Buttons. And a Lisette pattern review (Simplicity 2211)

Do you like buttons? Me, I LOVE me some buttons.

I am quite restrained when it comes to collecting them. For ages my button collection fitted in an old Altoids tin. There are a few too many now to get in the tin, but I try to keep it reined in.

This week though, was time for a button splurge. After much procrastinating (waaaaaay too much stocking stitch for my liking) I finished my Chickadee cardigan this weekend.

I’d already lined up some stunning buttons from The Makery Emporium, which has become my go to place for pretty Japanese painted wooden buttons. I bought nine of these large chintzy ones..

…and also, some tiny ones with tropical looking orange flowers, to decorate a blouse I just finished in time for our mini heatwave.

The blouse is by Lisette for Simplicity (pattern 2211, view E) and this was a dry run for some Liberty Tana Lawn which was too perfect to risk on a first attempt. It’s just as well I did the dry run – I managed to sew the collar on inside out (duh) and had to cut it off and bodge the neckline.

And then the sleeves turned out to be smaller than the armholes, which made it kind of hard to gather them in, as per the pattern – definitely a grading error as I followed all the seam allowances exactly. Luckily my lovely repro feedsack fabric was 130cm wide, not the standard 115cm, which meant I had a little spare, so I recut a new pair of sleeves two sizes larger and used those.

Voila…

Shame about the ‘wasted’ fabric. It’ll go into a quilt one day. The blouse only needs a metre of 150cm wide fabric if you fancy making it (a little more if you use quilting width).

I do have some glorious vintage glass buttons, which I bought at the first Knit Nation. They are from L Nichols, a company set up by the daughter of buttonmaker Lionel Nichols to sell off her huge collection of buttons he made in his lifetime. She releases them in collections a couple of times a year. Each set is totally unique and priced accordingly. Ahem.

Nearly two years on, they still haven’t found their perfect project. They nearly went on the feedsack shirt, but it just wasn’t quite right.

Their time will come…

Tags: adjustments, dress patterns, fashion, knitting, sewing, stashbusting, the makery

And they say never meet your heroes…

I distinctly remember when I was in my early 20s watching Aerosmith’s Steve Tyler on a UK chat show.

Man, I’d always loved that band (yes, I know they are The Cheese). But seeing Tyler on TFI Friday, talking about women in a most unsatisfactory way – though Lord knows what I was expecting, put me Right Off.

And then there was the time I made an absolute fool of myself when I bumped into Noel Fielding (lovely) and Julian Barrat (less so) in Soho Square at the height of Mighty Boosh mania. You don’t need to know more than that.

I’m rambling. But because of the above, I was a little wary about meeting a more recent hero of mine – Jane Brocket.

Jane was on the Mollie Makes stand at the Stitch and Craft show at Olympia, where I was working at my day job for The Knitter. It was a perfect opportunity to say hello and have my copies of her books signed…

Happily it was third time lucky for me. Not only was Jane absolutely lovely, she told me a little about her next two books, and her plans for some time off after six years of working solidy. Fair enough I think.

I didn’t get a picture with her because, if it were me, I wouldn’t like that at all. But as she was absolutely instrumental in my decision to take a chance on a new kind of career, it was great to pay a little homage, without any actual fawning/ grovelling involved.

While at the show I also finally permitted myself a Moda jelly roll (you can blame Jane for my ever growing quilting obsession)…

And was also treated to a little yarn freebie by the utterly delightful Martin Storey (thanks Martin!)

So tell me, who are your heroes?

 

Tags: knitting, sewing, wool

Poorly girl dress: Oliver + S Puppet Show pattern review

Oh hello! Long time no speak! Sorry for my rather extended absence. Storm has had croup, which was Not Good, but luckily she wasn’t poorly for too long.

Anyway, to cheer up my poorly girl I made her a dress. It’s the longer version of the tunic from Oliver + S Puppet Show pattern and I am very pleased with it.

