ChrisW Designs

Snazzy Inspiration!

Yesterday I received a lovely email from Mary Ann of Minnesota City......among other things, she said "Your pattern is very well written and with excellent photo-help" and "you make really good, well thought-out patterns"! To say I am tickled pink when I receive such emails is an understatement but more to the point, getting feedback like that lets me know I am doing something right and also that it is appreciated! Thank you Mary Ann, you made my day! :)

BUT......it is even more FUN when I also get to SEE a photo of the finished bag! Mary Ann was gracious enough to send me a couple of pics! I LOVE her version of The Snazzy Slouch so much I wanted to share the pics with you:

 

Mary Ann's Snazzy Slouch!

 

The main fabric is a heavy canvas and the brown contrast is a linen/cotton blend.

 

 

Another shot of Mary Ann's Snazzy Slouch!

 

Mary Ann also commented that she has received lots of compliments on her bag including this "one girl even said not to leave it lying around - meaning she herself would empty the contents and take the bag!" LOLLLL I think I would also grab the bag and RUN, given the opportunity! :)

Well done Mary Ann and thank you so much for allowing me to share with everyone! :)

Stitching Curves - Practice Makes Perfect!

So you find it difficult to sew a neat curve? Well you are not alone! I get many emails asking my advice on how to get a good curved line of stitching! Like most things, practice makes perfect! The more you do it, the easier it becomes! Sounds simple, don't you think? LOLL Well actually it IS! All you need is your printer, a piece of paper (OK, maybe a dozen? LOL) and your sewing machine! 

So you've been wondering just how many projects you are going to 'stuff up' while you are busy practising? LOLLL....NONE! There is an easy solution! See this spiral:

It's pretty nifty, don't you think? It's called a Fermat's Spiral and you start at one of the outside lines and guess where you end up? Back at the outside! You can download my PDF version here and print it out on a piece of paper. (on A4, Letter or Foolscape paper - for sewing purposes and not for human consumption!)

Next remove your threads from your sewing machine and pop your spiral underneath your foot. That's your sewing machine foot, not YOUR foot! Did I need to point that out to you? LOL I am sure you have seen some of those strange foreign instructions stating the seemingly obvious? The other day I bought a potted herb and the instructions clearly stated that I should eat the leaves and not the potting mix! LOLLL Heck....I was SOOOO disapointed! There I was thinking I had an easy meal in a pot for hubby! LOLLL.....

Anyway....back to your piece of paper and your sewing machine foot......

 

PRACTICE!

 

Simple sew around this spiral.....take your TIME here, especially in the beginning!....You don't need to try and break any speed records....Afterall, you aren't racing around a track in a seedway car you know! LOLLL Repeat this exersice until you are able to stay on the lines!

 

Can YOU stay on the lines?

 

So....how did you go? Did it get easier by the time you got to your 12th piece of paper? LOLLLL

Happy Sewing!
Cheers,

Satin Cargo Pants Turned "Bella"!

Now I don't know about you BUT I am all for recycling, repurposing and upcycling.....call it what you like....if something NEW can be made from something OLD....it has to be a good thing! Right? Good for the planet AND good for the hip pocket too...PLUS.....when you see Lorraine's Bella, you realise it can save you LOADS of time too! 

I have BAGS of old clothes that I have STASHED away....all with the intentions of making something 'new' from them one of these days.....somehow though.......I just don't seem to find the time or the inspiration to get on with it! BUT.....I have to say, after Lorraine (Remember Lorraine's gorgeous Hoffman Challenge Bag?) showed me pics of HER satin cargo pants turned Bella....I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY! I just HAVE to share them with YOU! WOW....take a look at what she has come up with:

Lorraine's Bella

and here's her backside (The bags, not Lorraine's! LOL):

Back View of Lorraine's Bella

...and what a fab use of a pocket for a pocket! You just gotta love the time saving factor of this! LOL:

Don't toss the pockets!

Imagine not having to fiddle around with sewing a zipper and still get results like this:

Super fast zipper results! Gotta LOVE that!

How many cargo pants have YOU got that you no longer wear that you could repurpose like this? Even if you do't have any at all, a quick trip to the thrift shop and Bob is your uncle! LOLLL (Hmmmm....how many of you are familiar with that old saying?? Come to think of it, what a silly saying it is....it doesn't really even make sense! LOLLL)

So there you have it! No more excuses for not knowing what to do with those old cargo pants! :) Oh and don't forget to share your creations with us in our flickr pool!

Don't have the time to sew yourself? Lorraine has an Etsy shop where her creations pop up from time to time so perhaps you might like to keep an eye on it! :)

Happy sewing! :)
Cheers,

A school backpack for my daughter!

Well....after finishing Abigail, which was a HUGE job, I took a little break BUT not tooooo long because my daughter Amy needed a backpack for school....She goes back today after two weeks of school holidays, so I finished it just in time! LOL This is a design my oldest daughter Emma and I came up with a while back now when she also needed one for school.....

Front of Backpack

Amy LOVES blue at the moment, so she chose a gorgeous wave fabric by Elizabeths Studio. Perhaps not the best fabric to photograph in such a way to show off all the bags features BUT it actually does look quite good in use! Of course, NOTHING I ever do seems to be simple and this one was no exception! It has buckles, zippers and pockets galore!

Front Pocket Flap

Under the flap is a zippered pocket:

Under the Flap

...and inside the zippered pocket are pen pockets and a little pocket for an eraser:

Pen Pockets!

There are side pockets too:

Side Pockets

Plus inside the main compartment there is a book slip pocket and another zippered pocket:

Inside Main Compartment

The straps are padded and wide for comfort and durability....these won't be digging into Amy's shoulders or ripping out anytime soon! LOL Plus they are ajustable too!

The Straps!

Here's Emma's original version....she chose fabric in her favourite colour PURPLE!

Emma's Version

So....now the question is, should I make this available as a pattern? It is bigger than my existing pattern, the Amy Backpack and more suited to an adult or teen PLUS I think it would make up nicely in khaki or something similar for the guys as well! So....What do you think? Would you be interested in seeing this backpack available as a pattern? You can leave a comment below.......I'd love to hear what you think! :)

Cheers,