What I ended up making for Christmas

Hi everyone,

I've seen some lovely homemade gifts on this site, and have been so inspired!  Sadly my Christmas gift planning was a complete fail.  I didn’t make any of the things I planned to make, but did end up making something I wasn’t really planning to make at all.  Thanks to a comment from Marie I decided to make a pair of boxers for my boyfriend.  I used Kwik Sew pattern 1672 and am totally chuffed about how well they have turned out. 

Not least the amazing fluke pattern matching at the centre front, it’s (almost perfect).

I also made some embroidered gift tags, partially inspired by this purl bee tutorial, although I made the tags bigger and embroidered the names on instead of using card.

I hope everyone elses Christmas making plans went well.  Happy holidays everyone!!!

What I ended up making for Christmas

Hi everyone,

I've seen some lovely homemade gifts on this site, and have been so inspired!  Sadly my Christmas gift planning was a complete fail.  I didn’t make any of the things I planned to make, but did end up making something I wasn’t really planning to make at all.  Thanks to a comment from Marie I decided to make a pair of boxers for my boyfriend.  I used Kwik Sew pattern 1672 and am totally chuffed about how well they have turned out. 

Not least the amazing fluke pattern matching at the centre front, it’s (almost perfect).

I also made some embroidered gift tags, partially inspired by this purl bee tutorial, although I made the tags bigger and embroidered the names on instead of using card.

I hope everyone elses Christmas making plans went well.  Happy holidays everyone!!!

Whew! Almost finished

Life got away from me the last month.  Apparently trying to make Christmas gifts and starting a blog while working a full time + part time job was not a good idea.  ;)

I want to share some of my finished (as of 10 minutes ago) gifts.
For my two nieces:

 The skirts are the circle pattern from Favorite Things - easy and fun to sew.












The pleated purses are from http://mommybydaycrafterbynight.blogspot.com/2011/10/pleated-purse-tutorial.html .  The pleating takes a bit of time but the instructions for these are great!

We also gave away over 30 jars of homemade jelly.

And my homemade vanilla and lemoncello is ready to decant and bottle up.

  One of my New Year's resolutions is to get regular about blogging!  I received a pressure cooker for my birthday so I anticipate more canning and my fabric stash is getting out of control so sewing will be happening.
   I've really enjoyed seeing the pictures and reading about everyone's gifts.  Thanks so much for sharing and inspiring me.
    Happy Holidays!

Whew! Almost finished

Life got away from me the last month.  Apparently trying to make Christmas gifts and starting a blog while working a full time + part time job was not a good idea.  ;)

I want to share some of my finished (as of 10 minutes ago) gifts.
For my two nieces:

 The skirts are the circle pattern from Favorite Things - easy and fun to sew.












The pleated purses are from http://mommybydaycrafterbynight.blogspot.com/2011/10/pleated-purse-tutorial.html .  The pleating takes a bit of time but the instructions for these are great!

We also gave away over 30 jars of homemade jelly.

And my homemade vanilla and lemoncello is ready to decant and bottle up.

  One of my New Year's resolutions is to get regular about blogging!  I received a pressure cooker for my birthday so I anticipate more canning and my fabric stash is getting out of control so sewing will be happening.
   I've really enjoyed seeing the pictures and reading about everyone's gifts.  Thanks so much for sharing and inspiring me.
    Happy Holidays!

Embroidered Jam Pot Covers...

Back in the Autumn I made a couple of varieties of chutney as Christmas gifts. Spiced Marrow Chutney and a Tangy Beetroot Chutney using a combination of recipe ideas from this brilliant site. They've been "maturing" since October so should be perfect for the Christmas table by now. The only thing left to do was make them look all Christmassy and add a little personal touch to them; so I opted for some hand embroidered jam pot covers tied with grosgrain ribbon....(I actually had about 12 jars in total but some had already been gifted before I had a chance to take these photos!)

I got all OCD on getting the right size circle for my covers. Just didn't like the idea of cutting a square and trimming it to size once in place. I just KNEW I would screw it up that way. So if anyone else is as mildly obsessive about these things as me here's my method...


I had several sizes of jar so just repeated the process for each different size. Firstly draw round the the lid of the jar on a sheet of paper...

Then find the centre point of the circle by folding it in half lengthwise then across the width. It's actually the circle itself that needs to be folded in half so I held the paper up to the light as I was folding so as to see through it and line the edges of the circle up as I was folding...

Measure the diameter of the circle, let's say this one was 3". Then mark a point the exact same distance, 3", from the centre point, extending out beyond your original circle, on each of the four fold lines...

Then find a plate/bowl/object (or use a compass if you want to be super precise!) and use it to draw a circle that encompasses these four points equally(ish)...

Et voila...Cut out your template(s)....

Because I planned to emroider my covers I cut out heavy weight iron on interfacing the exact same size as my jar lids....

And some squares of fabric (thrifted and upcycled of course!) slightly larger than my templates.....

Place fabric square RS down on the ironing board. Centre the interfacing sticky side down on top of the fabric and press to adhere. Then pin the template on top of this making sure the centre circle of the template lines up with the circle of interfacing....

Cut around the template with pinking shears...

It should look like this...

I then embroidered snowflakes on each cover with embroidery floss. These are a combination of French Knots, Lazy Daisy Stitch, and Back Stitch and took about 15 mins each to do so great as a last minute personal touch...

