Monthly Archives: February 2011

Pattern Love: Modkid Boutique

Posted on by Abi

Every so often I develop a serious case of Pattern Love. This is when I come across a pattern so wonderful that I can’t stop making it in various fabrics and combinations. The joy being that the more often you make it, the quicker and easier it becomes. So today I thought I would share with you my most recent case of obsession, The Kyoko Dress pattern by ModKid Boutique! I can’t remember how I first came across this pattern, but as soon as I saw it I knew I had to buy it. In fact this wasn’t as easy as it sounds, the only UK store selling it was out of stock and many US sellers were too. Then I had a thank-goodness-for-ebay moment when I found a lovely lady in the US willing to ship to me here :)

As soon as the pattern arrived I started searching for the perfect fabrics, as luck would have it my Mum had just bought a metre of Robert Kaufman Urban Zoologie so this became the starting point. I then bought some Owl & Apple fabric by Timeless Treasures. I’m really pleased with how it turned out and my daughter loves the dress.

Initially I hadn’t planned on making anymore dresses straight away, but on raiding my fabric stash I discovered a tiny bit of old Nani Iro fabric and realised there was just enough to make the dress bodice again. I also had some pink fabric that I had designed myself. You might recognise the fabric on the obi belt as some leftover from making pyjamas from a dyed sheet a few weeks ago. So here is the second dress , this time with short sleeves. Again my daughter loves it (and I’m secretly wondering if I can upscale it to make myself one!)

This pattern can also be made as a top, I haven’t completed one yet but you can probably guess what some of my future projects are.

Have any of you developed a case of pattern love recently?

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A Day Out In Norwich!

Posted on by Abi

I was lucky enough to be able to spend a couple of days in Norwich recently, I’d never been before and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s the most intact medieval city in England and has many medieval buildings including a castle and cathedral. But primarily I was here for the shops! Norwich is full of little independent shops like antique shops, not the glossy expensive showrooms but the higgledy piggledy ones I love.

I had decided to stay in an apartment rather than a hotel or B&B and I found Pigg Lane Apartments which was very conveniently located and very comfortable. When we arrived we were met by a lady with a key and shown around. There was already milk in the fridge so I could have that all important cup of tea before starting to explore.There was also a place to park the car.

One of the prettiest streets I found was Elm Hill, it’s filled with antique shops, craft shops and tea rooms.

I had tea and cake at The Briton Arms Coffee House which you can see at the centre of this picture. There was an open fire and the homemade coffee cake was truly yummy!

Very near to where we stayed was a street called Magdalen Street. It housed the usual interesting array of shops, which also included fabric & haberdashery shops. I found a lovely shop called Anglian Fashion Fabrics where I bought the London Fabric in the previous tutorial and some very colourful daisy trimming. There was also a store offering craft courses which was connected to Anglian Fashion Fabrics.

Next to the London Fabric you can see one of a Goat Making Clothes, I bought this from a store called Jarrold’s in the centre of Norwich. They have been trading since 1823 in an area called The Lanes but their fabric & haberdashery department is only a year old.

I love the crooked look of this building, it had a gallery downstairs & an antique centre upstairs, which is where I bought the four small keys in the picture with the fabric.

The shopping in Norwich is fairly varied from the Art Deco style Royal Arcade to the largest daily outdoor market in the country.

So if you ever find yourself in the area definitely make a visit, I’m sure you wont be disappointed.

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Peg Bag Sewing Tutorial!

Posted on by Abi

My old peg bag was tired, it was made of less than funky fabric, it had an unattractive hole and it hung from a little coat hanger and generally annoyed me. As a result pegs found their way into jumper pockets, aprons and boxes, still less than useful. So the thought began to make a brand new peg bag, one that I could wear so it didn’t get in the way, but was also stylish enough that I didn’t make a break for the kitchen should the neighbour be waving over the wall. I’m really very pleased with it, so pleased in fact that I thought I’d share my instructions to make it :)

What You’ll Need

1/2m Outer fabric
1/2m lining fabric
Strong Ribbon or tape
Button

Step 1

Take both your outer fabric and lining fabric and cut out a rectangle 30cm X 48cm. Place them right sides together and pin around the edge.

Step 2

Leaving a seam allowance of approx 1cm machine stitch around the edge, leaving a gap of about 6cm (2″) to turn the bag out. If your fabric is likely to fray remember to run a zig zag stitch around the edge or cut with pinking shears.


Step 3

Cut some of the fabric off at the corners to make it easier to turn out. Take out the pins and turn the bag the right way out. Iron your piece, making sure the seams are nice and flat. Then machine stitch the open edge closed. You should now have a rectangle that measures about 46cm X 28cm.

Step 5

To make our bag lay the rectangle with the lining facing upwards. Turn up the bottom to reveal about 20cm of the outer fabric. Pin and machine stitch about 1/2 cm from the edge.

Step 6

Cut two pieces of ribbon or tape about 85cm long. These will be sewn onto the back of the bag. First fold down the top of the bag, so that all the lining is hidden. Then place your ribbon either side and sew in place. Fold under the raw edge of the ribbon and sew.

Step 7

I finished my bag with a big button on the front flap, of course you could add your own touch, a flower, an applique design perhaps.

Step 8

Enjoy your new peg bag! You can tie it around your waist or over your shoulder. I normally fold the top flap back to allow easier access to the pegs, then when I put the bag away I flop it back into place.

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