Jungle Ave Lady Skater

It is not very often that I am encourage to make clothing for my daughter- she has no shortage of quilts and pillows but clothing for a teen are a totally different  affair.  However, when I showed her Sara's Jungle Ave fabric range, she leapt on the dotted knit fabric. And so, the Lady Skater in Dotted Boulevard came into being.

I have known Sara from the online sewing world for a while now- we share a mutual love of garment sewing alongside quilting, making bags and other makes.  She is a sweet, generous and hugely hardworking lady and to see her as part of the Art Gallery team with a Limited Edition collection is wonderful!   She offered me some of her fabric along with some other quilty/bag making/clothes sewing bloggers to help showcase the range as it becomes available to buy any time now.

The dress pattern is Lady Skater by Kitschy Coo.  It was on offers recently for a ridiculously low price and is available as a PDF download.  It is quick to stick together and the instructions are very detailed.  I made size 1 sewn with ¼" rather than ⅜" seams and I made a test bodice before cutting into the good 

stuff.  The hem was shortened a little, otherwise, no changes.  It was sewn with a mix of lightning stitch on my Janome and also with my Brother 1034d overlocker/serger.

The pattern worked well with the fabric.  This jersey has 5% spandex so it has good recovery: it springs back into shape and over areas where jersey can bag out, like bottoms, elbows and knees and it will keep its shape making it good for close fitting garments like leggings, camisoles, t shirts- even knickers!  It also has nice drape and would gather easily and without too much bulk.

We went as urban as we could in a small city in Devon- a little road signage, faded paint and background textural variety to pay homage to Sara's Chicago inspiration.  I think this is my favourite pic!  I have to thank Lula for being my model- she is rather shy in front of the camera so we had to have a lot of giggles to get her through!   The dress is a hit with her- it's a great fabric/pattern combo for a teen. 

Aeroplane Bag Making and a giveaway!

This weekend I got started on Sara's Aeroplane bag patten.  I have picked a range of textures with a vintage flowery Jonelle curtain for the lining, a Japanese corduroy for the main body, a denim (not pictured) that I got from the car boot sale and some leather that was once a couple of Marks and Spencers cushions (lucky charity shop find).  The cushions also yielded two lovely brass zippers and I had a navy zipper that I didn't use on another project.  The cotton webbing was from an ebay seller- I tend to choose webbing rather than making my own straps; saves time and I prefer the finish.  I Instagram the process (verykerryberry) as I go as it is such a great way of photographing the process and having a little company.

Sara was kind enough to send me some 'Soft and Stable' to try out and it is great stuff.  Foam construction with a fine knitted layer on both sides and very to cut and sew through.  I can see why she recommended it as it gives instant structure but its buly is quite manageable and it is sew in so no worrries about wrinkles.  I skipped the lightweight (Shape Flex/Vilene G700) interfacing for the lining and body of the bag as my fabrics were thicker than quilting cotton.

I was planning to have a leather base to the bag but I didn't have enough so I went for a front pocket instead and that was probably a good thing as leather is tricky to sew and I didn't want to invest in a specialist needle as I don't plan much leather sewing!  I used Superior 100 titanium needle (Justine stocks these in UK) on everything so far which with a Horizon AccuFeed Dual foot did power through.  

Clover Wonder Clips are the best invention ever.  Eternal Maker have just started stocking them.  They are great for for bags . Useful for binding too- I used them for my glue binding tutorial- but outstanding for holding all those layers when making a bag and leather cannot be pinned.  You can also see washi tape holding the straps onto the pocket ready for top stitching down- washi tape is aonther sewing room essential-for those that don't know, it is decorative paper tape like masking tape and peels off easily, great stuff!

You can see how the clips hold the multiple layers in place.  I used a dab of Copydex on the heavy interfacing to keep that lightly attached to the denim layer before top stitching on the seam at the front held it in place.

The front so far,(and the other finished without pocket).

This has been my friend: the pressure dial on my machine.  It adjust the pressure from the presser foot.  The default is 7 but for thicker layers I reduce this to 5 and 4 for the thickest and it works brilliantly.  I also do this when hemming knits with a twin needle and it stops them stretching out of shape. 

