Butterfly Heat Pack

This butterfly heat pack is super easy to make.

You will need 

• a copy of my butterfly pattern, available HERE,
• a fabric scrap about 25cm wide and 50cm long
• a fabric scrap of a contrasting colour, about 10cm x 5cm
• 500g of linseeds (flax seeds)
• thread and scissors
• essential oil (optional - I used lavender, but you might also like rosemary or other scents).

This butterfly is really simple to make. 

Fill a bowl with the linseed, and add a few drops of the oil and mix it in. Be sparing with this - I added too much, and it keeps giving me a headache because there is too much oil in there.

Cut out the body (two), and the dots (six or twelve).

Pin the body together, wrong sides facing, marking the points to start and stop sewing. I do this by putting two pins in the one spot at the start and end points.

Sew around the body, then clip the seams to turn out.

Turn the body out, and fill with the linseed. I used a spoon to get the seeds into the body, although a funnel may work.

Sew the opening closed using a ladder stitch. A tutorial for ladder stitch can be found here.

Now, position the dots. I doubled the dots up, with a plain colour behind a contrasting pattern. I used a different contrast for the upper and lower wings.

Once you are happy with the position of the dots, pine them in place. The position is really to do with aesthetics, so it depends on what you think looks good.

Sew the dots on. You have two choices here. You can either sew through the top layer only, leaving the heat pack fairly loose, or you can sew through the top and bottom layers pulling the thread tight, to make the heat pack firm. I chose to make mine firm, which caused the spots to bunch up, giving them a bit of texture.

Lastly, heat in the microwave for about one minute. This will dry the linseed out, so that the heat pack doesn't go funny if you don't use it immediately. Store in a cool dry place, and heat for 1 - 2 minutes to use. Do NOT overheat, as it may cause the heat pack to catch fire.

Sewing Group

I love to sew. I make no apologies for this. It gives me pleasure. And, it allows me to own and wear items of clothing that I would otherwise be unable to find.

While I was sewing my Alice dress, several of my friends lamented that they would love to learn how to sew. So, I started a Stitch n Bitch group.

We had our first meeting last weekend. Not knowing the sewing abilities of each of my friends, I simply invited them to bring along things that they were working on, or things that they wanted to start.

The day before the session, I was trawling through http://craftgossip.com, and found so many cute stuffed animals. I have been meaning to make a heat pack for some time now, so decided to also offer cute animal heat packs as an alternate project.

The four founding members - myself, Squirrel, Lola and Kiwi - turned up, armed with sewing machines and fabric, and we set about creating things.

I decided on a butterfly heat pack stuffed with linseed (flax seed), and scented with lavender oil, Kiwi decided on a seahorse heat pack stuffed with linseed, wheat and pearl barley, and scented with rosemary oil, and Squirrel decided on a squirrel stuffed with linseed, wheat and pearl barley, and scented with lavender oil. I used a hand drawn butterfly shape, while Kiwi worked from lia's craft journey, and Squirrel worked on the cutest pattern from we wilson. Lola started working on a bag based on the tutorial from crafster.org.

Squirrel set about starting her squirrel sewing by hand, while I used my machine.

Lola carefully glued her shapes into place before she could sew them on.

Kiwi, in the mean time, tackled the sewing machine - and won! She not only sewed the entire way around a seahorse (which is mostly curves, let's be honest), but she also labouriously clipped the seams of all of those curves so that her seahorse would sit right.

I, on the other hand, had finished my butterfly (having chosen the simplest project of the group), and moved onto making a bucket hat. It seems I got the band measurement wrong, because the hat is far too big for me, but a good first attempt I figure.

Squirrel's squirrel began to take shape

And then, sadly, she had to go home, as did Lola. Lola decided that she would be working on her bag for several sessions, so stay tuned for it's progress. Squirrel was feeling inspired, so took her squirrel home to work on, (it was finished by Monday).

Squirrel guarding Squirrel's desk.

Squirrel and her squirrel.

Kiwi and myself remained, and Kiwi was determined to finish her seahorse before she went home.

Which she totally accomplished!

Kiwi's Heat Pack Seahorse - isn't he cute?

All in all, the first session of our stitch and bitch group was totally successful!

