Christmas Decoration Hanger

Maybe you've seen these before but seeing as this is my first kindy experience as a mum, this is new to me and I thought it was a great idea. We were asked to make a tinsel covered hanger that would be used to hang any decorations that Max makes leading up to Christmas. It's super easy to make and quite effective.

Supplies
- 2 wire coat hangers
- Sticky tape/string
- 3-4m tinsel (this varies depending on how tight you twist it)

1. Place your 2 coat hangers in a cross shape as though they were hanging at right angles to each other. Tape or tie them in place at the top and at the bottom when the wires crosses.
2. Bend the hook of one of the hangers so that both hooks face the same way.
3. Tape one end of the tinsel just below the curve of the hanger at the top and start twisting it around the wire. Cover one coat hanger and then the other.

4. If you run out and need to start a new piece of tinsel, just tape the ends and twist the tinsel over them to cover up the taped part. Tape the end once you are done.

That's it! Super easy.

Here is Max with his. He was very proud of it. I can't wait till he brings it home with all his decorations.

Emma's Bears Free Teddy Bear Pattern and Tutorial

One of my good friends, Emma, is the most amazing teddy bear creator. She has been making bears since we were in high school and now she sells them as well as bear making supplies. I received a few bears as Christmas presents way back then.

Emma has just shared a fantastic free bear pattern and tutorial on her blog and I wanted to share it with you. This is the gorgeous bear you can create from her pattern.

Emma's bear supply store is called Fur Addiction and features beautiful furs and other bits and pieces. She dyes her own fur and even paints her own eyes. They are just gorgeous! It's certainly worth a look! She also sells her creations and supplies on Etsy. Almost all of Emma's creations are one of a kind. There are bears and other stuffed animals, patterns, kits and more. If you want to get into bear making, this is a wonderful place to learn.

Sewing with Stitches and Love

Tonight, I sat down at my sewing machine for the first time in about 6 months. It was a special moment for me. I have had post natal depression since Sam was born and sewing, something I love, was just too hard to touch. I didn't have the energy. It seemed too stressful. I didn't have the patience to sit down and sew even something simple. My desk was constantly messy piled high with random stuff. It was just too hard to clean it up and sew something.

Tonight I was making soot sprites from My Neighbour Totoro for Sam's 1st birthday party. Can you believe he's almost 1 already?!?!?! I lost my embroidery scissors which were the only scissors I have that could cut through the wool while it was tight against the fork. (I followed this great little tutorial I found on Pinterest) It drove me absolutely mad that I couldn't find them and I ended up cleaning up my whole desk area in the hunt. Even after I found them (in a plastic bag on my desk chair...I totally don't recall putting them there!), I was somehow still spurred on to continue cleaning until everything was off my desk.

And then I set my sewing machine up. It was still in it's case after a long overdue service it received earlier this year. I hadn't even tried it since I got it back. It felt so good seeing my sewing machine back on my desk ready to sew. I even tidied up my sewing box!

In my clean up, I found some partly made pants I had started for Sam long ago when it was starting to get cold. I'm really not sure if he'll still fit them now but I really wanted to get them finished. All I had done was cut out the fabric and sew on a little applique patch. I hadn't sewn a single seam. The applique really is not some of my best work. I don't know what I was thinking at the time but the satin stitching around the patch is appalling...so uneven and too wide. Anyway, those unfinished pants were something special I was trying to make for my bubby and I really wanted to finish them, no matter how dodgy they may turn out.

It was actually thrilling to sit down and sew again. I had to pull out my sewing machine's manual to remember which were the stretch stitches I used to use. It had been such a long time since I had sewn anything. But somehow, it all just came back and I was doing things automatically. It was so exciting sewing those seams and neatening edges. It was so wonderful to feel my love of sewing coming back after such a long time. I ended up stopping at the elastic in the waist because I need to check Sam to see how much elastic to use (and there's NO WAY I'm disturbing him to check that at this time of night!) but I am so happy with what I achieved tonight.

These pants, although the applique is messy, I discovered I had actually sewn it onto the back of the pants, and I got so carried away with sewing the casing around the waist I forgot to leave a hole and had to unpick it, represent how much I love my little man. They are far from my finest work but I am making them with so much joy and love for him. They represent a milestone in my healing from depression. No matter what, I will finish these pants. Somehow they are important. I know every time I see them, I will be so incredibly thankful to God for my precious baby boy, my ability to sew, and for the healing and joy that they sparked within me. They really will be made with stitches and love.

I imagine it will be slow going as I get back into sewing and crafting. But at least I have begun. And often, that is the hardest step.

Free Christmas Ornaments Plans from ToymakingPlans.com

One of my favourite websites for wooden toy plans has released a fantastic free plan for wooden Christmas ornaments. It is available for a limited time only so go and check it out and get in quick! You will see the information on how to get the pattern near the top of the home page.

