Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 28

Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 28

I refuse to be beaten by a Woolly Bag. This is going to be a longer blog than of late.

Pin Strap Tops

 

Before I can do anything, I need to know how bad the Twist is. I have Folded the Strap in Half and begin to Pin the Strap starting at the Top

Pin Strap Bottoms

 

I now Pin the Bottom part of the Straps. I now have a firm anchor from which to work.

Twisty

 

I continued Pinning along the Straps from the Top. I had to check it quite regularly to make sure that I was not adding any extra Twists. Once I reached the Bottom, I realised that the Twist was far worse than I had originally thought.

Sew Twist

 

Beginning at the Top of the Twist I Blanket Stitched the Seam.

Twist Sewn

 

The Straps are now Sewn together at the Bottom but it does look a bit of a mess. I know this is on the back of the Strap and therefore not in view. Even so, I am not entirely happy.

Twisty Leaves

 

I have decided to add a couple of Leaves to try to hide where I have had to Sew the Twist. If the Twist had been higher, I would have had real problems trying to Slide it through the Buckle.

Buckle Up

I have Buckled up the Long and the Short Straps together. With luck I will not have to do anything major to the Straps from now on. That is except at the back where I have to secure it.

Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 10

 Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 10

Finally on to the Decreasing of the Strap Stitches

Decrease to 28 Stitches

 

I Decreased the Stitches by 1 either end on the Knit Row.  I then Knitted 28 Purls Stitches. I turned the Bag around and did the same on the other Strap.

End of Decreasing

 

I changed Straps again then did another Row of Stocking Stitch. I repeated this until I had 20 Stitches left on both Straps

Straps coming along

 

Once I had 20 Stitches I carried on Knitting. I would Knit a Plain Row on one Strap then swap. I Knitted a Plain Row on the other Strap then Knitted a Purl Row on Both Straps.

The idea was by doing it this way I would keep the Straps even. Needless to say I got engrossed watching a programme and found that I had forgotten to swap. Therefore I had to put both Straps together back to back in order to measure the difference.

I had to add a couple of Rows until they were even again. The use of Stocking Stitch was causing the Straps to Curl. This will be sorted when I add the Backing.

Mademoiselle Marionette Summer Apparel 2019 Part 4A

Mademoiselle Marionette Summer Apparel 2019 Part 4A

I have entitled this Blog 4A as it is the same Handbag but restarted

Pin Point to Sew

This time I tried a different approach. I Folded one Side to the point where it looked correct when Folded back on itself. I then Pinned the Point from which

to Sew.

Sew Two Edges Together

I Sewed loosely along the Circle Edge then Flipped it the right way to check that it was the correct alignment. I then did the same with the other side.

Blanket Stitch

 Once I was definitely sure that the Edges would be now be in the right place I Unpicked what I had just Sewn. I Folded the previously Sewn Edge back on itself then Sewed along the now Straight Edge

Bottom of Handbag

Turning the material back the right way again I now had a Handbag shape with which I was happy.

Sew Strap

I carefully Folded back one of the Top Edges and Sewed a Hemmed Piece of Ribbon on to it.

Finished Bag

I repeated this action on the opposite side and voila I finally had my first Summer Handbag for Mademoiselle.

Little Red Number – Blast From the Past

Little Red Number – Blast From the Past

Due to a finger injury I haven’t been able to do much crafting. Therefore I have trawled through my archives. This blog is about a costume I made for a weekend Hen Party many years ago.

The weekend was themed and all attending were dressed as Disney Characters. I chose Madame Medusa the female protagonist from Disney’s film ‘The Rescuers’.

Front Red Dress

First I needed a Red Dress. Rather than start from scratch I bought a cheap Dress from a local charity shop. Now I had to completely butcher it to get the desired effect. I am sorry but I didn’t think to take a photograph of the original Dress.

There was a tie around the Waist which I unpicked. I removed the Shoulder Sleeves and put them to one side.

Back Red Dress

Now for the Back. I cut out a large curved piece of material from the Back of the Dress as the Costume was Backless. I then proceeded to add elastic and Hem it.

Next I had to sort out the Straps. Since I had already unpicked them from the material all I had to do was sew them together. This changed them from ordinary Straps into a Halter-neck.

