Chie

Last Minute Holiday Gift Idea:: Eye Mask

December 24, 2013 By Chie

December always seems to fly by so quick. I can’t believe it is Christmas tomorrow. I want to show you my recent creation, which can be an easy, quick to make Christmas gift. Eye mask! I’ve never worn them growing up, but our new bedroom has smoky glass french doors that let in a lot of street light at night. Andy started using an eye mask and talked me into using one since his sleep has vastly improved after he started using it. I was dubious at first, but I gave it a shot, and it did improve my sleep significantly! I don’t use it as much at night, but when I take a 13 minute cat nap during the day, it helps it a lot. Why 13 minutes? 2 minutes to fall a sleep, 10 minutes of actual sleep and a minute to wake myself up! How to: You will need three different fabrics (or two if you decide to use the same outer fabrics) – I used quilting cotton for the outer, – furry fabric (used here) in the middle (quilt batting works just as well) – silk satin for the inner. You can use the same cotton for this, but silk satin feels fabulous! I used the left over fabric from this dress. Cut three fabrics in 18cm x 10cm rectangles. Using french curve, make the rectangle corners round. Add the elastics in the back. I cut two 0.5cm width elastics in 24cm, and connected them in the middle with 2.5cm width elastic band cut for 18cm. Finish the edge by bias tape. I used the stripes bias tape in contrasting color. More Holiday handmade gift ideas… ♡ Dainty gold chain hand harness ♡ Easy fabric wall art ♡ My Christmas Decoration ideas pinterest board

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Sewing the Pink Coat:: Cutting Out Patterns

December 17, 2013 By Chie

As I mentioned in my last coat post, I’m working on BurdaStyle 08/2012#101B pattern this winter. Making a coat involves a lot of different processes, so I try to tackle each step on different day. A few days ago, I worked on cutting out the patterns in my size. I chose the smallest size, size 36.

Pattern adjustments: I only shortened the coat length and did not make any other pattern adjustments. The instructions call for 4cm coat hem, but I did not add them. I am 165cm tall (5’5) and without adding the hem allowances, it seems to fall right above my knees.

Note on the patterns: One thing to note on Burda patterns is that they don’t have seam allowances included. It seems like some BurdaStyle patterns produced in NY have allowances included, but the ones from Germany don’t. I might be wrong with this assumption though. Not having seam allowances included in the patterns can be good if you are sewing a fitted dress, like a bombshell dress because it is easier to adjust the fit, but it can also be annoying since you have to add it on your own! Any suggestions on how to do that in the easiest and the quickest way? I used the tracing wheel shown in the picture above, set the width between two wheels to 1.5cm and traced the patterns. I did it without the Dressmaker’s tracing paper or anything, so it was hard to see. So I decided to take out this fabric stamp pad, called Fabrico, dipped the wheel in and marked the seam allowances. It is not a good idea. I ended up having the black ink all over the floor and the patterns.

Here are more inspirational images for winter coats. All images pinned to this board on Pinterest. One, Two, Three, Four.

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Mommy’s Diary: Gold Dot Sticker Art

December 16, 2013 By Chie

I wrote about incorporating kids’ art in your home in the past, and today I’m sharing an easy project Kiko and I worked on the other day when it was rainy. Since moving to Tokyo, we have gotten rid of the car due to the fact that parking is so expensive ($300 a month) and we really didn’t need it because we can get around easily with bike, bus and subway. But on rainy days I wish we still had the car. Usually in the afternoon I take Kiko out for a walk to go to a park or the mall but rainy days take too much prep time required to do those usual activities.

This project was really easy and simple: I gave her white copy paper and gold circle stickers and let her put them on any way she wanted. I’m making a small gallery near my sewing studio wall, so this simple dot decoration will be a perfect addition to it. She was very proud when she saw her creation hanging up on my wall, and said “Kiko did it!”.