Christmas Apron

Christmas is almost upon us again.
I've never enjoyed being in the kitchen.
But this is so darn cute...it almost makes me want to cook!!

I used a modified version of this pattern...



Butterick B4945

This apron is for sale on my shop Sew Thea at Made It.
Click on the button to go shopping! 



Girl's Skirt and Matching Headband

Again, with left over fabric from aprons, I made this cute little skirt with matching headband.
No pattern necessary.
I cut one rectangle 14cm x 75cm from dark blue.
And another 20cm x 110cm from the print fabric.
Sew seams at the back in the dark blue and the print fabrics.
Gather the print onto the plain fabric and stitch.
Make a 3.5cm casing at the top of the plain section leaving an opening for the elastic.
Sew a narrow hem at the bottom.
Thread 50cm of 2.5cm wide elastic through the casing and zigzag the ends together.
Sew the opening of the casing closed.

For the headband I used a rectagle 10cm x 52cm.
Sew the short ends together to form a circle.
Fold or iron 1cm along both long edges.
Sew the ends together of a 50cm length of 2.5cm wide elastic.
Slip the elastic into the headband.
Hold folded/ironed edges together, stitch as close to the edge as possible.

Doll's Dress

With left over fabric from some aprons, I made this for Miss 4's doll.
I used a few strips, getting a little longer and wider for each strip.
Gathered them onto each other.
Stitched some broderie anglaise edging on the bottom.
And a narrow piece of elastic around the top.
I made one seam down the back and stitched some cord at the centre front to make a halter neck tie strap.

Baggy Beanie Beret

I found a great pattern here that I used to make this...

I love it!

This one is on my Made It shop Sew Thea but I'm making one for me for next winter.

Crocheted Fingerless Gloves

Varitation 1

1 ball Patons Inca yarn (if you're lucky...you may need a smidge of a second)
6 mm crochet hook

Beginning at wrist
Loose ch 21 (small to medium size), 24 (medium to large size)
Sl st to form a ring, take care not to twist the ring.

ROW 1. Ch 3, 2 dc in same st as ch 3, ch 1, skip 2 ch, *3 dc in next ch, ch 1, skip next 2 ch* repeat to end, join with a sl st to top of beginning ch 3
(7, 3 dc groups made, small to medium size, 8, 3 dc groups made, medium to large size)

ROW 2. sl st to the centre dc of group, ch 3, 2 dc in same space, ch 1, *3 dc in next centre dc, ch 1* repeat to end, sl st to top of beginning ch 3

ROWS 3 to 5. repeat row 2 3 times more, giving you 5 rows in total.

Making the thumb hole

ROW 6. sl st to the centre dc of group, ch 12, sl st in centre dc of next dc group, ch 3, sl st into 9th ch of the ch 12, 1dc in same space as ch 3, ch 1, continue pattern around ending with 2 dc in beginning ch 12 space, sl st into 3rd ch of the ch 12, work 5 sc in next 5 ch, and sl st across to top of ch 3 (centre of group)

ROW 7. ch 3, 2 dc in same place, ch 1, *3 dc in next centre dc, ch 1* repeat to end,

ROW 8. 3 dc in centre group of beginning ch 12, ch 1, skip 2 sc, 3 dc in next sc, ch 1, skip 2 sc, sl st to join in top of ch 3 of next group, (this is the new beginning of the rounds)
sl st to centre dc, ch 3, 2 dc in same space, ch 1, continue around in pattern, sl st to top of beginning ch 3

Making the top

ROW 9. sl st to centre of first group, ch 3, sl st into centre dc of next group, *ch 3, sl st into centre of next group* repeat to end finishing with a sc in same space as beginning ch 3

ROW 10. 2 sc in ch 3 space, 1 sc in same place as the sl st of the previous row, (into the top of the dc) *2 sc in ch 3 space, 1 sc in same place as the sl st of the previous row* repeat to end finishing with a sl st to join in the ending sc of the previous row and fasten off.

Weave in ends


Variation 2

1 ball Lincraft Surroundings yarn
6 mm crochet hook

Beginning at wrist
Loose ch 24 (small to medium size), 27 (medium to large size)
Sl st to form a ring, take care not to twist the ring.

