Tag: sewing

My new obsession

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Since joining the Seamstress Squadron page and starting to look at other costuming blogs I have been spending many happy hours looking at other people’s creations and the information available.

I am amazed, both with the dedication of the sewers and their beautiful creations but also at the level of detail and help available and just didn’t realise there was all this out there. I have also found some people who have used the same pattern as me and made wonderful things.

Look at this beautiful outfit below, I have forgotten which forum it came from but it is using this Butterick pattern that I have and they have altered the shape of the jacket and used the edge of the fabric in such a beautiful way. Isn’t it just stunning!

Butterick pattern 1Butterick pattern 2

Burda jacket pattern adapted - small

This level of information doesn’t really exist in the same way for the medieval re-enactment costumes, there are some people who we use as sources who are very good such as this history of fashion blog but there are some significant differences between what you can find out.

One of course is that there are still lots of Victorian clothes around in museums and even available for people to buy, books, patterns written at the time and lots of wonderful fashion plates from magazines and adverts, especially about the miracles of corsetry. There are even photos as well and Wearing History blog has a fantastic selection of these under her ‘What real people wore’, posts.

Victorian corset ad

 

The Delineator magazine, founded by Butterick in 1869 is mentioned a lot and this site has some scans of these magazines. Aren’t these gorgeous covers?

Delineator magazine 1

Delineator magazine 2

 

Another great blog is Historical Sewing, what this women doesn’t know about making 19th century garments probably isn’t worth knowing anyway.

The most we get for medieval is paintings and manuscripts, beautiful though they are it does leave you wondering how they made the garments and what they are made from. I use the Web Gallery of Art as a primary source.

The other  is of course the authenticity, since we work for English Heritage a lot we have to have a very high level of authenticity whereas many people who make costume do it for fun and for events such as balls and Steampunk so they are sharing their interpretations of things.

The other thing that I realised is that since I have such a wide circle of friends who make costume for re-enactment I have tended to go them for advice rather than the miracles of the internet. When I first started re-enacting I made a lot of kit and did do some research but that was a long time ago, 14 years, pre-blogging and pre- Facebook 😉 and there was not so much info out there so I have really stopped looking and use the same sources that I have come to trust.

This links in well to my doctoral research as I am looking at how people gain the skills and knowledge they need to make things for re-enactment so it is useful to reflect on myself as a beginning costume maker for a different era.

Ellie and I are thinking of taking some classes to help us adjust patterns. For our medieval garments we either have tried and trusted patterns or use existing garments as patterns so we have not much experience of fitting the more complex Victorian shapes.

I have been rapidly adding things to my new Steampunk Pinterest pages such as these amazing outfits below. I love the lilac dress in the background here.

Victorian outfit 1
Victorian outfit 2

And since I already have a black velvet jacket wouldn’t this skirt be lovely with it? Of course none of this may ever see the light of day as actual garments but it is fun researching!

I am off to Ellie’s tomorrow on the first leg of the journey to Caldicot Castle, please pray for fine weather for us as we really want the event to be a success!

I will be back next time with hopefully some more progress on the jacket, even if it is only a post about how hard the fitting is and am planning to devote the weekend to putting it together. Wish me luck!

Take care and thanks for visiting.

 

 

 

Plus difficile? Pattern matching with a difference

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So today I made a start on the Steampunk jacket. My intention was just to iron the pattern, a top tip from the Seamstress Squadron forum,  then cut the pieces out and have a little think about how I might lay them out.

However I have ended up with a jacket all cut out and so far I am very pleased 🙂

I was a little daunted when I opened the pattern, I hadn’t looked too carefully at it when I bought it as it was late at night and it was on sale and well… there may have been wine involved 😉 I just thought, ‘ooh how pretty’ , and clicked.

The back of the packet did not inspire confidence with its, ‘plus difficile’, rating and when I looked at the instructions it felt a bit complicated. But I managed to make the wedding jacket for Amanda from a similarly complicated pattern, with a lining, so as I sorted the pieces and worked out how it all goes together I felt a bit more confident.

I am intending to alter the pattern a bit though, what I did not realise was that the front panel which is in the contrast dark blue on the illustration is cut like a facing then folded back and stitched onto the main front.

I am also not making the back longer and there will not be a bow. And I wanted to use these three tablecloths to make it, kindly held up by Jake, excuse the lack of light it, it has been raining here all day.

