McCalls 6044

The last of the homemade Christmas presents was a shirt for Chris. Of course after months of making muslins and lots and lots of procrastination I left it until two days before Christmas to start it.
In the end I used McCalls 6044 with a few modifications.

 I cut between a size M and L and altered the shoulder and sleeves a little as they were to big. I altered the back to add a back yoke and two pleats on the bottom part.

I cut the yoke, button band and pocket on the bias and instead of buttons I used pearl snaps.

I flat felled the sleeve seams following the instructions for the Negroni. If I make a long sleeved version I will cut each sleeve as one pieces and add a placket like the Negroni.

I wasn't quite ready to cut into really expensive fabric so I used some nice cotton that I think I bought at Spotlight on sale for $5 a metre.

There were a few raised eyebrows from Chris as I sewed this. I think he thought it might be a little too country for him, but he wore it all Christmas day and his eyes didn't twitch when I suggested making a few more. I think it might be time to cut into some nice Liberty!

Knitting Needle Rolls

My sister asked me for a knitting needle roll for Christmas. I ended up making three. She might not have as many needles as me, but those things tend to multiply when you aren't looking and I am sure these will be full in no time.

 One for her circular needles.

 One for the double pointed.

 And one for her crochet hooks.

 

 I used some denim from the stash and lots of my favourite teeny tiny scraps.

Cotton from the stash for the inside and some red ric rac for the ties.

Now back to organizing and sorting the house. I'd love to start the New Year with at least some of it tidy.



Teapot Mats

I had a request for a new teapot mat as a Christmas present. Nothing better then someone using and using something you have made them and then requesting a new one. I couldn't decide on the colours or fabrics so I made two. That should last him a couple of years. If you want to make your own the tutorial is here.

 

Snake Softies



And just like that Christmas is over for another year. I sewed quite a few presents this year. The three big girls are wanted snake softies. I have no idea why, they are not my favourite animals, but Pauline from Funky Friends Factory has a great stripey python pattern which is very cute for a snake. I made mine a little smaller. I think I ended up printing at 75%.

It was a nice simple pattern which used lots of my favourite scraps and most importantly the girls were surprised and love them.

 

Kwik Sew 3776

I made a pair of these for Olive exactly a year ago in size 0-3 months and they were perfect all summer. So I thought I should make some more for this summer in the biggest size 12-18 months. I used some quilting cotton I found at Textile Traders. I made a few mistakes when I made them last year, but I remembered most of them so these went together very easily like most Kwik Sew patterns. Kwik Sew really do make good patterns with good instructions.



Liberty Overalls

Yes, I know, again with the shirring and yes again with these Ottobre overalls. she has worn the two other pairs I have made a lot.

This pattern is perfect for Liberty, anything with shirring is perfect for shirring I think and lawn is perfect to wear in really hot weather.

Somehow I managed to attach six pearl snaps without cracking any of them.

Not the best picture, but she was not in the mood for photos this morning. I am so happy it is the last day of school for the year today. Olive hates it when everyone leaves in the morning, so much yelling, pointing and crying. She is going to be so happy to have her sisters around for summer.

Burda 9516

I've had a bit of a production line going. Three finished jumpsuits that got the thumbs up from all the big girls, which is no small accomplishment. I used Burda 9516 with a couple of adjustments. I swapped the elastic for shirring and added shoulder ties.

The to do list is getting smaller. I don't think I can put off starting the trickiest project, a shirt for Chris, much longer.

Jumpsuits, Shirring and Turning Straps.

The end of the Christmas sewing is in sight. It would be finished if I didn't keep having ideas and adding to the list. We are in the middle of a heat wave and everyone needs cool clothes so I am making voile jumpsuits for all the girls. There has been lots and lots of shirring this morning.

And I have made a lot of ties for the shoulders so that is a lot of little bits of fabric to turn inside out. Usually I do this with my fingers and use hemostats to make it a bit easier. When Kerry sent me a copy of her book to review she also sent heaps of wonderful things from Dritz including a pack of quick turns. I love them! I can turn a strap in seconds. I have to admit I would probably never picked up a pack of these in the shop, but now I could not imagine owning them.

