The Owl Tunic

So, I'm back. Maybe just for one post, maybe for a squillion, who knows. We'll see.....
The reason for my return is this competition from Simplicity patterns. And here is my entry:

I look a little surprised....maybe it's because my mouth has been replaced by a giant flower?

I'm calling it the Owl Tunic, for obvious reasons when you look at the fabric up close. I used the lovely free pattern that Simplicity sent me and decided on view A, as I liked the pleated sleeves. My original plan was to use this fabric to make a muslin and then use a different fabric to make my final entry, but I liked this so much I stuck with it.

Fabric up close in all its feathery glory

The pattern was quite easy to put together and the instructions were clear and detailed. I made a size 10 without any alterations, as I've sewn Simplicity patterns before and a straight 10 usually fits. Next time I would shave a tiny wedge out of the front as my decoletage decolletege deccoletig collar bone area is a bit narrow, and although the neckline sits fine when I'm still, there is a tiny bit of gapeyness when I move around. Otherwise I am very happy with the fit.

I was a good girl and followed the instructions exactly, even understitching the neck facing, which made a big difference.

I must admit, I do love a bit of understitching :)

I'm pleased to say my invisible zip is pretty invisible. I asked Mr Pickledweasel to confirm its invisibleness by looking at the back of the tunic while I tried it on, and he said 'Yes, but you haven't pattern matched.' That's what happens when you let your significant others watch the Great British Sewing Bee. I did try to pattern match, honestly, but my eyes went a bit funny after 5 minutes and I gave in.

Don't look at it too long, it's a bit like one of those Magic Eye books.

The only thing I changed about the pattern was the length. I tried it on un-hemmed and it was just a teensy bit too short for me - something I'd wear with opaque tights and boots, but as this was intended to be a spring / summer outfit for work, that kind of length would involve the Revealing of the Knees of Doom (not a very pretty sight), so I decided to make it into a tunic instead. I took 5" off and then did a 1" blind hem, something I haven't done for ages. I have a blind hem foot for my machine which makes it a doddle, and I love it. It takes a bit more preparation than a standard hem, but it looks great.

My lovely hem. Look, no stitches!

The fabric was from the Magic Fabric shop (yes, it's still going, they're open 6 days a week now instead of just Mondays and Thursdays!) and was £2 a metre. I think I used about 2 metres and the zip cost £3.90, so the total cost was just shy of £8. Not bad, eh?

The front. It's a very good for hiding lumps and bumps by the way :)

The fabric was kind of like a scuba stretch but without the stretch. It was nice to sew with, quite silky on the printed side but still had enough stability not to go crazy when I put it under the presser foot. In terms of time taken, I'd guesstimate 4 hours from start to finish. I cut all of the pattern pieces when I was on holiday last week on the Yorkshire coast, on a lovely big dining room floor in the cottage we were staying in. I'd seen all sorts of birds during the week, so it felt appropriate to be working with feathery material. I am seriously considering sewing up some capes with the leftover bits I have, so the little pickledweasels can pretend to be owls too.

How much do these wings sleeves look like little owl hoods?

Overall I'm very happy with my new owly tunic. I'm pretty sure there is another one in the pipeline, this time with a bit of a tropical theme (and some lengthening so the Knees of Doom won't be involved). So thank you to Simplicity for giving me the chance to take part, and for the pattern, I've loved making it :)

"This'll never work...what am I meant to do with the flower, eat it?"

Giveaway in a bits and bobs de-stash celebratory past halfway neverending loft conversion styley!

I know, it' such a snappy title :)

So, I've listed a tiny percentage half my fabric stash on eBay, and should you wish to get your grubby little mitts on it, you can look at it here. I was going to put it on Etsy, but I had no idea what price to put on things, so instead everything's starting at 99p and it'll all get sold. All profits go to the Pickled Weasel New Bedroom Furniture Fund.

But if you haven't got any pennies, and you want some of the loveliness that's listed, read on. You can win all the pretty things pictured in this post. The fabric is just bits and bobs, things that wouldn't really sell on eBay but that people with crafty skillz could use, and then there's a few other random things thrown in for good measure. I hope you like them :)

All you need to do is leave a comment telling me about your favourite tutorial on the interwebs, and a link to it if you can work out how to in the comments box (I often can't, being a bear of little brain, so I don't expect you to).

