Winter Flat Cap

When I made Maxx's coat, I had some leftover fabric, so I made him a matching flat-cap using Nikki's "You Sew, Girl! Flat-cap" pattern. I cannot believe it has been almost two years since I made his last flat-cap. This one is warmer for winter than the last one.

Despite the heavier fabric, this hat was much easier to put together than the last one was, and sewed up in no time. I also have a couple of these cut out ready for the boys.

3 Easy Steps to Make Better Bags

Step one - GET THIS BOOK!
Step two - read it
Step three - make all the things!!


Nicole Mallalieu's latest book is hot off the press and oh boy, is it a good book or what?!! The book comes with the patterns you need to make ten different bags graduating from a basic tote at the start, right through to the fancy-schmancy Toronto backpack as you can see above. I made this backpack about a year ago as a pattern test for the book. It is a really versatile bag, as it converts from a handbag style that you can pop under your arm, to a tote so you can fit in a little more shopping, and then, when you've been at the craft show all day and you're running out of hands to carry all your shopping, it can convert to a backpack!


But ten great bag patterns isn't even the best bit. The part that you will really be loving is the bit right at the start, where Nikki tells all of her best bag-making secrets. Since I started using Nikki's patterns, and learning all her clever tricks, I really feel that my sewing has improved by leaps and bounds. The Better Bag Maker covers quite a lot of the techniques that Nikki uses in her patterns, all in one place. This book tells you how to make professional looking straps, crisp corners and insert zippers like a pro. Nikki shows you how to choose interfacing, as well as how to apply it. You also learn how to install all the yummy metal bits, like magnetic snaps, o-rings and purse feet, that take your bag from homemade to hand made. There are also plenty of different pocket options so that you can make your bespoke bag work the way you want it to. The best part of all this, is that you can use all these great tips on all your other sewing and make everything you do look more professional!


I am so pleased to have this book on my bookshelf, it is a great reference to have and I have already used it to help me install a professional looking zip pocket inside my latest bag, but that's another blogpost!

Lantern Bloom Belle

After I finished my super hero cape, I got stuck into testing the Belle pattern for Nicole Mallalieu of You Sew, Girl! It is one of her earlier patterns, but it has now been re-mastered into a digital download. Nikki has updated her pattern with new techniques that she has improved over the past few years.

I surprised myself with this pattern, managing to complete the entire bag in one day. Usually, after one day, I have a bag cut out and the interfacing fused; so this is quite an achievement for me.

As Nikki says in her blog post, the Belle is the perfect size for a little bit of knitting. Of course, you would need to be using circular needles to be able to fit them in the bag.

If you make the straps from the pattern, rather than using purchased bag handles, they are the perfect size for popping over your wrist and knitting away. So you could knit standing up, or on the train without having to worry about your ball of yarn rolling away.

I used Laura Gunn Lantern Bloom fabric for the exterior, and the lining is Dogwood stripe from the Poppy Collection. I love the way some of the blooms magically joined at the seams, I have used this fabric before, to make my Teardrop Purse.

The best part is that the Belle is digital, so you can download the pattern and get started right away!

For this project I used fabric only from my stash.
SYST13 Running totals: in = 176, out = 66, total = +110

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.

Maxx's Flat Cap

This is Maxx's new favourite hat. I made it for him for Christmas, using Nicole Mallalieu's Flat Cap pattern. I had been thinking about making it, and whilst chatting with Amy (Badskirt) last Friday afternon, we decided to have a little (virtual) sew-along and immediately downloaded the pattern.



Amy was a little lot faster at getting her hat together than me. I had three little ones to contend with and they were happily spilling things and having little disputes and wanting snacks and bandaids and doing the usual kid stuff. I did manage to get it all cut out and my mess cleaned up before Maxx got home from work. Because it was a secret Christmas gift, it was Sunday night before I got back to it (and finish it), after he went to bed.



The hat is actually made from some furnishing fabric of some kind. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I wouldn't recommend using it for a project like this again. The weave is actually quite loose, so it frayed really easily, which made for difficult sewing at times. My sewing machine even tried to eat it at one point!

Other than the fabric issues (oh, and the kids-being-around-issue) the hat came together fairly quickly. I think the next hat will probably only take me a couple of hours, now that I know what I am doing and since I will use some proper fabric that doesn't fall apart!

Antique Leather Hobo

The other day, I set myself a twenty-four hour challenge to make Nicole Malllalieu's Hobo bag, using some beautiful antiqued, lambskin leather I had from NSW Leather Co. I had been thinking about making this bag for a while, and with a Christmas "do" to attend with a new dress that all my current bags clash with, it was at the front of my mind. Someone had said on Facebook, that they managed to put one together in about three hours, and although they hadn't used leather, I thought I should at least have a go. I mean, I had 24 hours and who needs to sleep? (Me! I do!)



