Scooter Basket

This make is full of mistakes but I am really proud of it and think it looks fab! 

I was inspired by the bike basket post from UCreate's Fat Quarter series.  The same week, E told me how much she liked a plastic basket on another child's scooter.  And, I had some of this fabric left over from a tablecloth.  Serendipity.

The fabric is from Ikea and is actually upholstery fabric.  The twill weave and slightly water-repellent texture make it perfect for bags. 

I didn't follow the original instructions entirely, I wasn't using a fat quarter so I cut my sides as one long rectangle with a single seam at the back.  I cut the base as a rectangle with rounded sides.  I also used two layers of heavyweight interfacing for structure, instead of the plastic embroidery mesh, and I sewed the lining to the inside as I don't have hot glue.

The straps are just folded over lengthwise and sewn on 2 sides, I then inserted them into the top seam as I stitched the lining to the outer layer.  I really should have researched some proper bag-making instructions for the lining attachment.  Instead, I got really lazy and just top-stitched the back of the top closed.  I am sure there is a better way, but I was getting worried about too much turning making that lovely, stiff interfacing soften.  Plus, hey, it's a child's toy and it is going to say nice for about 5 whole minutes so why stress over perfection?

I lined the basket with leftover red spot fabric.  Red is the favourite colour of the moment.  I love it when E gets involved in choosing her materials.

The Velcro is sewn over the top because I accidentally bought stick-on (non-brand) Velcro which was dreadful.  It sticks harder to itself than the surface, then when I tried to stitch it in place, the adhesive got stuck all through my machine needle, including the eye, and tangled in all the thread.  It was a mess.  I'm giving that "hook and loop tape" to the kids for crafts.  I salvaged some patches of Velcro from my pile of men's shirts and used that instead.

Final cost: £3.00 for 1m of interfacing (lots left over); £1.50 for dud hook-and-loop-tape = £4.50 for gorgeous, custom, way-nicer-than-plastic, scooter basket!

Planning new projects (a.k.a. fabric shopping!)

I've had a bit of a fabric and pattern buying spree recently.

First up, this cute print for dresses for the girls:

I also got 3 fat quarters to use as a contrast.  I planned to make the Oliver & S Popover Sundress but then I saw the top that Compagnie M is getting tested and I am tempted to change my plans.  Now, here is the critical question: using the starburst fabric for the main part of the top, how would you arrange the fabric for the bib?
 a. starburst all over with contrast piping (as on CM page)
 b. colour bib with contrast piping
 c. colour bib with same colour piping
 d. white bib with contrast piping

I waver a lot, but at the moment, I think I would go for b.

Now, on to some sewing for me.

I'm going to go for it and make this top first:

Apologies for the overexposed picture.  I'm starting with this mainly due to the seasons but I'm not really experienced enough because, yikes, it is chiffon! I'm not ready to tackle such a difficult fabric and what is going on with the Burda pattern?  I was grateful to see they include a seam allowance but why don't they have a sizing guide?  I bought this pattern for the jacket but I really like all the elements and I think the will look great in this turquoise floral print chiffon.  If only I can get the size right.  And the seam finishes.  And cut it without it moving.  And sew it straight.  Easy peasy!

In case it all goes horribly wrong, I am really looking forward to wearing this:

I got this pattern as a contender for the navy spot sundress and version C, long-sleeve, in a printed knit, has stuck in my mind ever since.  This fabric was a bargain and actually looks really great.  It is not too thin, is a nice weight, and I hope it is going to make a great version of this dress.  Again, it's a challenging fabric, but I might as well get on with it and sink or swim.  I'm planning on skipping the back zip, since it is a stretch fabric.  That way, I can avoid having to pattern match across a back seam, not to mention avoid installing a zip!

Winter workwear next:

This pinstripe is a wool mix and one of my favourite colours.  I had to grab a meter and I expect I can get out of it what I need for a skirt.  I won't be making my version as long as the picture.  I now have two patterns for skirts but this one has fewer seams, which will work better for a pinstripe.  The print fabric is going to be the lining.  Hopefully it will be a pretty easy, fast make.  I'm still not sure about this Burda pattern though - where is my layout diagram?

Last but not least, a dress and a jacket:

 

This grey flannel is exactly what I have been thinking about ever since I got this pattern.  It is really soft and will be lovely to wear but I am not entirely sure that it is going to work well in a garment. There is a lot of movement and drape in the fabric and it is heavy so I am not sure it will work for tailored garments.  I am telling myself that it seems like a blanket because I have 3 meters folded up so, right now, it is a blanket!

