Ty's Teddy Bear Hat

I made this hat for Ty for Christmas. Ty isn't quite three months old yet, so the hat is still a little big on him. It should fit him better next year.



Don't be fooled by my hand, it makes the hat look smaller than it is. You can see the same sized hat here and here. It is the baby hat from the Nicole Mallalieu, "You Sew, Girl!" book. It took about an hour and a half to put together, though I would advise, if you are using fabric with scattered prints (like this one), that you take the extra time to make sure that the bears are not all upside down!



I love the structure of the drill fabric and how well the lining goes with it. Both fabrics are from my stash.

Little Lady in Red

I made another shirred dress for Amélie. This time I made a matching hat and bloomers. I really like this red fabric that I picked up from Spotlight the other day. I think red really suits Amélie, you may see more of her in it in the future.



The shoulder-tie detail is actually fake. The straps are plain, with extra "straps" just tied onto them with a bow. If we get sick of tying them up all the time, we can just take them off. Or I could stitch them so that they stay tied.



I also added a ruffle to the bottom, which I ruffled and attached all in one go, using the ruffling foot. I did have a few hiccups, with the needle screw coming undone. I had been warned about this, but it hadn't happened before for me. I wonder if it is because I was ruffling and attaching in one go, or if I was going faster than last time? Anyway, I noticed it doesn't "ruffle" as much when that screw is loose, so if you notice your ruffles aren't as ruffly, then you might need to tighten that screw - BEFORE the needle pops out!



I did a rolled hem along the top and bottom edges of the dress with machine embroidery thread in the upper looper, it gives a nice luxurious finish. I did the rolled hem on the bottom of the ruffle before I ruffled it, so I was hemming a nice, flat piece of fabric, rather than one that was ruffled and attached to a dress.

The hat is from Nicole Mallalieu's book, You Sew, Girl! This hat pattern is the same as the "Kids Hats" pattern by Nicole Mallalieu, but in baby size. These hats are easier to make each time, as you get used to sewing the curves together.



The bloomers I am really happy with. I am going to make more of these. I actually used a shorts pattern and added some to the bottom, and took some from the top. I did a rolled hem at the bottom edge, and then added some narrow elastic about an inch up from the bottom. I also added a couple of little ties at the sides, which was a detail I liked from another pair of purchased bloomers that Amélie already had.

Is it too much?

I decided in addition to the shirred dress and the frilly bloomers, my smallest gift recipient needs a hat as well. In the same fabric. I hope it's not overkill. The pattern I used was from Nicole Mallalieu's book, You Sew, Girl!. It is very similar to the kids hat pattern, but covers the smaller head of a baby under 12 months.

You Sew, Girl! - Wrap Skirt

I picked up this Echino Chelsea fabric for only $10/m during Frou Frou's closing down sale. Which is good, because I got a bargain, but also sad because it's another great fabric store that is no longer around. The fabric is double-gauze, which is lovely and floaty and soft. Perfect for summer weather.



I didn't use a pattern as such, I followed Nikki's instructions in the pattern-free clothes section of her book, You Sew, Girl! I think the skirt is better suited to a more structured type of fabric (like a quilter's cotton, or maybe some linen), but I think I got away with using the gauze for this project.



The fabric was really narrow, so in the instructions, Nikki advises a centre-back seam as an option, but I wanted a fairly long skirt and the longer it is, the wider it is at the bottom and it was just a little too narrow. I also wanted my lions to all be the right way up, so I ended up making it with two side seams instead.



The only thing with this was that I'm not really sure I had the grain of the fabric right on the two over-lapping front panels. My concern about this caused me to procrastinate a lot, and this skirt ended up taking me a couple of weeks to finish, which is silly because it is not really that complicated.



The skirt has a facing around the waist-line, and along the front edge of the skirt, which takes a little more time than this skirt, but makes for a much better finish.

Red Leather Spec Case

If you are looking for a project that provides instant gratification, look no further than Nikki's Spectacle case from the book You Sew, Girl! I made one last night in leather (rather than felt), and I am very happy with the result.



The flex frame is easy to install and provides quick, one-handed access to my sunnies.



There is no lining, so it goes together very quickly.



Most of my time spent at the machine was working out tricky, sewing machine related things like tension and pressure, and how to avoid nasty feed-dog track marks on my leather.

The spec case itself went together in minutes!



I am getting better at this industrial machine thing. I do need to work on my back-stitching though. It's still a bit wonky.



Now that I have that under my belt, it's time to make the City Bag in denim with some Ink & Spindle embellishment. I will do it on the industrial machine - with denim I can unpick if I need without leaving holes in my fabric.

Ultra-Quick Spectacles Pouch

If you're looking for a quick project, the Spectacles Pouch from Nicole Mallalieu's You Sew, Girl! is a good one. It would make a lovely gift too, as almost everybody can use a case for their specs or sunnies. This one is actually going to be for one of my boys.



The trickiest bit for me was trimming the edges with the pinking shears. Seriously. The rest was dead easy, but for some reason, both pairs of pinking shears were wanting to chew, rather than cut the edges. I'm thinking that next time I might try one of the other finishing techniques or increase the seam allowance a little.



I may even try a better quality of felt. This stuff is the cheap acrylic kind. I have plans to make some of these in leather too.

I am participating in Blogtoberfest. I am also having a giveaway.

Bus Stop Bag

Sorry it has been a bit quiet on the blog. I've been a bit busy lately with the kids. Anyway, I have been meaning to blog about this Bus Stop Bag for ages, so now is a good time, I guess. When I made this bag it was all hush-hush as it was a secret squirrel pattern testing project for Nicole Mallalieu's book, You Sew, Girl!. Now that the book has been published (um, yeah, a while ago....) it is okay for me to blog this.



The fanciest part of this bag is the seam binding, which is quite tricky, and one of the reasons the pattern has been given the advanced skill level rating. Never fear though, if you think it might be a bit too tricky, you can put the seam binding on the inside until you are confident with the technique. I would also recommend that you try the toiletry bag first as it isn't as stiff as the bus-stop bag, and therefor a little easier to manipulate on the sewing machine.



The finished bag is quite sturdy and has a firm base with shiny purse-feet. It stands up al by itself and there was enough room inside for the toiletry bag and my hairdryer and a number of other assorted personal items when I was in hospital having Amelie back in January. If you've ever had a baby, you will be aware of all the extra toilety items you need in those early days and trust me, there was room inside for all of these!




If you want to make yourself one of these, you need to get your hands on a copy of Nikki's book, You Sew, Girl! For the cost of a couple of patterns, it is chock-a-block full of tips, techniques and patterns to make all sorts of lovely things.