Dog coats and Barbie fittings

Ever the excitable sewist, a friend asked me if I would make her dog a coat to keep her warm in the winter.  Sure, I'll have a go, says I.

I thought, hey, how difficult can it be??  Um, you might say that I learned LOADS!!

But, not to be deterred, I beavered away armed with scissors, parchment paper, URLs, measurements and an idea of what it could possibly look like (if I'm really lucky!).  A prototype made from fleece crossed the Atlantic first and even Barbie's dog had a fitting before the final coat was conceived.

And I've never even owned a dog before, so that made for some interesting 3D experiments!

And here is the end result. 

One warm pup who loves nothing better than to sleep with her new coat - that's one of the greatest compliments there is :)

The cord outer fabric was preloved and the fleecey interior was made from, well, warm orange fleece!

Here's hoping that the coat keeps her as warm as intended!

And it's totally reversible too - well, the things you learn as you go along LOL! ;)

Peony shoulder bag (from curtains)

When I see a beautiful pair of curtains for sale I feel compelled to give them a good home.  I suppose I'm a bit of a curtain rescuer on the quiet! 

I found this adorable pair in a charity shop that's down the road from me.  They really take the time to get to know their customers there.  It also provides a place for people in the local community to stop and chat and just feel heard and connected.  For me, the heritage of a piece of fabric is really important.

Anyway, I teamed the curtains with dusky pink polka dots for the handle - I think I'm going through a polka dot phase right now!  There is a soft pleat on both sides for the added fun factor.

The lining was created from a rose coloured fabric that was an offcut from the time I made the shift dress - I just cannot bear to throw fabric away!  I added a magnetic snap for easy closure and a large pocket with enough room to put a journal and phone/pens/whatever else you may need in it!

It's really quite sturdy as everything has an extra layer of interfacing on it.  And it's comfy too!

I cannot believe how much fun I had making this one!

Jazzy journal covers

It's like this.  My journals get far more use if they are fun to be around.  So I set about figuring out how to make one and here's what I came up with:

The exterior is made from a gorgeous preloved top and the green silk interior is an offcut of fabric discovered at a car boot sale.  The lady was selling off her daughter's fabric collection now that she'd left university and is a fashion designer in her own right. 

Oh I just love knowing the story behind the fabric!

Now on to make it the right size for the journal it's designed for LOL!

What the best dressed sunglasses are wearing...

I haven't posted for a while but I'm back now and as eager as ever to share my latest creations!!

One of the things I've been doing is having fun making a padded sunglasses case for a friend.  I designed it myself and the first couple of prototypes were an absolute blast to make.  But the last one I made didn't turn out quite so well.  Hmmmm.

So I set out to make this one bigger and brighter than all the rest of them put together!

I wouldn't mind that one falling out of my bag, I can tell you!

Alas the fabric I used was not from a preloved skirt (although I might just make a skirt out of it!) 

But the inner fabric was from a pillowcase of all things!

And it's nicely padded too to prevent any knocks and scrapes.  I think I might just have to make one for myself now!

Have fun, sunglasses case recipient!!

A rose by any other name...

There's something quintessentially English about roses. 

So when I spotted a couple of skirts with rose-prints on I just had to add them to my collection.

I put the two prints together and added a green polka dot to make another bag - I really can't get enough of bags!

I chose the darker fabric to line it and for the base.  I added a pocket too for mobiles, pens, you name it!

It's funny, whenever I make something out of preloved fabric - I just want to keep it!

But I know it's going to a good home!

To the lovely American lady it's destined for - I hope you have as much fun with it as I did making it :)

Of course it's warm now - I've just made fleecy PJ bottoms!

My daughter's fleecy PJ bottoms were having an argument with her ankles so I thought it was about time she had some more. 

I wanted to make them out of a fleece blanket that we already had but she didn't want it cut up however warm it was going to keep her.  So I bought some cute fleece instead.

I made a rough pattern and then just sewed it up - I can't believe how quickly it came together.  If you're thinking of trying a first sewing project - make it PJ bottoms!

She's looking forward to wearing them - when it's cold enough!