tiny happy

friday notes

Fresh off the washing line...

I found a matching set of these sweet little cloths yesterday at the op-shop. I love that combination of embroidery + applique- I need to try that out myself. These were covered in little holes (moths maybe?) and a couple of rust marks- just the way I like them.

Also, at the Recycling Centre- this vintage linen, which barely made it off the washing line before I sewed it into a bag for today's shop update- I love those golden poppies so. This is really recycled- the fabric was made up into cushions which had come from a cane sofa- someone else wanted the inners I guess. The fabric also features hydrangeas and 'honesty' plant- as children, my siblings and I played 'shops' often, and used these as 'coins':

I made this batch of 'Heidi Headbands' from Amy Karol's 'Bend the Rules Sewing' and find it a very pleasing way to use the small pieces of embroidered ribbon I've always kept and treasured, but never known what to do with:

Just warning you, if you have hair and I know you, you'll probably be getting one of these for Christmas. I am really enjoying this book. I can't wait for the weekend to arrive, so I can try out more of the designs (hmm, funny that I feel as though the weekends will have so much more free time than the weekdays- i like to trick myself like this.)

And here are a few new pairs of baby shoes i added to my etsy shop this morning, that was, before my internet connection crashed and I had to take a few deep breaths (no Tom around to fix it, trying hard to act as though I don't have a dependency problem, you know how it is.) But it's back now, and I've realised I could have a problem, so am going to do my best to keep the internet time to a minimum over the weekend. Besides, we have vegetables to plant in the garden! Arlo has his own patch and is very excited.

Hope you have a great weekend.

three

nice things about today:

admiring this amazing vintage nursery curtain given to me by Amelia,

spring-cleaning, and finding this brooch that I thought I had lost,

and this scarf, which now has a home on my bedroom wall.

animal dreaming

The children are dreaming of having a rabbit and pig living in their garden...

We saw these characters yesterday at a rural cafe. It's cool to have somewhere the children can run around and stroke animals, while I'm drinking coffee from a nearby table. I loved that angora bunny, but I spent some time considering what it would be like to be an animal in a cage at a cafe. This particular cafe is frequented by many a Mother's Group and yesterday was no exception. The poor thing was being jabbed with twigs by a tribe of toddlers hoping for a reaction. And the pig didn't turn around the whole time we were there.

My Mum gave me an un-birthday present- two wonderful new craft books. One was Bend the Rules Sewing, and I have to tell you that this is a wonderful book. I am so happy to have a copy, after reading such a lot about it online. The layout, design and photography are all gorgeous and conducive to pulling one's sewing machine out right away.

This wee jacket is the first project I made from it, for a baby girl I know. I used a super-soft cotton jersey and some bias trim sent to me from Portugal by Zelia. I love the contrast between the bias edge and the raw unfinished edges on the front and bottom of the piece. Plus, its clever construction made it very easy to make.

And then I made this little skirt to go with it. I used some very fine wool fabric I found in an op shop ages ago- I think it used to be a shawl/paschmina-type of thing. Because you're never too young to start wearing gypsy-style clothing.

small design

It was raining over the weekend so I gave the children a big square of linen each and told them they could design their own cushions to put on their beds- which was very exciting, for the first hour, at least.

I gave Keira a paintbrush and a selection of fabric paints, and let her paint directly on the surface of the fabric (the linen was a thick, close-weave type, which was good for this purpose.)  Arlo wanted to paint a train on his piece, so I found a piece of freezer paper, and he drew his design on that first. I cut it out for him (a bit frustrating- it took ages and I didn't include all his detail, and he lost a bit of interest in the project while I was doing this), and then he filled in the gaps with fabric paint:

After the paint had dried, I ironed the backs of the fabric to heat-set the designs, let the kids choose backing fabric to match (blue wool and some geometric barkcloth), and then sewed them up into covers.

