Little Makes of Late

Lately, I've been crafting little things. Embroidering small motifs on tiny cotton bags, stitching felt brooches that give new life to snippets of op-shop doilies, making drawstring project bags and sewing tea towels into tote bags.

A tote bag made from an op-shop tea towel.

(I 💗 the bold Australian flowers!)

While I've been forced to 'downsize' my crafty project plans, thanks to bursitis in my right shoulder, I am actually enjoying the quick results and satisfaction that simple, short projects can bring. Many of these little makes will be gifted come Christmas time. From my hands into another's ...

A drawstring project bag made with linen I covered in 'olive twigs'.
(Bag pattern from Melissa Wastney's book, "Sweet and Simple Handmade".

Tiny cotton bags with embroidered motifs.

(Motifs by Melissa Wastney & Charlotte Lyon.)

A little felt brooch became a gift for a very generous lady.

(Thank you, Maria, for your gorgeous linens!)

These little makes mean some bigger projects ...  a knitted shawl, a linen dress, a larger leafy applique and a few more besides ... are waiting idly for me to get back to them. Soon, I hope! 

What crafty projects, little or big, are you working on right now?

Meg

Frugal on Friday

On this particular Friday, I thought I would join in with Fiona, over at Stay Home Instead, and list some of the frugal things I've managed to do over the last little while. I enjoy reading about the frugal things that other people do in their daily lives as there's a wealth of ideas for saving money among them. 

I regularly visit Fiona as she posts a list every Friday (I think she is a very organised person!) On Saturdays, I pop over to read Wendy's frugal ideas at My Abundant Life and I also like catch up with Kath's list too that she posts on her blog Four Miles North of Nowhere.  Here's my own list:

A fresh loaf of banana bread. 

1.  Made banana bread to use up two over-ripe bananas in our fruit bowl. I froze most of the slices. A piece of nourishing banana bread makes a nice alternative to toast at breakfast time.

Pre-loved linens drying on the line.

2.  Found some pretty op-shop linens for less than $10.  There are six little cotton napkins, each embroidered with a little cross-stitched rose, that we will use here at home. The two longer panels of fabric, decorated with beautiful Australian native flowers, are actually old curtains. I plan to make cushion covers out of them. I think they'll make lovely gifts!

A sweetly-stitched heart.

(Design by Charlotte Lyon at House Wren Studio.)

3.  I have been steadily stitching different little motifs onto tiny cotton bags ready for Christmas giving. I have had a stash of these bags, which I bought for a song at Reverse Garbage, years ago. With a little embellishment, and a pretty drawstring ribbon, they are perfect for gifting soap, seeds, hair scrunchies and other tiny gifts. Some motifs I have stitched have been free and others, like Charlotte's, I have paid a small amount to be able to download. I know I will use her designs over and over again.

 A home sewn skirt.

4.  I finished sewing this simple A-line skirt using fabric I already had in my stash. The only thing I had to buy was an invisible zipper. I used the pattern I made from an old skirt. I absolutely love the tiny white flock of birds flying all over the most gorgeous sky blue. I have worn this skirt several times already!

A gift for a friend.

5.  Wrapped a birthday gift, Furoshiki style, using dyed fabric I had in my stash. (It originally came as a large remnant from my local community centre.) My son then created a handmade card using craft supplies we already had here at home. (I find a pot of coloured marker pens comes in very handy!) This saved having to purchase wrapping paper or a card.

I think it is really good thing to think mindfully about the things we do, not only to save money but also to re-use and re-purpose resources. While I doubt I'll be organised enough to post a frugal list every Friday, I may do it periodically just to remind myself that it is a priority in our household.

I'd love to hear what you've been up to on the frugal front at your place.

Meg

My New-from-Old Skirt

On a weekend workshop, held at a local community centre, I learnt how to make a sewing pattern from an existing garment.  I chose to create a new skirt from one of my old favourites and I am really happy with how it turned out.

My 'New from Old' Skirt.

The skirt is really just a basic A-line. The original skirt had four panels sewn together at the front, back and sides. I changed this so that there are only two panels, a front and a back, so just two seams at the sides. The skirt also has a very lovely and long waistband tie. Sewing this really gave me some grief; firstly I found it difficult to pin on because it is so thin and secondly because the fabric of the skirt kept fraying and so it kept pulling away from the waistband. After a few "choice words" and a lot of unpicking, I decided the best solution was to make the waistband wider to make it easier to pin on and to ensure I secured the fabric of the main skirt when attaching it.

 Waistband & Invisible Zip.

Zipped up!

An invisible zip is sewn into one side of the skirt. I've never sewn in such a zip but, with the help of this You-tube tutorial, I learnt how to do it and sewed it in so that it is indeed invisible when zipped up. 

Fabric remnants for a skirt.

Look at all those toothy smiles!

