Such a Pretty Skirt!

And it only cost me 50c!
Yes, 50c people.. that's all it cost! And it's cute, it's practical and it's easy!
I could bang on and apologise about my lack of posting, talk about study (finished three assessments all due in a week of each other, by the way!), work, kids and the fact that it means the hobby (or, the secondary hobby, blogging) gets pushed to the wayside while I feverishly try to look up references to back up what I've written in my assignments - but I won't bore you. ;)

I've actually made a few things in the last couple of weeks including a skirt for me that I cannot get a good photo of.. which got me loads of compliments from co-workers and friends who didn't know I'd sewn it myself. I also made a pretty little skirt for Eva, it's a repurpose and I followed Craftiness is not Optional's tutorial for the Blowing Kisses Skirt. Hence the cost of 50c, because, you see, I picked the shirt up from an Opshop for just 50c.. it was the perfect material for the job.

Way too small for me, Way too big for Eva.. Perfect for a repurpose.

And I had some fleece in my stash that would do the trick for the reverse applique. :D It took me the longest to fix my loose bobbin issue than it did to sew the hearts, and eventually I worked out the best way to sew the waistband on the stretch knit that the shirt is (The answer is to stretch it as you go) and, by gosh it's a cute result.

Awwww!

I really like it, I want one for me (I say that every time, don't I!) And Eva likes it too.. without prompting she put it on and said to her big brother "My love my skirt... Mummy made it!" It made my heart happy to hear that, a lot!

Now those with kids would know and appreciate that without a very decent camera, taking a photo of children isn't the easiest thing to do.. So I did my best, and she did her best posing too.

Great, practical skirt for jumping!

And for posing sweetly.

Such a cute skirt and so very easy to do, and not to mention cheap! I'll be trying some more reverse appliques with different patterns, most definitely!

Study Break.

Hi there blog. I haven't forgotten you, I haven't forgotten about sewing either.. I got busy.. I'm still busy but there's road works, kids TV and two munchkins hanging nearby so I'm not in the right space to finish the essay and the other two assessments.. I'll get there soon though!

I did, however, decide if I couldn't do a good essay job, I probably could do a good sewing job! Just as well because I felt I was neglecting my hobby and I really wanted to get onto something before winter went away- it's already getting warm through some days!

As I mentioned in the last entry, my not-so-baby boy turned 5 recently. His Aunty Becca posted up a present for him and a meter of printed flannel for me to "make him something"

Yarr!

 And the very same afternoon I just so happened to be walking past a winter clearance rack and picked up a jumper in the next size up (to last an extra cold season!)

Got the mind ticking...

Becca had suggested I might like to add a hood to a jumper, or something.. so I did just that.

I love this kid :D

(And yes, those who know me "in real life" I have a sewing space finally!)
But it wasn't quite done, I mean I had a heap of the material left and it seemed too easy..  so I cut a chunk from the middle of the sleeves and added some material to them too!

Always a goof!

He LOVES his new "Pirate Jumper" :D And I'm a bit partial to it too! It seems that it'll make a good jumper/sweater repurpose when things get holey or a little too small. I will definitely be doing this again! It looks way too cute, really.. and meant to be!

But I wasn't done! Still with a good amount of material and another thought in mind, I quickly cut and whipped up a pair of PJ pants... he loves those too! And they're super easy to make!

More super-silly.

He's going to be a bit warmer for the rest of this season, and onto next.. thanks to Aunty Becca!

Feeling Stitchy!

