Busy busy bee

Just realized it has been over a month since I last posted! I apologize for my silence and I'm afraid I cannot even say that I have been busy sewing!
Somehow time has disappeared - I've blinked and April's nearly through.  It's been good though filled with all sorts.  After some time with friends and family, a promotion, a new voluntary position, re-organization of the house and and an attempt to reclaim the garden for veggies I haven't had much time for stitching.
As things quieten down (in theory) I have a few plans for my sewing in the next few weeks.
- to start that pair of trousers I keep talking about
- to sew some more cushions for the lounge
- to make some more bits for my etsy shop and hopefully sell a few too
- to make time to sew with other people because I love that!

And now I've blogged all of that I have to do it right :-D Well watch this space and I'll keep you posted on how I get on!
What have your April makes been? Do share :-)

Pink love!

I seem to have been super busy in the last couple of weeks - I can't exactly work out what has been keeping me busy but as you can see from the silence on my blog it certainly wasn't blogging!  My sewing machine had been sitting a little bit abandoned too so when a friend asked me to make her the clothes to wear with her saree I jumped at the chance.  The project forced me to prioritize stitching time and plus got to have a good old natter with her while I finished it off!

 I love saree fabrics - the bright and beautiful colours fresh from warmer climates fills me with hope for the summer (she says while listening to the rain pour down on the conservatory roof).  

 Chloe returned from India with the most beautiful saree that suited her so well!  It was filled with pinks and purples and some absolutely gorgeous embroidery and of course sparkle!

 I worked with a lining fabric to make a simple wrap around under skirt which is used to tuck the saree fabric into.  I had a little play around with darts and think I got them pressed out neatly and very evenly (the sewing bee judges would be proud!).

 I then started to work on the top.  I used another top that Chloe had made while she was in India as a guide.  I made this out of a thin purple and gold woven fabric.  It was pretty tricky to get used to working with - the weave meant that often the fabric would catch in the needle and the work was definitely slow and steady.  In the end I got used to how to work with this fabric and got going and it turned out pretty well!  Due to the scratchyness of the weave once we did the fitting I attached the lining fabric top into the woven top so that it was much more comfortable for wearing plus a bit warmer too!

 And here it is - didn't she look absolutely gorgeous!

 If you look closely you can see the gorgeous pendant that Chloe made - its filled with beads and carefully embroidered on!  If you love that kind of thing Chloe is busy beading and teaching workshops so pop over to see what she is up to on her website - you can always find her on facebook too!

  I loved doing something different, working with such beautiful fabric and making some clothes again - it definitely inspired me to start stitching more clothes!  I really enjoy it and the more I practice the happier I get with the outcome.  My aim is to make a pair of trousers in the next few weeks - I'm just looking for some fabric that I like!  I'll keep you posted!

x

Time gone by

Following a bit of twitter chat on handmade hour the other week about our earliest sewing memories it got me thinking about what mine was.  How exactly did I start this random hobby?  As an extrovert who more often than not can't be kept quiet and certainly prefers people to solitude why would sewing be something that would have appealed to a young me?
 The truth is I'm not sure - there is just something very peaceful about it for me.  I enjoy the steadiness of the machine, I love the colours of the fabric, I love unusual things and I love the finished products.  Sitting on my own in a room may not come naturally to me but it has become something I treasure - stitching and snipping away to create something I love.
 The time that I got into sewing clothes was when I was at school - sewing with friends for a textiles GCSE and somehow I came up with the mad idea to make my prom dress.  It was before the time of so many people owning digital cameras so I don't have a picture.  It was a satin purple in a medieval style with flowing sleeves - definitely not the top fashion of the day but I absolutely loved it.  From that point I dabbled on and off with crafting until I made my wedding dress and then continued on from there.
 I had a good think though and realised that actually my earliest sewing memory was making this little chappy with my Mum.

I was given a little sewing pack and set about - probably one set of holidays - sewing him up.  I still think he is pretty good and definitely very cute!  I cannot remember how old I was but it would have been in primary school at some point.  I remember setting all the pieces out on my Mum's bed and her helping me figure out what went where.  Then I remember being very proud of the finished product - I can't remember much of the actual sewing process but it made me smile to think about this little duck.  Definitely a happy sewing memory for me!
What is your first sewing memory?  Can you remember sewing as a child or was it an adult hobby?  Do share your first creations with me!

x

Tablecloth skirt

I bought this table cloth from a charity shop a week or so ago for £3.50.  More than perhaps I would like to spend on a tablecloth 2nd hand but I couldn't leave it behind!  I love those yellow flowers too much!  I knew immediately what I would be doing with it so as soon as I had a spare evening I got going!

