sewing kit

My mom and I like to give each other sewing inspired presents,
like the dress form I made last year for her
or the embroidered little black dress from my mom that is above my dresser.

This year for her birthday,
 I decided to go a very literal way and
to make a little sewing kit.

A few years ago, I made her a very sweet needle book,



so I knew my mom did not "need" something like this again,
even if there is a place for a few pins and needles
in this sewing kit.

I followed this tutorial from Lots of pink here!
For the outside and binding, I chose some quilting cotton,

but for the inside I used our favorite: linen and Liberty of London.
(here are few examples of our passion: fabric basket, library bag)

The linen is a quilting linen (it has some cotton in it,
and it holds its shape much better than regular linen)
I used it before on my new Christmas tree skirt.

It makes a very cute sewing kit,
perfect for going on vacation.

Bon anniversaire Maman!

Happy sewing!

new lingerie pouches

After sewing a little pouch for Miss C.'s best friend,

I decided to make a few more to give to my girlfriends for Valentine's day.

The little pouches would be the perfect size for a little week end get away lingerie bag.

Here is the first one I made:

the fabric is the same that I used for my laptop cover,

it is a home decor fabric with a little lace added.

I still followed this French tutorial.

The pouch is lined with a quilting cotton, pretty in pink would be a good description,

making it perfect for a little lingerie bag,

which is why I chose a pink elastic and little mouse button.

I thought this little lingerie bag was perfect but may be a little too small.

So I made a new pattern, instead of being about 8 1/2 X  17

it is 11 X 24.

So here the same design but larger:

it is made of linen, with a lavender ribbon

and a beautiful satin ribbon for closure.

Beautiful, right?

Simple and so elegant....

I interfaced the linen so it would keep its shape

and may be not wrinkle so fast!

The inside fabric is a quilting cotton,

I chose this specific one because I already made a little zipper pouch for my friend for Christmas,

it is cute and cheesy when things go together!

The wide purple ribbon is stitched between the outside fabric and the lining for the top half.

It stitched on the outside for the bottom half.

I made another smaller pouch with a much cooler fabric,

my friend is so young, I am not even sure she ever used cassette tapes....

But it turned out so cute,

even Miss C. thought so

(and she definitively not idea what those are!)

I interfaced the quilting cotton, it is just too "soft" otherwise.

I hope my friends enjoy them,

they were fun to make,

may be I should make one more, for me to keep....

Unfortunately my girlfriends will not receive their gift today,
because it looks like that outside:

Yep we are snowed in...

Happy sewing!
and
Happy valentine's day!

little pouch: a new design

Miss C.'s best friend turned 10 a few weeks ago.

While her birthday wish was the "one direction" movie,

I thought I could add a personal touch to her Bday wishes.

So I made her a cute little pouch.

Yes, another one, I love making and giving them as presents,

but this time, I went with a different design, and no zipper!

I followed this French tutorial from l'atelier de plume de lin.

Instead of drawing on the fabric, I made a pattern so that I can make more of them.

The dimensions I used are based on the size of a piece of printing paper, well 2,

about 8 1/2 by 17.

Because of my fabric choices, I felt it was unnecessary to decorate the top.

To close the pouch, I used a hair elastic instead of a string or ribbon,

I have been using them for a lot of my lingerie bags,

I find them very convenient.

The pouch turned out really cute

and it is perfect to hold some nail polishes, little/big girl's favorite.

(and yes Miss C.'s best friend also received the movie she was wishing for!)

Happy sewing!

blogganniversary and a dolly dress form

Today marks this little blog 4th anniversary.
I am pleased to see where it has taken me:
I have "met" many people and made new friends.

I have been doing some blog cleaning and found a post I started in early 2010
about a doll dress form, I guess I totally forgot about it!
It seems very appropriate right now as there is a beautiful dress form in Isabelle's studio,
I am sure many girls are interested but few can purchased this expensive furniture/accessories set.

Miss C. received Saige for Christmas from her grandparents.
As artists, they both can switch from painting to sewing.
Miss C. has been using her doll sewing machine and little bookcase for many years.

This dress form has been on my sewing room all this time,
displaying a Middle Age inspired dress
that I worked on way before the movie "Brave" was released.

While I will miss it in my sewing space,

I feel Miss C. is ready to really enjoy it.

Well enough talking, let's get down to doing!

So here is what I started with:

a 5/8 inch rod

a 5 x 7 inch plaque from Micheals (less than $1)

a finial from Lowes (may be a little large!)

some leftover muslin/cotton

stuffing

I started with cutting the rod to 15 inch 

(shorter might be better may be just 12 inch instead),

 and priming the wood.

Then I found the middle of the base, drilled a hole and attached the base to the rode.

I took one of the dolls, measuring her and making a pattern of her body.

I stuffed it with poly before putting on the rod.

Once it was on the rod, I stuffed it so more

and secure the opening with some glue

so it would not move on the rod.

I finally screwed in the painted finial.

And there it is, with Saige, ready for some sewing fun.

Happy sewing!