Here's some sewing I did yesterday using a very clever pattern which taught me some new tricks [if you sew and you've not heard of french seams then I suggest looking them up!]. They're reusable fabric shopping bags that you can roll up and pop in your handbag for that moment when you realise you left your bag for life at home.
I made three types. The top ones are from Ikea fabric and the bottom one apparently is Liberty! A man on the market pretty much forced me to buy this and about 7 other bits of fabric, who knows if its actually Liberty or not, but I quite like the little birds on it.
They look just like squares with handles sewn on
But some nifty folding that goes on in the making means they sort of have sides.
With a bit of folding and rolling they're good to go.
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Friday, 2 September 2011
Mollie Makes
This post is just to share the love of a craft magazine which I've currently got a trial subscription for. It's the very well designed Mollie Makes. There's only been five issues so far and I've had the last two, which, if you're anything like me, are a feast for the eyes. Nice matt cover with lots of projects inside and info on new designers, shops, things to buy...
Granted some of the projects are a little whacky (whilst I love the crocheted vegetables on the cover I'm not sure I'll ever make them!), there's normal things in there too and the biggest bonus is the free kit that comes with each issue.
This month's was a little linen Mp3 player case. So it comes with pretty much all the materials you need and there are templates and instructions in the magazine. Here's my attempt that I sewed whilst catching up on the Great British Bake Off and eating a cream tea :)
I think its a wee bit small for the Mp3 player they intended it for [Mr Fox's new ipod only just fit in], but my phone seems pretty happy in it.
If you would like to get a subscription then go to myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/MMSP18 and if you sign up for 6 months you get The Liberty Book of Home Sewing for FREE!
Granted some of the projects are a little whacky (whilst I love the crocheted vegetables on the cover I'm not sure I'll ever make them!), there's normal things in there too and the biggest bonus is the free kit that comes with each issue.
This month's was a little linen Mp3 player case. So it comes with pretty much all the materials you need and there are templates and instructions in the magazine. Here's my attempt that I sewed whilst catching up on the Great British Bake Off and eating a cream tea :)
I think its a wee bit small for the Mp3 player they intended it for [Mr Fox's new ipod only just fit in], but my phone seems pretty happy in it.
If you would like to get a subscription then go to myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/MMSP18 and if you sign up for 6 months you get The Liberty Book of Home Sewing for FREE!
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Bunting!
Hmm, so I think I need to work on my blogging skills. I'm not sure posting once a month is the best way forward! So anyway here's a little something I made for a lovely friend who hit the big 3 0 recently...
A bunting make-up bag!
I did a row of mini bunting on each side
And then lined with mini polka dot fabric that I had left over from the quilt.
I then got a bit carried away and made a matching card and gift tag
I think she appreciated the coordination!
A bunting make-up bag!
I did a row of mini bunting on each side
And then lined with mini polka dot fabric that I had left over from the quilt.
I then got a bit carried away and made a matching card and gift tag
I think she appreciated the coordination!
Friday, 22 July 2011
Baby Hand Print Quilt
As well as coaster making last week, I also made my second ever quilt. This was as a present for a fellow Guide leader who is having a baby, and I wanted it to include all the hands of the Guides so it was a bit more personal. I thought I was going to have all Summer to do this (as she's having the baby in September), but then I found out that I only had a week! As it took me about 6 months to do The French Lady's quilt, this was a bit worrying, but thankfully with some good advice from a Macclesfield sewing expert I did it in time. Phew.
Here's the finished piece and the step by step process of how I made it...
Firstly I got all the Guides to draw around their hands onto card, and then I cut these out and transferred them onto bondaweb. This was then ironed onto three different types of green fabric for the leaves. In hindsight I wish I'd got the girls to cut out their hands themselves, as this took quite a while!
I then stuck some big pieces of paper together and drew out the design for the whole quilt. From this design I copied the individual pieces (tree trunk, birds etc) onto yet more bondaweb and transferred this onto the appropriate materials. Once I had all the pieces cut out, I spent a long time arranging them all on the background fabric, trying in particular to overlap the hands to cut down on sewing!
