Beaks and Bows

Last time, while I tried to sew a small Totoro, I watched the movie. It made me realize that I can watch an animated movie while I sew. Why animated? Because I can just glance at it every now and then and just listen to it while working and still know what's going on. Makes sewing more fun for me. 

I had made the blue bird and the yellow bird right after I made the red one. But I wanted to make the black one before I put them all on my blog. So today while I made the black bird, I watched Howl's Moving Castle. I don't have a sewing machine yet so I hand-stitch each bird. I seem to have a hard time sewing on their beaks. It takes about five tries to get them okay looking. But they're worth it. Here they all are:

The black bomb bird is my favorite! I am so so thankful to Care's blog where I got all the patterns from.

The other thing I've been working with felt making little bow hair clips. I got a pack of black hair clips for very cheap and the good thing about them is that the top black part actually comes off from the clip. I made little bows with felt and used glue to put them on the black top. Left them one day to dry and viola! pretty little clips all ready! 

 I didn't really think it necessary to cover the black part with felt because my hair is black and when I put it on, only the bow shows. I don't know how long they'll stay with glue. Maybe I should have sewn them on. I guess I will if they start to come off. Right now, I'm happy with they way they are.

Might make more birds and bows with the felt I have left. Perhaps get better at sewing beaks on? :)

My Neighbor Totoro

Today I FELT like working with felt. (heh) I've seen Totoro plush around the web so I decided to try and make one. I also watched the movie today.  My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 Japanese animated movie that has been dubbed in English by Fox and then by Disney. I think the one I watched was the Disney version. Anyway, while I watched I started putting together this little Totoro figure. Later, I added a keyring to it.

I think it turned out cute :) Have been working on more angry birds too. Will blog them once they're all done! 

How To Sew A Drawstring Bag

I haven't ever met my mother's grandmother. But from what I hear she was highly creative at sewing. She'd make these drawstring pouches and give them to everyone. Recently I learnt how to make them too.

Here I'm going to show you how I make the drawstring pouch above. It's fairly simple. I'm not an expert at sewing and I'm not taking any classes. My stitches are not very neat since I'm still practicing and trying to learn on my own. I'm putting up the process of making a drawstring pouch here for people like me who are looking for easy projects that they can start with. You can, of course, try variations of the design shown here. Do let me know what you come up with! 

The things you are going to need are:

- Felt

- Ribbon

- Thread

- Needle

- Scissors

- A safety pin

To make the bow, first cut a small rectangle. (It should be the size you want your bow to be) I had a pink bow so my rectangle is out of the pink felt. 

Now thread your needle and start at the very middle of your rectangle.  

Start sewing in a line in the middle.

When you pull at the thread, the rectangle will shape itself in a bow.

Pull the thread and tie the thread in a knot. Now cut off the excess. 

Now to begin the pouch, cut a piece of felt that is the size of two squares. You could cut two squares if you want. I think this way I don't need to sew the base of the pouch. 

When folded, this is what the felt piece looks like. 

Now sew on the bow somewhere on the lower side of the square.

As you can see, I have sewn a little piece of felt in the middle of the bow to give it a cleaner look. 

Now flip it over and pin down small portions of the felt from both top and bottom. This is going to be the place where the string is going to pass so you want it such that after you sew it down, there is room for the ribbon to go through.

Start sewing in a straight line. I think that this part should be sewn strongly as the drawstring will be pulled through it many times. 

This is what it looks like when both sides have been done. (Your stitches might be a bit more neat, mine aren't that much)

Now you have made two "tunnels" for the ribbon to pass.

This is what the front looks like now. 

Keeping the piece of felt in the same place (ribbon side up), fold it back into a square. The bow is now hidden inside. 

Now sew both sides, right and left. Basically, we're sewing on this side so that when we turn it inside out, the seams will be hidden. 

This is what it looks like when I turn it inside out after sewing. 

The seams of the side are not seen from this side. For the top, you might want to use a matching thread, mine doesn't match but I think pink looked fine.

You will need two pieces of ribbon. Each piece should be double the horizontal length of the pouch. Maybe a little more if you like.

Attach a small safety pin to the ribbon.

The safety pin will make it easier to pass the ribbon through the "tunnel".

Pass it in a complete circle and you will have something like this.

Tie a double knot to secure it. Now attach the safety pin to the other ribbon. You will pass it through the circle the same way but this time you will start at the left side. 

Tie both ends with double knots. 

If you pull at the strings knots in opposite directions, the bag will close.

Drawstring pouch/bag is now ready! 

Note : I have used hand stitching for this pouch and I do not take responsibility if you place things that are too heavy or too precious in it and lose them. 

