Ugly doll for Xmas

Finished doll with the pattern.

Before Christmas I hand-sewed an Ugly Doll for my nephew, who was about 8 months old. The felt is pretty cheap to buy at Spotlight - something like $7 per m. I think I just got some half-metres, and also some small packets of black and white that have adhesive backing for the eyes

Cut out with the bits placed on - sewed them first, then turned him inside out to sew up the outside. Stuffing was through the head.

With his face and pouch on (he's a marsupial monster). The pouch is not centred - a mistake - but hey the kid can't talk to criticise.

Even with the stick-on felt. I still stitched around the eyes and mouth though, because infants tend to chew on everything.  Stuffed with cushion stuffing.

Finished little dude.

Design tips - don't make so much of a 'neck' as it a place where the stuffing will shift around and the doll will fold.  The body was a bit too tubular which made stuffing the feet a bit tricky. He's meant to look goofy not scary - I think it worked!

Ruffles ahoy!

This year, I've been sewing a bit more again. 
It started with a colleague lending me this book:

I chose a few patterns, bought fabric, then took a while to get around to making something, but I did in the end! More on that in another post....

Then I found this book - the equivalent pattern book for girls:

It has stuff that is appropriate for toddlers, little girls and 10-year-olds, so I thought it might be good value. First pattern to try: this A-line pinafore.

 
 
 
It's a size 6 so should fit her a while. I used leftover fabric from a wraparound skirt I made a few years back. The hardest bit was the contrast panel at the bottom. I didn't have quite enough fabric to make the full length, so I thought I'd cut out a few inches of the swirly fabric to see on the bottom. That turned out to be more complicated than I had thought it would be (as it's an A-line dress, not a tube), but I made it work somehow! Other than that, the hardest bit of this pattern was sewing in the shoulder straps while the whole, double sided bodice was inside out.

Next, the reason this blog post is called "Ruffles Ahoy", I made a blouse for my niece. I asked her what her favourite colour is, and she said pink and orange! Ok then!

All was going well, then I stuffed up and forgot to add a seam allowance to the bottom of the blouse, so it would have been nearly 4 cm too short. I didn't have enough fabric to cut it out again. Then I thought I could add another ruffle at the bottom. After much basting and trying to get the ruffles even on what seemed like Kms of the bottom panel, it's done, and ready for her birthday, which isn't until after Xmas! I'm proud of my effort - I even sewed a button loop at the back and the bodice is lined

I tried it on my daughter and it's a little big - more like a dress. Maybe my niece can wear it first as a tunic with a skivvy this winter, and it might fit her better in subsequent NH summers...?
I'm going to make another for my daughter in the same size, in different fabric, sans the bottom frill.

Old projects a go go

Meririsa we must be on the same craft-cycle (surely it's like hormones where you can get in sync by hanging out?) I too am grappling with mending and the old lurking unfinished project list.

In the last week I mended a top that was just that little bit split under the arm and had been for months, made definite intentions to mend a very tricky frayed old dress, and most satisfyingly stitched the last bits of the knitted charity blanket I started seasons ago, and sewing in most of the ends. All I need to do now is sew on the tag the charity provides, and send it in to the depot. I must say it's looking rather fabulous on the couch and I am a little tempted to keep it (but wont!) just because it looks so patchy mismatched and cute.

Oh and I just printed volume 3 of my zine, and volume 4, but have only assembled #3 at this stage (it's definitely craft and it's kind of a sewing project because I use hammer, nails and coloured cotton to bind them). In fact just made a new blog to support the zine (hey, somewhat like shoes, a girl can never have too many - right? right??). It's looking plain now but will get embellished in time when I put links and pics in.

Darn it!

This post will be old-hat for some experienced clothes menders, but I am just learning, as I haven't really needed to do this before.
My mother in law recently fixed up some things for us - the knees of some denim jeans that my little boy had worn through but otherwise fit him fine, plus a t-shirt of mine that I disastrously caught on something and tore the day after I bought it! Darn it!

Finished product - iron-on patch stuck on top of darning. I later hand sewed around the edges to secure the patch, which started coming off not long after it was stuck on.

A closer view of my MIL's handiwork. She kind of wove the cotton in and out in one direction, then perpendicular to it.

These jeans will fit him for a while yet, so that's hopefully a fair bit more wear he will get out of them. This has inspired me to fix up a few other things too, and now that my son is doing things like skidding on his knees on astroturf and real turf, I'm sure the skill will come in handy.

