Inspiration all around - and a touch of thriftiness

 One of my new favourite blogs is Handmade by Carolyn, which is a joy to read and has an appealing and sensible ethos, all about making things which are both beautiful and necessary, with minimal waste. It's clean, green and elegant: just what I aspire to on runcibledays. So why do I have a huge trunk full of fabric remnants? When I look at it, I feel the need to use up some of my hoarded fabrics and scraps before even contemplating any more shopping.

On the other hand, sometimes the hoarded-fabric-trunk-of-shame just doesn't contain the right material for the task in hand. Baby girl needed a hooded towel to keep her warm after swimming, and it seemed like one of those win-win situations where the cost of the materials really would be less than the cost of buying one ready make.  So, I went out and bought a metre of off-white towelling.  I felt the good intentions had slipped a little, but promised myself that I would put every inch to good use.

Here's my hooded towel - sweet and simple. It has ears, of course. It might have been a sheep, or possibly a polar bear, but in fact the children identified it immediately as a panda. They must have been seeing the subtler details that I'd missed!

There wasn't much towelling left, but certainly enough that I'd usually have stashed it away. Instead I turned to Amy's bib tutorial at Lots of Pink Here, as my last batch of home-made bibs have been in constant rotation for over a year and are looking a bit tired. The new ones are much more fun.

I used scraps for the fronts, and backed them with the left-over towelling. Quick, stash-busting  fun! I made two small changes: one was to draft my own bib with a side fastening, so as to avoid getting hair caught in the back fastening; and the other was that I left off the trim as I didn't have any ric-rac in appropriate colours. I'll be coming back to Amy's pattern, though, and will do it properly next time - it would make a lovely gift for a new baby.

There were only a few tiny snippets of towelling remaining, and oddments of the apple fabric. Doesn't apple fabric just cry out to be made into an i-pod case? I followed a tutorial from Dog under my Desk, which had been flagged up by another sewing friend. 

Everything about this little case is intrinsically pleasing, from the clever construction (oh, that zip!), to the clever storage solution (I was constantly fiddling with tangled wires before, but miraculously, they don't tangle inside the case) to the oh-so-satisfied feeling of having put all that towelling to good use. There's no time to feel smug about using my scraps, though, whilst there are so many more still waiting. Some sort of good resolution is needed... I just need to work on the details.

Oh, and one other thought, from another favourite blog of the moment... I'm tempted to suggest that this was not only efficient, but also economical use of fabric, at £4.50 for the towelling, plus a few scraps and a zip from way-back-when. But then I think of the (inspirational) Selfish Seamstress, and her notional hourly rate of $85. If I adopted that (in £, of course) then the costs would soar to the point where I might as well have spun the towel out of gold.

Off to work on that good resolution now - it might take some time! Meanwhile, thank you to all the talented people whose patterns I followed and whose ideas I've borrowed for this post.

frou-frou skirt tutorial

We've been having glorious spring sunshine for the past couple of weeks, and runciblegirl has been out and about in her new skirt. It gets lots of compliments, even though it was so simple to construct, and it was fun to use up some oddments of fabric. I used a Riley Blake quilting cotton for the outer skirt and the yoke lining, a heavy woven silk for the middle layer of the skirts, and another quilting cotton for the under-layer.  I'm pleased, and also a bit relieved, to find that the elastic waistband holds it all up nicely. (I'd been a little concerned that all those heavy fabrics might weigh it down - but it seems fine - no problems with gravity).

The sizing here makes a skirt which fits my one-year-old quite generously. I think it could easily be adapted for bigger sizes, but perhaps light-weight fabrics would work best, bearing in mind the elastic considerations above!

So, now it has been tried and tested, on with the process...

You will need a quarter of a yard/metre for each of the two under-skirt layers, and slightly more for the outer fabric to allow for the yoke as well.

You will also need elastic for the waist - about 20'', and a few inches of extra elastic for the ruched skirt.

There are only two shapes to cut, and they are both very simple rectangles:

Four rectangles, each 16'' by 4'' for the front and back yoke, and front and back yoke lining.

