Yellow Striped Poi Done

If you can remember, I wanted to make my own sock poi. This is the pocket I made up.
When you want to embroider letters, you always get lost in the amount of threads:-) They are made using a machine stitch that makes three stitches at the same place.

If the application seems greyed to you, it's caused by the adhesive I fixed it with before sewing. Unwanted nice effect:-D

The poi themselves. The stripes look great when twirled. I hope they will live long and won't get dirty too soon:)

Quiver

I should be an archer at a LARP. And although I should learn, I found time to make me a simple quiver. The upper edge was a natural edge of the fabric. The body is a rectangle sewed on circle bottom.

I made the stripe and ironed it. I attached it with these small squares, wrapped around the strap and hand sewn to the body.

Do you want to, how it ended up? In the end, boys didn't have enough time to make a bow for me. I just took pictures:-§

Poi Stripes

Here they are - smiling and vivid. The bases for the striped poi. At the green, everything was OK. At the yellow, I sewed the stripes on one side and cut the shape according to the lines on the other side.

Striped Poi

This will be the other part of the set that came out of the rasta poi. The owner offered identical poi with swapped colours. I have again the places for stripes marked on the pattern, at the right side.

Actually, I like the rasta poi so much I wanted to have my own pair:-D
But it was too late or so - in other words I messed it up. When creating a pattern I marked the axis at two places. That should have been later covered with stripes. You can see I didn't manage to. I tried to rub the wrong line out, but was unsuccessfull.

When I realized I drew the stripes' lines inside the pattern (they should have been just outside), I gave up. I marked the stripes like this and cut the poi out with an excess.

I transferred the stripes' lines to the other side with the help of pins. I shouldn't do anything more today that I might spoil:-)

Saidi Costume Finished

The performance was outstanding. Opposite to the photos..

I didn't have time to decorate the belt, so I just glued some gems on a while before the dance:-o
The dark blue streak is ink. It looks like an intent, doesn't it?:-D

Blue Bra Beadwork II

The green leaves are finished. Now I got down to the spangles. My inspiration - peacock feather.
I started with the dark blue center. After several trials, I decided that I should cover the hole in the center by a bead. The surface isn't so smooth, but it looks more professional.

I went on with light blue. I processed from the center outwards; it was quite difficult to create neat edge. At the dark green I made the outline first and then I was just fulfilling the inside space.

Two rows of light green are finishing the spangles.

I marked the distances and glued on some gems. I also wanted to cover the blue cups' fabric around them with beads, but it was ten o'clock and my boyfriend told me no way.

I should sleep enough. The performance is tomorrow.

Blue Bra Beadwork I

So this is what I have. The dress with decorated edge of sleeves and the bottom, and blue but not decorated bra.

I bought a sack of artificial gems. I drew the lines and distances by disappearing marker and glued the stones. Then I took green cylindrical beads and and began to create small green leaves (always by three beads at one stitch).

This took me about the whole today. Don't have a picture, so I'll surprise you with the result at the next post:-)

Blue Bra Cups

How to get nice bra cups from not-so-elastic fabric? :-)
I found out that not only canvas, but even this fabric is the most stretchy diagonally. I fulfilled the bra with my sweater and started to strain. First, I pinned the two spots on the vertical axis, then the sides. Having this part of the work succesfully done was a great relief.

I used to use backstitch, even invisible backstitch when necessary, but now I prefer other things. I drew a line at the base, along the whalebone. Then I pricked the needle upwards to this place, arrange the cup's fabric and brought the needle down through it (very, very small stitch). In fact, this was quite pleasant:) I don't mind the pattern the stitches make.

Well, the worst is over. Only bead embroidery's in front of me and I'm looking forward to it!

You may see that the center isn't really symmetrical and neat. That's because I didn't want to spend much money on a bra that wouldn't be visible and I which I would use only couple of times a life. Cheap bra and luxurious fabric seems better to me than the contrary.

Blue Bra Covering

I was scared about how I would get the fabric on the bra. Actually scared.
Eventually, I took courage for a small trick. I took the hot melt glue gun that had saved me at the clawn hat:-)
I glued the edges on.

Then it was quite comfortable just to trim the excess, fold it and attach with stitches that serge at the same time. The fabric was fringing, I might have ironed an unwoven fabric on, but it would lose elasticity..

Another brain teaser was how to attach the shoulder strips to the cover fabric. I found out at the second one. The piece has been folded so that the folded neat edge was overlapping to the wrong side of the bra.

As the blue fabric wasn't very stretchy, I covered two fasteners and left the only one that allowed the biggest size. I sewed on a small rectangle of fabric, folded in on the left side for the neat hem.

