winter pinnie

The sewing machine got a dust off, and was put to work making the first of Brooklyn's 'winter pinnies'.
I'm not one for dressing little girls all in pink, so to find some girly fabric with blues, purples and greens was a welcome sight.


This was made using a printed cord fabric (from spotlight), and simply embellished with a satin ribbon on the waist line.
I think it looks quite cute. Girly and pretty- and no pink!

beach bag

A new beach bag, for a little small someone to go to the beach for the first time with.


Using a super quick and easy tutorial from here.

tee-pee, pyramid or sunnyboy?

A tee-pee purse, a pyramid box bag or a sunnyboy pouch. It's all the same thing to me!

Having come across a pattern to create one of these contraptions here, I was eager to get started. However, in this pattern the purse was not lined. So after much sewing and unpicking, and more sewing and more unpicking (and a few curse words too), I managed to figure out how to line it.
Ta Da- My finished product!


Only now do I find a complete and well set out tutorial here on how to make it. %$#@! If only I had seen this tute earlier......

a quick date

An eye mask whipped up in a spare 10 minutes I found somewhere in my day yesterday.


Not proud of the job. Very rushed. But at least my sewing machine got a little bit of (and long overdue) lovin'.

square bib tutorial

My first tutorial. Let me know how I go.

You will need:

pattern
towelling
126 cm bias tape/binding
13 cm twill tape
1 press stud kit
30 cm ribbing
matching thread
and your usual sewing supplies & machine

• Cut out the pattern.

• When it comes to cutting out the hole for the neck, I use as cup that is about 7cm across and trace around it. (much easier than trying to draw a circle).

• Pin bias tape/binding around all edge of the bib, except for the hole for the neck. Trim off any excess. Sew into place.
• 
  
  

• Pin ribbing around neck hole and sew into place.

• Fold twill tape almost in half, and tuck in all edges as shown. (This is where my machine played up, so sorry no photos of any more sewing from here). Sew around edge of twill tape.

• Attach one side of the press stud onto end of twill tape.

• Sew twill tape into desired position on bib.

• Mark on bib where the opposite press stud is to go. Attach onto bib.

My model was sleeping, so teddy had to do the finished demo.


TaDa. Bib is complete. Now how easy was that!

candy stripe pants

After making the flannel flower dress, enough material was left over to make another creation.

So after much deliberation, pants it was.

Front

Back

The material is a lovely light-weight denim, and I teamed it up with some fun candy stripe fabric that I had floating around the place. They are a nice and baggy fit which is good for little people who are become extremely active.
And so quick and easy to make too. No more than 2 hours, I'd say. So instead of sitting in front of the telly at night, whip up a cute pair of pants!

studly

So I finally worked out how to put press studs on- well my husband worked it out really. I was give a mixed bag of studs with no instructions and lets say, lots of swearing and cursing trying to figure how they go on.

They're to go on Little B's new bibs I created, as she has a tendency to pull off bibs with Velcro, and then thinks its funny that we scold her for taking it off. *hmph*
And it works. She cant take these bibs off! *yay*


This bib is very easy to make- so I'm toddling off to make some more.

If anyone is interested in measurements, let me know, and I'll put a post up.

flannel flower dress

With not much else to do but stay inside because of this woolly weather, what is one to do? Sew, of course!

This cute little number was fairly simple to make. And I learnt how to make bias tape along the way too. Easy peasy!




The dress is made out of a light-weight denim and is trimmed with a pretty Australian flannel flower print.
The top of the dress is lined with the printed fabric; I covered my own buttons and made the tape trim for the bottom of the dress.

I love this dress because of its simplicity, and will most definitely be making more for 'Little B'. One thing I will do differently next time is move the button holes a wee bit higher (the top bit looks a little 'flappy' to me) and I might play with different pocket styles on the front.

All in all, I think it was a success.


After note: I forgot to mention that the pattern is unfortunately not one of my own, it is 'New Look 6576'.

blue bird hatchling

The first blue bird finally managed to hatch his way into the world today.

The rest in the nest should all be hatching shortly, to join him on the mobile for Brooklyns room.

tweet tweet.

On my bloggy travels, I stumble upon countless craftylicious projects. I add them to my favourites list with all intention of doing them, but then find another project to do.

This beautiful & adorable birdy mobile is now on top of my to do list. It comes from here. I think it is just divine and would look stunning in B's room.

pin cushion

A cute pin cushion just for me.

It was super quick- about an hour, and easy to make. I don't know why I never made one sooner!


No more trying to fish around for pins in a plastic jar.

The pattern for this cutie comes from here.

The Evening Gown

You haven't heard from me for a while, as I have been churning out the 'the dress'. It's now done, finished, worn and it had a great night out!


Pattern: Vogue Patterns V2962

Before I even got off the starting block, I was a little nervous that the pattern may not be the right size. The pattern is date 1957, and I tell you what, people back then must have had the tiniest waists and big busts, as there was no way I was going to fit in the size 10 without some serious modifications.

The halter crossover bit was shortened immensely and widened, the waist piece had a few extra inches added, and under the bust was taken in miles. I didn't add the 6m of lining in the skirt as pattern suggested, but instead opted to make a tulle skirt. Much easier.

Overall, it was a relatively simply gown to make and I think it came out ok. (It's the first piece of clothing I have made for myself in 12 years.)


Thanks mum for helping do the fiddly zip. I might have to invest in a bust. I'm sure it'll help make things sooo much easier for next time.

