Free pattern – Page 26 – Hopefully Creative

‘Keep-the-hair-out-of-my-face’-device or Caul

For my larp character I wanted something easy to keep the hair out of my/her face. Since I cut my hair it’s much more difficult to braid it out of the way. While the events aren’t for a while yet, I figured it smart to start in time. Especially since I’ve been dreaming about a completely new costume. So I wandered around the internet, as you do, and found this. It seemed easy, I had a bit of fabric I didn’t mind trying a trial run in but also liked for a final product if it would work, so I got to work.

I first .. read the instructions. I know, the deal is to ‘if everything else fails, read the instructions’, however, I’ve never been that type of person. I put ikea furniture together using the actual instructions, even if there are only 2 pieces and it’s obvious how they go together. Anyways, I got out a plate and cut a circle-ish shape out. The fabric was very, very shifty so it was an approximate circle, which didn’t matter much. I did have to place it partially on two of the stripes in the fabric, but I don’t mind the effect.

Sewed it up following the tutorial until I needed to sew about 3/5 of the whipstitched edge. Then I figured I needed to go get hair clips of some kind to keep the thing on my head and deserted the total project. (I do that way to often, abandon something very close to the end.) Well yesterday I decided to pick the project up again and in the time it took to cook my meal and a little more I finished my cowl. Check that puppy out below:

These are the front and back on my head. They are held on by clips as can be seen below:

Also, no exposed seams within this thing, which is pretty neat if you ask me. It’s also supremely comfortable and it will keep my hair on the back of my head if I put it on correctly. This makes it much easier to run around than with hair flying everywhere. Lastly, below the stripes on the sides, these run vertical as you can also see in the right picture(s) above.

Left is left for me and right right (I thought about that).

I seem to be in a head-cover mode lately, have a look tomorrow at the creation I finished today.

Cluck Cluck

What do you get when you put three exited girls in a quilt shop? MAYHEM!!

I went to this quilt shop a while ago with two friends. One of them and myself found a large wicker basket (a meter high) filled with small pieces of quilt fabric with a note attached that turning it over was allowed. So after we went around the shop and saw a myriad of nice designs on the walls, we turned over the basket. We touched, looked at and judged all of them and all of us took a few of the scraps home with us.

One of the designs I saw was a log cabin chicken. Log cabin is a type of arrangement of strips of fabric that forms a square eventually. The chicken is two of these log cabin ‘blocks’ sewn together to form a chicken. I knew I wanted to make one, but I also knew that I didn’t really want to put it out in my house somewhere. Then after a miserable Tuesday where it felt like everything went wrong, I knew what to make the chicken for. That Tuesday was the day I forgot my key in the house and the people who have a spare were both gone. Clearly I needed someone else to have my key and I figured I had to make a key chain. I used some of the scraps from a ‘foot of the bed quilt’ I’m currently making for the chicken.

It’s all hand sewn and the beak and head thing are felt. I think it’s cute.

I saw some examples on the internet that had a tail attached, which I thought was really cute so I added one too. I had to look up how to sew the chicken together because I couldn’t remember it from the top of my head. Luckily patterns for things like this are abundant.

Chick back

Deadline Work (6) – Backpack Finished!

Last but not least, the backpack. The backpack has been chronicled before (here, here, here, here), but I didn’t post the finished thing. I think that was because I wanted to test run it to see what improvements were needed. I only found two, the closures were not tight enough so there was some movement and the pack didn’t close easily. In the .. say 2 hours before I left for the event and on the car ride there I managed to get those issues sorted.

The solution to the first problem was to stitch the little round bits down further. Now they are attached over about a centimeter instead of the single line in the middle they were before. This worked very well when tried out in real life larp. You can just about see it in the picture below.

The solution to the second problem was to attach a small tie to close the front and the back. This was easily incorporated and works very well as a simple closure.

Now, as you may have gathered, I gather a lot of stuff. I like to store all that stuff somewhere and that was what the back was for originally. This is what it looks like when all the books and papers are taken out. It is almost full when all of that is also in there.

Last but not least, the front and back. I’m very happy with those straps, they carry very nicely and were a nice copy of some straps of another backpack that I own. I’m still very surprised that that worked out as well as it did.

And now the working to a deadline saga has finished. I’m going to see if I still have inspiration to actually make something in the coming days. As always, keep getting creative!

Deadline Work (5) – Apron

I used to wear a shirt with a lot of pockets when I went larping (here). However, I found out that this was not very practical. It made a lot of noise, I lost a lot of stuff and running was extremely difficult. That’s why I decided to make the backpack. The skirt did have some redeeming qualities, namely the two large front pockets where I could store my books. After testing out the backpack at the last event, I discovered I really wanted those pockets back. So I made an apron. With pockets.

