Stash Avalanche

Sewing for other people

You may now turn over your paper.

Here's the thing:  call me fussy, posessive or whatever, but I generally only make things for people who I know are going to appreciate what I made. If I know that my gift is going to get stomped on and left out in the mud, I don't give it. I put love into the things I make and I suppose I expect people to respect that. 

This includes food by the way, but we're talking crafting here today.

Conversely, giving hand made things to people I hardly know can be an eye opener in terms of whether they are my kind of person or not. Give them something I made with love and see what they do - a distracted "that's nice" and forget about it, or actually appreciate my time and effort, and be grateful for my thoughtfulness.

Outside the cozy bubble that is handmade blog and crafting land, making things by hand still seems, to some people at least, to be the cheap way out, with a nice box with Gap or whatever on the front being the preferred option. Strange that spending time and making an effort takes a lower place than buying something made by a machine or a poorly paid worker half way round the world.

I'm not sure if I'm taking things too personally (after all, once I give it it's theirs to do as they wish with it) or whether I have the right to expect respect. I think mostly think the latter.

Discuss.

Sun hat #2

I made another one! This time for Stashlet.

Having had a bit of a ponder on how to construct this hat, I hit on the idea of bias binding - not round the edge of the brim as previously mentioned, but round the brim-crown seam, like this...

I have to say the inside of this hat brings me great joy.

Using this method makes a reversible hat - you could even put bias on both sides if you wanted. Unfortunately I was too clever and sewed a name tape into the crown, so this particular hat is not reversible, but the orange+spots combo is so fabulous I may have to make another one.

Here's what I did:

• sew brims together and top stitch
• sew crowns and tack together
• create sandwich of bias binding (wrong side out) + brim  (right side out) + crown (inside out) and sew all together
• turn up bias and hand sew edge to crown (but through one layer only)

If I do this method again, I'll try to take photos of the sandwich bit because I'm not entirely sure my description is clear.

ps. fabrics all from Ikea except the bias which is some I made from an unidentified fat quarter a while ago.

 

A hat for Master H

Stashlet has a friend at playgroup who turned one the other day, so I decided to make him a sun hat (not that we have sun at the moment but there's nothing like a bit of optimism to get you through to summer, is there?).

It's the same pattern that I used for Stashlet's hat last summer. Like the sweatshirt I showed you the other day, it's from the Burda 9522 pattern. This time I made the largest size (18" head circumference) which is a wee bit too big for Stashlet, and will be a bit to big for Master H at the moment, but I'm hoping that it will fit him by the time summer comes.

The fabric is some Ikea heavyweight cotton (which I bought ages ago to make an Onion Uniform Jacket and still haven't got round to it) and a polycotton (I think) gingham lining.

Having made this hat once already, and not being very impressed with the construction instructions, I decided to go my own way with putting it together:

• sew the two brims together and topstitch them
• sew the tops and sides together to end up with two separate crowns
• stitch the brim to the outer crown
• turn under and baste the seam allowance on the crown lining
• pin and topstitch the crown lining inside the outer hat

You don't get a reversible hat this way, but all the raw edges are concealed so it looks nice and neat. The only way I can think of to do a truly reversible hat would be to sew the lining and outer separately, put them together and bind the brim edge with a bias binding. I intend to make at least a couple of sunhats for Stashlet this summer, so I will try to do one of each construction and see how they turn out.

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In other news, my mother came for a visit, I've started an exceedingly part-time job at my LFS, and Stashlet is now with a childminder three mornings a week, so unfortunately blogging (as you will have noticed) has got even more infrequent.

My distance learning course has to be completed by the end of this month - I just have an essay left to write but having had a year's break in the middle of the course, there's a lot of re-reading that needs doing first (sigh).

But some positive blog related news: MrG's friend, Mr C, has given us one of his old laptops, so once we've put Windows on it (it has Linux Ubuntu at the moment which drives us mad), I'll be able to blog on the kitchen table and not wake Stashlet up with creaking floor boards every time I try to get to my pc. So small hurrahs and hopefully things will improve blog-wise next month.

Happy Tuesday!

Little envelope neck sweatshirt

A long, long, long time ago, so long that you probably don't remember, I made a little orange fleece for the wee Stashlet. And at the same time, I also cut out and started a sweatshirt using the same pattern (Burda 9522).

And then, because I am a slovenly sewer sometimes, I broke the twin needle that I was doing the hems with (I was sewing over pins and not paying attention), and the 90% finished sweatshirt got put on hold while I tried to find another twin needle the same size. Well, it's a very boring story so the short version is, I finally got some, put them somewhere safe, and then couldn't find them. So the sweatshirt sat around for a bit more, until this Thursday when I finally cracked, pulled out all the hemming and redid it with a different size needle.

So finally, here is the little envelope neck sweatshirt, which Stashlet now fits without having to roll the sleeves up as I did with the orange fleece in December.

