The Emma Bag - Using Personalised Fabric

I made a bag for my daughter's birthday using the Katybag pattern from the very talented LiEr of iKatbag.  She liked it so much, I decided to make one for my niece for her upcoming birthday.  What 3 year old doesn't need their own little handbag :)

It measures about 6.5" wide by about 10" tall (including the strap) - so just right for a wee girl.

I'm really pleased with how it has turned out...I finished it late last night. 


I used my own fabric designs - an allover Emma print with a little daisy, and a coordinating one that was just the daisies.  The best part - the entire bag (both sides!) only needs a fat quarter of linen-cotton fabric! 



I even had a little over to make a matching coin/what-have-you purse.

The resulting actual fabric looked like this:

It's fully lined, and has a magnetic clasp - making it easy for little hands (and no so little ones!).

I love the piping detail, and it's not too frightening once you get the hang of it - in fact, I think I'm going to pipe a LOT more now.

As far as the construction went - pretty straightforward (sorry for the night time shots - it's the only time I get to sew with preschoolers!):

Cut out and interface the pieces...

Add the piping

Add the clasp and sew up the outer and inner bags.

Then put it all together

To look like this :)

Let's hope she likes it!

UPDATE:  I've had a few people contact me asking if they can get the fabric I used in their own name.  Yes you can - on my online store http://shop.shelleymade.com.

Mr Mikey Robot Fabric Collection Has Landed!

It was with great excitement that I opened my latest package from Spoonflower.  The samples for the robot fabrics that I designed for my son had arrived!

I'm really happy with how they have printed and I'm looking forward to designing a quilt for my wee boy with them in the Kona Cotton.  So happy in fact that I've put them up for sale on Spoonflower.

I have Mr Mikey himself:

Mr Mikey's Legs in a stripe (think this is my favourite):

Mr Mikey's buttons:

Smiling Mr Mikey in small:

...and large:

and finally Robot Waves:

They all coordinate with the Robot Cheater Quilt I designed:




Which also printed very nicely:

All in all - a great day!  Made even better by 2 year old's reaction to the fabric - big smiles and wanted to run around the house with it as a cape :)

Robot Cheater Quilt - Mr Mikey Robot!

It's contest time again at Spoonflower.  This time - the theme is Robot Cheater Quilts, and this is my entry:

 

Well, to be precise - the quilt design in the centre is my entry!  I got a little carried away with the coordinates :).  You can view the entire collection here.

If you would like to see all the other entries, and perhaps have a quick vote - click here, then click on "Vote for your favourites".  There are some really neat entries this week.

I'm currently waiting on my proofs to arrive - so the fabric itself should be up for sale in about a week. :)

Personalised Name Fabric Available!

If you are looking for personalised name fabric - then you have come to the right place!  I have a range of different designs, and layouts available - all in any name and any colours.

The online store is now open - either click on the image below to enter, or head to http://shop.shelleymade.com to browse the options

I announce new designs on my Facebook page - so feel free to "like" me over there to keep up to date. 

Thank you for your interest!

All designs, images and details shown here © Shelley Aakjaer 2011-2018. 

The Mikey Shorts

I was never quite sure about these shorts for my son, until I started letting him out of the house in them!

 

The positive comments from people I didn't even know were amazing.  All wanting to know where I got the fabric...  I made it, and can do it in any name!

First off - the pattern is again from Tie Dye Diva - the Way Cool Shorts.  Nice and easy - and I just love the pockets.  I will be making them again next summer - the sizing goes from 2 to 8.

Now - an explanation as to why these shorts look so wacky!  Quite simple - it was supposed to be a sunhat!  I ordered two fat quarters - one for each side, then realised my son's head was NOT suited to that pattern...  So they morphed into some very unique shorts.  I only just just just had enough to do it - I've made the pockets slightly smaller than the pattern states - simply because I didn't have enough fabric.

The most time consuming part was keeping switching top stitching thread - I used white on the blue, and blue on the white.  Would anyone actually have noticed if I had sewn it all white??  Probably not! :)

Here's one of the pockets...

 The front with faux fly detail...

And the back...

This is the closest thing to a shot of my son wearing his shorts...scampering away from me up the stairs!!

Love this pattern - and as I said, will definitely be making it again!

 

The Lazy Day Sunhat

I'm finally getting around to writing about something I made for my daughter for Christmas!

It's a sunhat.  Nothing particularly exciting about a sunhat - except this one is made with my own fabric design!

The pattern is called the Lazy Day sunhat from Make It Perfect - and it's completely reversible.

I managed to squeeze it (just!) out of two Fat Quarters - one in Pink, one in Purple/Lavender - my little girl's favourite colors.

The best thing is that she will actually wear it (she is not a fan of hats!) and since it has her name all over it - we are less likely to lose it :)

I got her Teddy to model it for me...first one side...

Then the other.

As it's nearly impossible to get my daughter to sit still for a decent photo!  This is the best we could manage - twirling in her Fairy Tale dress...

P.S.  I've now made this fabric available for sale with any name - see this page for details...