Enough sewing I think, time to take everyone to the pool to cool down.

A Knitting Bag

I can't believe it was over 6 months ago I tried to make some project bags and then the prototypes sat on my cutting desk until the other day. Actually I can believe it was over 6 months ago, I do this type of thing all the time and that is why I can't see my cutting desk and why I find it very tricky to do any cutting on it.

The pattern I drew needed some changing, the size wasn't quite right and the pieces weren't fitting together quite right, but then a few months ago I was browsing Amazon Japan and found this book.

With this pattern in it. Perfect! Exactly what I wanted for little knitting projects.

I used some linen/cotton blend for the outside and interfaced it with some light/medium woven interfacing from Textile Traders which was perfect as it gives it some body, but doesn't make it too stiff to scrunch up and put in my bag.

I used cotton for the inside and added a pocket on one side. I probably should have added one on the other side as well

 So one project has been cleared off the cutting table. Unfortunately it has been replaced by another unfinished project.

Stash

The stash is out of control again. To be honest it is always out of control, but I am in the middle of a crazy amount of Christmas sewing and haven't had time to even try and stuff it back into the shelves. I think it would be a lot better if  I just made quilts or I just made clothes for the kids, but as I like to sew all sorts of things I collect lots of different types of fabrics. I made these nice neat piles about a month ago.

Cotton/linens for bags.

 Quilting cottons for a quilt.

 Quilting cottons for clothes for me.

Quilting Cottons for clothes for the girls.



 Voile, gauze, cotton and denim for the girls and I.

 Knit fabrics.

 Liberty lawn.

 Now it has all morphed into one big pile in the corner of the sewing room. I think I know what I will be spending January doing.

Christmas Sewing

The Christmas sewing list is slowly getting shorter.

New Summer Dresses

I couldn't seem to get the the bodice of Kwik Sew 3521 to fit correctly. I consulted Fit for Real People, but it just seemed easier to try and different pattern. I want to make a dress or two with a collar so I tried New Look 6808. I cut it off at waist length as it is quite a long top. Not perfect, but it fits my shape a lot better. I think it will be a good basic bodice shape with a few more tweaks and I can add collars, different necklines and different skirts to the bottom of it.

 I used the skirt from Simplicity 2588 which is a pleated skirt. I cut the back on the fold and did a side zipper, an invisible one that actually worked thanks to this tutorial. I didn't line the bodice, I used bias binding for the neck and sleeves I made from some of the left over fabric. I love this fabric by Jeni Baker for Art Gallery.

I Finished Burda 7828 as well this week, this was a much quicker process, as stretch dresses usually are. I have glanced at this pattern and taken no notice, but then did a google image search and found so many great dresses made from it. The only change I made was to add different sleeves and take off the side bow. A great dress for summer and also for winter with longer sleeves.

Strip Savvy

Look what was in the mail yesterday!! An early copy of Strip Savvy! Not sure I have words to explain how excited I am to finally see it in print. It is out on January 14th, but you can preorder it on amazon or ask your quilt shop to order it in.

Summer Dresses

I'm taking a break from the Christmas sewing to make myself a few dresses. Burda 7828 looks like it will be a great easy stretchy dress pattern. I have made a muslin of the bodice of Kwik Sew 3521. It needs a little work, but I am hoping when I get it right it can be the base of many summer dresses, then I can add different skirts and necklines. I think the skirt from Simplicity 2588 might be a good start for a summer dress.

If you are after bags or pouches I dropped these off to Loft in Bridgetown the other day.

Clay Beads

Those hours I've spent on Pinterest have finally paid off. I made something I pinned!

This easy necklace idea came from What No Mints. I used Sculpey I bought from Spotlight, I find it softer and easier to roll than Fimo. I made 8 beads from a packet and used a skewer to make the holes.

You can make quite a few necklaces from a few packets so there is enough for teachers, Christmas presents and a couple for me!

Scraps

I can't seem to throw out even the smallest scraps of those beautiful linen blends. Lucky they are perfect for QAYG blocks.