Kategorie: Nähen

well, i keep saying that, but sorry again for no new posts in like forever! maybe i shouldn’t promise to write more if i can’t keep the promise anyway 😉 so i’m not promising anything this time! i will just try to do my best. it’s not that i’m lazy or don’t craft/knit/sew at all, it’s just that i’m terribly busy and never find the time to take photos, write posts etc.

i actually made this shirt months ago. i never came around to taking photos, so i kind of forgot to show it to the world… it’s size 92, so still a little big for lukas – he is wearing 86 at the moment. but it looks cute on him and better too big than too small, right.

pattern: ottobre design, issue autumn 4/2012, 18. little lamb, raglan-sleeve t-shirt (sizes 92 to 128). i just love the ottobre patterns. the issues are full of awsome patterns in all sizes. from baby to teen. you just need to buy a few of the magazines and have great patterns for all the basics like long-sleeves, t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, pajamas…

fabric: jersey with stars in turquoise which i bought at the stoffmarkt holland when it was in frankfurt last spring. and a matching turquoise jersey for the sleeves that i bought in some fabric store in darmstadt. the ribbing is turquoise too.

as you can see in the photos i don’t have an overlock sewing machine. unfortunately. sewing just takes longer with my normal sewing machine because i have to „clean up“ all the seams separately and can only use stretchy stitches. but it works and the result isn’t that bad. well, actually i’m quite proud of the result. 😀

i’d love to sew a lot more but it’s so hard to find the time. i can only sew in the evenings when lukas is in bed and there’s also a lot of other things that have to be done then… first of all get our wedding organized! 😉

little sara is modeling her new tshirt. it suits and fits her really well. i’m glad my tshirt trial run found such an adorable new owner 🙂

(photos by dani)

more tshirts for lukas soon!

here it is, my first real piece of clothing (apart from accessories): a tshirt!

the pattern is from the ottobre design magazine, issue 3/2011. it’s the pattern „12. happy animals“. size 80. i love the overlapping neckline like in onesies. no neckline that is too small for baby’s big head and no need to attach any buttons and such.

it’s made of a flower jersey i already had in my stash. i didn’t want to use any of my new boy’s jerseys because there was a fair chance that i would ruin the fabric big time 😉 after all it was my first real garment, my first ribbing, my first serious jersey project, my first try with twin needle…

i have to tell you, it wasn’t easy. being a little perfectionst i started off with high hopes and great expectations…

first downer was, that i just didn’t manage to sew with a twin needle! it didn’t work! i tried all kinds of thread tensions and different fabrics but i always ended up with messed up seams. strangely enough one seam looked good, one seam had many missed stitches. maybe somebody has any idea how that can happen and what i can do about it?! maybe it was just the cheap no-name twin needle i bought at ebay?

after that disaster and at least an hour of trying and getting really frustrated i gave up. single needle and zigzag stitch it was. but then i didn’t seem to be able to even sew a proper normal seam anymore. after another hour of trying and swearing it started to work. finally. but the way to sew on the ribbing that was discribed in ottobre seemed too difficult and error-prone for my fragile state of mind, so i chose a slightly less elegant but easier way.

that finally did the trick and after some sewing without mistakes i’m proud to present you: my first tshirt:

since it’s definitely no boys shirt i gave it to my friend dani’s little sara today. she is 2 months younger than lukas and i hope it will fit her well 🙂 (waiting for a photo of sara wearing it!)

well, i think i got the hang of it now. so i can’t wait to sew another shirt for lukas 🙂

as the title already states: this was my first jersey project! and it went quite well actually. and is wearable. yay!

the pattern is for free, is called „jerseymütze bettina“ and can be downloaded here. i used a little mod i found at kaddi’s blog. you’ll find a tutorial there which is in german, but quite self-explanatory even if you can’t read the text. the hat is doubled, which is excellent for a jersey newbie like me as you won’t see any crooked seams 😉

the fabric is cute and perfect for a pilot’s son 😉 and i still have enough fabric left for a matching tshirt… will be one of my next projects….

here is the result. it fits and has already been worn several times. and probably will be worn a lot more if summer isn’t coming any time soon…

i recently rediscovered sewing…

in the beginning of my crafting „career“ i sewed quite a lot. mainly bags and accessories. and since lukas was born i always adored those lovely ottobre patterns of tshirts, pullovers, sweatshirts, shirts, jumpsuites, pants etc… and even more adored the looooovely (organic) fabrics you find on the web…

but i always was afraid of sewing jersey fabrics. i just have a normal, non-fancy sewing machine which just has the usual flexible zigzag stitches. but i thought it must be „do-able“ so i dragged my boyfriend and baby along to the fabric market that took place in frankfurt at the 28th april….

