Archive for the 'fabric' Category

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Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day – sewing and craft supplies (now closed)

Published on 03/12/2012 by Mary in craft, creative, fabric, giveaway, Patchwork, thrifting, Upcycled and Vintage. 423 Comments

Hello and welcome to all of you lovely people visiting for the first time as part of the Sew Mama Sew giveaway day and happy Monday to all my regular readers.

I’m Mary, I live in the south west of England with 3 young children and a wonderful understanding husband who for the most part supports my sewing habit whole heartedly (even fabric shopping for me when on trips to the US), oh and today is my birthday.

Back in May I opened an Etsy shop as an outlet for my excessive vintage sheet collection, thanks to all you who been helping me out by buying the kits and charm packs!

Today I’m giving away 3 packs of vintage charms – 126 charms in total. You could use them to make some baby quilts or to make one big quilt. I’ve made a few baby size quilts and would love to make a large one using my charms so I’m hoping that giving away some packs will motivate me to get on and make one.

The charm packs will include a selection of fabrics the same or similar to the ones here:

I’ll also enclose a pack of Vintage Fabric Tape, made by me using up scraps from my charm cutting.

And just as a thank you for visiting and because it’s my birthday, this week I’m offering you 15% discount in my shop using the code SMS1212 until Sunday 9 December 2012 at 9pm (UK time).

To enter please leave a comment telling me what you are most looking forward to doing this week, I’m looking forward to eating chocolate cake with sour cream that my husband and middle child baked yesterday afternoon.

For additional entries you can:
Subscribe to my blog (top right of this page)
Add my Etsy shop to your favourites
Like my Facebook page

Just leave an additional comment letting me know any of those you do and please ensure that I have a way of contacting you if you win.

Open internationally

Comments will close on Friday December 7 at 5pm PST (which is 1am here in the UK, funnily enough I’ll probably be asleep at that time so any comments left after this time will be deleted!)

The winner will be selected using Random Number Generator and will be announced by Sunday December 9.

I should also mention that I’m organising a Vintage Sheet Fat Quarter swap (predominantly for the UK and Ireland due to postage costs).

If you are interested in joining in check out the flickr group here

Lastly but not least don’t forget to head back on over to Sew Mama Sew for so many other fantastic opportunities to win.

Vintage finds – October

Published on 03/11/2012 by Mary in fabric, thrifting and Vintage. 4 Comments

Another month of successful hunting:

Quite a stack this month, some duplicates but mostly new prints to me:

The blue and purple floral on the 3rd row is 100% cotton and quite lovely, I might be using one of those sheets to make myself some pyjama trousers!

And don’t forget that the vintage sheet FQ swap is all set up over on Flickr, so if any of these take your fancy then go and find something to swap, FQ’s need to be with me in January so you’ve still got plenty of time to join in.

Old fabric, new life

Published on 01/10/2012 by Mary in accessories, creative, fabric, giveaway, Scraps, Upcycled and Vintage. 28 Comments

I’ve spent what feels like a lot of time cutting vintage sheet charm squares recently for my Etsy shop and have been wondering what to do with the off cuts. I already carefully cut each piece of fabric carefully before folding and putting through the Go! Baby but inevitably there are bits left.

I have a drawer in a chest in our bedroom that is stuffed full of sheet offcuts, some because they have a slight mark on and others because they are smaller than 5″ square, I also have narrow and wide hems in there!

In a mission to reduce the amount of fabric in the drawer I decided to try and make some fabric tape. Now here is a joyous moment when I realised that in the UK we have something that folks in the USA don’t seem to have – double sided sticky tape!

The long and short of my experimenting is that – it works! So from today I will be adding packets of fabric tape to my Etsy shop.

I’ve used it instead of clear sticky tape when wrapping presents, it adds a real ‘pop’ to the gift:

I gave a friend a birthday gift on Friday that was wrapped and used the tape on that, she was quite delighted, even more so when she realised the gift also contained a packet of tape for her own personal use, she then told me it would go in the special stationery box just to be looked at!

So I hope you like it and if you fancy a packet of your own to use (or keep) head on over to my Etsy shop. ~~You can also enter to win a packet, please leave a comment below and I’ll use the random number generator to pick a lucky winner next Sunday evening (7 October).~~ Giveaway now closed.

Linking up with:

Need more fabric?

Published on 24/09/2012 by Mary in fabric. 9 Comments

Randi who runs the wonderful store that is Freshly Squeezed Fabrics is running a ‘pin it to win it‘ contest, pin a bundle from her store and you get the amount of repins that equal the cost of the bundle you win it.

So I’ve chosen this bundle:

And I’d be delighted if you would repin it for me. If you’re playing along too just leave a comment below and I’ll repin yours.

Thanks.

Lovely fabric mail

Published on 21/09/2012 by Mary in fabric. 3 Comments

Look what the postman delivered yesterday:

A thank you gift from the lovely Ellen of the long thread. You might know she’s working on another book and I helped her out with a little bit of pattern testing. So not only did I get a sneak peek of what is in the next book I’ve got some half yard cuts of her gorgeous fabric line for Moda. What shall I make?