Six rectangles, two in each colour, 23'' by 7'' for the front and back inner, middle and outer skirts.

All pieces ready.

With right sides together, sew 1.5'' seams at both short ends of the yoke front and back pieces, and press the seams open.

Repeat for the yoke lining front and back pieces, but leave the top 1'' of one of the side seams open.

Press the seams open for the yoke lining pieces, including the seam with the 1'' opening.

Stitch together the yoke and yoke lining around the top long seam, with right sides together and matching the side seams, with the edges of the open section on the yoke side seam abutting each other.

(Hope that makes sense - I've tried to show it in the photo above!)

Trim the seam allowance, turn and press.
Sew two rows of topstitching - the space between them will form the casing for the waist elastic, so check it is wide enough for the elastic that you plan to use.

Here's a detail shot of that top-stitching, forming a channel about half an inch wide for the waist elastic.

Now for the skirt and petticoats...

Sew together the front and back pieces of the three skirt layers along both side seams, and press the seams open.

Hem and press the bottom edge of each of the three skirt layers.

Place the three skirt layers together. I aligned the hemmed edges, then pinned and basted the top edge.
(The side seams are quite bulky if they are aligned for all three layers, so I didn't match up the side seams for the middle- and under-skirt layers - it made the gathering easier at the next step.)
Mark the centre of the front and back pieces before gathering.

Gather all three layers together, until the top of the skirt is the same length as the lower edge of the yoke.

Pin the gathered edge of the skirt to the yoke, with right sides together, matching the side seams and the centre front/back.

Sew through all layers using a half inch seam allowance to attach the yoke to the skirt.
Trim, and press the seam allowances up towards the yoke.

Press a half-inch hem at the lower edge of the yoke lining, and pin the yoke lining in place inside the skirt.

 From the outside, topstitch through all the layers

Almost done! I wanted the petticoat layers to be a bit more visible, so added a little bit of ruching using clear elastic. This might reduce the twirliness of the finished skirt, though, so you could skip this step if you prefer.

Mark a vertical line on the outer skirt layer about 5'' in from the left side seam.
Cut your elastic to abut half the length of the skirt (mine was 3'').
Then stretch the elastic and sew it onto the wrong side of the skirt along the line you have just marked
(I used a wide zig zag stitch, which is very forgiving).

Now the middle layer peeps out...

Repeat the ruching process for the middle skirt layer, this time with a slightly longer piece of elastic - I used 4''.

And now there's a glimpse of the underneath layer as well.

Last of all, thread the waist elastic into its casing at the top of the yoke through the little opening at the top of the side seam (I use a safety pin at one end to wiggle it through). Sew the ends of the elastic together, and then stitch the side seam opening closed.
My waist elastic was 18'' long, about 2'' less than my baby's waist measurement.

Enjoy your springtime skirt!

If you make one, please let me know, I would love to see it!

frou-frou skirt for springtime

photo A - smart but not so sunny

The sun and the daffodils are out, and the park is full of little girls running around in twirly floral skirts. I wanted my little girl to be able to join in - and so even though she can't yet run, at least she now has a flouncy skirt for scooting about in.

photo B - scruffier but sunnier

The outer layer is a Riley Blake print, the middle petticoat is a blue silk which I've had forever, and the underneath floral petticoat is an nameless print which really deserved an outing. It's been fun using up some hoarded fabrics!  I'll add a tutorial for the construction process in the next few days...

Bear ears for book day

It was World Book Day yesterday. The boys were allowed to go to school dressed as 'any character from a book'.

Son#2 was Harry Potter - easily achieved with an eye-liner scar and a paper wand.

Meanwhile, son#1 decided to go as Captain Bluebear.  I was quite excited about his bear outfit, especially the ears. Here they are:

And here's the whole hoodie, based on the Imke pattern from Sewing Clothes Kids Love. It's made from an Ikea throw with tasselled edges, to add some hairy beariness to the cuffs and hem.