Once everything was fixed in place I sewed it all down. Whilst bondaweb is great, it doesn't last forever and with it being a baby quilt I thought it would be handy if it was washable, so sewing was the best option for keeping it all together. I used a satin stitch (a very close zigzag) to go round all the fabric edges, which was a fiddly business, particularly on the hands (tight curves to go round!). So the early bits I did aren't great, but I did get better as I went on.
Once everything was sewed on, I cut out the wadding and back fabric for the quilt and laid everything together. I then used a long running stitch to tack it all together, whilst trying not to sew it to the carpet (not that I've done that before...!). This meant when I quilted it the layers wouldn't all move. After I'd done this I drew lines onto the quilt where I was going to sew, to give me a guide. I read on another blog recently about this magical pen which you can draw onto fabric with, but when you iron it then pen lines disappear! If you sew then you'll understand what a revelation this is. Apparently if you put the fabric in the freezer then the lines come back, but I don't think most people keep quilts in freezers.
My plan originally was to quilt the whole thing by hand, but as one outline took me over an hour, and I was pushed for time, I did the rest on the machine. I got a darning foot for Christmas which made it a lot easier to do the lines freehand. If you've never done this, its basically like trying to draw but moving the paper instead of the pen - requires a lot of concentration! So there were quite a few errors but you can't really tell unless you examine closely. As well as quilting the outlines, I also sewed around all the light coloured hands. Then I gave it all a good iron (to remove the lines) and bound all the edges using instructions from my sewing book.
I'm really please with the finished piece and reckon it was worth the hard work! I think this would be a nice present to do for a family - having all the family members hands as the leaves. I was going to write all the girls names on using a fabric pen, but decided not to in the end. I think if I was doing it for a family though then this would be a nice touch. Hope you like it!
Here's the finished piece and the step by step process of how I made it...
Finished Quilt |
I then stuck some big pieces of paper together and drew out the design for the whole quilt. From this design I copied the individual pieces (tree trunk, birds etc) onto yet more bondaweb and transferred this onto the appropriate materials. Once I had all the pieces cut out, I spent a long time arranging them all on the background fabric, trying in particular to overlap the hands to cut down on sewing!
Ironed on, ready to sew |
Once everything was sewed on, I cut out the wadding and back fabric for the quilt and laid everything together. I then used a long running stitch to tack it all together, whilst trying not to sew it to the carpet (not that I've done that before...!). This meant when I quilted it the layers wouldn't all move. After I'd done this I drew lines onto the quilt where I was going to sew, to give me a guide. I read on another blog recently about this magical pen which you can draw onto fabric with, but when you iron it then pen lines disappear! If you sew then you'll understand what a revelation this is. Apparently if you put the fabric in the freezer then the lines come back, but I don't think most people keep quilts in freezers.
My plan originally was to quilt the whole thing by hand, but as one outline took me over an hour, and I was pushed for time, I did the rest on the machine. I got a darning foot for Christmas which made it a lot easier to do the lines freehand. If you've never done this, its basically like trying to draw but moving the paper instead of the pen - requires a lot of concentration! So there were quite a few errors but you can't really tell unless you examine closely. As well as quilting the outlines, I also sewed around all the light coloured hands. Then I gave it all a good iron (to remove the lines) and bound all the edges using instructions from my sewing book.
I'm really please with the finished piece and reckon it was worth the hard work! I think this would be a nice present to do for a family - having all the family members hands as the leaves. I was going to write all the girls names on using a fabric pen, but decided not to in the end. I think if I was doing it for a family though then this would be a nice touch. Hope you like it!
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Citrus Coasters
Well this is very exciting, my first blog post! It's just to show you a little something I made last week, mainly whilst sat on the sofa watching telly and eating chocolate.
These are lovely little citrus coasters. I'd love to say I thought of this idea myself, but actually its from The Purl Bee, and you can find the template for them here. They were easy to make as they're made from felt, but did take aggesss to sew as they're done by hand. Also, I could only fit 7 of the 8 triangles the tutorial says to use on each one - not sure what I did wrong there.
I know its sad but I am a little bit in love with them and even dreamt about them the other night! I think in the dream I was sat in the garden with a glass of Pimms sat on one. This would be lovely, but sadly its July in Britain so is cold and damp - no Pimms in the garden for me! Maybe a mug of hot chocolate on the sofa in the lounge instead...
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