 To start I folded the circular cloth into half and repeated until it was folded in 8ths.  I measured how long I would like the skirt to be and then cut the point off so the cloth equaled to this length allowing 1.5cm seam allowance.  This cloth was already edged at what will become the bottom of the skirt so no extra seam allowance needed here!

Now I have a large circular piece with a whole in the middle.  I cut where I wanted the back seam to be and then measured the length of the fabric.  It was 80cm and I needed to half it.

I set about pinning my gathers.  I used 8cm per gather and folded it so that the 8cm became 4cm therefore by the time I had finished my skirt is half the length of when I started.  I used the same gathering as I did here so click on the link to get the full tutorial.  Once you have pinned your pleats run a line of straight stitching to hold them in place and press firmly.

 I then overlocked the raw edges which can be done with a zig zag stitch if you don't have an overlocker and ran a straight stitch down the back seam to join the skirt.  Laying the zip onto the seam I stitched that in and then opened the seam with an unpicker where the zip will do up.
 Now I added a bias binding waist band.  This can be made as thick or thin as you like - I really liked the little band on this skirt so I went for it.

 And here you have it the finished skirt.

 And the skirt on me . . .

 And with a little shake of the hips you see the full swing-y-ness of this skirt and the reason why I was so happy to find such a lovely circular fabric.  This is a skirt to go dancing in!  Today it shall simply accompany me to a lunch date with a friend but one day I shall take it for a proper spin!

I'm pretty happy with the result - 1.5hours work(if you can call it that as for me sewing is an absolute pleasure) and £3.50 later I have a fab new skirt - plus I can say - Yes I did make that :)

Have a great weekend!

x

Some fabulous Upcycling

I thought I would take some time to do a bit of a post about some of the fabulous upcyclers that I come across.  I keep finding the most amazing creations made from old or unused things so thought I would do a post to shout out to some of these fantastic artists. So here goes . . .

A gorgeous upcycle of a toddlers tunic made from an old top!  This is by xoxo grandma - just click on the link to pop across to a whole load of sewing fabulousness! I love the gathering on this and the belt is too cute!

A sweater from a charity shop to a gorgeous bag - the detail on this is fantastic!  Pop over to visit Gina at Gina's craft corner

Here is a bright funky skirt made from old jeans and trousers!  I think both will get loads more use now!  This is from angel joy - hippy chick a blog filled with a whole variety of thoughts and ideas!

A fab accessory to any outfit here!  Pop across to this link from Vicky over at her blog - lots of fun ideas to see!

A bit of a smarter upcycle here and executed so very well!  A bridesmaids dress into a cute skirt that can be dressed up or down!  Perfect from ChiChi - pop over and explore!

And in the tone of my last blog post here is another tutorial on how to upcycle t-shirts in pants!  These ones are for your little ones but it's adaptable to any size!  I love those teddy bears!  This is from Irene over at Serger Pepper - a fantastic seamstress with loads of ideas and trouble shooting thoughts!

And here is the most surprising upcycle that never would have occurred to me but totally works.  An umbrella upcycled into a bike bag!  Fabulous idea and complete with lights from Green Issues by Agy

And finally a bit of a different upcycle - jewellery made from spoons!  I love this - it is so creative and funky!
This comes from Callaloux Bikoux and you can buy these lovely things on facebook so pop across and say hi!


Well I hope you have enjoyed my little wander around some fellow bloggers work - I certainly have.  Do pop across to their blogs and shops and give them a follow or a like.  I think this post represents what I love so much about upcycling really well - reduce waste and be super creative and innovative while your at it!

 I hope you feel inspired - till next time! :)

x

Knickers

 In my bid to buy ethically I went on an internet hunt for ethically produced knickers.  There are a fair few companies out there making some fabulous things but when I looked at the prices I knew it was just too much for me to spend on underwear.  Most pairs started at about £18 each so a weeks worth would cost me £126! Ouch!  know that fair trade is always going to cost more but what do you do when that more is just that bit too much for you to afford?

Well I have been doing a bit of a trial on making my own - I know crazy right!  My impression was that it would be incredibly fiddly and technical and generally an absolute nightmare!  Well apparently not - the hardest part about making knickers was the fact that my machine broke about every line of stitching I did!

I did a bit of a pinterest search and found this fab instruction sight from drumbellina.

So I set about chopping and stitching - I have some t-shirt fabric that I have not used up completely yet so thought I would do a bit of a trial run with that before I advance to more fancy fabric.

I changed the instructions slightly and instead of using pinking shears to edge I used my overlocker.  So here are my very rough test pair!