Hubby bought some new shorts and virtually the next day, a rivet that was attached to a front pocket for decoration came off and left a hole around 8mm in diameter! You just can't get quality clothes these days... Shorts instantly looked old!

To darn this small, circular hole, I just stitched around the edges like spokes on a wheel, moving around in a circle. Then I sewed one of the spare buttons over the top on the outside to hide it:

You'd never know there was a hole there!

Elastic waisted skirt

Teddy is modelling it, as real wearer is having her nap.

Ali may recognise the fabric - she gave it to me a few years ago... I realised it was just enough to make my daugher a short skirt (finished, it's about 18mm long, ok for a 12-18 month old). Very snazzy fabric, and not pink too!

Was really simple and quick - cut out a width of fabric 2x her waist, and the desired length plus hem allowances. Sewed the sides together to make a tube. Pressed and sewed the bottom hem, then pressed and sewed a wider waist band, keeping an opening for elastic. Threaded elastic through, and presto! Done.

Options are endless - you could alternate panels of fabric to use up scraps.

something soft to rest on

Well at Christmas time I decided to make my fella something nice for our soon to be new house. I went to Bird textiles and bought some of their Sydney-designed, hand printed fabric. Bought remnants to sew together patchwork style to make a cushion cover, using nice olive and natural colours that I thought would go with the couch and also the views from the loungeroom which features big gum trees.

What did I learn from this sewing experience, after so long not sewing? (Much like Merririsa below)

- Well, making something with patchwork strips is heaps slower than just using normal slabs of fabric. Hmm, note to self.
- Fabric is remarkable forgiving about non straight seams - everything seemed (no pun intended) to line up ok in the end despite doing it all by eye and not having everything perfectly symmetrical on the grain etc.
- It worked! Finished product looks great I reckon. (Thanks to the fabric)
- Buttons are yet to be attached, oops. Got a bit frightened off the whole button hole cutting step. Must do that this weekend.

Thanks to Miss Snapdragon for her help and technical advice.

Dusting off the sewing machine...

I haven't sewn in eons, yet necessity has forced me to get the old Bernina out and sew up a fitted sheet attached to top sheet thingy for when my son as a rest/nap at his new child care centre, along with a draw-string bag to match. This sort of thing was all included at the old centre, but here you either are given a pattern and sew your own, or fork out $45 for someone to make one for you. There don't appear to be any 2nd-hand ones on offer, and I really didn't want some fabric I had at home to go to waste, so decided I'd have a go at sewing one

Of course, I ended up stuffing up things at the cutting out stage, and freaked out a little, because I thought I'd have to go and buy some fabric after all. However, my dearest better half reminded me that we had lots of old sheets (some of which belonged to a previous bed), and I realised that this was not only an economic solution, but brilliant, as it would save me having to sew 2 hems if I cut the size of sheet I needed from one corner!

So the end product? Not worth taking a photo of, with slightly ugly colour combinations and his name written neatly on the bag in fabric texter, but it's functional and should do the trick. I made a small draw-string bag as a warm up to sewing the sheet set to make sure I could still sew in a straight line (and I could!), and think I might do a few more. One can never have enough when you have kids - for all those little sets of blocks and things that don't have boxes. And I just might make some little elastic waist skirts for my daughter next, now that she is walking well (crawling with a skirt is hardly practical!). Or maybe something a little more adventurous.... I have some baby girl sundress patterns somewhere...

It feels good to be making something, AND using fabric that would otherwise be just sitting in the cupboard.

Nimble fingers

I have to say I've been finding it easiest lately to knit. It's easy to pick up something and knit for a few minutes, then put it down when the inevitable interruption comes up... "Muuuuum! She's taking my cars!".... "Waaaaaaaaaa!" "Darling - what did you do to your sister?" "NOTHING!!".  You get the picture.

So as I mentioned in my hot water bottle post, I joined Ravelry, and it has been nothing short of a revelation! Loads and loads of ladies (and men) around the world, knitting away, and sharing their work, patterns, their experiences interpreting the patterns, their experiences with certain yarns. There are patterns you can get for free, and there are single patterns that you can buy instead of buying a whole pattern book! An amazing model of IP (intellectual property) sharing, with just about every possibility available! It's a giant stitch and bitch group, available straight from your computer. Given I don't get to see many of the people I know who knit very often, this has accelerated my learning about knitting quite a lot, and I'm trying all sorts of new things.