 

The dress pattern is the one I used for the navy spot sundress but I am going to make version D, the one in the photo, with the collar and sleeves.  I'm wondering if I could tape the pattern pieces together to omit the seam across the waist.  Can I do that?  Would it pull the dress out of shape?  It would be nice to have the option to wear it without a belt.

 

Finally, I'll show you this children's vintage pattern:

 

I haven't got any fabric in mind for it yet, I haven't even looked at it properly.  When I showed E, she said she didn't like it.  But I figured it is handy to have, even if I just use the sleeve pattern now and then.  I don't think I will ever make the full version, I don't expect a child would enjoy wearing such a high collar.  It's a cute 60s effect though.

 

Of course, I will be back to show you how I get on with all these projects...

A pile of old shirts... Upcycling

I have a few ideas about what to do with these cast off shirts.

1. Knock off Cath Kidston dress
2. Ruffle skirt
3. Olivia Top
4. Winter pinafore
5. One of my all time favourite projects: this polka dot dress
6. Waistband for tulle skirt
7. Upcycling board on Pinterest
8. Experiment with bleach
9. Linings & facings
10. Toiles

Anyone else with ideas to share?  (Any colour, as long as it's blue!)

Mosaic Mirror

E made this mosaic mirror at a party.

They stuck the mosaic tiles to an Ikea mirror.  She says they were upside down with the flat side out.  They were told not to stick them too close together.  The party co-ordinator grouted them afterwards with plaster of Paris.

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Navy polka dot fabric roundup

I got a LOT out of this 4m of fabric:
1 x adult dress
2 x child skirts
1 x child dress
1 x child top

Total cost: £14.40 = £2.88 per garment

Although I love the print, the quality of the fabric is reflected in the price: it is very see-through, not very soft, and the dye is fading fast in the wash.  

Never mind, after looking at them for this long, I am almost over my spot-obsession!

Bead necklaces

We have a new discount store in town and I couldn't resist these wooden beads for the girls.  They set about threading their necklaces immediately.

Fabric Bunting

This bunting (a.k.a. garland, pennants) is very sentimental to me.  It marks my official re-entry into sewing.  I was inspired to buy a (very cheap) sewing machine, shopped online for fabric and bias binding and did some web research for construction inspiration.

Bunting is pretty much an English/British institution and it is so, so popular.  With the Queen's Jubilee and the London Olympics, 2012 was the year of bunting.  But everything available in the shops is either made of paper or plastic and none of it is more than 10 flags long.  If you can even find fabric, it is really expensive.

That's not to say that my string came out cheap, I probably paid about £35 for fabric, binding and shipping (not counting tools like pinking shears and tailor's chalk) and it took me a month of evenings to cut out and sew it up.  But I do have over 30m of the cutest bunting ever!

I made it for a 5th birthday which we were hosting at a venue.  Pink, pink and more pink was in demand.  We were using a pretty drab conference room with nasty curtains and lots of veneer panelling, so it need some dressing.  The bunting fit around 3 entire walls of the room with only the doors to the garden not covered.  We were lucky that the venue were really relaxed about us hanging things.  In fact, they had a pinboard rail mounted high up for this purpose.  (These things are worth checking before you spend a month sewing 30m of bunting but I didn't and was just lucky.)  The party room pictures are still pretty blah so I've posted a different picture taken when we hung the bunting at home for the actual birthday day.  Since then, it has also decorated other party venues including a local cafe, our garden and a booth at the school fair.  (It went to a friend's wedding but it was a bit too pink for their taste.)

I cut myself a cardboard template for the flags, they are 20cm wide at the top and 25cm long.  I traced around the template with tailor's chalk and then cut out the flags with pinking shears.  A rotary cutter with ruler would have made this part of the job faster.  I then sewed the two long sides, trimmed the corner, turned right side out and poked out the corners with a knitting needle before pressing flat.  (Actually, I pressed the seams flat inside first and then pressed the outside.)

Since I was making double sided flags, I got about 4-5 flags out of .5m of fabric.  Single sided works fine and you get twice as many flags with about half the work. You could also use a cheaper, plain fabric for the backs of the flags and save the prints for the front.  I wanted it to be double-sided so I could hang it through the centre of a room. 

I chose polycotton from Online Fabrics because they had a great range of prints and they sold by the .5m so I could get more prints into the string.