and this is my loot 😉

fleece in two turquoise colours, a variety of cute jerseys, ribbons and ribbing. i just got 50cm of every jersey which is enough for tshirts anyway….

at the ottobre website i flipped through the issues and bought the ones i loved best (two directly at the website and one at ebay). so i’m the proud owner of the issues 3/11, 1/12 and 4/12.

inspired by the lovely patterns there i placed another fabric order online at dawanda and got these things:

i’m especially looking forward to using the lovely hamburger liebe sweat (in green and white). it will become a jumpsuite for lukas one day 😉 skulls will be a hat/tshirt, the stars will become pants….

so enough shopping for me for now! it’s sewing time! how exciting!

i will keep you posted with the sewing results soon… but i can already tell you: sewing is so much more difficult than knitting! knitting is like yoga for me: soothing, calming, relaxing. sewing is a fight: stressful, frustrating… but very rewarding too, as you can see the results a lot sooner!

insipired by yet another pinterest pin i made this today! a plushie with ribbons in rainbow colours. yay.

i used this tutorial, but basically you don’t really need a tutorial at all. cut two circles of fabric, pin pieces of  ribbons in different sizes and colours, sew round, stuff, close the hole and stitch a lovely smiley face 🙂

my plushie actually turned out quite large so our baby won’t be able to hold it properly for some time… it’s more like a little cushion… my boyfriend and i love it. i hope the little guy will love it too… the plushie is ready for a squeeze, cuddle and a nibble on the ribbons 😉

i wanted to try quilting for ages. and here is my first project. it’s made completely of different ikea fabrics – some of them not ideal for quilting i have to admit. but hey, it worked out quite well!

basically i followed this easy quilting tutorial for beginners.

i used 49 patches, a border and a binding. then i pinned down the top, batting and back and just made diagonal seams across everything.

what do you think?!

this is the complete quilt:

close-up:

back:

binding that i handstitched in the back of the quilt:

it was fun sewing my first quilt. but also a lot of work! really liked the sewing part but didn’t care much about measuring and cutting all the patches. all in all it took me days to finish and it wasn’t even a difficult design! but it definitely won’t be my last one!

it didn’t turn out huge but maybe can be used as a blanket for the little one in his stroller or to lie him on the floor before he starts crawling…

 

i made this bag for my friend who wants to give it to her sister for her birthday.

i forgot how much work it is to cut all the pieces, iron on interfacing, making a ribbon… the actual sewing together is the smallest and fastest part. it’s fun anyhow 🙂

pattern: dotted dream by ottobre design. i enlarged the pattern by 1.5 as i did before.

materials: ikea fabric, iron on interfacing, turquoise ribbon

no, don’t! 😉 i made them myself.

i had this funny pink and black jersey fabric with shoes on it in my stash for ages. and never had the right project to use it. but now i found it!

shorties!

the sewing pattern is by cinderella zwergenmode.

it wasn’t exactly a quick project as stated in the pattern, but i guess that was just due to the lack of sewing experience on my side. 😛 sewing on the rubber band was so difficult! zigzag-stitch turned out crooked and ugly and the only way i finally was able to attach it was by using a normal step stich. not very stretchy but it works! and the shorty fits. i spare you the sight of me wearing it, so here are some unmodeled photos 😉

front:

back:

details:

i will definitley make more – now that i know how its done. I like this fabric and have two more lovely, flowery, modern jersey fabrics in my stash.

oh, by the way, if you ever plan to buy fabric or haberdashery in frankfurt, germany – never try karstadt. the most stuff is just ugly and old fashioned. with some exceptions of lovely quilting fabric in „tilda style“. and  the unfriendliest and crankiest saleswomen on this planet work there! „i’m sorry you have to cut some fabric for me. i’m so sorry!“

story: when i knit (which i do all the time) i have things scattered everywhere: tape measure, knitting needles, yarn, stitch holders, hooks to rescue dropped stitches, needlebook etc… so i thought i’d sew something to overcome the chaos 😉

outer fabric + lining fabric: matching fabric i used for the needle roll (100% ikea 😉 )

tutorial: www.craftster.org

the „model“ in the box is my yellow jumper by the way. this is the second try – i had to frog the whole thing because it was toooo wide. the back is finished, this is the front. hope everything goes well this time *fingers crossed*

this is the matching needle roll. they are a nice couple 😉