Well, it wasn't to be. I managed to get most of the outer bag constructed and then ran into some trouble inserting the zip. Trouble included some problems with leather that is a little stretchy, and some thread-matching and tension issues. In hind-sight, if I was making this particular bag again, I would make the zip gusset entirely from leather.

Something that I have learned about my machine is that it really does like the upholstery thread. I can't seem to be able to adjust bobbin tension enough to cope with other thread thicknesses, and even so, it is difficult to balance the tension so that there is no top thread showing on the bottom or bottom thread showing on the top. So I headed to a nearby store to get some upholstery thread in a lighter colour so it wasn't too dominant on the underside of the fabric.



I also found that the leather liked to stretch out a bit, so, combined with a non-stretchy lining fabric, it was a bit of work to get a nice, non-twisty zipper gusset going on. I found that going really slowly and carefully and using my new Clover clips, I was able to construct something that was acceptable. Switching from the zipper foot to the proper teflon foot, just for the stay stitching along the hidden edge of the gusset really helped. Actually, looking at the finished product, I am more than happy with it.



I used both of the pocket options for the lining. There is a zippered pocket and also another pocket with a pleated mobile phone slot. I did this pocket back to front to Nikki's pattern so that the phone pocket was easily accessible. (I had the zipper pocket closest to my body and the phone pocket further away). If I was only doing this pocket, then I would do it exactly as per the pattern. I am really fussy about the direction of zips too. I like my zipper head at the front when the bag is closed, both for internal and external pockets.

Another little grievance I have with my industrial machine is the feed dogs are a little harsh on soft, lambskin leather and can leave nasty track marks. I learned this when practicing making straps when I made my Red Leather City Bag. When making the City Bag, I used tear-away stabiliser to protect the leather from the feed-dogs. I think it works fairly well, though I don't like the way the thread gets pulled when tearing away the tear-away. I thought this time I would use paper towel. I don't think I will do this again, as it is really tricky to remove paper towel fibres from under stitches. I have another idea that I might try next time.



I love the wide strap on the bag. I made it exactly to the pattern piece, although I only did minimal top-stitching, just along each edge as I think it worked really well with the leather I was using and the over-all slouchiness of the bag. I didn't use any o-rings for this bag. If I did, I would have preferred brass ones and I didn't have any in my stash. I think this was a good decision for this particular bag, there would have been a lot of extra bulk where the straps are attached, which I don't think would have suited the relaxed style of this bag.

Over-all, I am pretty happy with this bag. Could I have made the bag in twenty-four hours? Possibly. I'm not really sure? I am guessing that I actually spent about twelve hours making this bag. Maybe more? I have little kids though, so finding twelve hours out of a twenty-four hour period of time is nearly impossible. Realistically, I would give myself a week, or at a bare minimum, a weekend to make this bag again out of leather. I could make it a lot quicker in quilter's cotton, but I cannot see myself making the entire bag in three hours.

24 Hour Leather Hobo

I have a new dress to wear to a Christmas function tomorrow night, but it has come to my attention that it doesn't go with any of my bags. So I'm going to have a bash at making a "You Sew, Girl!" Hobo bag from some leather that I have been saving for such an occasion. Can it be done?

Linking up with more Creative Peeps over here.

14. You Little Beauty

Don't you love it when a plan comes together?



When a project turns out exactly as you imagined...



The perfect fabric for this pattern (watch this space) just so happened to be in my stash, waiting for something like this to come along.



I'll be back another day with more details.

3. What a lovely little Poppet

There is something about making a purse-frame purse that has always made me feel a little bit clever. This Poppet purse (from You Sew Girl) is no exception. I've made this one with all the recommended support materials, meaning it is very structured. Whilst it is quite awkward managing it around the sewing machine, it is totally worth it for the result. A cute little purse, for which the name "Poppet" is very apt.



I wouldn't recommend it for the beginner, but if you've put together a few purses, and would like to try something a little trickier, then this is something I would recommend. As usual, Nikki's pattern provides you with lots of little tricks that you can apply to other bags and purses as well.

Click the button above, to see more bloggers blogtoberfesting

2. That's what little boys are made of

Before the dead-line, I managed to scrape in two more hats. There is nothing like leaving things to the last minute! Of course, I once again used Nicole Mallalieu's (You Sew Girl) Kids' Hats Pattern. I should mention that if you are looking for options, this pattern has them. You have three sizes, small, medium and large. Then added to that, you have a range of different brim sizes and also brim finishes to make your hat just how you like. I personally like to go large when it comes to brims and give my boys lots of protection from the sun, so my brims are the second largest brims and the boys are wearing medium sized hats.



My favourite thing with these hats, I wasn't really sure wasn't going to work. I love the appliqué. I applied some Steam-a-Seam 2 to the back of some left-over lining fabric and then cut it out a couple of frog motifs, really carefully. I then peeled off the backing and ironed them onto the (already interfaced) crown pieces. I lowered the feed dogs and used my free-motion foot to stitch them down.



