A simple skirt

I have been updating my blog and noticed that I wrote this post but did not publish it in April 2012.

Written April 2012

I am very excited to make this post as I have finished making my first skirt. Hurrah!

I have always liked the idea of making my own clothes however it has taken a while for my skills to catch up with my ideas.

This was my first time to work from a commerical pattern, and I must have bought the pattern about 8 years ago, took one look at it and get very confused. Being slightly older and wiser I was determined to figure it out.

The pattern I used is Butterick 6834, 'nine sew fast and easy' The pattern is for sizes 12, 14, 16, UK.

Firstly it took me a while to work out even how much fabric I needed and how it all works.

I am in my twenties and although at school have always used cm and metres, at home I used inches for this aswell, and always used ounces for cooking measurements. I often use inches for measuring as it is easier for quilting and sewing and most people talk of 1/4 inch seam allowance etc. However, I buy fabric in metres. 

So on the pattern we have imperial in English and metric on the French side. I used the cm as I find it more accurate, even though it is French. I digress.....

The skirt was to be an a line skirt with a lining, a zip at the centre back and 4 darts. The front is made up of 1 piece and the back of 2 pieces, joining at the zip line.

It mostly went ok, there was alot of reading and re reading, discussions with my mum on how it could work, and eventually I figured it out. I was pretty pleased with my zip insertion, and think it was ok for a first time in a garnment.

There was a band of intefacing which went inside the lining and that helped the skirt to have shape on the top.

I am pleased with the outcome, it fits well and I think I can wear it out an about without any strange looks. 

A couple of issues were that, you can see the top of the zip does not match up, I think this is to do with how I folded the top hem and that I had cut off some of the top of the zip while figuring out how the hemming and folding would work. I don't plan on tucking a top into this, so no one will see it.

Another bad point is that in the lining of the skirt, I have not folded back any of the seams (not sure of right wording for this) so the edges of the fabric are exposed to fraying. I realised this later on and therefore cut the interfaced band with pinking shears to make it fray less.

I also used navy blue thread as the flower fabric is blue, however my lining is black so should have changed thread when doing lining.

New techniques and materials used

* Reading a pattern, cutting a pattern.

*Sewing darts

*Inseting a lining

*Sewing a zip

Flower fabric, no name

Black lining fabric

Blue 7 inch zip

Gutterman polyester thread, navy blue.

Label

Shopping list

*Boyds, Lincoln

*Callyco, Lincoln

A few gifts and small makes - Make up bags

Here are some small makes that I have done recently. Some are for me and some are gifts for other people.

Make up bags

This is a make up bag which is from Cath Kidson's book 'Sew!' I have made three of these so far. The first one was a present for my Mum, for her birthday last year. She really likes it and says it quite tall so you can fit a lot of toiletries in it. It is made from a Moda fabric which is a William Morris style pattern. The lining is a mottled red called Marbles, also Moda. I used this pattern in green for the binding on my hexagon quilt. I was pleased that I got the zip right on this the first time.

Finished make-up bag

Inside - you can just see the zip edge and fabric

Topstitching on the zip

 The next one was a hen party present for my cousin. This was made from Joel Dewberry’s Notting Hill collection. I find it interesting that I am drawn to the same designers even when I don’t know who has designed a fabric. I saw this in the shop and the idea came to me that this would be perfect for her.
With this one, I managed to work out a way of cutting the outer fabric so that I could use just one fat quarter. This can only be done however if you are using a geometric print or one without an orientation which can be seen as up side down.
I really love the colours of this one.
 

