My Sewing Adventures

 OK, most of you know I can sew, but the truth is it's something I LOVE to do, but rarely do. Like commercial clothes, commercial sewing patterns just do not work for me, and I don't have the drafting skills to make the right alterations, or draft my own patterns. I became disheartened when I would end up with so many failures that I ended up doing very little sewing.

But, about 6 months ago, I found out about a program that allows you to enter your own measurements and it prints out the patterns to fit you perfectly. The program is made by Wild Ginger and is called PatternMaster.

I thought long and hard about it because it was a $200 program and I didn't want to outlay that for more failure... but after a month of reading reviews I took the plunge and bought it. (I bought the Boutique version and am VERY interested in buying the kids version now...)

I suspect that if you have a fairly proportioned body, it would be a relatively simple exercise to create the fitting garments and perfect them. But evenly proportioned I am NOT!! So, after about 5 months, I have *almost* got the basic dress fitting pattern sorted. (Interestingly, this process has really helped me work out exactly why commercial clothes don't fit me and where my biggest fit issues are).

Its taken lots of adjustments and I am probably going to have a party when we do get it spot on LOL.

Once I get the main fitting garment sorted, I can make pants, jackets, dresses, skirts and all manner of variations - so it wont be a matter of living in the exact same things - I can make everything a bit unique!

So, I thought I would share with you a few pictures of the various fitting garments I've made... you can see how some of them simply do not fit at all, but we slowly get closer and closer to ideal!  You can also see that I have a horrible scowl on my face in nearly every photo - not sure what that is all about though!!

A Little Collage... this way you can't see all the details of my ill-fitting attempts LOL!!!

Miss E learned to Sew!!

So for the first real post on our little blog...  Miss E learned to sew on my sewing machine!!

Over the past few weeks, Miss E (6.5yrs old) has been learning to hand sew by making several Christmas Decorations as gifts.  Of course, she has been wanting to learn to sew properly for, well, years, so learning to hand sew has only fueled her enthusiasm.

Today, she asked me if she could make a bag, and I said Yes.

And, as they say, a picture paints a thousand words...

Cutting out the fabric!

Sewing the hem at the top.

Turning the bag out the right way.

Attaching the straps

Trimming all the loose threads.

A very proud Miss E with her very first bag - made entirely by herself!

I was very impressed with how well she paid attention to my instructions, and concentrated whilst sewing.

To make it easier (and safer) for her, I turned the sewing machine speed down to as low as possible, I also drew the lines on the fabric for her to cut along, and I turned the straps in the right way... but other than that, this bag is entirely E's own work.


I also have a second, older, sewing machine that I loaned to my step-mum for a little while.  Early in the new year, she is returning the machine to me, and I have told Miss E that it can be hers.


The bug seems to have bitten the girl, she is already talking about other things she can make, so it will be nice to have a second machine so I don't have to fight for the opportunity to use my own machine!!


Stay tuned as I'm sure there will be many many more creations from this little sewer!

Hello Blog-land!

Welcome to our little blog!

After years of hoarding my daughters' *creations*, and the 3 of us becoming more crafty as the girls age, I've decided to blog about our craftiness.

My plan is to post pictures here of all the little things E & G create, or draw, or sew; so we have a permanent record of their creations, and I no longer need to keep as many of these on display in my home!

Yes, in case you hadn't guessed, multiple daily creations has left my house rather cluttered - the girls are not fond of throwing out their handiwork!!  (And to be honest, I love seeing *most* of their work, so have a little trouble throwing it out myself...)  I've been meaning to take pictures for a while, but wasn't sure what to do with the pictures.  I hope this works as a way of not only recording the pictures, but also to record the story behind the creations.

I am also looking forward to seeing how their skills develop over time.

And of course, I'm not going to let them hog all the bloginess, I'll be sharing my own craftiness as well.  I am primarily a sewer, but have dabbled in bits and pieces of many different things.

So there you have it... the plan for this blog!  

I look forward to sharing this little aspect of our lives with you and hope you enjoy seeing our creations.