Ditsy Designs

Lets get cosy

Brrr...its a bit nippy this time of year, so why not add some texture and warmth to your living room by making one of these jumper cushions! They are so simple to make all you need is a cushion pad, an old jumper and maybe a scrap of fabric...

Here is what I did to make my cushion. I first cut off the arms of the jumper then cut down the side seams. With the front of the jumper I stitched a scrap of fabric into the scoop neckline so that I had a solid rectangle (As opposed to one with a scoop neckline missing from it!). Then with the back of the jumper I cut it into two pieces that were going to form a simple envelope fastening. I used the bottom of the jumper which needed no hemming to be the outer of the fastening. Then with 'right sides together' i sewed the jumper round all 4 sides and turned it the right way out via the envelope fastening...hey presto...

And not being one to waste anything I made cute sausage dogs out of the sleeves! Give it a go!

Puss

I do enjoy making a good toy! This is one I made while waiting for Felix to make an apperance...hes called puss and is made from some old curtain fabric and one of my favourite shirts that refused to fit.

 

The feet were a bit of detail on the bottom of the shirt it looks like i've spent ages sewing them on in different fabric but it was just clever cutting out! I put a bit of rice in the bottoms so they dangle satisfyingly! Here is his face close up..

 

The detail on the face was sewn in zig zag stitch, and then a couple of buttons for the eyes! If you layer smaller buttons on top of larger ones in contrasting colours it gives the toy a bit of quirky character! 
 

 

Farewell old friend

A couple of years ago I bought a 1970's Beetle, we fell in love, it was going to drive me to the church when i got married and I was going to make fabulous seat covers in floral fabric for it...alas it never got fixed up and never made it to the church on time and sat in my parents garage. But now its been sold to someone who will love it and bring it back to life, goodbye beetle xxxx

 

Let them MAKE cake!

What on earth do you make a 13 year old for their birthday? An apron? really? This was made for Jasmine, who has aspirations to own a patisserie when she grows up... very cool

This was made from a duvet cover, a pillowcase, an old tea towel, and the frill was from the bottom of a nightdress! Here is a close up of the cupcake...

The  applique cupcake was attached to the apron using bondaweb then stitched in place using a straight stich on the sewing machine.

 

Introducing...

FELIX ALEXANDER DUNHAM

 

Our baby finally arrived two weeks late on 22nd November, and as you can see he's already made himself at home! I've got various things to blog that I made before Felix came along that should keep you occupied until I feel like making again...or have the time to make again! Until then heres another picture of my lovely little boy being very cute...

Gather your scraps!

I have been collecting the offcuts from my duvets, pillowcases and clothes from larger projects and cutting them into squares for a little while now. I have been saving them for quilted projects. Then with my sister's birthday looming and her having just moved into her new cottage I thought it was the perfect opportunity to finally use some of those little squares!

Alana loves bright colours and bold patterns so I picked the squares that I thought went together to make such a quilt. Confession time....to tie all the squares together and make it look like a bit of thought had gone into it...... I bought the various small polka dot material pieces in different colours from Dunelm. Not recycling I know but I had a vision!! So without further ado....

 

(This is on mine and Ben's bed)

 

(Click on the pictures for a better look!)

 

Here you can see the pink polka dot fleece I used to back the quilt. Its so soft and snuggly! I hope she loves it!

So come on everyone...gather your scraps, cut them into squares and make a lovely quilt in time for winter! xxxxx

Baby update

I'm now 34 weeks pregnant!! I've got 6 weeks left till my due date eek!! I have only 2 weeks left to work before I take maternity leave and I am VERY happy about this! Just thought I'd show you what ben and I have been up to in the spare room...

This is what it used to look like

This is the room now

We've painted it a gorgeous soft green colour, and have stuck to all white furniture. I still need to make lots of yummy cushions for the daybed so that me and baby have somewhere to snuggle for feeds. I've taken some shots of the various shelves...

Now all we need is the baby....watch this space! xxx 

Handbag of the season...

I've been working on a new handbag pattern over the summer. So far I have made one for my friend's birthday, and this one which I'm going to show you in detail!

 

The small floral print fabric was a Laura Ashley vallance from the 80's I believe. The polka dot fabric used to be used as a table cloth that I confess wasn't mine it was a friends! But it looks so much better as a bag...forgive me Kate?

 

The applique on the bottom section was inspired by this gorgeous tin that holds all of my favourite buttons!

 

Here is a close up of the applique bit...

 

These are all scraps of fabric (and an old doiley) made into a picure and then worked on top of with the sewing machine, and using some hand embroidery. And then with some special buttons to finish! Tada!

Last but not least my label which I've made a feature of above the inside pocket of the bag...

Zips!

Zips terrify me! or should i say did terrify me! I think I have finally mastered them hooray! I've been working on some lined, zippered cosmetics bags that I hope will be in the new shop very soon! Here is a sneaky peek at the prototypes, let me know what you think of them...

 

I've used some scrap fabric given to me by a friend for the outer, and the lining is made from an old duvet cover found in a charity shop...

 

This is a page from my sketchbook detailing the floral lining! I've been testing thick interfacing as well which gives them a padded, quality feel! And the zip works...bonus!

These are only simple prototypes, but I think the curved top is a nice feature! Here is what I was thinking for the exterior to give a bit of vavaVOOM...

 

Some of those pictures were from Cath Kidston's book 'Make', I'm thinking of something along the lines of simple applique with some delicious buttons!

Tell me what you think I love getting your feedback....xxx

 

What a rush!

2 weeks ago My friend and fellow crafty devil Lara asked if I would like to run a stall with her selling our latest creations. Now I've been meaning to try selling on a stall for a while but have always been a bit of a scardy cat..(do people really want to buy this stuff??) so I jumped at the chance, not stopping to consider that I had 2 weeks to make enough stock! DOH!

Anyway after some frantic sewing and bookbinding I finally had....not a lot! But despite the lack of time i think we managed to make a good looking stall...

 

Our stall was part of an oxfam event, 'Girls night out' and it was actually really fun! There was a clothes swap, jewellery lucky dip (very popular! I got earrings hooray!) a lovely buffet, and a raffle with some suprisingly good prizes! Having said that I came away with a notecard set that wasn't very nice and Lara won a tea light! We had slim pickings as all the good prizes had been snaffled! All good fun! And I'm sure we all managed to raise a good bit for the charity. Here are the ladies perusing the clothes swap rails

and this is my mum very pleased with her finds...

Sorry that they aren't very good pictures, I think the oxfam volunteers thought i was a bit mad taking pictures of our own stall! Hey ho...here is a closer one of the stall...

 

The gorgeous painted birds and mirrors are laras creations! Adorable! On the right hand side of the stall were my dangly birds! Take a look...

 

So there you have it mine and Lara's first stall...hopefully we'll have a place on the Saturday market soon...maybe...who knows?! xxx