The Hello Beautiful Blog : sewing

Sewing project - Romper

Fabric from the Ipanema Collection by Birch Fabrics. Romper is the free Playsuit Pattern by Elegance & Elephants.

Life is too short not to have fun.

I recently sewed up this little jacket for my daughter - Simplicity 1477 designed by Molly Goodall from Little Goodall. It's adorable! One of my favorite creations of late. There's something about children in animal clothes - and with ears! - that makes my heart glow. You can read more about the jacket here and here.

I recently took part in a pattern tour for the latest collection of sewing patterns by Figgy's Patterns. You can find all the info about the patterns and Spoonflower's lovely new modern jersey I used to sew up the tees, over on the Fiskateer blog.

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.

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.

My kids love making stuff - everything that involves glue, glitter, card or thread and they are happy. I'm sure many children are the same way. I made them this sewing kit at the beginning of the summer vacation, with the hopes that they'd be happy to dig into it as and when. With all the things they need at their disposal, they're happy just sitting quietly for a little while and get busy. I like to take a step back from whatever they get up to, so that I don't influence or impede their creativity.

This was a project I was paid to come up with for the Fiskars website and you can read all about it by clicking here.

This afternoon my 8yr old wanted to make a shirt for his extremely well-loved, and grubby, Piglet. So I had him draw a picture of what he wanted the finished thing to look like, before we drafted a little pattern.

Only my son knows why Piglet has an extra leg hanging out from under his shirt...

This isn't the best photo of the finished shirt but I LOVE that my 8yr old is so pleased with himself AND he's sitting in a large cardboard box. He hand stitched the shirt (but in fact we are going to go back over it on the machine because the stitches are a bit too loose) and it actually fits Piglet perfectly.

I have a tutorial up over at Spoonflower this week that shows you how to make a waterproof washbag - perfect for your summer vacations. This thing is BIG, so you can throw all your stuff in and it has a nice wipe-down surface. I used a vinyl fuse which I adhered to the outside of my canvas fabric. You could put vinyl fuse on both sides for extra waterproofedness.

I cut my pattern pieces before ironing on the fuse. If you're going to do something like this, I recommend investing in a teflon coated machine foot, which is great at sliding over tacky surfaces like laminates and oilcloths.

Go on over to read the full tutorial on making your own. The link is here.

Please note that whilst this vinyl fuse is great and amazing for many craft projects, it is NOT foodsafe and it is not recommended that you use if for anything that will be used for food.

Oooh, I made this bag last year as a project for Fiskars but it's a great summertime bag and I thought I'd share it with you in case you're looking for one to make for yourself or as a gift. This bag is really roomy - I even manage to fit my laptop in it - but the best thing about it is that it's reversible.

You can buy wooden handles very reasonably in stores or online or even better re-use a pair from an old bag from the thrift store.

Using different fabrics would really change the look of this bag but I really like this bright Echino fabric that's perfect for the summer. You can read the full tutorial by clicking here.

*I am PAID by Fiskars to produce content for their website.

Today I have the great honor of taking part in the shorts on the line series hosted this week by the lovely Rachael at imagine gnats. Please go on over and take a look if you have the time. You will find a wealth of inspiration and ideas for sewing up shorts this summer from so many corners of the internet.

I made a cute pair of crabby shorts for my ~~sometimes crabby~~ little one.

My mum is an amazing quilter. She's always been crafty but in recent years she's really become great at sewing up quilts. We have one of her handmade treasures on our bed, as do my kids on each of theirs, as well as my three siblings, their families and almost every man and his dog... Anyway, I'm not a quilter but she has exposed me to influences that I would not ordinarily come across in my creative environment and I really LOVED a Cathedral Windows pattern she sewed into a cushion a while ago.

I wanted to try one of my own - at least it's not a quilt that would take me 3 years to complete.

Hers was a little more 'traditional' in style, but I wanted to make mine bold and bright. I really wish I had the time, energy and patience to make a quilt like this - it's so beautiful. I wonder how well is washes as a quilt?

I feel like I need a little more practice on my points - my mum is way more precise than me - everything she has made is perfect whereas mine is always a little more thrown together.

Don't look too closely. It's pretty though.

I'm always meeting people that either tell me they own a sewing machine and don't know how to use it OR that they can only sew in straight lines. Well, you can sew a lot of things using only straight lines and in all honesty, if you can thread your machine, cut fabric and sew a straight line, you can definitely sew curvy lines too.

This basic chair cover is a project I did for Fiskars a while back and I realized I hadn't posted it here yet. It only requires straight lines and is perfect for a beginner because it makes a BIG impact. Obviously your chairs aren't necessarily the same size as mine, but I'll tell you which parts of your chair to measure and how to make a slip cover like this. What I like about my slip cover is that you can easily just change the organza tie and change the look for different seasons or holidays.

You can read the full tutorial by clicking here.

*I am paid by Fiskars to write projects, tutorials and articles. Just so you know...

