Big Frame Purse

After the success of the small frame purse, I decided to go big!

My friend bought me this lovely Clarke and Clarke scotty dog material for my birthday (last September). As soon as I saw it I knew that it HAD to be an oversized purse...it has just taken me this long to get round to making it! I used this tutorial to help, as inspiration, I wanted to use her pattern but my frame was bigger!

And here it is...

I love how it has turned out - I have shown off to 2 people...(one of them being our post lady - do you think the obsession is really getting out of hand!) and they both commented on how professional it looked and couldn't really believe I had made it. I always think this is the best compliment of my homemade items :)

I lined it with some complementary floral fabric. I used fleece interfacing on the outer material to give it a bit of strength, and I wish I had used some interfacing on the inner fabric as it is a bit thin (and ripped as I was turning the purse/bag the correct way out) which is annoying.

I made an internal pocket that is closed using a magnetic snap (like the tutorial). The pocket is nice and deep, but starts a bit high up - a bit too close to the frame. Also, the snap seems really strong - and I am not sure that it really needs it. For the next one I will place the pocket lower down and either use a zip, or leave it open.

I was thinking of having this bag on a chain (can you see the little loops in the picture above?) but, I quite like it folded over as a clutch style bag (see the picture below). What do you think?

 Apologies for the awful picture...and my fat arm....

I have 1 more frame to play with, and I am going to order some of those flex frames (like on your glasses case) so expect more bags and purses from me!

Hobby vs Obsession

For those of you who don't know, I have only been sewing for a couple of years. I was shown, by my lovely friend, how to use a very basic sewing machine - and since then I have taught myself (through various inspirational blogs) how to sew. I LOVE it. I haven't really had a hobby that I really enjoyed before and I am relishing this one.

I have also developed a love of fabric (unsurprisingly). When I started sewing I only bought fabric for particular projects. I would then use the fabric for the project and that would be that. As my sewing has progressed, I like to have fabric "in stock" so that I can sew whenever I want, rather than having to go out and buy supplies before I can get going. This is my stash.

My stash is quite large, it takes a corner of my kitchen. There are some lovely pieces of fabric in there, I am not even sure I will ever be able to bear cutting it up.

This has made me wonder...when does an interest or hobby become an obsession? I visit places particularly to look at fabric shops, I read and re-read sewing books and magazines, I trawl sewing blogs often, I want to talk about sewing (I attempt to limit it to my crafting friends...but I have been known to bore strangers with my makes!), I buy fabric that I cant really afford and don't use it because it is too pretty.

What is your conclusion...has a hobby become an obsession? Is there a "Sewer's Anonymous" that I can join?

The Great British Sewing Bee

So, have you been watching it? I have, and I love it - it makes me a bit sad every time the episode finishes! I found a blog too - it is from Tilly (contestant to leave in episode 2) www.tillyandthebuttons.com, full of helpful tips, patterns and a lovely read :)

Anywho...I have been watching the sewers (or is it sewists), and have decided that I probably don't iron enough. For those of you who know me in real-life, you will know I don't iron. But as my sewing has progressed I have come to appreciate the difference that ironing makes to one of my sewn goodies.

On the Great British Sewing Bee the contestants iron...a lot. I think that this is to help flat fabric to curve nicely round the body when the item is sewn. I have promised myself that I will sew more clothes for me and my family (including my husband who I rarely sew for!)...I think that I am going to have to get myself a tailor's ham (is that right?!) to ensure that my sewn clothes fit beautifully!

Any ironing tips for me?

A bit of family sewing

I had a recent meet up with some family (I hadn't seen one of my cousins for 13 years!). It was so nice to meet up with everyone (and the meet all the new arrivals and husbands!).

I made some gifts.

For my cousin's 6 year-old girl I made a travel drawing wallet.

 

 

 I used my own pattern and, not surprisingly, it is a smidge tight! I think that once some of the paper from the pad has been used it will close better... (obviously the paper's fault and nothing to do with my measuring!).

 

For my other cousin's 10-month old son I used "sew like my mom's" tutorial for beanbags (check it out here). These were easy to make.

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

I really loved these once they were made, I used fleece or felt for the backing (depending on what colours I had in stock!). They are super tactile and the older children also enjoyed playing with them at lunch. They also have loads of learning opportunities - colours, textures, letters (or numbers) and of course throwing and catching! I will definitely make more.

 

I do wish that I had taken the time to actually applique around the edge of the letters to make them stand out more, but I was pushed for time.

 

Lastly I made a superhero cape for my cousin's 2 year old boy. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that as it was finished late! But I have 2 more to make from some lucky boys in the village so I shall ensure I take pictures of them!

 

Another unicorn to be sewn so I will be picking the co-ordinating fabrics for that soon (I do enjoy choosing colour combinations!).

Just for fun

Can you guess what it is yet?!
Obviously a house/tunnel for a lizard to run through!
What fun requests people want :-)

Unicorn away!

As you probably already know I read Sew magazine (follow this link). My Mum got me a year's subscription for my 30th birthday...does that me old?! Well, issue 46 is my favourite issue yet - it has so many patterns and ideas that interest me.

I decided to give the little horse pattern a go. I have completed the horse, and added a little horn to make it a unicorn.

 I love her...both my girls now want one!

 

I added felt for the eyes - rather than buttons.

 

 I velcro'd the saddle on (the magazine suggested a snap tab...but I didn't have one in stock). The velcro will probably make it easier for little hands to take the saddle on and off...I hope! I also used fleece rather than yarn for the mane and tail (I didn't have any wool. But, whenever I have thought about sewing a horse in the past I have always imagined it with a fleece mane and tail!)

 

 

The horn is a tiny bit off centre (annoying), but I feel this adds to the charm! I sewed a triangle, stuffed it and then slip stitched into onto the head after I had made the horse.

 

 This only happened on one hoof...but I shall take more care to match up all the hooves next time. I couldn't decide whether the red or the green hooves looked best - so I went for both.

 

 

 Woody is just to illustrate the size of the unicorn...and not because I got a bit carried away playing!

 

The instructions for this sewing project are really clear. I would not describe it as a beginner's project - there are some tricky bits (especially the nose area...actually sewing the whole gusset on was a bit fiddly!). I am super happy with how it turned out...I will definitely be using the pattern again :)

 

Buy issue 46 of the Sew magazine and try it for yourself :)

 

 

 



Cashing in on all the horse drama!

Cut out a horse from my issue of Sew (number 46). Am looking forward to putting it together :-)