Is my enthusiasm showing through enough?

One thing I'm short of though is "friends" on Ravelry. So if you're a member (it's free to join), look me up (under the user name "Meririsa") and befriend me!! I'm keen to have more people to share with.

So what have I been knitting? my first garments, for little baby girls! First this one for my little girl in cotton yarn:

...only it's HUGE on her. A lot of lessons learned about different yarn types (cotton vs wool, and different thicknesses) and needles, and getting your test patch right. But anyway, it'll fit in a year or two. I've knitted another one in wool for a dear little girl I know who is about to turn one - I just need to sew in the threads, block, and sew on daisy buttons.

Next up is a little sundress with a knitted cotton bodice and gathered fabric dress.  I hope to take it to my mother in law's and finish it with her while on summer holidays! Then there's a few other projects lined up - vests and tunics for the kids for winter, fingerless mittens for presents for folk in colder climates.... I'll never be idle again!

Sew what?

Well bags and skirts for one thing. Fiona Warmbath has workshops coming up in the second half of the year and I can vouch that she is a patient and skilled teacher. Check her website and click through to 'workshops'.

Arabian Nights

I got this fabric when I was finding fabric for the bag (see below). It reminds me of Moroccan tiles (not that I've been to Morocco, but I imagine it features lots of tiles like this). I decided to make a little summer nightie out of it, maybe something I could lounge around in on Saturday mornings feeling cool and cottony and leisurely languid. Sipping coffee, writing my novel, padding around in bare feet, that kind of thing.

Used satin ribbon for the straps (I almost just wrote 'handles' - that bag workshop made an impact!). Didn't have a pattern, just cut around my favourite nightie, straight into the fabric, with the fabric on the bias. Used Amberguity's overlocker for extra safe seams, and the rolled hem foot to do the hem. It ended up a little shorter than I might have liked, but other than that very happy with it. Accidentally twisted one strap in the sewing, which would be easily rectified, but for now I am just going with it (lazy aren't I?). Oh, also added a very twee little matching bow on the front to finish it off.

New Bag

Went to a fun sewing workshop last weekend, in the mountains. My friend Mountainspice organised it (that is, invited me, booked us in) because we both love fabric and have grand plans for sewing but neither of us really learnt to sew or actually sew anything. She saw this advertised in the local free 'workshops a plenty' newspaper that they get up in the mountains.

We were a tad late because she picked me up from the train station and we made our way together. The workshop was held in a community centre, and the other (8 or so) women were already there and busy with their cutting and pinning when we got there. The teacher Fiona Warmbath is a dressmaker who runs regular workshops through the week, in fact most of the people there were regular attendees of her week day dressmaking classes.

We got to choose which bag to make, from 3 different designs. I went for a more 'handbag' style bag for myself, Mountainspice went for a shoulder tote style as a bookbag for her library-loving 3 year old.

I bought fabric the day before from the Fabric Store in Surry Hills, Sydney, with Miss Snapdragon's help choosing something extra groovy. I also raided my fabric suitcase (excavated from under the bed) to find cheery light coloured lining for MS's tote. Also waded through my button jar to find something large, decorative and lolly looking to finish it off.

Bag is lined with contrasting patterned fabric that you can only really see when diving in deep to find keys or other hiding things in the bag. Inside pocket got scrapped in an effort to get the bag finished in the confines of the workshop. I did end up staying after the official end time to get it done (a few people did) and I was truly exhausted after sewing for 6 hours after not having even said hello to my machine for well over a year but was super chuffed to have finished it at all, and the bag is now officially my very favourite handbag in the world. Like a kid with a macaroni necklace that's more loved than pearls, I love it extra much despite the wonky stitching and missing pocket or maybe even because of that.

xmas stockings

Finally, we are spending a christmas at our own home, and our 3 1/2 year old is old enough to get excited about christmas. I planned to make something more intricate and beautiful than this, but in the end, there is limited time between putting the kids to bed and feeling too tired to sew... and when the 3.5 year old is awake, he is always at my elbow asking me what I'm doing and trying to press or turn knobs!
And so what we have is functional. Maybe I can embellish it in future years. A benefit of making your own is you can control the size...
Firstly I cut out a template in baking paper, and pinned it to a doubled over bit of red felt, and cut it out.
Secondly, I glued a strip of white felt over the top using craft glue, and pinned a loop of ribbon at the top of the boot.
Thirdly, I sewed around the edge, and trimmed the uneven edges.
Finally, I stuck on the christmas tree.
Voila!

