Baby Crochet Sweetness

At Wonderwool I came across a stand called Joe's Toes. It sold slipper kits along with the most cosy wool felt insoles.I bought this tiny pair of pre-punched felt soles for £3. 

I had a gift to make.

They took just under an hour to make using some leftover Colinette Iona yarn which I used to make this neck warmer. The wool is 70% wool, 15% kid mohair and 15% silk - so so soft. 

Firstly, I made a row of chain stitch on the pre-punched holes to anchor my crochet to. Then I made a row of trebles.

 

Next, I made a second row of trebles. (night time photos)

The final row was: dc5, htr2, tr1, tr2tog, tr1, tr2tog, htr2, dc2. This gets you round to the other side of the slipper. Then chain 11 to make the strap turn and go back along the chain row. dc in the 2nd chain from the hook, dc6 more. You should now be back at the shoe rim. 7dc, ss into first stitch. Repeat for the other side reversing the strap position. Add press studs. 

All ready to be parceled up for my friend's daughter who has waited so long to have a baby. I hope they all like them, they were a joy to make. There is a knitted version on the website too.

Have a great weekend. I am tribal dancing at a folk festival tomorrow, hope it warms up a bit!

Jo xxxxx

A Surprisingly....

....Woolly post for this time of year but our kitchen floor is still freezing cold and those girls' white socks won't wash themselves. 

 

These are a pair of natty homemade plush slippers using a kit from Prym. You can buy a pair of pre-prepared soles along with a paper pattern all in a little kit. The way you add the top is up to your creative self. There are instructions for crochet, knitted or quilted tops but of course we went for something different - we are a bit like that!

Big Sis had a Jack Wills sweater, albeit second hand, and she loved it - then I seriously shrunk it. We decided the best way to pay homage to her favourite jumper was to turn it into slippers.

You need to trace off the pattern not cut it out otherwise you'll cut the instructions into small pieces - we know because we did that! I ensured that the knitted pattern would be the same(ish) on each foot. Next we lined the boiled wool to stop it feeling itchy and added pull on grosgrain ribbon loops.

Choosing a needle to complete the hand sewing is crucial. It needs to be sharp enough to go through a few layers but have a big enough eye to take some tapestry wool or your chosen thread.

 It took just over an hour to sew them.

 I really would have liked to have been making something more Spring like but there you are - we are still cold!

Thanks for dropping by. Jo xxxx

Colourful mistakes

Do you know Yoma shoes? I first saw them in a beautiful shop in Norwich on holiday last year. I did not have a job at the time and expensive shoe shopping was not on the agenda. I searched ebay when I returned but found no joy. Then last week I saw these yellow shoes and made a quick bid. I didn't really need yellow shoes but I knew them to be so comfy and well made that I made a hasty bid.

But what do you do if you then saw a green pair being sold by the same person five minutes later? I didn't see them at first and had already bid on the other ones... I bought them both - green is my favourite colour.

But then what if the shoes arrive, they are more beautiful and gorgeous than you imagined they were going to be and the seller says, "I have a blue pair as well if you want them?" Yes, you guessed it.. I had those too.

In total I bought three pairs of Yoma shoes for the price of one pair so I have all my colourful shoe needs covered for quite a while now.Yoma are a UK based company. Go and have a swoon. People who know me would say these are 'Jo shoes!'

Do you have more than one of the same thing because 
they are totally brilliant?

Happy, happy, happy

Jo x

White tree, black lace!

I have made a guipure lace Christmas party top. How and why? read on...

It started with some inspiration from a vintage pattern find:

I liked the lace affair in the centre and read the back of the packet to find I needed guipure lace... what on earth is that? I thought... I visited White tree fabrics for some ideas.

I was sent this beautiful guipure lace. It has a cotton/crochet feel about it but in all honesty, I had no idea how to actually work with it. I sort of ran shy from the original vintage pattern. I started to think the less raw edges and cuts I made, the less amount of things could go wrong. 

Image from Gertie's book.

So I fell back on a modern vintage pattern and went for another portrait blouse from Gerties Book for Better Sewing. She had made a lace version that I thought would fit the bill. 

The lining acted as a kind of muslin. I made it slightly bigger in

the waist and hips to eliminate the need for a side zip. I was still going with the less is more theme. Inserting a zip in this lace? absolutely no idea!

The colour inspiration for the lining comes from my personal pledge to myself to only make things that go with other things that I already have and I love these shoes.

In the end I lost some of the body shaping which I knew would happen with the tweeks I made but it is the most comfortable top ever. The vintage element eventually turned out to be a bit 1920's flapper girl don't you think?

I read a few tutorials on this lace and they all said to use bias binding (which is what had been done on the original pattern I looked at) to finish the edges which was the perfect.

I am feeling pretty on trend with lace - it is everywhere in the shops and it is not that scary to sew with. I would like to thank White Tree Fabrics for letting me try out their fabric. Do pop over to their website if you feel inspired. I am going to wear it on Christmas day and to any festive get-togethers I happen to get invited to - hint hint!

This is also my final piece for the 2014 Vintage sewing pattern pledge hosted by Stitching Odyssey. I have used five vintage patterns this year.

Thanks for stopping by. Jo xxxx

Saturday Night dress up

I am writing with a slight hangover. We went to a ball last night and I wasn't driving! Just a quick post because I have forgotten how to spell, but here is my handmade dress and my matching bag is already in the car to go. It was really comfy and I danced till midnight.

I have show time things to show you but I just can't do it today!

Jo x

New Shoes

Followers of this blog may recall that I have made an evening dress from some fabric I found under the bed from over 10 years ago to wear to a ball on Saturday. Well eeeek! The tickets came today and I went and bought new shoes!

Shiny, shiny shoes. I don't wear heels very much (too used to Dr Martens) but I thought these seemed manageable. Also they were Clarks shoes with comfy soles for £20 which was the ultimate clincher.

You can see the whole outfit on Saturday. Jo x