Crafty Thread - what are you working on at the moment?

[geminisnake]

I'm having felting issues
Surely if you buy 'wool' from a 'wool' shop and it looks like 'wool' then it shouldn't be some bastard synthetic material

Real wool is the only stuff that will felt, whether it's lambswool, merino, cashmere or alpaca(not recommended) etc. Hardly any of the 'wool' you get in wool shops is wool, it's yarn. If you want to try felting jumpers go round some charity shops and see if they've got cheap real wool jumpers, ask if they have any rag bag stuff they'll sell you cheap if there's nowt in the shop. Afaik anything with acrylic in it won't felt. For the stuff I'm doing atm I bought merino tops(tops is what the wool is called for some reason)

 

[Biddlybee]

Just finished sewing together 39 flowers I've been crocheting in odd moments for months

Great photo

 

[rollinder]

Jesus At least I know where to go for potato fabric now

it's life-like and a"pealing"

 

[RubyToogood]

I feel the need of a black dress and can't find one I like, so am going to make one using this pattern: http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m4769-products-7355.php?page_id=108

Which is quite frumpy and unappealing from the page photos, but am going to do the shorter length, short sleeved version, from which someone on sewing.patternreview made this which is pretty much what I want I think: http://www.flickr.com/photos/barrel-and-rothman/5211222690/

I'd use plain black cotton or similar, but am pondering possibilities for adding piping/braid/applique/other alterations/something else to funk it up a bit. Also I may have to make the skirt a bit fuller as I think it's not as full as it looks in the photo because she has her hands in her pockets.

 

[moose]

Nice. I've been looking for a decent shirt dress for ages, but wouldn't have the time/patience to make one. Looks like the perfect vehicle for ric-rac!

 

[wayward bob]

it's lovely rubes. my mate has a similar dress she found in a charity shop. how come i never find amazing stuff like that in charity shops? as it is it's a classic 40s shirt dress shape, i'd go with widening the skirt, would look fab with a petticoat. and i'd think about where the sleeves hit. for me either shorter or longer than in the fickr pic would be more flattering for me - i.e. either 3/4, finishing just below the elbow or a proper short sleeve that hits mid-upper arm. a self-belt would finish it beautifully. even if the pattern includes a belt you might want to think about getting one made up. i think it cost me £14 last time, which is obvs a fair chunk of money, but to me it was worth it not to have to turn the fucker

if you're going black i'd stick with keeping it pretty plain to keep it as versatile as possible, although i might not be able to resist putting in a few pintucks here and there - this works really nicely just above skirt hems if you want them full, keeps them a bit sticky-outier

 

[RubyToogood]

Looks like the perfect vehicle for ric-rac!

Ric-rac is an excellent idea. Or there is a stall in Tooting Market that has tons of vintage braid (some of which has found its way into my sewing cupboard).

i'd think about where the sleeves hit. for me either shorter or longer than in the fickr pic would be more flattering for me - i.e. either 3/4, finishing just below the elbow or a proper short sleeve that hits mid-upper arm. a self-belt would finish it beautifully. even if the pattern includes a belt you might want to think about getting one made up. i think it cost me £14 last time, which is obvs a fair chunk of money, but to me it was worth it not to have to turn the fucker

if you're going black i'd stick with keeping it pretty plain to keep it as versatile as possible, although i might not be able to resist putting in a few pintucks here and there - this works really nicely just above skirt hems if you want them full, keeps them a bit sticky-outier

Pintucks also a good idea. How/where/why do you get a belt made? I have never heard of this. The pattern includes a tie belt, which works for me as it doesn't conflict when playing instruments. As for the sleeves, I'm going to have to think about this. I don't want 3/4 length sleeves at the mo because they're not very summery. Interestingly, the woman who made the dress in the Flickr photo says she made the sleeves a bit longer than they were meant to be and thinks it makes them more vintagey looking - and they do def look better than the shorter ones that other people have made. I think the ones in the pattern as written are a bit of a crap length really.

 

[RubyToogood]

Bugger. The pattern has arrived and is significantly too small in the waist and hips . It's not that I can't do it, but it'll be a struggle to find time to make this anyway, and it's now not a simple cut and sew job but will involve a lot of faffing around with bits of tissue paper. Unless I opt for the cheat's method of just adding loads into the side seams and sorting it out at the trying on stage

I can foresee this quite possibly ending up in the WIP pile and am pondering the wisdom of coughing up for fabric...

 

[RubyToogood]

Done! Took a pic before I went out for the evening in it and messed it up:



The fitting wasn't actually toooo bad once I stopped being scared of it. I did a mockup of the bodice in some scrap fabric to see how it was going to work. I made the bodice bigger by adding to the side seams mostly, and making one of the darts thinner. The skirt I altered by cutting and spreading the pattern pieces. The dress doesn't fit quite as well as I'd hoped but is okish I think.

The braid adds to the slight air of uniform perhaps, but gave me a way out of hand sewing the hem, as I just sewed the hem down under the braid on the machine.

