Christmas Sewing 2011

Ottobre Woman 5/2011

Ottobre Woman 5/2010 #11 Nanette

Ottobre 6/2004 #2 Footed pants

Stretch and Sew 2085 Yoked nightgown

Lavender eye pillow

Shirts: ottobre 6/2010 #15 undershirt pattern

Pants: Ottobre 6/2009 #35 Stripy-legs long johns

Jalie 2327 Boy's underwear boxers

Quilt for DS3 (my first ever quilt)

Back of quilt

Simplicity 2278 Misses slippers size large

Pillow case

pillow case

pillow case

pillow case

pillow case

car caddy

car caddy

Handmade slippers - Simplicity 2278 Misses slippers

I decided a needed a quick and fairly simple project as I haven't sewn anything in over a month, which is totally to be expected with a newborn baby! I know that there are tutorials on the internet that explain in detail how to draft your own slipper pattern but I wanted simple, so I decided to splurge for the Simplicity #2278 pattern when it went on sale at my local fabric shop.

I decided to use leather for the sole instead of jiffy grip as I had it on hand and it matched perfectly to the pink cotton that I had. Leather is definitely not the easiest thing to sew with and don't suggest it if this is a beginner project. I lined the interior in a contrasting black for dramatic impact. I made one minor change and that was that I omitted the provided strap and instead covered a 10" strip of 1/4" elastic with the contrasting black fabric. This project was actually a draft run to see how it turned out because if it did I was debating on sewing these for Christmas presents for all the woman in our family. It turned out better than expected as you can tell by the pictures. I made one minor mistake (as I was trying to rush it before naptime was over) and that was that I sewed the strap on the left slipper on the wrong side and didn't realize it until I had basted the bottom of the interior and exterior top together :( oh well they still turned out great! I then stitched a beautiful wood flower button onto the slippers so that the elastic would just pull over and loop around it.

Play pen cover / sheet

Here's the play pen cover that I whipped up for ds3 (due any day now). I desperately needed a cover for our play pen as the mattress doesn't have a removable cover. I ended up with stains that I can get out when ds2 was born (see below). I used the following tutorial to make this awesome sheet. For the fabric I used minke as it's a polyester (which repels water and won't penetrate through to the mattress) but also because it's oh so soft. It's great quick and easy project that feels so rewarding!

Jalie 2793 Empire waist tunic

Made out of rayon knit. I love this pattern. I'm not really sure if it will fit me after the baby's born but luckily I had wrote down my pre-pregnancy measurements. I did leave off the modesty panel and the back ties.

Ottobre Woman 5/2010 #11 Nanette Feminine pea coat (in progress)

Here's one of my favourite projects thus far. Don't get me wrong I hated actually sewing it as I wasn't experienced enough to know a lot of the techniques that were in this pattern, but I decided to dive in and give it a try. It's still not totally complete as I still have to add the buttons to the front (but that will have to wait until after ds#3 is born.

And here's the back view of it.

Ottobre Woman 5/2011 #4 Everyday Scoop Neck raglan shirt

Here's one of my latest creations. I do like this top but I really thought that it would have been more tailored or slime fitting. A forewarning though, it's a pretty low cut shirt, so if you want it to be higher you might want to raise the front neckline. I also used jersey knit for the binding instead of ribbing. I'm actually quite please with the result of it. I did make some changes to the pattern though. I left off the pocket and lengthened the sleeves, back and front panels all by 2" so that I could leave off the ribbed cuffs to the hemline and arms, mostly because I didn't have the right colour of the ribbing to match the shirt. This was made using a 34cm size with 1/4" added for seam allowance.

Coverstitching using an Generic Industrial Binder and mac tac

Coverstitching is the two or three rows of stitching at the bottom of hems to knit shirts and pants. It is often seen on the bottom hemline of a t-shirt. Now you may ask why do you need to have a coverstitching machine. Well technically you don't, but it makes life a whole bunch easier when sewing with knits. You can also apply your own pre-cut binding strips in one easy pass through a binder attachment, then sew up the side seam for a quick and easy binding application.

So how do I set it up? (this is for a Janome 1000cpx coverstitching machine but am sure the principals are the same for other machines, you just might have to fiddle around with the tensions a bit.) The binder's bottom bracket should be inline with the left needle but it should also be slightly to the right of the upper bracket. You can determine accuracy if you use a clear foot as all the needle positions are on that foot. Here the binder is adhered to the extension table using mac tac. I usually use the first two needles from left to right for attaching binding. The settings I use are as follows, 4 for the needles and 3 for the lower looper. The differential feed is set to 1 and the stitch length is set to 3.5 . You might have to turn down the tension of the lower looper when going over seams to 1 or 0 and then turn the tension back to 3. Once you have the machine set up just insert your binding into the attachment and test it first. If you are using jersey knit as a binding it really helps to using spray starch to prevent rolling of the material, as it's notorious for rolling. When your sure that you have the correct tensions, sew up your shirt leaving one side seam (at the shoulder or back) open. Insert the shirt into the attachment between the upper and lower brackets, sandwiching the binding onto the shirt. When completed sew/serge your seam together. Take a small crochet hook and weave the threads through about 1/2" then tie off. Sew up the rest of you shirt. The link below (which is the same pictures as below, just shows you were the bottom bracket is - you will have to scroll over the picture for a highlight. The screws on the attachment are what move the upper and lower brackets. Once you have them set up don't touch them. Happy coverstitching!

Bottom bracket