K calls this 'clouds and grass' :

 

start of the season

Yesterday was bright and clear and Tom was home from school, so we took the children to the beach for the afternoon. We tested the water, which wasn't too bad, considering the snow on the mountains in the background. We're all feeling ready for the swimming season.

We ate icecream, dug some holes, and K threw sand at A, the usual thing.

We don't usually go to the beach during the week, but we wanted to do something together because today Tom left for 2 weeks in the UK. He is joining a team of three other teachers from NZ to check out schools and learn more about the education system there.

Here he was standing beside his luggage this morning, ready to go to the airport. Last night, in exchange for him threading up my overlocker (I can't do it myself!) I ironed a LOT of shirts, mended two pairs of his favourite vintage wool trousers, and gave him a new wool jacket for his travels.

Bon Voyage, T...

a sign

Spring is all around us here, in the air and the garden, and the sun streaming through onto the kitchen table. This week I've been working on some bags for my shop, but with quite an autumnal feel to them. It seems I can't escape the brown and orange fabric...

Yesterday I received a wonderful package from Caireen in Scotland filled with beautiful things- caramel fudge, Kate Bush cds and this amazing embroidered linen:

I had to take some deep breaths after unwrapping this. As you can see, it's pretty gorgeous. The piece with the blue and white flowers is a tea cosy, I think. Imagine being delicate enough to keep it so beautiful and free from stains!

 

She also sent some beautiful springy embroidery threads that she found, along with vintage patterns and all this has made me desperate to practice embroidery. It must be a sign to get out my hoops and linen.

needles and thread

The teachers at Arlo's kindergarten asked me if I would like to set up a table with a sewing activity for the children this week. A is now at morning sessions along with many other 4-5 year olds, and it took me a while to come up with an idea of what I would do. The kindergarten is a wonderful place for children to be creative- all the materials and work stations are set up around the space, and children are free to move between them with guidance and support from the teachers if they'd like it.

A while ago the teachers placed a sewing kit, some scraps of fabric, scissors and needles on one of the tables, and were surprised that so many of the children wanted to have a go at sewing something. They did basic applique, and sewed patches onto capes and skirts, and fashioned bags from pieces of thick fabric, with long handles to wear over their bodies. Their only complaint being that the needles supplied were far too blunt to sew properly! (they were the thick darning-needle type.)

So this morning I packed a box with 'proper', sharp hand-sewing needles, dressmaking scissors, lots of felt, fabric and a jar of buttons, with the idea of making fabric brooches or decorations in mind. The children were so enthusiastic, they threaded their own needles and set to work. We also found a tray of small beads and sequins to add to our works of art.

It was amazing to watch the children totally engrossed in their sewing, and I realised that just as much as learning the skills of sewing, they were learning about patience, waiting their turn and the sharing of materials. I loved the way in which the children were so decisive in which fabric pieces they selected and how they would join them together. My suggestions were completely ignored. Quite right.

I'm thinking maybe next time we could try some simple embroidery...?

Extra ideas for sewing with children:

All manner of ideas for crafting with children at Kiddley

Sewing practice for younger children (toddler age)- egg carton sewing, and chunky beads to thread (Keira has these)

Montessori Services equipment for children's sewing, weaving and knitting

Martha Stewart Kids

by the sea

This is a print by Jen of Swallowfield- 'by the sea'. She so kindly sent me this print as a gift- and I love it. It has a real 'in-an-airplane, over the sea' feel to it... just perfect.

Also in the mail last week was an order I made from Amy for some hand-embroidered hairclips. I commissioned a set for a friend's birthday, but also got this one for K:

The clips are really nicely made, with such sweet, fine stitches.

Hope your weekend was good. Mine was busy- birthday parties, community events and a bit of work squashed in between, and also my last market stall on Saturday morning. How i'll miss that routine! But I am already feeling quite gleeful about trying out some new crafty ideas and making gifts for friends.

And looking out the window sometimes.

