The Hello Beautiful Blog

Fuse Hexagon Design Set & Expansion Pack Blog Hop!

Fiskars have added a great new design to their collection of Fuse dies and this one is going to be a hit! Who doesn't love hexagons?!? They are so popular right now, and I've seen them popping up literally all over the place.

This dies comes with two letterpress plates but there's also an expansion pack available that gives you 4 extra letterpress designs.

They are currently available at Joann stores and you can click on the links below for more info.

Hexagon Design Set

Hexagon Expansion Pack

Today some of the Fiskars designers are sharing their ideas on using this die - and I'm excited to see what the other ladies have come up with. Here's the list of designers and their blogs.

Fiskateers blog: www.fiskateers.com/blog
Emma Jeffery (ME!) : http://hellobeautifulblog.blogspot.com/
Smitha Katti: http://www.smilingcolors.com/
Lisa Storms: http://lisastorms.typepad.com/
Kim Garner: http://kimgarner.blogspot.com/

Finished Hawthorn

I have been participating in the Hawthorn sewalong by Colette Patterns, and here's my finished dress. I opted for the sleeveless version, but the pattern also has directions for two lengths of sleeve and also a peplum top too. I think I'll be making up a sleeved version when (if) time allows....

I used Entangled in Navy by the fabulously talented Heather Dutton through Spoonflower, in Kona cotton. LOVE this print - it's fun and a little quirky - but extremely wearable, which is important to me.

I sewed the contrasting collar in white cotton and added white piping at the center fronts. I like the break in the pattern it creates. Here's I'm wearing it with a (Target) blue belt I own, but I might keep my eyes open for something a little more bright - I'm thinking yellow, or my color of the moment - chartreuse.

Colette Patterns sewalong - Hawthorn

Anyone else joining in with the Hawthorn sewalong over at Colette Patterns? I'm quite pleased to be sewing along for once - usually I discover a sewalong just as it's drawing to an end, and though the info and photo directions remain extremely useful, it's a nice feeling to also be doing it in real time, along with others, too.

I've been working on perfecting the fit of my muslin. So far I've done a SBA (here's the corresponding tutorial which has some amazing photos and very clear directions). In the photo of the muslin front below, you can see that the white fabric (on the left) is the section with the SBA and I think (even though I should have ironed out the dart before I took this photo) it has really helped to take out some of the excess fabric that you see on the right side of the bodice.

I assumed I was also going to have to make a wide shoulder adjustment but reading the symptoms of wide shoulders, I have thinking otherwise. I don't have any tightness across the back of the bodice and the armholes seem to be fine. If anything, the back is a little loose but that might be because I've not sewn buttons or buttonholes onto my muslin, I've just pinned it together.

Which brings me to a good questions. Do YOU sew buttons and buttonholes to your muslins? It seems like the best way to get a proper fit, but it also requires an amount of patience and perfection I am not known to possess.

We'll see...

Baggy back...

There's nothing like using up all those cotton scraps to make a patchwork muslin.

French seam tutorial

I have a degree in French but French seams were never on the syllabus, more's the pity. I would have certainly paid attention to that lecture.

Despite that, I have picked up the method for finishing seams, and it's a great one for neat and tidy seam finishes on clothing, and because they are sewn twice, they are super strong and suitable for all kinds of sewing projects including bags and totes.

I originally wrote this post for the Fiskateers blog, but am posting it here too. If you'd like to go and read the original, click here.

1. Take your two pieces of fabric and pin with wrong sides together. The right sides will be facing out. (I know this seems counter-intuitive, but hang in there!)

2. Sew the two fabrics together, then trim the seam allowance to 1/4".

3. With a hot iron and with the right sides facing up, press both raw edges to one side.

4. Next, place the wrong sides up, and press the two fabrics along the seam line. The right sides will now be facing in.

5. Pin the pressed edge, then sew with a seam allowance of more than 1/4".

6. To finish, open up the fabrics with wrong sides up and press the seam allowance to one side. The raw edges will be concealed within the seam.

