Baby dress

This is made of McCall's sewing pattern 2053. 

It was fun making this tiny dress, and the then-baby is now a beautiful girl who is very talented. :) 

For me, challenge of making a baby dress was that everything was so small. I am used to sewing adult size clothes, and the size of the arm scythe was so small, making it harder to set in the sleeves. But I managed. Phew. 

Belt

I made this lace-up belt a while ago and used it a while on dresses that did not have pockets. I wanted to have my cell phone with me as I go about my day, so I had to have something with a pocket. 

I used the belt pattern that came with the peasant shirt pattern (Simplicity 5799). 

The belt was handy while my phone fit in that little pocket. The phone sizes grew, and my current phone does not fit in it any more. So, I should make another one with a bigger pocket, but you know how a "to make" list keeps on growing... 

Knapsacks

 Here are a few knapsacks I made a while back. 

I always like to add a pocket just in case you want to get organized inside the bag. 

Fanny pack

This is a fanny pack I use when I go for a quick walk or a bike ride around the neighbourhood. I just pop in my keys, phone, etc., and it's a perfect size. This is made with Simplicity 8069 pattern. 

I lined it with a remnant from an old project. 

I added an extra pocket on the back side of the bag, but I hardly use it...  Maybe when I make it next, I can omit this extra pocket. 

Obi remake bags

As mentioned in yesterday's post, here are some bags that are made of previously loved obi (sash) fabrics. The fabrics were taken from obi (kimono sash), and they are silk. 

These bags are perfect for carrying small things around that do not fit in your purse or pocket. 

There is an interior pocket with a pen slot.

Also a little D-ring for clipping your key chain, etc. 

Each bag is slightly different in sizes because I try to make the most of the available fabric to make a bag, but this one is about 11" x 11". 

Kimono remake pouches

These are made of previously loved Japanese kimono or kimono obi (sash) fabrics. 

I believe in giving previously loved textile items new lives by remaking them into something else. Since I enjoy making bags and pouches, I often remake them into this kind of pouches. The ones on the left are made of wool fabrics from kimono (yes, not all kimono are made of silk), and the ones on the right are made of obi (these are silk). 

This year, I will not be participating in Christmas sales, but if you need special gift for someone who likes Japanese fabrics, I can make bags or pouches like these. 

Leather craft

I've decided to try making some small things with leather. 

The first thing I made was a card case. There are two pockets and it folds in half. 

The second thing I tried making was a cable tie. There was no sewing involved, and it was rather easy. I just had to use some hammer to put those rivets and snaps. 

I find that sewing leather with an industrial sewing machine goes quite smoothly. (I don't really know how it is with a domestic sewing machine. Maybe it's easy, too.) 

I tried to make a wavy kind of patterns for the pockets and added a snap to keep the case closed in a bag. 

 

Zabuton (sitting mats)

I don't know if you heard of Zabuton. A zabuton is a sitting "futon" or sitting mat. It is used to sit on. :) In Japan when I was growing up, it was pretty common to sit on the floor and we used zabuton all the time. 

I know people in the west don't usually sit on the floor much, but sometimes it is still comfortable sitting on the floor. Therefore, I had to make some zabuton myself. 

I researched the size for them, and they are usually about 50 cm x 50 cm. I am sure you can make it smaller or larger as you like. I upcycled an old Japanese futon to to use in these zabutons and other bench seats. The old wool mattress has gotten quite flat to use as a mattress, but it was still good for these uses. 

Simple drawstring bags to replace gift wrap

Have you thought about switching to using cloth bags for your gift giving? I see after Christmas a lot of wrapping paper and materials in the recycle bags. It is fun to rip into paper-wrapped gifts, but the amount of waste is mind boggling (even if they are supposedly "recycled"). 

Simple string bags are easy to make, and you can ask the bags back to be used again and again. Or you can ask the gift receivers to use them for something else. 

There are so many tutorials online if you look. If you are too busy to make them, I can make them for you. I can make between three and four bags per hour (depending on whether you want the edges of the fabric serged or not). 

