Recycled Spookiness

I don't have many Halloween decorations. Actually, I don't have any! We are very limited on space since we reside in a condo, and my 3 boxes of Christmas decorations are already pushing the limits.  Buying more decorations is not allowed until we have a house with real storage solutions.  So I was very excited to find this tutorial. We drink a lot of milk around here, so it was not hard to rummage through the recycling bin to find some milk cartons. I was able to make this guy with 3 cartons. I think I could have done a neater and more precise job with 4, but I decided to use every last inch of the last carton for the legs and arms.  I may re-do the hands and feet with movable fingers and toes. We'll see how motivated I am between now and Halloween. 

Here are some tips I learned along the way: 

1. If you mess up with the black sharpie, it's easy to correct with some nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol. I erased all the lines I used to trace out the pieces.

2. When you cut off the top spout of the carton that you use to make the pelvis, you can attach it to the spout on the head to make a longer neck. I just wired those together before I connected it to the rib-cage jug.

I think he came out really cute. I have him hanging outside our front door. The best part is that I can toss him back in the recycle bin when I'm done, and make another next year. That way, I don't have to worry about storage. SCORE! 

Thanks Marvelous Mrs. M for the tutorial.

In the Bag

Every hat should have a matching bag, right? Well, maybe not always. However, since our second assignment in Clothing Construction was to make a pillow/bag/or billfold, I went with a bag.  This project was just a small project to show that we can use the sewing machine. Since I consider myself to be somewhat knowledgeable with the machine, I challenged myself a little. I've made bags before, so this time I decided to embellish. I used the left over corduroy and lining from my hat to make a little tote. I found a cute free pattern of a tree online. I used the lining material for the foliage of the tree and some of the corduroy for the trunk. I put some fusible interfacing on the back of the cut outs to make them a little sturdier then used the machine to sew them on, trying to stay as close to the edge as possible. 

It wasn't too difficult, but it wasn't really easy maneuvering around all those corners and curves. Even if the edges fray a little bit, I used a smaller stitch so the applique should not come off. It might have a cute finish with raw edges. This bag perfectly holds my wallet, phone, ipod, little notebook and possibly a diaper clutch. This will be nice for short outings with Fletch, when we don't need the baby backpack.

Sew Cool

This semester I am taking Clothing Construction as one of my Applied Arts electives. I was supposed to take Textile Design, but then I found out that you don't even get to work with any fabric or application in that class. It's all done on the computer. I asked my advisor if I could substitute and she gave me the go ahead. I was really excited to take this class. Once the semester started I knew I would have an amazing time in this class.

Everything I have learned about sewing, I learned just from watching my mom. I have never taken a class or used an instruction manual. I feel pretty comfortable around the sewing machine. However, I've never sewn a zipper, a button hole or a full on article of clothing from a pattern. I have created my own patterns for a few things, but nothing too advanced. I did make my pretty diaper bag from a pattern I printed out online. What I really want to gain from this class is to sharpen my technical skills. I want to know the ins and outs of my machine, tips/tricks and terminology. I have a plan for something exciting and I want to make sure that I am well prepared.

Our first project was a hand sewn hat. First off, we had to create a hat out of newspaper/newsprint paper. It could be any kind of hat and this would be the hat that we would create out of fabric. My first hat was a weird floppy hat. Initially it was going to be a summer/beach hat, but my instant gratification got the best of me. I wanted a hat that I could wear once I made it. Since it was Fall, I needed a Fall hat. Here is my first paper prototype:

Once we had our paper hat the way we wanted it, we talked about fabric options with our professor. I decided on un-cut corduroy (corduroy without the lines). I had to get some fusible interfacing and thicker interfacing for the bill. I also decided that I would make a lining for my hat. I had some cool fabric in my collection I wanted to use.

Our next task was to create a pattern for the hat we were going to make. There were a couple of options. I could make the hat in paper again and then cut it up into pattern pieces, or used shapes that would produce a dome shape. I opted to do 6 triangles to make the main part of the hat. I used a hat I already owned that used the 6 triangle method, and I observed the shape of the triangles and did some measuring. Once I had the paper pattern pieces, I taped and pinned them together to make sure they fit together to make what I wanted. So I ended up with another temporary paper hat:

This one looked a lot more like what I wanted and it fit my head perfectly. So I took the second hat apart and I had my hat pattern ready to go. I used it to cut my corduroy, lining and interfacing. I did all of the cutting and ironing in class, then started hand sewing the crown of the hat. I used a basic straight stitch with small stitches. Once I connected all of the 6 triangles together, I had my crown. It was a little daunting because it looked huge. I didn't worry about it, because I knew that I was going to sew a band around the outside that could bring it in. I sewed the lining next, then the bill. It took me a few minutes to figure out how I was going to put it together with the fewest amount of steps, and my decision wasn't the best choice, but it worked out well.

Next time, if there is a next time, I have a better idea of what I'll do. I am very happy with the end result. I have a well sewn, and sturdy fall hat. I have been showing it off to people here, and now it's time to show it off to the interwebs. Here is my hand sewn hat: