I Spy Bags

"Are we nearly there yet?"

"No.  No we're not.  And asking that question 248 times does not seem to be getting us there any faster."

Ah, you have to laugh or you'd...stuff playdough in your ears, turn the car right around and swear never to take them anywhere again until they're at least eligible to vote.

In the interests of not giving my toddler and pre-schooler electronic games or endless supplies of food to keep them quiet in the car, I made these I-spy bags to hopefully keep their little hands occupied for while. 

Each containing the same (of course!) random assortment of items hidden amongst the polystyrene beads, the bags should hopefully provide some tactile entertainment, as well as the obvious who can find it first competitions.  The girls seem to have enjoyed them on the first outing today anyway.  So far so good.

They were made from a 9" x 18" rectangle of interiors fabric from Ikea, with a 2.5" square cut and turned back to make a 3.5" window.  A square of clear plastic tablecloth was then sewn in the window - I went around it three times, just to ensure the beads stay firmly inside the bag.

I then folded in half, sewed around the edges (leaving about 3" for turning), turned it right side out, pressed, topstiched around the edges (apart from the 3" gap), filled with the goodies, and topstitched the gap closed.  It definitely needed a lot fewer polystyrene beads than I expected - I had to unpick twice and remove some, as the goodies inside couldn't be seen when it was stuffed too full, much to the consternation of my four year old.

I have to admit I saw this idea on somebody's tutorial, way back in the mists of time, and can no longer remember where that was, so apologies to wherever they are due, and also thank you!

Tissue cosy gifts

I think I might be onto something.  Wouldn't these cute little tissue cosies make a lovely end of year teacher's gift?  You know, made up in apple for the teacher fabric?

I made this one up following a great tutorial from Don't Look Now, using a remnant from my Royal wedding skirts.  I realise now that my handbag tissues have been positively slumming it up until this point.

We have at least 7 teachers to provide for.  I'm off to scour eBay for suitable appley fabric.

Flower wrist cuff pincushion

I am constantly flitting between the sewing machine in my office, the ironing board in the sitting room, and the dining room table for pattern cutting, etc, and en route I inevitably misplace my sewing paraphernalia.  Well, no more!  May I present my new BFF in the sewing room - my wrist pin cushion!  Barely two days old, and already I know we're going to be inseparable through sewing triumphs and disasters for years to come. 

Following the pincushion cuff tutorial at Keyka Lou, I used a scrap of Amy Butler fabric for the pincushion itself, and a cute interiors fabric from Ikea for the wristband.  I slipped a piece of card (held in place with double-sided tape) inside the wristband behind where the pincushion would sit before stitching closed, so no pin-perforated wrists for me!  It seemed a bit tricky to neatly stitch the pincushion onto the stiff cuff, so I did a teensy cheat and hot-glued it on, which seems plenty sturdy enough so far.  The only other change I made was to sew the velcro on lengthways instead of widthways, to make it more adjustable for a perfect fit.

My mind is now racing at the thought of what other sewing equipment I can carry about my person to save even further time and exasperation.  I am definitely going to attach some small scissors to a ribbon to hang around my neck, but what after that?  A sewing utility belt of some kind?  A glue gun holster??  A step too far maybe...

Overcoming my dressmaking fears III

Having done some minor pattern alteration I was ready to put together a test garment, which could potentially be the start of a whole new level of sewing for me.  Exciting times loom ahead in my little craft room!

At the outset, my best hopes were that I would merely be able to follow the instructions and produce a wearable item, but by methodically working through each step it actually came together relatively painlessly.

By far the most fascinating and novel part of the process was seeing how the darts shape the fabric to create the 3D curves needed, in a way that is obviously not required for constructing children's clothing.  Of course I also recognise that this will be where the challenges lie, but for now I'll focus on the fascination and try not to think about the hair-tearing-out sessions ahead.

So, the end result is that I have a handmade dress...of sorts.  Bed sheet chic - ooh la la!

I am now in a dilemma as to what to do next.  It fits...kind of.  In fact, it fits better than some dresses I've bought, but it's not right.  I tweaked the darts at the back, but it's still a little wrinkled.  I moved the shoulder seam as everything I ever buy is too long for me between bust and shoulder, and it was an improvement, but that adjustment has probably thrown the placement of the bust darts.  It feels a bit wide overall between bust and shoulder, although according to my full bust and also high bust measurements I have cut out the correct size.  An experienced dressmaker would probably identify another dozen issues, but these are the obvious ones to me.

Despite its faults, if it were made up in a nice fabric and finished properly I think it would be a wearable dress, which was all I initially hoped for, but I think I may have inadvertently moved the goal posts.  I now want it to be a great dress, which is clearly an unrealistic expectation for a first attempt.

My options are to a) make it up in the nice fabric (a gorgeous blue floral Amy Butler number since you ask), call it my everyone-has-to-start-somewhere dress, wear it and love it; b) experiment with more/alternative adjustments with this or another toile or c) try my luck with a different pattern altogether.

I may revert to the safety of one of my many projects planned for the girls while I mull it over.

Royal Wedding Skirts

Lurking in the remnant bin at John Lewis I found a piece of fabric to commemorate the Royal Wedding.  It cost about £5 and looked to be just enough to run up a couple of skirts for two little princesses to wear to the street party today.

These were such easy skirts to make, and light and comfortable to wear.  It is a very simple rectangle of fabric, joined at the short edges to make a tube.  I then turned over a narrow hem at the top, and did several (6/7) lines of shirring, using the edge of the presser foot as a guide.  I dampened the shirring and pressed, to shrink it up, then hemmed the bottom, adding on a band of organza to trim, and it's done!

Overcoming my dressmaking fears II

With the pattern spread out in front of me, the theory started to become clearer.

I carefully took my measurements, and, after initially swallowing my pride at suddenly gaining a couple of dress sizes (!), I traced around the size 12. I am basically an hourglass shape, but the pattern allows for the hip measurement to be a couple of inchs larger than the bust, so I traced around the size 10 from the hips down, and "blended" the outlines together between the hips and waist.

I know I am short waisted, so after holding the cut out tissue pattern up to my body, I estimated a 1" adjustment to the waist, which was made by folding and taping the pattern at the appropriate line.

So far so good.

Now came the difficult part. Being bothered to make a toile to test my pattern. I'm usually more of a jump right in kind of a person, but feeling acutely aware of how out of my depth I am, I dug out some spare bed sheets and got on with the task at hand.

Overcoming my dressmaking fears

I've always loved making stuff. I'm usually keen to give anything a go, but my creative focus always returns to sewing in the end.

The one thing I have always shied away from, however, is making clothes for myself, which in a way seems ridiculous as I am mildly obsessed with clothes.

I think I have previously been deterred because I always assumed that a handmade dress wouldn't suit or fit me well enough. I am the kind of person who slip stitches trouser pockets closed to give a better line, or takes up a skirt hem by just 1" for a better proportion. And the older I get, the pickier I become about the fit of my clothes.

What hadn't occurred to me is that this pickiness is precisely the reason why I should be making my own clothes.

I knew that it was possible to adjust commercial patterns, but it all seemed a bit hit and miss, not to mention intimidating. Spurred on by my latest fabric purchase though, along with a healthy dose of curiosity I have unearthed my easy New Look 6643 pattern (purchased some months ago and promptly filed under "D" for "Don't even think about it"), ready for some serious action, more on which in the next post.

I won!

I'm currently experiencing that heady mix of excitement and guilt that often accompanies a purchase. A big one.

I have just won an eBay auction for....a Bernina 830 sewing machine...whoop whoop, etc!!

I've been lusting after one for ages, but made a pact with myself that I had to earn enough money in my PayPal account to pay for it. After weeks of furiously decluttering and eBaying I was pretty much there, so with a racing pulse I put in my bid 10 seconds before the auction end, and won!

Now I have to play the waiting game, and hope that it arrives safe and sound.

Meanwhile I will be planning some lovely new sewing projects to put it through its paces. And enjoying my newly decluttered wardrobe. I think I might love eBay a little bit too much.

Oops I went fabric shopping again

After a long day spent at the computer, I succumbed to a little (read: a little too much) fabric shopping.

With an office-come-workshop already bursting at the seams with fabric, and no time to tackle a tenth of the projects whirling around my over-excited brain, this was most definitely a bad move....but....they made me fall in love with them...

My name is Figgy and I am a fabric addict.

Here is the (optimistic) plan anyway:

1. Ashley Kidson - love the bright retro feel and I'm thinking of summer dresses for the girls
2. Poplin Print Say it with flowers - again, totally 50s retro, and I have a skirt pattern in mind from a back issue of Ottobre for which this would be perfect:
3. Poplin Print Strawberries & Cream - I had the last metre of this (sorry!) but it will be put to good use, probably as a summer nightdress for Eva (who is sooo girly right now that even pyjama trousers are completely out of favour)
4. Guince - this one is for me, rather foolishly, since I have never made clothes for myself before, but lying in my bed tonight I will be dreaming about wafting around a sunkissed meadow wearing a fabulous handmade maxi dress. How hard can it be?
   

