I’m a little bit crazy about softies, I’ve been making them for my nieces, nephews and friends with kids (and sometimes for the adults too).
There really is something about handmade toys that is, oh so charming.
Here are some of my favourite creators of softies and softie patterns.
1 – Craft Schmaft 2 – Herbert and friends 3 – DIY Fluffies 4- Sian
The amazing Craft Schmaft currently has a huge SALE on, why not pop on over and grab yourself a bargain?
Big weekend of sewing and craft this weekend.
But I can’t share any of it yet, I had a weekend of Christmas sewing and craft and I don’t want to spoil the surprise. Trust me I have photographed everything and will be sharing it soon.
Do you have code words for surprises? Ours is secret squirrel, so if you are working on a surprise or need some time to get presents you say “I’ve got some secret squirrel work to do” or if you need some allies to help with the planning and logistics an email with the title of “secret squirrel” is sent out and then its an unwritten rule that no one else reads that particular email (handy with parents who share an email address). Are we the only ones who have code words for this? I am sure others must have them too?
A few weeks back I was having a completely horrid week at work and outside of work there were so many things going wrong. By Friday I was completely wrung out and just wanted a good nights sleep and some quiet time sewing.
To help brighten my day I picked up these patterns from Pattern Runway.
I still haven’t gotten around to sewing them up, but even just knowing they are there waiting for me makes me smile.
My collection of vintage patterns is large, very large. From the 1940’s onwards I have a fantastic array of patterns covering all the styles of the era’s.
But they make me a little sad as there is no way I can use them all and I feel like they should be getting used. So I’m offering them up for sale!
This way I know they will be going off to good sewing homes and lots of lovely dresses, coats, blouses and all kinds of outfits will be made from them. This makes me far happier as I know the joy they will give to all the other sewers out there.
Now all the patterns are vintage, so yes they have been used and while every care has been taken with them some of them have crinkles in the packaging or a bit of a rip and most of the patterns have been pre cut out (some are still pristine and never been cut at all). I’ve tried to put the details into the descriptions so check them out.
The first batch are available here in the store and for the next fortnight if you use the code HAPPYsewing you will get an extra 10% discount. Be sure to check back often as I will be adding more styles to the sale and please help spread the word so as many sewers as possible can take advantage of these lovely patterns and offer them good homes.
Big weekend of sewing but most of the projects are not ready to share yet. This one is more of a toile/muslin* but looks cute.
It’s been getting warm at night and I thought that one of these sweet Colette Pattern Nutmeg‘s might be the answer, so I raided the scrap box and cut out the bralette top. With everything on the bias I went with a patchwork look. It worked out surprisingly well and looks adorable in real life.
You can see I have added a centre front seam to the top panel, this was purely to fit it into the limited amount of fabric I had on hand, added some silk velvet ribbon as straps as I thought the colours matched well.
Construction wise there were some odd elements. The facing on the top edge is no end of annoying and will never sit in place unless I add another line of stitching across the top cup, next time I would simply cut 2 top panels and bag the entire area out which will not only eliminate the facing but also add more structure to the whole thing. At the centre back straps, it is finished with hand stitching, this would wear very easily, so I bagged out the back panels and moved the opening to the side seam and concealed it there. Much easier and much stronger. Despite these changes it came together quickly and everything lined up.
Once it was together I tried it on and it looks well, awful. Fit wise it covers all that it needs to cover and the elastic is in the right place and the straps are doing what they should, but the complete lack of support just made me look dreadful. I’m not large chested but it would seem that if you are bigger than a B cup that this unsupported style doesn’t do you any favours.
Thankfully it is only a test piece and it didn’t take too long to sew. I think I will look for something that has a different construction/support system and see how that works out?
*I’m never sure if to refer to my tests as toiles or muslins. At fashion college it was strictly a toile and I’ve continued to use that term ever since. However I see that muslin is the preferred term on sewing blogs when talking about test garments. So if I occasionally say toile instead of muslin you will know what I mean.
I love Liberty, even before I knew what they were I was always drawn to small print florals. I also love sportswear, technical fabrics that marry together form and function is just like poetry to me.
So you can imagine how the Liberty of London Nikes pretty much make me go weak at the knees.
They are part of the regular collection or you can use the Nike ID program to design your own. Now Nike ID doesn’t work in Australia but it does in the UK, so I can design my own and get them delivered to The Englishman’s parents in time for me to pick up at Christmas.
Now the real dilemma begins of which pattern fabric do I choose?
This dress has been hanging round the “to finish” pile longer than I care to remember. I pulled it out over the weekend, attached the sleeves, added a centre back zip and ran some bias binding round the neck and it was done. It was so easy I was wondering why I had left it for so long?
I’ve used this Simplicity 2846 pattern before and it worked out well. Previously it was in a heavier weight wool herringbone which I got a lot of use out of throughout the winter time. This version is a cotton I took from mum’s stash some time ago. The polka dots are actually tiny little flocked spots. Which makes pressing an interesting challenge as to get the iron hot enough to get the cotton straight makes the polka dots come off!
It was while pressing that I discovered potentially why it had been in the “to finish” pile so long. I’d added the pockets before putting in the darts. I could even see some marks where I must’ve attempted the darts at some time? After a quick try on I decided if I added a belt then I don’t need to worry about the darts. I used my cummerbund style belt I got from Antipodium forever ago, which is not only supremely cute but incredibly comfy.
So how dd your weekend sewing go? get any pesky projects out of the way?
