sewing – Page 20 – the long thread

June 2, 2011June 2, 2011

A Little Dress

More Nani Iro fabric. Can you tell that it’s my latest obsession? This time I made a dress for my 6 year old. I started with Simplicity 3859, but of course made modifications.

First, I added the yellow gingham trim between the layers and then opted for buttons in the back instead of a zipper (wish I’d made this decision before I cut the back of the dress into two pieces). I also added some outline stitching for a bit of texture. Every time I make a dress from a pattern for my pip squeaks, I have to modify it. Granted, my kids are puny, but is everything made to fit a box-shaped child? I’d be willing to bet that the dresses pictured on the pattern package are pinned a good 3″ in the back.

Oh, and if you want to know about the butterfly garland pictured above, I didn’t make it. But you easily could. Just cut from paper and sew the butterflies together. This one has a felt pom-pom at one end to weight it down.

May 30, 2011May 30, 2011

Rope Handbag

Here’s a quick tutorial for a handbag with rope handles. I’ve pretty much been making the same summer bag for the past couple of years (see here and here).

Long story, but I bought some heavy-duty cotton rope to use for chair seats, then decided to go with wooden seats for the chairs since we have kids standing and spilling on the chairs. So I will be doing a lot of rope projects! This rope is a bit sturdier than the rope trim that you can find in the sewing store, but I think that will do just fine for this project. You could also use bamboo handles as I’ve done in the past, following the same instructions. I secured the rope handles by sewing them and then holding them together with hidden masking tape, but I think it would be a nice detail if you used metal clamps from the hardware store — and perhaps a bit more professional!

The fabric is by Nani Iro from Matatabi.

Click on the image below to download the instructions.

May 28, 2011February 10, 2012

Liberty of London Top

Less talk, more craft. One of my summer goals is to make more clothing for myself, so I used this Liberty of London Tana Lawn fabric from Purl Soho (Gray Asami Sayo 1175C) and made this simple blouse. I started in linen with this pattern, but the shape of the center insert and the gathers were just not flattering at all, so I simplified it. It’s still a boxy top, but I think it will work well with a pair of slim capri pants.

May 23, 2011May 28, 2011

HandMAYde is better!

How many times do you see something in a store, catalog or online and think “I can make that”? I do it all the time. Not very often do I actually get around to making the thing, but this week I hope we can all get motivated.

We’ll be featuring projects inspired by items from stores, but done DIY. Whether you make things for thrift, for fun, or both, this week will be good! These clothing projects make me wish I had a sewing machine when I was younger and might have actually worn interesting clothes. It’s too late for me now.

Here’s a quick round-up of DIY knock-offs from around the web. Thanks to Gigi for compiling this list!

Knotted Bedding from Kojo Designs.

Upholstered Headboard from Design Sponge.*

Britt’s Anthropologie-Inspired Tables from Design Sponge.

Chevron Rug Tutorial from Adventures in Dressmaking.

Gradient Shower Curtain from A Little Lovely.

Golden Raindrop Dress from Tea Rose Home.

Layered Jersey Skirt from Sewing for Scarlett.

Flower Sash from Ruby Mines.

Ruffled Tee from Adventures in Dressmaking.*

Ruffled Tank from Ruffles and Stuff.

Tiered Cardigan from Welcome to the Good Life.

String Pendant Light from Made by Girl.

Teapot Lamp from Retropolitan.*

Wallpaper Mirror from Mitzi’s Collectibles.

Seashell Mirror from Lee La La.

Colorpath Pillow from Make it Lovely.*

Window Headboard from Remodelaholic.

Ribbon and Bird Chandelier from Living with Lindsay.

Bouquet Handbag from Make it Lovely.*

iPad Clutch from P.S. I Made This.*

Ruffled Duvet Cover from Kiki Creates.

*Pictured above.

Update: While I encourage you to find inspiration from things you see here, you will of course want to add your own creativity to projects to make them your own.

May 20, 2011May 20, 2011

Yo-yo Bot

Here’s another project from Jessica of scrumdillydilly — a yo-yo bot! If you’ve never made fabric yo-yos before, you will find them highly addictive. Reminds me a bit of Rashida Coleman-Hale’s new Cute-bots fabric? Perhaps you could make a robot bed and some matching clothes. You can find the full tutorial for the Yo-Yo Bot over on Jessica’s blog.

____________________________________

Howdy, Jessica again from scrumdilldilly. Today I have a nifty old-school style yo-yo doll done up a la dilly-style! A yo-yo bot. Enjoy and thank you for dropping by!