- Kids skirt with embroidery
I upcycled a dress to kids skirt for a friend who has twin girls. Underneath the skirts, I added bloomers and connected the skirt and bloomer at waist. I also made embroidery fish and bird at hem so they can figure out which one is theirs. As I wrote before, I am into hand embroidery now.
- Closet Case Files Carolyn Pajamas
I recently made this pink & ivory version as a friend’s birthday gift. It is fun to make and fairly quick to sew (it takes me about five hours from start to finish) which makes it a good handmade gift. This time I bought piping at Nakamura online shop since I thought it would save me some time. But I wished I made my own piping that fits the seam allowances. In this particular patterns, 1.5cm seam allowances are already included. My store-bought piping width was 0.8cm. It was hard to sew at curves when then seam allowances and piping width don’t match. Overall I am happy with the end result and my friend seemed to have liked it. My Aztec Carolyn here and silk satin here. For more ideas, here (black one with white piping), here (navy blue and white piping) and here (pancake print!!).
- Teapot Cozy
I had an opportunity to make teapot cozies for a tea shop in Takasaki this month. I made sure to make a few extra so I can gift them to my friends and family. I made my own pattern based on the instructions from the tea shop owner, but you can find many different versions for free online. The floral print fabric and the beige cotton lining sandwitches the thick quilt batting. Inside, the seams are finished with bias strips. It would be fun to give with teapot and delicious smelling loose tea.
Woven labels from Dutch Labels Shop
For more gift ideas, check out Shopbop and take advantage of the big sale! Sale ends 11:59PM PST (Los Angeles Time) Tuesday, 11/29). クリスマスシーズンが早くも近づいていますね。
最近作った手作りギフトを紹介します。
時間があったらぜひ手作りの贈り物をしたいと思っています。
ご参考までに★
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Learning a New Skill | Embroidery
I’m learning a new sewing skill – embroidery! My illustrator friend, Natalie and I came up with the idea of making a collab dress using her floral illustration. 
I used a Japanese embroidery book for my first attempt. The book has patterns you can follow and which embroidery stitches to use. It called for a single strand so it took a while to complete. The embroidery is tiny, about 3cm x 3cm. 
After completing the strawberry embroidery, I made a few flowers. I learned by using satin stitch, long and short stitch and outline stitch, you can basically embroider anything. There are many other stitches, and I hope to pick them up as I go along. 
Above is the picture of the book I used in reference. It provides many patterns including Japanese flowers and fruits. I love that I can work on embroider while I’m watching movies or talking to friends. It is a portable project as opposed to clothes sewing which is a good to bring it to a trip. 
刺しゅうを始めました。
図書館で借りた「はじめての刺しゅう 花のワンポイントステッチ」という本を教科書にちょこちょこ進めています。
全て1本取りで進めているので結構時間がかかりました。
ワンポイント的な小さい刺繍です。
大きめに作るなら、型紙を拡大コピーして、3本取りかなんかで刺すと良いかもしれないですね。
刺しゅうを使ったウェディングドレスを思索中です。
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MADE | Aztec Print Carolyn PJ
I bought this bright aztec print cotton lawn fabric back in the summer. I had something like this in mind to make, but the summer ended before making it or having a chance to go to a beach with it. So I decided to make Carolyn pajama by Closet Case Files. This was my second time with the patterns. I made the first one in silk satin. The sewing went smooth as the instructions were clear. I love the pipping details. It is fun to sew and I enjoy thinking about different possibilities for the color combinations. I made this as a Christmas gift for my sister-in-law. I’ll be making a few more as gifts before Christmas comes!
My new labels came from the Dutch Label Shop. They are an online custom woven label company based in Philadelphia, where I lived five years in the past. I like the fact you can make a small order starting from 30 labels. They also offer care labels and hang tags.
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