A refashion experiment!

I follow a blog by Jillian Owens who has been refashioning clothes found at charity shops and 'goodwill' and sharing the creations she makes. I like her style as she often has 'no-sew' creations and has a no fuss attitude to the process.

I rediscovered this jersey dress in my huge pile of scraps (which I am desperately trying to clear out!) and rememberd how much I loved wearing it. Its so soft and the colours suit me. Unfortunately it a super large as I wore it as a maternity dress when I pregnant with Finn. So I got my scissors out and started chopping. First I cut the skirt section from the bodice - I was pleased to see how much fabric there was - plenty to make a top. I dug out my beaten up favourite t-shirt and used this as a template.

I folded the front of the skirt section in half and lay it flat on the table. I then folded my t-shirt in half and lay it on top - folds together. I then drew round my t-shirt - adding a small allowance for my seams. I moved the sleeves out of the way and drew a scooped line for the neck. I then did this again with the other piece of skirt material, this time I made the scoop a little lower for the front of my top.

I attached the shoulders together first and then opened my new top out. I placed two pieces of leftover fabric under the arm hole and drew a shape using my t-shirt again as a template. These were then cut out and pinned on to make the sleeves. I needed to ease the two bits of fabric together to make them fit but as it was jersey this was easy to do. 

I then pinned the side seams together - doing my best to match the grey band so it flowed properly. All seams were finished with a small zigzag stitch. Finally I used the zigzag stitch around the raw edges of my sleeves and neckline which created a slightly scalloped finish,

   

My new top!

The Violet Quilt

It's finally finished! Inspired by Andy's win today and too nervous to watch i frantically stitched the final words to the poem I've been sewing to the back of Sophie's quilt.

I've called this quilt The Violet after the poem stitched round the edge and Sophie's middle name. It's written by Jane Taylor who also wrote Twinkle Twinkle Little Star:

Down in a green and shady bed, 
A modest violet grew; 
Its stalk was bent, it hung its head
As if to hide from view. 
And yet it was a lovely flower, 
Its colour bright and fair; 
It might have graced a rosy bower, 
Instead of hiding there. 

Yet thus it was content to bloom, 
In modest tints arrayed; 
And there diffused a sweet perfume, 
Within the silent shade. 

Then let me to the valley go
This pretty flower to see; 
That I may also learn to grow
In sweet humility. 

All the fabrics used are a mix of vintage, designer and donated florals that combined make an impressive bunch.

Temptation Ladies!

Introducing my two ladies inspired by New Order's Temptation song...

....Oh, you've got green eyes
Oh, you've got blue eyes
Oh, you've got grey eyes
And I've never seen anyone quite like you before
No, I've never met anyone quite like you before

Each cushion has its envelope back and hairstyle made up from welsh woven wool fabric. Hand sewn eyes, nose and mouth make the cushions soft, huggable and great friends to listen to secrets for years to come.

My brunette has blue eyes and blonde has green eyes.

My girls just need names now!

Block by Block

I was so pleased with the baby building blocks I've made I decided to make some for Sophie. I mixed up some yellows, pinks and greys and added appliquéd letters, numbers and shapes.

I really like the geometric pattern and the Heather Ross 'Dogs'. And most importantly they're a big hit with Sophie!

After giving baby Gabe a set of baby building blocks, Gabe's mum has ordered another set to give to another friend. I started by searching my scrap bag for colours that went well together.

And ended up with these lovely blocks in purples, lime greens and turquoise!

Some of the patchwork sides include a great fabric with Batman style 'Kapow' design.

Fabric Sources

So where do you get yours from?

Mine comes from a mix of places. A couple of local treasure troves, a few websites full to the brim of temptations, some eBay stalking and an annual pilgrimage to a festival... not the rock n roll ones of my youth!

So locally, I am bang in the middle of two greats. Fabric Galore in Lavender Hill, South West London and Rolls n Rems in Lewisham, South East London.

Fabric Galore has finally launched its online store meaning its wonderful stock is even more accessible and even though I can get there relatively easy I still always buy one or two pieces from them at the Festival of Quilts held at the NEC in Birmingham every August. Their shop is well laid out, with a good mix of different fabrics and a small selection of Haberdashery (Wimbledon Sewing Centre in Balham has the best stock of haberdashery I've come across in South London). But the main reason I love Fabric Galore is their amazing stock of Liberty prints at the best price ever! They have so many I always end up buying some even if I went in for green fur! It was from this selection that I found most of the prints for my Mum's Liberty Quilt. The super friendly staff are always ready to help and advise. If you're in London make a special journey across the river - you won't regret it!

Rolls n Rems is a very different store. An Aladdin's cave of treasures with a good mix of all the basics you could ever need. It has a great range of patterns and stuff for curtain making and upholstery upstairs. I buy my towelling there for changing mats and bibs and felt squares and have yet to find anywhere that can beat them on price. It can sometimes be a squash, but only as a testimony to how busy it can get.

There are pother local shops that sell fabric - some of those I mentioned in my Sewing Cafes and Workshop post stock a good range.

My favourite websites:

Fabric Rehab This site is fab. It displays its huge stock so clearly and groups fabrics in great themes, types and colours. Whenever I've ordered anything it arrives super fast and never disappoints. I have to admit to spending far too many hours drooling over new lines and wishing i could buy the lot!

Eternal Maker This site not only has a great selection of fabrics but almost everything else ou could ever want. THE most gorgeous felt. AMAZING ric rac and other stuff you never knew you needed until you stumbled across it on their website! Dangerous - thank goodness I don't live close to the shop or else I may be bankrupt!

Fabric Worm Is American, but sometimes for that very special project you need to find the perfect fabric - if you can't find it here then its worth investing in having some sent over from these guys! Its also a great way to see whats coming out before it hits our shores.

Crowning glory

The making bug really caught hold this month as Sophie's first birthday draws closer and closer. I have finished her building blocks and quilt and decided there was just time to whip up a special party hat.

I decided a mini crown made with fabric and ribbon would be just the thing for my little princess (i know... enough!).

After rummaging around on Pinterest for some inspiration I decided to make my own pattern. And here's the finished result - cute eh!

The hardest part was coming up with the perfect pattern. It needed a slight curve so that the points angled out slightly and big enough dips for the points to look crowny!

I choose some lovely soft muted grey and brown fabric I had in my stash and ironed on some lightweight interfacing to the floral fabric to give it a little more structure.

I choose some complementing ribbon and sewed these to the front before sewing the two pieces of crown together along the points.

Next I sewed the edges together then flipped it the right way out, pushing out the tips of the crown carefully with scissors.

I then gave it an iron and ironed the a bottom hem of about 1/4 inch on both external and internal fabrics. I cut two lovely plush baby pink ribbons and pinned them to the sides before carefully sewing the bottom edge closed.

My final touch was some gold pearl cotton hand stitching around the edge!

A quick how to... join together batting pieces

I am still in the middle of making two quilts and some building blocks, but life such as it is means that precious sewing time is a rare thing. I have finished cutting and piecing together the tops of both quilts and basted Sophie's ready for hand quilting. Poor Finn's didn't have a piece of batting just the right size so I've patchworked his using up bits and pieces. I thought I'd share a good way of doing this that makes bumpless joins!

Start by choosing a zig zag stitch that is made up of a number of smaller stitches - I choose this 3 step zig zag. I then made the stitch length long and narrower.

Then I set the needle to stop down and started sewing. Butting the fabric together as it went under the foot.

The final seam - flat and pretty strong. A great way to use up those left over pieces of batting.

Finn expresses his approval of both quilts so far!