An Embroidered Bag & A New Clutch

Olivia and I have been collaborating on a new bag for her for some months now. She designed it entirely herself and drew a pattern. She went so far as to create the bag out of newspaper first to see if it was the right size. We headed to Joann Fabrics with some idea of what we needed and came out with this gorgeous sage colored brocade velvet and some purple cotton to line it with.

Then she set to work embellishing it with embroidery. She has a great organic work method when it comes to art. I enjoyed watching the work evolve as she chose one color after another and played around with stitch variations. The more work she put into it, the more scared I became of ruining it when it came time to sew it all together.

She wound up sewing most of the lining with only a little help from me. That way she could put pockets exactly how she thought would be best. In the end, she has only one regret. She wishes the main interior pocket was placed lower. Lesson learned. The water bottle holder on the side was a great addition. She also learned a couple of new sewing skills making that part - basting and gathering the bottom and making the elastic casing at the top. We are building confidence. I think she will want to make some clothes soon.

She didn't want a flap like her old messenger bag, or a full zipper, but she did want some kind of minimal closure so we rummaged through the bins in the basement and found this metal thing and sewed it into the top edge with some blue twill tape. It does the job and is easy to unhook one handed when needed. The handle is wider at the bottom edges to bring a little more closure to the top by rounding out the sides a bit. Turning that thick strap right side out was a 2 person job!! The strap is long enough to wear cross body, but not so long she can't throw it over one shoulder. It also works well riding a bicycle, which she is having to do a lot of this summer since 2 kids and I are now sharing my car.

Anyway, I am so happy that it turned out well and mostly that she is pleased with it too. It is quite a piece of art and I just love that she understands and likes the concept of slow sewing, of taking your time and making something you really love.

I needed a new little bag too. I made a clutch using this tutorial and some linen scraps for the outside and quilting cotton for the inside. It is the perfect size for running little errands and I can even ride my bicycle with it on my wrist too. Yes, I take turns with the bicycle too when needed.

There isn't much originality happening in this bag, but it serves its purpose and is lovely to look at. I did add some extra rows of stitching to the strap, but that's it. It's a solid addition to my summer wardrobe. Also new to my wardrobe, is reading glasses. Ugh. Getting old sucks.

A Winter Dress & Crochet Beenie for Elena

As much as I love PDF patterns, I have to give some serious love to this McCall's pattern that I have used at least 4 times in the past year. It is M6785 and it makes all sorts of raglan sleeved tunics or dresses. There are options for a neckband, turtleneck, or hood. You can make a tunic with or without ruching at the bottom or use the partial circle skirt option. There is also a kangaroo pocket piece, applique pieces, and a leggings pattern that I haven't tried. The possibilities are endless! And when you can buy it for $1 at a Joann's sale it makes me, a frugal person, very happy.

McCall's 6785: clockwise from top left: 1. Signature Style 2. Golden Days of Fall 3. Snowflake Dress 4. Version 1

This most recent version uses the turtleneck with the circle skirt in a stretch velour for a really cozy winter dress. Can you get any more comfortable than that? I added length to the sleeves because all my kids have long arms, but I went a bit overboard. They will surely fit all winter. And next winter too! 

Version 1

(Incidentally, her little purse is a free pattern I found here. It's the perfect size for her. I should have lengthened the strap more but I didn't anticipate her wearing it cross-body like her big sister does with her messenger bag. Monkey see, monkey do.)

So that plain version was fine, perfectly nice, but I had a burst of inspiration in the wee hours of one morning so I changed it up. I LOVE it now and am so glad I didn't leave it plain. It's mighty cold out today, but Elena asked to take pictures (code for I want marshmallows). She braved the cold and earned 2 marshmallows and a cup of hot chocolate. 

In order to crochet scallops to the bottom, I needed a way to attach them. I did a quick blanket stitch to provide loops to work through. If you do this, you have to be sure to have loops all the way around, even where you have to join in a new piece of thread.  

Then I did a row of single crochet all the way around. Here's a nice blurry picture of that step.

