Sep 2022 – My Stash Reduction Quest

Greetings friends! I’ve been busy with a new craft – I asked for a Bobbinhood screen printing kit for my birthday this year….because I need another craft to master(!). I am now the proud owner of the Mega kit, which is the medium sized frame and should cover my ‘printing needs’.

In my last Autumn Sewing Plans blog, I wrote about wanting to try out screen printing on some garments. I actually started plotting these birthday presents for my husband in July, but had to undertake some fairly serious “stealth crafting” to make sure they were a surprise.

Mr Mouse almost exclusively wears t-shirts and jeans, and loves a plain t-shirt with a central motif. One of his most-worn t-shirts is a Lego evolution one (similar to the Evolution of Humans images that are so well-known). Over time, the Lego people have almost completely faded and the neckline looks like a pie-crust! I decided to recreate the much-loved t-shirt for him.

Preparing the stencils

I taped the old t-shirt to a window on a sunny day to mimic a light box, then taped dressmaking tracing paper over the image. A rough pencil trace of the placement and last Lego man gave me the guidelines to create a complete printing stencil. I decided the letters were too complicated for my first foray into proper printing!

I also bought a bundle of Mountain images online to make a second t-shirt for him. The one I eventually chose had a cut-out piece, which pushed my skills a little bit further.

Printing

Armed with some bright yellow and avocado cotton jersey, I cut the pieces for the t-shirts using an online free pattern that I’ve had for years. The Bobbinhood book has a section about negotiating seams when printing, but I decided to avoid this issue and printed the pieces before sewing.

For the mountain t-shirt, I decided black contrasted well against the green (side note: green remains an impossible colour to photograph). For the Lego men, I mixed red, yellow and a bit of black to get a burnt orange colour.

The book is really clear and printing was a relatively smooth process. I did try to “fix” a faded spot on one of the Lego men after setting the paint with the iron. I can confirm this is a bad idea as it just looks like a smudgy fingerprint up close – thankfully it’s not obvious at a distance.

Sewing up was the easy part

Due to my overly-cautious nature and the fact that it was late at night, I let the front pieces dry overnight – I don’t think this was absolutely necessary as I had set the paint. Having sewn many t-shirts, this part of the process was quite straight-forward. The main things that slowed me down were changing the threads for top-stitching and choosing labels.

I raided my label stash, with a “Finished just in time” one rarely being truer! The stay tape on the green label is just visible on the photo, but that has come off in the wash.

I’m happy to report that Mr Mouse said the t-shirts were a complete surprise on his birthday. I was convinced that I had been rumbled, but apparently not!

Thanks for reading :o)

Greetings friends! It’s been a while since I blogged. We had a busy end to the summer, seeing friends and family, going on holiday and general life. As a result, I haven’t been sewing much. I have been knitting lots because we’ve been travelling, so craft is never far from my mind or my fingers.

September often prompts a feeling of “new year” for me, more so than January does. I think the new academic year conjures up memories of new stationery, new teachers, new goals and some of that has carried through to my adult life. Our Cornish holiday has given me the chance to prioritise a few makes, plucking them out of the seemingly endless list of ideas in my head.

As with last year’s Random Project Generator, this is particularly important because it’s that time of year when I make more for others (i.e. Christmas Elf time), but want to make for myself as well!

Gift list

Let’s start with the gifts… I really try not to be sensible about Christmas making because sewing to a deadline isn’t compatible with my stress levels. It’s also reason number 1 (of 75) for me not even considering the Great British Sewing Bee ;o)

Explorer Raglan t-shirts for nephew – I had a very late “Christmas ask” last year, so he’s been put at the top of this year’s list. I’ve got some fun jersey to make these from, both with a similar base colour which means i won’t have to change my overlocker thread (genius).
Sprite wings for niece – she loves dressing-up and unknowingly picked the fabric herself when I asked her “what’s your favourite” from four pictures on my phone. I found out about this pattern from Chatterstitch’s amazing wings which you can see here.
I have a few other presents in mind, but those people can read so I won’t share here!

Personal list

My personal sewing list is made up of pattern and fabric combinations that I already have, including one that I’m already part way through.

Stacker Jacket – during the cooler moments over the summer, I often said “I need a replacement for my denim jacket”. I’ve already fitted this pattern and cut out the pieces. My plan was to make it in time for our holiday, but it’ll be ready for next year!
Power Sports Bra – I recently bought some hot pink econyl fabric from Sew Me Sunshine to make another sport bra. This is the only pattern I use for sport bras as it fits, works and feels comfortable. The cross back is particularly good as it NEVER needs readjusting.

I’m back in the office a lot more now and have a shortage of “work dresses”. I have a wearable toile of the Lyra, which might need narrowing on the shoulders. I also recently bought the Davenport pattern, which I think will look lovely in some border fabric that I have in my stash.

Combining crafts

For my “big birthday” this year, my family gave me a Bobbin Hood screen printing kit. Over the summer, I had a fun day learning to use the kit, but haven’t made anything since.

I really want to make some t-shirts using the kit. I have the free Stellan t-shirt and Lago tank patterns, both of which are great pj tops. My stash has a fair bit of plain jersey thanks to some bundles from Lamazi. The beauty of starting with pj tops is that if they don’t go to plan, not many people will see them but the garment won’t be wasted!

My plan is to cut the pieces, then print before sewing up. Doing it in this order means I don’t have to worry about printing around seams.

Make Nine

I still have three fabrics left from my Make Nine 2022. The middle square is destined to be a Lyra, but I’m not sure about the other two. If I have any ideas, they may jump the queue, but I don’t want to use them for the sake of ticking a box in my Make Nine.

Don’t forget the knitting!

I can’t write about plans without a nod to my ever-present knitting! I am part-way through the Painting Honeycombs Shawl, and really enjoying making it. It requires a lot of different yarns, so it’s a “home sofa” knit and doesn’t travel with me. This means it may take a bit longer to complete, but it’s going to be beautiful.

My portable knitting project is the Cliff Walk Socks pattern. As a pattern inspired by the Cornish coastline, I’m pleased to say that a few rounds have been knit in Bude. This project is already well-travelled, having been to Austria, Cornwall and The Wirral.

Future knitting patterns are less well formed in my head, but I love the Wool and Honey and Sorrell jumper patterns.

If you got this far, thanks for reading! Hopefully some of the above appear in future posts :o)

Month: Sep 2022

What I need is a new craft…