A Briar Top, and probably the cutest t-shirt I have ever made or will ever make again

Charlie and Jasper were using fabric markers to decorate a couple of white t-shirts and of course Clem wanted in on the action. I didn't have a white t-shirt in his size and I asked him what he wanted to draw. "Miffy on one side and Pillow on the other" he said with certainty. His two most beloved toys who share his bed every night and are sought out for comfort often during the day.

Well... I had to try to make that work for him, didn't I?

I cut out a t-shirt front and back from some plain cream cotton jersey and taped them to some cardboard, and let him go with the markers and a bit of acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium, when the markers didn't provide the right colours.

See below - pretty good likenesses, don't you think? (Minus the ingrained dirt/love.)

Pillow, made by Charlie for Clem some years back.

Watch out, he's coming at ya in his Miffy and Pillow t-shirt!

Here are the t-shirts that Jasper and Charlie drew:

(Ahem... proving it's not all organic-earthy-home-baked goodness around here. But he's happy with it.)

And this is a little seal character Charlie has been working on, drawing cartoons of.

And here's me in the Megan Nielsen Briar Top I whipped up during quiet moments at the shop, in a hemp/organic cotton jersey which is a rather striking but hard-to-photograph tangerine colour. I made up a size L because I wanted it nice and loose, chose the cropped version, the bound neckline and lengthened the sleeves, just for fun. I really, really like this pattern and I think I may be another bloggy sewist who makes more than one!

 Andy said 'now walk like an Egyptian'...

(I feel like I ought to offer up some sort of apology to Megan Nielsen for this shot, for making her Briar look dorky!)

- Jane x

quilt, guilt and sturdily built

Yep, I worked a bit hard on that title and it's all the worse for it.
I have been sewing a couple of things for myself, but I need to rope someone else in as photographer so no posts on those yet.

So, awkward rhyme number one. Quilt.

How gorgeous are those raindrops?

Progress on quilt-for-Charlie. I bought three prints from the Tula Pink 'Prince Charming' line, because Charlie is a big fan of frogs. And the colour green. I had this beige-ish linen, with small side stripes, in my stash. I thought it worked well for a 'solid' component, but it was all looking a bit pallid.
I was also feeling some guilt (ooh yeah, rhyme #2) because I had bought all these fabrics online from non-Australian sources. I am terribly lucky to have a fabric shop just around the corner from my house. It doesn't stock everything I want; in fact nothing I salivate over such as Anna Maria Horner, Heather Ross, Nani Iro, or eco-friendly stuff I'd love like organic cottons or bamboo. However, it does have plenty of great stuff. If I want it to still be there in one year, five years, ten years... I really should buy more of my fabric there.
Case in point: my regular dealer for hits of quality chenille? Closing down! Apparently the owner has been trying to sell the business for some time without success. Yikes! Anyone know of another Australian source of good chenille?
So anyway. Off I trotted around the corner today and bought two metres of lovely chocolate brown linen to throw into this quilting mix.
The plan is, as you kind of see here, strips of random slices of the three prints, interspersed with strips of the plain colours. Nothing too ordered, even or pattern-like, however a lot simpler than my first quilt.

Third rhyme. This is the sturdily built Singer 201K.

crappish pic, but if I'm ever to post this, it will have to do for now!

It was my Mum's first sewing machine.
A straight-stitcher, built in 1952. My Mum's parents purchased it for her second-hand, since these things apparently cost a bomb when new - something like half a year's average salary. They had it converted for her from knee-lever to foot-pedal operation.
It has sat unused for probably 45 years. I dusted it down, and oiled it up. After I realised the needle goes in sideways (so you thread it left-to-right not back-to-front), it was off and running; purring, in fact. The quietest machine I've ever used.
Here's a closer look at another sewing hand-me-down. This fabulous fake woodgrain sewing box was my Grandma's. It holds heaps but is always a mess and overflowing. Just a little insight here into my sewing space... which is our, ahem, dining table. I could probably count the number of times it has been used for 'dining' on one hand. Jigsaw in background has been there for weeks and is at the difficult-blocks-of-sky stage so the boys have lost interest. It's taking up good sewing space there.