Alice Dress

Stomp, a charity Dance event held three times a year, is a big deal within the Canberra dance community. People go all out with their costumes (and, I have to admitt, so do I most of the time) The most recent theme was 'Winter Masquerade,' and was a chance for over the top opulence. I loved the costuming in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, and the Stomp Winter Masquearde gave me the perfect opportunity to make my own version of one of the costumes I fell in love with - the dress Alice wears while she is in the Red Queen's Court.

I love the stripped fabric that is in the original dress. However, I couldn't find anything similar, or red bridal tulle, so I inverted the colours.

Okay, so now how I actually made the dress.

You will need
Base Fabric
Bridal Tulle
Organza / Netting / Other thin fabrics for overskirt
Ribbon
Zipper
Long Necklace / Costume Jewellery (Optional)
Step One:
I made a basic princess line dress, cutting it longer than I needed. I wanted a pleat detail on the bodice, so I inserted an extra panel between the front left side and front centre. Rather than putting the zip in the centre back, I cut the back piece on the fold, and put the zip on the left hand side. I used an invisible zip becuase I find them easier to insert than normal zips, but if you prefer a normal zip, use that instead.

To fit the dress, I put in a series of pleats using the extra fabric from the left panel. These pleats got wider near to my waist, as I didn't taper the extra panel. I secured the pleats with three seams: one over the nipple line, one over the waist line, and one in between.

To finish the neck line, I faced the dress. You could choose to line the dress, but as I wanted this for a dance event, I didn't want the extra layers of fabric.

Now that the dress is fitted, I can cut the hem to the required length - just below my knees. You can do this one of two ways. Either putting the dress on, and having someone mark the length with a hemming guide, or marking the waistline, and marking the desired lenght below the hem line. Cut along the line, and finish the seam either by overlocking (serging), or using a zig zag stitch.

Now my dress looks dress-like, I added the embellishments.

Step Two:

I cut my tulle into strips about 15cm wide. Because I wanted a slightly rough, been sewn quickly by a mad hatter look, I didn't join any of my strips, but you could choose to do this if you wanted.

I wanted tiers of ruffles on the dress, so I marked circles from the hemline, each about 10 cm wide. These became my sewing guides. Starting from the hemline, I added my gathered tulle.

Now, I hate gathering tulle. Organza, cotton, corduroy, they are fine. But I hate gathering tulle. So, I cheat. Rather than gathering, I pleat the tulle. This gives the same puffy look, and takes about the same time. I must stressed, either method is labour intensive.

To pleat the tulle, I took two (2) layers of tulle, and pinned them to the hem of my skirt. Then, by hand, I made a pleat. to do this, I place my thumb over the tulle, then fold the tulle back over my thumb, and hold this in place before pinning it. These pleats don't ahve to be totally even, and if you pin them so that the flappy bit gets to the sewing machine foot first, then they will be pushed back a touch, adding to the 'gathered' look of my tulle.

When the tulle ran out, I simply placed another strip of tulle about an inch before the end of the last peice, and pleated it into place. To join the start and end, I undid the last first pleat I made, then pleated it together with the last pleat.

I had originally meant to have nine (9) layers of the tulle, but I found this cute ribbon. So, I decided to swap every second layer of tulle for a layer of ribbon.

I repeated the gathering process until I reached the top of the dress, and sewed a layer of ribbon around the waistline.

Now the skirt is looking all puffy and poofy, I can add the overskirt.

Step Three:

This is the point where I add the overskirt and overbodice.

The overskirt is simply a rectangle that is sewn onto the waist at the back of the dress. To get the measurements for the rectangle, I put the dress on, and draped a tape measure around my waist, to the lenght I wanted the overskirt to fall. The width is simply the measurement from the waistline to the hem of the skirt.

I finished the edges of the overskirt with a narrow short zig zag stitch, and sewed one of the long edges to the back waistline, from hip to hip. I then caught the bottom edges, to keep them sitting where I wanted, with a few small stitches on the lower hemline.

The overbodice was again a rectangle of fabric, with the length being my bust measurement, and the width being double the measurement from from the neckline to the waistline. Once again going with the slightly rough look, I pinned and gathered the overbodice along the zip, and along the side seam, allowing the fabric to pool at the back waist. I used a short narrow stitch to sew it into place.

Step Four (optional)

As I was wearing the dress to a dance event, I wanted to make sure it wasn't going to fall down while I was dancing. The easiest way to do this is to put straps on the dress. I decided on one strap, on the opposite side to the zip.

