Big Little Felt Universe craft book

This arrived the other day from Book Depository:

I ordered this after looking around on the net for some felt play food patterns and not being able to find exactly what I wanted online. Then I remembered this book - which I had borrowed and read about twelve months ago- and how totally amazing some of the projects in it were.

 Jeanette Lim's creations took me from barely registering felt items as a craft to now seeing it almost as an artform. In fact a lot of the items are almost too beautiful to be seen as playthings, they are more like soft sculptures.
That said there are a few items I will be making up for the kidlets, in particular this cute little handbag set:

Included is patterns for the bag, compact, mobile phone, lipstick and purse. The lipstick lid even comes off to show a red lipstick inside- how cool is that? I know one little girl who would like this very much...

And just in case I haven't made enough things for Christmas I think these little Christmas cookie decorations are totally adorable and could easily be converted into pins/earring/necklace charms etc for the holiday season:

Sweet huh?

I *think* that the author for this book is also the same person as "Jeanette LIN" whose blog Lit'l Brown Bird's Passion I found the template for my felt strawberries on. Not sure why the different surname but the author in the book (Jeanette Lim) is described as owning the Umecrafts shop on Esty (umecrafts.etsy.com)- Etsy lists Jeanette LIN as the owner.

Name issues aside this is a wonderful book to have if you are looking to make some realistic looking  felt items (either for yourself or the kids). The Umecrafts shop on Etsy is also worth a look as it lists many more  more patterns and PDF Ebooks by the author if you decide that felt crafts is the thing for you.

More images of projects from the book "Big Little Felt Universe" can be found here on Amazon.

My very basic review on SewingPatternReview.com and other sewing/craft book reviews by other members can be found here.

Happy Crafting!

Toddler pants

Have started to go back through my collection of patterns and sewing books :)
While I don't actually have that many specifically for children (though I'm sure that will change) what I do have is the Kwik Sew book "Sewing For Toddlers", by Kerstin Maternsson.
Although a bit dated in styling and some of the fashions (I am guessing the cover was shout during the early 1990's?) this is a good book for basic patterns, such shorts, pyjama pants and t-shirts.
Also, as with most Kwik Sew products, the instructions are well written and easy to follow - a definite bonus when you are a sleep deprived mum!
As my sewing time is very limited at the moment I was looking for something quick and easy, that could provide almost instant gratification with not too much labour.
I decided to give the "knit pants" a go as Cooper really needed a couple of extra tracksuit type pants, that kids can sure go through pants!

The book comes with a master pattern sheet that you trace the pattern pieces off from, like Burda WOF but much clearer and easier to see. As the knit pants used only one (yes one!) pattern piece I was able to trace the pattern and cut out the fabric during one afternoon nap session (the kids not mine...sewing in my sleep would be a very handy skill to have though).

The fabric I used was a graffiti style knit that I brought at Rathdowne Fabrics during pregnancy (apologies for the photos they were taken very quickly) :

 I like that the colour scheme is a little bit different from the usual run of the mill boys clothing. Plus- with the way Cooper is climbing these days- the "trouble" text print is very apt ; )

Construction was very simple- I didn't even bother reading the instructions before sewing except to check out the seam allowance. If I had of bothered I would have realised that Kwik Sew has a slightly easier method of sewing pants than my "sew the inside leg seams, stick one leg inside the other and then sew the crutch seam". Their method has you sew the centre front and back seams together (fabric right sides together) and then you sew the inner leg seams in one continuous pass after that-  resulting in 2 seams to sew instead of 3.

Leg seams sewn.

Oh well with a project this simple I don't think it made too much of a time difference! Goes to show though that you should always read the instructions, never know when you might learn something new :)

As I was trying out my "new" vintage Princess sewing machine I kept the seams pretty simple, just a very narrow zigzag with a wider zigzag overcasting the edges:

Very basic and rough seams

Also no doubt Cooper with have grown out of these in no time so speed was a priority over aesthetics...

I did try the suggested method for applying the elastic, where you sew the elastic ends together to make a loop then fold the casing over it and sew as close to the elastic as possible. You end up with the elastic completely encased in the fabric and it eliminates the need for threading through afterwards.
I found it to be a bit of a fiddly process, using a zipper foot I tried to get as close to the elastic as possible but was worried about catching the elastic in the stitching the whole time and to tell the truth I don't think its any easier than sewing the casing and then threading the elastic.
Cuffs were just folded under and sewn with a zigzag stitch, with such a busy pattern I figured that you wouldn't be able to tell it wasn't straight stitch.

Finished pants

Cooper wore his new pants to playgroup for the first time the other day and I received some lovely comments from other mums on the pants. Now I just wish I had brought more of the fabric!!

PatternMaker shorts

Recently I had the good fortune to came across Make your own clothes by Marie Clayton.

At first glance I didn't think much of this book, the patterns look somewhat basic and a bit 1980's- however after I tried out the accompanying CD ROM to make a basic shorts pattern I am now totally hooked !!

