Serial cross-stitcher | Soluble versus Waste canvas {Embroidery}

It took me a while to start cross-stitching outside the comfort zone of the ready-made canvases - but once I started there was no stopping me! I have now cross-stitched felt (you can see how with my boxy pouch tutorial here); a baby vest; and a new top! And I am already thinking of the next project - probably some Christmas cross-stitching on random pieces of fabric or felt I reckon. 

I may be a serial cross-stitcher but you can be too - thanks to the wonders of soluble canvas or waste canvas. I used both (soluble canvas for the felt pouch and waste canvas for the tops) and both techniques work. 

I like the soluble canvas method a lot - it is really easy to cross-stitch, it is really easy to get rid of (as in put it into water and leave it to be). However it is quite expensive - for the square you get (you should have seen my face when I opened the packaging) - and it comes only in the one size (from what I could find), so not big project allowed. 

The waste canvas method is a bit more cumbersome (I bought mine here). First of all you have to work out why the hell there are so many holes in the canvas.

You are supposed to cross-stitch through the little holes. It was easier with my top because I did it over 2 squares, it does not look as consistent on the baby vest top though. 

Then, there is the issue of getting rid of the canvas - it takes a bit of time (no leaving it in the water and wait for it to do its thing!).

Yes, people you have to take each strand off, one by one - hours of fun, right-there (ok it is actually not that long, but still a bit tedious). You are supposed to do it with tweezers, and yes it is easier to do it with tweezers. You have to be careful not to pull too much, otherwise the cross-stitching may move. Arggh!

However it is cheaper and you can buy the waste canvas by the metre, and it does do the job perfectly well. For the baby vest top, there are a couple of more steps to take, you have to add muslin fabric behind so that the jersey does not get distorted - I followed this tutorial.  

So what will you cross-stitch next? 

Embroidered Boxy Pouch | Le Challenge

*For your last chance to win one yard of organic cotton fabric dyed naturally

please make sure you enter the giveaway here*

When I showed my finished le challenge project this month, Mr MiH said, oh look you made another boxy pouch. Yes, I did dear, but this one is special. I added the embroidery, it is felt, can't you see? 

So yes, this is my third boxy pouch - following the steps (but not measurements) of the Kelbysews tutorial - adapted to felt. And it is my le Challenge entry (the theme is era - and the interlining fabric is one that I got from Mary's vintage sheet swap). 

To make your own embroidered boxy pouch, you will need:

- 2 pieces of embroidered felt (tutorial just below) 

       I bought this one measuring 30 cm by 45cm

- 2 pieces of medium-weight interfacing of the same dimensions (30cm by 45 cm)

- 2 pieces of coordinated fabric of the same dimensions (30cm by 45 cm)

- 2 pieces of felt measuring 1.5' x 5' for the side tabs

- a zip which fits with the longest side of the the felt pieces - mine is 14'

- matching thread 

 

To add the embroidery on felt (or any other fabric), I used some DMC soluble canvas (which is actually quite expensive for what you get, so I am now trying to use waste canvas - I will let you know how I get on). 

To make this embroidery (but you can make whatever pattern you fancy of course) - I marked the middle of the felt pieces.  

Baste the soluble canvas cut to size (making that little square you get last!) in place. It is great way to keep it place, it is a bit annoying to unpick after the cross-stitching is done, so may be better to go for longer stitches. 

Do it on both sides. 

And let the cross-stitching begin. You use the soluble canvas as a normal canvas. I used three threads of DMC thread, I chose (following an IG debate) to go for matching the thread to the vintage interlining fabric. 

Follow the instructions to dissolve the soluble canvas - it works! Et voila! You are ready to make your pouch! You  may find the felt has shrunk a bit, so look check out the pieces again to make sure they have the same size throughout the project. 

The main difference between my pouch and the Kelbysews one is that with felt you don't need to worry about the fabric edges and you leave them showing. It is supposed t make it easier to match the embroidery - but that did not work out as well for me (maybe next time). 

So you place the raw edge of the felt fabric interfaced next to the zip opening, and the interlining as you would normally on a boxy pouch. 

I like to baste everything before sewing with a zip - but this is a personal choice. 

Time to sew the zip into place (easier to open the zip to make neater ends). 

