more of,I fancy some birds on the next one I make,as there will indeed be more of these

Tutorial for cuffed play trousers

2008-03-06T09:40:00.000-08:00

I was asked if I might put a little tute together for a pair of these trousers.
This pair trousers are also part of my D.I.Y - O.T Sew-along for March at thebabywearer.com
These trousers are great for worn toddlers/babies too , as the style keeps their little legs warm!

I used an old cotton charity shop kimono,I found for £1.50 and an old cotton/lycra long sleeved t shirt of mine.
Solomon adores all things bird at the moment ,the kimono has flying cranes on it,so I'm hoping he will love the trousers too!!!

You will need cotton fabric , quilters weight type stuff is fine , some very stretchy fabric , like from a t shirt or ribbing, thread to match the main fabric and the stretchy stuff,a regular needle , a ball point needle and half a metre of really soft 5cm wide elastic.
Start off with a pair of trousers/pants which fit your little sweetie pie ,you will use this as a basis for your pattern.

Basically from your pants take the measurement and curve from the crotch to waist then take some off(around 2cm ),the cotton part of the pants goes from crotch to hip.

The measure the inside leg,do not deduct anything here we want the pants to be super long,the cuff keeps them away from the floor and the bonus for worn toddlers is that as they are seated in a carrier the legs don't have any gaps,we tried this today he was hours in the M.T and they worked fabby!!!!

Then draft a pattern!
The back seam should be significantly higher,mine,by the way is drawn onto greaseproof paper

Copy the shape shown and double check the inside leg and crotch to hip on your own kiddo,pattern drafting is hard to explain I just do it and it tends to work!!

Now with your fabric folded right sides together pin on your pattern and cut it out!

As this style has no side seam it is nice to add a pocket at this stage,for fun,not function,22 month olds tend not to carry car keys!

Press down the top of the pocket,then once again then

Then sew the top of the pocketand I added a button hole and darts in the pocket,but you could do any type of pocket at all.

Find the position for the pocket along the imaginary outer seam of the trousers and pin into place ready to sew

Sew that pocket on!

Now folding the pants legs right sides togther and pinning the inside leg seams togther ,thus creating one front and one back leg X 2

Sew up that seam on your machine ! Twice i.e on each pattern piece!

Turn one of the legs right side out and leave one wrongside out

The plce the right side facing leg,into the wrong side facing leg matching crotch seams ,this means they have right sides together

Pin and sew along this long crotch seam

The see where I marked with the pins?

Sew another line of stitching REALLy close tio the other,this just acts as a re enforcement on kids pants a good thing!

Turn right sides out and hey this bit is done!

Switch needles now,to your ball point!

Now grab your jersey
These are my dimensions,i think the height will transfer well ,you may need to tweak the width,this will be the waistband

The stretch needs to be horizontal,yes?

Then we need to bring the two short edges together and pin

Then sew or serge if you are lucky enough to have one

The fold with the wrong sides inwards over so you have created a wee cuff /waistband with the seam you just made running vertically.

Now measure and cut your elastic

Then join your elastic with a machine zig zag ,go back and forth a bit,to make a really great strong join

The place the loop of elastic inside the waistband you just made and pin in place at the back seams,lining them up abnd then the middle front too

Now pin the back seam of the waistband to the back seam of the trousers right sides together

This is the bit which feels like it won't work,it will!
Select a very small zig zag I set mine to 1 1/2 and place the back seam under the needle,stitch a few stitches and back tack leaving the needle in the work start to pull like crazy on the stretch fabric and keep the three layers lined up at the seam allowance and stitch,repeating the needle sinking and stretching as you go

As you sew around the back will begin to look like this( a light gather)

Then here we go

Now for the leg cuffs,I cheated totally and used 20cm's of the bottom of the long sleeves of the old t-shirt,I folded them in half like I did in the waitband process

Lay the bottom of the pants leg flat and find the side seam,mark with a pin

The as you did the waistband pin the leg cuffs right side together with the seams matching and the imaginary half weay we marked with a pin matching too.
This is fiddlier than the waist bacnd but just as easy!

Sew with the same technique and stitch as the waistband and here we have it

The now I ma back to the waistband, making some finishing touches,I like to top stitch the cotton to the waistband,making a minute little overlap, this is not totally required,I just love the finished off look it gives and it stops the wavyness of the meeting of stretch and cotton too

See what I mean? ;)

Now with a thread which matches your waistban stitch with the same teeny zig zag as we used before a vertical few stitches just to hold the elastic in place at each side

The we are done,I sewed on a button and found a really cute boy to model them!

He told me he would only pose for pictures,if I let him sit on the table and play with the button jar!

The back view,just in case you needed it!!!!!

TOADSTOOL TROUSERS

2008-03-06T09:27:00.000-08:00

So I made these sweet Plastisock inspired play trousers for Solly with the most gorgeous Alexander Henry "Mushroom City" fabric and an old ribbed vest top of mine, a wee Amy Butler polka dot pocket for added colour......

I then made a second pair!
This time I used a solid linen with my last scraps of 3-D Zoo

So I was asked to try to do a tute......................

Well here we are again...............

2008-02-23T04:50:00.000-08:00