Snake Pouch

And there'a a pouch for sister's poi. First I do the machine embroidery, than I sew the whole sack along the limits and turn over. I fold the upper edge and sew with my favourite VVstitch.

Cutting the black bands is the very final matter. I made the pocket too small this time, I must pay attention for the future :-[

Snake Poi

Sister wanted me to make her poi. She had a good idea as you see:-) And I had some practical ideas to realize it.

I made the decoration first - I've sewn a long narrowing band but when I had to turn it over I decided that it would be faster just to iron. So I cut two more pieces and didn't sew them.

I started to sew the doubled edge, down down down down and then up along the other one. This should provide a viper-like impression.

This is the decorated pattern- The rest was the same like at the poi I'd made before.
I added eyes, the biggest on stock, and as far as a tongue, I didn't tie the ends with a black cord but red one instead, and what's the most important I tucked the loops inside the snake :-)
I hope she'll be contented ..

Laced seams

What takes me some time in these days is setting lace to seams of some historical garment - don't know the english name, czech is varkoč and it could also be called sagum. It usually protected the armor from sun and weather, but we'll use it for parades, for our people without costumes. I have six sagums to do. They're already cut, zig-zagged and embroided so I have just the seams..
As I said before velvet is a tricky thing and it can move when you sew. I found out that I can minimize it when I hold the lace like this, I still hold the lace I'm just sewing. The basic thing is to decide where you want the lace and don't bother how it moves - when you do this it will move the same at all places so it won't be visible.

And there's one more thing. When I sew a curve I don't (not always) have to fold the lace (left picture). The red arrows mark direction of the fibres. If you deform the lace like this it will repair itself in time you make the second curve.

And this is the sagum. The cut made me think of a dress, that's why this photo was taken like this, but of course it's a men's matter :-D

Grommets

I found a grommet set in a shop - and I decided I could finally learn how to set grommets. There were no instructions and it took me and mum a lot of trying:-) All of the grommets were the same and we're used to two parts ones. We also didn't know you have to make a hole first.

Put the grommet from the front fabric side through this hole and prepare the pliers - you work from the wrong side. Set the grommet on the part of pliers that has no projection.

Check if the fabric is neatly around the grommet. Be aware of it all the time you're pressing the pliers.

I've had an idea of this style of T-shirt long time ago, now I could try it. I wanted another string but it was too thick to be twice in a hole.

I just didn't know what should be on such T-shirt. I'm not sure why snails meddle in my T-shirts all the time :-)

Two More Sacks

I finished the third and fourth costume sack - a yellow and a red one this time.

As first do the edges of the circle and both longer sides of the reclangle. Then I sew the circle with one longer side. Cut the shorter seams to be of the same size and sew them together. Now you can do these edges as well.

Fold the upper part and sew it (I do this twice). I recommend to make a piece for the string rather wide, it's easier to tie the sack. Don't forget about a hole for the cord:-) on the inner side.

P.s. : if any of you knew what's the damned name for making jagged machine stitches on the seams, please let me know, none of my dictionaries does :-[

Hood on its Owner :-)

He liked it! :-D

The hood is not loosy when on but no matter, it's not so tight.
I think it suits him. When he'll take a tunic of a different colour.. :-)

Sewing Hood in Hand

Today I finished the hood. I had to sew the face edge in hand, cause I don't want the machine stitches to be visible. I use a stitch that could be called backstitch but when I showed it to several people who know the backstitch, they had a little problem with it.
Just pull the needle up on one (black) side, push the other fibre along the black one and stitch the needle exactly on the same level - forwards.

Then continue on the same level where you pulled the needle out and stitch a bit back through the black. To make it more comfortable pinned the seams.
And this is how it finished. I wanted to decorate the edges but after ironing I found out that it wasn't necessary. I hope he'll like it :-) I'm afraid it's not the right shape and it won't look nice so I decided to buy him a book for this case ;-)

Bun

Sister showed me another way of making a bun. It comes from a simple braid.

Take the braid and roll from the end upwards, or you can just fold it several times, for the end to be inside. Put it to the head and fix with a few hairclips. If you fold the braid so that the result is not spherical but rather long it looks nice when fastened with a leather grip.

