The Two Seam Dress

In recent months I have really started to appreciate really easy to wear, simple pieces of clothing that I feel comfortable in. So with me trying to have a go at as many different sewing projects as I can to grow my skills I came across this blog by Designer Megan Neilsen and this pattern the Two seam dress.

Okay, yes I know it is meant to be a maternity piece but I still really like it, and it seems to be the easiest thing ever to make! So I gave it a go with some very narrow navy and white stripe jersey fabric.

I always wear it with a tan belt around the waist to pull it in but it is the thing I now wear the most!

I tell you to give it a try!

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Simple Scarf Change

Who doesn't love a scarf or a snood? I have so many of the things. But lately I have been preferring a snood. They just go on, hardly move and there is no annoying trying not to get them stuck in your coat zip moments. So I looked at my stack of scarves and wondered which I could improve after finding the most simple tutorial on how to make a snood. I thought, why have I not done this? This amounted in me making 3 snoods in just over an hour. Crazy. But also dangerous!!

So, how do you turn a scarf into a snood you ask? It is so simple...

1. Take your scarf...

2. Trim off the tasseled ends...

3. Then work out which will be your right side, then right side together pin the two raw ends together and sew and zig zag the edges. (Or overlock if you have a fancy machine.)

4. You could then leave it at that but to make mine a little neater I then folded that seam down and pressed it and sewed  it parallel to the fold seam to make it a flat seam. Like so...

5. That's you done. Grab and go for a fast paced lady!

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Jewels and Sparkles

Everyone likes something a little pretty for Christmas and when you have a lot of girly friends and not so much money it can be hard to give them all that bit of sparkle. So I have devised a way to give all my friends a little sparkle.

I purchased some silver plated studs and ring blanks from online, and raided my button box and my stash of small semi-precious stones. Then I warmed up my glue gun and got to sticking! They are so easy but everyone loves a handmade gift, well I do especially!

Tigers Eye Studs

Button Rings

Button Studs

Carnelian Studs

What would you make? X

Christmas Cards

Every year I try to make my Christmas cards and this year is no different. I have gone for something simple this year as I have a lot to make.

What you need:
* Black cards and envelopes
* Ink pad (I went for gold)
* Black skinny felt pen
* Red felt pen
* Fingers

What to do:
1. Decide on the placement of the reindeer's and how many you want to do. I chose two in the centre.

2. Then, making sure your card is upside down, ink up your fingers. I used two different fingers to make my reindeer in different sizes.

3. Stamp away! Making sure you press firmly. Then leave for a few minutes to dry.

4. When it is dry start drawing on your antlers, eyes and noses! I went for one red and one black nose. You have got to get Rudolph in there somehow! Then that is it, so straightforward, you could get kids to do them and they would love it! X

Garland

Okay, this doesn't necessarily have to be a Christmas garland, it could be adapted for any need, but mine is for Christmas so it is going in my Christmas week of ideas.

What you need:
* Polymer clay such as Fimo or Primo!
* Cutting devices and/or cookie cutters
* Beads
* Threads or yarns
* Sharpie

What you need to do:
1. Follow the instructions on the polymer clay, with both Fimo or Primo I just warmed up the clay in small pieces, rolled them out and then cut out stars with a small cookie cutter.

2. Lay the pieces out on a piece of foil an using a cocktail stick/knitting needle or something similar poke through some holes big enough for the yarn you are using. Bake your pieces when you are satisfied with them following the instructions on the packet.

3. Then take your thread and your beads and weave your design.

4. Then take your Sharpie and write your message across your shapes (if you want to add a message, they also look really cute without writing). Give it a coat of clear nail varnish or special varnish and dry.

Then you are done! Add it to your tree or some where that needs a little sparkle and shine. You could also make little individual ones for the tree as little decorations.

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Autumn Notebooks

Autumn is my most favourite time of the year. We can pull all those chunky knits, thick socks, boots and snugly coats out of the wardrobe and start preparing to hibernate over the chilly months. Today I went for a walk with my big scarf on (Yes I know it's warmer today than it has been, but I don't care!) and collected some leaves and acorns and things associated with Autumn.

I have decided that I want to document this coming autumn, keeping my leaves and essentially making an art journal of things that I find. I have many note books in my flat and most are very plain, but I love notebooks that are close-able so I have decided (as I have been banned from buying anymore) that I will adapt some ones that I already have.

You will need:
* Notebooks with firm but not too firm covers (you need to get a needle through there, but not flimsy enough for it to rip easily)
* Needle and Thread
* A button
* String or leather or whatever binding materials you would like.

How to do it:
1. Sew the button onto the notebook, not too close to the edge but wherever you want really.

2. Tie the string around the button into a knot and then wrap it around the notebook and back around the button to fasten.

You are done, simple!

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Bracelets

I like a small make, I think you may have realised that, mostly due to the fact that I love the end result and if its a big make it takes a lot longer to get to that end result. This morning, in half an hour, I put together 3 bracelets. I used some seed beads and some small silver plated beads that I purchased at my local haberdashery (that place should give me some shares soon) and some linen thread which I have used previously.

It is simple really, just put the beads onto the thread with various knots, little charms and patterns along the way. Easy, and you can make them exactly how you want them to be.

Check mine out. I love the greens and the natural colours. :)

A Day Out and a Quick Make

This weekend was so glorious and sunshiney! It was beautiful. So I had to take advantage so me and my man went for a walk along the canals in Birmingham and for lunch at a lovely Italian restaurant. It was lovely, and I only burnt a little...

I love taking a walk along the canals in Birmingham, there is so much character and history around there and the atmosphere is great.

I even treated myself to a scrummy raspberry meringue which didn't last very long.

