Planning and cutting

Before I allow myself to buy new  fabric I am determined to sew up some of my stash.  And I am determined to finish off my half made/ cut out projects.   As I typed up the list in this post, I could see there are enough plans here to keep me sewing for a long time.  I seem to have started more projects than I realised.

I  have cut out these high waisted winter shorts from Ottobre.  I used a hand loomed tweed that was in the binbags of inherited fabric.














The tweed is from Bovey Tweed in Devon.   I have used a cotton also from the binbags for the waist band facings and pocket linings.  I am uncertain as to whether tweed shorts will be a good or bad thing.  Let's just say they are a bit of an experiment.

I have pieces of bright pink and orange fleece left over from scarf making almost two years ago.  I am using the mitten pattern from Littlle Things to Sew by Liesl Gibson to make Rocket Girl and Little I some mittens.

I have almost finished making a tutu (also from Little Things to Sew)  this is for Little I.
I am halfway through making a yellow jersey Staple dress.  I lost interest in completing it three months ago!  It is gathering dust on my shelf.

I bought a lovely stepweave wool crepe about three years ago and then chickened out of using it!  I have cut it out to make a seasonal dress, but it is unlikely to get finished soon.

I seriously need an apron and was planning on using leftover denim from my skinny jeans to cobble one together.  Phew...what a list.

I am still planning on making my parka but need to sell a few bits on ebay to get the funds for the fabric!

FO: No Tie Scarf Insanity

Okay so it may be slightly insane to have sewn something or even two somethings with a tiny baby in the house and while suffering sleep deprivation. But these are very simple fleece scarves with a pocket/loop thingy for easy fastening. I managed to make them last week without sewing my finger to the machine or any other such catastrophe. The need for them arose a couple of weeks ago when it had become bitterly cold and I was trying to persuade T to wear his scarf to school. His excuse was "But I can't tie it up". I was wondering about adding a looop to his existing scarf, but then I was leafing through Little Things to Sew by Liesl Gibson and my eye fell upon the no-tie scarf. Is n't that great when you realise you already have the pattern and the solution without having to buy more? The scarves require 4 pieces of fabric and are easy to make, if you had no baby in tow these scarves would probably only take 2 hours to make or even less.

I used some ebay fleece and some woven scraps for the pocket/loop bit. The book suggests using a woven fabric for the inner side of the carf but I chose to use fleece on both sides to make the scarf cosier. T's is orange and he opted for no trim. Little I's scarf has pink pompom trim as her clothing mantra is "more is more". The pocket bit is very clever and I couldn't figure out how it works till I made the scarf! That is due to my own inability to understand pattern instructions until I actually DO MAKE the pattern up, not to the instructions being unclear. I would recommend this pattern if you too want a simple no-tie scarf. I also am planning to make some more One Day as presents.

I am pleased with the finished scarves and T said I was "amazing" so I felt a brief glow of maternal satisfaction knowing the children had warm necks! That didn't last, T didn't think I was quite so amazing when I made him stop playing computer games and tidy the room instead (tee hee). And Little I loves her scarf but later told me I had "ruined my day" by making her eat her supper at the table, oh and washing her hair! (I know, my cruelty knows no bounds).

Sewing for others - explorer waistcoat

After finishing my Summer Essentials sewing I have taken a break from sewing for me.

Instead, I've made this waistcoat for T from "Little Things to Sew" by Liesl Gibson. It is a lovely book of projects to make for children. With beautiful illustrations, that will look familiar to anyone who knows Liesl Gibson's pattern line Oliver+S.

I used some camo fabric that I was given on freecycle about three years ago.

You can see the waistcoat in the book is much more preppy looking. However, T wanted something for being out in the woods and chose the camo fabric from my stash. I was a little concerned he would look like someone waiting in the back woods for the end of the world, but I guess at eight years old you can get away with a bit of camoflauge. He requested no buttons so there are none.

The lining is made with the remnants of fabric I used to make my trousers and skirt. The arm edges are bound with self made bias binding.

The instructions are clear with diagrams and easy to follow.

The trickiest bit was making three pockets (two front, one back) with bellows. The book gives you the choice of patch pockets or the bellows ones. I am glad though that I did the bellows as they give more roomy pockets for collecting treasure. Now I have made them once I have been thinking they would be great pockets for a bag.