Toddler wedding bibs

Here is the only hastily captured picture of the bibs I made for the girls to wear at the wedding breakfast (complete with hotel carpet background).

Indeed this is the only evidence that the bibs ever existed, since they have now disappeared into the ether. Excessive alcohol consumption + chasing sleep-deprived, sugar-fuelled daughters around all day = distinct lack of care of personal possessions. Frankly I'm amazed I even made it home with my handbag and house keys.

Nevertheless, a fabulous day was had by all, the bride was beautiful, the girls just about managed to perform their flower girl duties without taking out anyone's eye with their flower wands, and the bibs were a hit, although nothing short of a miracle could have prevented Bethan from giving herself an ice-cream beard during the speeches.

The bib design was based on one of their current plastic bibs, but made slightly wider and much longer to protect the skirts of their adorable dresses. The fabric I used was a delicate Peter Rabbit toile, backed with a white brushed cotton. They were finished with topstitching around the edges and a satin bow. My intention was for it not to be noticeable that they were wearing bibs, and I think it worked out pretty well. Until they got covered in chocolate ice-cream of course.

Unfinished ribbon embroidery

I wish I could claim this unfinished embroidery as my own work. Alas, my only input so far has been to rescue it from the miscellaneous junk pile in a charity shop.

Upon first sight I knew it had to be mine, and although I have no idea what to do with it just yet, I think it's always best to follow your instincts in such matters and part with some cash, pronto.


Not very much cash as it happens, which is the first of my regrets about this purchase. With hindsight, I should have given the charity shop more than the measly £1 they were asking. It came with all the materials to complete it, plus an embroidery hoop, and I am feeling distinctly Scrooge-like.

My other regret is that I didn't ask if they knew anything of its history. I would love to know who started this project and why it was abandoned part way through. I wonder if the torn front cover picture has a story to tell?

It will have to remain a mystery, and in a way I guess this adds to its appeal. I now have to decide what to do with it. Apart from add it to my mountainous pile of works in progress that is. Eeep!

Wedding Shoe Clips

From perfectly nice, but rather plain satin shoes...

... to something a little more glamorous, and certainly more suited to the lovely mother of the bride.

As the lone crafter in the family, my mother in law commissioned me to turn the plain jane shoes into something more befitting her fabulous wedding outfit. Pressure!!

Made from matching silk I finished these shoe clips with a vintage Japanese pearl cabochon.

When I emailed a picture of my first attempt to my mother in law to see if she liked them and wanted me to continue, this was her reply:

"The shoe design is marvellous. I love, love, love them! If you can make those I would be delighted. Can you try? You are a wonder!"

What a lovely response! She has been in somewhat of a panic about finding the perfect shoes to go with her outfit, so I think she is delighted to finally solve the problem, with only days left to spare.

The usual recipients of my crafting efforts are the girls, who are most likely to run straight into the garden and cover their lovingly created designs in mud, so I'm basking in the warm and fuzzy glow of appreciation right now...I am a wonder...oh yeah...

Bridesmaid rose hair clips

The most anticipated British wedding of the century is almost upon us**. Yes, my sister in law and her fiance are tying the knot in two weeks time - hurrah!

My two little angels (...please, please let them behave like angels...just for one day) are the flower girls.

They have utterly adorable 50s style dresses by Jasper Conran complete with skirts just crying out to be twirled, satin beaded ballet pumps, ivory butterfly party tights and now finally handmade rose hair clips. I don't know why I put it off for so long as they only took a few minutes really.

The only thing left to do now is to make some sort of cover up to prevent those dresses getting covered in an array of samples from the wedding breakfast. Turns out two and four year olds are pretty messy eaters - who knew?


** Other British (and possibly more Royal) weddings may also be available.

Happy Valentine's Day

Following Dana from Made's cute tutorial I made these little Valentine pouches for the three loves in my life.

Clearly I didn't follow the instructions very well, as I have the hearts on the wrong side, and I also used stick-on velcro rather than its sturdier sew-on companion (and thus far, the stick on version is not standing up well to the rigours of pre-schooler enthusiasm), but I was seriously pushed for time, so I'm going to let myself off the hook on this occasion.

The main thing is that they were filled with M&Ms, so with mouths pleasingly full of chocolate, nobody seemed to notice my shoddy workmanship.