Gingham Bow Tie

Back in May, I had to make 30 bow ties for the Italian Contemporary Film Festival. Though I had made a tie before, I had to find an easy enough patter to 'mass produce' these bow ties.

The tutorial from Sew Like My Mom perfectly guides you through the steps to making one.

I finally got to make a bow tie for me. The only alteration is that I made to the pattern is that I shortened the neck length to fit my small neck (12 inches). I also watched and looked at many tutorials to figure how to tie it.

Business Card/ Points Card Holder

I have one too many of these... I should start to give them away!

 

DIY Beach CoverUp

Here is a simple tutorial on how to make a beach coverup using a scarf. I bought this light scarf at Value Village for $3.99. It is double the size you see in the photo. I cut it half and serged the ends.

I then sewed the two edges together using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

At the very top, I double folded a 1/2 inch hem and then sewed it in place all around leaving a hole for the elastic. I placed an elastic band through the hole and voila!

City of Craft- Spring Edition 2015

On Saturday I had the amazing opportunity to volunteer at City of Craft- Spring Edition 2015 which was held at the Theatre Centre on Queen Street West. I had a great time and I was impressed by the products made available by the 30 vendors.  I snagged some cute fabric pieces which I can't wait to use and I also got some pretty sweet thank you goodies! Looking forward to attending the next City of Craft event in December! 

Knitting Needle Case

I finally took the time to sew a knitting needle case and sort out all the needles and hooks that were dumped into my knitting bag. For some reason, after I am done with a knitting project, I don't have the patience to put the needles back and so I leave them in the knitting bag. I hope this will help me stay more organized. 

I made my own pattern after researching some patterns. I have used a 17 inch x18 inch square with a 1/2 seam allowance. I used interfacing to stiffen the fabric and I have sewn each slot measuring 1.75 inch, 1 inch and 0.75 inch. 

Kamik Marausa Rain Boots

I was so sad to say goodbye to my red rain boots but the time had come to throw them out.

I love my new rain boots! They are so pretty and ready for spring rain! 

These pretty lilac ribbons are left overs from my sister's wedding invitations which I sewed together. I love them!

Hot Water Bottle Cozy

With this brutally cold Canadian winter, I really enjoyed coming home and cuddling up with my hot water bottle. I have seen quite expensive ones so I  bought a $3 hot water bottle and made my own sleeve. I knitted the sweater using the pattern from Ravelry. It is truly that best pattern that is very flexible regardless of the size of your hot water bottle. The challenging part of this pattern is the seamless cast on which I have never had to use but after seeing the result it gives, I am willing to use it again for future projects. Here is a helpful link to help you navigate the the seamless cast on.

PIN WIN: Felt Earphone Bunny

Wednesday afternoon I was feeling quite restless and I wanted to do something but nothing intesive so I went on Pinterest and found the felt bunny earplug carrier which I had bookmarked. The pin does not have any instructions so first I sketched a pattern and then cut it out of felt (2 pieces for the body, ears and arms). Then I put it all together with simple embroidery stitching and for the cheeks I used a red crayon.

The original pin

 Mine!

PIN WIN: Pretty ribbon wellies

I usually share something I've sewn or knitted but, this time I'm going to post about something I've made from Pinterest. For a couple of months now, I've been hooked on Pinterest so much so that now I have 66 boards and over 1100+ pins bookmarked. I've also ran into Pinstrosity, a blog that shares unsuccessful pin creations. Luckily, I've have a few successes which I'm going to share here.

Ever since Katrina called rainboots 'wellies', I've really taken a liking to this Brit word so now I started to use it! It makes me...happy!

Here is the original Pin:

Here is what I did:

I added two red bows with some leftover ribbon I had. I used silk ribbon which looks great but has the tendency to undo itself so I would suggest that you tie a double knot or sew the bow in.

PIN WIN: Knee Socks For Boots

This is one of my favourite pins. When I saw it, I knew I had to make it because I wear a lot of boots in the winter so I couldn't pass that cute look of long socks without all that extra bunchiness going on!

Here is the original pin (without pattern):

Here is what I made:

So pretty and warm!!!

This is the cable pattern I used:

Cotton yarn

Size 4 needles

Stitches: multiples of 7 + 3

Cast 56 stitches

Row 1: *P3, K4 (repeat)

Row 2: *K4, P3 (repeat)

Row 3: *P3, K4 (repeat)

Row 4: *K4, P3 (repeat)

Row 5: *P3, cable (repeat)

Row 6: *P3, K4 (repeat)

Repeat rows 1-6 until your desired length.

Square Coin Purse

 

This is the coin pouch that I made after seeing the Circle Zip Earbud Pouch on Pinterest. The original is in a round shape pouch and seeing that I can't sew in a circle, I opted for a simple square shape. I also did not use any batting but used interfacing on the main fabric to give it stability. So happy with the overall result!!! I will definitely try to do more as it perfect to hold bus tokens, small change, usb drives, and lip balm all handy on my keys.

Flexi Frame Wristlet.

Here my new flexi frame wristlet. I love the details of the flex frame; it has a hoop detail instead of the usual flat tip. It's from a Korean brand called INAZUMA. The tutorial I used comes from UHandbag and it's not a hard pattern to develop; once you have it, putting it together comes very easily!

Flat Iron Cover

I'm excited to be travelling this summer and I needed a cover in which to put my flat iron.

So here it is, two rectangles sewn together in a 1/2 inch inseam (with lining inside). Easy peasy!

 

Zippered Coin Pouch Tutorials

Zippered coin pouch tutorial 1

Zippered coin pouch tutorial 2

Cathedral Window Quilt Tutorials

Cathedral Window Quilt Tutorial 1

Cathedral Window Quilt Tutorial 2 

25 Clever Ideas To Make Life Easier

25 Clever Ideas To Make Life Easier

More Cute Clutches

I finally started to sew again after a really, really long break and what did I want to do? More gathered clutches!! Soooo easy to make and just the right size to hold the essential stuff!

Business Card Holder

I did this business card/points card/id card/credit card holder after being inspired on pinterest. This is the original blog that offers a really easy tutorial on how to make these cute holders. I just saw another holder where the pockets are lengthwise rather than on the side. I look forward to making one of that too!!!!

Keep Calm And Pin On

At first, I didn't get what the big fuss with Pinterest was so I got an account just to check it out. After 15-20 minutes on it, I started to get the whole vision board/scrapbook idea but, it wasn't until yesterday that I spend some serious time on it and I saw all the cool pins that people posted on their boards. I started to "repin" and "love" everything! It's such a great idea bank and clipboard for all the neat things you find on the web especially if you don't know exactly what you're looking for.

2012 Craft To-Do List

* Make a pair of pjs

* Use bamboo handles for a handbag

* Make fabric flowers

* Make a wristlet

* Make a cathedral window quilt block

* Make a reversible tote