I chose remnants of fabric, from the community centre's little haberdashery, to test out my pattern and sew up my skirt. I found a heavier curtaining fabric, with big firework flowers on twisting stems, and a very light fabric, printed with toothy smiles, for the long waistband trim and ties. When cut and folded into a thin strip, you can't see all those teeth!  Altogether, this cost me less than $15. I think they look nice together. 😊

A pattern I will be able to use again and again!

The best part of this course, besides a usable pattern and a very wearable "test run" skirt, was learning from a really patient teacher and spending time with  a small group of really lovely women who all like sewing too. Everyone made different garments and there were lots of encouraging words from everyone as we paraded and twirled our creations for one another. 

I hope to do some more craft workshops at the little community centre soon. It's a lovely space, in an old wooden house with a productive garden and chickens in the back yard too. It's nice that there are places like this in our city where people can meet one another and learn and make things together.

Do you have a community centre near where you live? 

Meg

A Skirt with Pockets

Some lightweight, deep blue denim fabric, bought on sale ages ago, has been waiting in my fabric stash for me to sew up into a skirt with pockets. 

My new home-sewn skirt.

(The colour varies in the photographs ... it's actually a brighter blue than this!)

The pattern I used is Frankie & Ray's West Coast Skirt. I chose this particular pattern because I thought it was a simple one even though it included two things I hadn't attempted before. Pockets and elastic! I found both the pockets and the elastic easy to sew in.  The trickiest part was turning the long and narrow skirt ties, which I made with the striped fabric of an old cot sheet, right side out. In the end, this simple technique demonstrated on this YouTube video, made it much easier. (Thank goodness!)

Drawstring in & pockets pinned on.

(This blue is more an accurate capture of the colour!)

Elastic at the back.

Turning over a "waistband"  to hide the elastic.

I really like this skirt! I love the gentle A-line and the deep side pockets.  I did shorten the length by adjusting the pattern so that it sits just below the knee rather than mid-calf.  It was easy and quick to sew and I know that I will wear it a lot because it's very comfy. 

 I love deep pockets!

Sewing has become a real joy. I have been pleased with everything I've made so far and wear them often. What I find quite funny is the number of people who comment on my home sewn clothes and ask where I bought them! 

Meg

Just a Bit More Sewing

While I've been waiting for this glorious rain we've been getting to ease up, and for the sun to break through the clouds, I've squeezed in just a bit more sewing. (I think my knitting needles are beginning to feel neglected!)

 A home sewn skirt and top.

I made one of my oldest and closest friends her very own wrap skirt. She requested something in blues and I found this gorgeous floral fabric and a very sweet fabric, dotted with tiny little flowers, for the trim. I think these wrap skirts lend themselves to having fun with fabrics.

A pretty Cloud 9 poplin called "Blooming Buds".

 A sweet cotton lawn for the trim.

From the leftover fabric of the skirt's trim, I was able to make another sailor top.  I shortened the top this time, according to the pattern's instructions, and am happy with how it has turned out.  I have made up both of these patterns before. The second time around was easier because I remembered what I had done before. More confidence and less unpicking this time! 

There won't be any sewing on my radar this weekend. We are heading off to the beach. The forecast is for partly cloudy days so we will see what the weather brings. Think I will pack my knitting needles though seeing I am leaving my sewing machine behind;) 

Have yourself a really happy weekend!

Meg

Simple Wrap Skirt

Over the weekend, I finished sewing up a new wrap skirt. I'm really happy with how it turned out and I'm very sure that I'll wear it often...knowing me, that means I'll wear it until it's faded and full of holes!

 A new skirt made by me!

I used two lovely fabrics from my stash. Fabrics that I've had for ages! No surprise that I chose blue fabrics for my skirt because blue is my most favourite colour! I love the twining flowers on the main fabric, the brighter colours make them stand out against their blue background. The tiny dotted "waves" of the deep blue trim is the same fabric I used to make a tie on this dress. I think the two fabrics, while very different, work well together.

Twining flowers for pops of colour.

Tiny white dots repeated over and over again.

The pattern I used was the very simple Make it Perfect Versatile Wrap. There were no paper pattern pieces to cut out, you simply measure and cut your fabrics. There are three main skirt panels which you just sew together to make a generous wrap-around, then you sew a very long strip to make a trim that forms the waistband, hem and ties. A button hole, to thread the longest tie through as it wraps around the waist, helps secure the skirt too.

Three panels make up the wrap skirt.

Pinning the trim to the bottom of the skirt...a very easy hem!

This skirt is one of the projects I've made as a way to teach myself some basic sewing skills so I can make some of my own clothes.  With this skirt, I had to measure out and mark the pattern pieces straight onto the fabric rather than relying on paper pattern pieces. I double-checked everything I read so I got those measurements correct before I cut! I also learned how a narrow trim can form the waistband and hem of a skirt like this. I think I could transfer the way I did this to other skirts I might make. 

Wearing my new skirt.

Overall, I found this a very simple skirt to make in what was really only a few hours all up. A quick project but one that's resulted in a skirt that I think will indeed be quite versatile. 

Have you done any sewing lately? What have you made?

Meg