My New Serger

Woohoo! I got myself a serger! Finally! It's an Elna 664, I haven't been able to try it out yet, as I don't have enough thread...

All it took was a trip to Canada and back, a nice jet-lag, a huge sale, and some luck - it was the last one left.

I guess this will start a new sewing frenzy, although sewing knits hasn't been an issue to me since finding the twin needle.

Lina Hat

I'm terribly afraid of flying, but once in a while there comes a trip that requires me to get on a plane, and try and survive the flight. As a remedy for flear of flying, I tried knitting: I bought new bamboo needles just for the trip, and found a nice and complicated enough pattern to keep my thoughts away from flying. Two 8-hour flights to Montreal and back were enough to finish this lovely Lina hat. My new bamboo needles were great for the project, light and smooth, and of course air-line safe ;) I made the cable in the “normal” way, using an extra needle.

Fireman Helmets

Why is it that small boys love fire trucks? I’m so happy I made these fireman helmets for my boys last Christmas. Initially they weren’t too excited about them, but this spring they’ve started playing fireman almost every day, always following the same pattern: the alarm goes off (i.e. a button on the stairs) and the boys run to get their helmets, slide down the fireman’s pole (a round pillow), jump on the fire truck (the sofa) and douse the flames with water. It’s the funniest thing to watch!

The helmets are made of red wool felt of two different thicknesses (the brim is a bit thicker to keep it better in shape). I used a summer hat pattern and simply adjusted the brim measurements a bit, so that it’s wider at the back. And then I sewed a yellow badge to the front to keep the brim up.

Autumn Coat

Finally something for me! I've been thinking of making a coat for myself for a while, and finally located a pattern I really liked. It's actually for a raincoat, but I loved the slight A-line of the coat and decided to make it as a regular coat for the autumn (or for spring for that matter).

The coat was pretty easy to make, no big problems. I added a thin micro fleece lining but otherwise followed the pattern. Oh, and I made it at least two sizes smaller in width, because the pattern was absolutely huge for my thinnish shape. I lined the hood, pockets and front with a floral fabric (must check what it is).

Striped Shirts

My new favorites are these striped shirts I made for the boys. I’ve been terrified of sewing stretchy fabrics (apart from college and velour type of fabrics, such as in the Dotty hoodies), but I’ve finally found a solution.

I experimented with all the different stretch stitches my sewing machine has, and none of them would work on thin t-shirt knit. I googled the problem and tried new settings again and again. Nothing would work. Then I found out that a twin needle (with ball points!) might do the trick, tried it and – just like magic – it worked! No rolling, puckering or holes, just a nice, even line of stitches. Pheew.  

The two striped knits have been in my stash for a few years. I bought them from Marimekko's outlet shop in Sulkava on a summer holiday trip, and now I could finally make something out of them. Both fabrics are really soft and lovely, and I can say that frequent washing hasn’t changed them a bit. Marimekko still has the quality they are known for, it seems.

The shirt pattern (Ottobre 4/2007) is pretty basic except for the detail on the back side; the keyhole snap closure fits my boys' big heads. The ribbing is in contrasting colors, lime green and brown.

Fabric Baskets

I admit it. Our kitchen table tops are often filled with a myriad of small things whose origin or purpose no one seems to know. It's been bugging me for a long time but the solution took a long time coming. I've seen plenty of fabric baskets in blogs and I thought I'd give it a try using the Ikea fabric scraps I had lying around. I made three baskets: a really big one for the newspapers and magazines, and two smaller ones for all the unidentifiable small things. Kind of like them, and they make the kitchen look much brighter (considering that the kitchen is all-white, not by our own choice!).

Skull Hat

Here's yet another Christmas present, a knit Skull Hat. Loved the pattern, although the yarn is a bit too stretchy. I had to add an elastic to the first row... (Prym actually makes one called "knitting-in elastic", and it's really nice to use).

Tunturi Hat

I just realized that all my Christmas presents are going to be handmade, and that they are all hats! It’s a theme I’m happy to follow :) My brother who is the outdoorsy type is going to get a Tunturi Hat. It’s a free pattern by Shelby, so go ahead and download it for your own projects. "Tunturi" means a mountain or a fell, and I believe the hat will be used on one, too. I made my version from two types of fleece, a micro fleece for the inside and a thicker fleece on the outside.

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.