I’ve not used one of their designs before, and I was pretty impressed. Quite a few of the markings on the paper pattern weren’t mentioned in the instructions, but I could figure out what they were for so, no matter.

The finished result is very neat (OK, neat for me) and I love the collar especially. I used some polka dot Lecien fabric and a smidge of Amy Butler I got as a remnant (I have no idea what it is – sorry).

The pattern did call for way more fabric than I actually needed, which I found a bit odd, but I am a canny cutter, and I didn’t bother with the bias trim for the edging, opting to cover up my slightly, erm, relaxed hemming with pretty velvet ric-rac instead.

I made the size for a 5 year old. It’s a bit big but she will grow into it (and boy is she growing!)

Ta dah!

I also have the Oliver + S Jump Rope dress pattern  so that might be next (once I’ve finished a couple of designs for actual work, ahem).

Tags: child, sewing, stashbuster

Hello Mollie! Crochet flowers and egg cosies galore

Happy weekend! After a morning spent beavering away in the garden, getting ready for spring (hurrah!) I gave myself permission to tear open the wrapper on my yummy new issue of Mollie Makes. Thanks Mr Postman!

Even better, there are several patterns in this issue that I lent a helping hand with on the tech editing front.

First up is this month’s star project …

These lovely egg cosies by Suzie Johnson of The Wool Sanctuary, are lickitysplit quick to knit up, and will give you a nicely sample sized challenge, with a little bit of Fair Isle and intarsia knitting needed to make them up.

I also provided a little assistance with the adorbs (as Mollie would say) cover gift – a pretty crochet flower brooch in pink cotton yarn, designed by Anna Rakoniewska, who has a super-cute Etsy shop.

You only need to be able to do double and treble crochet (single and double in US speak) to put this together. It really is very simple – don’t be scared!

The garden is waking up to spring, so I spent a lovely hour outside after I’d finished digging, weeding and re-potting, sat in the warm(ish) sun with Mollie and a nice cool drink.

Ooo, look, buds! Hooray for sunny days! Ttfn xx

Tags: crochet, fairisle, gardening, knitting

One hour project: Clothkits apple doorstop

Ooo, hello Clothkits. What a blast from the past!

As a child I was usually dressed in either:

a) Something my mother had sewn

b) Something my aunt had designed

c) Something from a jumble sale

d) Something from Clothkits, which my mother had sewn

Once my mum made me a dress by tracing a Clothkits pattern onto an old curtain she’d got from a jumble sale for about 15p, thus fulfilling options a), c) and d) all in one garment.

Clothkits died a death in the 80s, but it’s back. BACK! And just as brilliant.

It now has yummy artists like Rob Ryan, Emily Peacock, and Echino Designs (lovely Japanese fabric designer) on board, and has revived some old favourites (I think my brother had this coat) and created some new classics.

Anyway, when I saw their stand at Ally Pally in the autumn I couldn’t resist one of their lovely apple doorstops (minimalism alert – we actually did need a second doorstop in addition to The Squirrel). Especially as they were just £5 (show offer – nice!).

Of course, the kit has since languished in a cupboard for a few months, but when I finally got it out to make it took me less than an hour from start to finish. Great for a present.

Foolishly I forgot to trace the pieces before I cut them, (the nice lady on the Clothkits stand told me everyone does this) but actually the pattern is very simple – four triangles with the point chopped off, a square for the bottom, and a handle.

And, oooo, that lovely Clothkits babycord. Such great fabric (iron it upside down to avoid squashing it).

Clothkits, welcome back (OK, I know it’s been a few years). You guys rock!

Tags: child, dress patterns, fashion, home, photography, sewing, stash, stashbuster

One hour project: Easy ironing board cover

Ironing bites, doesn’t it? I have a semi-official, ‘no buying clothes that need ironing’ rule, which means that apart from the occasional shirt, I don’t have to iron.

But when it comes to sewing, I’m the opposite. I iron A LOT. If you want to sew anything, then your iron is your friend.

