Leatherwork

Yes, you read that title right.  Leatherwork!  I have made my first foray into working with leather.  A few months ago I got a lovely new phone.  It is all singing and dancing and I love it.  What I didn't love was the thought of getting it scratched.  As an emergency measure I hand stitched a quick little pouch made of crafting felt.  It worked while I pondered what sort of case to make properly.

After some internal debating I remembered that I had a bag of leather scraps, one of which might just be the right size for a case.  So I ordered some leather sewing needles and started cutting my leather.  I have to say, cutting into this leather scrap was pretty scarey.  I knew if I did it wrong I didn't have any other pieces big enough to try again.  I wasn't going to buy more leather especially for this case, so it had to be right first time.  I got the leather cut and then fitted my leather sewing needle to my sewing machine.

You need a special needle because it has to be extra sharp and strong to pierce the thick leather.  I took some of the scraps of leather left over and started practicing.  I lengthened the stitch as long as it would go and eased the tension off.  The thread stopped looking like it was about to cut the leather in half and I thought I'd have a go with the actual item.

The case itself was very simple.  It was long rectangle with one end folded over to hold the phone and a flap to cover the envelope bit.

 

It was very simple to stitch two straight lines.  This leather sewing isn't as bad as I thought it would be!

I used a bag clasp to keep the case closed.  I think I originally got the clasp from U-Handbag, but they don't seem to stock it anymore.  The closest I have found to the clasp I used, in another UK online shop, is from MacCulloch & Wallis.  The bottom part of the clasp has prongs that go through the leather and fold in, to hold it in place and the top half has screws that hold it in place.  This required much pressure from an tailor's awl to pierce the leather in the envelope part of the case, but I think that effort was rewarded.

I think the clasp gives it a very professional and polished look.  It does, however, mean that the prongs will scratch the very phone I am trying to protect.  So I took a piece of fleece and made it into a liner for the case.  I simply folded it in half and zig-zag stitched around the edges.  To hold the fleece in place, I used fabric glue, applied around the top edge.  I don't think I did it too well as the fleece is starting to come away from the leather.  I might have to try again to get it to stick.  I know it isn't the glue's fault as it works fine with putting fabric into purse frames with nothing else to hold it in place, so it must have been user error.  Luckily, I can try again!

Despite my glue user errors, you can't see the lining from the outside, and I think it looks pretty professional for a girl who has never sewn leather before.

I am very tempted to try some more items now from my scraps.  Of course, after I finished the case I remembered that my friends had given me tonnes of leather from their sofa that they were throwing out.  They hacked a massive chunk from the back before throwing it away, just for me.  This means that I didn't need to worry so much about messing up the cutting, though I have to admit, I do like prefer this look for a phone case to the shiny chestnut finish of the sofa leather.  That leather will be used for a bag...... one day ;-)

To look at other finished projects, click the button.

Finished Hood Thingy

Do you remember back in October, when I told you about the generous gift of an enormous bag of yarn, that I received?  Well, though I started the Modern Quilt Wrap, I have ground to a halt on it.  This is mainly because of Christmas knitting.  However, there is one project that I completed using my inherited yarn.  You can actually see it at the bottom of this photo.

It's the pink strip.  This little strip, tucked away at the bottom of the photo is the only place I can find on my blog that I referred to this project.  This is sad, but it means I have a whole project to tell you about today.

The pattern is the Peaks Island Hood by Ysolda Teague.  I do love Ysolda's designs, but sometimes her patterns are a little tricky to understand.  This pattern is not a very straight forward one.  The pattern is for a scarf, with increases and decreases making a hood.  The scarf and hood are in moss stitch apart from "shells" at each end, and similar shapes in the hood area.  The shells are made with increases and decreases around a single rib, with reverse stocking stitch in between the ribs, and moss stitch outside the ribs.  If you think this sounds complicated, it is quite.

This accessory is wrapped around the neck and fastened with buttons, making it a scarf, with a hood.  I've been looking for something like this for a while, so I thought I use my inherited Rowan Kid Classic yarn to knit the pattern. up.

