Bean Bag Warmer

Need an idea for a quick, easy, and practical homemade gift? This was my gift for a Secret Santa exchange this year. A microwaveable bean bag warmer.  It is great for muscle pain and cold toes. ;D All you need is cotton fabric and some rice!

I made a 3-sectioned one that sits well on the neck.  With cute owls. Hahaha

Remember to pick a cotton fabric, as synthetics should not be put in the microwave. Flannels are a good choice as they are soft! I used a little less than 6 cups of rice for this project. There are other things you can fill them with, there are lots of good suggestions floating around online. I would recommend putting dried lavender in them if you can find it, it makes them smell really good when you warm it up. Just remember: dried ingredients only!

First I cut a rectangle of flannel that was 13"x22". I folded it in half lengthwise (patterned side together) and lined up the edges, pinning them in place. Then I stitched around 2 sides leaving one end open. 

 Then I clipped the excess fabric in the corners and turned it right way out. I poured in a little less than 2 cups of rice, then did a line of stitching about 1/3 of the way down the rectangle. This ensures that the rice doesn't just all slide to one end of the bag. I repeated the process with the middle section. I poured my last 2 cups of rice in the final section and then folded the unfinished edge inside, top-stitching it closed neatly. 

Then I folded and decorated with ribbon!

Here is 2 more I made for other gifts. I love the striped flannel. 

Kero & Suppi - Bows, Gems, Giant Candy - Cardcaptor Sakura

This is the fourth post for Kero and Suppi! This is just a quick look at all the props and accessories for these costumes. :) I always feel that props and accessories just make a costume that much more interesting!

For the rest of these fabulous costumes see the Shirts & Shorts, Ears & Wigs, and Aprons & Wings. For more pictures of Kero and Suppi see Eleventh Photograph's Otakon gallery!

First let's talk about those delicious candies! They were actually made by my sister. It was really nice to have a super light prop to carry around for the day.

My mint is made of 2 layers of insulation foam hot glued together. The edges were sanded down to be round. She then painted it white, then added the red swirls using acrylic paint. Alex's gumballs were simply coloured balls she got at the dollar store. Both candies were wrapped in cellophane.

Alex also made our cool gems. For the gems we used a gedeo clear resin we bought at Curry's. Following the instructions she mixed the 2 parts accordingly and used a new paint tray as a circular mold. Then they were left to cure. We only needed 2, but she made 6. This was lucky because for whatever reason 50% of the gems didn't cure.

Then she painted them using nail polish. She backed them with a polish of each chosen colour (red and teal), then in order to bring out the shine she coated the top of the gem in a clear coat of nail polish. Trust me when I say that the clear coat is what turns them from looking "meh" into looking gorgeous.

The next accessory was a set of 3 bows for each of us. Each bowtie was made of 4 pieces plus a neck band. All the rectangular pieces excluding the center were given stripes to match the aprons. The bows were hand stitched together, then the gems were hot glued onto the center. Finally to the neck bows I added a neck band, with a velcro closure. My sister's I made longer because she wanted to have her collar unbuttoned.

The shoe bows were simply attached to our own shoe laces with safety pins!

Simple Gathered Skirt (Elastic Waistband)

Hey all! I thought we would take a small break from the cosplay influx this week and look at a project I did way back in December as a Christmas present for my sister. I made 4 simple floral skirts for her, all from the same pattern. This is an original design of mine, using an existing skirt to base my pattern from. It is a circle skirt, with pockets and an elastic waistband. (Most of the pictures are of the yellow skirt, because it photographed the nicest!)

I started by creating 4 equal panels. The process is all very rough and full of guesstimation, but basically I figured out the waistband measurement I wanted (pre-elstic), then added extra to make the gathers. I made that measurement equal to 2/3 the circumference of a circle, then solved for radius. Once I had my radius, I was able to draft a pattern piece using a string and pencil to make the arcs. I figured out the length I wanted added that to my radius and drew a second arc below.  The measurement of the small arc was equal to 1/4 of my waistband measurement (pre-elastic).

I drafted pockets for this skirt, ensuring that they would be secured to the waistband at the top, and not extend below the hem of the skirt.In order to make a pocket on each side I cut 4 pieces.

I then stitched the front and back seams together, leaving the sides open to insert the pockets.

On the two side seams, the pocket pieces were laid right sides together, with the flat seam edges lined up. These were then stitched down the side seam edge. (The above picture shows 1 side pocket before sewing.)

Then the seam was pressed flat, with the pocket hanging off the side like below.

Left you can see the front panel with the pockets stitched on.

I then finished the seam edges where the pocket was attached.

I then placed the front and back piece right sides together sewing up the side seam until the start of the pocket opening and then looping around to sew the pocket front/back together.

I then made the waistbands, closing them into loops, and ironing them in half lengthwise.

Even though both sides were technically the same, at this point I had to designate a "front" of the skirt, meaning that the pockets (which until this point were hanging free on the inside) were both tacked to the same side.

Using a long stitch length I basted around the top edge of the skirt without backtacking (two rows like pictured above), leaving the long extra thread hanging. (This ensured that I could grab onto them and easily cinch the gathers in by hand, distributing them evenly.) I gathered it until it was the same circumference as my waistband loop.

