Upsized Clara

Have you seen the Clara dress pattern?  I fell in love with it before my daughter was born and tried to buy it.  My bank's security system wouldn't let the transaction through - when I contacted Isager because my order didn't seem to be being processed, they advised that this isn't uncommon for Australian customers.  Apparently the 'falcon' thinks that you're trying to shop in person in the US when it knows you were only down the street using your card 20 minutes ago, and it rejects the transaction.  Over a year went by, and I tried again (this time with a card from a smaller bank), and was successful.  The problem is, that the pattern is sized for a chest circumference of up to 20", and that's my daugher's current measurement.  I didn't want to go to the effort of making the dress only to have her grow out of it before winter is over.

Well, after many calculations and much trial and error, I've finally finished my 18-24 month size of the pattern.  I managed to make it out of the two skeins (500m) of wool in the kit, with just 2m to spare (most of the calculations were me working out how many stitches I could expect to knit out of each gram of yarn, and therefore how long I could afford to make the skirt!).

In summary I:

• Cast on 260 sts (after I had nearly finished I read other posts on Ravelry, and yes it would have been easier to use 261stitches, and decrease one stitch in the first round of the pattern)

• Then followed the pattern, knitting to a length of 29 cm / 11.5 inches

• Split into rows at the start of the moss band beneath the bodice, 'splicing' it to create a lapped opening.  

• Included a moss stitch button band on both ends of the row as I was knitting from this point forward, adjusting the pattern accordingly, and evenly spacing three buttonholes.  In hindsight I would have put the bottom buttonhole in the horizontal moss band - it pulls a little.

• Knitted the 'set sleeve' row as follows: Moss 5, k26 sts, place next 10 sts on holder, CO 65 sts, k54 sts, place next 10 sts on holder, CO 65 sts, k25 sts, moss 5 (245 sts on needle). 

• Inserted one additional WS row after Rnd 1, three additional rows (with only one k2tog tbl in each repeat for right-side rows - ie. no decreasing over the length of the row) after 'Rnd 14', and two each after Row 1, Row 3 and Row 5.

• Omitted Row 9 and Row 10 (giving a total of 32 rows from the top of the moss band to the bottom of the neckband).

• Knitted up 77 stitches for each sleeve band.  Due to my yarn restrictions I knitted eight rows on each.

No, she doesn't usually get to play with sticks!

I'm joining up over here, and will be checking out what other people are up to working shortly.

Joined up here too.

Butterfly specimen art

I have a piece of artwork underway for the girl's room.  It's way too complicated, and as a consequence is going no where fast.  I feel sad for her that the only things hanging on her wall are a group of five blank canvases (for the aforementioned artwork) and a clock.  So, rather than actually make progress on the first project, I've completed a quick fix in the last couple of days:

I'm the first to acknowledge that this is certainly not an original idea.  In fact, it wasn't an original idea when I made something similar for my niece about 5 years ago.  But I love it just the same.  It is also simple, and I thought I'd share my process with you, just in case you're inspired to do something similar.

Materials:
Butterfly print fabric
Iron on interfacing
Thick card for the background

Process:
I started out with some offcuts of the  'Illuminating Spring' (by Stephanie Marrot for Wilmington Prints)  butterfly fabric I used in this skirt (I have more left over, so they'll make another appearance at some point).  I then ironed some non-woven iron-on interfacing on the back.  I'd suggest using the stiffest that you have.  As my fabric was an odd size, I used a sheet of baking paper over it to stop the excess interfacing sticking to the iron or the ironing board.

I then cut out full butterflies (there were some on the fabric with their wings folded, and I didn't use these), and by sheer luck my offcuts yielded 37 butterflies.  I needed 36 for my project.  I used nail scissors for the cutting, as they allowed the precision I needed.  I wasn't too fussed if there was a small amount of background fabric left around each, and I also elected to cut off the antennae.

I then placed the butterflies in an arrangement that I was happy with, with the aim being to distribute the coloured ones throughout the frames.  The hard bit then was to work out what the spacing should be and how to line them up on the background.

Somewhere around about here I cut my thick card into squares the right size to fit inside my frames.  You need something with enough strength to take the weight of your butterflies without sagging over time.

