Tag: sewing

Raining Cats and Dogs

Dear Luka,

I know how you hate the rainy season in the Bay Area.  Maybe this new raincoat will help.  It is truly one-of-a-kind, made using Simplicity pattern #1239, with a few changes.  Instead of lining the coat as directed, I covered all cut edges with seam binding.  I also made the hood detachable, and ignored the scarf (like you would wear the scarf and not chew it to shreds instantly!)

Handmade Dog Raincoat

When you and your Mom go walking around your neighborhood, be friendly if anyone comes to compliment your coat, wear it proudly, and most important of all, stop eating random poop off the sidewalk!

Love,

Grandma

Hannah (BitterSweet)4 Comments

Wee Bunny

More free stuffed animal patterns? A very generous motion by Wee Wonderfuls – Go take advantage of the opportunity and make your own! It’s even the perfect time of year to make a sweet little bunny, with Easter on its way and all.

I liked the end product a lot more than my rendition of the pointy kitty, and it would have been even better if I hadn’t read the instructions as if I had the brain power of a green bean. Meaning; I didn’t really read them at all. Brilliant, huh? That’s why I ended up with the opening for the stuffing on the bottom, instead of the back. Let me too you, it’s surprisingly difficult to hand-sew in a perfect circle while trying to keep the stitches invisible. The bunny butt looks like it got mangled or chewed on! Bleh! Just… don’t turn it over and it looks fine. I guess.

Another stupid mistake left my bunny with a bit of blush, if you noticed. This is due to… crazy glue. You know how it is… I was busily gluing on the little beady eyes when – Oops! – I hit the side of the fabric with the glue brush. Of course, crazy glue give no margin for error, and it was immediately set in, with only chemicals strong enough to melt through skin that would be able to remove it. Considering my options (None), I decided that this is exactly what I had intended all along. Yeah, isn’t it cuter with blush?! ..Yeah…

Oh, and those ears… I managed to instantly loose the pattern piece for the ears, forcing me to draw my own… Not too horrible, in my opinion. I had a lot of trouble accepting that you were supposed to just zig-zag across the raw edges… I really hated the way it looked. Cutting out new pieces, I made them slightly larger for a seam allowance, and turned the pieces just like the body was made.

At least one thing worked out exactly right: I had just enough matching light pink yarn scraps to make the little pom pom tail.

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Peas, Please!

Just a sweet, little sewing project, because I was in dire need of new pajama pants.  My old pair had worn so thin around the knees, you could have read a book right through them… Even in the places that didn’t have gaping holes.  I will never take these 2-hour patterns for granted again; It was actually pretty painless, and I ended up with wearable pants by the end of the day.  The measurements may be slightly off because I’m really short, but that’s an easy fix so I’m not stressing over it.

Come on now, people, is this not the cutest fabric you have ever seen??

Smiling peas in pods.  What could be better?

(Just a note:  I have been experiencing in internet difficulty / retardation, which is why I wasn’t able to post yesterday, but hopefully it will all be sorted out soon.)

Hannah (BitterSweet)1 Comment

Disa-Pointy Kitty

A face only a mother could love?

 

Strangely enough, my mother does, probably more than I do.

I’m sorry, Pointy Kitty, it’s not you or your pattern, which was so kindly provided for free by Wee Wonderfuls… it’s me.  I’m just… slightly disappointed with the end result is all; you’re not quite what I had in mind when I began cutting your little legs out of old scrap fabric.  Nothing went wrong when sewing you up, you’re simply… a different style.  My parents would be happy to adopt you, though!  They grinned at your arrival, saying things you were “mod” and “cute,” but to me, it’s a different kind of cute.  I hope you can understand someday.

Stuck at home with a terrible stomach virus the other day, I searched in vain for something, anything to keep me occupied – Can’t bake, it would make other people sick.  Can’t knit, no pattern or yarn.  Thankfully, I stumbled upon the Pointy Kitty pattern, which was plenty of fun to whip up.  Sadly, I just… don’t like it that much!  Even after changing the eyes and the nose, it just doesn’t fit my personal definition of “cute,” despite what others might see in it.

For now, he’s prowling the kitchen, until my parents decide what to do with him, because instead of being just a useless time waster, he actually became something better:  A gift.

Hannah (BitterSweet)4 Comments