Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone. I know that not all celebrate Christmas but I wish those good tidings to during this holiday season. May your hearts know Joy and Peace on Earth. Remember to snug the littles ones in bed extra tight and hang the stockings by the chimney with care. And I don't know about you, but I'll be reading my favorite Christmas story tonight too.

Sometimes we do things other than sewing

Each December for as many years as the little sewing ninja can remember we have constructed a gingerbread house. Of course that leads to her wonderful mother using some unladylike like language as one or more walls completely collapse during the construction. So this year we built a village instead.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's to giving thanks for all the wonderful people in my life. I am so thankful that each and everyone of you are with me (even if we cannot be together today you are still with me in my heart). Remember to give thanks for all the wonderful people in your life too. Enjoy the weekend.

Halloween was mathematical at our house!

Fiona and the Ice King enjoyed their day.

Meet the Staff

Here at The Sewing Ninja we have a motley crew that puts together the items you see here. Today, I'd like to introduce you to our staff.

Business Manager - Miss Rei has been with our family since 2000 in various roles. She is currently serving as our business manager. She ensures that payments are received on time and heads are petted when they need to be petted. However, she tends to be a bit aloof in her duties and is often absent which forces us to use a temporary until she decides to return.

Temporary Business Manager - Na-na is our temporary fill in when Miss Rei goes on a leave of absence. I mean, hey, who else is going to make sure that chair has someone to sit in it?

My Assistant - The Little Sewing Ninja - My daughter is currently the best assistant I've had. She is a real go getter. She takes care of the minor details like threading the machine, winding bobbin and taking stock of the materials and accessories we have on hand. Any item I need she is there to help me find it. She even removes the scrap during projects to make sure they don't accidentally get wrapped into the current project. The only thing she can't do is operate the iron (because hey, I don't want her to burn herself - ouchy).

Fashion/Color Consultant - The Mr. Sewing Ninja - My husband has been given the dubious task of helping determine coordinating colors for projects and proper coordinating accessories. I am lacking in my ability to appropriately match items or sometimes see that something else is needed. This is where he steps in with product advice and constructive criticism. In all the years we have been together, he has always been honest about my choices even in cases where it may not have been the opinion I wanted to hear.

Owner/Operator/Head Seamstress - Me, The Sewing Ninja - I am the one tasked with purchasing all materials and accessories. I also determine the projects that will be made (with input from My Assistant and the Consultant) as well as responsible for posting the information here on this site. I am also the one responsible for the maintenance of the equipment. I guess you could say I keep everything going.

So there you have it. Our "staff".

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to all the boys and ghouls. Enjoy your day and tricks or treats. I'll see you later this week. Fionna and I have some houses to visit and some candy to bring home.

Fiona - Part 3 - The Backpack

Now we are on to our third and final installment of the Fionna costume. If you missed the previous posts, you can see the skirt tutorial (Part 1) and hat tutorial (Part 2). With 2 of the 3 major parts of the costume complete, I set off to make the Backpack. Having learned something from making the hat, I looked on line for a tutorial first. I saw several, but none that I liked. So, I decided to make the pattern from scratch.

Materials:

dark green felt

light green felt

*I bought a yard of each but had WAY too much left over. A half a yard would probably be enough

Foam coated floral wire

thread in coordinating color

sewing machine

lots of pins

pattern paper (I used some construction paper I had on hand)

I used a large bowl (but not the largest one I had) to make the pattern. I cut the approriate pieces from the light green and dark green felt.

Here you can see what I cut out:

2 halves of a circle in dark green (bottom of bag)

2 halves of a circle in light green (top of bag)

4 narrow rectangles for the bag's straps in dark green

4 narrow rectangles for the bag's straps in light green

1 wide rectangle for the bag's mid section in dark green

1 wide rectangle for the bag's mid section in light green

I ended up modifiying one half light green circle because I decided to make a flap. So I cut an extra light green half circle for the flap.

After I cut these pieces, I pinned them together. I pinned one light green and 1 dark green half circle together along the center (to make back of the bag). I pinned the rectangles for the straps together at the center too (1 dark green to 1 light green, 2 times). The other dark green half circle to the 1/4 light green circle along the center to form the front of the bag (minus the flap). I also pinned the two large rectangles together along the short end (center of bag).

Next I sewed these in place. After stitching the short edge of the straps together (only 1 short edge, the other should remain unsewn), with wrong sides facing out, I pinned two sets of each strap to one another (made 2 sets) making sure to line the greens up. Then I stitched both long ends together for each set.
 

