KissKus

Best fabrics

I've noticed a significant shift in my use of crafty materials. Whereas before I tended to leave all my most precious fabric and ribbons on the shelves of my crafting cupboard, I now use them!
The other day I used my prettiest vintage ribbons for the lamp shade I made and I now used my favourite fabrics for a blanket and pillow set.
Actually, it feels good to use up material instead of just hoard it, especially when it's for projects that I get to look at everyday.

Ottobre Ruska raglan blouse

I made a blouse for Amber using an Ottobre pattern (autumn 2008). It wasn't commissioned by her, so I knew I was taking a bit of a risk by just sewing for it her. The lady is developing her own taste and is known to be quite demanding.

The fabric I used came from my stash. I love it and I've been holding onto it for years. The owl application was Amber's choice, I bought that and a few others in a drugstore the other day.

The blouse came together pretty easy and I'm satisfied with how it turned out.

However, little Miss thinks it's too wide... so I will contemplate whether I will think it will be worth making alterations.

PS I only allowed the uncombed hair because we are on school holiday. And even then... a disgrace ;)

Quite possibly the easiest top ever

I drafted, cut and sewed this top together in sewing class yesterday, which means in exactly two hours.

There wasn't even really a pattern, just a few instructions on how to draw the pattern piece and the measurements. The front and back pieces are identical: the lazy me was having a thoroughly enjoyable time!

I hardly ever sew anything for myself and I felt that this easy top might help me to get over my hesitations. And I do believe it worked, because I'm really happy with how it turned out :) At least, I enjoyed wearing it today.

The knitted fabric is quite nice and even nicer since it cost just 1,80 for 2 metres. I like a good bargain!

So, I think I'm just going to make another top like this (different fabric obviously), or make it into a simple dress. My sewing machine is finally seeing some action again!

PS This is my 600th post!

A shirt with cars on it

I finished Linus' birthday shirt with SIX days to spare! Amazing, isn't it? I love my sewing class where I can steadily work on my projects every week.

I used an Ottobre pattern and the fabric came from the Ottobre Etsy shop. I'd never sewn a polo shirt before and it wasn't particularly difficult, just quite a few bits and pieces. I made two (small) mistakes, which I'm not going to point out ;) I'm thinking of sewing up another shirt, but then without those mistakes. Me, a perfectionist?!

Anyway, I'm really pleased with how it turned out. And I know for sure that Linus will like to wear it on his birthday. Now I just need to finish the trousers that I'm also making for him. They are nearly finished. Will this mean that I will have no last minute stress sewing this time? There must be something wrong with me ;)

Sewing with knits

Now that I have my very own serger, a whole new world of sewing possibilities has opened up. I must say that that is a little frightening as well as very exciting :)

One of the first things that I wanted to try was to make some underwear for the boys. Well, today I managed to sew something that looks remarkably like a boxer short. Not bad for a first try I think. Of course there are many things that can be improved, but it's wearable and Linus was happy to try it on.

I did some research on the interwebs and then I cut up on old pair of boxer's and used that as a template for a pattern.

The fabric I used is a pyjama shirt of mine and that worked fine. Elastic came from the stash, so nothing spent on this project.

Another thing I finished were a pair of pyjama/jogging pants for Simon. These came together so quickly, a very satisfying job indeed.

Lastly, I finished three of these shopping bags, made from old t-shirts. Simple, cute and practical. I'll look for a link and will post that soon.

Early birthday present

Ok, I suddenly see a lot more pyjamas, t-shirts, leggings and anything else that's stretchy in my future... yesterday's post is a little outdated now that I'm the owner of a serger!

Now to figure out how it works... It comes with an instruction dvd... in German! Strangly enough, I understood it all. Tomorrow my thread arrives and then the super sewing can begin :)

Oh, and I have new shoes too. A materialistic kind of day, but those days are neccesary sometimes ;)

Outdoor pants

I still attend sewing classes. I like it. It's fun and I learn something every week. Everyone present just works on their own projects and the teacher is there to help.

I tend to go for the quick and easy projects. I want FAST results, I talked about that a while back. But it wasn't before long that even I started to get bored of the pyjama pants... and furthermore: how many pyjamas do my children need?

So I needed a project that I could sink my teeth in. And that project became Ottobre's outdoor pants (I love Ottobre. Everything is so clear.).

Now really, the trousers are pretty straight forward and not too difficult, but normally I leave out all the small details. But not now!

Those pockets were just too fiddly for my taste, but in the end I got there. They're not perfect, but I was just glad they were finally done.

All in all, a practice in patience for me and some cool new pants for Linus. Now onto the next project!

Unfinished business

Today I emptied the small cabinet in the livingroom where I keep a few sewing things. I have my sewing room upstairs, but the most basic things as well as the projects I'm currently working on I keep downstairs. The cabinet was a mess. I'd been stuffing far too much in there and I couldn't open the door without a whole lot of craft supplies tumbling out. So today I decided to clear out and organise all that.

What I found were a whole lot of Works in Progress and I decided to take some photos of them. Hopefully it will motivate me to finish some things :)

1.I crocheted these blocks while I was on holiday in France. I was just trying out different stitches. I think the colours are great together. Will most probably become a cushion.

2. A whole bunch of granny squares in different sizes. I will make these into a small blanket.

3. Since I learnt how to sew on a button properly in sewing class I felt I needed to practise some more... this will become a cushion.

4. Bunting to be. I just need to sew the bunting onto bias tape, but somehow I keep postponing it.

5. Patchwork of vintage sheets. Initally intended to become a kitchen mat, now I'm not so sure. Perhaps a bathroom mat would be more useful?

6. Several (I have more) unfinished tissueholders. These will not take long to finish.

These are just the projects that I found in the cabinet, I'm sure there are more hiding in other corners or drawers. However, these six... I was thinking that it would be really lovely to get these done before the end of the year. I feel a personal challenge coming on ;)

I will keep you posted on the progress on these projects!

 

 

From big to small

A little project that I did a few weeks ago was to make one of my own tops fit Amber.

She was sincerely in love with the top and tried to wear it a few times. Of course it was far too big for her and it looked a bit silly because of it, so I decided to resize it.

I started by cutting away a strip of fabric in the middle to shorten the whole garment.

As a guide for the upper body I used an Ottobre pattern. I merely used it as a rough template and that worked well. Then I took in the sides and finished the seams with the serger.

After sewing the two halves of the tops back together (I gathered the lower part slightly to make it fit the upper part) and hand sewing the front gap close I was finished.

And it has Amber's stamp of approval, so a job well done!

Foxes

The foxy shirts for both my boys are finished. I'd bought the Ottobre 4/2010 especially for the fox pattern it featured. I just had to make it!

I used fleece for the main body. I machine stitched that on.

The rest of the details I cut out of felt and I hand stitched those on. I really am trying to be more patient with my projects and I'm doing quite well with it. I keep telling myself to go s-l-o-w.

Oh, these boys of mine. Naughty little foxes they are. This was what they did when I asked them to pose for a photo.

But cute they are too. All four of those foxes.