sewing – Page 126 – THORNBERRY

bags, sewing

An excellent trade

Many many months ago, Cathy and I organised a private swap – one of her paintings for a custom made bag. I did exceedingly well from this swap – this wonderful original artwork, Reef, has been hanging on my wall for some time now.

Whereas poor Cathy only received her bag last weekend!

It’s the Large Slouch pattern by Nicole Mallalieu, which I have now made around five times. One of the things I love about this bag is how much you can fit into it – it’s capacious, yet the shape means that it sits comfortably against your body. Here’s another angle:

The exterior fabric is canvas that I bought at Spotlight around a year ago. I added a small zip pocket to the outside to keep a mobile phone or tickets in – lined with some fabric by the talented Cam, aka Curlypops.

There are interior pockets on both sides of the bag as well – a large zip pocket on one side, and divided pockets on the other. The interior fabrics are from Ikea, as well as more of Cam’s bicycles. I added a key leash as well – it’s good to know where your keys can be found when they’re in a bag this roomy.

It’s so hard to photograph the insides of bags! The strap is webbing and has a quick release buckle, as well as a slide to make the length adjustable. I used a nice chunky zip as the closure, and added a layer of fusible interfacing and thin wadding to the exterior canvas for further support and structure. All interfacings/waddings/buckles etc came from Nicole Mallalieu Design.

Cathy seemed happy with her bag, so all in all it was an excellent trade! Cathy’s artwork is available for sale here.

It’s been a very busy week here in the house of thornberry with minimal crafting done in the sewing room. The kids are still on school holidays, and after the lethargy of last week, things have moved up a gear and we’ve had play dates, swimming lessons, movies, and lunch out. Whew! I still have another week with the kids before I return to work so we’ll be making the most of it. I love school holidays – and I love annual leave! I’m not so keen on night-time toilet training – Stella has (finally) decided that “I’m a big girl” and has started going to bed without a nappy. Needless to say I’ve been up in the middle of the night changing bedding for two nights out of the past four. At least it’s summer and everything dries quickly. Have a great weekend everyone!

Friday, 21 January, 2011 by thornberry

crochet, miscellaneous, musings, quilting, sewing, Uncategorized

Reflections and predictions

Over on Sew Mama Sew we were asked to reflect on the sewing scene of 2010 and come up with some predictions for 2011. Here’s my offering! And to break up the text, I’m going to subject you to mosaics of almost everything I made during 2010 – and they include the successes and failures. There are a few things missing that I failed to photograph…maybe I’ll get to them this year!

Looking back on the sewing scene of 2010, what trends stand out in your mind?

Australian fabric designers, the use of solids in quilts, sewing using patterns from independent pattern designers and magazines such as Burda and Ottobre, babushkas, craft bloggers writing books, the popularisation of crochet.

What were some of your favorite things? (Trends, fabric collections, patterns, blogs? Whatever you really loved.)

In terms of quilting fabrics, I love Denyse Schmidt’s and Anna Maria Horner’s designs. I especially like the voiles – which I use for garments. Heather Ross’s prints are also beautiful, as are Heather Bailey’s, Tula Pink’s, and of course the Kaffe Collective. In terms of patterns, I really loved seeing how sewists such as Carolyn took an inspiration photo and a tried and true (TNT) pattern to come up with something that was truly them yet of the minute. As far as blogs are concerned, I have around 300 in my reader! Way too many, but with folders as diverse as crochet, dressmaking, quilting, Aussies, faves and the classic “miscellaneous”, it’s hard to pare back! I have enjoyed seeing others embrace crochet and finding a crochet community – thank you Ravelry!

What was your very favorite fabric collection or print? (If not listed above.)

My favourite quilting fabric collections are Kaffe’s and the abovementioned voiles. As far as dressmaking is concerned I branched out into sewing many more knits than I used to. All those knit dresses!

What was the best thing you made in 2010? (Be sure to share a photo!)

I’m not sure what the best garment I made was, although I was pretty keen on the Atlantis dress and the circles skirt. And let’s not forget the bathers! Crochet-wise I’m pretty proud of the crochetalong blanket, although much of that was actually done in 2009. I’ve pleased with the way that my crochet has improved over the past year – I’m getting better at reading patterns and making garments. The quilted cushion was also a highlight, as was getting the wedding quilt finished in time. Participating in Around The Block has been wonderful both in terms of how much I learned and how many wonderful women I met. And I pretty much like everything I’ve made for the girls.

What is one of the best things you saw that was made by someone else?

Too hard – too many wonderful things to choose from!

What do you think 2011 has in store? (Again, trends, fabric, patterns, etc.)

This is a difficult question! Trends keep on evolving I suppose – one builds upon another. Solids seem to be huge in the quilting world, so I suppose that will continue. The dressmaking world will continue to be inspired by vintage patterns, and more people will upgrade their sewing skills. Any other suggestions?

Anything you’re ready for the sewing world to get over?

Wonky. I’m over wonky.