You can see on the top stitching where my machine is jumping a bit at the minute which doesn't give the greatest finish - but in general I'm happy with the result.  Although I am unlikely to use these and will keep them as a sample I did try them on and I have to say - super duper comfy!

The experiment has certainly inspired me to look out for some nice fabrics and finishes to add into the next lot that I make.  

Have any of you tried making underwear?  I'm definitely not about to start sewing bras just yet but am getting going in designing some funky knickers to start stitching!  Send me your pics of what you have sewn!

Hope you are all surviving the weather!

x

Re-imagining

The past week or so has been about trying to re-imagine how I use my time - where do all those little pieces of time disappear to that could be used in a much more positive way.  I set myself a little challenge to actively avoid the tv and see how that went. 
I have to confess, quite ashamedly, to feeling mild panic about three days in when faced with a morning off.  The rain was pouring, I'd done gym already and I wasn't feeling particularly creative.  Obviously it was ridiculous to feel that way and I continued my day happily sewing and doing jobs round the house before work but it highlighted to me how programmed my mind is to think I need this box in front of me in order to relax.  Over Christmas I was surprised again at the number of ads flying through my mind each day.  I grew up without a tv and I realized I didn't know I was supposed to want to visit Disney land and therefore was quite happy with some fab family holidays in cottages and the countryside. I'm not sure I want a tv to dictate how I think so I continued to try to keep it off.  Now a week and a half in I feel great - I love the peace in the house, I love reading and listening to music.  I love eating dinner at the table instead of off my lap because that program I just have to see is on right now. We all know I love sewing so that's a given! ;-)  but I can say in all honesty I don't miss it in the slightest!
So for now my decision is definitely to keep the tv off - probably to remove it altogether in the long run - and try to explore some simple pleasures in life.
Have you made any changes in 2014 that you'd like to share? Do send me a message - maybe I'll look at a feature post of all of your transforming moments so far!
Till next time
x
  

Heart Bunting Tutorial

As I have been posting my heart bunting up on my etsy shop this week I thought some of you might fancy making some of your own.  I am loving heart bunting at the minute - and although we are approaching that time of year when the shops fill with heart themed products I am of the opinion that a bit of heart decoration and bunting is totally acceptable all year round.  So here goes - I hope you have fun!

What you need:

Fabric of your choice, stuffing, ribbon, heart template (or great free hand skills), needle and thread, scissors, pins and chalk or pencil.

1) Choose your fabric and cut it a little bit longer in height than your heart template to make for ease of cutting.

2)Like so . . . .

3) Now fold your fabric backwards and forwards until it is stacked in a square like you see in the picture.  You need to ensure you don't do too many hearts at once otherwise you won't get a neat shape - especially be aware of this if you are using thicker fabric.  Then pin your heart template onto your fabric and cut round it.  If you are going to make 4 hearts on your bunting then you must end up with 8  individual hearts cut out.

4) You then should end up with 4 pairs of hearts.  Place them right side of fabric facing towards each other.

5) Now mark where you want the ribbon to be on the hearts.  I chose towards the bottom of the curve as you can see.  You need to ensure you mark this in the same place on each heart to avoid a wonky garland.  Mark on both sides of the heart.

7)  Now cut out your strips of ribbon.  I was making 4 hearts so needed 2 longer pieces of ribbon and 2 shorter pieces.  The longer strips are for the edges so that it can be hung up and the shorter pieces go in between the hearts.  The length is your choice but I used about 10cm between each heart and 20cm for the 2 edge ribbons.

6) Now move across to your sewing machine if you are using one ( if not just set up on a flat surface).  Place your ribbon (long piece first)  in between your two heart pieces and leave a small piece out the edge where you have marked. Now start sewing from just below that point.  Once you have sewn over the ribbon I find it helps to take the long piece and bring it round to where you started sewing so there is no risk of accidentally catching it as you sew the edges.

8) Continue sewing round the edge of the heart until you get to 2 cms before your next mark.  Then take a shorter piece of ribbon and attach as instructed above and shown in the pictures.  Continue sewing round the heart and stop sewing about 2cm before you reach the first stitch you did.

9) You should end up with something that looks like this.

10) Use the ribbon to help you gently tease the heart out through that gap you left so that you have right sides of the fabric facing you and just a small section remaining to be sewn.  

You now need to repeat the above instructions on each heart.  Always remember to work out how the fabric will turn right side so that you get the ribbons attached to the right side.  For example if you want to attach a heart to the right hand side of the heart below the ribbon will be sewn into the right hand side of the next heart.  When you turn it right sides out you will have the ribbon attached to the left side of the second heart and sitting to the right hand side of the one below.

