A Flat Cap on a Sunday afternoon

I put my hand up to pattern test the new You Sew Girl Flat Cap pattern on the weekend.

I love this style of hat. I have a really small head (I made the smallest size in the pattern), so it's hard to find a hat that suits.

It's also notoriously difficult to photograph a hat effectively!

I used a really thin wool suiting fabric - it's actually the exact same fabric that I used for my beret.

I wanted to have a bit of fun on the interior (business on the outside / party on the inside), so I lined it with my Clark Loves Edna fabric

I'm totally in love with it, so now I'm going to make some for the nephews.
If you like a bit of instant gratification sewing, then this Flat Cap pattern is available for instant download. Gotta love technology!

Fobbed

The Top

When Nikki put a call out last week to pattern test her latest amazing creation, I had my hand up very high in the air madly waving back and forth.

Photo Courtesy You Sew Girl

The Bottom

It was the perfect little project to keep me entertained on a Thursday night.

I didn't have a keyring that was quite large enough in the stash, so I substituted an oblong ring and small keyring.

The Inside

The inside contains this little hidden pocket that holds a USB stick....

... and can I tell you, the method for making this little opening for the USB plug is INGENIOUS (yes I am SHOUTING because it's so good).

I don't know how many times I've scratched my head trying to work out how to do things like this. I have soooooo much still to learn.

Anyway, the thing that I love about this project is that I was able to make it with a few scraps of my Spring Bouquet fabric.

Just through making different fabric choices, you can make them to suit tweens, teens, adults, anyone really, and you don't even have to wait for the pattern as it's a downloadable! Gotta love modern technology.

You Sew Girl USB Key Fob Pattern

For the fans

This is the last thing that I managed to sew on the weekend, before the dreaded lurgy hit and my sewjo absconded to another planet.

It's my test version of Nikki's brand new Fan Bag pattern.

This is a super sweet clutch perfect for an evening out, and I must secretly admit that I love this fabric!

Best of all, it's really quick. I could whip up another in less than an hour.... perfect for christmas pressies.

Testing for Shopping

I thought it would be fun to get my sister to test out Nikki's new Shopping Bag. The pattern is for beginner sewers (so unfortunately I couldn't test it myself).

I could have saved myself a lot of trial and even more error, if I'd begun my bag making career with a pattern like this years ago!

The instructions explain all the basics of sewing, with lots of diagrams and photos, so that they're super easy for beginners to follow along with.

This would also be perfect for experienced sewers - everyone has fabric in the stash that could be used for something like this - quick and easy! Fold it up and pop it in your handbag and you'll never have to bring home a plastic bag from the shops ever again.

This one is going to be the perfect accompaniment to something else.... but I'll explain more about that later

PS - I'm pretty sure that the pattern will be available for purchase later this week.
PPS - There's another lovely test version here at Foxs Lane!