Archives for September 2010

Sep

Sweet Baby Hats and a Clutch

I love blogging, but what I think I might love even more, is the inspiration and community that comes with being a craft/sewing blogger. I am constantly bookmarking things in my reader with the intention of coming back and someday actually completing all the amazing projects and ideas I have found.

Well, as I’m sure most of you know, that just isn’t going to happen. I’m never going to complete every awesome sewing or crafting tutorial that I have bookmarked (though I wish I could!). But every so often, there is a tutorial that I must complete without question……and here are two of them……

These little hats were my very first attempt at crocheting in the round. I’ve made lots of blankets and scarves, but when I saw this hat I knew I must expand my horizons and give it a go. These sweet little girl/baby hats were made from a tutorial from the blog, Aesthetic Nest.

I know this is saying a lot, but Anneliese’s blog is definitely one of my top five blog reads – no doubt! It’s one of those blogs where my heart starts racing when her posts pop up in my reader because I just can’t wait to see what lovely and inspiring thing she has to share. I could go on and on about Aesthetic Nest, but I’ll save that for another day. Until then, go over and check the beautiful world she has created for herself, her husband, and three gorgeous daughters and print out this crochet pattern while you’re there.

Click here to view her tutorial for a girls size 18 – 24 months, 3-4 year old and 5-6 year old.
Click here to view here tutorial for a baby girl size 0-3 months, 3-6 months and 6-12 months.

I made this little white hat for my friend Beth’s new baby girl. This is 3-6 month size and I can’t wait to see it on little baby Erin.

This was also my first attempt at crocheting a flower, but I love how it turned out. I’m thinking of crocheting some of these to add to my girls dresses or perhaps adding a clip to the back for a hair accessory.

I made the little pink hat for my daughter Matilda and the periwinkle one for Savannah. Matilda wasn’t really having my little photo shoot for this hat. Her look shouts, “Mom, you’re driving me crazy!!”

I did manage to get one cute shot of her. Be it blurry or not, at least she’s flashing me her sweet Matilda grin.

It was my sister-in-law, Abby’s, birthday this past weekend and I wanted to make her a little something. I used Anna from Noodlehead’s (another one of my favorite blogging gals) “Gathered Clutch Tutorial” to make this cute little bag.

I used Art Gallery “Sugar” fabric for the exterior and the lining.

I love the interior. It has a divider in the middle and places for all of your credit cards.

I finished it off with one of my own labels, The Cottage Mama. Anna’s tutorial was super-simple to follow. If you want to give sewing a zipper a go, I highly recommend giving this little clutch a try.

Click here to head over to Noodlehead and print out Anna’s lovely tutorial.

Sep

Fabric Giveaway Winner

Wow, I was overwhelmed with the number of entries for the fabric giveaway – 465 to be exact! It was so great hearing from all of you. You guys definitely gave me some great ideas of things to create with these gorgeous fabrics and I really wish I could send each of you 5 yards of fabric.

But there can only be one winner. And the lucky winner of the fabric giveaway is……..

#106: Candace from Candace’s Calling who said “I love the Sugar bundle! I’ve been pennant crazed lately and these fabrics would make adorable banners! I also need some fun throw pillows and how fun would those be!”

So Candace, you have 5 yards of “Sugar” coming your way – congratulations!! Send me an email with your address so I can get this bundle in the mail to you. Can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Thanks again to everyone who entered. This was so much fun, I will definitely be doing another fabric giveaway like this in the future!

Sep

The Cottage Mama Photo Shoot

About a week ago, my lovely photographer friend, Megan, took some gorgeous pictures of her daughter Gracyn, and my daughter Savannah wearing some of the most recent “The Cottage Mama” creations.

Megan is the person that really caused me to jump into the world of blogging. I will never forget our mom’s night out conversation where she said, “you should write a blog…….I’d read it”. And I thought, really? It got me thinking, if she’d read it, maybe others would too……..and so here I am blogging away. Thanks Megan!

So for the photo shoot, we had planned to do several outfits, but once we reached our location, the mosquitoes were so horrible that we were afraid to change the girls clothes. Luckily the bugs looked a lot worse than they were and we escaped with just a few bites. All in the name of fashion, I guess.

So, I just wanted to share some of Megan’s (www.meganabelard.com) gorgeous pictures with you……

This is my daughter, Savannah Rose, wearing the Fall Mod Jumper in size 3T. I love this little dress. I think it will look fabulous layered with a long-sleeved brown tee and tights for fall. Maybe a little cardigan if it’s super-chilly. There are fabric covered buttons up the entire back and vintage trim finishes off the little pocket in front.