Medusa Earrings

I also needed some Blue Earring for the character. Again I went to the charity shop. I got some ordinary cheap dangly earrings then proceeded to papier-mâché into the right shape then paint Blue

Medusa Staff

My original photograph has disappeared so I have had to retake it. It may look a bit battered now several years on but it still gives you the idea.

This was made from an old mop handle which I placed a tumble drier ball on top. I then papier-mâché all around the ball to cover up the spikes. Once everything was dry I then painted the Ball Gold and the Staff Black.

Boulder Holder

That concludes making the Costume. However I am not one to let stuff go to waste. I had a pantomime to do where I was taking washing to the Dame. I quickly whipped up a couple of novelty items to put in my washing basket.

The Bra was made from the Shoulders that I had taken off. I used more of the Belt to make into a Halter-neck. The two ties at the Back were pieces of Hem. It didn’t matter that it was flimsy as it wasn’t intended to be worn.

Teensy Weensy

For a touch of hilarity I made a matching G-string. A size 0 would struggle to get in them.

Little and Large

The above photograph gives a better indication of the difference in size between the two items.

Madam Medusa

Here is a photograph of me on the Hen weekend in my Madame Medusa Costume complete with Red hair and Purple Stockings.

All in all I think I did a good job

Mademoiselle Marionette 2018 Part 18

Mademoiselle Marionette 2018 Part 18

This is the final part of making the Top

Straps Shortened on Back

 

Now that the Hook and Eyes were on the material I could see exactly how much length I needed on the Straps to go around the Marionette.

I did not cut the Straps I merely Folded them to the right length and sewed them in place.

Front Blue Ribbon

It was time to jazz up the Front of the Top a little. I did this by adding a shiny Ribbon around the Stripes. This of course had the added benefit of hiding the rough stitching.

Front Daytime

To finish the Front piece entirely I added a textured edging in Navy Blue. I then drew around it so I would have a Template for another outfit.

Party Time Back Piece

Now what could be better for a Party than a bit of sparkle and bling? I added Silver Ribbon and at the Neck I glued a Gem. I again took measurements for future reference.

Voila! Tres Chic.

Owl say that’s an unusual Yule Gift 2018/19 – Part 2

Owl say that’s an unusual Yule Gift 2018/19 – Part 2

If you haven’t guessed what I am making yet maybe the next few pictures will give you a clue.

Foam Circle Cut Out

  

I take some Foam approximately a thumb joint thick. I draw two Circles and cut them out.

Stick Foam Pad

 

If you look carefully at the above photograph you should be able to see one of the Inner Circles that I drew.

This is because before sticking the Pad down I have shaped it slightly. I do not want the Foam to be flat. I want it to be slightly Dome Shaped

I made the Dome Shape a little piece at a time as I didn’t want the curve to be too sharp.

Tie Dry

Once I had finally got the shape I wanted then stuck a Foam Pad to each piece of Owl material. I have tied the Strips around it whilst it dries.

Purple Material

I have cut out two circles of Purple Material which I place over the Dome I then stick them to the Foam. Since the item is Circular the material needs to be folded over slightly.

Underside of Pads Part Sewn

In the photo above you can see that the material is folded over at an angle following the curvature of the Foam. The Pad on the right is not quite dry yet.

Tools of the Trade

One thing you have to be sure of is to use the right tools when crafting. I am trying to sew through both Foam and PVC material and in consequence have broken two of my needles.

Fortunately I possess quite a few. I have changed to my leather work needles to work with.

Owl Material Drawn

I sew around the material with my leather-work thread and then I pull it tighter. It now reminds me a little bit of a shower cap.

Velcro

 

When I had finished with the Pads I turned my attention to the Strips around it. I trimmed and hemmed the ends of the Strips then proceeded to add Velcro to them.

I stuck the Velcro on with glue then I waited for it to dry. Next I sewed around the edges of the Velcro to make sure they were secure.

Velcro Wrapped

Since these Strips are going to be Straps I had to make sure that I put the Velcro on the right way. Therefore I did one strap at a time.

I found that one part of the Velcro had to be on Top of the Strip and the other half had to be on the Bottom.

The above photograph shows this better than describing it. The left one is just stuck together. The right one is wrapped up to be tidy.

There you have it a pair of customised Owl Knee Pads.