sewing

From the sewing room

18. April 2013 · Comments Off · Categories: Craft, Uncategorized · Tags: Home, Quilting, sewing

I finished this bed runner last month, but blog posts have been few & far between lately.

This was the original fabric: an old curtain that I picked up my favourite fabric store (the Red Cross)

I used a kaleidoscope quilt technique that I had read about, and made hexagons. Here was a work-in-progress shot:

I didn’t have enough batting for it so I just quilted the top onto a piece of white backing fabric. I used pretty much every square centimetre of that curtain, including some big crazy tie-backs with bows on them that were home-made with a variety of methods, including hand stitches, staples, and a couple of treacherous headless pins. No sewists were injured in the making of this bed runner though.

Slip covers

17. January 2013 · Comments Off · Categories: Craft · Tags: craft, Home, home dec, sewing, upholstery

Before Christmas I finished these two slip covers for two grubby white armchairs. The chairs themselves are wonderful, but they could really use re-upholstering after having lived with us and our marmite-loving children. But it seems foolish to reupholster them now, so until the kids are bigger they will live underneath these removable & washable slip covers.

The fabric is from two pairs of curtains that I picked up at a second-hand shop. They are held in place underneath with some button tabs that wrap around each leg, and there is velcro holding one side seam together, so that it was possible to make them removable but still snug fitting.

Mug rugs

15. November 2012 · 1 comment · Categories: Craft · Tags: craft, sewing

I made mug rugs! I actually made these a couple of months ago, but they were a birthday gift and I didn’t want to post about them until I was sure they had arrived. All the fabrics were from stash, and it helped me use up some small pieces of quilt batting too. I don’t know why the background in these photos came out so pink – it’s just a white kitchen bench, honest.

New sweater

18. October 2012 · 3 comments · Categories: Craft · Tags: merino, sewing, sweater

Yes, I made something else that isn’t a cushion! Something for me!

I finished this floppy sweater last week. The fabric is a super soft and verrrrrry stretchy merino knit that was a gift from my Mum (thanks Mum!). The pattern was from the September Burda magazine.

The extra-long sleeves are gathered up at the ends with a bit of elastic inside the seam allowance. The pattern also called for the same treatment to one side of the sweater, to make an asymmetrical hemline, as in the illustration above. But I wasn’t loving that idea so I just gave it a regular straight hem. All the construction was done with the overlocker, and hems on the sewing machine with a twin needle and the walking foot. It’s so great to have the right tools for the job!

I’m very pleased with it, the only issue is that it doesn’t work with a t-shirt underneath. But generally I wear a merino singlet or camisole under it, and it’s the perfect weight & warmth for around the house.

Itty bitty coin purse

11. October 2012 · 1 comment · Categories: Craft · Tags: sewing

I made this wee purse from a kit I received for my birthday (thanks Paula!). It was a nice quick-fix project in between other things, though some of the sewing was quite fiddly.

The kit came from http://www.piece.co.nz/, where I see they have all sorts of other nice things to play with.

It’s a welcome addition to the chaos of my handbag!

Sewing for me!

30. September 2012 · 1 comment · Categories: Craft · Tags: garment, plaid, sewing, shirt, tunic

While making my last three cushion covers, I promised myself that when they were done I would make something for ME. I have had this plaid fabric sitting in my stash since picking it up at the closing down sale at Normi Garn early last year. It’s a very cosy soft brushed cotton, perfect for something new for autumn.

I recently tore a hole in a muslin shirt that has been a favourite for many years, so I decided to take it to pieces and make a pattern from it. The muslin fabric of the original had quite a lot of give, so it could get away with not having much shaping, and still not look boxy. However this fabric did not have the same give, so I added some front darts. I really like the resulting fit, and I’m really pleased that I can pull it on over my head (who can be bothered with buttons first thing in the morning?). I think this pattern will be getting used again.

More sewing for home: cushion covers

28. September 2012 · Comments Off · Categories: Craft · Tags: cushion, Home, Quilting, sewing

We still need more cushions around the place. I made three new ones last week. The fabric is tablecloths that I bought at Hemtex some years ago (it’s the same pattern as I used on the chair cushions, but in two different colourways).

The backs have a zipper closure. I happened to have three brown zips of an appropriate length in my stash, thanks to impulse purchasing a bundle of 120 zips from Ebay once. I knew that was a good idea!

Sewing for home: chair cushions

27. September 2012 · Comments Off · Categories: Craft · Tags: furniture, Home, home dec, sewing

We had these two old wooden armchairs in the cellar in our old house, because we didn’t really have space for them. When we moved we suddenly had plenty of space, but they still sat in the garage because they had no cushions. Finally in the summer I cut up some old foam mattresses that we had replaced, and made these seat cushions.

The fabric is a couple of tablecloths that I bought from Hemtex (a home textiles store) a few years ago. It’s great to have usable chairs in our entrance, and even better that I was able to use both fabric and foam that I already had!

Catching up: A quilt

11. September 2012 · 1 comment · Categories: Craft · Tags: craft, quilt, sewing

Here’s a baby quilt that I finished and posted off in June, to a lovely little girl called Louisa.

Pillows

18. June 2012 · 3 comments · Categories: Craft · Tags: craft, kiwiana, pillows, quilt, sewing

I completed some quilted pillow covers a while ago, but hadn’t posted about them yet.

They are all made from a bunch of “Kiwiana” (in other words, New Zealand themed) quilting fabrics that I’ve been given by a few people. We’ve been in desperate need for sofa cushions for a while. Actually, we still are – four cushions isn’t really enough.

The first one I made in a kind of koru shape.

The second has a basket-and-seafood theme, including a section where I wove together strips of fabric & batting.

The third was the most challenging, a feather (using a whole lot of bird-themed fabrics)

And the fourth is loosely based on the kind of pattern you see on the bodice of a traditional Maori dress

The backs of all four covers are the same – pale corduroy, and an envelope closure held with velcro.

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