This is a flower hair clip that I whipped up before the photo shoot. I wanted her to have a statement piece in her hair and I definitely think this is it. I haven’t listed these in the shop yet as I’m not sure if it’s too big or not for everyday wear, but for the photo shoot, I think it looks great!

Here’s my friend Megan’s daughter, Gracyn – isn’t she a beauty? Gracyn is wearing the Enchanted Bird Knot Dress and Ruffle Pant Set in size 4T. Megan loves purple, so this was the perfect little outfit for Gracyn to model.

I’ve been dabbling with some more accessories for my girls line and this is one of my latest – The Cottage Kitty. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the little girl in my logo is playing with a kitty so this is perfect. This is the only plush toy I plan on doing and the kitties are based off of a vintage 1950’s sewing pattern. Each kitty is made to match a The Cottage Mama outfit.

And for the Mama……a matching scarf to tie around a bag or purse. I have to admit that I love “Mommy and Me” things, but I know they can be pretty dorky. So this was something I came up with that I think is the perfect touch, but isn’t over the top. The Mama Scarf can be made to match any The Cottage Mama outfit. Oh, it is also long enough to tie around your head. Should be listed in the shop soon!

And finally, the two cottage girls heading home. It’s so much fun seeing Savannah being more and more drawn to her little girlfriends. I find girlfriends to be incredibly important in ones life, so my hope is that Savannah will find some truly special ones. And so far, I’d say she’s done pretty well!

Thanks so much Megan for taking these gorgeous pictures and lending your adorable daughter to model for this shoot. Can’t wait to do it again!

Cottage Mama’s Note: To stay updated with my etsy shop, please join The Cottage Mama facebook fan page. This is where I announce sales and discounts for my etsy shop. Only about 20 more fans to go before I announce a big sale. Come on over and join the fun!

Sep

Sew Basics: Prepping Fabric

This past Saturday I found myself with a little time to myself while out running an errand and I decided to pop into my local thrift store to see if I could find any treasure. And sure enough, $8.00 later, I had struck gold (well for someone who loves sewing!). So here’s what I found……

I found a set of vintage floral sheets (set included a flat sheet and two standard pillowcases), a couple embroidery hoops (you can never have enough of those), and three large pieces of fabric.

One of the fabrics was 1.5 yards of a linen/cotton blend that was sold for .75 cents and included a matching zipper – treasure for sure! Another piece was a neutral quilted piece of fabric. And finally, my favorite was this giant piece of wool suiting (which can be VERY expensive at retail prices). These three fabrics just have my creative wheels turning for fall……..I’m seeing a fall coat tutorial coming!

As with any new fabric, it is very important to prep your fabric before sewing with it. When it comes to thrift-store finds you may not know the true composition of each fabric – therefore washing can become a little tricky.

But for me, for .75 cents, I’m happy to give washing and drying a go – if it doesn’t turn out, no worries. But I have to say, if I sewed something that took a lot of time and energy and then went to wash it, I would be VERY sad if it didn’t turn out. So, my point is, if you are unsure of the composition of a fabric or don’t know much about the manufacturer, then definitely prewash.

Knit fabrics can shrink a considerable amount (yes, I learned this the hard way), so I always prewash those. You may find after working with specific fabric manufacturers that some fabric shrinks more than others. Also, if you are sewing children’s clothing, it is very important to wash your fabric so it doesn’t irritate your little ones skin. I have found that the high-quality designer cotton fabric purchased these days doesn’t have much of a shrinkage factor or at least not enough to affect the fit of a garment. So you can wash the garment after sewing and then put it on your little one. Whether you pre-wash before construction or wash after garment completion, you want to make sure you do so prior to putting the clothing on your child.

Before throwing my fabric in the wash, I like to serge the raw edge. If you don’t have a serger, you can try doing a tight zig-zag stitch on the edge with a regular sewing machine to achieve the same effect.

By serging the raw edge, you eliminate all of the fraying that can occur in the washing machine. Your fabric will come out looking the same way it went in. This is definitely not something you must do, but I have found it to make life a little easier.

I made sure to serge the raw edges of all the fabric pieces that I brought home from the thrift store.

Most fabrics are pretty good about not spreading dye from one fabric to another as long as you group like colors together. But if you have a fabric that has a lot of white with some other more bold colors, I suggest throwing in one of these Shout Color Catchers. It’s basically just a sheet you put in your wash and it will catch any loose dye that may come from your fabric. It’s also great if you are unsure about the quality of the fabric and are worried about dye bleeding. They are a truly great invention!!

Here are my fabrics all ready to be washed. I usually wash on cold and tumble dry. Because I do a lot of children’s clothing I like to pre-wash using Dreft just to make sure my garments don’t irritate any little ones skin.