I don't know what the weather's like where you are, but here in California it's pretty wonderful. We are close to the beach so the marine layer keeps it cooler than inland, which is convenient because my body had a temperature tolerance range of only + or - 2 degrees. Still, it's nice to get outside and create in the sunshine. I'm seriously considering wheeling my sewing machine outside, but it would be a pain to have to keep wheeling back in again when the temperature goes up by 2 degrees...

I made these coasters over the last few days using plastic canvas cut into circles with my Fiskars Fuse Creativity System. (I work for them). I think it might be needlepoint, but I'm not really sure because I've never needlepoint-ed before. This is possibly a hybrid I've made up! (Needlepointers, look away now). You can read more about the coasters over on Facebook here.

My daughter will turn 7 later this summer, and she's up for wearing anything I make her (at the moment...) I sewed up the Oliver+S Birthday Party Dress this week. I bought it a while ago (I have the paper copy and I see that's it's now only available as a digital download) and I've finally got around to making it. It's completely adorable :)

She needed a summer dress AND something to wear on July 4th next week, so I killed two birds with one stone...

The gorgeous fabric is from the Ahoy Matey collection by Michael Miller Fabrics, which I've usually seen used for boy sewing projects, but it works equally well for girls in my opinion.

LOVE the tab detail over the box pleats down the center front of the dress.

The dress closures are at the back, with a line of buttons through the back placket. Though that means adult help is required when getting herself dressed in the mornings, I'm happy to oblige because she looks so cute! It's all worth it.

Free Craftsy class - zipper techniques

Oooh, I know you're going to love this!

Anyone who's keen to take the next step towards becoming a better seamstress really should watch this Craftsy mini-class, hosted by Sunni Standing.Sunni is the brains and talent behind the blog A Fashionable Stitch and let me tell you, she doesn't make up this sewing stuff as she goes along (like I do...ahem..shhh.....) she actually knows what she's doing!

And even if you're a pretty proficient seamstress, it doesn't hurt to spend a little time freshening up your skills, right? The beauty of this Craftsy mini-class is : 1. it is free. FREE! Worth repeating, I think you'll agree 2. you can watch the videos in your own time. 3. you can actually engage in chat and conversation with other community members AND interact with the teacher herself!

Go ahead and CLICK HERE to access the Mastering Zipper Techniques, sit back and enjoy :)

Handmade Stationery Set

Well, I'm just going to sneak back on here and carry on as if I hadn't been MIA for the last 6 months...do you think anyone would notice? Hmmm...probably not BUT in my defense, I have been up to all kinds of crazy this year! In terms of crafting, I've had many 'pinch me I must be dreaming' moments and to be honest, I feel that way about life in general too.

But I'm determined to get back on track a little here on my blog. I miss it! I miss having a little space I can natter on and just...be me.

Today, I'm sharing a fun little project I created for Fiskars a short while ago. Whilst I usually prefer to work with fabric and my sewing machine, stepping out of my comfort zone does me some good, every now and then. Do you feel like that?

I try to keep my paper crafting projects simple - mainly because I'm no expert - but also because I know that people like to be able to see something and just know how to replicate it. They don't always want to sit and read the instructions or directions (no matter how carefully I phrase my sentences or how long it takes me to chose just the right word...)

This would make a perfect gift, and it is in fact part of the handmade gift series I am currently working on for Fiskars. I've set myself the challenge of creating one handmade gift each month this year. I have had a few mishaps - not in terms of failing to create a project - but in terms of making a couple of things I love so much that I'll not be able to part with them. This is one of them....

It's a simple stationery set (not to be confused with stationary set, even though this little beauty isn't going anywhere).

I used some regular, pretty stamps but instead of ink them with ink, I used embossing pad and sprinkled the surface with a metallic embossing powder. This was my first time trying this technique (and I'm not afraid to admit it) so if I can do it, you can too.

I finished off the little set with a brown paper, crunched-up flower (new official term) which is also super easy to make.

If you'd like to read my carefully worded and expertly phrased tutorial (even if I do say so myself), go ahead and click here.

It's good to be back!

Hello! You may have noticed I've not been posting here much this year. You can keep up with more of my crafting happenings over on my Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/HelloBeautiful.page