Part of me would love to have a dedicated sewing room. Everything ordered, stored, pretty. But a lot of me likes it just like this: my sewing chaos, in the midst of all the regular family chaos.

- Jane x

Tutorial: Last-Another-Season-Kids'-Pants

No matter how much I tell my kids to stop it, they keep growing. If only we all had such an excuse for acquiring new clothes. To top it off, my boys often don't get fatter, just longer. Hah, wait until they're 25 and all those gingerbread men start to show on their waistlines.
Whilst I'm not sure my 8 and 9 year-olds would go for this solution, I'd inflict it freely on anyone of preschool age.
Just grab some fun, contrasting fabric and make those pants legs longer.

oh yes, it's that chenille again

Here's what I did with this pair of my nephew's jeans.

These old favourites are size 1. Nephew is four and a half. Baby pants tend to be big around the waist and backside to accommodate nappies/diapers. Once kids are toilet trained, some clothes take on a whole new life again. These jeans also have that fabulous adjustable elastic in the waistband.

The turn-up cuffs were worn, so I chopped them off.

Measure the leg bottom width, double it and add 1 inch for seam allowance.

6.5 inches x 2 = 13, + 1 inch s/a = 14 inches

Cut 2 rectangles of fabric, the width calculated above, and depth of extra length you need in the pants, plus 1.5 inches for seam and hem.

obligatory cutting mat shot

Fold cuff fabric in half, right sides together, and sew up the side seam with 1/2 inch seam allowance. I zigzagged the raw edges separately so I could open them out, to reduce bulk when hemming.

Slide inside-out cuff over jeans leg and pin edges, right sides facing. Line the cuff seam up with the inside leg seam.

Stitch all around with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. I then zigzagged the raw edges together.

Turn the cuff down and top stitch, catching the seam allowances underneath. Start at the inside leg for a neater finish.

here is where my little old free-arm Husqvarna would come in handy, except it's at the repair shop

Turn the hem under twice, pin and sew, starting from the inside leg.

Repeat for other side. Give it a press and you're done. Admire silly pants on your cute child!

Here are some well-worn ones I made last winter. I bought Clem some new size 3 track pants but the waist was far too big. So I took his size 1 track pants, with perfectly fitting waist, and lengthened them.

when I used a thinner cotton fabric, I doubled it and sandwiched around the bottom of the pants leg

The red chenille pants (I'm going to have to buy shares in a chenille factory somewhere) were made from a Japanese sewing pattern book. I've made this pattern three times and I love it. Just threw them into this photo to record for posterity. Clearly I have no problem dressing my child like a Muppet.

- Jane x

simple and satisfying sews

In the last two days I've managed to complete three separate sewing projects. Look, I sewed a real cat!

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These fluffy faces (well the green ones) are 'Softies for the children of Christchurch'.  When I bought the chenille from Simply Fabrics (on Magill Road here in Adelaide), the lady at the counter asked me what I was making. When I said toys for Christchurch, she gave me a most generous discount. What a lovely gesture.

I am keeping an eye out for any crafting donation plans for Japan now. If anyone hears of any, please let me know.

I also made a few of these key fobs, which I like very much.

I received a kit for one as a lovely bonus in a fabric order from here. It's great because it's lightweight but standout enough to make it easy to locate, and you can slip your hand through the loop rather than clutching a bunch of keys. A friend at work mentioned she'd like a couple and I bought a whole bunch of the makings just lately. I had in mind the Heather Ross moon fabric and it worked beautifully, if I do say so myself. A couple have made their way into our key bowl and these I will offer to my friend at work to select from.