ROW 1. Ch 3, 2 dc in same st as ch 3, ch 1, skip 2 ch, *3 dc in next ch, ch 1, skip next 2 ch* repeat to end, join with a sl st to top of beginning ch 3
(8 3 dc groups made, small to medium size, 9 3 dc groups made, medium to large size)

ROW 2. sl st to the centre dc of group, ch 3, 2 dc in same space, ch 1, *3 dc in next centre dc, ch 1* repeat to end, sl st to top of beginning ch 3

ROWS 3 to 6. repeat row 2 4 times more, giving you 6 rows in total.

Making the thumb hole

ROW 7. sl st to the centre dc of group, ch 12, sl st in centre dc of next dc group, ch 3, sl st into 9th ch of the ch 12, 1dc in same space as ch 3, ch 1, continue pattern around ending with 2 dc in beginning ch 12 space, sl st into 3rd ch of the ch 12, work 5 sc in next 5 ch, and sl st across to top of ch 3 (centre of group)

ROW 8. ch 3, 2 dc in same place, ch 1, *3 dc in next centre dc, ch 1* repeat to end,

ROW 9. 3 dc in centre group of beginning ch 12, ch 1, skip 2 sc, 3 dc in next sc, ch 1, skip 2 sc, sl st to join in top of ch 3 of next group, (this is the new beginning of the rounds)

ROW 10. sl st to the centre dc of group, ch 3, 2 dc in same space, ch 1, *3 dc in next centre dc, ch 1* repeat to end, sl st to top of beginning ch 3

ROW 11. sl st to centre dc, ch 3, 2 dc in same space, ch 1, continue around in pattern, sl st to top of beginning ch 3

Making the top

ROW 12. sl st to centre of first group, ch 3, sl st into centre dc of next group, *ch 3, sl st into centre of next group*, repeat to end finishing with a sc in same space as beginning ch 3

ROW 13. 2 sc in ch 3 space, 1 sc in same place as the sl st of the previous row, (into the top of the dc) *2 sc in ch 3 space, 1 sc in same place as the sl st of the previous row*, repeat to end finishing with a sl st to join in the ending sc of the previous row.

ROW 13. *(1 sc 1 dc) in next sc, (1 dc 1 sc) in next sc, skip 1 sc* repeat to end, finish off .

Weave in ends

The Poncho!

Last year my good bloggy friend, Lucy, suggested I make ponchos for my shop.
I thought it was an excellent idea.
So I began one...last year.
And finished it...today!

Man, was there a lot of knitting involved.
It is simply one rectangle, with one end stitched to one side.
You can wear it any way you like. Just pop it on and twist it until you're happy.
I've never owned a knitted poncho before.
And the thing is, I love it so much I'm keeping it for me.

What do you think?
Cool or what??

The shorter one is a knitted rectangle, 45cm x 110cm

More Peg Aprons

Since my last post about being featured at Christie's blog 'Home Grown', my lovely bloggy buddy Jodie mentioned my peg aprons in her very useful post about 'Taming the Laundry Beast'.

And I'm sew excited to say that they've been selling!!

Here are the colours I have made. I'm looking forward to trying out some new shades soon.

The two pink ones are still available at my shop Sew Thea on Made It at the moment.
Other colours that I'm dying to make up are red, black, darker blue, darker green and yellow.
Stay tuned for more...

Peg Apron

The very clever and totally gorgeous Christie from Home Grown has invited me to her blog as a guest poster today. I'm so excited to be over there.

You can read all about my peg apron by clicking here...off you go.  See you there.

Christmas Bags

Don't wrap your Christmas presents, bag them!
I love doing this...I've done it on and off for the past 10 years depending on how much time I have leading up to Christmas. This Christmas I'm feeling particularly organized and on top of everything so I've made some more.

They're so easy. Just buy some pretty Christmas fabric and ribbons. Sew simple sacks in various sizes to fit whatever you are giving. They're especially good for hard to wrap pressies.

Sometimes I sew the ribbon into the back seam. This year I'm just adding the ribbon around the top separately. If the sack isn't quite big enough to scrunch around the top, fold in inside like a pillow-slip and wrap ribbon all the way around the gift.

Here are some, I still have more to do...