You could do a simple spaghetti strap, but I wanted something a bit... flouncier.

To make my strap, I measured from my shoulder to the hem of the dress, and doubled this measurement. I then cut a piece of wide ribbon the right lenght.

Using the overskirt fabric, I cut strips about 10cm wide, and gathered them onto the ribbon the same way as the tulle. I then folded the ribon in half, and sewed along the edge to secure the gathers in place. This became my strap. I sewed it into place on the back, then sewed it into place on the front. With it on, I also pinned it in place at the waistline on both the front and the back, and sewed it into place.

Step Five (Optional)

I fell in love with these two costume jewellery necklaces at a retail clothing chain, and the key just seemed perfect for the Alice dress. I love butterflies, and so the butterfly tied into my hair accessories and the embellishments to my mask.

I figured out the length of hang that I wanted to have for the necklaces, and sewed them onto place by hand at both hips (if you do this, remember that you will have to sew on the front of the zip, otherwise you won't be able to get in and out of the dress.

Moulin Rouge / Can Can Skirt

Okay. So, i'm finally actually putting some instructions up here.

I went to a moulin rouge themed party a few months ago, and made myself an awesome outfit to go with it.

The corset is a victorian corset, based on pattern SIMP ????. Because it is a Victorian Corset, it stops on the nipple line. Not exactly what I will leave the house, or dance in.

So, I created a small top to go under it.

The top is based on SIMP 6242.

I wasn't able to get my hands on a proper corset busk before the party, so instead I put 19 hook and eyes down the front of the corset.

On the back, rather than using eyelets for the lacing, i created a series of small loops of fabric for the lacing.

Both front and back, I added 'modesty panels'. Literally, these are flaps of fabric that sit behind the lacing so that you don't see the way lacing the corset up tightly pulls the skin.

I sew the side seams first, then turn the pattern right way round and bind the top and bottom edges.

The top is based on the bodice of patter SIMP 4401. I altered it by taking only the bust panels, and cutting the back off at the same level. I then elasticised the bottom hem, so that it fitted tightly and could be taken on and off over the head, without the need for a zip.

And lastly, the skirt.

My skirt has three layers. All three are based on a circle skirt pattern.

Before you start to cut or sew, you need to figure out a few things

*Where on your hips / waist do you want the skirt to sit?

*How long do you want the skirt to be (from your hip / waist measurement)?

*How many layers of ruffles do you want in the underskirt?

*How wide do you want each layer of ruffles to be?

*How gathered do you want each layer of ruffles to be?

Working out the pattern is simple after you have answered these questions. You will need butcher or pattern paper, pens, and a calculator.

First start with the hip/waist measurement. Mine was 85cm. This is the circumference of the circle. Now, you need to figure out the radius. Thinking back to year 8 or 9 maths, remember that and grab your calculator. So, c = 85cm. to work out r, divide c by 2, then by ∏ (pi). For me, this was r = 85 / 2 / ∏. Or, r = 13.5. Remembering that you need a 1.5cm seam allowance, take this off your radius. S, my radius becomes 12cm.

I find it easiest to deal with 1/4 circle patterns. So, choose a corner of your pattern paper, and draw on your radius line. I do this by making marks every few cm, each at the radius distance from the point of the paper, then join them up. You should end up with a nice semi circle. This is your waist line.

Next, add the length of the skirt plus seam allowance to the radius. I wanted my skirt to be 50cm long, so I added 12 + 50 +3. So, the radius of the hem of my skirt became 65cm. Mark the hem circle in the same way, and then cut along these lines.

YAY! You now have a pattern. And, basically, have completed the hardest part of the project. Go You!

Now you can start cutting and sewing.

Layer 1: Top Skirt.

Decide where you want the zip to be. Because the skirt is a full circle, you only need a short zip, 12cm or 15cm are totally sufficient. I am really bad at putting in normal zips, so all my zips are invisible. This is a choice you will have to make for yourself.

If you want the zip at the side, you will need to cut TWO (2) of your pattern piece, on the fold. You will need to remember to add a 1.5cm seam allowance to the side seam.

If you want to have the zip at the back, you will need to cut ONE (1) of your pattern piece on the fold, and TWO (2) of your pattern pieces as they are, again remembering to add your 1.5cm seam allowance.

