Dressmaking

I used to make loads of clothes but have got out of the habit in the last few years, but decided to have another go ! I thought I would start with childrens clothes first

I actually bought the pattern and fabric last year but discovered making bags so didn't get round to making it - as my daughter kept reminding me

I am really pleased with how the dress turned out - and more importantly my daughter loved it too.

I ended up with mis-matched buttons, the ones I had bought for the dress originally were too big for my automatic buttonhole foot, so I had to have a rake through my stash - I actually like having the 2 differant ones.

I was so pleased with the dress I ended up ordering some more patterns from Jaycotts as they have quite a few on offer at the moment, I have lots of plans for summer childrens clothes, just waiting for the postman to arrive first !

Easter Market

Have now booked another Fair for March at Stockport Market - looking forward to seeing you there

How patterns develop

If you have seen any of my previous posts, you will be aware that I made some pattern weights and then adapted the pattern to make a little headphone case - you can see the Link here. I have since played with the pattern a little more and I thought it would be useful to see how patterns adapt.

This was the first case which I really liked, but wasn't completely happy with the way the zip sat

I then moved the zip to one of the other seams which sat nicer but still had that 'poky' bit at the top

I then put the zip in the other way and put a bit of ribbon over the teeth both of which helped the zip to sit much better, on this one I also tried putting the ribbon and split ring on another corner

Final design - I moved the ribbon back to the corner next to the zip - I also made this one slightly bigger. I am finally happy with this design and have cut out a few more - will try some with split rings on the ribbon and some with a trigger clip.

Cable tidy Case

Like most people these days we have a large collection of charger cables - most of which need to be carried around when travelling, usually involving the most important one being the one left behind !

We have bought quite a few of these (eBay) which are great and easier for travelling but they look alike, so I started thinking about a good way to transport them.

I came up with this based on my knitting needle roll - each section has its own label made with cotton tape and stamped on with Stazon ink, these could be removed and new ones hand sewn on as needed, there is even a couple of spare pockets for later use.

I know keep all my spare charger cables in here, so if we are going anywhere I just need to pop a couple of USB sockets in the bag along with the cable roll and I know I have everything I need.

Craft Fair

I did my first 'proper' craft fair at the weekend - previously I have sold successfully at my children's school so this was the first time selling to 'strangers'. The fair was quiet I think due to a combination of cold weather and a football match. However it was still useful to do as I helped me with thinking how to set up the stall and how much time to allow for this. 

 I was pleased with how the stall looked but may need to adding some height, will have to think about that. 

I came home though and wrote out a list of fairs which are coming up, so will have to work through it with the other half to see when he is avaliable and plan to book some more dates.

I have also sold 4 bags online this last week, so will get some more listed, just need to home for some brighter weather so that I can get some decent photos of the bags and cases and get them listed.

Valentines Gift Fair

 I will be at this gift fair in Warrington Market on Saturday - the sewing machine has been busy all week !

My top 5 favourite sewing books

Like many crafters, I have a large collection of craft books, my sewing collection in particular seems to have grown recently so I thought I would share my top 5 with you

1. The Bag Making Bible by Lisa Lam,this is my favourite book, although I had made a couple of bags before I got this book, they had all been from patterns this book gave me the skill and confidence to start designing and adapting my own bags, she has a new book coming out later in the year along with a useful Blog and Shop

2. The Fabric Selector by Dana Willard. This is a recent purchase but one which I am really enjoying too, its good to actually learn what I 'should' be doing with fabric rather than my usual making it up as I go along ! Dana also has a fantastic Blog

3. I'm going to cheat for number 3 and have two books both by Pam and Nicky Lintott - Jelly Roll Quilts and Layer Cake Jelly roll and Charm Quilts. I love working with Jelly Rolls as all the cutting and matching has already been done so that I can just get on with sewing and creating - I have made one Quilt from these books and plan to make some more.

4.  The sewing machine accesory Bible by Wendy Gardiner, a great little book which has helped me to get full use of my machine by figuring out what all those fancy feet actually DO !

5. Free and easy Stitch Style by Poppy Treffry - I love the machine applique and free style embroidery in this book, one of my sewing resolutions for this year is to teach myself how to this - keep reading to see if I manage it !

Bags suitable for Boys !

I have had a few people mention in the past that they really like my bags but as they have boys, they couldn't buy anything - so I have come up with something for the boys

Just the right size for that collection of toy cars, sticks, stones or whatever you want to carry around - these will be selling at £4 each

I also have some Blue and pink (sorry couldn't resist the fabric!) ones in progress

Craft room organisation and a trip to Ikea

I have seen some amazing pictures of craft rooms recently, so I thought I would add some of my own, especially as I have just had a trip to Ikea and made some improvements !

 I have just put up some floating shelves above my desk, this has cleared up much space on the desk and means I have much more things close to hand.

I got these lovely jars from Ikea - I love how they look when full of ribbons and buttons, could do with a couple more now !

My craft room is long and narrow - the shelves are full of books and other assorted items, the brown wardrobe has shelves all the way up and is full of fabric (Needs a tidy so no pictures - yet !!). My other Ikea purchase was a swivel chair which makes it so much easier to reach all the bits and pieces. On the back of the chair I have a sewing machine tidy, which I made but then found that it made the machine slip around too much so I used safety pins to put it on the back of the chair, so I always have presser feet and needles to hand. I have a basket on the table where I keep scissors etc easy to reach without them ending up all over the table

Would love to see how your room looks