Gingerbreadman Ornament | Tutorial {Crochet}

I love this fat-free little gingerbread man. I was inspired by shocked by the price of this John Lewis version. And I knew I would have to make one, and hopefully make it less costly for me. I did but it would be even more cost effective if I was to make a few others with the same skein.  

To make one I used:

• some John Lewis Merino blend double knit yarn (shade 213 - I went round the yarn section to match colours)
• a 4 mm crochet hook
• bit of contrasting yarn
• a needle to weave the yarn ends
• some fiber fill

I used this gingerbread man pattern for the two sides of the ornament. I used the same JL yarn to single crochet both pieces together around the outside. I first left a wide opening to be able to stuff the legs, head and one arm. 

I made the opening smaller to stuff the arm, then I fasten off the brown thread. 

He looks a bit fat, bless him.

For the eyes, I crocheted two black dots with the smallest hook I have (2 mm) and some black lace yarn, making as many double crochet as I could in the round. The white and red threads were stitched around the crochet stitches. And I made two blue 'buttons' with a star pattern. 

I also made a crochet chain for hanging the gingerbread man.

They are easy to make and really cute. You can have one, or make as many as possible. Just in case you wonder about the cost. One ball of JL yarn is in fact £3.00, and you can make 3 or 4 gingerbread men... 

Foxy Hat | WIP {knitting}

I finally started tackling my knitting list, and of course it is not as easy as I thought it would be. Clever designs are great but slower to finish.

I put this particular project down for a full knitting day, except that although I found the perfect yarn colour and type (from the Village Haberdashery) my gauge was way off! You cannot find Phildar Givre (the recommended yarn) anymore, it has been discontinued, so making a gauge is essential (not just me saying it, so do a lot knitters on ravelry on this project). I went 2 needles size to get the right gauge.

It also took me 2 hours to work out the twisted German cast on. To be fair I was watching the wrong YouTube video, but this one is brilliant. And this cast on is in fact brilliant!

The finish is great - looking sturdier and neater than other cast on techniques - and it is super stretchy - so ideal for socks and hats. I will be using it more often! 

The knitting of the hat is in fact not in the round but in the round (it is confusing, you have to have read the pattern) is also brilliant and saves a lot of yarn.

Pattern: Foxy & Wolfie by Katy Tricot (available on Ravelry)

Needles: 4.5 (DPNs) and 5 mm (circular) 

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Sunset and Natural (found here)

The next stage should be knitted fast now that I understood the concept. I am so happy to have chosen this pattern, I feel like I am learning a lot of techniques I will be able to use in future projects - worth every penny. 

Cross-stitch Christmas Cover | Making Christmas Tutorial {Upcycling}

Welcome to the Making Christmas blog hop! I hope you have made much more progress with your Making Christmas list! Today I will show you some of my home decorations. I am going for a chocolate brown and tartan theme this year - no I did not make it easy on myself, but it means you become much more creative suddenly!

Which leads me on nicely to today's tutorial - a knitted jumper turned into a cross-stitched fancy Christmas cushion. 

1. Get yourself a cheap (second-hand?) knitted jumper - with quite distinct stitches (so you can easily count the stitches - it is in fact even easier to have a jumper with some interesting stitch for ease of reference - you will see later). 

2. Measure the cushion - and 'trace' (with masking tape) the cushion.

3. Cut out the top cushion cover and (if you want to make it easier and more even - but it is a really time consuming task) make a grid, much like a cross-stitching fabric. 

 4. Start cross-stitching

I used a thread of cotton yarn and 4 threads of Rowan Kidsilk Aura (what I had in my stash)

I drafted my pattern from a  picture I found on Pinterest - it is quite an easy pattern (also not too big so it can fit nicely in the middle of the cushion cover). I also had a Christmas tree pattern in mind but it was too long for this cushion cover. 

5. Get rid of the grid (be careful of not undoing all your beautiful cross-stitching work), and there you have it a handmade cross-stitched cushion cover - made from a jumper.

I also made a second one. It was so much easier with the knitting fabric as I had a reference all the way through (it took a third of the time to make it, even though it is much more cross-stitched). I tried in this one to make the most of the brown against the white, it works pretty well. You can easily draft the pattern from my pictures - let me know if you have problems. 

In case you wonder about the back, to continue to chic winter theme, I got some felt fabric from John Lewis and grosgrain ribbon - all matching. Just a tip for the sewing: sew felt side on top. I used the sew mama sew tutorial as per usual - it works great with ribbon too!

And here we are - styled with Latte (one of my knitted blankets).

So who is up for making one (or two, or more) this Christmas? For an even easier version you could buy a fair isle jumper and just make a cushion cover out of it (no cross stitching unless you want to emboss some of the pattern) - it will look great too! Let me know if you are making one, I would love to see your version!

Apart from that, I have nearly made nothing of my list - but there is still time... and evenings to knit, sew and crochet! So now is your turn, link up your updates on your list!

Brasilia Dress | A Finish {Dressmaking}

Look at that! I finished a second dress! It is all about making dresses at MiH! This was an experiment on so many levels. First of all the fabric, Rachel (who wrote this amazing pattern) used cotton satin and I wanted a similar fabric and found some at my local John Lewis (in Welwyn Garden City) - except that there was only one pattern. And it was not exactly my typical style, but I thought change would be good. And I was right, that pattern and that fabric totally work together!

Secondly, the pattern I tested did not have many instructions - one size and a list of steps... I have not many dresses and this has scared me for a while. Could I do the grading and make a dress that actually fits me? Actually the grading was minimum in my case as the only thing to change was the waist. 

I made my version a bit longer. Actually I was not sure how long I wanted it so left myself plenty of fabric to decided when I could actually wear it - just to keep my body a bit in proportion. 

I must admit my finishing is not the best but I just wanted to finish it and wear it! I am assuming the finalised version will be much more comprehensive than I have - and that means even quicker to finish (it must have taken me 4 or 5 hours to sew without the grading and cutting of the fabric). I may actually make a few versions of this - one for work (probably a bit less loud) and maybe one with short sleeves and shorter..

It may look a simple shift dress, but actually the clever use of seams and add-on sides really make it flattering for every body type. 

I will be wearing it (probably) at Mr MiH's Christmas do - so I am guaranteed not to find the same dress on anyone else!

On a side note the finalised pattern will be available around Christmas time - I will let you know! 

PS: Many thanks for all the wishes about my going back to work. It is amazing how quickly you get into being there, and Baby MiH is absolutely loving nursery - I could not be happier for him!

Soon to be on my needles {knitting}

Patterns were chosen, yarn was sourced from my stash and shops - and I am ready to get knitted christmas and birthday presents. 

Impressive! I am clearly in denial about going back to work on Thursday. I may have to get over my dislike of knitting in public! 

Here is the matching between the yarn and the projects. I will add links to more detailed post when I get to finalise them. 

Birthday present

Shawl for my Grandma

Golf socks for my Mum

Birthday present

Birthday present (for me!)

I have my work cut out! Tomorrow I will share my sewing list! It is all about the handmade this year! What is on your handmade list? 

Beautiful Inspiration | Inspired by LES TEMPS SONT DURS POUR LES REVEURS

It is not a blog but a tumblr that I wanted to share with you. On Pinterest there are many pictures from Tumblrs, and I usually like one picture not all. On this tumblr I love them all!

There is no need to comment, or read an article, but just sitting in front of your screen and soak up the inspiration.

For more inspiration, go to les temps sont durs pour les rêveurs

I was clearly inspired by Christmas… what else?