This morning I looked at my old, old pillowcase and declared it disgusting. So I whipped these up.

fabric is 'Betty Dear' by Darlene Zimmerman for Robert Kaufman

They go with precisely nothing in our bedroom. However I hope they'll give me the inspiration to continue sprucing up that space.

Do you like our lawn? After watching a movie featuring a French country manor, we decided it's not completely overgrown and unkempt. It's simply 'French style'.

- Jane  x

faux chenille blanket and friends

Finished objects post! Early in the year I joined up for a 'pass it forward' handmade pledge on Facebook. I receive something handmade from a friend, then I have to make things for five friends, who in turn have to make things for five friends and so on.

Two of the friends who joined up for my offer have baby girls on the way. Naturally, I was excited to make their gifts first, since I only have boys. Our floor has been awash with teeny scraps of fabric in girly hues never before seen in this home.

Ever since I saw this tutorial I had been keen to try one of these faux chenille, or cut chenille, baby blankets. I am so thrilled with how it turned out. It hasn't fully fluffed/frayed yet but I've only washed it twice and we don't have a dryer, which probably speeds the process. I think I'll just leave it to keep fluffing in the hands of its intended owner.

Would that be more Anna Maria Horner fabric? Bingo.

pink, frilly, eek, girly!

It was a fair bit of work. As others have said, probably 4 hours worth of sewing lines. Maybe an hour of snipping. Not to mention, the way I did the binding meant I had to hand-sew the final edge of it down. But sometimes I find that sort of repetitive manual work rather therapeutic. There's something very real to show for it in the end. As opposed to say, cleaning the house which returns to pigsty state depressingly soon. Or paid work, which so often seems to be full of compromise or never even sees the light of day. Yes. Simple, repetitive, soft and cuddly can be very good.

I used an Anna Maria Horner quilting weight cotton for the back, and four layers of Kona cotton. I only cut through three layers for the chenille, leaving two layers intact for extra strength.

I bought the Kona cottons online, which was a bit of a gamble on colour matching. They were a bit more icecream-ish than I expected. In the end though I'm delighted with the result. Here I've fluffed it up a bit more to show the layers. Sorry I keep saying 'fluffed'.

fluffed, fluffed, fluffed, fluffed, fluffed

Moving along, I made some bibs for another little girl-on-the-way. More of the AMH print and some pink baby cord and yes, more chenille! Bought variety this time.

using some of my pretty old button stash

Finally, this was finished a couple of weeks ago. It's really still the 'test garment' and I must get my butt into gear for the final shirt. Anyhow, this is Andy about to head off to work today, actually wearing something I made him. Yay!

my sweetie, bravely tolerating the homemade floral shirt

Have you finished any pleasing projects lately? Do you find repetitive manual work can sometimes be soothing?
- Jane x

Spot the difference

I made my soft toy for Monkeymoomoo's Queensland Flood Appeal Dolly Drive today. These come together so quickly (especially when I don't have any small, er, helpers). Yet I'm constantly amazed by how much my boys love them.

Today's (and cool, I just discovered how to make the photos bigger!):

Charlie's that's been slept on for about a year, washed many times, and was mostly made by him:

The eyes on today's bugged me a bit, they are just embroidery thread, and I felt they needed something more. I tried some little eyebrows but spent ages unpicking them because they looked too messy. I think he'll do. Simple can be good, right?

Also just wanted to say, I love chenille. Love it. And this here is good quality chenille, which I didn't realise until I saw some rather thin, crappy stuff at Spotlight. Love a quality novelty fabric :-)

I've been procrastinating about the Negroni sew-along. I haven't measured Andy up yet so I couldn't even start tracing off the pattern today. I hope to make some big progress on the weekend. It's been stinking hot here, although I shouldn't complain because at least we haven't had floods or cyclones in my part of Australia. I feel like I ought to be making about a thousand pieces of smiling chenille comfort to send up north right now.