carrotflowers

Made: ladybug from Little Stitches for Little Ones

Project Notes:My son was into ladybugs around the time I got this book so I gravitated towards this project, although I prefer garments, really. The instructions were clear and all in all everything went smoothly. This was the first time I’d used Wonder Under for applique - I haven’t appliqued much - and I loved it. The last time I just pinned my applique on and sewed. The Wonder Under is fused on by iron to the applique piece, and then you fuse the applique in place to the project, and then it sticks there…no need for pinning. Totally awesome and easy. I was happy with it when I was done but it’s  bit more of a struggle to sew something like this, bulky with the fusible fleece, and matching a stuffed curved piece to a round flat piece…not really my thing.

Tags: Amy Butler, Little Stitches For Little Ones, stuffed animal

Made: Slim T from Ottobre

Project Notes: I was so excited by the success of my knit fabric onesie, I moved onto a T shirt. I decided to try binding with some foldover elastic (often called FOE) that I had just received from a co-op. The color went well with some knit fabric I’ve had sitting around for awhile, waiting for me to figure out how to sew with the infamously hard stuff. I thought the color of the FOE would look nice at the hem so I used it there too.

The pattern was simple and came together easily, although the sleeve was just a bit longer than the armhole so I had about 0.5 cm sleeve extension each time. I should have pinned it with ease, it never occurred to me. I assume that directions will tell you when ease is needed.

Mistakes/Complications: The FOE was hard to work with. Unlike using knit for binding, it’s stiff and hard, even though it has stretch, and gets bulky and misshapen when pinned, like any stiff or bulky material. It was very hard and I tried sewing one side then flipping it over and doing the other, and I tried sewing it on with one go…I don’t remember what worked best. I did discover, when the hem was ruined by my adding it, that you don’t need to stretch FOE very much at all.

Notes for Next Time: I didn’t use FOE the next time I made this pattern.

Tags: knitfabric, Ottobre, tshirt