Everybody needs monkey slippers!

Today I have been mostly making monkey slippers!

I promised to make a pair of slippers for a friend, so I thought I'd better make a prototype for myself first, to figure a few things out. I had just enough monkey fabric left from my Superbuzzy order, so I couldn't resist using it up.

I have plans to make some more, probably out of fleece, and a slip-on/mule style with some of my leftover fancy fabrics. This is all part of the Grand Shoe Plan, but I figured that slippers would be a good starting point.

This is how I made them...


Here you can see (almost) all of the necessary pieces. For the uppers, there's the monkey fabric. For the lining I used some cream poly/cotton, which is fused to a piece of batting. (That's the squashy stuff.) For the soles, there are two pieces of cream poly/cotton, each fused to heavy interfacing. Between them goes a piece of 1" upholstery foam.


These are the upper pieces, sewn together and turned right sides out, and the sole pieces with the foam sandwiched between them.


The uppers and the soles pinned together. I learnt a few things at this stage:

• Press the uppers before you sew them on to the soles


• Don't bother pinning and machine basting. Hand basting is actually quicker and easier for this.


• If you have a fine upholstery needle.

I also left out the elastic which was suggested for the back of the heel. The slippers do stay on without it, but I think I'll be adding it in next time, to stop them from gaping.


Ta-daa! They look finished!


Until you turn them over...

I'll be buying felt for the soles tomorrow! I might also add a bit of decorative top stitching around the uppers.

And there you have it. Monkey slippers!


[edit] I forgot to say - I made these using Burda 7978 as a starting point, and then getting creative with a book about making your own shoes. Feel free to make your own!

A scarf and a squirrel handbag.

Remember that frighteningly tangled skein of silk?

This is what became of it:

It's a narrow scarf, which is long enough to reach below the waist on both sides. It's knitted with one strand of Debbie Bliss Pure Silk and two strands of Colinette Parisienne held together. I cast on 13 stitches, on 5mm needles. Every fourth row, I changed to a 10mm needle. Otherwise it's just plain garter stitch - keep knitting until the yarn runs out!



Here's the last of the pre-ordered tote bags, which I finished today.



You may have noticed that it's a different shape from the others!

The photographs don't show the shape particularly well - it's more curvy than it looks. It's big, too - in the second picture the bag has an A4 pad inside it, to keep it nice and flat. It has one long handle, and you can just see a tiny sneaky peek of the Design By Claire label in there too.



Tomorrow night is Hallowe'en and I've just rustled up a very quick costume thanks to Martha Stewart. I'll tell you all about it as soon as I have some photos. Happy Hallowe'en!

A Trio of Totes

I now have ten out of eleven tote bags all finished, and I'm really pleased with the way they've come out. :)

They're all fully lined, and all of the seams, on the bag and the lining, are stitched and then overlocked for extra strength. The handles are interfaced to prevent them from stretching, and they're held on to the bag by two rows of top stitching. I've been using a similar bag for several months now, and it barely even looks used. Of course, the beauty of fabric bags like these is when they start to look a bit grubby, you can just stick them in the washing machine, give them a good iron when they come out, and they look as good as new!

The bags shown above are approximately A4 in size (10" x 12"), and have two handles around 21" long. You can carry the bag on the shoulder, or in your hand without it dragging on the ground. Alternatively, you can have a single long handle, which measures around 42".

I've also updated the details of the tote bags on the Design By Claire website, complete with shopping cart buttons, so that you can simply choose your fabric and order a bag online.

I hope you like them!

Goodies from across the Atlantic...

Hooray! A brief hiatus in the current postal strike was marked by the arrival of two parcels of fabric all the way from America! One is from Superbuzzy, and the other from Cia's Palette. Each contains twelve half-yards of fabric, to be made into tote bags.

Here are the packages, just waiting to be popped open:

These fabrics have already been claimed by eager friends:



And these are fabrics that I've chosen, which are up for grabs if you see one that you like!

 

	State Fair
London map canvas	Sweet Squirrels
Happy Bees	Graphic Leaves
Horses	Mini Panda
Tadpoles in jars	Birdcages
Surfin' Pareo	Robot March
VW camper vans	Little Ladybirds
Kitty Alphabet	Day of the Dead skulls

A couple of these are taken, destined to be Christmas gifts, and one or two might see their way into the bodice of a dress, if they're not snapped up for bags straight away.

If anybody would like to lay claim to any of these fabrics, the resulting tote bags will cost £15, including p&p within the UK.

• The bags will measure approximately 10" x 12", which is more than big enough to fit A4.


• The handles will measure approximately 21", which is long enough to go over the shoulder, or to be carried in the hand without dragging on the floor. Or, you can have one long handle, which measures approximatly 44".


• The bags are all fully lined in a matching or contrasting plain fabric. (Except for the London print canvas, which doesn't need lining.)

Work on the tote bags will start next week!

Soulemama's fabric hoops

fabric hoops
Originally uploaded by SouleMama

The past couple of days, I have mostly been inspired by Soulemama. She took the idea of the framed fabrics from The Purl Bee, who has a fabulous display of Liberty fabrics in wooden embroidery hoops.

I've been working in the shed for a whole year now and the walls are still bare, even though every other available surface is covered with fabric.

I don't know yet whether I'm going to go for embroidery hoops or old photo frames, but whichever I decide, I'm really looking forward to choosing the different fabrics to go inside them, and making a little display on my wall.

Soulemama also introduced me to Superbuzzy, which has the most amazing selection of novelty-print fabrics.

Later this afternoon I'm going to be placing an order with Superbuzzy, and another with Cia's Palette. Cia also has the most fantastic range of fabrics which simply aren't available in the UK. She's also really helpful, and replies to her emails personally. I like that kind of service, especially when I'm buying from such a long way away.

The fabrics will take a couple of weeks to get here, but as soon as they do I'll be making a little flurry of simple tote bags. Watch this space...