And just to top the night off, I won 'belle of the ball'. Fancy that!

On the go.

I have so many projects on the go at the moment, it's hard to think straight!

I'm trying to get my ball dress finished first, as the ball is only 10 days away -AAAGH!!! and it's not all together yet. Panic may soon set in I think. I really didn't have the time to spend on this dress to start with. I procrastinated too long with the idea of making it first. Never mind, it's started now. Must plow on!!

I also started a scarf recently. I'm sooooo close to finishing it, that I just want it finished. It is my first attempt at doing ribbed stitch, and it'd be the first time I've ever knitted something through to completion.

Another project started is a black skirt from here. This was started way before the ball dress even came onto the scene, but will now have to be put on the back burner till dress is done.

Aside from crafty projects, I'm in the middle of putting in new garden beds, renovating the whole house, thinking about making curtains, and want to start spinning wool.

Ohhh- where does it end! :)

Contemplation

Am I biting off more than I can chew????

I have a ball coming up on the 28 June and I need a dress to wear (there's nothing like the last minute!).
I have been eyeing this pattern off for quite a while now and am wondering if I have the skill, or the time to make it.
So I bought the pattern in case I was bold enough whip up such a wonderful creation. I was thinking maybe in a midnight blue colour. *cogs turning*
I'm still thinking about it and the clock is ticking away.....

If the shoe fits

And my fascination with red grows....


I made these adorably cute little shoes for 'B' after spying a gorgeous pair that Leni & Rose had made. The pattern is super easy and comes from Stardust Shoes.

The shoes look nice and comfy. I lined the sole with micro polar to keep Brooklyn's tooties warm in winter. They look like they're supposed to stay on really well- if you can get them on!
I don't know where I went wrong. I had a tiny seam allowance. So I'm assuming that 'B's' either got wide feet or the elastic is too tight. *hmmm*.
I'll try to make another pair later this week. A bit of pattern jiggling may be in order.

Red Riding Hood meets Strawberry Shortcake

I recently stumbled across a great book 'Crafts for baby'. It has so many projects in there for little ones, from toys to clothes, teddies and nappy bags. For my first project, I thought I'd give the comfy fleece coat a try.

After spending over an hour at Officeworks trying to get the pattern copied at 400%, I was ready to go.


The pattern was relatively simple. And there was only 6 steps to the instructions, though sometimes I found them a little vague. However, I managed to get the coat finished.

TaDa.. here it is. (un-hemmed)


I used a red micro polar fleece for the outer layer and a cute strawberry print for the lining. The instructions have you make toggles for the front closure, but I couldn't get them right, so I covered some buttons with the strawberry material and used some matching ribbon for the loops. (I cant do button holes as my needle position is stuck for some reason- I make do).


I think 'B' looks quite warm and snuggly. A great coat for a chilly winters day!

Another makes a pair

I wasn't going to make any more soft play blocks for a while...but my husband suggested I make another block like a dice so 'Little B' can match the other one with numbers to the new one with dots. She's only seven months old, so I don't think she'll be matching dots to numbers any time soon!
This block was a bit rushed and wonky. Brooklyn doesn't seem to mind though- as long as she can chew on it and it makes noise, all is ok.

And I'm still having trouble with machine tension. Maybe it's time for a new machine *sigh*.

I'll be back for this weeks 'this is...' later.

Project of the Week

Play Blocks

I've found it's so hard to keep little people entertained for hours on end with the same old toys. And I hate toys with batteries- ahhh more noise! So here's a little something that I have whipped up for 'Little B'.

Before making them, I thought to myself, "these play blocks look simple to make". However, they turned out to be a little fiddly. Just trying to get the corners right and sewing the numbers on proved fun (something is wrong with my machine tension). They also turned out a lot bigger than I imagined too. Next time I'll make them a lot smaller.
I just used some scrap material I had left over from other projects, jazzed it up with some numbers, ribbons and buttons, put a little rattle inside and 'hey presto'- a cheap, educational and fun toy for Brooklyn. It has kept her entertained so far this morning, so let's hope she's still interested in it later!

The Tale of the Trouser Leg. Part 1

Over Easter, I bought a pair of mens woollen trousers from the local oppie for $3 (yep $3!), with plan of turning them into a shoulder bag for me. I love the fabric so much I decided I couldn't turn them into a bag, and have been reluctant to cut them up.
Fabric close up.


However, after getting up enough bollocks and many weeks later, I have now turned one of the legs into a cute skirt for 'Little B'.

From this:


Into this:

And a little bit left over to make a small something for me. A small purse maybe.


Hmmm.... I'm now left wondering what to do with the other trouser leg???

Homeward Bound

I've had the chance to head to the 'folks' place with 'little B' for a couple days, without hubby (which is an absolute rarity), so mum and dad can spend some quality time with their one and only grandchild that they don't see so often. And boy... has she had some serious cuddles! I feel a bit neglected on this occasion....'sigh'
I haven't really accomplished as much sewing as i had hope to- just finished off a pinnie (picture to come later)for 'little B' that I started two months ago ( I discovered my hand-me down machine doesn't have the button hole foot that I require). Here's hoping she'll still fit into it! And I finished a shoulder bag. I guess it's better than nothing.


We potted around in the vege garden for a bit- if you can call it that. It's a giant mass of pumpkin runners all over the place, but there were plenty of giant organic pumpkins to be found. Great for 'little B's' dinners!