We're cracking on with all the painting (mr pickledweasel even has roller-related blisters), and I can see light at the end of the loft conversion tunnel, so I'm starting to think about all the craftings I can do when I no longer have a paintbrush surgically attached to my hand. I need new things to covet and drool over and stick on my never ending to-do list.

International bods are more than welcome to enter, and I will draw a winner at random on Friday the 15th of October. As an added weaselly bonus, if you enter the giveaway and happen to win one of the things listed on eBay, I'll give you first class postage for the price of second class. Not much, I know, but better than nowt. Good luck!

Spoonflower. Not really about spoons. Or flowers.

I am trying to sort out my cupboard under the stairs sewing storage room as it will shortly be moving to the...wait for it...UTILITY ROOM!!!1! Yes, I know, How lucky am I. Because of the recent neverending loft conversion project we have a bit more storage space, which means I can have an actual real room to sew in, as opposed to putting my sewing machine on the dining room table and then leaving it there for three months whilst fabric and pattern pieces gather round it in some sort of modern art installation styley, until someone comes for dinner and I have to stuff it all back under the stairs again.

Birdies Galore by cabinpressstudio

If all goes according to plan I will have a workbench, a fold up chair, shelving and drawers. I will still have to share the space with the tumble dryer and washing machine, but at least I'll have a permanent space for my machine and the accoutrement's that come with it. Happy days :)

Love Fiesta by sammyk

I'm a long way off from that yet. First we have to finish the decorating. I am on the third coat of paint in the hall. The third coat, people. Which means there will need to be three coats on the stairs, and the landing. *cries*

Medium Elephants by katharinahirsch

But I have made a start on my new sewing nest by having a little bit of a de-stash. As we have officially run out of neverending loft fund loan money, and the electrician's bill came in £700 more than expected, we are slowly putting the entire contents of our house on eBay. This way we get to pay bills and really make the most of all that new storage space, as there won't be any crap left to fill it with. I'll list some of my fabric next week, and will be running a de-stash celebratory giveaway to mark the occasion. It's nice fabric, not just manky bits that I want to throw away :)

Monsieur Wonder Kat by malien00

Which leads me to the pictures that illustrate this post. How can a girl possibly keep on top of her fabric stash when there are beauties such as these available to buy from Spoonflower? The design talent out there just blows me away. Just a shame all the monies in my paypal account will be paying for sockets and switches :(

Are you feeling lucky, Punk?

Are ya? I am :)

I watched that programme about how we're fecked if we carry on overfishing, and I thought about how lucky I am to have a roof over my head, food in my tummy, a wonderful mr pickledweasel, a beautiful munchkin, and a fantastic mom 10 minutes drive away.

I'm feeling even luckier today -the sun shone, me and munchkin had a lovely day outside, and I've nearly finished another bag. Yes another bag, but this one hasn't involved any hair pulling and hopefully won't run in the rain. I just need to work out what length strap to make, and then it'll be done.

AND I have a whole new load of fabric and stitchy related stuff to drool over. I had to go to the magic fabric shop (no, really, I had to, I had no choice) to get something to make a skirt from - I am sort of doing Kitschy Coo's Sew-Along, but I don't have the Cal Patch book she's using. I'm a bit strapped for cash this month and my library doesn't have it, so I'm using Sew U, which I bought with some Christmas money. It has basic patterns that you can adapt, like the Cal Patch book, so I thought I could use Kitschy Coos deadlines as motivation. A skirt by the 20th of March? I'll need some fabric then :)

And there were just too many nice prints, I couldn't resist... and I had to buy some florally things to compensate for the tres boring grey fabric I bought to make my skirt from. The heart print is for munchkin, and the pink rose and blue flower print is for me. The stripyesque tribal type stuff is for me - I'm thinking halterneck summer dress.

And (I promise this is the last sentence I'll start with 'And') I am now the proud owner of an adjustable dress maker's dummy. A friend very kindly gave it to me - she's 94 and although she used to sew a lot her eyesight is quite bad, so she said she'd like to see someone get some use out of it. I need to fiddle around with the screwy bits so it's my measurements, but isn't it fab? I'm so pleased. It has pride of place in the dining room, next to the stuffed insects.