Steampunk linen jacket 5 tablecloth

Steampunk linen jacket 6 tablecloth

Steampunk linen jacket 7 tablecloth

Add to that the fact that I am a bit spatially challenged anyway when it comes to layouts and what could possibly go wrong!

I tried all of the pattern pieces on all of the table cloths and eventually decided on a layout that I liked.

I could have left it there, it took me about two hours to pluck up the courage to cut into Amanda’s fabric but that was £40 a metre silk and the end of the roll and this was three tablecloths costing £12 in total so just thought why not go for it so I did.

Steampunk linen jacket 14 cut frontjpg

I am very pleased with the way it has turned out, there was plenty of fabric and I have managed to match motifs easily to the pieces. To my surprise the smallest tablecloth had enough for both front pieces.I will have to lose some of the design at the bottom though as it is too long at the moment but love the shoulder pieces.

Steampunk linen jacket 13 cut back

I am especially pleased with the back and the way I have been able to stagger the stitched motifs. Below is one of the sleeves, front and back piece. I like the trailing design for the arms.

Steampunk linen jacket 12 cut sleeves

I also love the way the three different designs go together, they have all been stitched with the same palette of threads and I think they work very well.

Steampunk linen jacket 15 cut layout

I was expecting less cohesion which would have been fine.

Steampunk linen jacket 16 cut layout closeup

The look I am going for is slightly bizarre anyway as this jacket will probably be accessorised with stitching charms etc and worn with the purple top hat but I think it is splendid so far.

Steampunk linen jacket 17 cut layout closeup 2

I will have to do some serious fitting though as had to cut out a size 24 to accommodate my generous bosom, luckily having made clothes from scratch before I know how strange the sizings can be and will have to do lots of cutting down of sleeves etc.

Will be a few days before I can do any more work on it and I need to underline it, have lots of cotton in my stash that I will use for that, some old curtains will do nicely!

I do really love the, ‘make do and mend’ attitude of the Seamstress Squadron, so many people making wonderful things out of old curtains and adapting charity shop clothes, it is perfect!

Until then take care and thanks for visiting.

The Seamstress and the Duchess

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So I said I would share my costume musings with you and here I am. I did not really have much time this summer to make any costume for Steampunk due to making lots of bags and quite a bit of work stuff to do .

Anyway was a bit unsure of what I really wanted to make, what would really inspire me. The lace on the jacket and boots were a stopgap and both will be worn for everyday as well and the top hat has had plenty of wear since I made it.

I have been considering various options and have looked through all of my fabric stash and have finally decided on a make.

I have been inspired almost simultaneously by two sources, the Seamstress Squadron and a blog,  American Duchess and helped by a recent Ebay purchase or two as shown below!

 

 

Ebay tablecloth 1

Ebay tablecloth 2

Ebay tablecloth 3

The blog I discovered through Pinterest on the way to Ellie’s on the train and spent a happy hour looking at all the lfantastic costumes that they make.

I noticed that one of my costumed lovelies at Lincoln had a badge saying Seamstress Squadron which I thought was pretty cool, and was talking to the lovely lady Allison in the sewing themed dress later on and noticed that she had one too!

Seamstress Squadron patch

Turns out that this is a Facebook group of like minded people who share costume ideas and make wonderful things. They even had a couple of meet ups over the Lincoln weekend.Here is a picture of their sewing motif banner outside the cathedral.

Seamstress Squadron banner

I have joined the group and looking through all their lovely ideas made me realise that I do want to make something original, just for me rather than buy one of the many pretty outfits available.

So what would I make, what really sums up me and what I love fabric wise? Walking into my craft room the answer was obvious, I love vintage embroidery, linen , lace and crochet. Could I combine this into an outfit?

July bags and pouches 13

July extra pouches and bags 7

Once again Pinterest is my friend and inspiration here. I had thought of just putting patches on a garment like the lovely patches I have made for my bag below but then I remembered the tablecloths.

Vintage log cabin bag 1

I was going to cut out the motifs and use them for various things but actually think that there is enough fabric in these tablecloths to make shirt.It was Ellie that gave me the idea as I was talking about a black satin one and she suggested a white one to go with my new purple skirt.

Look at these gorgeous things, all made from tablecloths, doileys, lace and bits of crochet!