I haven't updated for a week and a half - I actually haven't sewed for a week and a half! I was feeling quite stitchy by today.. but I've been busy! In the week my beautiful, delightful, thoughtful, caring son turned 5! Amazing that next year I'll have a school kid - I still wait every day for that knock on the door from.. whoever.. to say "Oh my goodness, we made a mistake, we weren't meant to give you a child.. sorry for the muddle, we'll take them back now." But that hasn't happened yet.. thankfully because, truth be told, I've grown attached to the wee midgets. Just a little. ;)

So after a week and a half preparing for the monster party, and heading back to work from holidays and studying away I was feeling pretty stitchy. And today, with it blowing a gale outside as it does in Brisbane while we head back into warmer weather, I thought it'd be the perfect day to just sew -something-

I came across a couple of  strips of material in my stash - nothing to do much productive with alone, but nice colours. And that's when I started ticking. Hot on the heels (hemline?) of my gored skirt, I thought I can make another - for Eva!

The material was perfect for colour matching and the perfect width, I just cut it to the length and sewed the panels together. I love this skirt, it's so cute it hurts. Eva's very pleased with it too- she's a great critic. As soon as I held it up, she whipped off her pants and asked to put the "very-booful!" skirt on. And then clawed at the door so we could go outside and I could get some photos.. she knows how her mummy works.

Yay for leaves and cute skirts! (slightly off centre)

 She had a ball heading out there and throwing around the leaves!

Oh I love it. I want one for me.

I may have to embelish the shirt so it matches, or make a headband.. For now she's bringing over the scraps and asking me to make more skirts for her friends!

Holy Cow! Or is that holey socks..?

I had a problem, I actually had 3.
I have a girl who toilet trained earlier than expected - which isn't a big problem until the next..
I have shirts, Eva's size and a bit bigger, that have snaps to do up between her legs, again, not a problem unless combined with above.
I have the cutest, kiwi, crew socks that have holes in them. Big problem. :(
Now, The Husband implored me to throw out the socks, in his opinion they were stupid looking, they had holes and they were toe-socks. Perfect candidate for trash, says he. They are cute, warm and were a gift from NZ. Perfect candidate for doing something with, says I.

Here are my problems.

Really, could YOU throw out those socks?

I had a friend making way-cute baby legs by repurposing long socks but I wasn't sure if that was the solution for my socks, Eva doesn't wear nappies and she prefers tights under her skirts (No really, she loves to wear tights and skirts) so then I had a brain wave. Use both my clothing problems to make a pyjama shirt. Oh yes, yes I did.

First I cut off the bits I didn't need, just above the highest hole on the socks and just above the leg.. binding... bit, you know what I mean.

I hemmed the bottom of the shirt and then set to work finding out the best way to attach the socks to the arms, to do this the exact same way I did, do the opposite of how I explain it, and then sit on the couch and unpick it, sighing loudly and try again. ;)

Keep the shirt the right side out, turn the sock tube inside out and slip it over the sleeve with the cut end closest to the sleeve cuff, then sew around the sleeve cuff.

Big yays for Sharon for showing me how to sew
tight, small circles like this.

Repeat with the other sleeve, turn it all the right way and put it on your awaiting model!

Big grins from the rosie-cheeked teether
who also has a cold.

And the all-important "pretend you're sleeping!" shot

Sure, the kiwis are upside down, but if you have socks with no patterns it'd work even better! And besides, they're just PJs! :)

Problems solved!

And hey, it's a bit of a tutorial, innit it? :D

Eye Spy a Shirt and a Silly Hat.

I've been sewing away on a few different things, as you do. I could rabbit on about each project or I could do a pic-post and post a couple of pictures and some things about what I've been doing for the last fortnight or so.

When I was on a beanie spree a couple of weeks ago I made one more for a little belly-babe who was still baking away. Lucille's on the outside now so I can share the beanie or silly hat!

I promise you she was impressed!

Some will argue that the best part of the silly hat was my pre-baby model...

Woof! I liked making this beanie, it was a quick sew of two rectangles with the little thingies in the corner. Very technical, aren't I.

I found this very retro polo in an oppie, I had to buy it, it was $3 and it reminded me so much of my childhood, my dad.. I'm sure it's something he would've had in the wardrobe (or still does!), the soft knit fabric, brown with retro stripes.