Long edge of bag straps being stitched together



Long edge of straps being stitched together



Straps all sewn together turned with right sides out.

Turn straps right side out once long edges are sewn. The ends on both side should be open. These will be tucked into your bag.


Next I stitched both short edges of the larger rectangles (bag center together). Be sure that both sides of the rectangle are sewn closed. You will end up with a big circle once complete.


Next sew the long edge of the light and dark green half circles together. For the other half circle of dark green and quarter circle, I stitched their long edges together (not sure why I didn't photo that step).

Next was the hard part. I had to pin all of the pieces together. I started with the back and the middle pieces. About 3/4 of the way around that circle I began to wonder if I had cut the middle rectangles long enough or if I had cut them too long. Fortunatley they were the right length. But I did manage to pin the pieces together wrong (one was right side out and one was right side in - ugh). It took me 3 attemps and a good night's rest to finally get the back and middle pinned together. Next I pinned the front to it (making sure it was right side in). And then I pinned the flap in place (after pinning I realized I didn't like the way it looked so I shaped it up some). I tried to find a good spot to put the straps, removed a few pins, inserted the strap and pinned them in place too.



Rear of bag with straps pinned in place.

 Once you pin the straps, the straps will be right side out and they will be inside the bag. The raw edges will extrude through the pinned sides of the bag.



Side of the bag with everything pinned in place.



Close up of the straps pinned in place

After I pinned it all together, I turned the bag (CAREFULLY) inside out to see if it looked like I wanted it too or not.

I also made my daughter try it on to make sure the straps were in the right spot and not too long. Once I was sure everything was where I wanted it to be, I carefully turned it with the right side in. Then I sewed it together starting with the back to the middle (this secured both straps too which I stitched over a few times to make sure they were securely held in place. Then I stitched the bottom of the front to the middle. Last I stitched the flap in place leaving just the very ends free.

When I turned it right side out, I noticed it flopped a bit. So I decided to add some support using the floral wiring I used on the ears. I added a piece along the opening (not on the flap). This added much needed support. And Viola! One Fionna bag.








WARNING!

The Sewing Ninja is temporarily on hiatist as we relocate to a new location. I will be back very soon with more posts.

Fiona - part 2A - The Hat revisited

As you may recall, I posted my hat Fiona hat tutorial the other week (see post here). As part of my initial run on the hat, the ears decided to be rebellious and not stand up. I couldn't leave the hat with the ears not standing. When I looked at the hat it was almost like the ears were mocking me. So, I ripped the stitch that I had hand stitched shut on the bottom edge of the hat (one I used to turn the entire hat right side out). I turned the hat inside out again. I ripped the stitches holding the ears in place. This time inside of stitching the ears closed, I stitched around the edge of them to the edge of the opening, thus leaving the bottom of the ears open.

Next I took some of the foam floral wire I had (man there sure is a lot on a roll) and created larger shaping for the ears. Large enough that the wire stuck out through the bottom of the ears. I bend the ends up. and hand stitched these in place.

Viola! The ears finally stood. I ran the wire down the sides of the ears along the ear seams. Looking back on it, it would probably be better to run the wire in the front and back (not on the seams). But oh well, they stand up now. :)

What I made with 2 fat quarters of material

With material not being so cheap (at least if you are furiously sewing away), I thought I'd show you all what I made out of 2 fat quarters (18" x 21") of material plus a few zippers and some craft fuse.  First up, I made a utility apron.

I had enough material that I lined the pocket. The material you see on the inside of the pocket is also the same material I used for the straps. I have a tutorial I'll post later on so you can make your own apron out of 1 fat quarter.

Next I made myself a boxed cosmetic bag from the same materials and a 9" zipper. I added craft fuse to both layers to make the bag sturdier.

It is lined with the same material as the inside of the apron pocket.
The last think I made was a small zippered bag. I used the left overs from both materials to make it along with a black zipper. I lined both materials with craft fuse (Pellon 808). I should have used a lighter interface for the pocket as two layers of material + craft fuse through a small opening = grrrrr....Fortunately the bag turned out cute though.

Sewing Basics - Wovens versus Knits

Fabrics are a bit of a mystery to me. Which is rather funny since the job I work in is highly related to textiles and many of the individuals in my group have a textile degree of some sort.  But I am guessing that aside from this group of persons I work with, many others out there are trying to learn the basics about fabrics that they use in their own sewing projects (or maybe I'm the only nerd out here).