What I'd do differently: I bought the felt a while ago. You could easily recycle red or green pillow cases or whatever to make these. You could do patterns with applique, which would be more sturdy than glueing on felt.

Stitch and be-arch

Pics from the second crafternoon..

-Miss Nic drawing this time
- Mango Mitzu doing stripey scarf with mixed wools, using up ends of balls, knitting lengthways with great tassles at the end
- Snap Dragon knitting a great brown wool top with funky neckline
- I think I did some mending that day - nothing glamorous

One lazy crafternoon...

The girls came over for crafty fun a couple of Sunday afternoons this winter.

Here are some of the projects:

- Mango Mitzu's knitted gauntlets in hand me down acrylic rainbow yarn
- Miss Nic's refashioned summer dress featuring new adjustable fabric ring to pull sleeves in and create adjustable neckline
- My removing of sleeves and hand sewing of hem around arm holes on nice silk chiffon print dress from Vinnies







many cups of tea and much fun was had by all.

skirting the issue

This skirt is the first wearable thing I ever sewed - five bazillion years ago, with Ambiguity's help. later, I took up the hem because I wasn't sold on the length, printed on some of the leftover fabric, covered these buttons with it, and hey presto - detail. Wore it last week for the first time since the remodelling.

very bunny

This little softie is the completed version of one I posted earlier while still in progress. She is a funny little bunny, with button eyes and cotton thread stitching, with recycled bed linen straight from the 1960's.

Quiltelicious

Just for completeness I thought I'd post pictures of the quilt that mum made out of the fabric squares I painted some while back. Nicely paded and snuggly looking I thought, and the touch of colour she added to make the pics match the backing fabric and sheets also cool. Clever quilt making mum!

Big Softie

Now that I've finished and posted this little monster in the top right(literally posted - in the actual mail), I can post this picture of it 'in progress' on here. This one was for PJ in Adelaide.

These was the first soft toyish creatures I'd ever made. In fact it required dusting off my lovely aqua sewing machine and actually sewing - something I hadn't done unassisted for years. The fabric is soft, vintage bed linen. I did eyes and mouth in satin stitch in multicoloured silk thread (not pictured - at this stage I was still thinking buttons, but decided not to for safety). The arms are knitted from superfine Italian merino. And it's stuffed with that fluffy Dacron stuff. No bits that can fall off (hopefully) and thoroughly chew proof (ditto - hopefully!). I think she's kind of cute and looks a bit like a friendly bubble flower monster.

Goodbye dress - hello tunic top

So I had this lined, grey, shift dress, just above the knees, that I thought would look 'smart' for work, but found I was just never ever wearing and felt like a nob any time I put it on. Decided that I loved the neckline and liked the fabric but just didn't love the overall effect - too prissy for our fairly casual office. So, with Miss Snapdragon's help (and the help of her overlocker) I transformed it into a tunic top - kind of crotch length, so that it can be worn over pants or a skirt without any fear of butt crack or knicker showing. It's still fitted, but feels less conservative than it did before. I put two little slits at the sides just to make it look more finished, and Miss SD made a rosette out of the bit we cut off the bottom. Also I ended up cutting the lining out because it was a bit funny, and the fabric has a little stretch and the lining didn't, so it's nicer to wear now.
Attached the rosette to a pin so it's removable, so that it doesn't have to go through the wash and also so I can have it plain sometimes too. Making it was fun. Taking it out on the dressmaker's dummy and taking photos was even more fun!

Slippery snakes

Aren't these lovely? My mum made them to take to my little brother's kindy as a craft project with the kids. She cut and sewed them the day before, and glued on their felt eyes and tongue (she opted out of button eyes because of the potential choke hazard). The fabric is an old yellow cotton sheet for their undersides, and a sequiny print fabric on their backs. Stuffed with the standard pillow stuffing.

She stitched them up inside out all the way around except for a small hole for little hands to fit in, took the stuffing, and the teachers and we sat with the kids and helped them stuff them. Then we hand sewed the gap while the kids went and did other things (played outside, read books). It was a lovely idea, and a nice way to hang out and see my little brother with his kindy friends. Watching the kids have snake races, dance with the snakes, and arrange the snakes in the reading corner was lovely.