I always finish the edges of my pattern pieces with overlocking before I start sewing, and as all these seams are exposed, I highly suggest that you do too.

Now, insert the zip. If you are using a normal zip, sew the full seam for the zip, open the seam up and baste or pin the zip in place before sewing it into the skirt, and opening the seam up to expose the zip. If you are using an invisible zip, insert it before you sew the rest of the seam, then sew the seam, remembering to hand stitch the gap between the zip and your machine sewn seam.

Next, sew the other side seams. Hopefully, you have something that looks like a skirt by now :).

Lastly, you need to hem the bottom of the skirt.

Now, I wanted exposed ruffles on my skirt. I will explain how to make the ruffles when I talk about layer 3, the underskirt. You will need to create a false lining layer. The ruffles look best if they are seen on one side of your body, slightly towards the front.

I chose my left leg. Marking about a quarter of the way around the front at both the waist and hemlines, you will need to make a casing. To do this, get a strip of fabric 8cm wide, and the length of your skirt. Make sure you finish all the edges. Now, pin the strip of fabric to the wrong side of your skirt, from top to bottom. you need to sew the edges in place, along the sides, and top. Remember to keep the bottom open. Now, sew a seam down the middle of the casing, stopping about 5cm from the waistline. You can now run a ribbon up and down the casing. as you pull the ribbon tight, it should gather the skirt up for you.

Layer 2, Skirt Lining.

This layer is optional. You don't really need this layer, but I find that if I am working with clingy fabrics, a cotton or polycotton lining can help reduce the cling.

Follow the steps for creating the skirt. You don't need to insert a second zip. Instead, make sure you leave the top 15cm of the seam open.

Cool! We now have both the top skirt and the lining. Now, we just need a waistband (I like skirts, so I have not attached the underskirt to the top skirt, so that I can wear it more. If this will only ever be used as a costume, please complete the underskirt, before doing this step. If you do you join all three layers with the one waistband, remember not to put a zip into the underskirt).

To make the waistband, you will need a strip of the top layer fabric 13cm wide, and your original waist measurement plus 6cm. For me, this means a trip of fabric 13cm x 91 cm.

Fold the waistband in half length ways, with right sides together, and sew both ends closed. You have allowed the standard 1.5cm seam allowance for this. Now, turn the strip right side out, making sure to keep it folded in half length ways.

Now, grab your top and bottom layers. Arrange the layers so that you have your top skirt, right side out, then your waistband, then your lining, right side in. the right sides of BOTH skirts should now be next to the waistband. Line the zipper and the open seam up with one of the ends of the waistband. Pinning all the way round, you should be left with 3cm of the waistband over at the end. Sew this along the waistline, and make sure that you finish the hems.

Turn the skirt right side out. You should now have a skirt that is almost wearable. the only thing left to do is put a pair of hook and eyes, or trouser bars, or press studs on the waistband overlap. The choice is yours.

YAY! you have a complete top skirt! Now, you just need the ruffled underskirt.

Layer 3. Ruffled underskirt.

For this one, you need to do a bit more maths. not much, I promise.

So, remember how many layers of ruffles you wanted, and how wide you wanted them to be, and how ruffled? Good.

For my skirt, I wanted four layers of ruffles, and them to be 12cm wide, with about a 2cm overlap. And, i wanted a 2.5 gather.

We need to go back to our calculators and measurements, and pattern.

Firstly, If each of my layers is going to be 10cm apart, and I have 4 of them, this will take up the bottom 40cm of my skirt. So, the top part, the part based on our original pattern, is going to be 25cm long. So, mark you pattern at this point again, and cut it out. Insert the zip as you did in the skirt, and sew the seams together.

Next, we need to figure out the measurements for each of out ruffles. This has two parts.