Although the short are not totally finished, I can already tell by initial fitting that they are going to actually fit properly and better around the thighs and tush than ANY other pants pattern I have tried! (I know I sound like I am waffling but previous attempts at making shorts or pants had left me convinced that I should just stick to skirts!)

This is all due to the fact that on the CD-ROM you receive a basic pattern making program - type in your measurements for a particular garment and the program will draft it to fit.

The software used is from PatternMaker , they have quite a wide range of different "packages" available on their website but looking at the ones included in the book they seem to have most basics covered for the beginner/home sewer.

You are able to change the patterns in the book subtly by typing in different leg / arm width (hem / cuff circumference) thus changing ease allowance.

If you used the basic pants and scoop neck top patterns to make maybe make your own basic "sloper" you could very easily trace and redraw over them to create different necklines, seamlines etc creating outfits quite different than those on offer in the book.

For me the most interesting part was seeing how the back crotch seam looked after putting in my measurements, the back middle seam was a lot longer than anything I have seen in a regular pattern. I think this is why they will fit better.

Normally when making pants/shorts I struggle to get them to fit properly around my thighs and derriere, and if I do manage to make it look OK then the waist line will inevitatbly be higher at the front and much lower at the back. So far my basic shorts appear to sit evenly on the waist - I am stoked :) When I have finished them I will post a few pics on my blog comparing them with my other pant-making experiments so you can see the difference.

Now there are a few little quirks to the software, the very basic 1 pattern piece shorts that I am making don't appear to have an option to change the cuff circumference- therefore the allowance seems to be set at the basic (small!) size.
I was able to fix this up by extending the bottom hem out on each side by the required amount (I measured around my thigh circumference and then added a few centimetres) and then blended this new cutting line back into the top parts of the pattern, which appeared to be OK. I also measured each newly drawn seamline to make sure that they would match up when sewn together, I had to pinch out a tiny amount on one seamline to make them the same:

Whether this error was due to operator error or software design I am not sure, I plan to go back and re-read the relevant sections again.

There is also an online users group and help manual for PatternMaker software, which when I have more time I fully intend to check out.

Also I must point out that so far I have only actually used one pattern out of the book- so maybe I am not the best qualified person to review this as yet! Still what I have seen so far has me pretty excited! I have already played around with entering my measurements into the program for the Basic Pants Pattern and Sleeveless Dress (which features on the front cover) and hope to try these out next. I have a feeling how the bustal area on the dress works out will be a good indicator as to how useful this software will be for me.. it would be great not to have to do FBA's anymore!

Day Out in the City ...and a new book!

We had skipped into the city to see the O.N.O photographic exhibition at the Central Tafe Gallery, featuring work by Australian and International Artists . Unfortunately the gallery isn’t open on a Sundays, at least not for this exhibition, so we missed out (much to my and Rod's dismay). Still all was not lost as there were a couple of other places I had on my list to visit next time I was in the CBD...
First up was to check out King Street – Perth’s epicentre of design and decadence.
Since the resource boom in WA the stores have been continuously upgrading and upmarketing on a scale not seen since the early 1980s. Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Empire Rose all have a shopfront on King street , but the main (and most exciting) reason I wanted to visit today was that Perth now has a Tiffany’s!!! This is something I never thought I would see but goes to show how times are a-changing...

Next stop was Borders and a perusal of the magazine selection. Not much luck there (we seem to be hideously slow in getting overseas sewing magazines here) but a visit to the sale table turned up an unexpected gem:







How to Sew by Nikki Trench
ISBN 978-1-4075-1764-3

Now this book is aimed at the absolute beginner, and while I am not strictly a beginner anymore I found the projects inside too cute to resist...
A pretty suntop that can also be lengthened into a sundress.

Some nice Cargo shorts – though hubby being quite conservative I don’t know if I would have much luck with stripes.




A wraparound top that I think would be really nice and cool to wear when we move up to Darwin.









Other projects include: Bunting, Reversible Shopping Bag, Slouchy Drawstring Pants, Flirty Flared Skirt and Tie Ribbon Panties.

I must admit the use of fabrics and styling really helps to make this book a little more trendier than other beginner sewing ones I have seen.

This book would probably appeal to tween and teen sewers, with its more contemporary approach, as well as adults. The only drawback may be that paper patterns are not given, you have to enlarge and photocopy from templates at the back. Also the size range may be limited for some (S,M,L), as I haven’t made any of the projects up yet I have no idea how they would correspond to regular sizing. Looking at the models in the photos I am assuming that being a size 14 to 16 I will probably be pushing to use the size L and may have to enlarge the pattern pieces a bit more to get the right fit . However seam allowances for most of the projects are 1.5 cms so there is also the option of just using a 1cm or 0.5cm seam, instead of grading up a size.
Now I picked this book up for $9.95 (hardback) off a “sale” table, but looking on Amazon US and UK I would think that this is the regular RRP. At this price it would make a fantastic gift for a beginner sewer, perhaps given with a few sewing notions and a few metres of suitable cotton fabric?