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

[Callie]

I am making a skirt for the September Time Tunnel(60s ish). But I need to go visit my mum so she can pin the darts into it while it is on me. I hate sewing but have done the back seam, split and zip all by hand The bottom seam is copydex, and the waist band is also likely to be copydex! I also made two dresses into a skirt yesterday. I heart copydex

isnt copydex the glue you could paint on your hand and peel off are you a tiny bit excited by time tunnel?

 

[Boudicca]

One I've not really explored is http://www.thesewingforum.co.uk/ on which I think Ann who won the Great British Sewing Bee is a moderator. It does look like the sort of place I might be able to ask uber nerdy questions like how to alter a bodice to include pintucks (which is what I'm grappling with at the moment).

The one Ann from The Sewing Bee moderates is the Artisans Square, but it is US based. TSF is the only UK sewing focused one I know, but they are a bunch of old goats. I stopped going on there (yes, I "flounced from the Sewing Forum" ) because someone said that Tilly, (who I know and is a Brixton local), "deserved a slap". It is very dull to be honest, but there is advice to be had.

Re pintucks, I would move the dart to the side (i.e. turn it into a bust dart) before adding the pintucks.

 

[RubyToogood]

Re pintucks, I would move the dart to the side (i.e. turn it into a bust dart) before adding the pintucks.

This is a good plan. I'm wary of having the tucks actually running over the bust though I think.

 

[wayward bob]

how about this one?

it's missing the collar piece for view 2 (1 would be my choice anyway as more flattering and would show off your buttons) and the front-side skirt has been altered but i reckon you could wing it working from the back-side piece. but the good news is that's means it's cheap!

i think it would work with your fabric, the princess line is one i find flattering on me, and it has the square shoulder/narrowish skirt that makes the 40s look my experience is that 40s patterns are pretty true to size, with plenty of ease in the bust so you might not have to alter

 

[Boudicca]

This is a good plan. I'm wary of having the tucks actually running over the bust though I think.

If you keep them "betwixt the nipples", it should be OK.

 

[geminisnake]

isnt copydex the glue you could paint on your hand and peel off are you a tiny bit excited by time tunnel?

You could, if you wanted to. It doesn't smell so strong anymore, still a bit pongy though. Yes I am a bit excited I like dancing

Forgot to mention showed my mum the skirt, showed her how much I needed to take in, she puts 4 pins in it and it's good. I've done 2 of the darts now so posting a photo on FB

 

[RubyToogood]

how about this one?

it's missing the collar piece for view 2 (1 would be my choice anyway as more flattering and would show off your buttons) and the front-side skirt has been altered but i reckon you could wing it working from the back-side piece. but the good news is that's means it's cheap!

i think it would work with your fabric, the princess line is one i find flattering on me, and it has the square shoulder/narrowish skirt that makes the 40s look my experience is that 40s patterns are pretty true to size, with plenty of ease in the bust so you might not have to alter

You know what, I've looked at that pattern before and not spotted that it's only one version of the collar that's missing! You are clever. It is gorgeous, but I really shouldn't be spending more money!

Also, on reflection the reason I mostly go for 50s styles is that there's no issue about fitting the hips, which are my problem (ie huge) area, and it's just generally a better look with my proportions I think. I would definitely have to alter the waist and hips of the above pattern.

In other news, I'm really enjoying wearing my beach huts dress as I get into lots of lovely conversations about it and it generally makes people smile. It's getting worn a LOT at the moment, got to fit it in while I can, it's definitely a high summer dress.

 

[Greebo]

Just finished a few cards for the postcard art exchange, it'll be interesting to see how they survive the post once they've been forwarded on.

 

[Manter]

I spent the day stripping and painting an old chest of drawers to make a changing table- cream paint on most of it, mahogany top, need to do a top coat on the cream and final varnish on the top, then add the handles I found on etsy.... Nearly there. I may be high on paint fumes though....!

 

[RubyToogood]

I met someone at the weekend who had made a fantastic ring pull bracelet. It looked really chunky and heavy, better than this photo. Instructions here. You do however need 60 ringpulls, and if you're drinking that much, you probably shouldn't be allowed scissors...

 

[RubyToogood]

I've decided to approach the dress problem from a different angle. Rather than doing tucks, I thought I'd put lines of trim up the bodice and elsewhere instead for a similar effect. I found ricrac for 35p a metre and now have enough bright pink ricrac to stretch to the moon and back.

 

[wayward bob]

you can never have too much ricrac

(oh and i totally get you on the 50s/40s thing, i think i just have a 40s body shape, whereas you look the biz in 50's )

 

[geminisnake]

I have started to make a toadstool for the garden, probably for Hanna tbh if it works right. It will take an age though coz you have to let the paper dry between levels. Patience is not my forte

I'm using newspaper, garden mesh and one of those electrical cable drums And flour and water glue It will get painted and varnished when it's ready.