Then we added a bear tummy as well:

And the trousers had tasselled ankles.


Runcible O is nearly nine, and maybe getting a bit too old to wear ears in public on a regular basis. But, if needs be, the ears and tummy can be unpicked, and the tassels trimmed away to leave a plain fleecy tracksuit. (Luckily we haven't had to do that yet - he's adopted the whole outfit as his current pyjamas of choice.)

If only my Oliver + S book had arrived - it's due any day now, and it has the perfect pattern for a hat with ears. But somehow the timing has gone awry. Unless it arrives in the next few days I'll be adding a tutorial for bear ears shortly...

Best (sewing) of 2010

I do love a good list, and New Year's Eve seems like the perfect excuse for a round-up of the year's creations.

In springtime I was nesting, waiting for baby to arrive. I discovered on-line patterns, and made endless tiny dresses and bloomers while my bump was growing bigger and bigger. Perhaps I should have paid more heed to the size of the bump, as some of the dresses were already small when runciblegirl was born. (No matter, I have a plan...)

In the summer, with babe in arms (literally), I flirted with bags, bunting and baby bootees - quick and simple projects which could be squeezed in between feeds.

The Taxi Tote: an Anne Marie Horner pattern made in a variety of Cath Kidston prints

 In the autumn I was searching for the Sugar City Village Frock, and was so delighted to find it that I had to start writing runcibledays in order to share the excitement! Autumn was also make-do-and-mend season, possibly because I had just discovered Oliver+S, whose reassuringly expensive patterns had to lead to cuts elsewhere in the sewing budget...

The Sugar City Village Smock in a Liberty print corduroy

Winter has been an oliver+s bonanza - working on the principle that those lovely patterns really can become economically viable on a cost-per-use basis - alternating with the ongoing search for the perfect bib.

Could this be it?

(Have there been any disasters? well yes, a few... let's agree never to speak again of the scratchy linen pyjama trousers, or the self-drafted jersey skirt with the disastrously wonky hemline).



Can I choose a single favourite item from 2010? Maybe not just one, but I can pick my top three.

In third place, representing all those little dresses (and with a nod to the o+s obsession) is the bubble dress, made for Christmas in beautifully soft patterned corduroy. And there's a matching bib - hooray!

Oliver+s bubble dress in a Valori Wells corduroy

In second place, a lovely upcycle. I wondered about the camper van set here, but settled on the vroom shorts - so simple to make, and so loved by their owner.

Vroom! - the upcycled cycle shorts

And in first place, my surprise favourite of the year: son#1's cub blanket - almost not a sewing project at all, it's a square of fleece with a hem around the edge and some cub badges sewn on. When I sat down to make it, I thought it would have an outing once a year at a cub sleepover and then languish in the bottom of a drawer. I was so wrong! He uses it every night, and it's a joy to see him snuggled up with blanket and book at bedtime. Once again: so simple, so loved...

Should there be a moral in there somewhere?

Happy New Year!

I say potato and you say...

One of the (unexpected) joys of this blog is looking at the 'stats' page and finding out who has been visiting me at runcibledays. I love looking at the map and knowing that someone in Portugal - or Chile, or Reunion, or Mexico - has been interested enough to read about my goings-on in England. And I love reading blogs from around the world and getting glimpses into other people's lives.

Every now and then I come across a word or a turn of phrase which reminds me that English is not quite the same language all around the world. When I lived in Queensland I soon learned that 'crook' can describe health rather than morality,  that 'thongs' can be footwear rather than lingerie, and why Australians are so entertained by talk of 'rooting' for a team. There was a whole thread on the O+S flickr group recently about alternative words for crossness on different continents. Even in the relatively contained world of sewing, there's always confusion to be found in the pants / trousers / bloomers situation.

And so, on to exhibit A: the Oliver + S Music Box Jumper...

Front view of the apple jumper 

and the back - with poppers (or maybe snaps?)