Ellen is one busy lady, she has another fabric line coming out with Kokka early next year, hop on over to True Up for a preview.

Thanks Ellen!

August’s fabric finds

Published on 16/09/2012 by Mary in fabric. 1 Comment

So despite the general view that August is a summer month here in the UK it didn’t feel much like it. I think I made it to two car boot sales and a couple of rummages in the charity shops:

The first photo is a bit duff in that you probably can’t tell what it is, (sorry Tobit) it’s a half apron, such gorgeous fabric I think I might have to leave it as an apron and use it in the kitchen.

Then there’s a selection of pillowcases and sheets, bottom row on the left is a gorgeous curtain. Sadly the fabric content is very synthetic and a little stained but it had to come home with me.

Here’s hoping for a more productive September as I need to restock the charm packs in my etsy shop!

Colouring and sewing

Published on 20/08/2012 by Mary in creative and fabric. 8 Comments

It’s been quiet here on the blog, I’ve been having a bit of a break, looking after the children, doing ‘stuff’ and not being motivated or inspired to sew or blog very much.

Anyway back in March we made a trip to Ikea, it’s not local so it’s a serious business and we have a specific purpose for the trip. Not too surprising though one of the things that was on the list was fabric, I’d seen the Britten Hus print by Emma Jones and thought I needed some of it for the children to play with.

During the Easter holidays I cut the children a square each to colour in using fabric pens. They spent a while on it but never finished them. Both girls got them out again last week and Leah completed hers ready for me to sew it up into a cushion cover:

I added a piece of wadding and lining to the back of the panel and although you can’t really see from the photo I quilted around the houses and some window to add a bit of definition. It’s backed with some lovely red corduroy that I picked up from a car boot sale in February. Another invisible zip and a little girl delighted with her art work. Big sister would like hers to be sewn up too but I think she needs to do some more colouring first…

Sewing with mother – part 1

Published on 07/08/2012 by Mary in fabric, Patchwork and Upcycled. 5 Comments

I haven’t mentioned that a few weeks ago at the car boot Kerry told me that she had a box of fabric in the boot of her car that she had bought previously at the car boot, she’d taken out what she wanted and the rest of it was up for grabs. So along with Wendy and Barbra, Leah and I went and had a look, I could see why Kerry was giving it away, mostly scrappy bits or odd pieces, a bit shiny or silky not the sort of thing I would use. Leah however was a little bit struck by it and was happy to take whatever the others didn’t want! In fact she also took the cardboard box it was all in!

She was really quite excited on the way home and talked about having a fabric shop! When we got in she emptied it all over the floor to show Bethan what she had missed!

I persuaded her away from her very own fabric stash to have some breakfast and then she was ready to sew. Where to start with an eclectic mix of fabric? I steered her in the direction of a wonky log cabin, so she (randomly) selected fabrics, ironed them and I stitched them together for her. The block was backed with a piece of vintage sheet and became a blanket for Ookie the monkey, spied later that day snuggled under it in the pram (oh look the sun shone and it was warm enough for swimsuits).

(oh and can you spot the glitter tattoos?!)
We’ve been sewing together again, come back tomorrow and I’ll tell you all about it!

Wiggle it, just a little bit

Published on 06/08/2012 by Mary in Boys, fabric and Girls. 5 Comments

Last week the children and my husband were all at home, the girls had swimming lesson every morning, we (yes all of us) got involved in toilet training Mathias and it rained most of the week. So there wasn’t much opportunity to sew but I had seen Emily’s post about wiggly bags and thought that it was a fairly simple project that the children might help with. The bags are used to hickman lines and the idea is that a bag made from lovely fabric might help to brighten the day.

We pulled some child friendly/novelty prints from the cupboard and cut 6″ squares. The girls took it in turns to press them, feeling quite grown-up using an iron (yes, I should have done the pressing before cutting but who cares?). Bethan cut some tape in to the right lengths but got distracted after about 8 pieces (I was planning to make 10 bags and needed 4 pieces for each bag). She did a good job of cutting the velcro though so I won’t complain too much.

That was where their involvement ended leaving me to press and stitch. They are pretty straightforward bags to make as long as you remember to put the tape in at the right point (I only forgot on one). And before too long we had 11 (someone can’t count!) bags ready to brighten a poorly child’s day.

So if you have a little bit of fabric to spare and a bit of time then please consider making one or two. Either contact Emily and send them to her or contact your local hospital, I’m sure they’d be delighted to have your support.

The Hazel Hipster – pattern review and a giveaway – now closed

Published on 19/07/2012 by Mary in accessories, fabric, Girls and giveaway. 50 Comments

Last month I saw that Trish at Two Peas In A Pod Design was looking for bloggers to choose one of her patterns to review and I jumped at the chance.

I had a browse through Trish’s etsy shop and eventually decided on the Hazel Hipster.

