Cap for Dad

Another version of the Summer Hat, this time it became a cap for my dad. We both have big heads, so finding a cap that would stay put even on windy days was an issue for him (and he loves sailing so you see that it is a problem).

The hat part is made from corduroy, and the sun brim and lining from an Ikea cotton fabric. Backside has an elastic to improve the fit and make the cap a bit more snug. Dad's using it so much that I think you could call this project a success!

Japanese Reversible Dress

As a mother of two boys, I'm always crawing to make girls' clothes, but rarely have the opportunity (I know, I could make them just for fun, but I prefer to make them for someone real, matching the fabrics to the personality). My friend's daughter just turned one, and I made a little reversible dress for her.

The pattern comes from a Japanese pattern book that I bought from ureshi's etsy shop. The book is all in Japanese, but the sewing instructions are very well illustrated and include clear how-to make diagrams for each step of the way. I'm not too sure how the sizing matches up with European, but I do think the patterns are on the smallish side.

Phoebe Bag

I had a Björn Borg shoulder bag for over five years but it was slowly starting to fall apart (or disintegrate, more like!). So it was time for a new bag, and it just happened that I had a small piece of a lovely mod fabric that I had saved for a special project.

I salvaged the shoulder strap and the zipper from the old bag, and made myself a brand new Phoebe Bag. Loving it. I didn't make the magnetic snap, but used the old zipper instead. In retrospect, I maybe should've used interfacing to support the mid-weight fabric, but then again, I didn’t want the bag to be too rigid either.

The Phoebe Bag pattern is by Rebeka Lambert of Artsy Crafty Babe, and I can recommend it highly.  Great pattern, well written, and it’s free, too!

Bean Bag

Here's one project that I should've made double right away - the bean bag. It's the favorite TV watching spot for my boys and something that is fought over quite often.

The bean bag is stuffed with small styrofoam beans (about 1 cm in diameter) which tend to be very static and fly all over... Here's the best tip I got for handling them: cover your hands with a fabric softener, at least up to the elbows. It reduces the static and makes filling the bean bag a lot easier.

I also made a second bag from an old sheet inside the cover, so that curious little boys can't just open the zipper and spill the beans, so to say ;) There are also two loops for handles for jumping around like a Hippity Hop. The pattern comes from Moda magazine 1/2008, and fabric is from Ikea.

Summer Hat

It's sometimes difficult to sew something for yourself, but now I had a good reason to do just that. My head is pretty big so it's kind of hard for me to find store hats that would fit well. So I made a dark greyish hat for the summer with some Ikea cotton fabric with a leaf motif. The original pattern comes from a magazine, but I made so many mods that it hardly resembles the original anymore.

Striped Pants & Teddy Hoodie

One of the lovelier sides of being a crafter is definitely the joy of making presents for friends and their kids. One of my best friends has a little boy who is only five months younger than my boys, and I often sew him the same things I sew for my kids (just because I know that his mom will declare her love for all things hand-made she sees my boys wearing!). So this time it was his second birthday, and a pair of striped pants and a "furry" teddy hoodie were the presents.

The pant pattern I drew myself, and the hoodie pattern comes from Ottobre (4/2007). It was a slightly tricky pattern, but let me say that after the third time it got a lot easier ;) I really like the round pockets in the front, and how they accentuate the striped jersey.

Grab Bag

I saw this pattern a while  ago and immediately thought it was something I just had to make. However, once I'd finished the bag, the first time I used it was in the funeral of my dear uncle, and now I always tend to think of him when wearing the bag. It's kind of a bitter sweet reminder of a good person.

Handmade Presents

Amazing what one can do when enjoying the benefits of parental leave. This Christmas, I bought only a few gifts and the rest I made myself. Sorry for the bad pictures, I grabbed them at dusk on Christmas Eve...



Fingerless gloves: knitted with Novita Mambo, I made two almost identical pairs. Pattern is here, really fast and easy to make.



Beaufort hat: a fairly easy job, nice cable-like pattern without actually having to make cables. I had to ravel the crown decreases the first time (way too small). Another inch in length, and it was a success. The yarn is Jaeger Matchmaker Merino Aran.

 




Twiggy Bobble Hat: I made it with moss stitch in order to hide the gaping holes that result from the bobbles. The yarn is Schoeller + Stahl Limbo Superwash.

Retro Hats

Again it happened that the shops didn't carry any nice hats for the autumn. I made both of my boys their own fleece hats. I drew the pattern of one well-fitting cap that we already had. The material is again micro fleece. The second hat has even more retro colors, sorry that the pic isn't so great.

Corduroy Crawlers

I have a weird (and wonderful) affinity for corduroy. I love wearing corduroy trousers myself, and I had the brilliant idea of making a pair for the boys as well. The pattern is from Ottobre Design. The ingenious part of these pants are the fleece knee pads for better crawling. And they have cute little pockets on the back side, made of a vintage Marimekko bed linen my mom had stashed away. The fabric is really worn out on some spots, but some parts are still like brand new. Old Marimekko fabrics always have wonderful, bright colors even after hundreds and hundreds of washes. Love it.