the so-nearly-not raglan tee no2

I must have had pure beginners luck when I made my first raglan tee from The Sewing For Boys book as part of the sew-a-long!

This one was nothing but a nightmare.  (probably not helped by me sewing so late into the evening.  However, I have to wait until after 7pm when the boys go to bed, to start sewing)

I used two tees that I picked up at the charity shop.  A mens M&S polo shirt, and a long sleeved ladies Top, both were in a thicker ribbed like knit material that I found a lot more difficult to sew. I cut a size 6-7 this time & used a smaller seam allowance to give more growing room.

Where it went wrong
* I didn't have any red guttermans thread so used coats which my machine hated, cue lots of tension issues & bird nesting (and then she just settled down & got on with it - my machine is very set in her ways)
* I forgot to cut one of the sleeve pattern pieces on the reverse.  Luckily I was upcycling a long sleeved tee, so had just enough fabric left to cut out another sleeve
* I sewed the wrong sleeves to the wrong armholes (ah yes that is what those markings were for)
* After unpicking and re-sewing the sleeves onto the correct armholes, I realised that one sleeve had been sewn with raw edges on outside, and the other with the raw edges on the inside!!
 * Then when attaching the sleeves to the back pattern piece, I managed to attach the back to the neckline grrr!  I decided to call it a day after this & was seriously going to throw it into the bin.

 

After sitting untouched for a week, I decided to get it finished.  

Only after it was finally done did I notice that the back seams were finished with the seams on the inside & the front seams are on the outside ha ha. 

I used ribbing for the collar and it was easier than using t'shirt material to attach to the neckline, although it also helped that the collar is open.

The Little Man was happy to wear it, but was disappointed that this one did not have a car on it!

Meanwhile, The |Little Fella keeps asking for Mummy to make him a "Mike the knight" top. I think he will have to wait till one appears in one of the big supermarket chains.  

 I think I am done with making tee's for the time being!

Mola or Reverse Applique Tutorial

This is based on a tutorial by Noah and Mole in Issue 33 (Oct 11) of UK Sew Hip magazine.

I had clear directions from The Little Man who wanted a racing car with number four on it "because I am 4"

1 - preparation

Find a picture with a simple and clear outline - the outline will be made by your sewing so it cannot be too complicated with too fine details.  I used the Internet to search but you could draw your own picture or use a kids colouring book.

The Sew Hip tutorial suggests that you use a craft knife to cut around the outline of the drawing on both sides so that you have a stencil. (photo taken from Sew Hip)

I used an image found on a search engine

I just cut out the shape of the car and didn't bother to cut away the inside of the stencil. I then traced around my shape on the WRONG side of the fabric and added the details free-hand. Your finished applique will be the reverse of your stencil, so make sure any details (like my No4) are in reverse.
If you have a more complicated picture then you might want to prepare a stencil as above.

2 - sewing

Cut out a square of jersey in each of the colours that your design uses, slightly bigger than your finished design. (around 2cm) Don't forget that you can use the T'shirt layer too. Pin the layers to the RIGHT side of you fabric.  I think it looks best if you use a dark colour on top. You can also tack the layers together if you prefer.(I also skipped that stage ha ha) You should use no more than 3 layers or the design will be too bulky.

template drawn, fabric pinned & ready to go!

Turn your fabric over and carefully sew along the lines that you have drawn, making sure that the fabric layers are all smooth. Take fabric out of the machine.

I remembered just in time, to reverse the number 4!

wrong side of fabric

right side of fabric

3 - Trimming

The scary bit!

 Turn your fabric to the right side and carefully trim away the fabric around the outside of your design, around 3-4mm outside your stitching.
Mind that you don't get too close too your stitching or nick the t'shirt layer underneath! (told you this bit was scary)
Then for each part of your design you will need to cut down to the layer that you require.
Cut a small nick into the layer, being careful not to cut the layers below and then cut around the outline again leaving 3-4mm.
Repeat his for each layer of your design.
Trim any loose threads and ragged edges (although once washed the edges will curl & any ragged bits will be unnoticeable.)

(The stain is just a water mark from my steam iron)

Ta da!

Scaps and being thrifty

 My winnings from The Sewmamasew giveaway day finally arrived on my doorstep from Oz! (they actually came last week but I have only just got round to taking some photos) From the lovely Kat at Diary of a flutter/Mamas time to create, I won

A new home for my posh new shears/scissors

This fab purse - I love it!  having NO real-life crafty friends (I do actually have RL friends, just not any crafty ones lol)
I would never receive anything like this unless I had made it myself, so I am really pleased to have won someone else's handiwork.

And all of these fabulous scraps! I was sooo happy to see at the very top of the pile this little scrap of goldfish material, the little fishy has same name as The Little Man.  My scrap collection is now growing & I would love to make a string quilt with it all but there are also lots of little projects that I also want to make.

Damn - it is scrap women - you know, what most people throw away - and you are hoarding it! USE IT!  ha ha

Whilst I am on the subject of scraps, I forgot to tell you that Dana from Drinking Fabric is hosting a very generous giveaway.  All you have to do is pass on your thrifty quilting tips and you have a chance of winning some lovely Christmas Fabric scraps.

My Tips -

buy large duvet covers for quilt backings
You can buy 2nd hand in charity shops or look in places like TK MAX for 100% cotton covers.  I have a King Size cover with 2 pillowcases that I bought for £15, the equivalent amount of fabric in meterage would be ££££££ in the UK.