A firm hand with a steam iron can fix a wonky seam, square a quilt piece and dry that fabric you forgot to wash but are desperate to cut out, like NOW.

My ironing board has seen better days and recently has been leaving a grid like pattern when I turn the temperature up, so I realised it needed re-padding and recovering.

Probably something to do with this…

Happily, this is a very easy job.

Here’s how.

1) Take off your old ironing board cover. Commercial covers are usually held on by cord (cheaper than elastic), so look underneath and you’ll find a fastening like this:

2) Unwind the fastener and remove the cover. You’ll find a layer of foam or wadding.

3) Take that off, and place it on top of your chosen padding. I’m using an old towel, but left over quilt wadding works well too. Draw around the original padding, closely, using dressmaker’s chalk (or a felt pen if you haven’t got that).

4) Cut it out. Now lay it ON TOP of the original foam (the more padding the better). Trim it to match if it doesn’t fit.

5) Now place the new padding on your chosen cover fabric. I’m using a mid-weight home furnishing cotton, by Amy Butler, but any mid-weight smooth cotton is fine. This piece just happened to be the right size and needed using.

6) Draw around your padding, leaving a 3in/7.5cm seam.

7) You can finish the edging with zig-zag stitching or an overlocker, or, use pinking shears – the easiest option (especially if you remember to use them to cut out with, unlike me).

8) Fold over a 1in/ 2.5cm seam and pin. You will need to make small pleats at the corners. Make sure they all go the same way, as this will make threading through the elastic (see next step) much easier.

9) Sew a straight seam around this edging, making sure it’s wide enough for your elastic (I used 0.5cm elastic) and leaving a 1in gap in the seam.

10) Attach the elastic to a medium safety pin and use that to push through the gap, and feed the elastic around. This is the fiddly bit. Pin the other end of the elastic to the fabric so that the tail doesn’t disappear into the casing.

11) When you’ve threaded it all the way around, tie a very tight reef knot in your elastic and push the knot into the opening. Overstitch the gap and make sure the ruffling caused by the elastic is pretty even. But remember, it won’t show!

12) Return the various items to the ironing board in this order: original foam, new padding, original cover, new cover.

13) Voila!

Your ironing board is as good as new, and you’ll get a pristine finish every time you use it. Not that you I’m saying you should…

Ttfn!

Tags: home furnishing, minimalism, sewing, stashbuster, steam iron

Secret birthday project #3: Storm’s new dress

Being almost four years old is pretty tough when it’s someone else’s birthday.

My brothers share the same birth date, but were born two years apart, and I know it was often hard on them to have to share that special day whrn they were little. But even worse when it’s not your birthday AT ALL, but someone else’s.

With my dad’s 65th luncheon, and one of Storm’s little friends’ birthday parties the day after, I knew my wee girl might find last weekend tough, so I made her a special dress to wear to both events.

It’s from Jennifer Paganelli’s (of Sis Boom fabrics) wonderful Girl’s World pattern book, which is a mini treasure trove of girly treats – dresses, flowery hairbands, bags, and banners.

Storm got the first dress in the book – Mary’s Sash Dress, made up in an Amy Butler Love print I bought as a 2m remnant from Get Knitted a while ago. She picked it out of my fabric stash one afternoon, half-wrapped it around her and asked me to ‘knit her’ a dress with it. I was surprised she chose such a bold (non-pink) print but I jumped at the chance.

I used up almost all the fabric (the skirt is suitably twirly, and the sash is v extravagant), and added some pom-pom trim, just for fun. It was lovely seeing her dressed up all weekend, and every stitch filled me with joy.

If you’re new to sewing, this book is great, as the patterns are really simple and every single step is explained.

The dress took me a couple of evenings and I’ve already lined up the fabric for Storm’s birthday dress in June. Hopefully, that won’t be quite so much of a consolation prize…

Here she is in the sandpit at Sunday’s party. Heck, I didn’t say she had to save it for best now, did I?!

Tags: birthday dress, child, sewing, stashbuster