Better Edges and Clearing the Clutter

Just wanted to thank those who gave me such great ideas to improve my sewing! I have been sewing like crazy again, all week but now I zig zag along the raw edges and if it doesn't affect the look of the garment, I do a little French seam as well. (This is basically folding the edge and sewing it so there's no way it can fray!). Things have really improved and I can happily say I'm pleased with how everything is turning out. I decided not to try to sell the things I had made without zig-zagging/ French seaming the edges. Quality is so important as Kirsty kindly reminded me, and I really need to make sure everything lasts. Rhonda has kindly offered to lend me Bernadette's over locker so I'm looking forward to trying it out. Kirsty, I think you are right that some people will exaggerate about how hard they are to use. I'm pretty good at following instructions so as I long as I can find them on the internet I'll be fine.

Anyone interested in what my sewing machine is like?? Well, here is my little dinosaur beauty!

Heehee it's an oldie but a goodie :) My mum passed it down to me, I believe it is from the late 50's or early 60's. I have kept it oiled and looked after it and it usually treats me well in return. (We have had the odd argument over the years...)

Anyway, wanted to give you a sneak peak of what I've been working on! I'm really excited as I've had a fair bit of interest in these. I'm thinking of calling them 'Bibdana's' short for bandana bibs. While not exactly an original idea (just google bandana bibs and you'll see), I haven't seen anything EXACTLY like what I do so I guess that's a good thing.

Boy's range so far

I've used snap buttons instead of velcro, I think it looks alot nicer and there won't be any scratched necks. It's so much quieter too when I need to remove Alex's bib when he goes to sleep.

Just started on some for the girls. Cute lacey edge and as with the boys', the back is super soft flannel.

Do you spread out all over the place when you're being crafty?? This kind of drives me nuts but I am the messiest crafter. I don't have the luxury of a spare room for crafts in this unit, so I am using the kitchen bench for cutting etc, (thank goodness for the big bench here). The clutter is frustrating, but I need everything within arms's reach. I found a good way to clear the clutter when visitors are coming over, by using containers. Once again, I really, really love containers!!

I had these boxes from Ikea in the cupboard knowing I would find a great use for them. And I have, when I need to tidy I throw eveything into a couple of the boxes, quickly sorted of course into 'like' objects. One for ribbons lace etc, one for tools, buttons etc.

Here's a cute outfit I made our nephew Jamie for his 1st birthday. I can't believe he is turning 1 already!! The bibdana looks so cute with this outfit :)

Another couple of orders I have completed this week

I have so many more ideas and just not enough hours in the day for all the sewing I want to do, but that's how it goes isn't it :) I just get done what I can, in the evenings.

How do you deal with your clutter when you're being crafty?

So...the sewing's so-so

Wow that month FLEW by!! I really can't believe I haven't been here for a whole month. I've been really busy sewing like frantic, in my few precious hours after Alex has gone to bed in the evenings. Sadly in order to get my sewing done, I have had to miss out on my favourite tv, but it's true- with time management you have to prioritise, prioritise, prioritise (wow thats really hard to type, and say, 3 times!). I've made a few pairs of pants for Alex and some of my friends in my Mother's Group really liked them, so I made up some for their bub's too. Then I thought, why not try to sell some over Facebook? I have considered markets, and we have some lovely local ones near us, but there's the stall fee ($35 for our local markets-) which means I'd need to sell quite a lot to make a profit. And of course it would mean missing out on precious family time with my boys. Alex would be happy hanging out at a market stall for, um, 10 minutes.


With Facebook there's a fairly wide audience already set up, and the good thing is if I sell clothes cheaply to my friends, they won't mind so much if the clothing isn't exactly Perfectly Made. The thing is, I don't have an overlocker yet, and even if I did have one I wouldn't have the foggiest how to thread it. While I do use the trusty old crimping scissors, the insides of the clothes do still tend to fray after a few washes. I've been trying to learn the French Seam technique but with tiny little baby's clothing it's a bit tricky sometimes. Any suggestions here?? I am looking at second hand overlockers on Gumtree and I will save up any money I earn from selling the clothes, to put towards a machine.

If you have a moment please pop over to my page on Facebook and have a look and if you like it, please don't forget to "like" it :-) Bluebell Baby Clothing

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Hope you all have a lovely weekend! And I hope we get some sunshine!!
Xxo