finished & published! -burdastyle book-

a couple days ago I received an exciting package in the mail.

it was from Burdastyle.

there enclosed my coat & the newly published book.

so happy and excited to see the finished product!!!

 here are a few of my favorites from the book that other book contributors made.

 blouse alternation by Novita.

 dress variations from Jen and Natasha.

 kids size from Oliver + S.

bag alternation by Layla.

 and,,, here is my coat!

 I was also a bit sad that for the most of the members' creations,

there was no detailed photos or write-ups...

I'm sure they(we) spent a lot of time and did a great hard work.

so, seeing only a tiny photo in the book was a bit, errrr, disappointing.
(well, "unfortunate" might be more of an appropriate word! actually) 

at the same time, I know if they were to talk about every single person's work, 

the book would have been five times thicker, if not more.

 so, that is understandable... 

anyhow, here are a couple more photos of my coat!

sadly enough, it is not going to fit me this winter

after having had to wait for a year and a half to get my coat back...

my huge belly is peeking out and saying hello to the world out there :I

hehe

it will be awesome if other members also post more photos of their own version,

and how-to on making the variation!

light quilted jacket

I have been knitting intensively for the past while.

but, decided to make my daughter this jacket while I had some cuts on my fingers,

which made me a bit painful to knit. 

 all the materials are from my stash bins.

I sorted through them the other weekend,

which reduced four bins into two! 

I had LOTS of little scraps that I am probably never going to use,

and some odds/ends from former projects, also random fabric that people had given me.

it made me feel nice to organize some stuff and let go of things I don't need.

clatter is no good.

 the pattern is from Sweet Girl Clothes (ほんのりSweet女の子の服) that I grabbed when I was in Japan.

I have tried a couple different patterns from this book

and it has lots of well designed/constructed cute clothes for girls.

highly recommended!

this quilted fabric is thin and light.

good for fall/spring, and also winter if she wears a nice warm sweater underneath.
the lining is so hard to see, but this naniIRO fabric (in white).

I made it in size 100, but should have made in 110 so that she could wear it next winter/spring...

I was also amazed how quickly I finished it, compared to knitting something like that.
(still) took me a few days, because I could only work on it a short chunk of time when she was in bed,
but it's pretty cool to pull something wearable so quickly!

lil baby sling

a few weeks ago, I purchased this book from Oliver + S.

 it was a little gift to myself for,,, erm,,, nothing!

i like treating myself, sometime too much :I

but when I took it to my hand at Powell's,

I decided I HAD TO have it.

it is full of cute little things you can make for your little one,

which are also great gifts!

yes, I had to have it!

the very first thing I wanted to make my daughter was this bear carrier.

 since she had been playing with her big carrier so much lately

(in addition to her current obsession -breast feeding her bears),

I though it would be sweet to make one in 'her size'.

 fabric used is all scrap from my stash.

it was a quick over-night project,

and she was already playing with it next morning!

I am sure you'll be a great mama!

japanese souvenir

it's kinda late for this, but still wanted to upload all the goddies I brought back from Japan this time.

fabric

 I got all of them on sale.

unicorn one is a gift for my friend.

 sewing notions

the bigger one is for ironing.

you put it in between folded fabric, and it helps to keep the hem allowance even(same length).

small one is for adding sewing allowance. 

when you are tracing an existing pattern, it comes handy.

especially the ones from Japanese sewing books, they don't have the sewing allowance included, 

which is very inconvenient!

sewing & embroidery books

the left one is called "She Has a Mannish Style" (気分はマニッシュ)

The right one is called "Wappen" (Uiの刺繍ワッペン)

 I had been wanting to learn embroidery.

so this one is perfect!

there were so many cool Japanese sewing/crafting magazines/books over there 

and it was so hard to choose a couple from so many,

but these caught my interest the most.

 mt(masking tape) and stamps

 these are so much more expensive to buy (via etsy or ebay) over here,

I had to replenish my supply...

ready for the trip!

here is a digest of what I've been making for the trip.

start with a passport/ticket holder

I had one from a travel company, but it was cheaply made not-so-good-looking one.

so decided to make up one!

the pattern is based on the 'original' one I had.

it has two big pockets, a pouch to put your passports, a slit for your tickets, and two more small pockets.

made with Echino fabric that had been hibernating in my fabric bin for a quite sometime. 

this blight purple will make it easier to see when you have tons of stuff in your traveling bag :)

(especially you have a toddler to travel with!)

next!

knitting needle case

because I can't really take my sewing machines with me on this trip,

I am planning to knit when I have free time in Japan.

I've been knitting a quite bit more than the last year,

and started accumulating knitting needles.

they deserve a proper home anyway.

this way, they are very organised and easier to travel with!

I used this tutorial, but you also can find a lot more here. 

next!

zipper pouches

 

originally made one for my ergo,

then realized they were very handy and made some more for other things!

one of them became a diaper bag, which keeps the bigger diaper bag organized 

and you can just take this smaller diaper bag out when you take the little one to a washroom.

the very big black one is used for my knitting stuff, just big enough for a few rolls of yarn and the needle case.

two more, and I think I am going to use them for socks/underwear, etc...

and the last!

traveler's jewelry case

ever since I saw this creation on Burdastyle,

I had been wanting to make myself one!

it is so handy when you travel and it keeps earrings and necklaces from getting tangled!

I often have a problem(even at home) with that and end up spending 15-20min to unravel the mess.

ha! finally!!

this will make my life so much easier!!

phew!
what a week of sewing!!
I got so much stuff done and am ready to travel!!!!!
well, I guess it's time to pack up then :)



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P.S. is anyone interested in a how-to on any of the projects above?
maybe I can put it together when I have time?? ;)
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little world traveler's backpack

i've been making things for the upcoming Japan trip.

very first thing I wanted make was a backpack for my little one

so that I didn't have to carry her books and toys while we travel.

so here it is, it is all done and ready to be packed up with all the goodies!

 this one is pretty close to this one,

I made my own pattern, but the sewing steps/instructions are pretty much the same,
and used the leftover fabric from this hat. 

 I added a pocket on backside and outside of the backpack and embroidered around the butterfly print.

also made a bottle holder by simply adding a band with elastic inside of the backpack so the bottle stays upright.

it has an extra cushion of thicker interface on the back and bottom of the backpack for comfort and durability.

it was my first time using piping, and it was great.

I think that is what give the backpack the finished look.

I also did a research on free toddler backpack patterns/tutorials as I was making up my own pattern,

and here is a list of useful links if you'd like to make your little guy one of these!

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that crafty mrs. V: free pattern/instruction 

think liz: a long list of free sewing patterns(clothes, accessories, baby items, etc)

indietutes: free toddler backpack tutorial

made by rae: purchase a toddler backpack pattern/instruction 

sew, mama, sew!: free back to school backpack pattern/instruction

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I have a few more sewing creations to share,,,

please come back to check them out later :)!

have a great weekend!

xo