I decided that I wanted to top of the wings to line up, rather than the bodies, and found that my quilting ruler was the best help for this.  Just be careful to learn from my mistake, and account for the width of any matt when placing the butterflies - I had to remove these three and start again, as I was too close to the top of my backing board!  Also, I found it easier to work upside down and to start with the bottom row, that way my ruler wasn't sitting on butterflies I'd already glued in place.

Now, fold your first butterfly in half, right sides together, so that your fold is along the body.  Then apply hot glue to the wrong side of the body (ie. the outside of the fold).  Press on to your background cardboard in the desired location, trying to keep the butterfly as folded as possible, but also making sure that the glue isn't attaching the two wings to each other.  You'll need to work pretty fast, as the glue cools and sets quite quickly.

Repeat for the rest of your butterflies.

When the glue has cooled and set you can squeeze the wings together a bit more if you like.  You can also pull off any glue threads that may be floating around.

Now you can frame them.  I used frames with double mounts, and the butterflies sat up from the backing cardboard enough to make a shadow, but the glass did flatten them more than I expected.  You could use a box frame if you wanted a more pronounced fold in the butterflies.

PS.  See that red butterfly in the middle?  It was really annoying me, as I attached it too low and the one below it too high.  I used a scalpel and carefully cut them off the background, then re-glued them in place.  Whilst you need to work quickly with the glue, mistakes can be rectified!

PPS.  My butterfly fabric has a cream background, but the fabric that I used for my niece had a black background, and the butterflies looked quite different from the fabric itself once they were cut out and mounted on off-white card.  Look at the colour of the butterflies, rather than the colour of the fabric when you're choosing a fabric for this project.

PPS.  There are more butterfly art & craft ideas in my 'artwork I could try myself' Pinterest board...

Oh, and the Girl is more than happy to have something to look at on her walls at last:

Knitted baby cloche

I have to confess to spending way too much time gazing at Pinterest.  A while ago I pinned this lovely hat:

Source: pickles.no via Jackie on Pinterest

You can download the pattern for the hat and matching cardigan from the link (the 3-6 month size is free, and you can pay for 1yo and 2yo sizes).  I was a bit confused about the stated tension when compared with the size of the hat and the number of stitches, and wanted to knit it on straight needles using 8 ply (DK yarn if you're in the US), so I modified it accordingly.

Here's my version, which should fit a 3-6 month old (its a bit roomy on my 3.5 month old Newbie's largish head).  I used less than one ball from my stash of leftovers - I think it might be Patons Alpaca Classique from the late 1980s:

Using 4mm needles, cast on 89 stitches

Knit 7 rows, then Purl 1 row (this forms the basic stripe pattern, I've separated the pattern below into this grouping to make it easier to read)

Knit 7 rows
Purl 1 row

Knit 5 rows

Knit 45 stitches, then wrap your wool around the knitting between the needles about 10 times.  You should wrap it firmly enough to gather up the knitting you've already done (see photographs of finished hat).  Knit to the end of the row.

Knit 1 row

Purl 1 row

Knit 7 rows

P5, *P2tog, P5, repeat from * to end of row (77 sts)

Knit 7 rows

P4, *P2tog, P4, repeat from * to last stitch, P1 (65 sts)

Knit 4 rows

K3, *K2tog, K3, repeat from * to last two stitches, K2tog (52 sts)

Knit 2 rows

Purl 1 row

K2, *K2tog, K2, repeat from * to last two stitches, K2tog (39 sts)

Knit 3 rows

K1, *K2 tog, repeat from * to end (20 sts)

Knit 2 rows

Purl 1 row

K2 rows

*K2tog, repeat from * to end,  (10 sts)

Knit 1 row

*K2tog, repeat from * to end,  (5 sts)

Fasten off

Sew up centre back seam.

Ruffle bottom pants - a tutorial of sorts

I'm proud to say that last night I made my second ever garment using knit fabric! I made the first one about 25 years ago, and only sent it to the op shop this week (I think I wore it on average less than once a year during all those years), but I don't expect this week's attempt to last anywhere near that long in our house at the rate the Newbie's growing.