I have also used flannel/brushed cotton (is there a difference?) from Fabricland at around £4 m.  I really like the feel of a flannel backing sooooo cozy!

What are your thrifty tips???

PS - I "met" Dana on MSE a forum full of money-saving advice.  Check it out yourself.  You might like to visit The Sewing Room especially.

PPS - I am still working on the applique tutorial, I will post it soon, promise!

Sewing for Boys - The Sew-a-long, Project One, The Raw-edge Tee

I was so excited when I saw the first reviews for "Sewing for Boys" by Shelly Figueroa and Laren LePage that I entered every single stop of the "Sewing for Boys Blog Tour" hosted by Sewmamasew and luckily one myself a copy from The Southern Institute Blog.

Then during my Blog-Hopping (housework delaying) I came across a year long sew-a-long being hosted at Boy, Oh, Boy, Oh, Boy so I quickly signed up.

The first months pattern is "The Ragged Edge Tee".

Charity shop T'shirts from Gap & Fat Face

My Boys are never short of T'shirts (thanks to car boots and the cheap prices of supermarket clothes) but I thought that I would have a go anyway.  I have never sewn a knit fabric so I thought that it would be a good skill builder.  I also had a tutorial for Mola or Reverse applique in a back issue of Sew Hip that I wanted to try out. After failing to find any suitable old Tees in the Hubby's wardrobe, I picked a few up in the local charity shop for only 50p each.

So I cut out pattern for age 4-5 but added the length from the size 6-7 for my tall & skinny 4 yr old. I also used the hem from the upcycled Tees at the bottom of the shirt and on the sleeves/cuffs.

I then added the applique to the front piece before sewing together the pieces following the instructions from the book. (I will do a seperate tutorial for the applique method)

The Tee went together pretty easily. However, I decided to sew the side seams inside the Tee and not on the outside as per the book.  My machine has a flat-bed and I couldnt work out how I was going to fit the sleeves under the needle to top stitch. (and I actually prefered the neater finish) I think my seam allowance was too big and I was bit worried that the tee would be too tight, but it actually fits just right.

The collar was a complete nightmare however!  I took the advice from the authors and added a bit of length to the pattern piece, but I think I could have done with an extra inch.  In the end I pulled the pattern piece really hard to stretch it then used hundreds of pins to secure it.  I ended up sticking the pins in the wrong way, so got lots of fingerpricks whilst trying to remove them whilst sewing!

I am really pleased with how it has turned out and I think it will look even better once washed & the ragged edges go all curly.  And best of all The Little Man LOVES it!!

To see more examples of garments made from "Sewing for Boys" check out the groups on Flickr - "Sewing for Boys - The Book" and "Sewing For Boys the sew along"

Happy New Year

I know, a bit late

but that is me all over lol!

I have lots of reading to do on my google reader too as I got really behind over Christmas and have yet to catch up on myself.

The Christmas season was a lot of fun but very busy for us and we have hardly eaten a thing at home because we have either been visiting friends & family or eating out (with more friends & family) ! I am desperate to shake all the extra calories out at Zumba lol!  Our decorations have now been taken down & packed away.  The boys both went back to Nursery/Preschool today and the whole festive season already feels like weeks ago!

Right the rest of this post is a bit rambling and you might want to scroll down to the next blog on your reader list lol

2011 was a good-ish year for us.  We had our fair share of flu bugs & childhood illnesses for the first part of the year but we have since all enjoyed good health (touch wood). I started a new job in January but have been out of work since the contract ended in July.  However we are lucky that our mortgage is low enough for us to be able to pay for it and the household bills on one wage.  We have also learnt to prioritise and budget. Not that we have ever been spendthrifts - DH has never owned a credit card for a start. However, being out of work has it's advantages.  I absolutely love being at home with my boys and watching them grow into their personalities (and the Little Fella certainly has lots of "personality" lol"

With moneysaving our priority this year, one of my main aims (I don't really believe in resolutions) for the next few months is to cut down on the amount of food that we throw away.  We have to separate our food waste in this area and I am always a bit disgusted that we manage to fill at least half the large bin that we are given (about half a plastic carrier bag) in a week!  Mainly it is because of my portion size.  I cook far more than required, a few extra veggies or an extra sausage.  Amounts that I find too small to freeze but get put into the fridge and forgotten about.

Top of my list however, is to spend my time more constructively.  This is the last year that both DSs will be at home as DS1 will be starting full time school in September.  I find I procrastinate all morning whilst they are at Nursery & then spend my afternoons doing all the little jobs around the house that I should be doing whilst they are at  Nursery.  So you may find that I start posting about some of the early-years activities we do.

Sewing projects

My dear Mum is 60 in May, so I really want to make her a quilt, however I am still trying to find the right pattern and fabric.

I also really ought to finish the boys quilts seeing as they have been waiting since 2010 for me to quilt them!

I am currently working on a little machine applique project that was inspired by a watercolour drawing I saw in a newspaper... pictures to come soon.

I am also about to start on a year long sew-a-long for The Sewing for Boys Book that I won a while back. The details can be found on the boyohboyohboycrafts blog. The first project is a raglan tee.  My boys do not need t'shirts, but I thought that it would be a good skill builder as I have never sewn jersey or knit fabrics before.

Happy New Year and well done if you managed to read the whole post lol.