 

[Greebo]

Part way through a dress. It started out as a cheap cotton leopard print almost off the shoulder one from a well known supermarket. It looks great in the photo with the model in it, less so on me (even less so than usual).

Then I realised that the frill at the top wasn't doing what I needed it to do - so that's been extended a bit.
The skirt was too long for me- so that's been shortened.
The frill at the bottom didn't hang right (cut straight instead of on the curve WTF!) - removed.

Still to get done:
The skirt joined the bodice and went in at exactly the wrong place on me - removed, recut, and shifted.
The bodice at the back was a bit too loose - adjusting that before sewing back onto the skirt.
The skirt didn't have enough fabric to fall or hang quite right (again, cut dead straight, and skimpy for the size), so adding in 4 contrast panels cut on the bias.

Aiming to get it finished and wearable by next weekend (weather permitting). So far, It's been interesting.

 

[moose]

Ruby - that looks great! I envy your sewing skillz.

Greebo - that sounds like a lot of work for a 6 quid dress

 

[wayward bob]

looks ace rubes and i love your cunning hem solution, i'll be nicking that for sure

btw, sleeves perfect length

 

[Greebo]

Greebo - that sounds like a lot of work for a 6 quid dress

Twelve quid (when I bought it, not in the sale) not six but yes, lesson learnt - even a Vogue designer name pattern would've been cheaper.

In my defence, I like the print, the colour, the fact that it's cotton, and the way the top bit of it can be worn off the shoulder without creeping down.

FWIW I hope your unaltered one fits you better than mine did.

 

[moose]

Well it's too long, but i'm just going to cut the frill off. Otherwise, with a wide belt, it's fine. Might use the frill as a sash.

 

[RubyToogood]

looks ace rubes and i love your cunning hem solution, i'll be nicking that for sure

btw, sleeves perfect length

It was an emergency bit of improvisation that, because I just had time to finish it and wear it out last night if I didn't have to hand sew the hem...
I do think I slightly over altered it, which is a recurring theme in my knitting and sewing. I add the correct amount mathematically but somehow it's a bit much. Maybe I need to split the difference or something.
Sleevewise, I did what the flickr woman did and turned up a narrow hem on the sleeve band instead of folding it in half as instructed.

 

[RubyToogood]

Since I seem to be on a dressmaking tip at the moment, any suggestions for what I should do with this Liberty fabric? I've had it for ages, but not got very much of it - basically two lengths of a little over a metre, although it's quite wide. It's quite light but I have lining also.

 

[Biddlybee]

Rubes, your dress is fantastic... and goes well with your boots! I don't half need to take a few days off again to make another dress!

(too much knitting and homework to get through in the evenings)

 

[spirals]

I have been making these for my wedding. 5 petals per flower, 12 flowers per ball and 8 balls altogether. 480 paper squares!

 

[Biddlybee]

Do you know you can get chocolates that look like pebbles

(I can see the drumsticks to the right too )

 

[spirals]

Do you know you can get chocolates that look like pebbles

(I can see the drumsticks to the right too )

They were for the lollipop tree which keeps falling apart, I want to glue them in but the other half says that would be cruel

 

[Biddlybee]

It would be very cruel

 

[spirals]

Yes but funny I might do it any way

 

[Biddlybee]

My other half would be the sort you'd get with that

 

[Yu_Gi_Oh]

Does my calligraphy count as crafty? I'm not sure it's art.

Here is the book of rubbings of ancient carvings done by a great calligraphy master.



Here are my less wonderful versions.

 

[vauxhallmum]

Right, what do you lovely people know of mosiac making?
I have to make LOTS of wall hung garden/jungle themed mosiacs in the next 3 weeks. I've never done it before but looks like fun. Tutorials on internet are rubbish.
Advise me, a proper job may depend on it

 

[Biddlybee]

Good luck for tomorrow spirals... I reckon everyone will be dead impressed with all the stuff you've done, you will look stunning and it will be the perfect day

 

[spirals]

Good luck for tomorrow spirals... I reckon everyone will be dead impressed with all the stuff you've done, you will look stunning and it will be the perfect day

It was on saturday and it was great I got loads of compliments and have been asked to do the decor for another wedding so I'm pretty sure people liked my DIY

 

[Biddlybee]

I thought it was tomorrow for some reason glad it was great... can we see your dress now?

Oooh, that's good, do you do crafty stuff for a job, or is it something you might do now? [/excited]

 

[spirals]

This is probably the best one of my bouquet and I will find a decent one of my dress, I don't work at the moment, am pretty poorly and have been for a few years now but I do make stuff to sell on etsy and I have had a lot of interest in some of my craft stuff so I think I may well look into starting something up

 

[Biddlybee]

That's even better than I imagined it, I like his matching buttonhole too

(and what I can see of your corset is gorgeous!)

I reckon you'd do well on etsy to pitch things as wedding related - they'll come up in more searches, and I think people would love them.