I sewed each flag to the binding at intervals of 10cm.  Tip: fold the next flag in 1/2 and you have the distance between each space.  I have to confess that the zig-zag stitch idea wasn't mine.  During my research, I came across Sew Sweet Violet on Etsy.  If you want to buy some gorgeous fabric bunting, buy from her.  The running zig-zag is very forgiving when you sew out of alignment and the contrast thread adds extra interest to the string.  The binding gets folded in half and the raw edge of the flag attached inside.  I didn't press the binding in half before I pinned but you would need to with very fine binding.  Actually, sewing tape, ribbon, or strips cut on the straight grain would probably be a more practical string for the bunting, bias tape stretches more and curves away as you sew.  Violet also does the most gorgeous ends on her bunting.  Needless to say, I did not make padded shapes to dangle from the ends, but I should have.

After I made the length I needed for the party (ie, filled a whole roll of binding), I went to town and appliqued their names on a string each.  I had to buy heavier, quilting weight cotton for this, applied spray starch and also used a sheet of tissue paper to stop the stitches from forming a tunnel.  The final applique still has a bit of puckering around the letters, but it is not too noticable when it is hung up.  

I drew the letters freehand with chalk and cut them out on scraps from the main string.  Then I made up each flag in the same way as before.  I added one flag at each end in the same fabric as the letters.

I did another bunting project for the aforementioned wedding and my friend did a superb job sourcing all kinds of odds and ends of free fabric for her flags.  I ended up working with a book of curtain/upholstery samples, men's shirts, pajama bottoms and a floral top from the charity shop.  It was fun seeing it all come together on the day.

Nautical top from E&E playsuit

Thank you to Elegance & Elephants for this playsuit pattern and tutorial for turning it into a top (and trousers).

I combined elements of the separates tutorial with elements of the playsuit bodice construction for this top.  I love (love!) the inverted pleat on the front, it looks so smart and crisp and is a great design element.  I would, however, make the stitching at the top and bottom of the pleat a little longer.  I only just got the stitching included before the hem and the top of my pleat has ended up about the length of the facing, which I really like.  (Full disclosure: I accidentally made a nick in the fabric when I was snipping threads so I had to lengthen the stitching at the top to enclose the nick – luckily it was only a small one!)   

I added length to the top as per the tutorial (and then some), but only increased the width by 2cm on the fold (so 4cm total), I cut out the angle along the side and just made it an A-line shape.  I had to take my seam allowances down to 1cm to make sure it would fit her.

I used my plain, white cotton for the facing and red bias binding for the ties.  I top stitched the bias binding along both sides so that it wouldn’t stretch.  I really like the white touches on both because I think it enhances the red, white and blue theme that I was going for.

Now, where has that summer weather gone?

Rhubarb and apple pie

Gap-inspired nautical top / dress (and tutorial)

I saw this top in the window of Gap Kids and had two thoughts: 1) I love it; and 2) I could make that.

So I did.  Here’s how:

Making the bodice / band piece

Cutting out

1.       Using your child’s chest measurement, add 1cm for ease and 3cm for seam allowance = total band width.

2.       Cut two strips of fabric: total band width x 7cm

3.       Measure distance over your child’s shoulder, from band to band.  Add seam allowance = shoulder strap length.

4.       Cut 4 strips of shoulder strap length x 6cm.

Now you have 6 pieces, 2 for the band and 4 for the shoulder straps:

Assembling shoulder straps

You can use anything for the piping: purchased piping with cording, flat piping, bias binding, or strips of fabric cut on the grain.  I used home-made bias binding made from the red spot fabric.  Because of the spot, it looks a bit of a mess on the wrong side which is covered with white spots.  Please excuse this, the right side has come out as plain red (re-use, recycle, right?)   

You’re going to make a “sandwich” of fabric, piping and facing and sew through all the layers, right sides together.  

Fold your strips of piping in half, wrong sides together, and pin to right side of shoulder strap. 

You can baste it in place at this point if you like.

Lie the facing piece of your strap on top of all the layers, right sides together.  Move pins to the top of the “sandwich”.  Sew in place along each long side.  Turn right sides out.  Press.

You should have two shoulder straps, with piping down each side.  Short ends are unfinished:

Assembling band and straps

For the bodice band, baste the piping to the outside piece only.  Don't add the facing yet.

Pin your shoulder straps to the right side of the fabric.  They should be on an angle at the back.  (I had to re-do mine after I took this photo).    It is a good idea to get the measuring tape against your kiddo's chest to get the measurement you want between the straps.

The original top has straps which cross at the back, with an elasticized panel so the top pulls over the child's head.  You could do this if you are using a stretch fabric, adding shirring or by using button fastenings for the shoulder straps.  I went for plain over the shoulder for this first attempt.

Before you stitch, add the facing fabric to the "sandwich", right sides together:

Sew one continuous stitch along one short edge, the top row (through the shoulder straps) and other short edge, turning at each corner.  Leave the bottom long edge open, this is where you will insert the skirt.  Trim the corners, turn right side out.  Press.