Or you can come take a sewing lesson to make them yourself. One hour should be enough to make a bag if you already know how to sew a straight line on the sewing machine. 

Sleeping shirt and about sewing time

I made a simple sleeping shirt without a collar in raglan sleeves. Sometimes I find a collar to be in a way when I'm sleeping, and I wanted to have my night shirt without it. I also made the sleeves a little shorter because I find full length sleeves to be a little too hot. (For this sleeping shirt, I modified Butterick B5261 pattern designed by Connie Crawford.) 

It's nice to be able to just make something I feel comfortable in when I sleep. 

Sometimes people think it is very quick to make a simple project and when I tell them how much time it may take to make, they do not want to hire me to make it any more. 

There are four pieces to make this shirt: front, back, and sleeves. This shirt took about three hours to make from cutting the fabrics to finishing the hems in simple finish. If I were to break it down to each steps, it is like this:

1. Lay the prepared patterns (cut to the size) on the fabric, pin them in place and cut the pieces out. 

2. Mark all the necessary marks so you can identify the pieces of the fabrics. 

3. Prepare the edges with serger to prevent the fabrics from fraying. 

4. Put the pieces together to sew one seam at a time. (This shirt has about 6 seams to sew.) 

5. After sewing each seam, press the seams. (Without this step, the garment does not look good.)

6. Finish the neckline with a binding and installing a placket and snaps. 

7. Finish the hems of the sleeves. 

8. Finish the bottom hem. 

I am talking about a very simple shirt like this one takes about three hours to make. Imagine if this shirt had a stand collar, front buttons, back yoke, and cuffs with plackets. 

Have you ever thought about how factories make so many pieces of garments to be sold at a very low price at a store? It is because they streamline the work to cut down on the cost, time, and all else that can be cut. Each person who sew at a factory like that would be sewing one thing all day long... 

This means the person who is sewing is just sewing one part of a garment and does not have the sense of satisfaction of finishing one project, but he/she can't do anything about it because it's just a job for him/her. I know that the apparel industry does provide jobs for those who need them. 

But I like making my own clothes because I can make it the way I like and can have the satisfaction of finishing a project. I also know that I do a high-quality job in sewing. Sometimes with the ready-made clothing items, you can see all the shortcuts... I don't do shortcuts when I make my own clothes, and they last longer. 

Woven pink scarf

I mostly sew, but sometimes I try other textile art as well. I love weaving. It feels so satisfactory to see the fabric grow larger as I weave. 

This pink scarf is something I wove some time ago. 

With a help of my weaver friend, I got to try some simple weaving using a small loom (a child's loom, but it still gave me a valuable experience of weaving). Then, I did some research on what kind of loom I want to have, and after a long time of thinking about it, I got myself a loom in Japan. It's called "Saki-Ori" loom from Clover brand. I don't know if you can buy them in North America. But I bought it in Japan and shipped it to myself to Canada. 

I still need to practice my weaving, but it's so fun. Now as I write this, I want to weave more! I am a little bit busy at this time, and I hope I can do more weaving and knitting soon. 

A linen jacket

This is a jacket I made a couple of years ago. It's made of a navy linen fabric. This is made with Simplicity 8177 pattern. 

I had a black fabric with a pattern on it, and I decided to use it as a back panel as shown below. 

As I was running out of the navy blue linen fabric, I used contrasting fabrics (remnants I had in my stash) in the hidden places just for fun. 

This is a nice jacket to use in warmer days at night or in the morning. 

Patchwork blanket

I had a lot of small pieces of Japanese cotton fabrics and Japanese-like cotton fabrics in my stash. I wasn't too sure what to make out of them. At that time towards the end of the COVID time, the demand for the face masks had dwindled because more and more disposable masks were available at stores. Rather than just keeping them in the fabric stash, I decided to make them into a small blanket by piecing them together. 

 This is a perfect size to use on my lap when it's a little chilly while sitting on a couch. 

Some fabrics were actually from Japan and are called kasuri, and others are Japan-like prints. But I think they went well together. 