Secure the covers to the jar tops with elastic bands then tie with ribbon......

There are so many ideas out there for "Gifts in a Jar" and these would add a nice finishing touch to anything in a jar. Not just chutneys  :)
Px

Embroidered Jam Pot Covers...

Back in the Autumn I made a couple of varieties of chutney as Christmas gifts. Spiced Marrow Chutney and a Tangy Beetroot Chutney using a combination of recipe ideas from this brilliant site. They've been "maturing" since October so should be perfect for the Christmas table by now. The only thing left to do was make them look all Christmassy and add a little personal touch to them; so I opted for some hand embroidered jam pot covers tied with grosgrain ribbon....(I actually had about 12 jars in total but some had already been gifted before I had a chance to take these photos!)

I got all OCD on getting the right size circle for my covers. Just didn't like the idea of cutting a square and trimming it to size once in place. I just KNEW I would screw it up that way. So if anyone else is as mildly obsessive about these things as me here's my method...


I had several sizes of jar so just repeated the process for each different size. Firstly draw round the the lid of the jar on a sheet of paper...

Then find the centre point of the circle by folding it in half lengthwise then across the width. It's actually the circle itself that needs to be folded in half so I held the paper up to the light as I was folding so as to see through it and line the edges of the circle up as I was folding...

Measure the diameter of the circle, let's say this one was 3". Then mark a point the exact same distance, 3", from the centre point, extending out beyond your original circle, on each of the four fold lines...

Then find a plate/bowl/object (or use a compass if you want to be super precise!) and use it to draw a circle that encompasses these four points equally(ish)...

Et voila...Cut out your template(s)....

Because I planned to emroider my covers I cut out heavy weight iron on interfacing the exact same size as my jar lids....

And some squares of fabric (thrifted and upcycled of course!) slightly larger than my templates.....

Place fabric square RS down on the ironing board. Centre the interfacing sticky side down on top of the fabric and press to adhere. Then pin the template on top of this making sure the centre circle of the template lines up with the circle of interfacing....

Cut around the template with pinking shears...

It should look like this...

I then embroidered snowflakes on each cover with embroidery floss. These are a combination of French Knots, Lazy Daisy Stitch, and Back Stitch and took about 15 mins each to do so great as a last minute personal touch...

Secure the covers to the jar tops with elastic bands then tie with ribbon......

There are so many ideas out there for "Gifts in a Jar" and these would add a nice finishing touch to anything in a jar. Not just chutneys  :)
Px

Bags, bags, bags! (and tutorial links)

Hello fellow Christmas Crafters. This is Andrea from Stitch Parade checking in with an update on my pressie making progress thus far. I must confess it’s been great reading about your own progress and I’ve been inspired by the great present ideas you’ve all had.

With less than 3 weeks to go, I’m about 80% done but it’s been raining cats and dogs in Toronto for days so I’ve not been able to get pictures of all my makes. Today I’ll show you what I’ve got so far in the bags department. First up, toiletries bags for my dad and brother:

I learned to make these bags a couple years ago at The Workroom, a local sewing studio, but the process is super easy and I even fund an online tutorial for you over here. For these bags I was able to up-cycle wool materials from hardly worn trousers I rescued from a friend’s Goodwill pile. I figured the look was manly enough. What do you think?


For the ladies I made clutches using a pattern also from The Workroom. I used some leather scraps for two of them, quilting cotton for another two, and the leftover embroidered border denim from my Ginger skirt for the last one.

All bags, except for the leather clutches, are interfaced for structure, include an internal pocket, and are also lined with contrasting cotton fabric for a fun pop of colour.

If you are interested in making similar clutches I found this handy tutorial here. As an FYI, the frames can be bought from several vendors via etsy.

Hopefully we get some sunshine this coming weekend so that I can photograph some of the other presents I’ve made. Wishing you all days of absolute present making productivity over the next couple of weeks!

Bags, bags, bags! (and tutorial links)

Hello fellow Christmas Crafters. This is Andrea from Stitch Parade checking in with an update on my pressie making progress thus far. I must confess it’s been great reading about your own progress and I’ve been inspired by the great present ideas you’ve all had.

With less than 3 weeks to go, I’m about 80% done but it’s been raining cats and dogs in Toronto for days so I’ve not been able to get pictures of all my makes. Today I’ll show you what I’ve got so far in the bags department. First up, toiletries bags for my dad and brother:

I learned to make these bags a couple years ago at The Workroom, a local sewing studio, but the process is super easy and I even fund an online tutorial for you over here. For these bags I was able to up-cycle wool materials from hardly worn trousers I rescued from a friend’s Goodwill pile. I figured the look was manly enough. What do you think?


For the ladies I made clutches using a pattern also from The Workroom. I used some leather scraps for two of them, quilting cotton for another two, and the leftover embroidered border denim from my Ginger skirt for the last one.

All bags, except for the leather clutches, are interfaced for structure, include an internal pocket, and are also lined with contrasting cotton fabric for a fun pop of colour.

If you are interested in making similar clutches I found this handy tutorial here. As an FYI, the frames can be bought from several vendors via etsy.

Hopefully we get some sunshine this coming weekend so that I can photograph some of the other presents I’ve made. Wishing you all days of absolute present making productivity over the next couple of weeks!