Ashley Kidson Summer Dress

Following my fabric splurge a couple of months ago, I finally have pictures to show of the first finished item made from this fabric - the Ashley Kidson summer dress.

I used the Flower Girl dress pattern from Weekend Sewing: More Than 40 Projects and Ideas for Inspired Stitchingby Heather Ross.  It's a lovely design for a strappy, fitted, lined bodice with calf length gathered skirt....but....there are no fastenings in the bodice.  By holding up the pattern piece against my daughter, it was perfectly obvious that once made up in a non-stretch fabric (as suggested in the book), there would be no way to actually get the thing on, as it is meant to be a close fit against the body.  Fundamental issue, n'est-ce pas?  

The instructions are the type where you dubiously follow step by step, and somehow with the last "turn it the right way out" you miraculously have a lined bodice, complete with straps and no raw edges to be seen.  Rather than hurt my brain trying to work out how to incorporate a zip into the side seam, I decided to redraw the pattern piece a bit wider instead and see what happened.  It came out too big.  Of course.  The extra width of the bodice coupled with the longer length of the skirt just made it look like the dress belonged to an older sister.

Time for an emergency rescue.  One that didn't involve a lot of unpicking of stitches.  Maybe one that didn't involve any unpicking *gasp*.  I decided to try a little smocked panel - 4" wide by 6 rows deep (3/8" apart, ie. using the edge of the presser foot as a guide) on the back of the bodice, and guess what?  It worked perfectly!  In case you're not sure how to do this, simply hand wind the shirring elastic onto your bobbin, stretching it slightly as you wind.  Then sew some parallel lines with the elastic bobbin and your usual top thread using a straight stitch.  Dampen slightly and iron to shrink the stitches up, then marvel at your lovely smocking!

Finally I added a detachable flower corsage (the circles of satin with singed edges method that you have no doubt seen in a million craft tutorials) and the dress is all ready.  Bring on the British sunshine please!

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!

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...

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!

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 Record 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 Helen 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.