Here's the details:

Inspiration:

The ruffles were inspired by a pair of pants that the Newbie has outgrown because of the added bulk of her cloth nappies, and also by similar projects such as this one at Makeit-Loveit.

Pattern:  Rae’s Basic Baby pant

Materials:  

An old T-shirt of mine which had seen better days

Modifications:  

I used the bottom hem of my T-shirt as the hem of the pants, doing away with the need to hem them separately, added the length of the hem (ie. I lined up the bottom of the pattern piece with the bottom of the T-shirt), and added ruffles to the back of the pants (see tutorial below).

Lessons/Comments:  

I suspect that I mis-measured the Newbie's waist, as when I used Rae's 'waist  1"' instruction for the length of the waist elastic the result was about 2" too long.  The pants are on the long side though, so instead of cutting off the excess elastic I've doubled it over, and will let the elastic out as she grows.


Make your own ruffle pants:

Lie the T-shirt flat, then fold along the centre front/back.  Pin pattern piece along the fold, matching the bottom of the leg with the base of the T-shirt.  Cut out.

I then cut two 1" strips from the width of the T-shirt, cross-cut them into rectangles which were as long as possible, creating four strips.

I wanted a rounded edge to my ruffles, so I cut a curve on one corner of each end of each strip.

I then stitched all round each piece with a mid-width zig-zag (top strip above).  You could also leave the edges unfinished, or overlock them if you have an overlocker, but personally I like the texture of the zig-zagged edge and the stretching of the edges of the fabric for this project.

To gather the strips I adjusted my stitch length as long as it would go, and set my machine's tension as high as it would go.  I then stitched along the long edge of each piece, approximately 1/4" from the edge which still had the squared corners.  This gathers up the fabric without the need to pull up the bobbin thread separately - a trick I learnt from a blog recently (sorry, I found it after following a trail from one blog to the next, and now have no idea who to credit with the idea!).

I sewed the centre back seam of the pants, then used my patchwork ruler and a soft pencil to mark lines on each side at 3", 3.5", 4" and 4.5" from the top.

I then adjusted the gathering on my strips, making minor adjustments to the width of some of them at the same time, and tying the gathering threads at each end when I was happy.  My strips ended up being around 8" long each.

I then pinned and stitched the strips onto the pants, matching the gathering stitch with the pencil lines, and starting with the bottom line.

The ruffles will overlap with one another slightly:

When all four had been sewn in place I sewed the centre front seam and the inside leg seam as detailed by Rae.

Obviously you could add the ruffles to any pants / nappy cover you like, but having now made my first pair of 'Basic Baby Pants' I know I'll be making more from this pattern.

Its beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

... my apologies!  It really is to early to be thinking about Christmas, and I can't face any sort of present list yet, but there are some craft items on my 'to do' list that I really want to cross off before the start of December.  Last night I finished the first of them: a Christmas stocking for the Newbie.  In theory this could have waited - our tradition is that we hang them on Christmas Eve, but as Christmas and new babies come hand-in-hand in our household, making a stocking just seems like part of the birth preparations.

I've made each of us Christmas stockings, and a friend asked me for the pattern some time ago.  Looking at my instructions for her I was a little confused by the whys and wherefores of some of my instructions, so I thought I'd revise them for you.  I've also tried my hand at preparing a PDF pattern based on my design.  If you print it at 100% you'll end up with a stocking that's around 47cm from the top to the heel and 40cm from heel to toe.

I'm going to make one of Tania's Voucher Wraps (but slightly smaller - mine will measure 6" by 11" unfolded) with some of the leftovers.

If you'd like to have a go at your own version of my Christmas stocking feel free to download the pattern (please only use it for your own personal purposes - don't reproduce it/sell them).  Some of the great looking examples here might provide additional inspiration for fabric choices.  There are written instructions in the pattern download, but if you're after visuals as well here goes:

What you'll need:

Main fabric & calico/lining (115cm wide)	70cm of each (180cm will do 3 stockings)
Cuff fabric (115cm wide)	20cm
Ribbon/webbing (~2.5 cm wide)	~70 cm
Iron on interfacing (light-medium weight)	20cm (if 115cm wide this should do two stockings)

What to cut:

2x      Stocking shape from main fabric (add 1cm seam allowance all round)

2x      Stocking shape from calico (add 1cm seam allowance all round)

2x      18cm x 56cm rectangles from cuff fabric

1x      18cm x 56cm rectangle from interfacing

How to sew it up:

1.          With right sides facing, stitch front and back stocking pieces together using a 1cm seam allowance, back-stitching a few stitches at the start and end of the seam, and leaving the top open.  If you like, then zig zag/overlock the edges (I have used a straight stitch to neaten the top of the stocking, but as the whole lot is going to be lined I haven’t worried about the rest of the edges).

