Giveaway: Dolce or Birdie Clutch.

I've been sewing this week and it feels really good.
First up I finally made some pillowcases for our new pillows.

They were made in Marilyn Grey Dolce by Tanya Whelan.

I really love the colour and I am glad I didn't add a cuff to them.

They are simple and great just the way they are. I just added a white linen to the underside and put in a small cuff to close up the side opening.

Then I made my first purse/pouch/clutch thingy using the Noodlehead tutorial.
It's got a gathered front and you just sew on a band on top. I did learn a few things and as easy as they were meant to be they still took me a day to finish up the way I liked.

These are going to be perfect for stashing some tissues in my handbag and my phone which I can never find when it rings.

The first I made using a Windham fabric called Full Bloom. The one above is Dolce as well. They both have a charcoal linen main fabric.

I broke two needles in the process, yes two!
One of them hit the metal piece of the zipper and the second was caught when it went under and bent from god knows what. So I tried to be a lot more careful in the whole experience.

What is happening with my camera? The zipper is a dusty pink. Mmmmmm.

It was hard to figure out how to make those nice zipper ends appear nice after I sewed up both sides. The first time I missed the bit in the instructions where it says to sew up to the zipper ends and NOT THROUGH them. Huh, how does that work? They are not perfect and that is what still annoys me. It was also hard to keep everything straight when sewing pieces together so I had to use my rotary cutter to keep my fabrics lined up. They are a bit wonky still.


Never to leave something alone I decided to be a bit more creative and added a lacy touch to the second pouch I made. I think it looks more dainty. I love the little bird on the front. The band was a 9cm wide strip that was folded in on the edges instead of one bigger piece sewn together and with the seam hidden in the centre. I just despise ironing. The insides have a nice grey floral lining and the raw edges are hidden! Yay for that and fat quarters.

In celebration of getting a bit of my sew-jo back I would like to make one of these for a lovely reader. Just don't worry if it comes out a bit wonky, it's a designers touch ; )

You just need to let me know which fabric you would like on the band in your comment.

The Dolce or the Birdie? You can choose to have the lace or without the lace if you want the birdie.

That being said, I think I will be off tomorrow to get some more needles and zippers.

Clutchy giveaway will close Friday 24th Sept so I can start sewing.

All entries from anywhere are open.

This giveaway will be featured on Giveaway Scout, an on-line giveaway search engine!

Au revoir!