I went through my ‘do something with this you were unsatisfied the first time around’ box, which has bits and pieces of discarded projects to find the skirt portion of this dress (here). I removed the centre back panels and zipper and created ties out of the panels. I can probably reuse the zipper in the future. I hand hemmed the sides of the apron and attached the ties. I found some brown home dec-ish stuff and made two large pockets. I embroidered a raven on one of the pockets as my character is a firm believer in the god Raven (of knowledge). It’s a very faint outline, but I know it’s there.

I also attached some small leftover pockets to hold my pencil and other small bits that might be handy to keep close. This is the finished thing, front and back:

And this is me in full costume. You can see the shirt, the apron, some belts and other things I wear. I’m quite packed with stuff, while some others wander around with practically nothing. To each their own, as they say.

You can just see the straps of my backpack, I’ll finally post the last update on that backpack as the last entry in this series.

Deadline Work (1) – Gala

The last couple of weeks have been quite busy with a few events on the calendar. First, we had a gala on Friday, which ofcourse required a new dress. The Wednesday after we had an important visit for which I wouldn’t mind something new, I had a wedding that Friday and just now I’ve come back from another larp event, for which I wanted a new outfit. So all in all I have a lot to tell you about the things I’ve made and produced.

Let us start with the gala dress. I wanted a new one and at some point before the gala was actually happening I set out for some fabric. My first idea was to make something with a draped cowly bit. However, I couldn’t find any fabric I liked for that. Eventually I found some blue fabric with a design that I really liked, so I bought a meter of it. Not long after I found something that coordinated (at least in my head).

The plan became a top based on the pattern for the larp top (here) from the patterned stuff, and a simple A-line empire-ish skirt from a pattern in a simplicy magazine I already had. I also wanted to a different ish strap because it would be too boring otherwise. Well this is the finished thing:

And on me. Excuse the mirror pictures, it’s difficult taking photographs when alone. As you can see though, it is a bit long, I’m not wearing heels in these pictures, but even with heels, it’s a little too long. That’s what you get for hemming the morning of the feast, I guess. It is a bit tight at the top, but I quite like that, if I’m honest.

And lastly, it turned out that my fidgeting to get the back point right turned out wonderful, check that matching point across the zipper people!

Next up, a shirt fit for a queen.

Bear!

Raaawr! Sort of, anyways.

I made a bear! While I should actually be working on redoing some of the final bits of my backpack, I decided that last weekend would be the perfect time to make a teddy bear! I found the pattern on How Joyful (here). The instructions are scant but fine to work with. The only trouble I had, was with the ease in the legs but even more so with easing in the back of the arms into the front. So this was partly fudged but in the end it seemed to work out fine. I half scaled the pattern so my bear is approx. 30 cm high. I did make a few changes. I wanted a mouth-bit that was more straight across than rounded and I flattened his tummy a bit. I made his tail in the contrast fabric. I decided to make his nose out of the main fabric and lightly stitch it on. Lastly, I used his back seam for stuffing instead of the neck-body seam. This made more sense to me and was easier to machine. Here he is!

I mostly finished him, apart from eyes, mouth and stuffing seam last weekend, he only needed to wait for me to buy him some eyes, so I could finish his face. The eyes are very strange. They have a screw like bit at the back, and a ring you clip on. Once the ring is on, it will stay on, so there’s only one chance of doing it right. Luckily I did it right the first time, so I didn’t have to sacrifice any eyes. I bought a double set because I’m thinking of making another one, but then with rabbity features, since I really like rabbits.

Now I need to find a fix for my backpack and then I’ll get to use it in two weeks time, so exiting! Presently I’m going to cuddle this bear and celebrate the King’s Birthday!

A Leopard Earns His Band?

A friend of me asked me the other day if I wanted to help him make a jiu jitsu outfit for a stuffed toy. His friend was going to have a jiu jitsu exam not so long after and he wanted to give him a present in case he successfully completed the exam. His idea was to make a jacket for a stuffed animal with a brown belt.

First, he figured out what the favorite animal was that he needed to buy in a stuffed toy version. This turned out to be a leopard. A leopard was found, bought and delivered to his home and then he brought it to me. We (me..) decided that he was going to sew the entire jacket himself. He didn’t have much experience using a sewing machine but it all went very well.

First we started drafting a pattern for the top. It was basically me with a measuring tape, a bit of tracing paper and no fear. I looked at the way the creature itself was put together and figured out a way to make a pattern with 4 pieces. It was all stuck together with painters’ tape (one of my favourite sewing notions) and tried on the toy. It actually worked really well first time around, I only had to change the fronts a little. The leopard was not symmetrical so the pattern pieces for the front were a little different, but that made it fit fairly well.

I instructed my friend to pin the pieces on the fabric we chose and add a seam allowance of around a cm, he wanted to draw it in so he got some chalk. Then cutting it out, which went fine. Lunch! We did some practices on the sewing machine and all went well. This was followed by the most difficult part: figuring out which bits have to be sewn together. Right and wrong took some getting used to, but in the end (with some direction) it was all sewn together. Then came pressing and finishing. I cut the selvedge from a bit of brown fabric and considered the belt to be done.