I unfolded my waistband and attached it right sides together with the top edge of the skirt.

Then I folded the waistband over to the inside and neatly ditch stitched it in place, leaving a 2 inch opening to insert the elastic.

I inserted an elastic, and threaded it through the waistband. This elastic was made smaller than the actual finished waist measurement so that it would stay up nicely when worn. It was then stitched into a finished loop. I closed the hole. Then I secured the elastic in the waistband with 2 lines of stitching. This ensured that it gathered evenly. I stretched the elastic until the fabric was not bunched as I ran it through the machine.

The last step was hemming, and then presto! 4 lovely skirts, all different while still using the same pattern. :)

(Switching my post day back to Tuesday, because Friday is just not working! hahaha)

Black Jacket, White Trim

Hello! Thought I would post this one up here before diving into the cosplay content.

This is a Christmas present I made for my mum this past year. This jacket is an original design. Very geometric and architectural in design, with a stark contrast between black and white.

I started by patterning a basic block based on my mum's measurements.  This I modified to resemble my design,  the white overlapping front panels would be straight lines, the curves would be in the black side panels.

I first made a mock-up in muslin, which I had to try on my mum blind-folded so that I could ensure it would fit correctly. (While keeping exactly what I was making a secret.) Keeping in mind that this is an over-garment, I had to let in ease for movement so it could be worn over other clothes. (Basic blocks are designed to be form-fitting, and have to be modified accordingly)

After the first fitting and a few modifications I was ready to cut from my good fabric.

The black fabric is a wool fabric, and turns out I am allergic to it! As soon as I began to cut it, it released a lot of fibers into the air which made my nose stuffy and my skin itchy. Whoops. From the black fabric I cut the two front side panels and the two back side panels.

From the white (technically an off-white) fabric I cut the two pieces for the center back stripe, and 4 copies of the overlapping front panel.

The two rectangles for the back stripe were sewn together directly down the center to the point where I wanted the slit to start. This piece would then be ironed open flat.

Each pair for the front panels were sewn right sides together along one edge, then clipped and turned right way out.

I cut the back piece for the collar. This was made of two pieces, sewn along the top edge, right sides together. This was then clipped and flipped right way out as well.

The darts were marked and sewn into the back black panels, then the side seams were sewn together.

Then I sewed the white front panels to the black sides.

The center back white stripe was stitched to the black sides, completing the body of the garment.

The collar was sewn into the back panel on one edge. After ironing the seam flat the second side was ditch stitched in place.

Then I was able to sew the shoulder seams.

At this point I used a school serger to finish inner seams before continuing.

With great difficulty (for I hadn't exactly thought ahead on this one) I had to finish the bottom edge with a white stripe. I ran into some difficulty at the corners, requiring me to sew and clip in some 45 degree angles to make the connection work.

This trim was then ironed over and cross-stitched in place. (Yes, by hand.)

The last part to do was the sleeves. I drafted the sleeve pattern, but interjected a whit stripe down the center, remembering to add in my seam allowances.

These were eased into the armholes, then the edges were finished and hemmed.

And presto! A really nice jacket! >:D

My new update day will most likely be friday. More great content coming this summer so look forward to it! ;D

Owl Bags V2 & Bowtie Hair Clips

 Hey all! A quick post on some of the things I sold at FanExpo this year! Read my remarks carefully, as some of these items are still for sale!

All my items are, of course, handmade, and have plenty of blood, sweat and tears put into them. :D And did I mention they're all one-of-a-kind?

I sold these charming Owl bags at our table--Sweet Geeks--at FanExpo! All of them are fully lined, machine washable, and utterly adorable. :D  They go for 50$ apiece.

Sweet Geeks now has a Facebook group! Go and like us on Facebook! :D
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sweet-Geeks/259643404065978

These two gray ones are essentially the same, but I used different buttons for the eyes. Both sold fairly quickly. The white one (or light gray one, as some people refer to it) sold first, and very quickly. I really liked the stark contrast on this bag, with the electric, bright eyes. :D  I also remade the original bag, as I still had the fabric for it and I had so many compliments on it. ;D Unfortunately, that fabric is all finished, which makes me very sad...

^This is probably my other favourite from this batch of owls. :D I was able to find a light fabric in the exact same pattern as the rest of the bag! :D The paisleys were not as well received. I am told that people generally don't like paisley. Personally I think that this particular paisley is quite nice, but the problem might be that it is pink...



<-This lovely owl was not sold at the convention and is still looking for a home. Contact me if you are interested in purchasing this great bag! ;D

Now we are getting into my hair clip bow ties. They are awesome because they can be worn as hair clips OR bow ties, so long as you have a button up shirt, you simply clip it on. :D

They sold for 12$ apiece, simply because of the sheer amount of hand-stitching required for these. And to help make up for the loss on the owls (which I don't get paid minimum wage for my hours on).

There are still still 6 of these left! Contact me, and I will bother to check what colours are left... XD



Next up: my Elegant Mini Hairclips and Steampunk Necklaces!