Laying out the fabric for cutting

Pining the zip on

Finished bag

I then made one for me so I am not left out! I have been using a very small make up bag from M&S, but it has got a bit tatty and it was too small for my foundation brush to fit in it. I have it sat on the top of the toilet in the bathroom as it is right next to the sink and the mirror.
I like the fabric I chose, it is quite grey and neutral, but has a bit of colour with the small birds in it. It will be useful to keep my make up in at home, but also my other toiletries for when I go away. As this pattern is only one way up and I just had a fat quarter of this pattern I shrank the size down a bit to fit in. I think maybe I could have made it a bit shorter though. I also changed the way I sewed the zip so it was neater on the inside. In the original instructions you can see the zip piece on the inside and the edge of the lining is exposed. I cut it with pinking shears to reduce the fraying, but for my one I managed to sew the zip so the edges are all enclosed. I think it makes a much neater finish and makes it more durable and less amateur looking.
I haven’t yet sewed the tabs on the ends, but I wanted to take a picture to show with the other versions.

My make-up bag

Inside lining - I have folded the edges inside to make it neater

All of them have been lined with a cotton or polycotton, the book suggested a shower curtain fabric and I like this idea so it is washable for it having make up and toiletries in it. However I didn’t have any.
I will probably make more of these over time as they are a very quick pattern to make. The instructions in the book are clear and easy to follow.

A couple of small projects

I have a lovely bag which I received as a Christmas present a few years ago. It was bought from Accessorize and I love it, it has lots of pockets to put things in and it is a good design. I use this bag in the winter as it is made of wool. As I have used it so much the pink piping on the handles had started to fray over Christmas leaving the piping exposed.

Frayed piping on handles.

I wanted to carry on using the bag and there was nothing wrong apart from it now looking a bit tatty, so I bought some bias binding to replace the pink with.

I took the handles apart, removed the pink fabric from the piping cord, stitched the new navy blue bias binding over the piping cord and then put the handles back together and reattached to the bag. This took quite a while but I am very pleased with the results as the bag looks so much smarter, it still feels strong and should keep me going for another few years.

I also made this little bag for a friend of mine as a birthday present. I love this fabric as it is so bright and fun. I lined it with pale pink felt and put on a bright pink zip.

Cupcakes small zip bag.

Kindle Cases

I got a kindle for Christmas and it is one of my favourite presents for a long time! For those who don’t know about it, it is basically an mp3 player for books. So it has a mini screen and you can download, store and read books on it. It is great because the screen on it is black and and white and designed for text, so is nothing like a computer screen. I love being able to carry it on the train and not get weighed down by all my books! So my beautiful kindle required a beautiful case to keep it nice and shiny. I wasn’t going to pay £50 for the official one, plus it makes it really heavy, so I made my own.

Case 1

I realised that all I wanted from a case, was something small and slim to protect it from dust and scratches whilst it is in my bag. I wanted to keep the weight and size down, and have it easy to open and close.

So I decided that I would quilt the cover, for padding. I wanted something to make it slightly rigid as well, therefore I inserted two pieces of cardboard inside. I had a top open with a button clasp so I can get it out and put it away quickly. I chose this dark fabric so it wouldn’t get as dirty.

Layers: lining cardboard, wadding, outer fabric.

Case and kindle

I like my case and it does exactly what I need it to. Because of the way I made it with the quilting and the cardboard it was all hand sewn.

Part 2

Then my sister got a kindle for her birthday, and I offered to make her a case for hers as well. Now you may remember the owl bag? That was for the same sister, so she is a pretty funky girl. The fun bit was choosing the fabric and I found this design and knew it was perfect. It is ‘A wonderful reproduction print from an original 1950's design by Jacqueline Groag held by the V&A collection.’ (fabricrehab, 2011)

Blue felt for the lining as it is soft and will protect the screen, and a matching blue zip.

Mid Century Books Fabric

As she would be travelling to college every day I knew she would use it a lot. So I altered my case slightly and came up with this.

Due to my recent zip experience, I wanted to put a zip in her case, and this would be more protective.

Her case is quilted with square quilting to mimic the pattern of the fabric. This was sewn by hand. Next I went to sew the lining and zip onto it, and my sewing machine went a bit mad, as I realised it does not like wadding!

