Month: December 2010

craft, sewing

Hot stuff

One of my colleagues suffers from neck and shoulder pain.  We sit at a computer all day, and she finds that a hot wheat pack really helps to ease her aches.  The hot pack she was using at work had been heated a few too many times – it smelled like burnt toast each time she zapped it in the microwave – so I made her some new ones.

wheat bags

Let me tell you, these are EASY to make! I traced around the outside of her old hot pack to make a pattern, since she liked the way that it sat comfortably around her neck and shoulders.  I used leftover corduroy that was in the stash (some of you may recognise it from clothes I’ve made Clare), sewed it up leaving an opening at one end, turned and topstitched it, still leaving that opening at the end, then filled it with wheat. Each one took a kilogram. Apparently pearl barley works even better than wheat – Mr Thornberry once worked for the wheat board and would you believe they investigated the heat retaining properties of different grains in hot packs. Anyway, I happened to have wheat, so that is what I used. The other side is plain corduroy, for when my colleague wishes to be more sedate.

wheat bags

I sewed the lines across each one after they were filled and the end sewed up (which I did on the machine) – make sure that you use a jeans needle and push the grain away from the presser foot and needle as much as you can before doing this. The stitching lines make sure that the wheat won’t all fall down to the ends when it’s around your neck.

These are really quite easy to make and it wouldn’t take much to customise one for where you need to wear your hot pack. My colleague took one home and has the other one at work, where it no longer smells like a bakery each time she needs to heat it up.

by thornberry
crochet

Boxing Day

Remember that I crocheted Clarity cardigans for Clare and for Stella?  They both wore them to a family picnic on Boxing Day.  As it turned out, the weather was inclement and astoundingly cold for a summer’s day, so they could have done with jackets rather than light summer dresses and cardis.  But like many children, they didn’t seem to feel the cold all that much.

Clarity cardigans

Clarity cardigans

Clarity cardigans

Clarity cardigans

Clarity cardigans

by thornberry
children's clothing, kids clothing, sewing

Jump Rope dress

That’s it, another Christmas Day done and dusted!  Thirteen adults and our two girls for lunch at our house – thankfully everyone brought along food to share and hubby cooked up a superb seafood barbeque, so it was a very successful day!  My mother-in-law and sister-in-law even did a sterling job of cleaning up in the kitchen afterwards – luckily for me, because I was absolutely exhausted at the end of the day and was in bed at the same time as the girls…

Anyway, on to Clare’s dress!  The pattern is the Jump Rope dress by Oliver + S.

Christmas Day dress - Clare in Jump Rope

There are so many lovely details in this dress. The placket and rounded collar, belt loops, tabs on the folded sleeve cuffs, patch pockets. I used a contrasting fabric (from Spotlight last year) for the inside of the placket, the under collar, the belt loops, the pocket flaps and the sleeve tabs. And we used very plain buttons to tone down that riot of colour and pattern.

Christmas Day dress - Clare in Jump Rope

Although Clare measured size 6, I took a punt and sewed size 7 (she is almost 8 years old). I was glad that I did – the 6 would have been quite snug. In the 7 she has growing room without it being too large. Perfect!

Christmas Day dress - Clare in Jump Rope

The fabric is from Sandi Henderson’s Meadowsweet 2 line.

Thanks so much to everyone who left me lovely comments on my last post.  I hope that you all had an enjoyable day and that the holiday season continues in a positive vein.

by thornberry
adult's clothing, sewing

New Look 6009

Oooo, I actually sewed something from a newly released pattern, rather than from a pattern (and fashion) that has been sitting in my rather large pattern stash for years.  This is New Look 6009.

New Look 6009

I was a little unsure at first about the elasticised casing at the lowered waist, but gave it a go anyway. I have a couple of other tops with this type of waistline and find them comfortable and I think they’re flattering (especially since I don’t have a small waist to highlight anyway). I particularly like the neckline treatment.

New Look 6009 detail

When the centre front seam is sewn you leave a gap, which is later hemmed. After the top is assembled and the facing sewn on, a small tube of fabric is wrapped around the neckline through the hole and secured on the reverse. Very easy to do, and I think very effective!