Last pressing stage done, and the leopard could be dressed. We both couldn’t get over how well it worked. He also did all of it himself! This is the result:

So, I had a fun day with a good friend, we made a present that was appreciated, I made a pattern and my friend learned to sew! All in all I think that’s a good score for a single day. What do you think?

Winter is Coming!

While you may think from the previous post that my head is still in summer land, it is actually cold over here. I don’t particularly like the cold, so the last time (I think?) I was at the fabric market, I bought a meter of something red, thick and stretchy. I figured I might be able to make a sweater out of it. Well, my size turned out to be a blessing, since I could actually get a long-sleeved sweater out of that 1 meter. If I’d been only a little bit hippier, it would not have fit!

I chose to use my t-shirt pattern and just elongate the arms. Why do it the hard way, right? Then I copied the hood of a sweater I’ve bought and futzed a bit to get the hood to fit in the neck hole. In the end, it all worked out. I had the body of the sweater lying in my room since Monday, but I was a bit scared to attach the (finished) hood. I bit the bullet today and attached it. It worked the first try! Then I wanted to make thumb holed cuffs. So I found myself a tutorial (this one, thanks!). I only had to redo the first one three times. 1st time: I did the second seam the wrong way round because I was too stubborn to read the instructions carefully. 2nd time, it went right but the opening was a bit big, so I ripped it all out and for take 3, I angled the seam and that worked fine! The second one worked in one go! Yay, for learning. Lastly, I attached a bottom band. Red T-shirt Sweater Hoody thing is a reality!

Front and back, naturally.

Thumb hole and insides. I only sewed a few bits with my sewing machine (inside of the cuffs and bottom band, ‘topstitching around the hood’ and the pointy bit where the hood attaches), the rest was done with the serger. I only have white or black thread, there was white still in it and I was too lazy to switch, nor did I care about the colour.

Hopefully I’m now ready for the real winter times! It should be quite warm!

Play Dice With The Universe

Ok, maybe not with the universe, but I like the quote, even if it is most likely not what was actually said. (Something Einstein, blabla).

Anyways, back on topic. I have a friend. She plays DnD (Dungeons and Dragons, for those not in the know). It was her birthday not too long ago. I wanted to make her something to give as a present. Now, for some reason that I don’t really remember, I was searching the internet for weird-numbered-sided-dice a bit before. In DnD the most common dice are d4 (4 sides), d6 (6 sides), d10 (10 sides) and d20 (go guess how many sides that one has..). For some reason I google image searched a d14, because I wanted to know if they existed. I found out they did, and I found a picture of a d14 laid out flat! After a while I put 1 and 1 together and decided to make a d14 shaped dice box for my friend.

I got out the felt I had conveniently bought a bit before, used the garden wire I had bought for my Christmas cards (which will be explained after Christmas (or after I’ve sent all of them)), and sewed the thing together. This is the layout (click on it for link):

This is the final product. The elastic is to keep it closed when there is something in it, like dice, or little clothespins to form a Christmas card line with a bit of ribbon.

Next up, ducks!

New Project

I am officially going to graduate on the 31st of July. That doesn’t mean that I get my diploma then, but I will be allowed to put MSc. behind my name. I find this fairly exiting. I handed in my thesis on the 3rd of July, got my grade on the 4th of July and have had holiday since then. I haven’t done much in the way of job hunting. In combination with some other struggles it’s to difficult to even try.

So, when I went to the market on the Friday before last, I found myself a new hobby. The fabric guy had a table of 3 euro/m fabrics. Including some that screamed quilting to me. I invested in a yard each of 4 different fabrics. Three fabrics were the same print in a different colourway (scooters, motorbikes and gears), and the last was another print (farm animals). I looked through the library the following day for some intriguing patterns and eventually decided on one based on a pillow case.

The plan is the following:

quilt Fabrics

The colours in the picture correspond roughly to the colours of the fabrics I chose. I have since finished making the brown/grey/dark blocks and I now have to cut the red strips and attach them. It’s going to be big, this thing. The brown bits are 10×10 cm cut, so ~8.6 by 8.6 cm sewn. The strips are 4 cm cut and 2.6 cm sewn. I hope it’s going to look nice. However, I don’t know yet. Below are the blocks that I’ve done.

This is my first attempt at quilting/patchwork. I enjoy doing it, although I do think it would be really nice to have a rotary cutter. I’ve now been hand cutting with scissors and marking each individual bit. That certainly took a while.

I might embroider some of the central animals in the brown panels with yellow and blue thread to break it up a bit. I’ll have to see how that looks though. I’ve also been following the Craftsy class on pant fitting, in hopes of finally producing good pants. I’ve started the muslin. I hope I get some good pants now… Enjoy the summer (or winter, or other season)!

Tag: Free pattern