Most of the fabrics I've encountered are either woven or knit (as opposed to crocheted or spread, etc).  Woven materials are woven on a loom. They have threads that run the entire length of the material roll (this is the warp) and then there are other threads that are woven through/across the warp threads (weft).  Generally these materials will have an edging down the two of the sides. This is called selvage and it runs in the direction of the warp (thank you work friends for teaching me these items). Wovens are generally not stretchy and wrinkle like crazy (this is why I have to iron so many fabrics for my projects)!!. And the unsewn edges seem to fray terribly unless measures are taken to prevent fraying (eg. cutting with pinking shears).

Wovens include material like:  Silk, Satin, Canvas, Corduroy, Linen, Muslin, Cashmere

Knit materials are a bit different though. Instead of being woven on a loom, they are knitted on a machine just like one would knit by hand. Knit materials are generally stretchy unlike woven materials. These materials are also wrinkle resistant. These materials are broken into two types of knits: warp-knitted and weft knitted . 

Weft knitted fabrics will run (or can run) when they are cut. These type of materials are used in things like lingerie. A hand knitted sweater would also be considered weft knitted. Warp knitted fabrics typically don't run. Warp knitting is not done by machine only.

Knits include: jersey, felt, mesh

There is a great article at Threads Magazine that tells you how to determine if a material woven or knit when you are in the store. See that article here.

In the article they tell you to (1) look for the grain, (2) stretch the material, (3) test for wrinkles and (4) look at the edge of the material.

 So good luck on your next trip and I hope you now know a little more than you did 5 minutes ago. ;)

Small Bag with Velcro closure

So I have this bag that came with a tote I bought several years ago. I use it to carry around my flash drive as I needed some place to carry it. The other day I was studying it and realized how simple it was to make. I mean why I hadn't I thought to make one of these before. So I set off to make a similar bag. Of course, the day I did, I had no zippers. So I decided to make it with a Velcro closure.  

This all seemed simple enough. Press the fusible interfacing to my material, fold up the edges for the seam allowances, press and sew. WRONG! I sewed down the top and bottom edges with a nice zig-zag, no problem. Then I turned the fabric with the wrong sides facing out and folded it up just like I envisioned in my mind. After an hour of fighting with my machine (it kept jamming...) I finally had all the edges sewn. I turned it with the right sides out and doh. I had sewed it not so that the top would be a flap closed by velcro but as a bag I'd have to try and cram my fat hand into. ARGH!!! So, I ripped the sides stitches and folded the top to the other side. Of course that gave me the same problem but with the top on the outside instead of the inside. Another ripped seam or two and I finally figured it out. I hand stitched the velcro to the bag.  And below is what I ended up with.

Next go around I'm adding a liner and not restitching 100 times. On a positive note, I did find a very useful site for caring for my machine and how to prevent jams.

Fiona - Part 2 - The Hat

As you may recall, I am working on a Fiona costume for my daughter for Halloween. You can see the first post here. Today I am putting together the hat.

When my daughter first decided she wanted to dress up like Fiona, I started thinking about how I would make the hat and the shape to use. I came up with something in my mind that looked a lot like a modified ski mask. Then it struck me, why not look up online to see if anyone else had come up with a pattern already? Duh. So I searched and found a few decent tutorials. The best one is here. And I have to say if you are going to make one of these hats I recommend you use this tutorial as it is the best I have seen and what I based my hat off of. The only thing I don't like about it is there isn't enough pictures. So I am going to show you how I made my hat.

The tutorial I linked above from Instructables has an awesome pattern already attached. I being the patience person I am could not wait to get access to a printer so I decided to make my own pattern (based solely on the photos not actually looking at the pattern posted there). It took about 2-3 hours to get the pattern just right and fit my daughter's head. You may be able to see in the photos where I had to cut pieces of the pattern off, move them over and tape them in place  (the shiny spots are tape - I first had the chin straps set way to far in, ie they weren't covering my daughter's ears, just her cheeks). I even made the piece too short to begin with. I probably should have waited to print the pattern from Instructables but I wanted to design my own.

Once I was done I ended up with a pattern very similar to the one from Instructables. However, mine was quite a bit smaller since I was making one for a head that is about 21 inches in diameter.

To make the hat, I gather my materials:

• 1 yard of white felt (piece I bought was 36 in by 36 in)
• 1 piece of velcro (forgot to buy some so I had some black pieces on hand)
• Sewing Machine
• White thread
• Lots of pins
• floral wire
• stuffing

First, I folded the felt in half. Then I pinned my pattern pieces in place. I cut two of each piece except the ears which I cut 4 of those.