It's made from a lovely soft double jersey, which to the uninitiated (as I was until I came across this fabric) is two layers of jersery cleverly knitted so that they remain seperate but at the same time are linked together by a stitch very so often (like double muslin). the colour is not something I would have gone for but it was that or a horrible muddy dark green, so I thought if it turned out looking awful I could always dye it. In the end, I decided it looked alright, but there is (or there should be!) enough left over for something else, so I will probably dye that. One pinky biege top is quite enough for any little boy.

When I made the little orange fleece, I used a sort of pseudo overlock stitch and what with the thickness of the fleece, that worked out very well. I decided to use twin needle top stitching with this sweatshirt, and to be honest it was a bit hit and miss. I learnt that you can't turn neat corners with a twin needle, so the side vents look a bit crappy, and for some reason I managed to sew the whole of the back neck binding on whilst missing it on the wrong side, so I had to do a bit of a patch job with some hand hemming on that. But all in all, I think it looks alright on, and no-one will notice the crappy bits (I hope!).

 

Towelling post-swimming robe-tunic-thingy

Now there's a title that just rolls of the tongue.

We're going to go swimming.

I've been holding off on this on principle because I think the idea of having to wear a hat so that my hair doesn't clog the pool drain is absolutely ridiculous (one of those only-in-Ireland type things...), but Stashlet's love of water has finally won through so we're going to a parent and baby session tomorrow.

Babies get cold easily once they're out of the water, so inspired by Dana,  I thought I'd make a little towelling robe to cosy him up in once he's out of the pool. The original idea was to made an open fronted dressing gown type robe with a tie belt, but this metamorphosed into a tunic as Stashlet is not walking by himself yet and I felt that something with a closed front would work better.

Yet again, it's an Ikea repurposing. Three Nackten guest towels (30x50cm, and ridiculously cheap which probably means I'm supporting Taiwanese child labour or something); one for the back, one for the front, one cut in half and tapered a bit for the sleeves, and a bit of Kaffe Fassett bias binding that I made back in the days when I had time for such luxuries.

It looks quite a slim fit but with no nappy on, Stashlet is  a bit of a bean pole so I think it will fit him for a while (by which I mean at least this summer, fingers crossed).

You could easily make it with thicker towelling (the Nackten towelling is quite thin) or with bigger towels for larger kids. Bearing in mind the neck opening size experience I had with the Charlie tunic, I made this one a good couple of inches longer so there is plenty of roomto get in and out easily, and no need to fight with a wet and wriggling baby.

More posts on the way, I've been having a productive week...

Charlie Tunic #1

Finally! Here's a photo of the Charlie Tunic that I made so long ago that I can't remember when it was (Christmas?).

I think I have bored you on several occasions about how much I love this tunic, and Stashlet is finally able to wear his very own. And because I decided a while ago not to post anymore photos of the Wee Wriggle Monster himself*, you'll have to take my word for it but my god, does he look CUTE.

It's made from Bomull of course, and the facing is a bit of Timeless Treasures that I got a fat quarter of at one of the Dublin Knitting and Stitch Shows. There will definitely be more in the pipeline, subject to the following sewing notes...

• I made the 18mo-2yr size and it only just fits him. So much for saving this top till the summer
• The neck opening is barely able to go over Stashlet's head so I will add an inch more to the slit in future versions
• The pattern instructions have you put the sleeves on before attaching the yoke. I found this made things rather akward and will put the yoke on first next time
• There is a very narrow seam allowance on the facing (¼") which was a real fiddle to turn under neatly especially on the inside curves so I might try a wider seam allowance or a bit of Bondaweb next time
• I might try one in cotton jersey if I can find the new twin machine needles that I put somewhere so safe that I now can't find them (grumble)

space

*I hummed and haa-ed about this for quite a while and the more I thought about it, the more I felt that Stashlet has as much right to his privacy as any bigger person, and that posting personal photos can become a slippery slope into revealing everything about one's family life. I know of one blog (and there are probably countless others) where the blogger practially posts her address and phone number, and yes, that's extreme but it's not something I'd do in real life so why think the internet is any safer or respectful.

A trio of trousers

Well, I finally got my act together and finished the knitted trousers I started all the way back in October.

At first they seemed to take ages to show any progress and then suddenly it was a case of oh blimey, I'd better cast off! I tried knitting them in the round (as the original pattern intends) but three colours of yarn on 5 dpns was just too much fiddle - needles falling out, yarns all tangled... So I knitted the whole thing flat and sewed it together afterwards with no regrets.

The yarn is Sidar Recycled which is a lovely soft cotton DK. I used Clay, Demin Wash and Canvas, and all the colours are slightly muted and washed out looking which really goes with the softness of the yarn.

Had I realised however, I would have used something more mercerised because I don't know how much crawling on one knee they will take before they wear thin (the green ones my mother  has knitted seem to be much more robust). It is a lovely yarn though- although it tends to split a bit - and I will definitely be using it for other projects, just not ones that involve knees sliding on the floor.

