Wednesday 28 January 2015

Elephants on Parade - Sewing Machine Cover

This one has been on my project list for a while, and I finally got round to it last week. My sewing machine came with a white plastic dust cover, which although practical, wasn’t very inspiring. You might remember from my trip to the Knitting & Stitching Show in the autumn that I bought a piece of African elephant print cotton in gorgeous bold colours, it was in fact a half metre cut. Then, the most recent issue of Mollie Makes arrived on my doorstep with a very useful pattern for a sewing machine cover. There, a perfect combination!



The magazine pattern was designed to have a pieced chevron front, but the overall principle of the pattern was easily applicable to any other fabric. Using the plastic cover as a template, I measured out all the pieces I’d need and serendipitously discovered that my half metre of elephants was absolutely the exact right size! I also had some old bed sheeting in my stash that I've used for the lining.


I wanted to pad my cover out a bit more so got some quilt wadding, which actually turned out a little thicker than I anticipated, but it’ll just give my sewing machine a bit more protection. It was also a test for the sewing machine to sew through all the layers at a couple of points!

The pattern instructions were pretty straightforward, and it turned out to be quite a quick make, only a couple of hours last weekend. I’m really pleased with how it ended up, the only slightly fiddly bit was tucking all the layers in for the handle opening once the whole thing has been turned the right way out.




So now my sewing machine has a snuggly new coat and looks much more fun with the elephants marching all the way round (by the way, I’m almost ecstatic that I managed to line up the pattern all the way round!), and I’ve used up some fabric that had been in my stash for a while – definitely something I want to do more of this year, what with having limited storage space in my room!


What have you all been making recently? I’ve also been knitting a baby blanket for a friend and have plans for more me-knitting soon, as well as more dressmaking projects. I’m really looking forward to the new series of The Great British Sewing Bee starting next week and will enjoy watching the catch up with the Class of 2014 this evening, hope you’re watching too!


Saturday 10 January 2015

Patchwork, Socks and Shopping

I finished my first ever pair of knitted socks! I'm really proud of myself, and so pleased with how they turned out. I could definitely see myself making more in future, perhaps in some lovely cosy chunky wool for snuggly indoor socks.


I'm chuffed that I remembered about starting in the same place in the colour repeat to match the striped on both socks (not that I would have minded if these were mis-matched), the only slight annoyance is a single row of blue across the front of the ankle of one sock - I think this was where I re-joined the instep after doing the heel, but it won't really bother me too much - aren't all handmade things supposed to have a flaw in them somewhere to prove a real person made them?!


On New Year's Day afternoon I got in a peaceful hour with the sewing machine and whipped up this patchwork cushion cover. It was a pre-cut kit that I'd bought from Liberty's before Christmas, so I just had to do the arranging and sewing, but still a satisfying little project.


I love the combination of colours and prints, and the back is just an easy envelope style overlap. I'm just waiting to get a new cushion pad to go in it before it takes pride of place on the sofa with the cable cushions I knitted last year - in green and purple conveniently, so it'll all co-ordinate beautifully!

My shopping trip resulted in these three purchases:


The floral at the top is a cotton lawn that I think might make a pretty summer blouse, the black based big flowers is a cotton twill with a slight stretch that I'm lining up for a skirt, and the pink and grey check is a wool mix that drapes beautifully and is destined to become a smart dress for work. Once I find the time to make them of course!