WIP- hexxy triangles are done!

I have finally finished piecing the 1.5" strips and cutting out the 8.5" triangles. About half way through this momentus job (about 300m of seams!) I started losing faith in the project. However I have just now spent the evening crawling about on the floor arranging the triangles to create the hexagonal pattern and am feeling all inspired about the project again. Woo hoo! Here is a photo of the layout- its not the best pic as the flash had to fire but you get the general idea.



All the pieces are now stacked, carefully labelled and positioned on my "fabric cupboard" (AKA the piano) so I wont be able to get another photo until its all pieced together.

Dinosaur pants

Well I didnt make these but I wish I had! I saw them at Fremantle Village Markets and just HAD to have them. My almost 5 year old daughter, Matilda, thought they were rather special and they are a perfect fit. They really suit her fun-loving, kooky personality.

Progress update- Hexagonal srappy quilt

I am about half way through creating the triangles (69 of 150) and then they will get sewn into strips creating half hexagons. The strips are joined to create a series of complete hexagons.

Santa Sacks

My husband and I decided to include ourselves in the christmas morning stocking opening pandemonium this year by each filling a stocking for the other person. These are the santa sacks I made for the purpose. "D" is for Dad or David, and "M" is for Mum or Milly (how convenient!).

Hexagonal scrappy quilt- WIP

Here is a sneak-peek of my (incomplete) latest quilt.

Tutorial- Plastic coated bag. Part 4

To read part 3 follow this link http://thetinwhistle.blogspot.com/2007/12/tutorial-plastic-coated-bag-part-3.html

Finishing touches...

Stitch shut the hole in the lining.
Topstitch around the top edge of the bag to stop the lining wanting to roll outwards. The machine foot likes to stick to the plastic, so you need to pull the fabric through from behind.
Ta Da!!!! Now go shopping in a nice little cosmopolitan grocers store and enjoy all the comments as you load up your bag with organic vegies.

Want to make another bag? Here I'll make it easy to find part 1 again http://thetinwhistle.blogspot.com/2007/12/tutorial-plastic-coated-bag-part-1.html

Tutorial- Plastic coated bag. Part 3

Part 2 if you want the story so far http://thetinwhistle.blogspot.com/2007/12/tutorial-plastic-coated-bag-part-2.html

Constructing the bag...

With the outershell wrong side out, position the handles in their desired locations (one on each side) and hold them in place with bobbypins. Turn the lining so that it is right side out and place it inside the bag. The right side of the lining will be touching the plastic of the outer shell and the handles sandwhiched between the lining and plastic. Match up the side seams of both the outershell and the lining and Bobby pin all the layers together.

Sew around the top edge of the bag to stitch all the layers together.
Pull the lining out. See the little hole you made in the lining? You need to fold/scrunch up the outer shell and push it through the hole.
Just like this!
Gently unfold and tease out the plastic. Your bag is almost finished... Part 4 is here
http://thetinwhistle.blogspot.com/2007/12/tutorial-plastic-coated-bag-part-4.html

Tutorial- Plastic coated bag. Part 2

Part 1 is here http://thetinwhistle.blogspot.com/2007/12/tutorial-plastic-coated-bag-part-1.html

Sewing the outer shell...

Lay one of the outer fabrics face side up, then lay the two pieces of plastic on top of the fabric (see pic above). Finally lay the second piece of outer fabric FACE DOWN onto the plastic. As you are doing this ensure there is no fluff/thread/dirt sandwhiched between the fabric and the plastic. If there is it will stay there for ever and mock you every time you use the bag. I speak from experience. The fabric slides easily on the plastic but you do not want to pierce the plastic with pins so instead use bobby pins to hold the layers together. Sew the outer shell together the same way you consutructed the lining, but ommit the 20cm hole in the side seam. Sewing with the plastic is fiddly as the fabric slides on it and the plastic sticks to itself. Take your time, you want to avoind unpicking mistakes as this leaves holes in the plastic.

Sewing the handles...
Lay the plastic on a flat surface, fold it in half and press it to create a crease then unfold. Place the handle fabric on top FACE DOWN. Fold the edges of the fabric/plastic to the centre. The crease you just made serves as a guide. Use Bobby pins to hold the folded edges in place.
Now flip one of the folds onto the other, so the edges of the plastic is now hidden inside the handle. Bobby pin in place and topstitch the edge
Topstitching the other edges finishes the handle off nicely.

Make two identical handles.

Go on to Part 3 of the tutorial http://thetinwhistle.blogspot.com/2007/12/tutorial-plastic-coated-bag-part-3.html

Tutorial- Plastic coated bag. Part 1

This is a step by step guide to creating the plastic covered bags that have featured in earlier entries of this blog. This bag is really very very simple to construct, and can be easily modified to any dimensions.
Buy approx 50-70cm of each (112cm 0r 150cm wide) fabric, one colour for the outer, and one as a liner. I like to use quilters cottons as the range of colours/patterns is much nicer, but any non-stretch fabric would do. The plastic can be found in the tablewear section of stores like Spotlight and Textile Traders and costs around $6 or $7 a metre. Sometimes its hard to get hold of so if you are planning in making a few bags it pays to buy up big when you see it in stock somwhere.