1: Figure out the circumference of each ruffle backing. Each of my 4 ruffles will be backed by a piece of fabric. This will allow the skirt to hold its shape. Think of this as a tiered skirt. so the first ruffle circumference is the circumference of the top part of the pattern, so c=2∏r, or 2 x ∏ x 25. so, c = 158cm.

for each additional tier, I add 10cm to the radius

tier 2: c = 2 x ∏ x 35 = 220cm

tier 2: c = 2 x ∏ x 45 = 283cm

tier 2: c = 2 x ∏ x 55 = 345cm

tier 2: c = 2 x ∏ x 65 = 408cm

So, this means that I have my top tier (the skirt pattern). for each of the additional tiers, I will need a piece of fabric that is 13cm wide (to include seam allowances), and 220, 283, 345, and 408cm long. i know this seams really long, but I promise, it is right.

to make these, i simply tore strips of fabric 13cm wide, and sewed the short ends together. The measurements of your tiers, and how wide the fabric is will determine how many you need, but for me, my fabric was 115cm wide, so I needed 11 strips, to include seam allowances. I ended up with a strip of fabric 1256cm long, which i then cut into my lengths. after you have each of the tier lengths, sew the exposed ends together, so that you have circles.

so, once you have the tiers, you need to make the ruffles.

i wanted a 2.5 ruffle. so, i need circles two and a half times longer than the circumference of each of their positions. i know this sounds confusing, but really, it's not.

My first circumference was 158cm. so, my ruffle length will be 2.5x158, or 395cm.

Do the same thing for the rest of your ruffles.

ruffle 2: 220cm x 2.5 = 550cm

ruffle 3: 283cm x 2.5 = 708cm

ruffle 4: 345cm x 2.5 = 863cm

Again, these measurements seem really long, but don't panic!

tear strips of fabric, and sew them together like you did for the tiers. Because I wanted 12cm wide ruffles, I made my strips 15cm wide, to allow for seams. I made my ruffles out of organza, but almost any fabric will do. i don't suggest you use nylon netting, or heavy tulle. it's just too stiff. but bridal tulle would work well. once you have your completed circles, finish one edge of each of them. I used a rolled hem foot, but overlocking or zig zag stitching will work just as well. if you're feeling really dedicated, you cold even properly hem them but i honestly don't think many people have that much time on their hands.

next, you need to run a long stitch along the non hemmed edge of all of your ruffles, and along one edge of each of your backing tiers. you can do a proper double row, but i found it just as easy to use one.

Now, pick up you LARGEST ruffle, and your SECOND larges tier. on each of them, fold the fabric in eighths, or sixteenths and mark the folds.on the tiers, make sure to mark the folds on both top and bottom. Place the ruffle on the tier edge that does not have the gathering stitch, and pin to match the eighths marks, RIGTH sides together. now, carefully, gather the ruffle. Using a pin, lift the gather stitch for each eighth, taking care to evenly distribute the gathers, and pin them in place. pick up the LARGEST of your tiers. repeat the process of pinning and gathering, ensuring that the right side of the largest tier is against the wrong side of the ruffle. Sew this seam, and remove all pins.

Now, pick up the SECOND largest ruffle, and THIRD largest tier. Repeat the process, sewing it onto the second largest tier.

Repeat the process with the THIRD largest ruffle, and the FOURTH largest tier.

Repeat the process with the SKIRT and the FOURTH largest ruffle

It should, now, look like a skirt. Yay! Almost finished :).

So, you now have two things left to do. The exposed ruffles, and the waistband of the underskirt.

Exposed ruffles first.

Go back to the measurements you did for the underskirt, and divide them all by 4. This will give you the measurements for the exposed ruffles. For the top skirt section, cut a quarter circle only.

Follow the same instructions as for the underskirt, except don't sew a circle.

You should now have a complete 1/4 skirt. Turn the underskirt so that the ruffles are facing inwards (remember, you need them against your legs so that when you shake your skirts like a can can dancer, the ruffles are visible). Remember which side of your overskirt you put the casing on. Pin the exposed ruffle section, ruffles out to the underskirt, matching the side seam with one edge. pin carefully, matching the bottom edges. Sew the two pieces together along the bottom seam, taking care to ONLY sew the backing fabric, not your coloured ruffles.

Follow the directions for a waistband as above. If you want to have all of the layers on the one skirt, pin the underskirt with the exposed ruffles against the lining layer, and sew as above

You now have a can can skirt. YAY!!!

the beginning

I have been sewing clothing - usually special, formal wear - for years now. while i usually stick to using patterns (doing a pattern drafting course is on my to do list), i am now branching out to create things that i don't have a pattern for, or altering patterns that i already have. i have been getting frustrated with web sites that have posts saying 'yes, i have made that' but not saying how, so i'm going to try to go through each of my sewing projects with what i did.