Life is good :)

Poppy Seed Head Messenger Bag

Grandma Pickledweasel very kindly bought me One Yard Wonders for Christmas, and last week I finished my first project from it. In the book it's a child's messenger bag, but I wanted to make an adult version as a present for a friend. She has two munchkins and is always running around here there and everywhere, so I thought it would be great as a 'Right, we're off to the shops' bag that she could bung her keys, wallet, tissues and a box of raisins in if she was just popping down the road.

I didn't change the size of the body of the bag, I just made the strap a bit longer. Actually, a lot longer - so long that you'd have to be fiddling around near your knees to get the bag open :D So I did a cunning thing and looped the strap inside the bag and stitched it. I'm going to get a D ring (is that the right word?) to hook on to the loop, and then give her a little clippy key ring to go with the bag. She can put the clippy key ring on her keys, and then whenever she uses the bag she can just clip the key ring to the D ring, and she won't have to root around at the bottom of her bag for her keys.

The fabric was from Ikea, and I used half a metre, which was the princely sum of 50p in the sale. It was the last piece in the shop, and I'm gutted there wasn't more. I did get some more fabric from the same range but with a different print - much larger and more abstract, but not as good as the poppy seed heads. I just about managed to squeeze the pattern pieces for the outside of the bag on to the fabric I had, so I line it with something else, and I used a linen chambray that you might recognise from Munchkin's Liberty wrap dress.

The project was pretty easy to follow, although I could have done with a few more diagrams and a bit less text, but that's just the way my brain works. I did have to completely reposition the velcro though, even though I followed the instructions on where to place it to a tee.

Only problem now is that I like it so much I don't want to give it away!

Abakhan, how I love thee.

Let me count the ways.

1. You have a shiny new shop in Preston which is twice the size of the old one.

2. Your shiny new shop currently has a shedload of Indian-ish cotton prints which are just beeeautiful.

3. You stocked the perfect ribbon for the ties on Munchkin's new hoodie.

4. You also had a multitude of shiny satin fabrics to make nighties out of, including this kerrazy print that grandma pickledweasel chose for her belated Christmas Making present. (scissors included in picture to illustrate ridiculously loud scale of pattern).

5. You sell plain fleece in a squillion different colours.

6. You currently have a sale on, including this very lightweight babycord at half price.

7. Even if things aren't in the sale there's 10% off everything.

8. You make me want to buy fabric just for the sake of it, even if I have no clue whatsoever what to do with it. (although mr pickledweasel did suggest cutting out 2 of each doll, sewing them and stuffing them, which is a blimmin brilliant idea)

9. You are ridiculously cheap, despite your amazingness - total shopping bill was £20.53, including all the fabrics in the photos above (apart from Munchkin's hoodie), 2m of ribbon, 2m of 5mm button elastic and 2m of cream fleece.

10. All of your shop assistants were nice to Munchkin, even though she was in a bit of a strop because I wouldn't let her out of her pushchair.

Sorry for the crumpled photos - if I get the iron out I might have to do some of the pre-christmas clothes ironing pile, and I'm in denial :)

Can you marry a fabric?

Is it legal? Or is it a bit of a grey area, like if you want to marry your cousin? I might look into the legalities of it all, because if I can, I'd like to buy the whole roll of this brushed cotton and get it down the registry office RIGHT NOW. And then come home and just wrap it round and round and round me and sit there. Sorry, TMI :)

This was originally going to be a Christmas present for Munchkin, but I was too excited about it and wanted to see what it looked like on her. The fabric was from New Magic Fabric Shop, and I think it was £2.20 a metre. I bought a couple of metres in black as well, only strangely the black version is a sort of linen blend, rather than brushed cotton. But it's just as lush, and I think I'll make a skirt out of it for me. The applique runs either side of the fabric along the selvedge, so will be great as a border at the bottom of a wrap skirt.

I'm making a replacement Christmas present for Munchkin - a little reversible wrap dress in a grey linen chambray with a fantastic Liberty print on the inside. It's such pretty fabric I may have to become a polygamist...

Knitting and Stitching Show Part One

I am not feeling well - you know when you get that cotton wool head feeling just before a cold / flu? I was going to write up a report of my visit to the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate yesterday, but I'm tired and my legs feel like they're going to fall off and it wouldn't make much sense, so you'll have to make do with pretty pictures of all the things I bought instead...