Tablecloth garment 1

Tablecloth garment 2

Tablecloth garment 3

Tablecloth garment 4

A quick Google search turned up this lovely pattern for a jacket and skirt set that can also be adapted to make a blouse, I got it half price in the sale as well 🙂 I think this may be the one Allison used to make her outfit as it does look similar.

Butterick pattern 1

Butterick pattern 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am very pleased with my musings, hopefully I will be able to make something lovely and unique as I realised the things I loved most this weekend were the very quirky and individual ones and I can make the most of this sewing themed outfit. I will be able to use up some of my sewing charms as well and will be decorating this purple hat to go with my theme and making a bag.

Farmer Phils 14- Purple hat

And the great thing is that if it all does go terribly wrong I can still cut it up and make patchwork!

I am going to start this adventure in fabric next week as soon as the tablecloths and pattern arrive. I know Lincoln is not until next year but we will probably go to a couple of other events in Nov and Feb and if I leave the project until next year it may well get forgotten about like the new peasant dress I keep meaning to make every season 😉

Wish me luck and I will keep you updated on the progress!

Thanks as always for visiting and for your lovely comments.

Like mother, like daughter

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I taught Ellie to sew when she was about 7, it took her about 6 months to finish her first piece, a cross stitch, and she then went on to make all sorts of things. She is very talented and I was so impressed with her outfit for this weekend.

Steampunk Ellie 2

She had taken inspiration from Belle from Beauty and the Beast and turned one of Kerry’s old medieval dresses into this fantastic costume. She removed the sleeves and neck trim and altered the lacing on the back.

Steampunk Ellie original dress

Steampunk Ellie original dress 2

She added all the little charms to it on the shoulder and the broach parts to the skirt to make it Steampunk and with the addition of a bought belt and cape has got herself an amazing outfit for very little money.

Steampunk Ellie 1

There are tea cup charms here and roses and clocks on the belt and she has a little purse with a rose petal in.

Steampunk Ellie 3

Steampunk Ellie 4

She also made the necklace, using bits of old jewelry and charms. The back features a train made from a sari she picked up at one of the medieval markets.

Steampunk Ellie 5

She even found a beast to dance with!

Steampunk Ellie 6

I am so glad that she enjoys being creative, she has already started work on not one but two outfits for next year!

I had added lace to my velvet jacket and boots, the jacket was a charity find and the boots I have had for about 10 years.

Steampunk Alison 1

Steampunk Alison 4

Steampunk Alison 3

With the addition of some more keys on my hat and another charity shop bargain bag I had an outfit for Saturday and wore an adaptation of this for Sunday with one my new hats from the festival and another lace chocker.

Alison Steampunk Lincoln 1

Steampunk Alison 2

Steampunk Alison 5

Steampunk Alison red hat

I also bought some fab new/old boots. the ones I wore on Saturday while gorgeous were not comfy so Sunday I started off in a pair of lacy flats until we passed an antique shop on the way in and I saw these beautiful shoes at a bargain price.

Steampunk Alison new boots 1

They are flamenco shoes so very appropriate for the amount of time I spend in Spain.Think they might need a little lace as well though!

Steampunk Alison new boots 2

I have been thinking a lot about my next make and have come up with a plan which I shall tell you all about in the next post. This was partly inspired by a conversation with this lovely lady.

Steampunk sewing fabric dress 1

You may recognise the fabric that she used for her jacket. I bought some of this at the Steampunk market here last year as I already had it in the grey and black colourway.

I have used mine for a bag for Yarndale and have bought some more fabric from the same range from this year’s market which I will show you later.

Steampunk sewing fabric dress 2

I love this outfit, she looks so fabulous! Thanks Allison for letting me take pictures of you and share them here.

Steampunk sewing fabric dress 3

As well as outfits people create and adapt some wonderful vehicles, this was an amazing VW camper, absolutely incredible the amount of detail that has gone into this by the creators, The Bucyrus Brothers.

Have been steadily working away at bags and pouches in between marking, enjoying the lull before the storm as term starts in a few weeks and I am teaching most Saturdays until mid November.

Will see you again in a few days when I shall share my musings with you.

Thanks for visiting and have a fun week.