Then I sewed these two pieces together with tiny stitches. Even inside the fastener for god results.

So this is what I got today. Belly dance bra with lace apricot cups:-P

Celtic Knot Braids

A great chaotic braided hairdo. I invented it yesterday:-) You need quite long hair (to the belt probably). Start with two symmetric French braids. You can turn them to the center when you are finishing with adding strands.

Take them up and cross them. Place a hairpin so that it could tak hair from the upper braid and from the lower as well. I always put the pins from upwards down.

Wind the braids symmetrically and secure with hairpins. Short ones are handy.

Wind them once more to make them go up and secure with two hairpins. The braids should always lay flat on the head.

Then you can arrange the center cross so that the braids go under-over-under-over and keep this rythm when tucking the tails under or over the big loops. You may add a hairpin to the cross, but only after you have neatened the tails (to be sure all is (close to be) symmetrical).

Take two hairpins and secure the tails under the braids. I find the best to thread the tails first to the hairpins and then place them.

This was on my sister. Then I did it on myself. And what I saw at this photo??! Wrong.

And when I looked at the photo of my sister.. I messed the whole tutorial up:-DDD

Can you reveal when the mistake began? To compare, here you have the photo of my prototype, which is done correctly. And as a hint, it was inspired by a Celtic knot.

Although doesn't look like, this hairdo is quite ok to do on oneself. I rather use the mirror to make the French braids:-) Then you can feel everything by our hands, it's easy to get to know if it's symmetric or not.

Saidi Sleeves' Decoration

The edge of the dress will be decorated with beads and spangles. They had no silver spangles, so I had to buy the ones on a cord and rip them out:)

I measured regular distances and marked them by pins - the easiest way was to jab them in the bed. You can see that I didn't cut the thread. I made a slip knot on the thread, worked one way and when I finished I untied the knot and worked the other direction with the tail. Half the nuber of knots:-)

The system is - five spangles with four silver beads between each two. When you thread so many beads, it doesn't pay off to thread them by hand, one by one. I accumulate beads in a heap and prick the needle into it until I get enough beads. It works the best with many beads, when I hold the needle's tip up and when I don't go at the bottom with the tip.

The finished edge looks like this. I already have the sleeves, now the lower edge of the dress is to be done.

Blue Bra

The saidi costume needs a bra. The previous one was too small (after Christmas:-D). I'm going to cover this one with light blue fabric. Bras are usually covered with something like stretch velvet, but I prefered this one, even though it's not so elastic.

I started with straps. I sewed two little tunnels from the fabric, the width a bit more than the straps' one. I measured the right lenght of the original straps. I marked it with a marker and cut. I pulled the little tunnel on and sewed the strap with zig-zag stitch.

Saidi Sleeves Done

I made slits on the sleeves - opposite to the seam. I cut a strip, sewed it on the right side, then cut it as in the link, and turned to the wrong side. I basted it flat. You can see how I did the corners. I unbasted a bit and folded the corner along the center axis. Then I sewed the corner 45° to the seam. I cut the leftovers.

Then I turned it to the wrong side and finished basting. As at the neckline, I don't plan to sew this on the machine anymore..

This is shat the slit looks like now. I had been worried whether the slit was or wasn't placed right. I, personally, would have place it more to the front. But I saw it like this at the sample.

When one moves, it surprisingly works:) I'm lucky to have bought a new bra, this one seems to be too small for me after Christmas:-DDD

Some Saidi Trouble

I sewed and serged the sleeves' armhole. Then I could sew the side of the dress and the sleeve with one continuous line. You can spot my new walking foot. Ten days of working with it..

..and it stopped walking. Just like that. It was a walking foot of some uncertain brand.
So now what to do with unfinished dress.. I went to a shop and bought a Brother foot instead. For 7mm machines. I have a 5mm. It was a thrilling while, but I risked it and took it.
It sews gorgeously.

After sewing all the lines, I zig-zagged everything today. And I made (basting(final version(no machine sewing))) the back part of the neckline:-)

Froggy Eye

Time for some interesting stitches:-) The iris is to be a buttonhole in a circle. In the center I always bring the needle to the same spot.
You can see that I'm trying to work properly, as I made a knot at the right side that would be snipped afterwards:-)

Two small stitches as a base. They come from inside the iris.

This is quite interesting stitch (it probably has a name:-D), and I'm sorry that I couldn't enjoy it very much at such a small object:-)
I led my needle between the two stitches, brought it under one of them and repeated with the other side.

It will look scary, won't it :-D
I'm lucky to be finished with green now.