Too many magazines and patterns :)

This for my sister-in-law for Christmas - she loved the Bimble I made for Juliet, and said she might use the idea with her GCSE textiles students, so I thought she might like the book.

Two vintage knitting / stitching magazines, one for the fantastic 'evening jumper' pattern, and one for a lovely 'Noah's Ark Workbox' which apparently is perfect to 'hold all the nursery mending things' :)

One fat quarter and a little bundle of scraps, which included some Beatrix Potter bits. And a little pack of vintage bits and bobs that made me think of the forties - I might try and do a collage with it.

And I went to a workshop where I made this jazzy hand print applique bag and got a load of gubbins free! The jewel bits aren't stuck to the bag, they were part of the goodies. Although I might stick down one of the big cabachons so it looks like a ring.

Hopefully when I'm feeling a bit better I'll post about the wonderful textile art I saw, which was amaaaaazing. Til then, back to bed...

Covered pin board tutorial

Ta daaaaaa! Here is my very first tutorial, and it's not about clothes for Munchkin, which surprised even me :)

I had the idea for these pin boards when I was looking at the ridiculously ineffective one I bought for £2 from Tesco. It's not attractive or functional in the slightest, and I thought how cool it would be if I could do a little personalised pin board for everyone in the pickledweasel family. Grandma pickledweasel had some cork pot stands from Ikea that she didn't need any more - she'd bought them thinking she could display jewellery on them at craft fairs, but they just didn't work. So I nabbed them and had a play around. This would be a great housewarming present :)

Here's what you'll need:

• A sturdy cork board of some description, preferably round. I don't know how much the Ikea ones were, but I'd imagine they were cheap.


• Fabric to cover your board with. You'll need a 2" border, so make sure the piece you choose is big enough.


• Embroidery thread that co-ordinates with your chosen fabric.


• Sewing thread.


• Felt to back your board with. Doesn't have to be matching as no-one's going to see it, but if it's a present for someone you might want to make it co-ordinating.


• Tailors chalk if your felt is a dark colour, pencil if it's a light colour.


• Co-ordinating ribbon or ric rac to hang your board up with. I used 11 inches.


• Fabric scissors.


• Glue.


• Marker pen, string and a drawing pin.

Optional: A sewing machine, an iron-on transfer letter.

First you need to draw out a circle on the fabric you're using to cover your board. I used string pinned to the middle of the board with a marker pen tied to the end, and I made the string 2" longer than the radius of the board. When you've marked your circle, cut it out with the fabric scissors.


Now you need to cut your felt circle. For this I just drew around my board with tailors chalk, and then cut out a circle slightly smaller than the one marked. You need a circle that's about 2cm smaller in diameter than your board.

Now sew on your ribbon or ric rac to your felt circle. It needs to be pretty secure, as it'll be holding your board up. I sewed mine using a machine, but a couple of rows of sturdy hand sewing would be fine.


Next you need to work out where to put your letter. Lay your fabric over the cork board so that the border is even all the way round. If you're arty and have the skillz you can draw your letter straight on to the fabric, but I'm a bit pants at that sort of thing, so I used a transfer letter from this book. Either way, you need to make sure your letter is central at the top of the board. If you're using a transfer, iron it on.

Now embroider it! I'm normally lazy and don't use an embroidery hoop, but I did this time as I didn't want the fabric to pull or runckle when I covered the board.

When you've embroidered, iron the fabric so it's nice an crease-free. Place your fabric face down and put the cork board on top, making sure your letter is in the right place.

Now turn it over.

Apply a border of glue to the back of your board - cork is quite absorbent and you might find your glue disappears quickly, so you'll need to re-apply if necessary.

Starting with the top of the board where your letter is, fold your fabric over the back of the board, pulling it tight as you go. You'll need to put more glue onto the fabric you've already folded to help stick down new folds. Don't worry if it gets all messy, it's going to be covered with felt. Just make sure your fabric is nice and tight.


Finally, you need to glue your felt circle to the back. Makes sure you put lots of glue on, and maybe squish it with a big thick book for a bit as it dries.

And then it's done! I've made one for Munchkin (J) and one for mr pickledweasel (D), but haven't got round to mine yet. I love the idea of a whole co-ordinated family of personalised pin boards :)

Leave a comment if you make one with a link to your blog / photos :)