(photo from the Dominion Post/John Selkirk)

Ahmed Zaoui is free!!! What a relief for him, his family, his legal team. Kia kaha, Ahmed, I hope you can have a happy, peaceful life here in Aotearoa.

wrap dress pattern

Here is the promised pattern for a wrap-around dress to fit a 2-3 year old, approx. Please keep in mind that I am not an expert dressmaker, nor do I have perfect bias-tape skills, but I thought I would share the general guidelines for making a dress like this, in case you have a small girl who would like one.  

**Disclaimer** When I was making measurements for this pattern, I realised I shuffle and adjust the pieces a bit while I am sewing until the dress 'sits right' and/or fits the child properly. The wrap design is a forgiving one! So don't worry if your pattern is not exactly like the one in my drawing- it should still turn out fine. Maths and measurements are NOT my forte- I like to think of myself as an 'intuitive' sewer- so please, treat my pattern as a 'guideline' only.

This dress was inspired by a combination of two different dresses owned by my daughter: one store-bought, and one I made with guidelines from the vintage Japanese craft book 'Cute infants outgrow clothes quickly' (Kamakura Shobo Publishing Co, Ltd, 1984). It can be worn either way around- with the crossed part at the front, or the back, as shown above.

It's great in summer by itself, or in cooler weather worn over leggings or trousers and warm tops. As your child grows, the dress will become a wrap-top, but it should be easy to adjust for a bigger child- just cut the patterns out longer.

*Please note* 1/4" seam allowance is included. Other measurements are in cms.

You will need: 

*paper, pen, ruler and scissors for making your pattern

*sewing machine and thread

*a piece of fabric approx. 90 cms wide, and 55 cms long. I use a medium-weight, cotton/linen blend fabric when I make this dress. You could also use linen, cotton, gingham (I made a green gingham  version here), lightweight denim or corduroy.

*either store-bought or home-made bias tape- about 610cms long.

1. Make your bias tape. You will need two pieces that measure approx. 28 cms for the front sides, two pieces that measure approx. 35cms for the armholes, and one long piece measuring approx. 2.5 meters for the rest of the dress plus ties. I make double-fold tape using my rotary cutter and ruler- cutting strips of fabric that are the same width as the ruler (7.5 cms/3"). If this is your first time applying bias tape, you might find this easier to use than the narrower store-bought type. A tutorial on making bias tape is here. I like to use vintage cotton sheets - it's a great way to recycle them, and the old patterns look great with a plain-coloured dress. (There is another way to make bias tape, as shown here. You can also buy cool little gadgets that make the tape for you.)

2.  Make yourself a pattern based on my drawings below (soon to be replaced with clearer ones- sorry!). Adjust the length if necessary. Fold fabric, right sides together, and place the 'back' pattern piece along the fold. Pin both fronts and back pieces to fabric, and cut out.

 

Front pieces- (place fabric right sides together)

 

Back piece- cut 1, on fold.

3. Sew shoulder seams. Zig-zag or overlock (serge) to finish.

4. Sew down ONE side of the dress to join. Now finish the seam, and finish both unsewn edges of the other side of the dress. Now sew this side together, but leave a gap about 7cms down, measuring about 2.5cms. This is for the tie to pass through.

Now it's time to apply the bias tape. You'll need a steam iron and lots of pins near by. I'm no expert when it comes to doing this, but I find that with practice, the technique gets easier. There are some online tutorials to help if you're new to this- here's one: Basic application of bias binding

5. Apply bias tape to the straight sides of both front pieces. Don't worry about finishing the edges- they will be covered later.

 

6. Apply bias tape to the armholes.

7. Apply the long piece of bias tape to the rest of the dress, starting at the half-way point on the neck. The neck and front trim and ties are all in one piece. As you go, cover the raw edges of the dress fronts, like so:

8. Zig-zag/overlock the hem edge. Then press up a hem and sew in place.

9. Press dress and trim loose threads. Pass one tie through the interior opening, wrap it over at the back, and tie in front. Voila!

I added a pocket to this one, cut from the leftover piece where the neckline is cut from the fabric.

Have fun (and good luck.)