misfit's first halloween costume

Very proud of myself for making a dress without using a pattern :). I finished it in a night (it was pretty easy) till late night and I had to catch the first flight for a day trip the next day...I am literally a walking zombie today...since I finished the hood last night using a pattern from a Japanese book and came home to a sick child :'( .....mmmm

i can't wait till January comes...

Now...all I wish is someone from Japan who would KIND enough to buy me tickets before D day so I'll get 1000 Y discount :p

2 gifts for misfit

My friend Chia Ling was too kind to Emma. On Misfit's sister's birthday, Chia Ling made her this cute little dress and a drawing pad (look at the pink book...even I had to think a long time before buying one for myself)

2 pairs of baby PJs

My friend's baby decided to come out a few days earlier...so I quickly made these yesterday, the turtle pants were not done in time because we were awfully late seeing the baby :p...so that one was finished this morning :D. Enjoy, baby Sean! The top pattern I got from handmadenokokoro and the pants I got from my Japanese books.

another baby pouch

I was supposed to sew a book bag for my friend...but I cut the fabrics a little too short! (ARGHGHGHG) so, I decided to make a baby pouch for a friend of mine who will be having a baby boy soon :). I improvised the flap to be a diaper compartment by adding a zipper to it. I also added a little pocket inside the bag. Quite happy with how it turned out :)

a yukata for UN Day

I thought of making a yukata last minute...It was truly hell to make ... the book was not the clearest Japanese pattern book (but it is the only one I have), but I kinda like the end product :p. The fabric I got from scouring my factory...I think it used to be chair upholstery fabric :D

scrappy clutch bag tutorial

This is my very first tutorial, please let me know if you've found any mistakes. Thank you.

What you will need for this project:

*For the Scrappy Clutch:

1 pc of 14.5 cm steel clutch frame (5 3/4")

Approx. 1/8" of thick sturdy string for stuffing the fabric to the clutch frame

10 pc of scraps (2.5" wide and at least 6" long)

2 pc of 6"x10" fabrics (if you want to use your scraps, you can use 10 pc of scraps, the same as above)

fusible interfacing (the size of the clutch)

2 pc of lining materials

2 pc of carton paper

Craft glue (I like to use CASTOL, contact adhesive)
Click here to download the pattern or you could email me at lia@liaspace.com and I'll email you the pdf file

*For the Scrappy Strap:

Pieces of scraps with at least 1.5" - 2" width

2 pc hooks
TO MAKE THE SCRAPPY BAG:

1. Gather all the scraps you have

2. Cut into 2.5" strips with at least 6" in length and sort them the way you want them to be lined up

3. Sew 5 scraps together using straight stitch with 3/8" seam allowance (I like to do this because it's big enough and I can use the edge of my foot as a guide) which will give you 2 pieces of patched fabrics

4. Press your seams open

5. Fold the patched fabrics to half and trace the pattern onto the fabrics and cut them

6. Iron the fusible interfacing onto the wrong side of the patched fabrics

7. Follow steps 1-5 to do a patched fabrics lining, else I just use 2 pieces of my bigger scrap fabrics

8. Sew together the bottom of the bag's body and the bottom of the lining (using 3/8" seam allowance)

9. Cut the carton pieces and glue the top edge of the carton to the right side of the lining (find the middle and glue them together)

10. Line the outer body and the lining together and pin them starting from the 2 edges (wrong sides together). Sew the top together, using 1/8" seam. Fold a little on the carton edges to make little creases for the bag (not too much else the fabrics would be too small for the frame).

11. Put some glue into one side of the frame and spread it using a small spatula. Start inserting the fabrics into one side of the frame together with the string, making sure the middle of the bag looks even and centered (I accidentally bent 2 of my crochet hooks! So I used a small pen instead)

12. Clamp all over the frame to make sure the fabrics are tight. I used a thick fabric to cover the frame to avoid any scratches

13. Voila and You are done. All you need to do is rip out the pieces of cartons TO MAKE THE SCRAPPY STRAP:

1. Find the scraps you can find and cut them into 1.5" strips. Iron them and trim them neatly (If you need a wider strap, cut the fabric scraps bigger)

2. Sew them together using 3/8" seam allowance.

3. Press and iron the strap in half then press the other halves into the middle. Sew them together using the smallest seam allowance you can do, I use 1/8"
4. Blind stitch the edges to the two hooks