One inside pocket made, the other to follow.  So far an excellent pattern.   The insructions are clear and well paced.  I am not surprised!  Sara really does know what she is talking about when it comes to interfacing and structure of bags!  Another Aeroplane bag maker (Elizabeth (Don't Call Me Betsy) described this as like making a zippered pouch and it is exactly that but as it is on a much bigger scale it is a lot less fiddly! There aren't many pattern pieces as some pieces are rotary cut and the lining is cut using the front and back sections that you have sewn as templates for a perfect fit.  Now to sew pocket two, darts and the external zipper (that is the bit I am slightly apprehensive about)!  My K charm was from Ayumi but there are lots of brass charms available on Etsy and ebay.

Giveaway time!

 Wanna make one of your own?  Or maybe another of Sara's bags?  Leave a comment and I will pick 3 random lucky winners.  You have until my next bag post to get your entries in. If there is no email in your contact details you will not be able to win so check before you comment or leave a recognisable address in the comment kerrykit (at) yahoo (dot) com- you know the sort of thing.

Each winner will receive 3 PDF bag patterns of their choice- go look, drool at what you can pick and marvel how Sara can design in 3D!

Plans

It is a rare day when I say I am bored and I have nothing to do.  I like to be busy, very busy, even when I feel I am getting nothing done I like to plan future projects.  Sometimes they happen fast, others are slow burners but most come to something, I rarely abandon them all together.  And having so many friends designing great patterns too keep me well booked up with ideas.  Sara at Sew Sweetness has been developing her brand and range of bags.  Her recent Aeroplane bag had me hooked.  A spacious weekend away type bag- I am making one for retreat to go with my new wheely Cath Kidston Suitcase, bargain price on ebay if you need one.  Having decent luggage must be a sign of being a grown up- I have lived a life of rucksacks and oversized Head bags so a decent case and a handmade overnight bag makes me finally a grown up!  Once my supplies arrive, this is going to be sewn and I will share my progress with you along with a giveaway- bide your time, its coming soon!  Sara is developing clothing patterns too- ahh!  Cannot wait for these!

Christina at The Sometimes Crafter has been busy and found the time amongst all her activity to draft a great new paper piecing pattern. 

All the instructions are there to make a table runner but the squares within squares feature could be used for pincushions, pouches, anything really and the pattern includes all the different sizing used so no need to reduce/expand the pattern pieces.  Ideal for those who are maybe a little wary of paper piecing too as all the piecing is done in a single section for each square.  I think I maybe trying a pincushion or a zipper pouch with these, maybe with something like Liberty- I have some more thank you goodies to make.

Talking of Liberty, I was lucky enough to win an e-copy of this wonderful book from Stash Books at Kate's blog.

There is a huge number of projects in this book- pretty much all you can see on the cover- the picnic quilt, baby dress, woman sitting on rug dress ( quite fancy making this one), neck tie and lots more inside- bags, pincushions- a great variety. There are full size pattern pieces and with the ebook they are ready to download and print at home too!  It also includes the Marcelle quilt, you can see Kate's progress so far here and Lynne's here.

And more Alexia Abegg, I just ordered her Diamond Ring Quilt pattern from Annie at Village Haberdashery.  I have a little plan for this- will share more soon but I was so taken with it from Quilt Market photos that it stuck with me as a must do- I do love a circle on a quilt! 

 I have also got into sewing knits recently with a bit of success- will show you soon but the Briar is a great shape and Megan includes so much info on variations on her blog.  The pattern comes in thick paper which makes handling and tracing a lot easier.  Her pattern presentation is my favourite amongst all the indie designers. 

 We are doing a bit of visiting of various peeps over Easter so whilst I catch up with hand sewing and another bunny, L is going to be working on a little 'Penguin and Fish' Lion embroidery kit from Eternal Maker.  This kit comes with everything you need- hoop, thread, needle, designs, instructions.  I traced onto the fabric using a Sewline pencil and it is ready to stitch. She wanted something simple and easy to do and this is perfect!

And finally, Ayumi's book arrived here in preparation for the Patchwork Please sew a long!  You can see more details here. 

I don't know what I will be making yet but I would be happy making anything from this book- it is a joy from start to end!  I am going to make this quilt anyway for L's birthday because we both love it.

That should keep me occupied just for a little while.  What about you... plans?