All posts by oaktagdesigns

Knitting project

Leftover balls of yarn project complete – a blanket!

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Leftover yarn blanket ~ OTD

So I did it. I have finished all but a few balls of yarn (and after being gifted some from my MIL), and made a beautiful stashbuster, leftover yarn blanket. This after my lamenting of having so much leftover yarn.

I was set on a blanket of sorts, and after having a look through raverly patterns, I came across one I loved, garter squish (I think you will need a ravelry account to access it, otherwise this is the creators website),  and so modified it. In the US, it seems the fallback yarn of choice is a 10-ply, but it Australia, it is definitely an 8-ply (DK). So with that in mind, I was using 8-ply. I used two strands of 8-ply on 8 mm needles, with 120 stitches across (making it 90 cm wide).

I continued the pattern for approx. 190cm, which makes it the perfect size of a single bed. That means it would also cover the pillow, but I think it will look great folded back.

My MIL loves knitting the odd blanket for the couch, and has a great one that is long and narrow. Perfect for having a snooze on the couch. I think this blanket would be great for that use as well. Too wide and it would become very heavy to knit.

Somewhere in the midst of making it, I promised it to my 3-yr old daughter. She is in love. I let her have a sleep with it yesterday, until I realised.. vintage yarn, that blanket needs a wash..

Heres some more photos…

Close up of the edge :)
Close up of the edge 🙂
All folded up!
All folded up!
So colourful!
So colourful!

Do you have a nice warm blanket you are knitting at the moment? Im ever so strongly resisting the urge to start another one!

Sewing project

A pretty princess skirt!

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Princess skirt ~ OTD

So this week I made a skirt. Its a belated present to my daughters’ friend. She turned 4 sometime in December, and due to the craziness, I didnt have time to make up the skirt. Of course, my eldest daughter picked out the fabric, and then she helped me where she could to make it up. I just made up how it would turn out, as I went along, and I think it turned out pretty cute.

Bottom of princess skirt ~OTD

It reminds me of a princess skirt. And as a bonus, its good enough quality that it can be worn as a normal skirt, as well as a dress up. Unfortunately, I didnt take any photos so that I could make a tutorial. Please comment if you would like a tutorial on this skirt and I will do one!

And as an aside, has anyone seen this before? I went to buy some shirring elastic for the skirt (who did I lend mine to??!) and the only ones I could find where coloured! Looks very cool, but you don’t see it because its at the back anyway!

Coloured shirring elastic

Fun musings, Sewing project

Felt cushion sewing kit for kids!

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Felt cushion sewing kit

Well, I dont know about everyone else, but our Christmas break was full on! So I decided to take 3 weeks break from doing the blog. Now things are relatively back to “normal”, the weekly blogs are back!

I really havent had time to do much sewing and knitting. But I did help my daughter with this awesome little sewing kit for kids that she got off Granny for Christmas. Its made of felt and has precut holes to put the thread through. One side has felt flowers (and a butterfly!) to stack and sew on, and the other side has buttons. It has everything in the kit, including a plastic sewing needle. The only thing I needed to grab was the scissors.

The pack says Ages 6+ but I found my 5 yr old could do it fine. I did have to sew the flowers on for her after she had stacked them, because it was hard for her to line up all the holes through the layers.  I also cut the lengths of thread for her, and did the knots, but really, I could just talk her through those bits.

Did your kids get any great craft activity kits for Christmas?

Fun musings

My cover stitch machine is working!

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So theres this awesome machine in industrial sewing and it is called a cover stitch machine. This is what dreams are made of.. when it comes to making tshirts! I had a look around a few years ago, and found one for $300. Here it is.

Rimoldi coverstitch on Singer table

When I got it, it was working ok, but was missing a few stitches and a couple of bits of it where they had improvised parts. Regardless I love it. Heres a close up.

Rimoldi coverstitch machine

Im not sure how old it is, but when I asked my sewing machine mechanic he just laughed… and he didnt laugh at my 25 year old industrial overlocker. He quizzed me many times whether it had been working before he got some parts for it.  Hmmm…!

It has been put onto a Singer table and motor, and so has this cool pedal.

Singer foot pedal

So most people I talk to have no idea what machine this is and when I describe it, always think I am talking about an overlocker.

It is the stitching you will find on the bottom of  most stretch t-shirts. The fabric is folded up and this makes the hem. The machine doesnt cut at all, unlike the overlocker. While they have similar qualities; that they allow stretch fabric to stretch, they cant be interchanged for each other. The overlocker is for seams and the coverstitch for hems.

Cover stitching

So now its working like a dream (admittedly the motor sounds a bit like a jet plane, in comparison to my industrial overlockers motor) and I have no time to make copious amounts of tshirts before we go away for Christmas.

If you want to step up your stretch sewing, this is the machine. I have seen a domestic cover stitch machine (with a price tag of course) that would take up less space, be more portable and not require your mechanic to go to 3 different shops before he could find the right needles.

Is there a sewing machine you are hoping is coming for Christmas?

Free printable

Free printable – Kids t-shirt worksheet!

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So the holidays are upon us, and the kids are tired .. and bored. What to do with them??

Free printable for kids ~ Oak Tag Designs

This is a printable I actually made up last year, but never got around to sharing it.

Something quick and easy that you can print out, and get the kids to (hopefully!) sit down, relax, draw and find their inner clothing designer!