I think I over-blocked this garment, as I forgot that this yarn isn't as springy as pure wool.  The pattern schematic shows the buttons being sewn on at 90° to the long edge, but I couldn't make the scarf work out that way.  With the hood down, the scarf looks like this:

The two pictures above show the colour as being more red than it actually is.  In real life it is closer to this:

In the above picture you can see how I've angled the buttons across the width of the scarf.  I tried the scarf on and got it to sit how I liked it, then attached lockable stitch markers through the space made by the buttonholes onto the scarf behind.  I then attached the buttons, where the stitch markers were attached.  It worked first time, which for me is a minor miracle.  My buttons never end up where they are supposed to!

I got these buttons from my friend Mary Clare.  I bought these same buttons last Winter when I lost a button on my Winter coat.  I replaced all the buttons on my coat with these gorgeous buttons, so I was really pleased to find Mary Clare has some left, so my scarf and coat would match.

By the way, my friend Mary Clare, now has an eBay shop where is she is selling off her old shop stock at very reasonable prices.  She also makes project bags and other lovely things which would make great Christmas gifts.  If there is something you want that is not in the shop on eBay, it is worth contacting her to see if she has it in stock, but not listed yet. 

I don't know if this bag is listed on her eBay shop yet, but it's a good example of her work.  I love the handles that she makes!  I have to confess, I have already bought one of these bags and they work brilliantly for knitting projects.  The bag sits on the floor with your yarn inside while you knit.

Anyway, back to my scarf.

As you can see, these scalloped shapes on the scarf are very pretty and unusual, and these are the areas of the pattern that are a little less than straight forward.  There are instructions that use the words "continue in the pattern as set" but I really had to think hard to work out how that pattern would continue with only one row written out to work from. 

As I said at the beginning, I think I stretched this scarf out too much during blocking.  This has made the fabric of the scarf and hood thin and very drapey, which isn't such a bad thing, but it does make the hood less effective.  I know that this yarn is really warm as one of the first garments I ever knit for myself was in Rowan Kid Classic, and I hardly wear it because it's too warm.  This scarf is so much thinner and therefore doesn't keep my head as toasty warm as I'd hoped.  However, this means, the scarf/hood will be more useful in the Autumn and Spring when a heavier weight scarf and hat combo will cause me to overheat.

Despite the mistake of over blocking, I do really like the project, and I'm sure I will wear it a lot when the weather is a little milder than it is at present.

To look at other pretty projects, click on the buttons below.

Pretty Flower in My Hair

I'm not joining in with WIP Wednesday this week, because I want to share my latest sewing project.  I'm quite proud of it too.  Here it is, do you like it?

It is a pretty flower.  I made it using this tutorial from over at Sew Ritzy Titzy.  If you "Like" me on Facebook you may have already seen this tutorial pop up in my feed, as I have a Posterous account which I have hooked up to Facebook.  I post a few links during the week of tutorials I have come across that interest me and I might one day want to make.  I also have my Posterous page embedded in this blog on the My Inspiration page.  Essentially this account enables me to find tutorials I liked from last year when I want them, and also to share these goodies with you lovely people, if you are so interested.

Anyway back to the flower.

Do you recognise those fabrics?  Yes they are the ones I used for my clutch purse that I put together for the wedding I'm going to at the weekend.

I have had such fun putting together outfits and accessories for this wedding.  I spent all of today making jewellery too, which I'll take photos of next week for you to see.  I don't normally wear much red so it has been fun making things to match what I'm wearing over the wedding weekend.  I shall feel very well put together (for a change).

The tutorial suggests using a button for the centre of the flower, and I think that would have looked better than my circle of fabric with stuffing in the centre, but I didn't have a suitable button in my stash.  The stuffed fabric looks ok, but if next time I go to a haberdashery I see a suitable button I will replace the centre, as it will make it flatter.

I'm quite proud of how I made these petals.  I ironed each one so that the seams were pressed open and all other creases were removed, so they were made into little cones.  The petal tips pull forwards because the seam allowance on one side of the cone makes it shorter than the other.  When I matched up the bottom of each side of the cone to make the running stitch along the bottom,  this pulled the un-seamed side of the petal upwards.  I love how this works, but it has made me think again about making a tailor's ham, as that would have made ironing tiny cones much easier.

I sewed a couple of hair clips on the back of the flower to hold it in place on my hair.  I haven't decided what style I will go for, probably just all hanging down, but I think the flower will pretty things up whatever style I go for.

I have been knitting this week, as well as all this accessory making, but you will have to wait until next week to see my progress in that field.