I was really worried about those long, skinny toes, but it seems to have worked. I did three laps around each frog, matching the main colour of the frog on each one. When I did the toes, I didn't so much go around the edges as I did kind of meander along them.



I have made these hats before using corduroy, which has really stood the test of time. The boys hats have been through the ringer and so abused, yet they still look really good. The lining in the old hats was a Kokka cotton-linen, so it will be interesting to see how well the quilter's cotton holds out.



I'll be back here very soon to do the wrap up from the sew-along...

Doe, a Deer...

The main reason I started this hat sew-along was because I went to put Amélie's hat on from last year and it didn't fit. Amélie didn't care, she wore it anyway, on top of her head.



I went looking through my stash and found this fabric with baby fauns and apples on it. It has been in my stash for years. I originally purchased it from Retromummy, back when she had her on-line store running. It's not quite pink, sort of slightly apricot and has been difficult to match with other fabrics. I decided to match it with the red in the apples and went with this red spot that I found at my local quilt shop.



I made my hat using the Kids' Hat pattern from You Sew Girl. I trimmed the edges with some cute binding that I bought a while ago from The Haby Goddess. I could see that the hat required further embellishment, so I added a hat band.



I think the hat-band really finishes it off. It is easily removed for washing and can be tied at the back or side, either loosely or in a bow.


If you are thinking about joining in with my sew along, there is still plenty of time. Just push the button above to go to the sign up post. We are only half way through the month and already several beginners have finished their hats. Some of them have even finished TWO. I still want to get at least two more made. One for Liam and one for Noah. Let's see how we go...

More Hat Sew Along links here:

• Sign Up Post

• Getting Started

• Hat Parade #1

• Flickr Group

Cute as a Button

I've missed blogging a couple of things lately. One of them is this cute little zipper pouch that I pattern tested for Nikki. I know Noah loves little pouches to put his treasures in, so I made this for him. I really expected that he would choose the monkey fabric, but he chose the buttons instead.



This pattern is the You Sew Girl Coin Purse, which has been re-done with lots of new pictures to show the whole process and is available as a downloadable pattern, so you can get started on your purse right away.



I added this cute little aeroplane zipper pull too. Isn't it cute?

Sashiko Satchel

I originally started this bag, back in April. Firstly, I did all the Sashiko Stitching after purchasing some variagated perle cotton at the AQC. I then had all the bits cut out ready for a Nicole Mallalieu workshop I attended with the ASG the following weekend.



Really, all I achieved at the workshop was getting the base done, and the purse feet on the bottom.



And then it sat there, doing nothing for weeks, whilst seeminly more important things were completed instead.



On Friday, I decided enough was enough, and I finally got this bag finished yesterday, just before dinner.



You can see above, that I over-came my issue with the zipper foot and the magnetic snap from yesterday. I ended up ditching the zipper foot altogether, used my regular foot and shifted my needle as far left as it would go. The regular foot offered more stability, and I really feel that the needle should be within coo-ee of a foot, otherwise what is the point of having a foot there at all? Janome really need to look at the design of their standard zipper foot a bit more closely. I struggle a bit with zips at times, because you need to raise the presser foot to full height to get the zipper head under the foot, and it won't stay at full height, it needs to be held there. This means you need one hand for the lever, one for moving the zipper head, and another for holding the fabric, so that you can pull that zipper head. That's one more hand than what I have! Ugh!



I went with an adjustable strap, so that it can be worn across the body or neatly tucked up under the arm.



I really like the simple style of this bag. The pattern is Nicole Mallalieu's Large Tote & Satchel. I just used some of the dark denim from my stash, the same denim I used for my skirt, Liam's jeans and my Wren City Bag. The flap is the perfect canvas for any art-work you want, to make your bag stand out from the crowd.

*This Sashiko Satchel is available for sale in my shop.
 

Check out some more Creative People, over here!

Make It in May - Skirt Complete

I finished my skirt for the Curlypops Make It in May - Skirt sew-along. Using Nicole Mallalieu's A-line skirt pattern and some of the same denim I used to make Liam's jeans, I kept this skirt plain so that it goes with more things in my wardrobe. Nikki's pattern comes with some great instructions to insert an invisible zip (using an invisible zipper foot - if you don't have one you should get one), and the yoke makes for a tidy skirt with no "popping-out" facings as well as helping with that not-so-flat-these-days tummy.



I made the skirt up in the original length and then chopped 13cm from the bottom, before giving it a 2 inch hem. This brought the skirt up to knee length which I think is probably a bit more suitable for running around with the kids.



In addition to changing the length, I added pockets to the skirt. I grabbed a pocket from another pattern and put the pockets into the side-seam. It frustrates me sometimes that I have nowhere to put my keys, especially when out and about with the kids and it isn't always practical to carry a bag. These pockets are pretty discrete, I made them in navy homespun, and nothing falls out of them when I sit down, so I am pretty happy with them.



Have you made anything for yourself lately? What about a skirt? There's still time to join in if you want to make yourself a skirt during the month of May.