Vintage and useful

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One of the reasons that I collect vintage embroidery is that I can’t bear the thought of someone’s work not being appreciated. All those women who have sat over the centuries doing their, ‘work’, for it to languish unloved in the corner of a charity shop is so sad.So I have to rescue them.

Some of the things I have rescued have been turned into little ornaments and pincushions but this is the first time that I have made something large and very useful with them.

So here is the lovely vintage log cabin bag!

Vintage log cabin bag 1

As modelled by my lovely son Jake, four of the blocks were stitched together for the front. I decided against sashing, partly as I was short of fabric, the denim is from one of his old shirts so the bag is 50% recycled.

The bottom of the bag is boxed out using two inch cut outs, using the same technique that I have been using for the pouches. There are also long handles sewn to the top edge before the lining was stitched over them and a small closing flap with a magnetic clasp.

Vintage log cabin bag 5

I did but new fabric for the lining from Simply Solids as I needed half a metre and did not have that much in my stash, this is Dashwood fabric but am not sure of the name of it.

Vintage log cabin bag 3

I put in two pockets and even managed to work out how to trim them with some more of that lovely Liberty print that is in all of the blocks.There is a patch pocket at the back as well.

All my own design cobbled together from various bag ideas and some of the tote bags I already have in my craftroom. I love it and will be using it lots this summer 🙂

Vintage log cabin bag 2

I have just got some more Liberty from Alice Caroline as have decided to make more of these blocks, they are very soothing to do and so quick to put together that I shall do these when I have a spare half an hour here and there.

This is my favourite Liberty supplier, I love her website, look at that banner! I would love someone to buy me all these prints, what a rainbow of loveliness.

Alice Caroline Banner

I have got lots of other ideas for using my vintage stash on Pinterest, here are some of my favourites.

Vintage Crinoline Lady cushion

This lovely cushion features the crinoline lady, I have a few of those in my stash and is from Nostalgia at the Stone House blog. Nikki the owner of the blog makes beautiful dolls as well out of vintage fabrics and lace.

Vintage hexagons

And look at these gorgeous hexagons from Brodibidouillages  , I did make some like these a while ago as shown  below but had trouble with the edging so must dig them out and try again.

bee quilt progress

There are some beautiful things on this blog Isa Creative Musings as well, so much inspiration!

We are off to Ashby de la Zouche castle this weekend again for our annual show there, praying for fine weather. It has been so hot for the last two days here while I have been inside marking but the forecast is for rain Sunday and Monday. Typical Bank Holiday weather!

Hope you have a nice weekend planned whatever you are doing and thanks for visiting.

Another one just for me!

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I am doing well at the moment, I have recently made a second pouch for myself! This is most unusual as I rarely keep things that I make.

However one of the recent purchases of fabric with flowers on was so pretty that I had to use it for a new make up bag .

Make up bag - linen and floral 1

I bought more of the lace back from Spain where it is available at bargain prices from the Chinese market shops so decided to have lace on both sides of the fabric strip.

The tutorial is from Jedi Craft Girl blog again and I am pleased with the zipper tabs this time, they have not got too squashed.

The zip is also put in evenly and the side seams nearly match!

The linen is part of my new supply from this Ebay supplier Craft Source and the flower fabric is from Always Knitting and Sewing.

Make up bag - linen and floral 6

I have used a dark pink paisley print from my stash for the lining so it won’t show dirt. I was debating whether or not to use this as I love it and only have a small amount left and then realised it has been in my stash for about 10 years! Do you even get like that, saving something so long for special projects that you never use it?

I have at least another two pouches waiting to be made up and a pincushion, I have been experimenting with Dresdens again so am aiming to get them made up this coming weekend. Am trying to be really good and finish projects before starting anything new 😉

Hope you have had a good week and have a nice relaxing weekend ahead, thanks for visiting.

 

 

 

The internet is reading my mind!

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Well bits of the internet are anyway. As regular readers know I have been developing my skills with zippers in the last couple of months and have plans to make more of the lovely pouches that I have been making and maybe even experiment with some more designs.

So I was really pleased when I visited Amanda Jean’s Crazy Mom blog this evening to find that she had a link to a friend’s site,  A Little Crispy  – what a fab name for a blog – who is running a 52 Zippers Project, one for each week of the year! This is a screenshot of what she has made so far.