The general idea for cutting out is to cut a large rectangle and then cut out identical sized squares from each corner. The size of the square determines the depth of the bag. For my example above, the overall rectangle was 52 cm X42 cm and the little squares that got cut out were 11cm x 11cm. Sewing with a 1cm seam allowance this resulted in a finished bag with the dimesions of 30cm wide, 30cm tall and 20cm deep.

Once you have worked out the desired dimensions cut 2 of the lining, 2 of the outer fabric and 2 of plastic. The handles are should be about 8 to 10cm wide. The length can vary depending on if you want to sling the bag over your shoulder or not. 60-80 cm if you want a shoulder bag or 50cm if you want them to be carry handles. Cut 2 handles from fabric (I like to use the same fabric as the outer bag fabric) and 2 from plastic.

Sewing the lining...

Place the pieces of lining fabric right sides together and sew the left, right and bottom seams. NOT the little square cut outs.

NOTE... if you want pockets on the inside of you bag you should attach those to the lining before you begin sewing it together.
Crappy photo I know, but on one of the side seams leave an opening of about 20cm- this is because in a later step you will need to turn the bag right side out. Dont be tempted to make the hole smaller than 20cm, the plastic is hard to get through anything smaller.
This is a tricky part to describe. The little sqaure cut outs are now pulled apart so that the botton and side seams can meet. Sew the seam to create the corner of the bag. I hope the picture helps you understand what I wrote. I am not even sure that it makes sense!

Thats it for the lining.... now you need to make the outer shell, the handles and then join them all together. Part 2 is here http://thetinwhistle.blogspot.com/2007/12/tutorial-plastic-coated-bag-part-2.html

Busy sewing weekend :)

First up I knocked out another couple of bags for friends I had forgotten that I am going to see on christmas day. I love the black spotty one with the pink psycho fabric lining. In fact I am thinking about keeping this one and making another to give away.

Trying to artfully photograph a pair of pants you are wearing is quite difficult. I have been working on these all week and finally managed to finish them off last night, so of course I had to wear them today (hence the crinkles). They are a Simplicity pattern, 4237 and they are just the most perfect fit for me. A little higher in the rise than is currently fashionable, which is good for all us ladies with "muffin tops".
A skirt made from stretch fabric that I just thought was to die for. The skirt didnt quite work out how I pictured it. Not that its bad, actually I quite like the "v" shape that was generated at the side seams, so much so that I decided to rotate the skirt and put them at the front. This skirt was also made to the Simplicity 4237 pattern- interestingly this pattern had options to make the skirt/pants in either stretch or normal fabrics.

Broderie anglaise floaty top

I am currently trying out patterns for my upcoming challenge of hand making all my own clothes for a year (due to start March 1st 2008). This is a Burda pattern 8043 and I made it out of broderie anglaise. I really like it the way it has turned out- it wasnt too complicated but was a bit more involved than other patterns I have tried like this. Its suits my style and I can see myself making other variations of it (longer tunic style to wear over pants and also a strappy singlet style without the floaty sleeves). This pattern includes instructions for sewing a rolled hem using a regular sewing machine (not overlocker) which is a really handy thing to know how to do. You fold up a small turnonver around the hem and then zig zag around the edge, using a short stitch length (so the zig zag is very close together). You then trim the excess seam allowance as close as you can to the zig zag stitches.

I took the first photo myself- can you tell? Matilda (4.5yrs) took the second one- I look pregnant but its just the angle, I promise!

Supersizeme grocery bag

Little sis came for a visit a couple of weeks ago when I was in the throes of sewing my not-so-green grocery bags and requested a GIANT one for day outings with her 3 boys, or big shopping days etc. I got cracking with some gorgeous fabric (origami cranes and geisha's) and here it is....

Because the dimensions of the bag were so large (we modelled in on a small packing box!) the sides kept caving in, so sister uppicked the lining a bit and slipped some plastic panels inside. Come to think if it the bag would make a perfect bassinet for a newborn baby!

Summer Duds

Some summer pants for me, using a Burda pattern 8209, the first pair are in light brown gaberdine and I added a cuff in scrap quilters cotton jsut to make them a bit more interesting (I had a voucher to spend at Lincraft and the WA store was surprising by its lack of nice fabrics to choose from). The bottom pair are made from a cotton/lycra blend. They look pretty plain hanging on the clothes line but are a nice slim fit on and a modern cut. I am not feeling game enough to model a pair and take a photograph!