I'm no crochet expert and I make things up a lot, but the way I did the scallops was to do a single crochet, 3 doubles, and another single in one chain space. Then I skipped one chain space and repeated all the way around. The yarn is from my stash and the label was gone, but I do know that it is 100% cotton and I got it at Walmart last fall.

The beenie began with a magic loop and 11 double crochets. I alternated one row of double crochet, 2 rows of single crochet, and kept repeating until a few final rows of singles for the edge/brim.

I took these pictures in the driveway and front yard of my friend's house right on the lake. I guess I'll find out if she reads my blog or not!

"I can't feel my hands. I can't feel my hands!"

Nativity Set for Toddlers

I had so much fun this week making this Nativity toy for Elena. I am so practical sometimes and get so happy about making useful things that are both fun and educational and that fulfill a blog assignment for myself. I think this still qualifies for Katy of No Big Dill's Sew All 26 Challenge.

Last year my mom gave me a pattern for a barn bag with farm animals. It is Butterick 4026 but I can't find it on their website now. Not even in the out of print section so I apologize for that. I modified the decorations on the bag to look more like a stable and I changed the horse into a funny looking camel. The animals for this pattern have a lot of little pieces, but they turned out so darn cute I am not complaining at all.

Can that sheep be any cuter?

The two little girls I babysit really loved it too. Then it dawned on me that the sherpa part is cut from their old Bundle Me car seat cover that had a broken zipper. So I will surprise them this week with one for each of them to take home.

The original pattern didn't make any people but I had planned on making  basic stuffed Jesus, Mary and Joseph characters. After the animals came out so cute, I felt like my simple vision needed an upgrade. You can't have the animals outshining the main characters afterall.

So I dressed up our mom, dad and baby from our doll house. The robes are no-sew. I cut rectangles long enough to cover front and back and cut a slit for the head to go through. Tied it up with a ribbon and it looked pretty good. The head coverings took a little more thought. I made rectangles and folded them in half right sides in and sewed an arc across one narrow end to form a hoody. They looked good but didn't stay on at all so I stretched a piece of elastic and sewed it onto the hoody at about the neck area. It snugs it in enough to keep it on a little. Not a chance of staying on when being played with, but it looks good when they're just standing there. They pose so much better than Elena does. Jesus got some felt swaddling clothes that can slip on and off.

This kind of project is one of my favorites. I like when there is a pattern to start with but then I get to be creative and figure things out. It also cost nothing. Everything single thing I used came from something I got for nothing. My mom is largely to thank. She has a knack for finding great things on the curb, at garage sales, the thrift store, etc.

Messenger Bag



 

I am still sewing my way through the alphabet with Katy of No Big Dill. When my high school sophomore daughter said she needed a new bag for school and she wanted it to have a long, wide strap and a flap like her old one, I said, "Sounds like a messenger bag." How convenient, huh? Just in time for "M" week. After all, I am incredibly practical, so I love it when things happen like this. Actually, it happened two weeks ago, but close enough.

She chose the fabrics herself at Joann's. The outer fabric is a very heavy woven with some sort of  felt-like backing - an upholstery fabric I presume. The lining is quilting cotton. She is a wonderful artist and has a great eye for color and pattern. I could, and should, post some of her artwork some day. Really talented. We also used a stiff interfacing for the flap and body of the bag to help it keep it's shape.

The pattern is a free one we found at mmmcrafts. It went together very easily. We worked as a team so we had it done in just about 2 hours. She can sew, but is pretty slow and we were trying to get it done while Elena napped so she was happy to press things and trim seams, etc while I sewed.

The back has one large pocket and the inside has a large one split into two. It has worked out really well for her for school. She doesn't need a large bag. She just wanted something to carry her planner, phone, a personal book, pens, calculator, and some personal items.

 

 

She has received many compliments and so now I'm thinking that we have a good gift idea for a couple of her friends for Christmas. And maybe if we leave enough time, she can do some of the sewing herself.