These were made just after Christmas and are from Butterick 5092 (which looks like it's been discontinued). They're a pretty baggy fit even with a cloth nappy but I suppose that's better than being too tight to wriggle in. The beige outer fabric is from Ikea and the same stuff I used to make these trousers, and the lining (which doesn't come as part of the pattern) is a white flannelette which I dyed with Dylon Tulip Red. Unfortunately it came out more of a dark pink than the red I was after, but as will only show on the turn-up I can live with it.

I did a bit of zigzag embroidery on a back pocket for bottom interest.

And finally another pair of overalls from the Jackie Clarke pattern, made with a lining for the first time.

The lining is more of the red/dark pink dyed flannelette, and I used an remnant of Ikea's Berta Ruta fabric that waved at me the last time I was there. I find with trousers you can get away without a popper crotch fastening for nappy changing, but with overalls it is just too much fuss taking them on and off completely so I put in some of the snaps I got last year. The pattern calls for poppers that come ready attached to a tape which you just sew in, but I have only found this stuff with poppers about 6" apart (so useless for baby clothes) and about €15 per metre which is astoundingly expensive.

Oh and remember how I said I would definitely be making a Charlie tunic for KCWC? Well, I finished that last night (talk about catching up) so I'll take some photos of it and try to post them later in the week.

Orange fleece

Not posting so often means more time to craft... haha. But I have managed this top and there's another in the pipeline (except that I need to go and buy another twin needle because I broke the last one half way through top stitching... seems to be turning into a bit of a trend...).

So this is Burda 9522*, which I like in part. It's a nice simple pattern but Burda would have you cut a  slit opening in the front of this top which to me seems like a) overkill and b) a bit crappy to have a raw edge, even if it is made from (alegedly non-fraying) jersey. (The hat in the pattern is also put together rather crudely which Burda might think is a consession to beginner sewers but just seems to be an excuse not to write decent instructions).

I did quite a lot of tacking because I find the fleece moves around quite a bit in (in?) the sewing machine even with a walking foot, and the stars were stitched on by hand first too.

I cut the top about 8cm longer because Stashlet is pretty tall and constantly seems to have builder's bum vest in all his bought clothes, and made little vents in the sides so he doesn't feel like he's in a straight jacket.

The bound edge of the envelope neck was done with raw edged fleece and a pseudo-overlock stitch to keep the bulkiness down, and this worked pretty well, I think.

Next time I will have more faith and do it in a contrasting colour.
 

Oh, and of course the other thing I did was make the sleeves long, because the pattern is for a short sleeved top. Stashlet is wearing them with turn-ups at the moment but at the rate he's growing they won't be like that for long.

The orange fleece is pretty thick and came from my LFS. I originally wanted to make one in some (slightly less in-your-face) mustardy yellow that I have left over from a top I made ages ago but there was only enough for a front, a back and one sleeve so that has been shelved until I can think of something else to do with it. The (thinner) white fleece for the stars was a scrap of Ikea Polarvide blanket left over from the Lila Tueller quilt.

 Mr G says he looks "very Dutch". He certainly looks very orange.

 

*When I Googled this to find an image of the pattern, I clicked on the first few links without actually really reading them and was a bit alarmed to find one about a onesie from the same pattern was a post I did earlier this year. Ahaha haha... Fame on Google at last, aned I didn't pay them a penny... ahem.

New banner

Four posts today - I clearly have a sound sleeper next door so I'm making the most of it.

The more I looked at that photo, the more I thought what a good banner it would make, so while I'm getting my arse in gear to take photos of some rose hips (my intended autumn banner - intended for the last month and still nothing done about it), I'll stick to this.

Let's hope it's the first and last time I hit a glass headed pin at 40mph doing zigzag.

Boosters

Hmmm, that was close...

In between all the helping Stashlet walk and prising him away from things he shouldn't mess with, I am managing to get a bit of crafting done. So yesterday, I spent Stashlet's nap time at the sewing machine.

I have him in reuseable nappies and he needed more boosters. I saw some stuff called DiaperMaker Zorb which is supposed to "absorb ten times its weight in less than half a second and holds up to 3 times the moisture of the best absorbing knits", so I decided to give it a go. It's sold in 50cm lengths which would net me 20 boosters - more than enough and slim enough to be used in pairs for when Stashlet has been on the beers (only joking...).

I only had enough towelling for one side so the other side is my old stand-by, Ikea's Bomull. It's still cotton and therefore will wick the wee away (very aliteratively too), so I'm fine with that. I'm zigzagging round the edges and just have a couple more to do. I thought this would be less of a fiddle than cutting everything individually. I pinned everything throughly beforehand and after making sure that there were no pins in the way of the presser foot (although clearly I didn't look closely enough) and it was pretty quick.

Now I just need to cut between the zigzag and we'll have enough boosters for any eventuality. I hope...