Shaun in the city

It's been a bit quiet around here, lately.  You see, I wear lots of different hats.  And for a while, my Student Hat took over.  Which is fine.  Got the grade I was looking for.  But there was not a lot of room for creativity beyond essay writing.

Righto.  Now what?  Back to normality?  Not quite, but until it does, the sewing machine has made it back onto the table again!

So, a month or so ago I spotted a Shaun the Sheep duvet set in a charity shop.  It also had Wallace on the front of it.  Now, Shaun was born in Bristol.  Or so I believe.  And that's just where I come from so I have a bit of a soft spot for him.  Needless to say, the duvet came home with me until I could think of something to do with it.

Lo and behold I spotted this fabulous blog post on Destashification  for a boho sling bag.  After much sewing, stitching and ironing, this is how it turned out...

What was most fun was the placement of the main pictures.  As the outside is made of just one piece, there was much hilarity in trying to get the right person in the right place!

And the back had a Baa! and a few more Shauns on for good luck.

I really liked the base too.  It's made from a couple of layers of felt and a couple of layers of fabric.  To make it soft, but solid (if that makes sense!)  I loved the way the base was made.  Will definitely be utilising those skills in the future.  As for the picture, for some reason Gromit (Wallace's dog) was in a place with a gun.  This is therefore the gun that he was using.

And on the inside were many more Shauns :)  I added an internal pocket made from the exterior sky fabric.

Perfect for using on the @Shauninthecity trail around Bristol.  I've spotted 11 Shauns so far.  Only 59 more to baggsy before September!

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Reversible sunhat from dress

My daughter wore this dress to the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations in our street - it was perfect!!

When she outgrew the dress I knew that I wanted to refashion it, but couldn't initially figure out what. So I waited for inspiration to strike...

Then it hit me.  A summer's hat...

But not just a summer's hat - a reversible summer's hat...

So now I can remember that celebration and keep the sun out of my eyes too!

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Mad Hatter's cravat and hankie

The school already had a set of tails for the Mad Hatter, but they wanted to titivate it up with a cravat and a pocket handkerchief.

The brief was to make it out of some bright and cheerful fabric...

Easy peasy!  And he looked great too!

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A multitude of Flapper dresses

Would I make some Flapper dresses?

Well, of course, says I!

But there are going to be about 30 of them...

That's so not a problem!

The addition of fringing was discussed but we decided to add silver sparkle detailing to the dropped-waist, figure skimming dresses instead.

Like most of my costumes, velcro was added at the back for quick changes.

I made half in this style...

And the other half were made in green satin, with a slightly different silver trim and a bow on the hip.

The finished result...

One very happy dance school teacher!

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Wizard of Oz costumes

My local school asked for volunteers to do a bit of sewing for their production of the Wizard of Oz.

Well, of course, says I!

So I made some Emerald City curtains:

Fur armwarmers for the lion:

A mane:

Fur legwarmers:

And three skirts for the bad witches (in the vein of Medusa, so the skirt had to look like snakes...)

I went along to one of the performances and the youngsters were amazing!

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No sew frilly blouse refashion

Blouses.  Wonderful garments, especially in a fab print, but not the best if they have a hugely unflattering frill down the front.  Like this:

Can't see it?  It's a bit like a dorsal fin.  Here's a better angle...

See what I mean?  Ample chests don't do too well with frilly blouses.

So I cut it off.  I mean, what did I have to lose, right?

And here is the result - so much better!

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Alice in Wonderland

Would I mind making an Alice in Wonderland costume for the local dance company?

Absolute no brainer - of course I would!

It began with a circular skirt...

I added a top (which had to be taken in a little with darts)...

Next I added a Peter Pan collar (this photo was taken pre-pressing - top tip - ALWAYS press your work LOL!)...

Puffy sleeves with a little gather...

Acres of Broderie Anglaise...  Always buy more lace/Broderie Anglaise than you think you will need, because you will need loads and loads of it, especially with a circular skirt!