2.          Do the same with the calico/lining.

3.          Clip seam allowance to curves.

4.          Turn the main fabric stocking through the right way, and press.

5.          Insert the calico stocking inside the main fabric one, matching seams and top.

6.          Apply the interfacing to one of the cuff pieces.

7.          With right sides, facing stitch the cuff pieces together along one long edge (this becomes the lower edge).

8.          Press flat, with seam allowance toward the un-interfaced half.

9.          With right sides facing, stitch the back seam (short edges) of the cuff, then press open.

10.       Fold the cuff in half and press.

11.       Insert cuff inside the top of the stocking, matching the back seam on the cuff with that on the stocking, and ensuring that the non-interfaced side of the cuff is facing the stocking lining (ie. When turned over this will be on the outside).

12.       Fold the ribbon/webbing in half, and pin between the stocking and the lining, so that the fold matches the edges of the fabric and the remainder of the ribbon/webbing hangs inside the stocking.

13.       Stitch the cuff and the stocking together, catching the ribbon/webbing into the seam.

14.       Fold up the cuff so that it lies flat, then topstitch the seam allowance to the stocking.

15.       Turn the cuff down.

Inspired by...

I have to confess that until recently I hadn't made any clothes for my kids.  I'd made some dresses for my nieces last Christmas, but nothing for the boys.  I remember making the girls dresses, and losing the piece of paper that I had their measurements written down on several times during the process.  I recently measured up the Schoolboy with a view to making him some pyjama pants, but once again I've lost the measurements.  I came across this idea on the Owly Baby blog, and decided that it was fantastic.  The only issue is that the picture is rather too girly for my household (and particularly for the Kinderboy who currently declares to all and sundry that Nanna is the only girl he likes!).

This morning I've come up with my own version, the starting point being the diagram in the back of a Burda Kids pattern book I have:

I've added some extra measurements that I thought would be useful, printed them onto A5 paper, trimmed them, then mounted them on card.  I covered the lot with Contact, but you could laminate them.  This'll mean that rather than reprinting them all the time (and potentially losing them), I'm going to hang them inside my craft cupboard and write on them with overhead projector pen (I've found it to be a bit more permanent than whiteboard marker, but still able to be erased) so I can update the measurements as I need to.  Now I just have to find the Schoolboy's measurements...

If you're interested, feel free to download my template, which also has a girl version.  Please only use for your own personal purposes however.

A brilliant idea...

My fabric stash is made up of a mixture of fabrics I've bought for clothes that I've never made, patchwork fabric I've deliberately bought as a stash, and then leftovers from completed projects.  These leftovers are often too big to throw away but not big enough to do much with.  I tend not to throw them out 'just in case', and because they've cost me money.  They often stay in the cupboard for years though, taking up space before I either ditch them or find a project for them (hence the 20 year old satin lining this bag).  

I saw a great idea on someone's blog, and have modified it slightly for my own purposes.

I purchased 3m of 137cm single pass curtain lining (the original used vinyl which the author kept rolled up, however I thought that lining would be lighter and therefore easier to deal with.  I also plan to fold it rather than roll it up).  I then 'borrowed' some textas off the Schoolboy and marked the length of the fabric with:

• The centreline (using a dotted line)
• A 114cm wide section (using a solid line and different colour), plus its centreline (using a dotted line)
• A 75cm wide section (ie. half of a 150cm wide section)

I then folded the fabric at just over 80cm from the end, marked this line, thereby getting a line which was perpendicular to the selvedges.  Finally, I measured in each direction, marking every 10cm (I haven't bothered with a 10cm or 30cm line at this point, if it becomes an issue I'll mark it in later).

