January is Refashion Month over at House of Estrela and I'm very excited to be taking part. I've got a great round up of projects you can make using old woolen blankets. The ideas from the guests so far have been fun and varied, make sure you head on over and take a look. ...
Sewing
My First Quilting Project: Sewing Machine Covers
Well, I've finally gone to the dark side. The place all garment makers think they'll never go. The place where you cut perfectly good fabric into tiny little pieces, only to stitch them back together again...quilting! I have a big quilting project in the back of my mind, but wanted to tackle something a bit simpler first. Before Summer hit, we had evaporative cooling ...
Flatlocking with your Serger – Tutorial
Flatlocking is a great technique to learn on your serger/overlocker and you don’t need any special accessories to do it. The resulting seam lies flat so it is a great option for clothing for kids who find a lot of their seams itchy. Flatlocking works on both woven and stretch fabrics, but because the raw edge is somewhat exposed inside the stitches, fabrics that fray a lot ...
12 Days of Christmas
Ted got the call that he was needed at the North Pole to help making toys. Of course, the correct elf attire was needed. I'm guest posting today over on Sewpony as part of the 12 Days of Christmas tour. You can read about all the ups and downs of this little outfit over on the blog now. ...
Pyjama Eating Monster Cushion
I was very excited to be asked to join the Cushion for Christmas blog hop. The series is full of great ideas for cushions you can make in less than a day...perfect for gifting. With so many talented ladies on board, especially with crazy awesome quilting skills (which I do not have) I wanted to do something a bit different and fun, so I made a Pyjama Eating Monster ...
Hemming with a Double (Twin) Needle – Tutorial
I use a double needle to hem most of the knits I sew. I love the finish... it looks so professional and just like ready-to-wear clothing. The bobbin thread zigzags between the two needles, giving the hem a bit of stretch, which is just what you want with knits. Using a twin needle is not as scary as it may seem. You can use one on most modern machines and I'm going to show you ...
Handmade Gifts for Men: Shoe Travel Bag
Hubby travels a bit and often takes runners into work to go for a jog at lunch time. The shoes usually end up sandy and sometimes muddy (where is he running??) so I made him up a waterproof shoe bag to store the shoes in. The bag is a simple drawstring bag made using waterproof fabrics. I used black PUL for the top part of the bag and Echino Laminated Cotton for the bottom ...
Handmade Gifts for Baby Boys: Reversible Bib
Adding to my Gifts for Baby Boys round up, I've got a pattern and tutorial for a reversible baby bib. I think bibs make such a great gift because they are just so handy! Bibs get used for a lot of cleanups around here and I've always got several on hand. Making the bib reversible means you get to buy two yummy fabrics to show off on your bib! Yay for fabric shopping! You can ...
Winter Wonderland Pattern Tour
The talented ladies from Pattern Anthology have just released the Winter Wonderland Collection. I was so excited when they asked me to join the blog tour I said yes immediately. Then I remembered I had a little baby and my sewing machine was fast becoming ornamental, but I didn't want to miss out on the fun. With Summer on it's way here in Australia, I chose to do a remix of ...
Making and Adding Piping to a Seam – Tutorial
Piping is so hot right now, and with good reason! It's a great way to add a pop of colour to an item and it gives a professional touch. But it's not as scary as it looks. I'm going to show you how to make it and add it to any seam! Straight, curved, corners...you name it, you can pipe it! I'll also show you the quick way and the invisible way to finish off the joins. Pick which ...
KCW Wrap Up
And just like that, another Kids Clothes Week has come to an end. They sure do go quickly! I had quite a bit going on last week so didn't get a huge amount of sewing done, but I'm happy with what I managed to do. The main thing I worked on was some swim nappies. Now that we've got a swimming pool it makes much more sense to have some proper swim nappies. I use cloth nappies ...
KCW Update
Well I have been getting a bit of sewing done this week, but I don't have much to show you. I've cut out pieces to make up four swim nappies for the boys in time for Summer, but haven't actually got at the machine with them yet. I also drafted a long sleeve raglan tee with the plan to make Roman a rash vest. I drafted a size 4, future proofing as Mums like to do, but I got ...