They're so easy.
Just fill, tie with ribbon and add a gift tag.
And another advantage is they're reusable!

Christmas Presents

This year I decided to sew most of the Christmas presents, especially for the nieces & nephews, and our kids.
Here is some of what they're getting...

The kids' aprons have recipe journals and kid's cook books to go with them.
The library bag will have books and a toy inside.
And the beach bags will have fun-in-the-sun goodies inside.

I've finally finished all the present sewing.
Now I'm sewing bags instead of using paper wrapping.

I'll put those on my next post...

Felt Christmas Decorations

I love making Christmas decorations.
I decided to make these for my son's teachers this year.
I loved getting decorations with the child's name and year when I was teaching.
I still hang them on my tree and remember them fondly.

 

front

 


back

 I also made these without the words for our mums' Christmas presents.

My boy's favourite colour at the moment is orange and he wanted these for his tree.

So grab yourself some felt, beads, stuffing and cord and go for it.

You can stuff them or leave them flat, either way...

they're fun, cute and cheap!

Aprons!...and other things

My latest sewing spree has left me with these, which are on my online shop Sew Thea on Made It.

To make these...

I used these patterns...



Butterick 5506



Butterick 4945

And I made some beach/swimming bags in different sizes using beach towels.

The smaller sized bags are 1/4 of a beach towel, folded in half to make side seams. A casing is sewn around the top for a draw string. I cut the hemed sides from the towel to use as the shoulder strap/handle. Inside the top casing hem, I've sewn in a face washer folded in half with a small zip to make a concealed pocket.




Granny Square Scarf

Yet another scarf.

Told you I was in a scarf mode.

This one is a present for my 12 year old niece.

Make 14 (or more if you want a longer scarf) granny squares using variations of 3 different colours.

Using a fluffy yarn, join squares with a row of single crochet.

Finish ends.

Using the fluffy yarn, single crochet all the way around the outside of the scarf.  Finish ends.

Pattern for granny squares -

Using 8 ply yarn and size 6 crochet hook,

Ch. 6, join with a slip stitch to form a ring.

Round 1 - Ch. 3, 2 dc, ch 3, (3 dc, ch 3) 3 times, sl st to join to the 3rd chain stitch from foundation loop.

Round 2 - Work 3 sl sts so that your crochet hook is adjacent to the space formed by the closest set of chain sts. Ch 3, 2 dc in space, ch 3 to form corner, 3 dc in same space, ch 3, (3 dc in next space, ch 3 to form corner, 3 dc in same space, ch 3) 3 times, sl st to join to the 3rd chain stitch you crocheted at the beginning of the round.

Round 3 - Work 3 sl sts so that your crochet hook is adjacent to the space formed by the closest set of chain sts. Ch 3, 2 dc in space, ch 3 to form corner, 3 dc in same space, ch 3, (3 dc in next space, ch 3, 3 dc in next space, ch 3 to form corner, 3 dc in same space, ch 3) 3 times, 3 dc in next space, ch 3, sl st to join to the 3rd chain stitch you crocheted at the beginning of the round.

Knitted Scarves

I'm going through a scarf phase at the moment.

I am loving the different types of gorgeous yarns around so I buy balls and wonder what to do with them.

So far, I keep turning them into scarves!

Shame it's not really cold enough here to wear them.

So, grab a fancy ball of wool/yarn.

Garb a set of large knitting needles, size 5mm - 7mm.

And knit away until the ball is finished!

Here are some I've done so far...

Girl's Feathers Hat

I made this for my 2 year old little girl.
Here is the pattern for 3 sizes - toddler, girl, teenager/adult

Using Feathers style yarn
5 1/2mm knitting needles
Cast on 60 (64, 70) stitches
Row 1 - 4 Knit 2, purl 2 to end
Change to 6mm knitting needles
Knit stocking stitch until work measures 16 (17, 18)cm from beginning ending with a purl row
Knit 2 together across the whole row
Purl
Knit 2 together across the whole row
Purl
Cut yarn at 30cm from end of work
Thread a wool needle onto yarn and pass the needle through all stitches left on the knitting needle
Remove knitting needle, pull stitches tight, sew seam down the back of the beanie.

I crocheted a flower that I found here to sew on the side.