Confined Crafting

 I recently ran up some eco-friendly face wipes for a friend. These are designed to replace cotton pads or face wipes, and are washable. To increase their green credentials I made the pad section from an old towel. I had some charm squares spare, so used those as the backing fabric. I cut the towel into squares that were slightly smaller than the charm square, and wrapped the fabric over the towel piece to form a small border.  I then sewed the top fabric down with a zigzag stitch. This meant I was mainly sewing on the fabric, as my machine can't sew through towel (unless I haven't found the right setting or needle of course)! Very very simple, but pretty and functional! There are lots of tutorials for other ways to make these face wipes, such as:  https://www.arosetintedworld.co.uk/how-to-make-reusable-make-up-remover-pads/ It seems to be even more simple with an overlocker:  http://juliawithanh.com/sewing/23-reusable-face-pads You can even crochet some! https://dab...

 My daughter loves the Amelia Fang book series by Laura Ellen Anderson, and she's often asked for dolls or toys of the characters. However there aren't any commercially available. Anderson recently released the final book in the series which we bought for H as a birthday present - and I decided to make her an Amelia doll to go alongside the gift! I found this pattern from PetrasWonderland on Etsy which I used as the base. To make my life a little easier, I used black fabric for the body and arms, and striped black and white fabric for the legs (rather than make them in skin tones and then 'dress' the doll separately). That way the only clothing I needed to sew was a circle skirt, which I then sewed to the body. I added some netting in between the circle skirt fabric to get the sense of fullness found in the illustrations. Finally I added some little wings from stiff black felt. Amelia wouldn't be complete without her little pumpkin Squashy, so I used some scrap or...

I have craft-related resolutions every year but inspired by Katharine I’m going to put them out in public this year! A new project Three big ones here!   Inspired by Stef I want to make a body-double/mannequin, which should help with fitting and various other issues that occur when you sew on your own. I'm planning on using the Bootstrap pattern  though I’m postponing this project until spring because I foresee a few changes in my body shape (imminent move from overworked freelancer to more chill person with a permanent job should free up a few hours in the week for working out). A friend and I are going to tackle trousers, specifically the Closet Core Jenny pattern . I’m not sure I need overalls but I really like the high-waisted wide-legged trousers. Ideally I would perfect the fit, then make three pairs in different fabrics and never think about trousers again. To complete Levelling Up Workwear I also want to see if I can make a buttoned shirt to fit me… And there is ...

What are you thinking of crafting in 2021? Have you set yourself goals, ambitions, vague intentions?  I've come up with some categories to help guide intention-setting: 1. A new project 2. Finishing something from your abandoned-works-in-progress-pile-of-doom 3. Learning or practicing new skills & techniques or trying something new 4. #StashDown - don't buy any new fabric, wool, paper, paints or whatever materials you use for your craft. Use up what you already have! Here are my resolutions! 1. A new project: making myself clothes One of the key reasons for taking up sewing was to make myself clothes. I'm plus size (UK 20) and find it hard to get good quality clothes that fit me well. I'm also trying to be as eco-aware as possible and buying poor-quality clothes with a high plastic content that were made by 8 year olds in a sweatshop doesn't fit with that ambition! I have been building up the confidence to start making myself something, but I really am at the s...