What’s on your sewing agenda for 2011? What are you excited about? What would you like to learn more about?

I want to get better at fit. I want to learn more about pattern drafting and alterations. I want to draft up some slopers or tried and true basic pattern blocks. I want to sew more for me – although when I look at those mosaics I sew plenty for me! – and I want to sew with more of a plan. I want to sew (and crochet) through some of my stash and stop adding to it (unless absolutely necessary). I want to crochet myself more garments. I want to finish off my unfinished quilts. I want to grow and develop my skills, and enjoy the process and much as the product. But I want to do all this without pressuring myself. Is that possible?

I’m excited about more trips to Sewjourn and attending Sew It Together in Sydney. I’m excited about the prospect of Northern Craft Bonanza starting up again soon. I’m excited about the release of Nikki‘s book later this year.

What about you? What are your reflections and predictions?

Wednesday, 12 January, 2011 by thornberry

adult's clothing, sewing

Simplicity 2660

Say hello to my Mum, everyone! While on holidays with my parents I sewed up Simplicity 2660, view A (the dress) for Mum. We bought the fabric at Darn Cheap Fabrics around a year ago.

It’s a woven rayon and has made up beautifully into this dress. I checked the measurements on the pattern pieces rather than those on the pattern envelope when deciding what size to make, and it was a good thing that I did. If I’d gone with the size on the envelope that corresponded with Mum’s measurements it would have been way too big. As it was I made a straight size 18 but with narrower side and waist seams. Perfect fit!

There is a zip in the back but Mum says she doesn’t really need it – she can get it on and off without unzipping it. I think it’s really flattering. An overall success – she’s going to make another one!

I’ve written up a review of this pattern over at Pattern Review. One of my New Year’s resolutions (oh, so I do have some after all!) is to write a review for Pattern Review each time I make a garment. After all, I use Pattern Review as a resource all the time, so I should be contributing to the community there as well! Hopefully I’ll get faster at writing them with practice – this one took me a while and the site is a bit clunky to use, espeically when compared to the marvellous thing that is Ravelry – and by the end of the year I’ll have put a little more back into that wonderful sewing resource.

Tuesday, 11 January, 2011 by thornberry

children's clothing, kids clothing, sewing

New Look 6694 (or my big girl turns eight)

Another birthday, another birthday dress! Miss Clare chose New Look 6694 for a dress from wonderful Japanese fabric.

Yes, we went bowling for her birthday! It was rather hilarious watching the kids bowl – Stella was particularly excited and jumped up and down from the moment she pushed the ball down the ramp.

Both girls enjoyed themselves making bubbles – it was just bubble mix from Woolworths but wow, what great big bubble wands and all they needed to do was twirl the wands through the air and watch the bubbles absolutely pour out!

But back to the dress. It’s a halter neck and also has a back tie, with an elasticised back waist. I made size 7 for Clare – who just turned 8 – and it is a little big. But not too big to be a problem. Like most New Look children’s patterns, it is stylish and all went together nicely.

I just can’t believe how quickly the past eight years have gone by!

Thanks for making the cake Grandma!

Monday, 10 January, 2011 by thornberry

adult's clothing, sewing

New Look 6009 – again!

Although I have a sizeable pattern stash, when I’m on a good thing I like to stick to it. It seems that the patterns I buy are either never used at all or are used at least twice, if not three times. This is New Look 6009, which I last made just a couple of weeks ago.

This is view B, which is a little shorter than view A, the version I made last time. The top of the sleeves has been left open, and there is no casing. I made a tie belt to see how it would look, and can’t decide if I like it better with or without.

Maybe I’ll just wear it either way depending on my mood! The fabric is a lovely embroidered cotton I bought some years ago from Darn Cheap Fabrics. I used it back in December 2007 for Clare’s and Stella’s Christmas dresses, and this is almost the last of it (I may be able to squeeze out just one more small item).

This will be the last time I use this pattern – for the moment at least – since I have some other tops at home cut out and waiting to be sewn together when we return from holidays. So many patterns, so little time. My mother thinks that this year I should concentrate on sewing for myself instead of for the girls – sounds good to me! I’ve found the sewing summaries that many bloggers have written to be fascinating – it’s rather astounding (and impressive) how many garments some people sew per year. Maybe one day I too will sit down and work out just how much I make, and in what categories!

Happy New Year to you all!

Saturday, 1 January, 2011 by thornberry

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.

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.

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.

Friday, 31 December, 2010 by thornberry

children's clothing, crochet, kids clothing, sewing

More Christmas day photos

Please indulge me…just some more Christmas day photos of my sweet girls in their Christmas dresses.

Details of Clare’s Jump Rope dress here
Details of Stella’s Bella dress here

Wednesday, 29 December, 2010 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.

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.

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!

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.

Tuesday, 28 December, 2010 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.

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.

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!

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!

Tuesday, 21 December, 2010 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.

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.

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!

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!

Friday, 17 December, 2010 by thornberry