Trish’s pattern are not pdf’s so I had to wait for it to arrive in the ‘old-fashioned’ way. I must say that while I love the convenience of a pdf it never quite compares with a professionally produced paper pattern with full size pattern pieces that you don’t have to tape together.

I had a read through of the pattern and a look at the style options and Bethan asked if I would make one for her. There are 2 style options, style A had exterior pockets which are straight and B has pockets at an angle (see pattern cover above). The pattern is also in 2 sizes, full size and mini.

Bethan opted for style A and had no choice over the size, I knew that mini would be most suitable for her at 7 yrs old.

The materials list doesn’t list the amount of fabric required for the mini bag but as I wasn’t buying fabric for this project and just using stash fabrics we looked at the pattern pieces and worked out what we needed from that. I traced the pattern pieces onto pattern paper and cut them out.

The bag has interior and exterior pockets and these are lined. When I was deciding which fabric to use for which part of the pocket I wrote a list so that I knew which piece was which as I was starting to get a little confused!

For interfacing the materials list states medium weight fusible fleece. Until recently I don’t think this has been easily available in the UK and I prefer to buy my interfacing in person rather than online so I can be sure of the weight that I am buying. Sometime last year in my local sewing machine shop I came across a bolt of what I would call fusible fleece, it had no label/branding on it and was £3.50 per metre (I’ve seen Vilene fusbile fleece on sale in the UK for £3.60 for half metre) so I thought I would give it a try. I’ve used it in frame purses and it works really nicely so time to give it a try in a bag.

The main panels of the bag (both interior and exterior) are all interfaced as is the outside of both pockets. The pattern piece for the pocket lining state Cut 1 for interfacing but I think this is incorrect as Step 2 of the instructions states ‘the pocket lining panels will not be interfaced’. Fortunately I had worked this out before cutting.

I have used magnetic snaps a number of times before so had no need to refer to the tutorial on Trish’s website. There was no suggestion in the instructions for where to place the snap, obviously (to me) it should be central and I estimated how far down from the top of the bag it should go (bearing in mind seam allowance). I discovered when I came to top stitching the bag that it could have done with being slightly lower as I struggled to sew in a straight line past the snap. I have just now looked at the tutorial and in the comments below someone else has asked the question how to measure for the snap and Trish suggests 1.5″. So I know for next time.

In step 5 of the instructions it’s time to construct the exterior and interior main pieces. The pattern instructs to leave a 6″ opening in the bottom of the bag for turning. I did not do this, I dislike stitching the opening closed on the right side and instead opted to leave a gap in step 7 when the interior and exterior are sewn together at the top of the bag. So rather than sewing all the way around the top of the bag I left a gap of 4″ to turn through. This worked absolutely fine and as I had done as I was told at the beginning of the pattern and read through it all before starting, I knew that I would be top stitching at the end so closing this opening tidily.

The strap for the bag is a simple fixed fabric strap. I was making this bag for Bethan and had in mind that I wanted it to last for a long time so a bag strap that is the right length now might be too short in the future (I am assuming that she still has a fair amount of growing to do!). I used a bag of mine that has an adjustable strap to work out how short it needed to be and how long I might want it to be in the future. I ordered a bag slider and ‘D’ ring set from Sew Who Are You?. The slider is 1″ wide so I cut the strap 4″ wide and 45″ long. I cut the interfacing 2″ wide and fused it down the middle of the strap. I then folded the strap long sides together and pressed and then opened it up and folded the edges into the middle and pressed again and top stitched down both sides of the strap.

I only used one of the ‘D’ rings and made an open ended strap for this 4″ wide by 3″ long and made it in the same way as the long strap.

Finished size of the mini bag is 9.5″ wide and 11″ tall.

Bethan is delighted with her bag, she took it to school for ‘show and tell’ this week and it was admired by a few of the mums as well as her class mates!

In conclusion: this is a well written pattern, there are photographs at every step, a space for notes at the end (which I’ve used for strap measurements ready for next time). Yes, I would use this pattern again, the mini size is a decent size, I’m not sure I would use the larger size. I’m actually thinking about scaling the mini one down and making a smaller one for using most days when all I need is somewhere for my keys and purse. I also think I would add an interior zip pocket and a key fob strap as I’ve done in previous bags.

Thanks to Trish for the opportunity to review this pattern, Trish has very kindly offered to giveaway a surprise pack of 2 patterns from her Etsy shop to one lucky reader. Open internationally.

To enter:

Leave a comment below telling me which of Trish’s patterns you would most like to try.

Extra entries:

‘Like’ Two Peas in a Pod on Facebook – come back and leave a comment telling me you me you’ve done so.

Share this giveaway on facebook, twitter or your blog and again leave a comment to let me know.

So that’s 3 possible entries. Giveaway will close on Wednesday 25 July at 9pm UK time. I will use random number generator to pick a winner. Please ensure that I have a way to contact you if you win.

Kim has also carried out a pattern review and is hosting a giveaway so why not pop over there for another chance to win.