Therefore a small redesign was in order. I cut a piece of fabric and ironed on interfacing then tacked this to the quilted section. The interfacing also helped to give structure to the case. Therefore it was now ok to use the sewing machine and I sewed on the zip and the felt lining.

Once that was done I sewed up the case and pulled it right side out, neatened up the seams and was finished.

My zip endings were similar to the make up case, and not perfect, but the zip functions fine and the kindle fits in and out nicely.

Completed case

Kindle with cases

Kindle with case 2

I really love this fabric, it is colourful, modern and perfect as the kindle is for reading books.

The zip ensures the case is completely closed and protective, and the quilting gives it soft padding.
My sister was also pleased judging by the text message I received once she got the parcel 'I LOVE IT!!! YOU'RE SO AMAZING!! XXXXXX'

New skills and materials used

• Quilting

Shopping list

• Outer fabric, case 1: Small star design. Boyds, Lincoln

• Outer fabric, case 2: Mid Century Books Multi, www.fabricrehab.co.uk

• Lining and zip: Boyds, Lincoln

Mini make up case

This make is significant for me as it is my first attempt at a zip (please see post in a few days time about this)

My housemate was moving back to Germany last week and I wanted to give her a little gift. I saw that her make up bag was looking a bit worn out and then I came across this stunning tutorial on flossie teacakes website and I just had to make it! The final product looked lovely and her photographs were excellent with clear descriptions at all points. Please see her blog post www.flossieteacakes.blogspot.com/2009/05/lined-zippered-pouch-make-up-bag.html, for more information.

Pattern fabric. Lining. Sew on interfacing. Zip.

So this is the fabric all prepped, pinned and ready to sew on the zip. This was the first time I had used sew on interfacing and I liked it. I found it was soft and easy to work with, and gave a bit more support than the fabric alone.

 

Zip sewn on, hurrah!

Next I sewed up the lining and outer to create the case shape, pulled the bag right side out and ironed flat.

Finished case!

Detail of top of case

Inside case with small label

The finished case is 8 x 6 inches. Now it does not look completely like how it should, especially the zip. The ends are more rounded and not very neat as the ends of the zip just disappear inside the bag. One reason for this is that when I was sewing the zip ends they stuck out outside the edges of the fabric therefore of course they ended up getting tucked inside.

I think the reason for this may be due to the length of my zip. The tutorial said the zip should be 8 inches, and I took this to be the section of zip that closes, maybe it refers to the whole zip piece of fabric. Also when I was attaching the zip ends I made sure that they did not cover the closeable part of the zip and had them on the ends only, perhaps they are meant to cover the zip more. I will have to look into this.

However I am still very pleased. I managed to sew my first zip, it was not as complicated as I thought it would be, and my housemate loved it. I really like this fabric and the bag is a useful size, I think I will make myself one too!

New skills and materials used

· Sewing a zip

· Sew in interfacing

Shopping list

· Outer fabric: Joannfabric, USA.

· Lining: Boyds, Lincoln.

· Label: Callyco, Lincoln. http://www.callyco.com/

Christmas present one.

I made two items as gifts for Christmas this year.

The first was a secret santa gift for a member of www.craftsforum.co.uk.

Secret Santa gift

As I am quite new to sewing I was nervous about making this. I chose a pattern in the book Sew called 'Quilted Purse.'

This is a medium size, soft purse, with a button fasten.

New skills I learned were a buttonhole loop and quilting. I did the quilting by hand because I preferred it and was worried that if I had one layer of fabric and wadding, when I put it through the sewing machine the wadding might get stuck.

 Fabric cut and ready

 Attaching the top flap

 Finished bag

Open finished bag

This was a good little project. I enjoyed selecting the lining fabric to go with the outer pattern, and it looks like a pretty purse to keep things in. The quilting gave an interesting effect and did not detract from the design too much.