DIY fabric design

If you're new to this blog (and hello, if you are!) you may not know that I've been doing some work for Spoonflower involving simple fabric design with a big impact. I'm new to the concept of putting things on fabric, but I really love what I've been making so far.

These are my zipcode cushions made by using google maps to get a satellite image of where I'm from in England. Look how beautiful and green it is! A bit different to So Cal.... You can read about how to make something of your own special place by clicking here.

This week I made some tea towels using my late grandmother's handwritten recipes. These are made even more special because they are the only remaining examples of her handwriting we have left. I'd recognize her handwriting anywhere. It was so unique. Read about them here.

You may or may not know that you can buy fabrics through Spoonflower that have been designed by actual professionals. Here I used their cotton/linen canvas to recover an old ottoman. Read about the transformation here. I did this about a month ago. It's so pretty it was hard letting the kids sit on it. The fabric I used is designed by Zesti.

Today I'm excited to tell you about an event I've been asked to take part in this July. imagine gnats, Designs by Sessa, and small + friendly will be hosting "shorts on the line", a summer sewalong and I will be posting a shorts pattern review on July 7 which will be published over on Rachael from imagine gnats blog.

I've already finished sewing up my shorts with a lovely little pattern. My 5 yr old happened to be in an obliging mood the day I made them, so they are photographed and ready to go. Stay tuned over on the hosts' blogs for loads of inspiration (not to mention prizes) in July.

7.1 shorts on the line kick-off!

week one: imagine gnats
7.2 Rachael (imagine gnats) and Melanie (A Sewing Journal)
7.3 Courtney (mon petit lyons), Inder (Inder Loves Folk Art), and Nicke (Kiss Kiss... Quilt)
7.4 Rashida (i heart linen) and April (Sewing Novice)
7.5 Andrea (the train to crazy) and Kristy (Hopeful Threads)
7.6 Shannon (luvinthemommyhood) and Erin & Carla (Clever Charlotte)
7.7 Emma (Hello Beautiful) and Cassandra (Cass Can Sew)
7.8 Gail (probably actually) and Becky (Owly Baby)

week two: small + friendly
7.9 Carla (small + friendly) and Sophie (cirque du bebe)
7.10 Ros (Sew Delicious) and Veronica (sewVery)
7.11 Shelly (Figgy's) and Alyssa (Pile O'Fabric)
7.12 Jessica (a little gray) and Diane (from blank pages)
7.13 Kristin (skirt as top) and Kelley (Casa Crafty)
7.14 Katie (There and Back) and Tara (girl like the sea)
7.15 Alli (B. Yazoo) and Jennet (Feathered Nest Studios)

week three: Designs by Sessa
7.16 Vanessa (Designs by Sessa) and Jessica (Me Sew Crazy)
7.17 Cherie (You and Mie) and Jane (Buzzmills)
7.18 Karen (Sew Well Maide) and Stephanie (The Crafty Kitty)
7.19 Bianca (Sweet Diesel Designs) and Tara (true, pure, lovely)
7.20 Jenny (Stumbles & Stitches) and Susan & Adrianna (crafterhours)
7.21 Danny (Mommy for Reals) and Marian (Lady Face)
7.22 Jill (Made With Moxie) and Christina (2 Little Hooligans)

features and deadline
7.23 sewalong features, Rachael's favorites
7.24 sewalong features, Carla's favorites
7.25 sewalong features, Vanessa's favorites
7.26 final deadline for shorts sewalong entries
7.27 viewers choice voting begins

winners annoucements
7.28 judges' choice third place announced
7.29 judges' choice second place announced
7.30 viewers choice winner announced
7.31 judges' choice first place announced

Check our the shorts on a line flickr group and pinterest board for some short-y inspiration.

grab the code and share the button!

Do you remember my new year's resolution to sew myself one item of clothing each month of 2012. I'm doing well so far and in fact, I'm probably ahead of schedule. My May project is now up over at the Fiskar's website - I made a hoodie from a pattern that I drafted myself by tracing off another top I have. I'd never really tried that before on clothing for me (I've done it a few times for children's clothes but they are easy because they are so small!) I used a sweatshirt that I have that fits me well, and paying attention to the seam lines and adding in enough seam allowance, it was pretty straightforward. I traced the pattern onto freezer paper, but you could also use Swedish tracing paper or even better, that brown paper that comes in all the packing boxes.

Click here to go and read all about the project over at Fiskars.

Have you ever traced off a pattern? Did you find it a successful experience? I actually REALLY liked creating this hoodie this way. Because I didn't have any instructions or pattern directions to follow, it felt WAY more creative than usual and I felt more confident in allowing my own sense of style to emerge.

The Hello Beautiful Blog

Sewing project - Romper

Little Fox

Figgy's Patterns

Finished Hawthorn

Colette Patterns sewalong - Hawthorn

French seam tutorial

Birthday Party Dress

Time to sew {tutorial}

Making a waterproof washbag {tutorial}

Summer purse {tutorial}

Cathedral Windows Cushion

Basic chair cover {tutorial}

DIY fabric design

Shorts on the line

New year's resolution - May hoodie