Much like the sweater dress, I just put one of Cobey's shirts over the top of this one, traced around then sewed, it doesn't take me long to do these- I did this in a morning before we were due to leave and he was to wear it.

It looks so sweet on him, I love how the stripes sit lower than the original and feels good too. I made it slightly too big so it'll last a little longer and through the summer.

And the Lucky Last thing to post about is yet another present. Today we celebrated a good friend's 4th birthday! I had seen an Eye-Spy tube years ago and with my son's I Spy book obsession I had been meaning to make an Eye-Spy bag for ages- so with Stella's birthday coming it seemed like a great age for the gift!

I used various little things and rice for the inside, and fleece and clear PVC for the outside. I didn't need a tutorial, it was fairly straight forward!

Taking a photo of all the bits and bobs and writing the poem was what took me the longest!

I just know I'm going to be making a few more of these, for presents and for long car trips as the kids get older! Bound to keep the squidlets quiet for a while!

Is it a bird?

Have you had someone gift you some material that you're not entirely sure of what to do with it because.. well.. because it's a bit ugly? And, let's face it, since getting your sewing machine you've realised that you're quite the pack-rat when it comes to material.

Here's an idea, turn it into a super hero cape and gift it to your child's day care!

They're nice mermaids.. but really..

And the action super girls!

At least at the day care, the children can wear it (and they don't care what it looks like) and you don't need to look at it! Win-Win!

All in a day's work!

There were some dramas, this blog post was meant to be posted last night but something terrible happened - my laptop died. Thankfully we were able to operate and and saved the hard drive so I have my precious favourites and pictures, but, yes sadly, my laptop is dead.
There were some photos I really wanted - photos for this very blog entry.. and now they're back to being available (as the hard drive hangs haphazardly out of the handy husband's computer) and here we go.

As I've said, I'm on holidays, and being on holidays is a little more quiet as the children are off for a few hours, allowing me to sew - and to listen to loud music the contains swear words and, of course, to combine both things. I set about making another skirt across the last two days, it would've taken me about a couple of hours all up, but it was a lot of work for Me Of Little Attention Span so it took me two days of lazy work.

Pattern from 1983

Oma gave me this pattern, it included the skirts and the tops - yet to make the top.. knit scares me. But I set to work making a multi-panel gored skirt.. it involved a lot of cutting, 25 panels to be precise.

It is important to listen to Eminem while you cut fabric, donchaknow.

And once they were all cut, I admired them.

And then I got to sewing them. I decided to do it methodically. I cut in layers of 2, so I just sewed them all, then I sewed another 2 to another 2 (does that make sense?) and in the end I had my one lone ranger, number 25, to secure on either end.

 

This was more time consuming than I could ever anticipate. I had to sew 25 straight lines. I actually think I'm a bit of an expert in sewing straight lines now because I did it - a lot. I did it so much that I got to the point where I could put my foot to the floor and zip it through like some kind of ... person who can sew fast.

Doing the waistband was a bit of a worry, I don't think I did it right as it doesn't have the right amount of stretch, but that's okay, still fits. I'll have to look up on how to properly attach elastic with a zig-zag, I did a lot of stitch lengthening and what-not.

I have to say- I think my 'pin cushion' is ingenious. :D

And then it was done! And I love it. Cobey approves too, in fact the next day he made sure that I was wearing "the skirt" because "It is just so beautiful."

I have to agree, it's very spring!

Well THAT didn't take me long!

Not long at all, under an hour was all I needed to make myself a skirt! Yahoo! I signed off from that last entry and set about it.

There's not much to say about it - it's 2 rectangles and some elastic. It only took me an hour because I included cutting, ironing and sitting down to ask twitter for recommendations on no-think TV I should watch on the holidays. I didn't need a tutorial for it either! I do think I need to wash it with some fabric softener though - or just wear it and wash it and wear it and wash it.
This is the print (smallish) on the other material I have, I think I might make a gored skirt to give it a bit more oomph!

