Junebug dress sew-a-long

My favourite blog craftiness is not optional recently had a sew along, the Junebug dress. I followed along and made Mia one in ladybird material. I think it is pretty cute, but she will have to waiy until summer to wear it!

Washing liquid

I have been on the search for a "make your own" washing powder or liquid for a while. I had made a powder before and used it, but rejected making it again as it wasn't any cheaper than the ecostore brand powder I already buy, and also because the grated soap didn't dissolve very well in the cold washes I prefer. Recently a friend gave me a copy of a book by Wendyl Nissen which contained a recipe for lavender laundry detergent. I have been using it and it seems to work really well. It was so cheap to make and I had fun going back to high school chemistry and mixing stuff together and watching it do strange things, turning into a really viscous liquid! Have a go at making it - I dare you!

Art Case

While wasting time on pinterest, I came across some pictures of art folders for kids and thought "what a great gift". I played around with a proto-type for Mia, and improved on it from there. I think this will be one of my "go to" presents for kiddlies for the next year or so until they have one each! Here is how I made it. You will need:

• 2 fabrics (for inside and outside and pockets) it is a good idea to use at least one that is quite stiff eg: denium. Alternatively you could iron on interfacing to stiffen it


• velcro


• Double sided iron on stuff (forgot what it was called) for applique on front


• Thread and a machine etc

What you need to cut out:

• A piece from each type of fabric measuring 35 x 60cms (interior and exterior)



• 2 handles measuring 25 x 10cms



• 1 pocket measuring 35 x 22cms from exterior fabric



• 1 pocket measuring 35 x 15cms from exterior fabric



• 1 pocket measuring 35 x 15cms from interior fabric

Iron them all to make them nice and flat.

How to make it:

1. Work out half way both vertically and horizontally so you put the applique in the right place (I learnt from my first try!) Adhere whatever applique you choose to use to the front of the exterior piece of fabric. Sew it on.










2. Fold a cm under each long side of each pocket and iron. Hem one ironed side of each.










3. Work out half way of the interior (the bit that will fold it into a suitcase) so that you put the pockets in the correct place. Stitch the exterior fabric smaller pocket to one side of the interior. Stitch close to the side, as this is just basting and will hold the pocket in place until you sew the interior and exterior together. Sew lines on this pocket, to make "mini-pockets" to put crayons and other treasures in.












Place the 2 remaining pockets together, with the smaller pocket on top of the larger one. Overlap the ironed under bit at the bottom. Sew this onto the other side of the interior fabric, very close to the centre line.










Sew the long side of the handles, and turn them the right way out. Iron these. You can top stitch them close to the edges if you want to make it look pretty.










Pin the exterior and interiors together, right sides together. Also pin the handles on, making sure that they are sandwiched between the two layers and pointing inwards. Make sure you centre the handles (again learnt the hard way!) Sew right around the outside, leaving a small hole between the 2 ends of one handle so you can turn it the right way out.










Turn your art case the right way out.










Sew right around the outside of the whole case, close to the edge to make it look nice! Also sew along the "fold" where the case will close.










Sew on 3 8cm pieces of velcro on each inside edge, on either end and in the middle. Be very careful to ensure that these match so that the case can be closed.










Fill it with crayons and some paper or a colouring book and you have a gift!

Easiest skirt ever from an old pair of jeans

I have a few pairs of old jeans lying round that had been waiting for a use, so I found this tutorial on a very cool blog site and got to work. It took me very little time, half an hour max I would say from start to finish. I added the hearts by cutting the heart shapes out, inserting some fabric behind it and sewing round the heart. Voile!

The only issue is I did it while Mia was at daycare, and the skirt is way too big!!! Will have to wait a year or two before she can wear it without looking ridiculous!

Ottobre Jacket - very easy pattern!

It has been pretty cold here recently, it is the middle of winter after all and we had a warm start to it, so the cold weather was a bit of a shock. To keep Mia warm I wanted to make an easy jacket, fleece lined with merino knit. I found a really easy ottobre pattern and this was the result:

I am pretty pleased with it, and also with the little "badge" that I used to decorate it. Its from the 4/2010 edition if you want to make it.