Knitted hats

Some years ago, I wanted to learn to knit. But I knew that knitting is kind of hard, and I learned that there is such a thing as knitting loom. I kind of remember doing things like this on a smaller scale when I was a child to make a cord. So, I tried it with assistance from YouTube tutorials by many different people. 

It was a lot of fun, and a lot of hats were coming out of the knitting look very quickly. In order to make a lot of hats in a hurry to donate to some charities that give hats to babies, I made one every couple of hours. 

Then, I decided that I wanted to learn to actually knit as well, using circular needles. Again, I learned a lot from YouTube, and  made some knitted hats (on the left row in the photo below). It took a little longer than using the loom, but the change was good. Knitting made a little more delicate-looking hats. 

Those light yellow hats were for sisters. 

This pale green one was for a friend's baby. 

I am sure they have all outgrown those hats, but if they were able to keep them a little bit warmer, than I am happy. :) 

Now that it's getting a little colder again, I am thinking I should make another hat in a brightly coloured yarn. 

My friend's woven band

My good friend D.S. Weber gave me a very pretty woven band with bamboo yarn (green and navy blue) and silk yarn (orangish blended colour). The cool part is that she wove it herself!! 

I held on to it for a while because I had to make something special with it. This special thing had to be something that I actually use because special things deserve to be used - not to be put away in a box in a closet. 

See how pretty it is.

I came up with an idea. I wanted to make a belt with this. 

I first had to decide what to do with the issue of this band being a little bit stretchy and maybe too soft to work as a belt. After thinking about this issue, I decided to add a nylon webbing on the back as a stabilizer. 

This was a perfect time to use a belt buckle that I bought in Nippori, Japan. The one-inch webbing fit perfectly. I cut it into the length I needed (it took me a lot of courage to actually cut this!!!) and sewed on the band onto the webbing using a professional sewing machine (above). Then, I found a black leather in my stash and made the edge pieces to sew them onto either end of the band using an industrial sewing machine. I learned a lot about sewing with leather in the process. The internet is full of tutorials, and I learn so much from them. 

Here is the belt.

Then, I found out that there is enough woven band left for me to make a neck strap for my keys. So, I used a little bit more of the same black leather to attach a lobster clip on it. This time I did not line the band with anything. Because it is woven with bamboo and silk yarns, it feels very soft around my neck. 

I now have a matching set of a belt and a key strap. 

D.S. Weber is a multi-talented novelist (romance adventure). I read her first book this spring and loved it! I enjoy both romance and adventure, and her book is full of excitement and characters I love. (Is it just me, or so many characters in TV/streaming shows and books these days are not all that likeable or relatable?) Her next book will be coming out soon, too, and I can't wait... Her Instagram is here. 

D.S. and I get together when we can manage to do so and have conversations on a wide range of topics. Our interests are so vast, and our topics of conversations fly wherever our curiosities take us. We also make things together. 

Cushion covers

I wanted something that completely matched my futon couch. So, I got a sheet set, and for the mattress, I used the fitted sheet, and for the pillow or cushion covers, I made pillow/cushion covers using the other sheet from the same set. 

I also have sensitivity issues with different fabrics, so I wanted to have 100% cotton fabric for this. However, the quilting fabrics are too narrow and I would have to piece fabrics together to make the mattress cover. In addition, the quilting fabrics are not cheap... 

I went shopping for a good cotton sheet set on a sale, and here they are. I actually find that some cotton sheets are a better quality than some fabrics you buy at a fabric store. So, when I find a good sheet, I will not hesitate to use it for making clothes as well.  

Hand woven cushion cover

A potholder loom is so fun! You may think it is for kids' craft. But why not enjoy it as an adult, too. I had a few pieces of squares woven, and I decided to make them into a cushion cover.  

I stitched them by hand using a pice of green yarn, and here it is. Colourful, fun cushion cover! 

I am no means a professional when it comes to weaving, so I do not take orders for this kind of item. But I whole heartedly recommend you try it out. I sewed in a zipper on one of the edge of the pillow cover.