I like it.

Holidays!

No, not holidays in the going away sense, but holidays in the Not Going To Work sense. :D I love these holidays, I don't have to rush out the door, I don't have to wake the kids up and be on their backs about getting dressed so we can leave before 7.30. All I have to do is lay their clothes out, wait for them to get around to getting dressed and then we can head out, drop them at day care (Oh yes, I am the type of mummy that drops them off even though I'm staying home) and them come back home and just chill out.

Or sew, sew without having to say "Eva, don't fiddle with that knob while I'm sewing!" (The stitch selector) or "Cobey, quit sticking my pins into the couch!" (Ouch!) And not to mention Eva's just worked out that I step on the foot peddle to make it go.. yup.

So anyway, it's holidays and I can sew. By the end of this fortnight break I will make myself at least one item of clothing to wear, it's looking to be a skirt since 1) I like skirts and 2) I have some beautiful material with which I shall make the skirt from. I actually found some more material in my stash so I can make two skirts! I'm tossing up if I just start with your basic elastic gathered waist skirt, or to add a gathered fringe to the bottom - I'll see how it goes!
I'd like to make a circle neck shirt as well, but I think I actually have to source a pattern for that one, stay tuned.

Oh, also yesterday Oma gave me a bunch of sewing magazines and a couple of skirt patterns (Gored skirts... acutally I could make one of those... hmmmmmmmm) and in the mags included some bag mags, I'll have to go through them!

Anyway, I'm feeling a bit titchy to start sewing now, so I might (finally) cut up my skirt material and get going on this venture. I'm a bit excited about making something *for me*!

But it looked so easy!

I've been busy this last week, between friends visiting, work and signing up for a TAFE course, I've been a bit flat-strapped. I have made a few things in the mean time though, just quickly which I'll have to share a bit later.

On the weekend, however, a friend came over for- what is colloquially known as- a stitch 'n' bitch. We have been wanting to get together and do this since I got the sewing machine.. this is the second time it was arranged, the first time we all had last-minute commitments and this time two of us four were busy (One was cuddling her brand new, less than a day old bubba! tch! excuses, excuses) but that didn't stop Sharon and I from setting the machines up and knocking up a "quick" craft.

We weren't sure exactly what to craft, I had my eye on Martha Stewart's Reversible Purse, it looked pretty easy and it was something I had wanted to do. So we got to it, cutting, ironing, talking and yada yada.

It was fun!

We did take some action shots, why not..

Two hands for beginners...

But then the trouble started. I've looked at so many other blog links for people who have completed this and they all say it's a snap, easy, no problems... so how did Sharon and I get it so wrong? How did we spend 2 hours - yes, two-freaking-hours - on one step.. the step being the armholes.. it just was not working for us, I even tried some other way then was forced to unpick the lot.. it was not pleasing either of us at all.
Eventually, after a few tantrums, we did it.. both of us ending up with a less than perfect result... only aesthetics, a few wrinkles near the bottom of each handle.. but still.. it shouldn't have been that hard.

 

In the end these were our bags. They're cute - not perfect and pretty annoying that they took us so long! I took mine out the next day for a road test, it fitted my phone, keys and purse just nicely- and enough room for a couple of other small things stashed- and it hung nicely on my wrist. I will have to try this one again - maybe one of the other online tutes which doesn't have the funny J bit where the handle meets the bag? We seem to be blaming that. I'll redo and report!

Hoods and Rainbows! Oh My!

I've lamented before, if not on here than out loud, that sewing for boys is SO HARD. There are so few sewing projects at hand, especially for clothes. This week I've created one!