Angry Birds Mania

I started playing Angry Birds on my PC a few weeks ago. It's so thrilling to get all three stars in a level. I think why this game is so popular is that the effects of gravity pull seem so real. At first, it just seems like throwing birds around, no biggie. But then as you play on, you realize there is some thinking required. I am currently on "The Big Setup" level 7.  This is one game I've found after a long time that I can play on for hours.

The red one is the classic and basic angry bird. They're basically angry because their eggs have been stolen. I was really inspired to do more than just have their wallpaper in my phone and on my computer. So I went to the mall and got some red, black, white and yellow felt and put together a red angry bird plush. The tutorial I followed mentioned an orange beak but I preferred the yellow one. As the bird started coming together, the whole family got excited. Mom was actually awake at night to see what the final look would be like. I got really confused as to how I'd get all the stitching from inside. Took me about two hours to figure that out. But it was worth it. Here he is!

Now is that an angry bird or what. ;)


*Update* I just finished all the levels on my PC game. Will I try for all three stars? Maybe. :)

Sewing and Cooking!

I sewed my first felt toy yesterday. :i It's a doll. I stuffed the body with cotton and used blanket stitch all around.

Deciding the hair for Betty was tricky since I didn't have any yarn. The first hairstyle I had for her made her look like a nun. =P So finally I came up with this:

Sewing the little dress for her was delightful! :d

I came across my barbie's furniture and Betty cooked herself a meal.....

.....and then she took a nap! ;)

Doll pattern used is from here.

I also tried a little cooking today and made spicy deep fried chicken. It turned out to be awesome. :e All thanks to Tehniat's recipe here. :)

This is my first attempt at cooking probably and I'm going to try more things soon! Keep checking back! :) :r

I Had To Try This

Dad says it's not a durable purse since the stitches might be weak. But I had to try making one :)

A Felt Rose ^_^

My mum likes flower hair clips so I've tried making one today. The clip I used for the bottom was a white one lying around the house that no one really ever used. I mean who needs a white clip. So here it is a red rose clip for mummy :)

This wonderful tutorial made things so simple.

Keep Calm And Sew On

I did go to the doctor last week and got a bunch of medicines. Not just for backache, turned out that my wisdom tooth was getting infected as well. This has caused me to spend a slow week of illness. One week. Huh. It really felt like a century! Anyway, I am pleased to say that I have regained most of my health now. Still cautious about what I eat but I feel better. I think when medicines don't suit you, you should go and ask the doctor to change them instead of putting up with the terribleness. We went to the mall yesterday and shopping therapy did me well.
Dad has been with me mostly when I was in search of felt and so, he spotted a shop in the mall. This is such a relief since I was running out of felt and this mall is nearby so felt is now within easy reach. I've been obsessed with clutch bags for over an year now. I saw some pretty decent ones yesterday at the mall but didn't think any of them was worth the price. I therefore, decided to try sewing a clutch myself. Pink and orange go so well together. My stitches are still a bit untidy at places but I'm happy with the result. I didn't want my clutch to slouch so I taped two floppy disks and inserted them for back support. Wasn't sure I'd be able to make this in one day but I did. :)

The tutorial I used to make the pretty flower can be found here. What's next? I can't say but I'm sure to try something else. Keep checking back! :)

What To Do With Floppy Disks

I have more than a dozen floppy disks in the house from the time they were really in use. I would have probably thrown them away but I'm glad I didn't because here I found a way to make felt boxes using these useless floppies. It was just a matter of sewing pouches for each disk and then stitching them all together. I used the daisy flower pattern for the design. And its turned out to be nice enough, if I do say so myself.

With the bad bad backache I've come down with, I'm glad I have sewing to keep me distracted during the day. Ammi has a backache as well. When I finished my box she was sitting on the sofa in front of me and she said,"Dikhao." And I tried to get up and hand it to her then I went, "Err you could just look at it from here for now." It was actually kind of funny. 

Felt iPOD Cozy

Since I started work with felt, my family has been requesting things. The first two things that I sewed were simple enough. Then I decided to make an ipod cozy for my sister's ipod. I didn't want to go for the plain rectangle design so I chose star shape. I wanted to make it like a pouch as well as something she can use for viewing her ipod screen without having to take it out. It took me more time and effort than I had imagined. I also learnt and practiced the blanket stitch. Cutting out the portion of the screen and the wheel was the most difficult part. It's not perfect but my sister likes it. So here you go, here is the ipod cozy that I made with felt:

If you'd like to give it a try yourself, here's the tutorial that I followed for the most part.