So here is the Free printable pdf ~ Kids tshirt drawing!

Fun musings, Knitting pattern, Knitting project

A knitting pattern is on the way!

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I’m very excited to announce that I’m halfway through getting my first knitting pattern ready for sale. Hooray!!

I don’t want to give away exactly what it looks like.. but I can say, its a 2 piece set for all those little boys that are soon to be born! It can be used for a photo shoot or everyday wear, and I think it goes without saying that its cuuuuuuute!

 

Sewing project

Scalloped skirt!

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Red scalloped skirt with pocket

And the skirt making continues…

I bought this fabric a while ago. Its actually Christmas quilting fabric, shhh! I had it all lined up for a different style of skirt, and then it just developed as I made it. I had seen pictures of scalloped skirts on Pinterest and thought they looked nice. When I saw that the pattern on the fabric was curved, it reminded me of the said skirts and so away I went. Sorry to say I didnt photograph how I did it, and I didnt follow anyones tutorial. But if you search for a tutorial, Im sure you will find one 🙂

Scalloped skirt OTD

This time I added an external pocket, just for the contrasting look, with the underneath of the scallops.

Scalloped skirt contrasting pocket OTD

All in all, I really like the skirt. The only thing I would change is the size of it around my body. I used the formula of 1.5 x largest hip measurement. It is a bit too much for my liking and I think next time I make a similar skirt, I will aim for about a 1.2 -1.3 x largest hip measurement.

Now, summer days, come at me! (Except the bad humidity, you can just tone it down a little..)

Sewing project, Tutorial

Burp Cloth Tutorial

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Burp Cloth Tutorial

Heres a little tutorial for you this week. I made some of these a few years ago for my.. husbands cousins wifes baby.. well, I guess the baby was my husbands cousins as well! She found them so good, she suggested I did a tutorial on how to make them, so here it is! They are very simple, but turn out cute and very handy.

What you need to make 2 burp cloths:

  • A small piece of flannelette, quilting fabric or towelling (approx. 50 cm x 40 cm)
  • A small piece of minky or microfleece the same size as above (I have used minky in the photos)
  • Sewing machine (only straight stitch needed)
  • Thread in matching colour, for sewing machine
  • Scissors

Burp cloth cutting out

First cut your 2 pieces into rectangles to make 2 matching pairs. This means the above amount should be cut down the middle, so that the rectangles equal 50 cm x 20cm. For the top pink burp cloth, it was approximately 54 cm x 20 cm, and for the bottom approximately 38 cm x 18 xcm. The exact size is not important, just wide and long enough to fit over your shoulder.

Burp cloth sewing guide

Next you need to place right sides together, and sew around the edge leaving a small gap (about 8 cm should suffice) as shown above. It is up to you how far in you sew for your seam. I would do about 1cm, but if you find that you are not very good at using the sewing machine, you can increase this.

Burp cloth clip corners

Next clip the corners as shown otherwise they will bunch when turned in the right way.

Burp cloth final stitching

After turning in the right way and pushing all the edges and corners out, you need to topstitch around the edge. The gap that was used for turning the burp cloth must be turned in the amount of the seam, so that it lines up with the rest of the edge. I topstitch in about 3mm, but again, it is up to you. If you find it hard to control the fabric when sewing I would suggest sewing the topstitching in further, just so you dont have any accidental stitching off the side.

Always remember to stitch backwards and forwards when starting and finishing your topstitching so you dont have any unraveling later.

Finished burp cloths

There you go! All done, ready for some baby’s milky spit-up!

Sewing project

Simple Summer skirt!

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So Ive been cleaning up my sewing and knitting room, and I thought about putting up a blog post about that. But lets face it, its no pinterest photo! Maybe if I got all artsy and did an abstract photo with a lovely pile of folded fabric in focus and the giant piles of sorting blurred, haha!

While cleaning, Ive come across some great light patterned fabric, perfect for some Summer skirts that my wardrobe is calling for. I strictly told myself I needed to wait until I had finished restacking the fabric. And then got on Pinterest, just to “have a look”. Turns out there are a few great tutorials on making easy skirts. Also turns out, me and the kids miraculously didn’t break our ankles hopping over piles of fabric to make this said skirt last night.

OTD Easy Summer Skirt

I ended up using a very simple tutorial from Ruffles and Stuff for a 20 minute skirt. In my usual style, it took longer for tweaking the pattern. I cant stand having to carry small things like a phone, so I added a side pocket. I decided I wanted to wear the skirt on my hips, lower at the front, so i cut the skirt lower at the front so the hem will sit straighter. I also didn’t read the tutorial properly and didnt gather the fabric. I just pulled the elastic to fit it. I prefer it this way as it means the elastic can be stretched the full way when putting it on, until the fabric is straight. On the downside, it is a lot harder to do!

OTD Easy Summer Skirt pocket

A lot of my fabric is what I like to call hand-me-down. Fabric others have bought, and then given the cull. There is some that is factory seconds, and some is vintage, some from my grandmother (who passed away before I was born; I keep it for special things), and some that is just plain weird. And of course, just normal stuff too! After I had decided on the fabric and elastic I was going to use, I discovered that the hand-me-down fabric had previously been tried to make into a skirt. No matter, just a few extra predone seams. Plus some slight darting at the top, of which noone can see because its gathered!

What does your fabric stash look like? Any plans for some new skirts?