This bag has been nearly done for too long and with Summer coming, I decided it had to be done. And done it is.
It was designed to be a beach or pool bag, and now being finished, I think thats what it will stay. It can probably fit a few towels, water, and bathers/clothes.
It has 2 little bags for smaller things. I think keys, wallet and phone in one, and sunscreen and lip blam in the other. The little bags can be attached to little loops I put in the bigger bag, so they dont drop down to the bottom.
The inside showing the loop and lining
I didn’t use a pattern for this bag. I based it off the size of the fabric that i had, and it turned out perfect-sized!
So its been a year of babies (well, who am I kidding, its been a few years of babies..!) and so I decided that one in particular needed a cool jacket. As usual, I couldnt help myself and ended up combining 2 patterns into one. I loved the stripey jacket, I loved an octopus hat. I couldnt make a matching hat to an already hooded jacket, could I? Too much. So out come the leftovers of yarn, and I found a funky combo to make it. The stripes are the colours of the ocean, with a nice bright octopus. Hope you keep warm in it, little man!
Speaking of getting carried away, I had some overalls that were all but done.. and realised they matched well to the jacket. On went the matching snaps. And voila! A matching set.
I am really chuffed with how it all turned out.
Here are the books and patterns I used to bring it all together:
And thanks to the person who drew the back on the front, saves me turning the pattern over, haha!
This pattern Ive had for a while and dont have a clue where I got it from! I would say, either the Salvos, or my grandmother picked it up for me. I just love the old Simplicity patterns. Personally I find them so easy to follow and they turn out just like the picture shows. Plus they always seem to fit well.
This book is a new one to me that I bought this year. I really love pretty much all the patterns in it. This octopus hat, though, ohh, too cute!
And I also bought this book from the same shop. What can I say, its just like the other book, but 60 different great knits!
Say hello to your sea-dwelling giant brain on 8 legs!
And one last photo because goodness knows I haven’t added enough yet.. Mr. Red Octopus. My 4-yr old assures me that I really should have put a mouth on him. Im not sure, I mean I think their mouths are underneath arent they?? I regret googling that. Both they are freaky and I think his eyes should be lower. Haha!
So there we go!
I must add this is not the stash-buster project I have just started working on. This one I had been slowly working on for the last couple of months, and then had to get my little knitting hands going when I realised the baby was nearly 3 weeks old!
So after doing some cushions.. I thought Id keep the screen printing going and make some pyjamas out of the same fabric. Who am I kidding, the 4 year old wont have any other fabric at the moment!
So I made up some pants with the fabric and did a quick applique on a pre-bought T-shirt. And here they are; a quick, easy, and unique set of Summer pyjamas.
And a side note. I cant believe this great pattern (admittedly I did have to cut down the top of the pants, seriously high waisted) that I just picked up second hand has never ever been used. Its date on the back says 1987, which means it is 26 years old, and I had to cut out the pattern in it myself!!
Also, the little bootee things, yep, there really is a pattern in there for them. Haha! I would make them if I thought my kids would not only entertain the idea, but actually regularly wear them.
So, I have a lovely sister-in-law who is very talented at screenprinted. Unfortunately for me, she isnt doing it right now. Fortunately for me and the kids, she has given us old samples of some of her work.
Long ago, I got some cushions from Target heavily reduced. When I told the kids that we could cover them for their beds, they immediately wanted some of the screenprinted fabric for the covers. Im pretty chuffed about how they turned out. My favourite has to be the splodges one. The different colours make it nice and vibrant, plus its not girly (which ends up happening having daughters!)
Close up of the back 🙂
The other cushions were covered with a flower and butterfly print, in pinks, purples and greens. The kids were most excited that I had purple zips, in my bag of zips, to use on the cushion covers.
So sweet!Complete with purple zips!
A good friend of mine blogged about a great place to do some printing, or get some awesome designer stuff, not too long ago.  Road of the Curious If only there were more weeks in the year is all I have to say!
Have any of you tried screenprinting, or made anything with one-off fabric?
A quick easy way to turn those cute shoes into ones that will stay on comfortably.
Whose child has “high” feet?
Whose child also likes pretty shoes?
Whose child insists on wearing hand-me-down shoes that are too big AND falling apart??
Yep, I admit to all. After searching many shops for some Summer shoes, I came to the conclusion that I would have to modify some myself. Â My child has feet that are much higher at the front than the average and so thongs will only fit around the foot if they are about 2 inches too big out the back. Very frustrating!
I finally found these shoes in an opp shop, brand new at $5. They have such small coverage at the front. I knew they would allow her foot to fit, but also knew that they would be hard to stay on (I could just hear the flipping and flopping..!).