Press and you should end up with something like this (this is the inside)

Sew the two pieces together (the bottom of your pouch) - as you can see I had to make a neater edge. 

You then carry on with the pouch like recommended on the Kelbysews tutorial. 

Finally you have a brand new fancy boxy pouch! 

I love my boxy pouches, but this one is much boxier - because of the sturdiness of the felt I suppose and probably looks like what I had in mind when I started making boxy pouches. I suppose you could adapt the interfacing according to what you need/want. 

For all the other Era entries, go to Le Challenge - the link up party is now open!

Addicted to Boxy Pouches | A Finish and a Fabric Giveaway {Sewing}

I am hooked, I cannot stop making boxy pouches, I can see my life full of boxy pouches. OK, maybe this is a tad OTT, but I do love them (now) - making them as well as using them. I have already plans to make more than these two, a bit fancier, so stay tune. 

These are the two matching ones I have made. One for bigger projects (the whole of Nord and an extra skein fits in it) and one for smaller project, currently holding my le challenge project. One was made last Friday and the other one this Friday (in a couple of hours - hourray for quick projects!). And this may explain why the smaller one (this week's finish) looks a bit less.. flat (?) than the oversized one. Yeah, to learning as you go along. 

So the smaller one follows to the letter the Kelbysews tutorial, except the interfacing which is heavier than the one recommended, and it works really well for me (except that apparently I bought a sew-on one rather than an iron-on one - making it just a bit harder). 

I chose a matching vintage sheet for the interlining - I received it as part of the vintage sheet FQ swap organised by Mary Emmens. It was probably the fabric that is the least vintage. 

The oversized one follows the same tutorial - but with different dimensions. I sort of made it up as I went along. It started by cutting two panels of fabric and interlining rather than one panel (same dimensions of that one panel), and cutting squares 2' 3/4 when making the box seams. 

I was very keen to get these finished before the weekend as we are off to a wedding tomorrow, and I really wanted nice pouches to travel with and to keep everything tidy. And a matching set of boxy pouches was just the ticket, and let's face it it is great to have a finish - feels like something was accomplished. 

So onto my giveaway people! You still have time to enter my knitting pattern giveaway (open until next Wednesday). But this is a fabric giveaway - an environmentally friendly fabric. After reading my review of the Ecofabrics store, Vishruti offered for one of you my lovely readers to win one yard of organic cotton fabric dyed naturally with plant/vegetable dyes from her shop. How nice is that! Just fill the Rafflecopter and good luck! 

The giveaway is open to all my readers, finishing on 15th September! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Big Tidy Up | WIP {Sewing and Knitting}

This is my second go at making myself a boxy pouch - a few years after my first go.. And there is a very good reason for that wait, the first attempt was really bad, did not look boxy whatsoever, everything that could go wrong probably did go wrong with that project, except that I never found out where exactly. But I still think that boxy pouches are the best way to organise knitting WIPs, especially small ones like a certain shawl.  

Sooooo I decided to have another go - and this time it would be made properly. I would read the instructions, I know essential but I am not that good at that, maybe do some basting to make sure I am happy before sewing with the machine - and basically turning a quick project into a really long one.

I found a tutorial by Kelly who blogs at KelbySews that I really liked - there are so many out there - but this one seemed to make sense (and have enough pictures for my photographic brain). I had the fabric and the zipper in my stash - result! 

I love this sashiko-effect fabric (bought here on Etsy ages ago), and the lining is some leftover fabric from the Highbury and Islington baby quilt. I cannot believe how well the two fabrics go together.

So far so good - I have oversized the pouch a bit, so it may not look like what you expect when it is finished - but hopefully still look like a boxy pouch. 

As you will have seen, I am still knitting Settler (the test knit for Libby), and I have also got a new magazine about natural living - Taproot - which has also knitting patterns (by no other than Carrie Bostick Hoge), recipes and experience of natural living. Each issue has also a theme, if you don't want to subscribe. 

Check out other WIP projets over at WIP Wednesday and Small Things today. 

FINALLY I wanted to let you know that I will host my second sale of yarn and quilting books tomorrow on the blog (you can see a sneak peek on IG). This time I will sell a few balls of the same yarn, so you can get a bigger project out of a purchase. Be sure to check it out!