It isn't perfect, it's far from in fact. But I really like it. I can see the crooked hemline, the double stitching, where the machine ate the material.. and I can even see where I accidentally stitched right-side to wrong-side (including zig-zag) and then had to unpick it all.. but I am really quite proud of it, so long as no one looks too closely ;)

Cobey loves it too! It came about after I was talking to my mother-in-law on the weekend when I mentioned I was thinking of doing something with some jumper material (I called it Jersey Fleece, but I have no idea if I'm using the right words when I talk about material), she was sure she had some just lying about and found, not only the jersey fleece stuff, but also some very cute patterned material with a rainbow pattern and a flower pattern - too cute! I believe I have Sue to thank for those two.

I traced one of his shirts without the sleeves, then traced a hood.. I was going to do it as-is but then thought about how cute the rainbow would be lining the hood and as a pocket! What (nearly) 5 year old doesn't love rainbows?

Of course the most nerve wracking thing was attaching the hood. I ummed and aahed as to how to do it, I pinned, unpinned, repinned, threw it down, put in inside, outside, swore but eventually just did it - and it worked!

A trapezium for the pocket and voila! Warm ears, warm neck, warm hands! 

Cobey is so pleased that today's sewing project went to him instead of his little sister, for once.. although he HAS commissioned one for her already.

Sweater Dress II

I mentioned in the last post about how much I love repurposing. One of the favourite repurposing tutorials I've found in my travels is The Sweater Dress on Nap Time Crafters.

Now, I don't have a lot of sweaters, I'm more of a hoodies kinda gal, so this one involves me heading into Op Shops and keeping an eye out for sweaters I could use.

I've done it once before and it turned out really cute, albeit a bit big (it fit Cobey - and he's 3 years older... so, yanno) but I was keen to try it again and yesterday - while the boys went to the car races - we girls went to the shops and I lay my eyes on a turtleneck jumper with a small neck.

Cute Bed Socks Too ^^

It didn't take long to do this one. As the last one I did was a bit too big, I just lay it over the top and traced the outline - without leaving a seam allowance (which I probably did too big last time) which would mean, in theory, it'd be smaller.

And my theory worked! One cute, stripey, wintery dress, ready for my wee Moo to strut her stuff in!

On Nap Time Crafters she also offers a tute on how to turn a turtleneck into a cowl neck - but I liked this one the way it was. :)

Great dress to be wearing on a cold day like today!

Two Bags, Two Beanies.

There are a few things, odd projects, I've sewed in the last few days but they don't have enough to take up a whole blog post- but it's still fun to note them down here.

I was at my local sewing & craft shop (Spotlight) for a rotary cutter and assorted materials when I was informed that they no longer give plastic bags and would I like to buy a resuable bag.. piffle to that, I say! I have enough know-how and material to knock myself up a few to take with me on my next fabric binge. And that gave me just enough motivation to try two repurposes I had buried in my bookmark folder.

This bag was from Martha Stewart and it used a pillow case.

It wasn't too hard to do at all and a nice quick one. I (clearly) didn't colour match my thread and used the only spare pillowcase on hand - I'll be scoping out the opshops for some retro print ones, I think! Next time I'll change it up a bit, use two pillow cases to make it reversible and a bit cleaner.

I've also had my eye on the T-Shirt Tote. So I pulled a John Deere shirt that my husband once loved from the "Donate" bag and cut that to bits! It's not as polished as all those that you hem and what-have-you but it does the job, feels sturdy and I quite like it.

I'll keep this one in mind especially for event shirts!

I love repurposing, in fact I told a workmate who likes to opshop to "Find me something cheap and ugly, I need a challenge." I'll have to see what she's found!

The other pair of a project I've done is beanie making, or fleece hats, or cute winter head warmers. I'm in love with these, they look so good and seriously took me about 15 minutes. My kids like them too which makes it a bonus. They're super easy to make! I used this tute from Green's Going Green but forwent the pom-pom.

So now I have two kids with warm noggins! And rest assured, I'll be making myself one too!
The other fun part of this quick project was putting the beanie on my son's head when he was sleeping- he sleeps very heavily and I was too excited to wait for him to wake up before sharing with twitter and facebook!

teehee! He's like a wee, sleeping gnome.