The idea is that, because I usually buy a pattern separately to (ok, years before) the fabric I'm going to use it with, I will lay out my pattern pieces on the relevant section of the lining and work out how much fabric I actually need to make up a garment, rather than relying on the metreage shown on the pattern.  Once I'm happy with the layout, I'll take a photo and save/print it for future reference, and then go shopping.  Marking the centreline for each pattern width allows you to take account of a fold in the fabric.  Hopefully this will reduce the amount of miscellaneous scraps in my stash, and the additional cost associated with over-purchasing.

I spent a fair bit of time over the long weekend scouring the net for the original post, but to no avail - if this was your idea please let me know and I'll link to you and give you the credit!

Now I've finished it, and after looking at way too many pictures of projects from Japanese sewing books today, I really want to break out the patterns and start a new project.  Better finish a couple of things first though I guess (sigh).  Off to check out other creative spaces instead.

Thanks everyone for your comments on my previous post!  In the light of a new day I thought I'd give you the run-down on the how and why for the changes I made to the top half of the 'ruffle-less Spring Ruffle Top'.

From the outset, can I say that these changes in no way reflect a deficiency in Rae's original design.  I really liked the look of this top from the tutorial, but I'm not much into ruffles, and did like the 'ruffle-less' versions better than the original.  The changes were really as a result of this preference.

I planned from the outset to make two tops, and I cut the rectangles for the top of the bodice as per the instructions as a first step.  I sewed the top band, ironed the straps as instructed and pinned on the front of the straps.  I then had the Cyclist pin the back straps for me, with the instruction to cover my bra straps with the straps of the top (I hate having them show).  What I noticed was that:

• Even though they looked right to the naked eye (as far as I could tell looking over my shoulder in the mirror any way!), they weren't lined up properly.  You can see this on the photo below.
• The straps weren't wide enough to cover up the structure of my maternity bra unless I added the ruffle,
• The horizontal strap gaped a bit at the underarm seam, and would fit better if it was a little narrower at the top than the bottom.

I also decided that I'd like to add a bit of a curve to the neckline, because I plan to make both of the tops with a white top half, and thought that some difference between them would be nice.  The result was that I used the straps to draft myself a 'bodice top' pattern.  Here's how I did it:

I traced the outline of the front onto tracing paper.  I also traced the back, but instead of only tracing the back half of the straps, I traced around both the front and back straps, so that the strap section was wider at the bottom - I figured that this and the curve I was adding at the underarm would cover my bra sufficiently.  I took care to mark where the original fabric was folded, as I would need to add seam allowance to these pieces.

Back pattern piece

I then folded the front in half, and made sure that the pattern piece was symmetrical.  Where it wasn't I adjusted it to the mid-point between each side, and thickened up the lines.

I then added in the curves.

I did the same to the back, also making sure that the straps for the front and back were the same distance apart at the shoulder.

Back pattern piece on top of front pattern piece (both folded)

I cut two of each piece, so that the bodice was fully lined, adding a 1.5cm seam allowance where I'd marked the need to do so on the pattern.

I didn't worry about sloping the side seams on the pattern, I just stitched them on an angle (my seam allowance was 1.5cm at the underarm and 1.0cm at the bottom of the bodice piece).

To sew, I sewed along the necklines and underarm/outside strap seams (pinned on the photo below).  Next I joined the side seams.  Lastly, I folded the seam allowance on the back straps inside at the shoulder, slotted the front straps into the back straps, and topstitched in place.

In hindsight, an added bonus of this approach is that I'll be able to use some of Grandma's ric-rac on the neck and armhole edges of the second top (strange that I've not used any of the trim in the 20+ years I've had it, and now I'm thinking of using two different colours within a week!).

Thrifty Thursday

I seem to be spending a fair bit of time in op shops lately, although not everything has been the bargain I originally thought, I'm happy with the outcomes...

... Mr Saucepan on his way to the school Book Parade (the saucepans are now back in the car, waiting a return visit to the op shop)

... Some 'recrafted' pants (I discovered once I got home that the original waistband as too low, and they fell off each time I climbed the stairs!  The new improved waistband gets the tick of approval on the stairs, and should grow with me)

... A 'recrafted' handbag - a bargain at $2, until I got home and realised the lining was disintegrating.  Luckily it was easily removed, and I've relined it with some leftover satin that I've had in my stash for coming up to 20 years (sad, I know!)