 

[Manter]

Done!

 

[wayward bob]

are they animal face knobs manter?

done my first origaming for a while, it's hard to see the detail cos i used patterned wallpaper, but i'm chuffed with this. was afraid i'd come to a halt with my book just cos i didn't think i could wrap my brain around the more complex designs. it's a mixture of hexagonal and triangular twists, you should be able to see the central hexagon and the star-shaped triangles around it it's like magic the way it all collapses into shape when you do it right

 

[Manter]

They are! Not sure they'd win any awards for botanical accuracy <<shrug>>

 

[geminisnake]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76184378@N00/9472433295/

I FECKING HATE new FLICKR. I dunno how to put a photo here anymore.

 

[smmudge]

are they animal face knobs manter?

done my first origaming for a while, it's hard to see the detail cos i used patterned wallpaper, but i'm chuffed with this. was afraid i'd come to a halt with my book just cos i didn't think i could wrap my brain around the more complex designs. it's a mixture of hexagonal and triangular twists, you should be able to see the central hexagon and the star-shaped triangles around it it's like magic the way it all collapses into shape when you do it right

your origami looks so beautiful, really intricate. I love it

 

[RubyToogood]

The mind boggles really at how accurate you must have to be for it not to go wildly out by the time you've done the ten millionth fold. ^

 

[wayward bob]

it's not quite as complicated as it looks, it mostly just takes patience, albeit a lot of patience. the key is folding an accurate grid to start with, but if you follow a specific order of folds it compensates for inaccuracies rather than amplifies them.

there are some instructions/videos here if you're interested in how it works. atm i'm just working through set projects, to try to get the hang of the folds and twists. eventually i'd like to be able to make my own designs, but that's a long way off still. there's some really amazing work out there

 

[wayward bob]

soz, getting a bit spammy now but i love the differences you see with different materials - this is the same pattern as above done in a handmade paper. it was really tricky to fold because it's so soft but the finished thing is beautifully delicate.

i sewed it to stabilise it without losing the lightness, and so you can still see the back, the way it all weaves magically together is as lovely as the front imo.

 

[red rose]

That is amazing

 

[wayward bob]

thanks i've sent it to my dad - i reckon he'll appreciate the mental mathsness of it

 

[Manter]

that's stunning wayward bob

 

[wayward bob]

i really don't feel i can claim that much credit, i'm just following the patterns in this book

for me it's preparation for my college trip to morocco in january. i might be being wildly optimistic (it has been known ) but i'm hoping if i can get the hang of the folding techniques i might be able to work out my own interpretations of the geometric tile patterns that i love so much

 

[red rose]

I've been working on a something for Lord Camomile's birthday next weekend. I'm fairly certain he doesn't read this thread but just in case I'm going to stick it in a spoiler.

Cam: if you're reading this DO NOT OPEN THIS SPOILER BEFORE SUNDAY!

Spoiler

It's Lord Cam as a rag doll or at least it will be. The head is almost done but it's proving to be infuriatingly tricky so I've left it for this evening.

Eventually the plan is to make customisable dolls for all my friends

 

[Manter]

Nursery finished- complete with 'fixed' ebay shelf and changing table/chest of drawers. The most impressive bits are actually not the crafty bits, they are the DIY bits- eg we had to take the windows out (they have been painted, repainted and generally bodged since the 20s- not easy to get them out, fix their hinges, and put new catches, locks etc on them- took about 4 hours yesterday!!)

First room in the house to be finished

 

[wayward bob]

i don't think there's a single room in our place that's ever been finished

 

[Manter]

And the other thing we did this weekend- old cast iron fireplace found in junkyard in Shropshire, cleaned, repainted, and put into the chimney breast in the spare room. The hearth is a piece of slate we found in the coalshed in the garden when we demolished it- cutting it was interesting, and the edges are not entirely even, but close enough for government work

The rest of the room looks like a medium sized bomb went off in it (all the plaster on the ceiling is crumbling and we've cut new runnels everywhere for the wiring) but I'm v proud of this

 

[spanglechick]

Nursery finished- complete with 'fixed' ebay shelf and changing table/chest of drawers. The most impressive bits are actually not the crafty bits, they are the DIY bits- eg we had to take the windows out (they have been painted, repainted and generally bodged since the 20s- not easy to get them out, fix their hinges, and put new catches, locks etc on them- took about 4 hours yesterday!!)

First room in the house to be finished

oh my god! that's so gorgeous. I always wanted a mutli-coloured polkadots nursery... and look at those drawer handles. I'd love a close up of those.