All topped off with an apron...

I love how the more that I sew, the more that I know :)  All of the above costume was made with no pattern, just a few measurements from the dancer.

The dancer looked, and danced, beautifully!

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Ocean curtain to new apron

I have a thing about the ocean.  So when I saw a pair of preloved curtains with an ocean theme I just knew they would come in handy.

 

Curtains suitably purchased, I wondered what to do with them.  Then inspiration struck - my current apron is getting very tatty, so why not make a new one?

 

I made it in a larger size, added a front pocket (making sure to match the pattern) and then added bias binding along the edges.

 

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

 

Now I can combine ocean AND cooking!

 

 

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Waiting-to-be-loved fabric bag

Sometimes I have been known to buy fabric from a fabric shop.  Surprised?  Yes, I know!

I have often bought fabric and oilcloth from Dotty Brown.  Something very classic and vintagey about it with all those polka dots and pastel patterns.

One day I was perusing their website when I read that they were looking for people to send in photos of items they have made from their fabric.  Why not, I thought as I hastily looked through my snaps to see what I could find.  Here is the project that I sent in:




A little while later Dotty Brown contacted me and asked if I would mind them putting a copy of the photo and details of the refashion up on their website.  Go for it, says I!

Here is the link if you want to see the article in its entirety:
 
http://www.dottybrown.com/blog/2013/11/readers-pics-sew-selena/

As a thank you, I was asked if I would like some of their fabric.  Oh yes please!  Did anyone say kid in a sweet shop??

I chose two of their cotton fabrics that I thought would go well together.  Funnily enough I decided to make another bag(!)  Well, honestly, you can never have enough bags, right? 

I settled on a pattern from Jodie at the Vintage Ric Rac blog.  It says it should take an hour, but it took a little longer than that despite my bag experience!

I was really pleased with the way the bag turned out though!

And I have plenty of the fabric leftover still :)

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Slouch bags galore!

I adore slouch bags!

They can be made in any fabric and have just the right amount of slouchiness.  I taught myself how to make these.  Quite straightforward when you know how!

This William Morris slouch bag was made from preloved curtain fabric - I loved the use of blue and green together.

It is lined with a preloved teal coloured sheet.  With an internal pocket, of course!

Then I decided to make one from fur.  It's a very touchy feely bag which is currently residing in Germany :)

The bag was lined with faux cheetah(?) print fur - Growwwwwl!

With an internal pocket.  This is such a cuddly bag!

Damson cord was used for the next bag.  I have a thing about cord.

The bag was lined with preloved curtain fabric which tones beautifully with the cord.  I added a ribbon tie to this one rather than a popper.  Adds a bit of extra oomph.

 

 

And then there's the ever popular Sanderson slouch bag.  Made from preloved curtains making it extra sturdy.  Had to make sure that the pattern was central on this one.

The bag was lined with silk from a preloved throw.  And a Sanderson pocket added, of course!

Which one is your favourite?

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Infinity scarf

I loved this top when I bought it, but I knew it wouldn't be a top for very long!  

The pattern sold it to me.

I couldn't quite figure out what it was going to be, so I had a play and a think.

It looks as though there was lots of fabric in the main body, so why not cut off the bottom and top, make a tube and turn it into an infinity scarf?

So that's what I did:

It's so easy to make, too!

I do so love the pattern and wear it with anything (although, it would probably have been better if I'd had a different top on in this photo!)

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Cashmere mittens from a jumper

Cashmere.  Even the name is soft.

I found a lovely jumper at a charity shop one day.  Took it home.  And felted it in the washing machine.  Boy did it shrink!  It was teeny tiny by the time I'd finished with it!

As the sleeves were so short I decided that the only reasonable thing to do with it was to make some mittens.  I could just see them in there.  And it meant that I didn't have to make the cuff as it was already made for me.

This is the end result.

And I even had enough cashmere left over in order to make a phone cover. 

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