... This one doesn't actually fit in with the op shop theme, but I combined some deep blue cotton from my stash, some of the leftover waistband fabric from the jeans, and some courage inspired by Lara's skirt to come up with a breezy summer skirt that I can recraft into something more inspiring once the baby's born.  Construction was easy:

1. Cut the fabric in half across its width, 
2. Join the two pieces into a tube, and gather the top to a width a bit bigger than my anticipated final girth
3. Join the waistband fabric into a (smaller) tube and fold in half to give a folded edge at the top and two raw edges together at the bottom
4. Stitch skirt fabric onto the stretched waistband, then hem.

More crafty spaces over here..., and more flea-market / op shop finds over here.

Easy appliance labels (a how-to)

Today I'm running around labelling appliance cords!  Here's the background:

In our paid jobs, the Cyclist and I both work helping people to save energy (gas and electricity, not the human kind!).  About a year ago, after hearing about the difference switching your appliances off at the power point can make, we started turning off our TVs, DVD players (two of each) and computer equipment at the power point each night, and only turning them on when they're in use.  I can honestly say that we saw an instant 10% drop in our electricity bills.

Having to have the cords accessible though resulted in the need for more power boards (so we can actually get to the plugs), and often we're trying to work out which plug is which, so that we turn off the TV not the hard drive when its recording something.  I have resorted to writing on the power board in the study, but have since rearranged things, and at least once have found that my mobile's flat because I have turned on the stereo rather than the phone charger, etc.

All of this is why I was attracted to this idea:

Source: unplggd.com via Jackie on Pinterest

I'm not sure that bread tags would fit around most of our power cords though, and the bread we usually buy comes with twist ties instead.  What I needed was some sort of fabric that wouldn't fray and I could write on.

Well, the Cyclist came home on the weekend with a new pair of shoes and yet another polypropylene bag, and now I have the answer (my apologies for the lack of progress shots - I have managed to blur the lot!):

1. Cut strips of a polypropylene bag (I cut mine about 1/2" x 4" using quilting tools, but you could use scissors or adjust the size).  You'll need a bag that's reasonably light in colour.
2. Write on the labels with a laundry marker, making sure you leave around 3/4" blank at one end
3. Fold over the blank end, and cut a slit around 1/4" long down the centre of the strip (when you open it up the slit will be about 1/2" long
4. Wrap the label around the relevant power cord, thread the long end through the slit and pull tight.
5. You're done!
   
   

Quilt design using Excel

Welcome if you're here as part of Chasing Cotton's Quilt 101 series!

I have to say that I'm thrilled to be a part of the series, both as a contributor to this week, but also to be able to learn along the way.  I'm self-taught as a quilter, and I'm not always sure that I do things the best/most efficient way, or if there are tools out there which would make life easier.

I love the design process though (I actually think that's the real reason I like to quilt), and I've designed a lot more quilts than I've actually gotten around to cutting fabric for.  I've always been fascinated by pattern, and trying to break down prints into their pattern repeats.  When I'm looking at ideas for quilts I'm also interested in how a quilt might go together - can it be pieced in squares/rectangles/strips?  A lot of the quilts I've designed have been based on square and rectangular patches, and I've found that Microsoft Excel is a quick and easy tool for trialling different colour combinations, layouts, etc.  I use it in much the same way a lot of people use graph paper, and started using it because its quicker and easier to build a design, copy and change things in Excel than having to draw a quilt out from scratch every time.  I've used it to design quilts from scratch and to audition different colour combinations for traditional quilts or quilts I've found patterns for in magazines.

I've divided my design techniques into three separate tutorials:

• The basics 
• Auditioning colour variations (Part 1: How-to and Part 2: Examples)
• Designing your own quilts with Excel

I've been using this process for a number of years now, so I'm hoping that the tutorials are clear and that I haven't assumed too much in the way of knowledge of Excel.  If you have any queries at all feel free to leave a comment on this post, and I'll try and help out.

Jackie