So here is what I did to fix it:
Put the shoe on her.
Got a small length of soft lace elastic (any soft easy stretch elastic will work)
Measured and cut the elastic to fit comfortably over the top of her foot, plus about 1cm each side.
Set up the sewing machine, with a 100/16 needle (admittedly I used a 90/14 and it was fine). I used a universal needle as the shoes are made of a synthetic material, but if they are leather, then a leather needle may work better.
Placed the elastic where I measured it, ensuring the extra 1cm was inside the shoe. Then I took my time to shimmy it under the machine foot and sew with a long straight stitch back and forth a couple of times. I repeated for the other side, and then the other shoe.
We tried on to check the size and fit, success!
Now if only I could get her to throw out the beloved hand-me-downs that have seen much much better days..
After umming and ahhing about what to make a fresh little boy, I decided a super suit it was. Using a simple suit pattern, I picked some nice bright boy colours and appliqued away.
So, it has been a busy year. So busy in fact that I missed that a lovely friend was pregnant… and had the baby. I saw him yesterday, all pink and squishy at just a week old. Immediately I decided that I simply must make him something. And secretly (well, not anymore!) I love making boys clothes. Maybe its because I only have daughters? I hear many a woman complain about the simplicity and lack of range in boys clothes. Maybe true.. but when you can create your own, the possibilities really do widen 🙂
This is a great little pattern I picked up second hand. It is a simple pattern with the main body being one piece. Even though I have my own snap press, I love the simple zip down the front. It also comes in 4 sizes, but I decided that 6-12 months would be the best.
I didnt realise until I was putting in the crotch piece that while I had picked out a knit fabric from my stash, it couldnt really be classed as ‘stretch’, hence the gather in the bum. Â I decided to put a ‘N’ for his name, a wham star, and a lightning bolt (boys fart heaps right??!!)
Tehe!
I hope that they like it! I sure had fun making it 😀
Who else hears about a pretty mermaid princess fairy who practices dancing and is going to a party tonight on her unicorn which also likes wearing a tiara? Im sure Im not alone when I hear the combination of girl words pumped out at me. Apparently, only one girls’ thing is not enough. All must be entertwined into a super- extravaganza of girliness.
Something tells me if you cant beat them, join them. So I rustled through the kids dollclothes and blankets to find something. It contains a lot of my fabric pieces that the girls gravitate towards (and coincidentally end up in their playroom). There I found a piece of what I can only imagine is a pink lace curtain. Who knows?! All I know is the kids love it.
Husband, lets put this on your study window!
I cut it up and made a skirt, and used the little scraps to decorate some hairties.
Happy girls!
The skirt and hairties would make a nice pressie for a little girl, without much time or cost.
Im sure any lace curtain would do, certainly could be an upcycling project!
For the skirt, I made 2 rectangles and attached the sides with a straight stitch. Then I cut elastic to waist length and sewed it in a loop. I sewed a casing by folding the top of the skirt over the elastic as I sewed. I cut the triangles into the bottom of the skirt at the start, but this could be done at the end with any shape you like. You could also use the bottom of a lace curtain that already has a nice shape and pattern.
For the hairties, I cut a few little strips, folded them on themselves, put them around the hairtie, and pushed the ends through the loop.
Enjoy!
… the girls are eyeing off a piece of green shimmery fabric now.
Well, its less than a month until one special little kid turns 3!
Ive started a little tradition where my daughters get to pick the fabric for their birthday dress and then I make them. Then they get to wear the dress until they grow out of it (hopefully til their next birthday!) So far we have only had one dress that was a bit of a flunk and didnt get worn after the birthday. I may be paraphrasing, but this comes to mind, “Mummmmmm, the elastic is hurting my aaArrmmMmMSSssss….” The fabric may also have been a fluoro and black stretch concoction.. Mum was ok with not fixing that to be worn again.. haha!
I think this years is a winner, so without further ado…
Certainly a notch up from the fluoro dress! Cant wait to see my happy girls face on her birthday, prancing around in her dress 🙂
This weeks little project (not forgetting the mound of repairs Im chugging through…) is sweet pillowcases for the kids. Fun for the kids to pick out which fabric they wanted, and a great easy way to make something that they will cherish.
While browsing youtube one night, I came across a great video on how to make pillowcases using quilt fabric. It stuck with me, and I knew inevitably that I would make some.
Both pillowcases were done in fabric I had been given, so only cost me the thread and my time. But of course, the beautiful green fabric on the pillowcase above had a nice funky smell to go with the vintage, so that earnt itself a good wash!
And heres a close up of each of the fabric combos (I got a new camera, can you tell??!)