Isn't it lovely? I nearly missed this pattern altogether because when I hear 'jumper' I think 'woolly'. Apparently not in America (though I'm ready to be corrected on this one!). Anyway, this is a gorgeously simple little dress, which I'd probably have called a pinafore. The bodice is lined, and with french seams to finish the skirt the whole construction is a delight.

Music box jumper - the inside view.

I'm already making another - in a smaller print this time, hoping it will prove more pleat-friendly.

Thank you for looking, wherever you are!

Rag doll ruminations

I haven't had much time for sewing over the past few weeks, but have had plenty of opportunity (usually during nocturnal feeds) to plan future projects.

But first, a project from the past...

These lovely 'itty bitty dresses', from an online pattern by Made by Rae were made just before runciblegirl was born. I have such good memories of sewing these last spring, with my huge bump, using up tiny scraps of fabric. As it turned out, she wasn't very itty bitty herself, and had grown out of both within two weeks. It was a bit like making dolls' clothes, and perhaps that's what they should become.

So, I'm thinking about making a rag doll - but just how ragged should she be? She'll need to be robust enough to withstand both love and washing, probably lots of both. And I'd like to use some existing fabrics, rather than buying anything new. Maybe old clothes which have a bit of history already?

Now that I'm flirting with toy-making, I'm feeling a more urgent need to make something for the runcibleboys before they are too grown-up. Maybe bears? Sock monkeys? Those little stripey monsters? Or an owl? The rag doll might just have to wait...

Back to the itty bitty dresses,for a moment...

I think of this one as a flower-pot dress, though on closer observation I realise there aren't actually any flower pots there. This is the original pattern, minus the piping (must have been feeling a bit cowardly that day), with snaps at the shoulders to secure the ties.













And this one has been pared down even further into a little pinafore with snaps at the shoulders.




It's a very satisfying little pattern, with a self-lined bodice, and french seams in the skirt, so it finishes itself beautifully. I've read since that it's easy to enlarge by setting your printer to a larger size, so I'll be trying that next summer, and hoping for more than two weeks of use next time!

Embracing imperfection...

Here is the new-look, super-quick 'perfect' bib. I think I've stumbled on the secret of the ideal bib: it must be slightly faulty. Otherwise, you might not want to cover it in goo on a daily basis. (I have a couple of venetian lace bibs - they are really very beautiful - and they have never been near a pea puree, or even a baby).

So wonkiness in the stitching and glitches in the bias tape are here to be celebrated. This  is all about speediness

These are the components:

- a very old flannel.

- two rectangles of patterned cotton, each at least 10' by 13', or a fat quarter folded in half.

- 130cm (ish) bias tape 

The pattern measures 10 inches across, 8.5 inches from neckline to base, and 13.5 inches in total from top to bottom - it's a bit more generous than most, so it will work for very messy babies. The inside neckline measures 12 inches.

And here's the method:

Sandwich the flannel between the cotton rectangles, right sides facing out.

Pin here and there around the sandwich.

Sew through all three layers using a straight stitch to form a wide zig zag pattern,
first from side to side, then top to bottom of the rectangle.

Don't be tempted to cut the bib shape yet, this stitching will save a lot of pinning later on.

Here's a detail photo to show how it should look when it's stitched.

Now cut it out, all three layers together...

... and bind around the edges with bias tape - fold it around the raw edges of the bib, and sew through all the layers using a short, wide zig zag stitch to catch both sides of the bias tape at once. 

No need to pin anything, hooray!

But - my home-made bias tape was just a smidgen too short.  I decided to celebrate this, in the spirit of embracing small imperfections, and patched it up with a contrasting colour.  I'm quite liking it this way - what do you think?

Attach your fastening of choice - I chose the instant gratification of press-on snaps.

All done! - and in super-quick time, even allowing for making my own (slightly too short) bias tape, and for taking photos.

Please feel free to use this pattern for whatever purposes you wish, but I'd be grateful if you would link back to here as runcibledays is still a blog in its infancy and needing all the help it can get.




Do let me know how speedily your bibs come together! I would love to see your pictures on flickr...