New Look 6009

The fabric is a slightly slippery, slightly stretchy woven (possibly a polyester stretch satin) from Darn Cheap Fabrics – I saw it in a discount bin and couldn’t resist. Even Mr T likes the print! I recommend this pattern – it’s quick, it’s easy, it’s current, and it’s comfortable. There isn’t loads of ease in it, so I cut out size 14 through the body but size 12 across the neckline and shoulders. I’ve been sneaking in bits of sewing for me while I should be sewing up a whole list of other things…oh well!

New Look 6009

by thornberry
bags, sewing

Bloke bag

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while would know that I make Clare’s teacher a bag at the end of the year to say thank-you.  This year Clare’s teacher was a man, and I was very unsure about how well a bag would be received.  Then I remembered that my teenaged nephew loves the bag I made for him (three years later it’s carted around university texts, bike gear, six-packs, and has been declared “better than crumpler“) so I went ahead and made a bloke bag for Clare’s teacher after all.

Bloke Bag - Nicole Mallalieu Design Large Slouch

The fabric is from Ikea, and the pattern is the Large Slouch by Nicole Mallalieu Design.  I used black webbing and black plastic fittings to “man it up” a little.  The strap is adjustable and has a side release buckle.  It has a chunky zip to close it, and inside there is a zippered pocket all along one side and a divided pocket on the other.

Bloke Bag - Nicole Mallalieu Design Large Slouch

I fused a layer of light interfacing and light wadding to the outside of the bag, but left the lining and pocket fabrics as is. They are all home decor/furnishing weight fabrics so were perfect for a bag. The strap is long enough to wear across the body or over one shoulder. I even persuaded Mr Thornberry to model it for me!

Bloke Bag - Nicole Mallalieu Design Large Slouch

Clare’s teacher was delighted, and reckons that his wife will be jealous.  Sadly for us he is leaving the school, so I was pleased to make him something personal that he can remember us all by.  And now that’s another year of school over – grade 3 next year, and another male teacher to make a bloke bag for!

by thornberry
children's clothing, crochet, kids clothing

Stella’s Clarity

Clarity for Stella

Remember that I crocheted a Clarity cardigan for Clare?  I recently finished a green one for Stella.

Clarity for Stella

I made this in the smallest pattern size, but added some length. It fits Stella beautifully. The pattern is from the Spring 2010 issue of Interweave Crochet (you can purchase this pattern here if you are interested) and I used the recommended yarn,  NaturallyCaron.com Spa.  It only took about one and a half balls to make this little cardi, in about two weeks of incidental crocheting.

Clarity for Stella

Now I just need to get a photo of Stella wearing it!

by thornberry
adult's clothing, sewing

Living in the wild, wild west

I bought this blue and black border printed fabric from GJ’s a long time ago.  I don’t quite know why – it is certainly quite unusual and not my usual style.  It must have been massively reduced.  Anyway, recently I combined it with Simplicity 2584 and with some judicious cutting and pattern piece placement I ended up with this dress.

Simplicity 2584 view C, lengthened

This is a lengthened version of view C. There was a lot that I liked about this pattern, especially the shaped feature around the front neckline and the puffed lower sleeve. The zip on the back is applied to the outside of the dress, which is a common feature in ready-to-wear at the moment. I found the zip at Darn Cheap Fabrics.  It’s difficult to see in these photos but it is a black and white stripe.

Simplicity 2584 view C, lengthened

Unfortunately, this dress is a little bit tight! I’ve been eating inappropriately a lot over the past few months (that is, eating loads of chocolate) and unsurprisingly I’ve gained a few kilos. Pity I didn’t measure myself before I made the dress!

Simplicity 2584 view C, lengthened

I checked the seams carefully to see if I could let it out but sadly I’d overlocked them together and there was no allowance left. This will have to be inspiration to stay off the chocolate and do some more exercise! It’s wearable, just, but not at all comfortable.

Simplicity 2584 view C, lengthened

I might use this pattern again, but would raise the neckline slit a little – it’s very low as drafted – and would double-check the flat pattern measurements against my own.  In the meantime, check out all those cowboys in the print!

Simplicity 2584 view C, lengthened

by thornberry
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