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...




In search of the perfect bib

Runciblegirl has started eating real food, three times a day, and I spend a lot of time contemplating her bibs, noticing how very few are actually fit for purpose. Some are just too small and dainty to be useful, some are so thin that the slightest dribble soaks straight through, and others are so waterproof that they channel rivulets of pureed veg on to her bottom half. A few are very good in action, but either i) have velcro closures which hunt down and destroy my tights in the washing machine, or ii) are now covered in disturbing (mostly orange) stains.

Two options: I can accept the food-on-clothes situation and dress her to match her meals (that would mean a mostly orange wardrobe) or I can look for better bibs.

Or better still, make some...

Blue-print for the perfect bib

It must be:

Bigger than you might expect 

Absorbent, not waterproof 

Patterned to disguise the inevitable carrot stains.

Snap fastening 

And, ideally, made out of fabric that I already own...

Here's what I came up with:

The front and back are made from and old cotton shirt, with a layer of towelling sandwiched in between, bias binding around the edges, and a press-on snap. They do their job perfectly (hooray!). But - though they look quick to put together, each one probably took almost an hour, what with cutting, pinning, zigzagging the edges, binding the edges...

So, one more criterion for perfection:

Quick to construct.

I'll be giving that some thought for next time.

Thanks for looking - I'd love to hear any comments or suggestions you might have.

Bubbles and ice-cream

I've recently discovered Oliver+S patterns, and, like all new converts, I want to share them...

Do you know them already? I've been noticing them for a while, mostly in nice, boutique-y (read 'expensive') on-line fabric shops. They come in gorgeously retro packaging, with paper-doll cutouts of each pattern that speak to me of Bunty magazine (circa 1980) and must surely induce a similar generic-yet-personal response in every woman born in the twentieth century. They have a lovely typeface. They have wonderfully evocative names like 'tea party' and 'school photo', guaranteed to conjure up childhood memories. These are every little girl's dream party dresses, but also practical enough to be worn every day.

The patterns even come in a separate cardboard sleeve, so the little girl wearing the dresses could even cut the dolls out to play with (if she"s old enough to be trusted with scissors). Inspired!

And yet... despite all that it's taken me a long time to buy one. I'll whisper it: the paper-doll pictures, for all their good points, just don't quite do justice to the utter loveliness of these clothes. It was only when I saw them made up in real life that I was smitten. The oliver+s flickr group is very addictive, and every day there is something new and beautiful to inspire.

So, still early days for me.  Here's the bubble dress:

bubble dress front

bubble dress back - with poppers to close

Size 6-12m fits my six month old perfectly, with a little bit of wiggle-room. The pattern was a joy to follow. I'd never done a bubble hem before, but now I know the secret (clear elastic stitched to the seam allowance) I plan lots more.

And here's the Ice cream dress:

pocket detail

All the credit for this one goes to Christine at From an Igloo, who ran a sew-a-long last week.
I might have missed out on this pattern otherwise - it looks deceptively simple in the picture, but the beauty of this dress is all in the little details. I followed the sew-a-long almost to the letter, and only deviated very slightly in using my zipper foot to align the edge stitching instead of doing it by eye using a normal foot.

Oh - and I opted for the smock length option (again, a la village frock) so am thinking perhaps my baby will need some matching trousers? Maybe that's a project for another day...