52-zipper-pouch-web-pic

How fantastic is that exactly 🙂 This is going to be a major source of inspiration for me this year as she has links to tutorials for each of the pouches for free and a basic pattern to print and there are some lovely ideas here.How kind people on the internet are!

I have not tried any curved pouches yet but these look lovely.Sadly I have other stuff to do this weekend and am busy for the next few weekends after that but the next free weekend I am going to lock myself in the craft room and go pouch mad, at last count I had about 50 zippers and I do have a little bit of fabric as well 😉

Hope that you have a great weekend ahead, I am hopefully going to be making a surcoat for St George this weekend for the show that the group has coming up at Easter.

Take care and thanks for visiting.

 

Sofa,snow,stitching blogs….perfect weekend ahead!

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Good morning everyone, I got up at stupid o clock this morning, (for a weekend), as I had a bed delivered and was contemplating going back to bed but have decided to have an indulgent morning with lots of cups of tea and snuggling in my PJs and dressing gown on the sofa catching up with favourite blogs.

We have had snow again this week, not as much as was forecast but our little world is all white again, it looks so pretty on the hills. I am still feeling a bit rough with the end of the chest infection so will not be going out and playing in it but enjoy the views and the pictures people post. Thought that those of you who don’t get much snow would like this one taken by a local photographer yesterday.

marsden-snow-small

 

One of the best things about snow is that we often get beautiful blue skies and sun after it so it is all sparkly and lovely.This is one of the hills behind my house.

I am so lucky to live here, all of the seasons are so beautiful.This panorama picture was taken a few months ago, my house is just left of the middle on the second row of terraces that were built for the mill on the right. You can see just how close I am to the beautiful hills where I go walking and the reservoir on the far right.

marsden-panorama

I have made a few things this week, mainly experimenting again with zips. Turns out that I do have a zipper foot, the one that I found that I thought I would use just for now is a different type of zipper foot as I discovered when I went to order one. For anyone else who may be interested this is a narrow zipper foot which works perfectly well.

zipper-foot

I made this pouch using the same tutorial from Emkie Designs, the additional fabric is from one of my charm packs, am getting to the end of my linen leftovers from medieval clothes making so will have to order some more soon.

linen-and-lace-zip-pouch-1

linen-and-lace-zip-pouch-2

linen-and-lace-zip-pouch-3

I am getting much better at inserting zips now, am very pleased with how neatly this turned out.

This one is made from the Homemakery tutorial again, I used a longer zip this time at 30 cm and some of my lovely French vintage inspired haberdashery fabric.This will be for the stall at Yarndale again, the basket I made in this fabric sold last year so thought I would make a few more things with it.

french-vintage-zip-pouch-1

This little cutie I made just before we went away with some Liberty fabric.

liberty-cute-pouch-1

It was a bit difficult to square off the corners as it was so small so they are a bit wonky, which is good as it can stay with me rather than being for sale 🙂

liberty-cute-pouch-2

I am using it to store my spare rotary cutter blades.

liberty-cute-pouch-3

Apart from that the free time this week has been mainly spent on the sofa watching the excellent Blindspot TV series on catch up and making hexagons for my first ever bed sized quilt.

This is a very long term project that I blogged about last year but one that is great for travelling or when I have no hand sewing or embroidery to do. I now have quite a good stack of them, I estimate that I will need about 60 for the quilt and they will be sashed with plain fabric.I love the pretty Moda Printemps fabric.

Plans for the weekend are a couple more pouches, have found some other tutorials that I am going to try to eliminate the bunching of zips at each end and to try and get my corners straighter so will report back on success or otherwise later on.

Thanks for visiting, hope that you have a good week ahead, stay warm if you are snow bound!

January thoughts

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Hello and hope you are all having a good start to your crafting year. I have been thinking a lot about goals for this year, not resolutions but things that I want to get done and so thought that putting together a list on the blog would give me a point of reference.

I like the idea of looking back at what you have done and looking forward to the future, January being named after the Roman god, Janus, the god of doors because this month is the door to the year. The Roman god Janus represents all beginnings and possesses the ability to see all things past and future which I think is a lovely idea and why he is represented with two faces.

So what did I achieve in 2016? This was very much a year of new things for me, coming really from a couple of courses that I went on at Simply Solids where I learnt to make baskets and had my first experience with zips with my pouch. I also used some of my ideas from Pinterest for pincushions and the little houses and made a sewing machine cover.