11)  So now you have this line of hearts all linked together and ready for filling

12) Now this is where you pop into a comfy sofa, stick the telly on and merrily fill your hearts with stuffing.  Once you have done this take your needle and thread and stitch the little gaps closed. Cut loose threads and there you have it you are done!

Please do share pictures of your heart garlands with me.  Either post them here or pop over to my facebookpage  and when you do I'll give them a share.  Have fun crafting!

x

Tunic top

This week after a little review of my wardrobe I decided it was time to invest some time making some clothes for me.  I have this fantastic floral fabric I bought from a charity shop and have already used some of it to make a bag.  It is really 60's so I decided to go with a light - easy - breezy tunic.  Tunics are so simple to make and I love them.  They look great, they are comfortable to wear and if your using bright fabric they can really make a statement.

I didn't have a pattern so I used another top to get the sizing right.

I drew round this top adding some extra fabric to create a shoulder and also allowing about 1.5cm for a seam allowance.  I also flattened the neck line out at the back.

These were the pieces I had for the top part.  One for the front and two for the back.  Really simple to shape as I just relied on the outline of my last top.

I cut out sleeves from another pattern I had (I have never been great at doing my own sleeves - something to work on) and then set to work.  Using an overlocker to bind the seams I sewed shoulder to shoulder together and then the side seams before adding the sleeves.  I added a small gather to each sleeve which works really well but I actually added it in because I didn't quite measure out right and ended up with sleeves a bit bigger than the arm hole.  The finished effect I am pleased with though.  

I then used bias binding the edge the top.

I curved the back to create a neat edging and then finished the bias binding about half way down before closing the seam up.

Then I cut two more pieces the same size as each other.  I decided on my length, added 1.5cm for seam allowance and then took my top measurement and multiplied it by 1.5.

I gathered the two pieces so the width now matched the width of the top, sewed the side seams and then overlocked the top piece and bottom piece together.

Then I just added some bias binding to divide the top a little bit and a cute button to finish the top.

I closed off my seams and I was done - here you have it.

I wore it out today and felt really comfortable in it - I plan to make a few more tunics in the next few weeks.  While making this one I found a fab old pattern that used to belong to my Mum which is for some great tunics with sailor tops and some fabulous flares so I might get onto them!

Watch this space for how I continue to funk up my wardrobe!  This new tunic probably cost me £1.50 as I still have half the fabric left and it cost me £3 to buy.  What a bargain plus the pleasure of making it included in that price!

Do share the things you make for yourself in the next few weeks!

x

Poncho love

My Mum recently gave me some gorgeous cashmere jumpers that had been nibbled away at by moths to see if I could make use of the remaining material.  I had a little think and thought I would try to make something out of the two jumpers that she could still way - I came up with the idea of a poncho (following a good sweep of pinterest of course!)

This is what I started with - you can just about see a few holes where the moths have had a good go at the cashmere.

I decided to make things easy for myself and stick with the shape of the roll neck jumper as a bit of a template.  I lay the jumper out flat and cut a straight line just about where the side seam and are seam joined up.

Then came the tricky bit.  I had a limited amount of fabric due to dodging holes and seams so I trimmed everything down to use able sections and this is what I was left with.

I sat down and sketched out a rough idea of what I wanted things to look like - originally I started with the idea of smaller patches but due to the limited fabric I ended up deciding on bigger chunkier sections.  I measured and cut out the blocks and then stitched them together to create this.  You can see I have also used the edging that was on the original jumper and cardigan to make the finish very easy to do.

Although this was a poncho it wasn't going to be really long so it needed to be able to sit properly while still allowing arm movement.  I decided to create holes for the arms to slip through and close the side seams of the poncho.  I used bias binding to bond the seams and then stitched the seams down to the base of the poncho.  The idea is that the arms will be through the poncho from about the elbow so it will still have that loose relaxed effect.

And there you have it a finished poncho ready to be sent back to my Mum.  Now I have to be honest at this point that I am not entirely convinced that she will wear this - it does have a bit of a funky 80's feel to it that may not fit in with her usual attire.  If I had made it had been a bigger size then I on the other hand would have been highly likely to sport an item of clothing like this.  Anyway whether it gets worn by Mum or not I am convinced someone will be able to enjoy it and I have to say it was a lot of fun to make.  I wasn't sure how it would be to sew cashmere but it is actually quite simple to work with and so soft to the touch!

My next project is likely to take a bit longer.  I plan to make some curtains for one of my sisters which will be a first for me and a wedding dress keepsake bear for my other sister.  I think those projects will keep me busy for a fair while but I'll be sure to keep checking in and let you know how I am getting on.

Do send in your pictures of your makes!

x