Hood Day

This is when I started the right hood for my boyfriend's birthday. I've bought two pieces of fibre - I wanted the hood to be warm and black, and the only warm one was light green. I think the reversible hood is the best idea:-)

I'd seen some patterns at kostym.cz, I tried to make one a bit different, but finally I ended up at the original one instead:-) I was creating it on my granny who was not very happy as there was summer suffocating heat. I made the pattern twice and sewed the two parts together - the seam sides out. I'll have to make the parts around face in hand..

Sacks

I sewed two sacks for costumes from canvas, simple pattern - the bottom is circle and the rest rectangular. To differ whose sack it is I've chosen coloured cords.

Spider

I have a special way of making spiders out of almost nothing:) Better to say only using hands and a natural string.
As first fold the string several times to have a piece in the length of the planned body (e.g. 5 cm). The string goes out from one end of this shape.
Hold it tight near this end and start to spin the free string around. Continue down to the other edge. The tighter the better. You can reach it if you hold the not-yet-spinned shape as close to the spinned one as possible. Finish near the other end. This is the essential operation.

Figure out how much will the body take and how much about the head (from the original 5 cms).
Spinn back the shape to get to the limit between these two (could say neck:-D ).
Stretch the string to the right to the lenght of one leg, then fold, continue through the middle to the left, the same length, fold and back (it's well visible on picture 2 from photo II). Hold it at the middle and start to spin to one end as known, and back, in the middle you can add a cross and go on to the other leg. Fix with one more cross and go on right near these two legs down the body. Thus create 8 legs.

Spin through the legs to the head end. Spin, spin and spin until you get the shape of head you like. Spin gently throug the neck and add some turns to the body - between the legs to the tail and back, continue until you're contented. The legs will get further from each other.

If you have spinned tightly enough you can make a nice trick now - form the legs as if they were from a wire :-)

This is my original technique and if you try it please tell me how it went and so;-) I imagine other animals could be produced this way - a horse if you take four legs and form the body well, some unspinned cord on the end as a tail...
I taught my granny - she made the one with black eyes (pins). Mine, as I suffer from conjunctivity now, is the red-eyed one :-D

Gryffin Cap

I wanted to decorate my cap by our symbol - yellow gryffin. I learned to fancy the bayeaux stitch:-) and the edges are split-stitched. And I sin again, the lines are neither pencil nor ballpoint.. :-D

Cobweb :-D

My granny wanted me to decorate her a garden. So I made this cobweb, from a thick white string. As first the star was done, then I continued from the middle out.
A technique is slow but simple. A knot on every thread, I recommend to add some little irregular directions.

Hood Model

I'd like to make a gift for one of my friends and I decided to make a hood. It should have been from a woolen fabric but I wonder whether they'll have it stocked somewhere near and then I'm afraid these are too expensive. The pattern will be a little different than this one cause my friend doesn't hunch unlike the plush dog Eštěnijak.

On the picture you can skim how I do the edges. This is the only thing about sewing I think I know:-) Take a strip of fabric and sew it ON THE FACE SIDE a few milimetres from the edge. then fold it down to the seam side where you can let it or fold once more. Go with the machine on the face and sew a line right between the two pieces of fabric.

Snails

During my journey to Prague (shawm <3 ) I had some time in the car. I continued with the snail T-shirt.

I completed three more snails, they're still orange-yellow, the only green-yellow will be on the heart. I think I'll make it an appliqué from white cotton.

Shawm

I bought a shawm today!!!
Happy like a child I don't need any more Christmas this year:-) I mustn't play it yet, not to learn to breathe wrong. But I hope soon I'll be able to.

It's simply nice, isn't it?

Orange Sock Poi

Yesterday I made real sock poi, not like the prototypes I had made before:-)
I bought original ones to know what they look like exactly.
First I made a pattern on the whole fabric.

Then I tried to draw a cut. The pattern is 10 cm wide and 90 long. I have a suspition that the original cut consists only from almost-a-triangle. I created this one. The fabric I used is a tent canvas not to stretch and to be strong enough.

But as it's so tough I was desperate about turning it inside out. In its end poi was only a cm wide and I found myself hopeless. But something saved me. Pliers:-)

And this is how it ended up. I am contented, although this poi that I've made for my friend is better coloured than the mine :-) And I have a new meter, pleased about it, my longest ruler was nearly 30 cm :-/

I decided to sew sock poi for some money, I like it and hope the jugglers who can't sew themselves will like it too:-) Today I made a small bag for the poi from the rest of the fabric.