This is the time to have your child try on the band bodice so you can check the placement of the straps and adjust if necessary.  (This was when I discovered how much of an angle I needed for the back of the straps.)  While they are wearing it, take the chance to measure how long you want your top/tunic/dress to be and note the measurement from the band to the hem.

Attaching the skirt

Add seam allowance plus hem allowance to the length you want.  Cut one rectangular piece of fabric of this total length. 

I was making a dress so I used the full width of the fabric and sewed selvedge to selvedge.  For a top, you would probably want less fullness so take out a section of width.

Fold your fabric in half, right sides together and sew a seam up the back of the garment.  Leave a 10cm gap at the top.  Press seams flat and finish edges if needed.   

Gather or pleat your skirt piece so that the circumference fits into the band.

Attach your skirt inside the band to the facing.  Wrong side of skirt is upside down and against right side of facing.  

If you like topstitching, you can topstitch the front of the band to the skirt.  I hand sewed, underneath the piping, to secure the front of the band.

Create a single fastening at the back using your favourite method (button, loop, snap, hook & eye, ribbon ties).  I had this single button from my grandmother's button stash which was just perfect for this project.

Hem, and you're done.

Here is mine, side by side with the original:

Not too bad, if I do say so myself!  And, she likes it...

Little Spotted Sundress

This little dress came together really quickly (for me!).

I used the tutorial for the Penny Dress for the pattern drafting and advice on where to place the split.  I edged the bodice with an exposed bias facing.

Notes for next time, I should have lined the bodice, especially for the white fabric, it is a bit thin and shows the creases easily.

I measured her really carefully and we had a try-on before I placed the buttons but it has still come out very large.  Not sure why.

I am especially pleased with the covered buttons at the back.

Cost: £11.98.  (Anything else I make with this fabric is going to be £0.00!)

Gingerbread House Birthday Cake

Yes, I know it is not Christmas but if the 6 yo wants a Gingerbread House for her birthday, then that is what the lady gets!

Even without the festive cheer, I did have fun making this.  I like to give myself about 3 days to make a gingerbread house to allow for overnight chilling of the mixture and another night for setting of the icing, then decorating on the 3^rd day.

I used this gingerbread recipe from Butter Hearts Sugar, and a lot of her decorating ideas too.  I devised my own template from merging lots of internet browsing of other’s templates.  I used a Woman’s Weekly recipe for the royal icing, and, yes, I use real egg whites instead of meringue powder.  It doesn’t come out as smooth and glossy as the powder but, here in the UK, I have only found the powder available by mail order and it is pretty expensive.

I went a bit mad buying sweets for this cake.  You can't see most of them because I filled the inside, like a treasure chest.  On impulse, I also bought a can of this silver spray glitter, not knowing quite how I might use it.  But, once I started, I couldn't stop and I ended up spraying (and re-spraying!) all the walls and roof silver.  It helped to hide my uneven mixing and baking on the finished surfaces.  The red roof tiles are string candy, cut into smaller lengths and fastened only at each end with the loops hanging loose.  I loved the idea of making heart shapes from candy canes so I saved some from Christmas and also used them for the windowsills.  I always run out of patience when I am piping icing so I didn’t make the edges as pretty as most other cakes, I just stuck silver balls along the mortar lines instead.

E was very pleased with her cake, it was what she ordered after all.  Putting the candles along the ridgepole was fun and added more height and drama.  They would also look cute planted in the garden.   

Bonus: it was so easy to serve, just break off a chunk and grab a handful of candy.

Ruffle Sorbetto

I had to make something for myself from this red spot fabric.  I went for my second Sorbetto.

Here’s how I added the ruffle to the front pleat:

1. Cut out pattern pieces

2.  Sew centre seam into pleat and press.  Don't baste pleat to top and bottom of front bodice.

3. Cut strips of fabric for ruffle.  My length is 1.5 times the length of the pleat.

4. Hem one side of ruffle, gather other side.

5. Baste under pressed pleat.

6. Top stitch through all the layers of front bodice, ruffle and pleat to secure.

7. Staystich top and bottom of front bodice through ruffle and pleat to hold in place while you finish the neckline and hem.

I could have made the centre pleat a little narrower, and/or added more rows of top stitching down the pleat.  I seamed over the ruffle at the top and bottom to anchor it to the garment, but it could be hemmed and left open too.

Again, I should lengthen this top.  I added 1cm, but I think it needs another inch: 3.5cm total.  I’ve removed 1.5cm from the bottom of each armhole, and I added two darts in the back, after I took these photos.

Cost: £11.92 (1/3 of red spot fabric project costs)

Next project for this fabric: another little girl’s dress.