The diary cover

So I really should be attempting some MCN, but I keep findings ways to distract myself from that project; today I thought I would sew a cover for my much loved OTI organiser, as it is getting a little bashed up.

It took me forever to decide on the fabric to do it in, as I don't really have much lying around. I really love this blue cord, and had bought it to make a pinafore for the daughter, but after deciding I had enough for both projects, I went ahead. I was using this patten as a guide, but really wanted to have a pen holder, and a way to hold it shut. The original OTI has an elastic that you pull over it, but considering I'm snap press happy at the moment - I thought that would be perfect.

Unfortunately in the midst of sewing this I stupidly lost a pin, which I ended up running over with my overlocker. The overlocker now has, at the very least, a bent left needle. I'm a bit scared to replace that as I'm worried I'll find thats not the only damage.

Apart from the broken overlocker, the cover turned out OK. I still have a few bits to do - the OTI has post-it note pads in the back cover, so I still need to stitch some ribbon strips (or the like) to hook the post-it note pads over. I also may embelish the fron t a little more.

Penelope the Elephant

As my daughter loves munching on the bunny ears so much, I thought I’d make something else for her. I figured an elephant might be a good one – 4 legs and a trunk all for the chewing. I was planning a 2D type of an elephant, but when I google imaged ‘softie elephant' for some inspiration, I saw all these pictures of 3D elephants – so I thought ‘why not just try’? So above is the result.

Once again the sewing is not that great (I really need to work on my patience) – the worst part was trying to figure out how to stitch the bottom part on without having the legs all splayed out too far. I understood theoretically how it should work - I didn’t really succeed in practice. So I put a few stitches in at the end to sew the legs together a bit (daughter is too young to really be that critical). I stitched some cellophane into the ear flaps – but not having really done too much hand sewing, I wasn’t really sure how to stitch them on to the head neatly. So I did the stitching really obvious (and quite messy), then I can just say it is meant to be that way, for that handmade type look. I used my snap press (I have been wanting to use it), to put a snap-able loop on the top, to snap it to prams etc.

The material is the same as the bunny; a couple of fat quarters I picked up at SL in their recent sale. I still have a bit left, I’m planning a taggy teething owl, but I need some more ribbon first, and probably some felt or something for the eyes.

Baby Booties

I had always wanted to make some booties, I love baby shoes, but they are so expensive (and an unnecessary indulgence) so I thought I would try to make some. So here is the result. I had 2 patterns for booties; Simplicity 2491 and one from the book ‘Making children’s clothes.’ Neither of them was exactly what I wanted, so I took some elements from each and made these. These are actually version 3. As I was kind of making it up as I went, I made a few mistakes and needed to alter the original pattern a little.

I wanted them nice and warm so I lined them with micropolar fleece. I originally had tried flannelette, but I wanted to trim down the bulkiness in the seams after sewing, and microfleece wont fray like flanelette. I also used some iron on wadding/ batting stuff (I have no idea what it is, I told the lady at SL what I wanted and she got it – I think it was from the quilting section) on the outside material instead of interfacing as I wanted them soft. My next biggest deviation was moving the lining seam to the middle of the front – also to minimise bulk, as I was getting far too much in the back seam.

As well as my dodgy stitching (and really messy topstitching), t hey still need improving. I must have sewn the seams on the top fabric much larger than the inside as there is a heap of extra polarfleece which is making them a tight fit. I also need to move the ties forward, but may end up attempting a strap with a button and hidden velcro instead.

I bought a a snap press (so excitied!), and on version 1 tried a strap with a snap, but thought I would try to conceal snap caps between the layers of strap (and layer of the bootie). I realised halfway through that that wouldn’t work because if you put the snap in first to hide it, then you can’t actually sew the strap (or bootie seam) as it won’t fit under the presser foot –oops!! So if I do a snap then it has to be not hidden and done last.

Even though they still aren’t perfect – I’m pretty proud of them!!

My first 2 projects

So the first thing I 'made' was a change mat. I say 'made' with inverted commas, because there really wasn't much to it - I bought some cute apple print plastic type tableclothing from SL and backed it with some flanelette and then finished it off with some matching bias binding. As simple as that sounds, it was a bit of a task - and pretty messy. I don't have any photos (maybe I should take one). But I have since learned that I sewed the bias binding all wrong. After checking out a video on the net on how to sew bias binding, I hope that next time there will be far less swearing with a neater end result.


The next project was a softie for the daughter. At 4 months she loves that crinkly, crunchy sound that plastic bags make, so I thought I could incorperate that into a toy. Thanks to the ladies at EB, I ended up using cellophane to make the noise. I lay it inside before stuffing - what I will do next time is stitch it in. I was also originally just going to do a ring or a cube, but realised I needed to take a rabbit to Kindyroo the next week (and not having one) I made it in the shape of a bunny (well that was the plan - it doesn't really look like one). I added some tags, just to make it brighter and easier to grab. It's pretty terrible and basic looking - but she LOVES it. The ears are the perfect size for her to munch on, and so it spends most of the day in her mouth. I think the colours also catch her eye. It is the first toy she will reach for - so that makes me feel pretty good. I do realise that I need to remove the buttons and do something else for the eyes - as they will be a chocking hazzard if they come off (things you don't think of as a newbie mum and sewer).

Here we are!!

Ok, so here is my blog, as suggested by the lovely ladies in the Beginner Sewers group in EB (mainly because of my inability to figure out how to put up pictures there :) ).

I am the proud owner of a sewing machine and an overlocker (both Janome), both who were well aquainted with the inside of the cupboard under the stairs until just before my daughter was born - when I decided to embark on this journey.

Sewing and I do have a bit of a history. My mother was amazing at sewing. When i was really young she made everything for me, from dresses and outfits (all of which had a matching smaller version for my beloved cabage patch doll) to underwear and scrunchies. Sometimes I would 'help', but I was really too young to grasp much. When I was about 10 she started to work more, and then a few years later she began a part-time uni degree (she is superwoman), so there unfortunately wasn't as much time for sewing, just necessities - mending, curtains, costumes etc.

About 7 years ago I decided that I would learn to sew, and took some lessons, and made a shirt from a pattern. At that stage I thought sewing would be a big part of my life, so used monies from my 21st birthday to purchase my overlocker - and then it began its long story of neglect - life/ study/ work all got in the way. Also I found I didn't really like making stuff for myself.

Now I have a daughter - and who better to sew things for. It started with some of the linen and things for her nursery - mainly becaue I just couldn't find what I wanted. With a lot of help from mum we made a simple applique quilt, some basket inserts and cushions.

And now here we are - full of hope that I might be able to succeed in learning some new skills!!