I also made myself a little bracelet using lots of natural fibres. I love all the friendship bracelets that you can get around in the summer. But why spend £8 when you can make many for a lot less!

So I raided my stash and found five different colours of linen threads, red, orange, cream, brown and black.

To be honest you can use whatever threads to make your bracelets. My bracelet is only thin because I used these thin linen threads. I would also recommend embroidery threads. That is what most friendship bracelets are made with. I measured out 50cm of each thread twice. So in total I had 10 strands. But you could have as many colours as you fancy just make sure you do two strands of each!

Tie a knot at the top leaving enough threads at the end to be able to tie your bracelet. Then using a safety pin I pinned the threads to a cushion and spread them out, the two blacks in the centre, brown either side then cream, orange and reds on the outside.

To make the bracelet take the left red strand and move into the centre between the two blacks. Do the same with the red strand on the right side and move it over the top of the red strand in the centre, repeat with the orange strands and carry on going until you reach the desired length.

When you get to your desired length tie a knot and tie your two ends together around your or a friends wrist or ankle. I love the chevron effect and so easy with no knots or fussiness. Easy!

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Butterfly

I have been super busy in my outside blog life lately, so much so I have not had time to spend time with a needle or a hook! So tonight I decided to sit down for ten minutes and design a pattern to brighten someones day.

Photo Courtesy of Google

One of the people closest to me loves butterflies, and when you know how to crochet something, you can make hundreds of them! So I can now fill their life with butterflies.

What you need:
* Some beautiful yarn
* Crochet hook to match the yarn size
* Scissors

How to make a butterfly:
1. Make your slip knot, chain 4 and slip stitch together. (a magic circle works well with this piece too, depends on how you like to start off your crochet rounds)

2. Ch 5, triple treble, double treble, treble, half treble, sl st then ... ch 2, treble, double treble, half treble, sl st then... ch 2, double treble, treble, half treble, sl st then... ch 2, treble, double treble, triple treble, ch 5 , sl st. Then tie off and tie the two lose ends together (these form the antennae).

You are done! 

I think these would look great dip dyed with an ombre effect! Beautiful :)

Photo Courtesy of Google

Purse

I don't know why I have never made a purse before, but honestly, it is so easy and I am addicted! I want to make one for every hour of everyday! Bags... ooooh a big one as a clutch. Ahhhhh ideas are flowing! This is just a small floral pattern with a green interior which I decorated with a few buttons.

Purse frames are quite easy to come by. But haberdasheries tend to only have the odd couple of sizes. Online is where I got mine. These places are all pretty good for clasps: me, me and me! So get making quick!

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Envelope Clutch

Two makes in a week that I planned and actually completed, wow, I am on a roll! This pattern is by See Kate Sew. I found it while mooching for ideas and it is fabulous! Recently I have seen lots of envelope clutches around, some casual and others smarter, but now I know I can make them any which way I want to, I am never going to buy another one again!

This time I took a navy fabric for the outside and a floral blue pattern for the inside, the button is navy and gold and fits perfectly for a smarter occasion. I dressed it up with one of the crochet bows I made previously. Pretty.

Take a looksie...

Next I want to make one like this here (but more envelopey), like this and add a cross body strap... or a felt one like this! So many ideas. What would you make?

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Bows

Who doesn't love bows? Boys maybe?! But bows make me smile :D
So I have found such a simple pattern to make crochet bows in whatever size you want. I am going to make millions and have them everywhere! Hair clips, shoe decorations, brooches, the ideas are endless!

So to make, you need:
* Scraps of yarn, the thicker the yarn the bigger the bow
* Hook to match the size of the yarn

To make:
1. Make a magic circle.
2. Chain 3, 2dc into circle, chain 3 and slip stitch into circle. Repeat again 1 more time.
3. Tie off the yarn and pull the magic circle tightly closed. Use the end yarns to wrap around the middle of the bow.

That's it. So pretty!

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Spring Daffodils

Spring is officially here!!! So looking out of my window this morning and seeing a couple of inches of snow I got a bit depressed. Where's the sunshine?!

I am going to have to make my own aren't I?! Recently life has got a little hectic and I have not had much chance to pick up some yarn and a hook; but now I have found a reason. A friend of mine does a lot of work for Marie Curie cancer care, both fund raising and volunteering. I decided to make her a beautiful Daffodil brooch to help her stand out from the crowd.

It was so easy to make, and turned out to around 8cm wide. I got the pattern from this lovely lady here and, although she doesn't charge for the pattern she asks for a donation if you use it. I would say to do it, if not to her then to Marie Curie cancer care.

Lets just hope that this brings a little bit of sunshine to some peoples lives, both through fund raising and just because they are pretty :)

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One year on

I can't believe that it has been over a year since I started doing this blog. I started it as a reason for doing all the little bits a pieces that I do. But there was another reason too; to gain confidence. This past year has been a tough one for me, and as silly as it sounds, my craft has done a good job at keeping me going, and so has this blog. I have decided to keep going and through doing it, test myself to do things that I wouldn't normally do. I love One sheepish girls blogging for confidence series and I am taking it as inspiration. This next year I am going to challenge myself to as many new things as I can that I wouldn't normally do. I have sort of being doing this so far this year, I gave a crochet lesson in public. I found that lots of people came and asked what we were doing and genuinely seemed interested in it. The cafe we were in even said they should start up a knitting/crochet knit and natter night. I improved my baking skills, tried new things. Became the soup dragon and perfected my soup making abilities. Tried lots of new crafting skills including embroidery, and started a big project (no it's not finished yet) with my crochet skills. I thank you all for continuing to read my blog, and hope that you carry on. :)

Here are some of my favourite projects from this past year

Crochet bag

Bracelets

Embroidered frame

Owl Fascinator

Purse

Crochet Slippers

Crochet Snood

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