The first two of many self made Xmas presents this year.
Did I mention that I love the 241 Tote by Noodlehead? It has just the right size to fit everyday stuff in it including an iPad. The design offers so many options to play with different fabric constellations, and it is very easy and quick to sew.
This one is made of home decor fabric. First time that I used home decor weight for the outside and omitted the interfacing. On earlier versions I used quilting cotton with Pellon SF101 interfacing, and after washing the bags the outside showed weird wrinkles with the interfacing. By using home decor weight I save on the interfacing and no wrinkles will appear after washing. I don't wash my bags a lot, but at some point they just have to be cleaned.
I love Charley Harper designs!!! It was a challenge to part with these bags, but they found good homes.
Two of my in between projects, in between Christmas presents and dressmaking that is. One of my big planned projects for next year is a King Size Quilt with the feather design by Anna Maria Horner. You can download the free pattern here.
I made this small single feather and a table runner mainly to try out the pattern, and because I got really tired of my old table runner in orange and brown. What was I thinking? Orange and brown???
Anyway, since I have all my pillows in the living room from Amy Butler fabrics I used leftover fabrics to make these so it fits with the rest. When I first started sewing I was quite smitten by Amy Butler designs. Not anymore I have to say. One reason for that is probably that I am not a big fan of green and yellow. My taste shifted more towards Anna Maria Horner, Lizzy House, Heather Ross - just to name a few.
The King Size Quilt will be made from different Anna Maria Horner designs. Creating the feathers is way easier then it might look. Here is a tutorial on how to create the feathers out of fat quarters.
The table runner turned out covering most of my coffee table. Sometimes I thing it looks odd. I copied the feather template to 75% of its original size and that would probably make a better size table runner for this size coffee table. But for now I won't bother with that. I am working on four place mats with the smaller sized feathers and it looks promising.
I am so excited about my custom made woven labels.
I was thinking about a way to personalize my handmade items since a while. Even though I don't sell anything (occasionally a bag ends up as a gift for family and friends) I thought how nice it would be to leave my stamp on the items I put so much time and work into.
My mind was set on woven labels, but whatever website I found they just were out of my budget. I did find some options about how to print own labels at home, but I just wasn't too happy with that idea. And then I found a post from Make it & Love it about an Etsy shop that offers affordable woven label options. Woohoo!
The shop is WorldWideLabels. They were really good in helping me choosing the colors and font for my labels. My labels arrived within the predicted time, and they look as fabulous as I thought they would.
They are folded in half with raw edges, which then will be sewn into the seam allowance. I like that it also gives me the option of folding the raw edges in and using them on top of already sewn projects.
This is one of the many things I've added the labels to.
And here an example on how they look added into the seam allowance.
Way too much time passed since my last blog post. This is another post about bags, or in this case one specific bag, the Art Student Tote by Anna Maria Horner.
The pattern offers three different versions of the bag. I made version B, but with the extension panel only half as wide as the pattern instructs.
I made this bag for a friend, but will definitely make one for myself too. It's a great size bag for traveling.
The fabric used is Amy Butler Lark Sateen (home decor), the gray contrast is Art Gallery Pure Elements in Moonstone.
The metal zippers and d-rings give such a nice touch to the bag. The extension panel adds extra room to the bag and can be folded away if not needed.
It comes with lots of inside pockets which can be divided however is fitting to ones needs.
I found this wonderful review about this bag over at Bijou Lovely. Lots of tips about how to interface the bag. Thanks for sharing!
This bag requires A LOT of cutting and interfacing, but it's well worth it.
I did change the way of sewing the side pulls. The patterns asks for sewing them as a tube and turn them inside out. But they will be so narrow that it becomes an extreme test in patience. I folded them in half and the raw edges towards the middle, and just topstitched all around. Way easier and safes a lot of time and nerves.
The Licorice Dress from Colette Patterns is one of my favorite patterns. Very easy and quick to make, needs only a little amount of fabric, and can be worn casual and dressy.
Today just a couple of pictures of my other three Licorice dresses. The first one got just finished today.
The fabric is Peach Skin fabric from GirlCharlee. It is easy to sew with and very comfortable to wear. Works surprisingly well in New Mexico summers, considering it is 100% polyester.
This one needs to be worn with a slip underneath. It is completely see through. Should have lined it, ooops!
Another Peack Skin, also from Girl Charlee.
The last one is a very soft voile by Anna Maria Horner. I saw that the collar and dress are matching up perfectly after I finished the dress. What an awesome coincident.
I lined it with white silk. The voile itself was too sheer.
The hem of the lining is slightly off, but who cares, right?!?
This year I decided to enter some of my handmade wardrobe in the Socorro County Fair. Three years ago I had entered a German Chocolate Cake and won best in show.
It is a very small Fair and they are happy for every entry. All in all I had nine pieces in different divisions. Sorry for the bad quality pictures, but the light in the exhibition hall wasn't all that good.
The third in row and also my godchild got a Batman logo.
Here a close-up. I wish I had enlarged this one. It is quite little.
The back is Minky Dimple Dot. Leftover from a quilt I made earlier this year.
Princess Belle for my niece.
Close-up. It's hard to see in the picture, but the nose is embroidered on the finished picture.
This one has the soft Minky as back as well.
No. 2 got Smaug sitting on a pile of gold. The back is just black.
He went slightly off there in the middle. About that weird red dot on his right wing, that is some red candle wax that fell off the chandelier, and I didn't notice until just now. Can't take new pictures because they already arrived at their new home.
No. 1 got a wolf crying to the moon. The back is the same blue star fabric as the front.
And another close-up.
All patterns for these pillows are from Fandom in Stitches. A big thanks to the designers!
It was a lot of fun to venture into paper piecing, and I have another project or three on my To-Do list. But for now I need a time-out and sew another bag or dress for a change.
When Colette Patterns announced their sale on some older patterns I immediately ordered two. The Parfait and the Ceylon dress. Two patterns for the price of one, woohoo!
I just finished my first Moneta dress.
Pattern Description:
Made with knit fabric, this dress can be created in a matter of hours. All three styles of Moneta dresses have a gently curved, wide neckline, a fitted bodice, and a shirred skirt with in-seam pockets. Version 1 is a sleeveless dress with a lined bodice and narrow round collar that laps at the center back. Version 2 has an unlined bodice and short sleeves, while version 3 has an unlined bodice and 3/4-length sleeves. (from their website)
Pattern Sizing:
XS - 3XL According to my measurements I am a size XS. The fit is snug. Would make a size S instead.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Very easy instructions and a sew-along on their website.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
It is a very easy knit dress, great for sewing with knits for the first time. I like the different neckline options.
I don't like the gathered skirt. It just doesn't look good on me. This is only a matter of taste and preference in style!
Fabric Used:
I believe it is a lightweight Cotton Lycra Knit. I got it at the sale section at Denver Fabrics.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: My measurements put me in a size XS, but I ended up sewing the bodice side seams with a 1/4 SA instead of 1/3.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I will not sew it again for myself, since I don't like the gathered skirt on me. Regardless of that I do recommend it, especially for people who just start to sew with knits.
Conclusion:
Sadly this dress didn't work for me with the skirt. I will use the bodice though and alter it with another kind of skirt and/or as a shirt.
After my disappointment with the Moneta Dress I am off to new projects!