I was very sad to hear that Toymaker Press had it's website's domain name hijacked last week so they have now changed their name to ToymakingPlans.com. They are still exactly the same except for the name and they have created loads of gorgeous new plans since I posted about them so long ago. They are definitely worth following and their emails are regularly full of fantastic new plans and specials.

Finally My Free Fabric Ball Pattern is Here!

I'm very excited to finally be able to share my fabric ball pattern with you!! It only took me 8 months (eek!!) to get around to putting it into a pdf and posting it online! My wonderful husband helped me to create a pattern piece based off a perfect sphere which has produced lovely, round, fabric balls. Last night, he taught me how to use Illustrator so I have a lovely little pdf pattern to share with you all. I hope you like it!

You can find the free fabric ball pattern posted back in the original tutorial here.

PS: There are also a couple of new tips in the tutorial that I have learnt after sewing a number of these. Have fun!! xx

I heard a little saying...

Sometime during the past week, I came across a saying about sewing that I LOVE!

'Housework only comes before sewing...in the dictionary!'

That's pretty much true at my house. I do love to have a tidy house but so often when I have free time, I choose sewing or some other craft activity over the housework. Unfortunately during the past week and a half, sickness has decided to jump ahead of sewing and come first in our house. :-( I was so looking forward to 3 kindy days to myself this week and was hoping to finish off a teddy softie I'm knitting for Sam. I may still get to it...I am feeling a little better each day. 

Here's a little...and I mean, LITTLE! pic to show you what it will look like. (I don't have the energy to go take a photo right now...maybe I'll be able to get some progress pics when I'm feeling better. I've done the body/head/legs and am working on the arms now.)

The pattern is in this book...

The teddy is the only thing I've knitted from the book but I'd have to say I'm very happy with the pattern so far. :-) It seems like a great book for baby stuff and has some lovely designs. If you are interested in getting it, you will have to have a look for people selling it second hand online (I've seen it on ebay and etsy) as it seems to be out of print...I can't find it in stores anyway.

Well, I never intended to get onto knitting bears but there you go. :-)

Sewing With A Twin Needle

Today I finally tried out my twin needle that I got last September...sad I know! I have NO idea why I waited this long because it is amazingly easy!! I always thought it would be fiddly or difficult but it isn't!!! It's crazy how fear stops you trying something and then once you try it, you wonder why you didn't try it sooner.

I needed to take up the hem of some track pants I bought for Max and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try out the needle. You can see the lovely row of neat, double stitching along the bottom. I would love to get a few twin needles in different widths as I would have used a wider needle if I had one but am still very happy with how these turned out.

I thought I would include a bit of a how-to on using twin needles and some info on stuff I figured out along the way. I spent a lot of time pinning and reading these tutorials and posts over the last few months to help me figure out what to do so I definitely want to give them credit! You will probably even find extra info and tips too! I'm sure I read more than these 3 but these are the only ones I can find right now.

Tutorial 1 at Make it and Love it

Tutorial 2 at Bolt Neighbourhood

Tutorial 3 at Made by Rae

Here's What I Did - How To Sew With A Twin Needle

In a nutshell...

• Buy a twin needle.
• Put it in your machine.
• Pop 2 spools of thread and your bobbin in.
• Thread the needle.
• Sew!

For those who need more details... :-)

1. Buy a twin needle from your local sewing shop. I bought a Klasse Twin Stretch needle, 4mm and size 75 from my local Spotlight store. These needles come in various widths ranging from 1.6mm to 6mm, various sizes, and for various fabrics or threads. You can view the range here. I am sure there are other brands out there but this will give you an idea of what types are available.

2. Put the needle into your machine. They can be used in pretty much any normal sewing machine and you put it in just like a regular, single needle.

3. Put a spool and bobbin or 2 spools of the same colour on the spool holders/pins on your machine. Some machines have 2 permanent spool pins, 1 permanent and one temporary, or only 1 standard spool pin. My machine has 1 permanent pin and 1 temporary pin as you can see below. If you have 2 permanent spool pins, then just pop 1 spool/bobbin onto each pin and if you only have 1 spool pin, go here to see how to put them both on the same pin.

4. Take both threads and thread your machine just as you normally would with 1 thread. It really is that simple with the threading. Don't stress about the threads getting twisted or tangled...it just works! When you get to the needle, separate the threads and thread one through each needle. 

5. Make sure you have a bobbin in the bobbin holder. It doesn't really matter what colour this thread is because it stays on the back side of the fabric quite easily due to the zigzag that it does along the back.

6. Sew!! It is worth doing a few practice runs to make sure the tension is right but once you get that, you just sew like normal! If the fabric seems to pull into a ridge between the 2 rows of stitches, loosening the top thread can help with this. Also ironing can help it to sit flatter. You can back stitch to secure starts and ends and just sew like normal! It really is that easy!! You just have to keep in mind that you can only ever sew with the right side of the fabric up because the underside doesn't look the same as the top.

So that's it! Using a double needle is super easy and can make a big difference when hemming knits or just to add more interest and detail to woven fabrics. I hope that you won't feel so scared to try this now!