Looking at my photos for last year it doesn’t seem as if I did a lot but there also extra things that I did like the gold braid on Ellen’s dress, finishing the tabard for Jamie, a ring pillow and the Christmas ornaments that were also completed. The fact that I changed job roles in the summer has also meant a lot less time for crafting since June though hopefully that has calmed down now.

So plans for 2017. First of all to tackle some of the pesky WIPs. Like most people I am a bit of a flibbertigibbet when it comes to crafting, I see a new thing that I want to do and then go off and do it and don’t finish other things.I have also been guilty of abandoning difficult things which is not good practice!

These all need finishing.The first one needs a frame but is done otherwise, the quilt block is part of the challenge that Helen, Sharon and I did the year before last. I have 6 blocks but need a few more. The cute car hexagons were supposed to be a present for a baby who is now two! The vintage crochet hexis are going to be a bee quilt cushion and the last set of hexis are a long term project which is good for travelling, I have made some more of these in Spain.

Then the new stuff. I would like to go back and make some more of the Splendid Sampler blocks, particularly these stitched ones.

I would also like to make some of the items that I have saved pictures of on the blog.They range from things from books such as the circular tile quilt and the triple hexagon tea mug  to more pincushions, pouches, baskets, mug rugs and bags from blogs, some of Lori Holt Bloom Sew Along and a Dresden block using vintage linen from a magazine.

I would like to do more of Jenny of Elefantz’s lovely embroidery, the hexagon and roses one above is one I have been meaning to do for the craft room but think it would make a great zip pouch as well.

I also need to find a use for these gifted hexagons from my friend Helen, zippered pouches maybe? Probably more likely than a whole quilt given my productivity!

gift hexis 1

Finally there is more cross stitch, something I haven’t done for a long time but am feeling the urge for in preparation for next year’s Christmas ornaments.

A little snowy scene

Well that lot should keep me going for a while, meantime there is some crochet and lace zips calling me upstairs so I had better go and see what they want!

Take care and thanks for visiting.

Zipper di do dah!

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Hello again, one of the good things about the enforced being indoors has been more time for playing with fabric. I have had lots of marking to do but have managed to escape to the craft room for a couple of hours each evening and so have increased my productivity no end.

I have been experimenting with zips, still not got a zipper foot yet but have been doing ok with the one foot I have and have been using up some of things in my stash to make some more pouches.

I love Liberty fabrics and have lots of hexagons that I am in the process of putting together for a bag so I used one of them and some of my linen scraps for another zipped pouch using the same tutorial as before from Emkie Designs. 

libert-zipped-pouch-1

This one turned out ok but I put too much wadding in as it is a bit lumpy with the linen but it is fine for me.I am pleased with the neatness of the zig zagging for appliqueing on the patchwork though and do love the little ditsy fabrics!

I wanted to make a present for my aunt and decided that a little basket using linen and some of my vintage lace scraps would be good and am very pleased with the way this turned out. This is the second smallest version of the Friends of the One Hour Basket and uses up some of  very cute lace collar that I was given by a friend.

linen-and-lace-basket-and-pouch-2

I think I will make some more of these with matching pin cushions and needlebooks for Yarndale next year as I think they are very lovely and will sell well.

I then decided to get a bit more creative with the lovely lace zips and made this matching pouch using the tutorial from The Homemakery for a boxed pouch. I have found a new supplier for the lace zips as I had used all the little ones that I bought last year, Buddly Crafts have them at a great price and it was very speedy delivery.

linen-and-lace-basket-and-pouch-5

I made an 8 inch by 8 inch pouch, with hindsight I would have made it 6 by 8 as it is a bit square and maybe should have moved the lace in a bit from the edge but as they say you live and learn and I think that they look very cute together.

I also made another little basket for a last minute Christmas gift for one of my other younger relatives, I made a similar one for her sister in the summer.

purple-small-basket-1

purple-small-basket-2

I have now finished work for the holidays, hurrah! Jake and I off to Ellie’s tomorrow so am really looking forward to that, then Ellie and I go to Spain for New Year, looking forward to my usual New Year’s Day beach picnic and paddle 🙂

Will pop in and say Merry Christmas to you all, meanwhile have fun with the last of your festive prep and thanks for visiting.