Inkling Threads Logo Design

Wedding Invitation Design

Sometimes elegance comes from the minimalism of a design.

Bold, bright & comfy...

I have been somewhat distracted lately by a new venture called Jetty Handmade where I have partnered up with a fellow Busselton local, Michelle to make beautiful necklaces and a whole lot of other creations that we are keeping super secret at this stage.

That is not to say Fat Red Bird isn't seeing any action. I am back behind the sewing machine creating lovely, bright 'Statement Dresses' to compliment the Jetty jewellery range. Its all about colour, being bold, having fun....& of course comfy.

There are plenty of other Fat Red Bird items on the 2016 agenda, which I can hopefully reveal soon.

Meanwhile feel free to pop on over to Jetty to see all the lovelies we are making over there.

So the Boxing Day Sales aren't just for the big supermarkets, a bunch of fabulous designers have teamed up to create one big giant online sale...& it is going to be HUGE.

Running all day Boxing Day you can get 30% off your PDF Pattern purchases from these businesses with the code BOXING15.
Ainslee Fox Boutique Patterns
Bella Sunshine Designs
Bobkin
Bubby and Me (only PDF patterns)
Designs by Call Ajaire
Dog Under my Desk
Fabric Direct.com.au (only PDF patterns)
Fat Red Bird Designs
Filles a Maman
Felt with Love Designs
Flosstyle
Hey There Threads (stand-alone patterns only)
Hugs are fun
Izzy & Ivy Designs
Jody’s Crafty Creations
Little Moo Designs
Make it Perfect (only PDF patterns)
Molly and Mama
Momma Quail Patterns
Muffy Duck Designs
One Thimble (e-zines only)
Ric-Rac & Retro
Serger Pepper
Swoodson Says
Tadah Patterns (stand-alone patterns only)
Threading Rainbows (no code required – price will be discounted for you!)
Tiger Lily Patterns (stand-alone patterns only)
two pretty poppets (single PDF patterns only)
Zoe’s Pocket

… 

A bit of Fat Red Bird on your Christmas tree

So by now you may have figured out that I am a Christmas nut...I love Christmas...Love, Love, Love Christmas. I get suckered into new decorations and adornments every year, well and truly before I have unpacked my pre existing overwhelming stash. I must admit I have succumbed and bought a few beauties this year, but I am also trying to incorporate same handmade. Not the paper plate cut out style stuff that your kids bring home from school...you can't fool me I know you dislike them too. I mean some nice stuff, that the kids can be proud of and I don't actually mind hanging on the tree. So it was time to bring the Fat Red Bird into tree decoration form.

First we traced, then we stitched using 1/4 inch seam (start at the top of the tail & make your way around to the bottom of the tail, leaving the end of tail open for stuffing)..ooooh & we put in some cord to hang it on. Sandwich the cord between the two pieces of fabric just behind the head (make sure you keep the cord right out of the way when stitching around your birdie).

Then we turned it out (I used the cord to help me do this by giving it a bit of a tug when I got a bit stuck). Using some blunt & pointy to help push out all the bits of the birdie.

We stuffed it & stitched up the tail....no need for hand stitching or fancy stuff here....I love the frayed look to the end of the tail. If you don't have any proper stuffing you could use fabric scraps and we found stuffing it in then pushing it though the tail with a pencil helped a lot.

Then it was time to unleash some colour, I armed the kids with fabric markers and away they went. You could use glitter glues, or stick on all sort of decorative bits & pieces, let your kids go to town.

They were tickled pink with their bright little decorations and just quietly.....so was I.

Great result!! Want to make your own Fat Red Bird Ornament?...download the template here

Don't want to let your kids have all the fun? I totally understand, why don't you make some birdies from your favourite fabric scraps to adorn your tree.

Dare I say it...Christmas is coming...

I am a total Christmas nut, love everything about Christmas & I probably get more worked up than my kids in the lead up. 

Every year Christmas has always been about handmade, making gifts for others & decking my kids out in very naff Christmas attire.

One of my favourite's to date is the 'Surfing Santa' Fedora I made a few years back.

I want to ensure you guys are starting to get into the spirit too and putting a bit of handmade into your Christmas by offering 25% off all Fat Red Bird patterns for a super limited time. Just use code ITSCHRISTMAS in the store to grab your discount...but be fast.

The Fat Red Bird Dress Hacks - Knit Sleeve Dress Hack

So lets make a knit dress with sleeves using the Fat Red Bird Dress pattern that has no lining. This is super easy & super quick to sew that you will be making piles of them in no time. Like the previous knit hack, you may want to choose the pattern pieces with a 'Finished Bodice' closer to the child's actual waist measurement for a trim fit.

So before you dive into cutting out your pattern pieces remember that you do  not need to cut out any lining. The back of the bodice will be one piece for this hack, to do this place the pattern piece on the fold of fabric overhanging 1.5 inches. We want the back of the bodice to be 1.5 inches less wide as there is no seam here now & no overlap.

Follow The Dress pattern tutorial 'Assembling the bodice' Steps 1 & 2. Refer to previous knit hack tutorial on tips to sew with knit. With right sides facing stitch each of the under arm seams with a 1/2 inch allowance.

Move onto 'Assembling your sleeve' starting at Step 2. Continue on to 'Attaching sleeves to bodice' & 'Assembling the semi circle skirt'.

Attach the skirt to bodice starting at Step 2 of 'Attaching skirt to bodice'. You have now created a dress with raw edges to neckline, end of sleeves & bottom of skirt.

To finish the neckline cut a piece of knit fabric or ribbing that measures 2 inches wide by the total neckline measurement plus approximately 2 inches, ensuring the fabric stretches horizontal along the longest length. With wrong sides facing, fold the neckband in half so it is now 1 inch wide, press. 

There are plenty of other ways to attach the neckband to the neckline but I like this technique as it ensures my neckband fits perfectly to the neckline every time, rather than it being a bit too short or too long.

Leaving a tail of about 1 inch pin the neck band to the right side of the dress at the back of the neckline, matching up the raw edges. 

Stitch the neckband to the neckline of the dress with a 1/2 inch seam allowance, stopping approximatey 1.5 inches before you get back to where you started, this will leave you will another tail. Check out all the following pictures to get a better idea of how this works.

We now need to join our neckband together before continuing on. Trim the neckband tails so that when stitched together they will be the same length as the remaining neckline.

You can see in the following picture the neckband has been trimmed, sewn together & ready to be folded back in half and stitched to rest of the neckline.

Once it is all stitched, on the wrong side of garment press the neckband seam down towards bodice. 

Using this same technique, create cuffs for the sleeves.

Hem skirt by either overlocking edge or with a zig zag stitch.

Thats it, you're done...haven't got The Dress pattern yet, thats OK...you can grab it HERE