FINALLY got a roundtuit and covered my Poang chair and loving the result.
Category: Sewing
Liesl + Co neighborhood sweatshirt sew-a-long
I’ve bought so many patterns but have so many projects in some form of progress, that when Liesl mentioned the sew-a-long, I thought, yes, let’s bump that up the list.
I had some cheap offcuts that I bought at Spotlight ages ago that I thought would be perfect for a light sweatshirt. It’s a lightweight knit that is definitely not cotton. I determined this by setting the iron to cotton and tried to press a scrap. While it didn’t melt, it definitely didn’t press.
As I cut out the pieces, I discovered that I didn’t have enough to cut the lower sleeves in grey, so I created a stripe and cut the rest of the sleeve in blue. I’m happy with this as I actually wanted a mostly blue sleeve.
I also had to piece the hem band. I really screwed this one up and cut it with the grain instead of across. But because it’s not a tight fit, I decided to add it anyway to finish it off.
And so here we are, a completed sweatshirt that I think fits well! 
Camera strap cover
I covered my camera strap years ago and being the kind of thing that you don’t normally wash, it has gotten really, really manky. To the point where hubby refused to put it around his neck when I needed him to hold it for me. He was right, it was disgusting.
I found some really lovely indigo fabric at a fabric market in Taipei and bought more than enough to cover my strap and maybe make a tote.
I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out!
Time in a bottle
How is it already October?! My last update was quite a while ago. I need to figure out how to post automatically from Instagram so that it doesn’t happen again!
I’m working on several different projects, but here’s an update on the Advent Calendar. I have 16 ornaments decorated with sequins and beads. Eight to go and the only thing left to do will be to sew on magnets to the ornaments and jump rings to the tree.
I ended up buying an assorted colours bag of 4mm sequins and sorted out about a third into their colours. It was really cheap this way, but labor-intensive.
The pattern suggests pins to attach the ornaments, but I like the idea of magnets. I bought some tiny neodymium magnets earlier this year to make magnets out of buttons that my kid liked.
More updates to come soon!
Advent Calendar progress
I decided to order some 4mm flat sequins, so when they finally arrive from China (hopefully within a month), I’ll start embellishing!
Advent Calendar start
So I started making this advent calendar in the last week of November. As if there was even the slightest chance I would have it done in time for Christmas 2017! But at least it’ll be ready for Christmas this year. Better late than never?
Other instagrammed photos of progress:
Boro coaster
Vogue 1349 ala Alabama Chanin
Liesl and Co. Maritime knit top
I finally squeezed in the time to make this shirt. As I learned with the Oliver + S Secret Agent Coat, the instructions were excellent and I didn’t have to unpick any seams. One thing that wasn’t clear, but only because my experience with sewing knits is minimal, was whether I should be sewing with a stretch stitch or straight stitch. Of course, if I had read the instructions all the way through before starting, I would have seen that stretch stitch is specified when required. Sigh. So I have stretch stitches where I didn’t need them, but that’s not a disaster on my first try.
I had intended to reverse these colours, but I underestimated my yardage. The short sleeves are fine, but I think the three-quarter sleeves will be more flattering. I also did my first full bust adjustment and while I think the dart is a little low, I think it worked out over all.
I’ll definitely make more when I can squeeze some more time out!
Hellboy Costume
We had a superhero costume party to go to and Hellboy was suggested as the costume to make. I knew that Oliver + S had a trenchcoat pattern, and thanks to Alabama Chanin and the tea party dress, I’ve been eyeing off their patterns for a few years now. So I jumped at the excuse to buy one of their digital patterns.
One of the things I love about the Internet is being able to download a pattern and start sewing right away!
Well, by sew right away, I mean, print out the pattern, cut out and tape the pattern, lay out the pattern on the fabric and then start sewing right away. Â And of course, I only gave myself a day and a half to do this. The secret agent coat is complete just enough to look like a real coat. The remaining items are some extra buttons and the button holes. I still haven’t gotten around to finishing it. Or getting better photos of it. But I do have some candid shots to share:
