Playing with colour

I've done a few of these pebble pieces but as yet not got a complete chair seat (although there is one with the upholsterer still) so have been plotting a new cover for the chair I finished last year. I am loving making bespoke fabrics for old furniture. I wanted to do another pebble piece, even though it takes weeks to sew each one on by hand. I've been pondering these colours for ages, but I think it's ready to go now. 

I keep eyeing up old chairs in skips and junk shops... it's only a matter of time before I start filling everywhere up with upholstered chairs!

Talking of upholstery and chairs, these are two upholsterers whose work I adore.

Helen Amy Murray. She works mainly in leather to produce stunning tactile effects. I first saw her work years and years ago at New Designers and it's been great to watch how well she's done. A great inspiration.

Aiveen Daly's work was introduced to me by my friend Lisa. Again I love the textures she produces and of course the wit and sexiness of her designs. Her work makes me want to design upholstery all the time. Headboards! sofas! Fabric-covered rooms!

Pincushion

Wonderfully blobby, beautiful pincushion by embroiderer Karen Ruane.

It was hard to choose which one, but the red won, it usually does. There are more available here.

Buttons on the underside.

One of the things I love about Etsy is the freebies most sellers send. I usually forget and feel guilty about this, but do try and remember to put in a little something, it's part of the niceness of buying direct from the person who made it. Karen included these two blobby little buttons for which I will have to find something suitably special.

Camera has penguins!

I've been seeing plenty of handmade camera straps online (LOADS on Etsy) and decided it was time to make my own. I've had an ugly grey synthetic one on my SLR for ages. Now it has penguins!

Total invention, no pattern, but I used the old strap as a guide.The fabric is the left-overs from making the Penguin jacket for my godson (and worn by his sister). The amazing silvery-petroly leather ends are made from scraps I got in a big batch from Craft Central.

So to make this, I cut a length of fabric, about 8cm wide, stitched it into a tube, turned and pressed flat. Rather than use synthetic interfacing, which I hate, I cut 3 wide strips of scrap cotton (old sheet I think) and folded the whole lot in half to make a thick sort of wadding. Then I used a safety pin to pull the wadding through the tube. I'm not convinced this was the most effective way to make the strap, but it seems to have worked! I then worked three rows of machine stitch along the length of the strap.

I made the ends using scrap leather and cotton tape. Nylon webbing would probably have been better but I don't have any and am not about to buy any just to do this. I'm not sure how long the cotton tape will last so I need to keep an eye on it. It might tear really easily so I will have to check often. So the folded tape is zigzagged onto the strap (trimmed to shape) and then sandwiched between the leather. I used the old strap as a guide for the leather pieces. And then sewed the whole lot together - oh, and used a little fabric glue to keep the sandwich together first of all so it couldn't slide during sewing. I did this all on my industrial machine, I'm not sure my domestic would have dealt well with the thickness of leather and strap. Plus I couldn't find the leather needles for that machine and the industrial will sew through anything, no trouble.

I used a scrap of fleece to line the back of the strap, so it's nice and comfy on the neck. I've seen ones online with suede or sweat-wicking microfibre for extra comfort, but I don't use my camera that much and the fleece seems good so far. It's an experiment so I may revise that plan depending on how this one goes in use.

I made this little one next, for my pocket camera. It's made in the same way but I started with a ready-made strap, left over from my handbag-making days. It's just a strip of fabric, stiffened with interfacing, edges folded in, folded in half and stitched along both sides. It was really thick and hard to sew the leather this time, so it's a bit messy! I used baby ribbon on this one as it hardly takes any weight. Super easy and now I have smart camera straps, ready for a weekend away where I'm planning on taking lots of photos!

Super fast apron

I had a long lunchbreak at the studio yesterday. I can't say I don't deserve a sewing break having worked solidly since Easter without a day off. I sent off an important email at 11.15, had a brief moment of elation and weightless-shoulders so packed my bag and headed out for a couple of hours of quality sewing time. I made these (full blog post tomorrow) and this here apron, just in time for the Tie One On challenge. I've missed the last few challenges and it's been frustrating. I really wanted to do a gingham one, but that escaped me. I started, but it didn't work. This one was a whole lot easier. 45 mins concept to photo. A bit of a dash when I should have been back at the office but it was fun!  I haven't made an apron for a loooong time.*  Too long. I would have liked to spend longer on this one but time was not on my side today. This week. This year.

Details of the ribbon pleating

And now I'm spending the evening at my desk catching up. ho hum.

*Oh yeah, I made an apron for Sew It Up, which I wear almost everyday. And I made one for the new book, but that's a secret apron of course. 

Happy May Day!

My Easter cactus started budding at Easter and is fully in bloom today, ready for May day.