Next I turned the pieces inside out and pinned them together. I pinned the short end of the Body of the Hat together for each piece, I pinned the ears together too. I did not pin the Top of Hat yet.

Next I stitched the short end of the Body of Hat. I stitched each piece separately (not together, I put those together at the end). In order to make sure the Body of the Hat was nice and secure, I added two straight stitches close to the edge. These stitches were about 1/4 inch from the edge.

Next I stitched the both sets of ears together making sure not to stitch the bottom (straight) edge.

Next, I pinned the Top of the Hat (circle piece) to the Body of the Hat for each set. You really need to take your time pinning these together to make sure that the circle is pinned just right so you don't get any weird bunching. I must say that half way through pinnning the top in place I started to wonder if I had cut the circle large enough (fortunaetly I had).

Notice I used a LOT of pins here. I was super worried it would come undone will sewing or I would get a weird wrinkle. I got neither of those things.

One thing I did note was you have the keep the fabirc very flat near the machine (see the wrinkling in the front). I sewed this seam pretty slowly in order to make sure I was keeping the material flat going into the machine plus I had to remove all those pins. -MAKE SURE NOT TO SEW OVER YOUR PINS!

Here's what mine looked like once the top was sewn in place. When you are done you'll have two of these pieces.

The next part had to be handled delicately. First, decide which of the hats will be the outside and which will be the inside. With the Outside hat inside out (seams facing out), mark the top (circle) to show where you want the ears to go. The ears will have to be inserted and stitched in place. I cut to slits about 2 inches wide (based on my ear sizing) about mid way across the hat and about 2 inches from each edge.


Turn the ears inside out (seams on the inside). To make the ears stand up, I used some coated floral wire I had laying around. I bent a piece in a bunny ear shape and placed that into one of the ears and cut off the excess floral wire. Then repeated for the other ear and then stuffed the ears.



I'm going to tell you how I secured the ears in place, but if I was doing this again I'd do it differently because my ears are floppy. WHAT I DID: Stitched the ears in place with the machine. Straight across closing the ears up. WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE: Hand stitched the ears such that the bottom was still open to the inside of the hat, this way I could have ran the floral wire down into the hat (giving more stability). I also think I should have used more floral wire.

Anyway, at this point I remembered that I needed to add my Velcro. The instructables tutorial ties the ends (chin straps) of his hat together. I decided when I started my project that I was not spending all night on Halloween tying and re-tying the hat for my daughter, so Velcro was my solution. The first thing I did was turn the Outside hat (one with ears attached) right side out. The other hat (inside one, one without ears) was still wrong side out. I stuffed the one with out ears into the hat with the ears. One piece of velcro was pinned in place on the inside (right side) of the inner hat about 1/2 inch from the bottom of the chin strap. The other piece of velcro was pinned in place on the opposite side of the hat on the outside chin strap of the outside hat (one with ears) about 1/2 inch from the bottom.

You could also wait until the very end to add the Velcro if this makes no sense. Then I stitched both pieces in place.

Last thing I did was put it all together. I turned the outside hat inside out (ears in) and the other hat right side out (seam side in). I pinned both hats together taking special care not to pin the ears (I stuffed them in the side wear the chin strap was). Next I sewed both pieces together around the entire perimeter except for about a 2 inch long opening near the bottom back. I left this to turn the hat right side out through. Once everything was turned the way it should be, I top stitched the opening closed.

The hat was a perfect fit on the Little Sewing Ninja. But like I said above, my ears flopped. So I have added a few hand stitches on the outside to help them stand up. My husband has suggest some cardboard, so I may add that to the rear to give them more support.

 

Fabric Gift Bags

I have become obsessed with fabric gift bags lately. The only design I could come up with was a fairly simple lined bag and I was certain there would be some awesome tutorial online to show me. How to make a snazzy bag. Nope. Everything I seemed to find was a one layer bag without anything snazzy.....So I decided to make one.

 Pretty meh so I made another but this time with boxed ends.


I put a box of goodies in this bag to show the boxed ends


 A little better but still not snazzy.

Then I took out some left over christmas fabric (used it to make a basket inset long before my little one was born) and got the red leftovers from a stocking project.  And I stitched up a snazzier bag. Much better.

So far these are my favorite. One even has a silky feeling liner.

 I even decide to make a draw string bag. It didn't go quite as well though. I wanted the drawstring further down on the side.

Oh well, guess I'll have to try that one again. I'm thinking next go around there needs to be some sort of ribbon trim around the top .... maybe with an elastic middle. We'll see what the fabric stash holds. Maybe a tutorial is in your the future?