A Herd of Zebras

We were sent this photo the other day from Sue (she also made this Grug toy). She purchased a meter of zebra fabric from our Japanese fabric haul and made this awesome herd of zebras from it. Each zebra is approx 20cm tall.

Have you made something from one of our fabrics? We'd love to add it to our blog so please send us a photo or a link.

On a side note, Sue has kindly given us a copy of the Grug pattern that she drafted and I will do my best to post it up here as soon as possible.

Ky

Licorice Allsorts Beach Bag

Here is a bag I made up last night. I have had it cut out since just before last Christmas with the intention of giving it to my little sister. Now that it is finished she may finally receive it. Combining the striped fabric with the black webbing and binding makes it look a bit like a licorice allsort, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The fabric is from a fabric swap game at a sewing guild Christmas Party, not something I would have picked on my own. All of the lining, webbing, binding and zippers came from my stash.
The pattern is from the book "Making Handbags: Retro, Chic, Luxurious" by Ellen Goldstein-Lynch, Sarah Mullins and Nicole Malone.

I have also added in a zippered pocket to the lining which isn't included in the original pattern, there is a great tutorial on how to do this at u-handbag.com.

Grug Softie

One of the ladies at my ASG sewing group made this awesome Grug softie for one of her grandchildren. She made him up from scratch without a pattern.

I read Grug books when I was growing up and would have loved a toy like this for Christmas.

Just Like Bought Ones

I regularly go to general sewing workshops with a lady called Alison Wheeler, in these workshops you can work on any sewing project you choose and she teaches you some of the finer points of dressmaking and helps with any questions you may have. Yesterday I attended a lingerie making workshop at Alison's, the class was run by Lyn Larkin, Brisbane's lingerie sewing queen.

We learnt how to draft up a pattern and make a pair of knickers. I must admit I didn't really expect to get something wearable out of this class. I went along to learn the sewing techniques involved, so I was pleasantly surprised when I finished not one but two pairs of knickers that are comfortable and fit. So with some embarrassment here are pictures of my completed undies.

The first pair with stretch lace front and nylon spandex back. All edges are finished with fold over lingerie elastic except for the top of the lace which has scalloped edge lingerie elastic applied on the inside. The inner gusset is made from a cotton knit.

The second pair are almost completely made of nylon spandex except for small lace inserts on each side of the front. All edges have been finished with fold over lingerie elastic. The inner gusset is made from a cotton knit.

They started off as a basic generic granny pants pattern that was created from my own measurements and then I simply adjusted that pattern to suit my own tastes. White isn't really my colour but it is the only fabric that was available.

Both pairs cost less than $15 in materials which isn't bad considering you can pay that much and more for just one pair of commercially produced underpants. The only downside to the day was that my sewing machine absolutely refused to sew the nylon spandex and I had to use a loaner machine kindly provided by Alison.

In a few weeks I will attend part 2 of the workshop which will cover making bras.

Alison Wheeler is a member of the Australian Sewing guild (ASG) and is regularly featured in Australia Stitches Magazine. For more information on sewing lessons you can contact Alison Wheeler at sewinglady@optusnet.com.au

Lyn Larkin is also a member of the ASG and runs lingerie sewing classes with Alison every 6 months or so, she also runs workshops at various ASG neighbourhood groups.