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

[fractionMan]

sounds about average, specially if it's leather/and/or in good nick.

It's in reasonable nick but definitely scuffed up in places and it's faux leather.

I do need to get my head out of the "what can I find for 10 or 15 quid" thinking though. There's some lovely cases around for 20-40 quid, it's just being able to sell them on afterwards for the extra money.

 

[wayward bob]

ah bollocks, airer is making em all cockle ironing xmas cards is one step too far innit?

 

[Biddlybee]

I told you hair dryer

send em crinkled... adds to the effect?

 

[wayward bob]

hairdryer would have involved equal cockling + rsi

 

[Biddlybee]

how do you know?

 

[wayward bob]

educated guess

 

[wayward bob]

still not dry

 

[wayward bob]

It's in reasonable nick but definitely scuffed up in places and it's faux leather.

I do need to get my head out of the "what can I find for 10 or 15 quid" thinking though. There's some lovely cases around for 20-40 quid, it's just being able to sell them on afterwards for the extra money.

if the difference is only 10 or 20 i reckon you'd prolly get away with it, especially if the cases are *that* much nicer

 

[wayward bob]

i was gonna post a pic of all the papers i got for my mate who has the girls after school on a friday. but they're so nicely wrapped it seems a shame to open them. i's a mix of florentine decorative papers from shepherds (yeah, okay i nicked the idea from my brother ) she makes books amongst other things, so i really hope she'll appreciate them

i may have to get her to open them when they come round tomorrow, so i can take a pic

 

[wayward bob]

my cards still haven't dried

"on the first day of new year" makes sense, right?

 

[Biddlybee]

yeh, def

I decided my mouse should be holding this (in her other hand ), but not for £30!

 

[wayward bob]

 

[RubyToogood]

Just got round to listening to the podcast of a show that played a track from my album, and the DJ said it got her vote for the best packaged CD of 2011. Presenter of another show made similar comments and said she wanted to lick it! It's definitely getting it played, and fortunately people seem to be as enthusiastic about the music too, but they do tend to mention that second which is slightly galling!

 

[wayward bob]

awwww rubes, your music is amazing

just wanted to say fraction - my boombox is providing much festive cheer atm (well, it would be cheer if i ever listened to cheerful music )

(my cards still aren't dry )

 

[izz]

I'm painting some pieces of silk cuz I want to make some ladygarments - does anyone out there make their own lingerie and if so can you recommend a book on how to make your own patterns ? I've seen a couple via amazon but none with consistently good reviews. My dressmaking skills are absent, so any help would be very well received.

I can see making things from stretchy material would be straightforward, but of course have to pick the difficult way ....

 

[wayward bob]

i'm a pretty competent dressmaker but i've never done lingerie. i think it would take a fair degree of skill - fine fabrics can be a bugger to sew, and if you're using woven fabrics the cut/fit is pretty crucial. what do you want to make? i have a mate who makes knickers out of her old heavy metal t-shirts but that's a fairly simple cut/sew elastic job.

 

[wayward bob]

anyone have any tips for getting shanked buttons to sit straight if you're sewing them direct onto something? (i.e. no buttonholes/no extra layer of fabric to hold)

i'm sewing them down a seam line - i'm wondering if there's any mileage in opening that seam up somehow so i can poke them through

to clarify: it's a collared dress, that has a kind of placket - to form the revers further up. the placket is sewn shut, but basically i could open it up without damaging the structure of the dress. i'm wondering if doing this so the shank has something to grab onto will be significantly better than just sewing them on top, in which case they may sit a bit wibbly.

not sure if that clarifies anything tbh

 

[Biddlybee]

they don't really sit straight until they're done up do they?

 

[wayward bob]

ooh hello bee i've edited in case that makes the choice any easier?

 

[Biddlybee]

You lost me after collared dress tbh placket, revers, wut?

You'll have to wait for a more crafty person like Rubes

 

[Greebo]

I'm painting some pieces of silk cuz I want to make some ladygarments - does anyone out there make their own lingerie and if so can you recommend a book on how to make your own patterns ? I've seen a couple via amazon but none with consistently good reviews. My dressmaking skills are absent, so any help would be very well received.

I can see making things from stretchy material would be straightforward, but of course have to pick the difficult way ....

Kwiksew (you'll probably need to buy then from the website) have quite a few lingerie patterns in their range, not all for stretch fabrics. If it's more of a vintage style, there may be a Vogue or Butterick pattern close enough.

 

[wayward bob]

heh wonder if this will help?

it's along these lines, but instead of an open placket with buttons it's sewn shut - edge to edge.

 

[Biddlybee]

so, buttons for decoration?

 

[wayward bob]

yep have been looking for a suitable dress with buttons that i could just replace but no joy. this dress is lovely but i hadn't figured in the shank thing when i bought it

 

[Biddlybee]

use different buttons

(I am no use today)

 

[wayward bob]

heh, you aint seen the buttons

 

[wayward bob]

oh and irl they *glow*

i'm gonna go with sewing them straight on to start with, see how they sit before i start picking anything apart. they're fairly big so i can go with long stitches in a kind of star-shaped pattern which may help them be less floppy

 

[wayward bob]

heh sorry to keep wittering on about my buttons been scouting around the web and found a suggestion to cut a circle of felt to sit between the button and the fabric. i like this idea wonder if i have any black felt...

 

[Biddlybee]

depends how deep the shank is, but that could work well.

 

[RubyToogood]

I don't understand where you want to put the buttons?