Double Mette Ring Earrings

I have a new webpage! This post has moved here: http://www.allykraus.com/wp/2011/12/27/double-mette-ring-earrings/

Monopoly Money Mette Ring Origami Earrings

I have a new webpage! This post has moved here: http://www.allykraus.com/wp/2011/12/19/monopoly-money-mette-ring-origami-earrings/

Custom Cross Stitched QR code Patch

The latest offering in my Etsy store: a custom QR code cross stitched patch. Like this:

That one links to the address of my new Etsy shop: http://theMMM.etsy.com. (Try it out!) I have a patch on my backpack that translates to a tiny URL going to this blog. It's a great way to start a conversation about my site and crafting in general. People will ask why I have a QR code on my backpack and where it goes to... then look closer see it's actually cross stitched. They always want to try it out to see if it actually works, and it definitely does.

I put up a patch I previously made that says "analog" but I thought it would be fun to offer to make customizable patches that people can wear and have them link directly to their personal sites. It's a fun mix of geek and craft, and gives me another excuse to cross stitch.

These patches aren't super difficult to make, although they are time consuming. They're a lot less mindless than a lot of the stitching I do, because the pattern is psudo-random and you have to closely follow the design. Very meticulous work, but a super cool result.

Space Invaders Clutch Purse

Latest project: a Space Invaders clutch purse.

the front...

...and the back.

I talked about this before in my interfacing post, but I was trying a few new things with this bag. First, I tried really hard to line up/match the fabric. That was actually pretty easy - I just had to strategically place my pattern pieces before cutting them out. The sew-on interfacing made things a little more difficult, though. The fabric felt stiff, but there actually was a lot of movement in the center of the fabric (away from the stitches) that I didn't take into account, so things got slightly off on the back. I feel like fusible interfacing would help solve that, provided you make sure the fabric is straight before fusing.

The different types of fabric were interesting. I do like corduroy... I see why my sister is always using it in her bags. But it didn't occur to me that the texture and thickness would cause the fabric to pull slightly as it passed under the presser foot, so my corduroy band on the front is slightly diagonal.

The front band is also supposed to have a bow on the right side, but I got lazy and didn't feel like hand sewing on a bow. (It was also going to be in black corduroy.) I think the clutch could use something on the band... maybe not a bow, but a corduroy space creature? Or a cross stitch medallion?

I liked using lining fabric. I did not hand stitch the lining fabric closed, so there is a very big and visible machine seam on the bottom of the bag. Laziness. The lining also seems too big for the interior... maybe I'm missing something in the pattern (like sewing larger seam allowances for the lining?) but this always seems to happen to me. My goal for the next bag I sew is to improve the lining - both in the fit and the seam.

I used a lot of hardware on this bag too. It called for a magnetic clasp, which was super easy to install, a ring and a wrist band. I had the hardest time finding the fixture to attach the wrist strap, and when I finally found a store that carried them the only color they had was a dirty bronze, not silver like the rest of the hardware. Note to self for next time: find all the supplies before sewing. Do I really need a wristband? (Especially an overly large one that can probably fit three or four wrists?) I might cannibalize it for another project.

Overall verdict for the bag: I love the fabric. The form is a little clunky. It seems like it either needs much more structure or much less, but I think that's largely because of the materials (namely, cotton fabric) I used. Not sure if I would use this pattern again, but it's cute.

UNO Card earrings

I have a new webpage! This post has moved here: http://www.allykraus.com/wp/2011/12/11/uno-card-earrings/

Etsy Shop + Cross Stitched Banner

I opened an Etsy shop! My store is called MMM, but because Etsy makes you have at least 4 characters in your shop name, it's officially called "theMMM". Check it out! Since I make a lot of my own jewelry and accessories and they're pretty eye-catching, people always always tell me I should open up a store. However, I'm lazy. And it's difficult to figure out how to price my work and how to take halfway decent photos, so I've been putting it off. Another important thing is that I don't make things to make money. I make things because I love doing it and feel a strong drive to. If I don't have at least three projects going at once, I'll die. But a member of my craft group challenged me to make a store by this Tuesday (or else be publicly shamed :) so I did it.

Right now, I've only got a few pieces posted - the more intricate stuff I want to post takes a lot longer to make and I have no idea how to price them. So I'll cross that hurdle when I get to it!

The most fun part of setting up a shop was designing the banner. I had ideas about using one of my tessellations as a background for the banner, and this was my initial design.

My tessellations are too large a scale for it to work well with the dimensions of the banner. My next idea was to cross stitch a banner. A banner of "M"s. My cross stitch (maybe still a work in progress?):

And the banner, a cropped version of that:

That also needs a little work. I love the feeling of it, because I think it's representative of the things I make, but I dislike how there's blank canvas on either side. I'm torn between cropping that out and adding another image on the end, and actually stitching something else on the sides (like hearts!). For now, it's fine, and the important thing is that a store exists.

I added a widget to my right sidebar which will showcase items from my shop. Click it to see more! You can also follow my page on facebook.

Interfacing

I seem to be on a video games bag kick. My latest project: a Space Invaders clutch purse. It's currently a work in progress because I'm having some trouble acquiring the hardware I need for the wrist strap.

I love sewing. I can't stop. I keep inventing more things for myself to sew. Hopefully I'll be able to make a trip up to Berkeley one of these days so I can get some fabric for a dress and some pillow fabric for my couch, instead of coming up with not as useful projects. I know I've said this before, but I find pattern construction so interesting. I love seeing how everything is laid out and assembled to hide the seams and make the finished project.

Some new things I'm tackling with this bag:

• Using different types of fabric. This pattern actually called for satin, but I went with cotton and corduroy. The bag is lined with "lining fabric" too.
• Aligning the pattern. The Space Invaders print has very clear lines, and I wanted to try matching them up as much as possible, at least on corresponding pieces. So I'm making the front and back of the bag match, and the front and back of the flap match.
• A different type of closure. Here, it's a magnetic circle closure.
• Interfacing! I'm using two different types of interfacing in this bag. So I decided to write a little bit about what I discovered.

Because the pattern was designed for satin, it calls for sewable interfacing. I really wanted to give sewable a try, despite the fact I switched to cotton fabric. However, I either didn't read the measurements correctly or didn't think before cutting and only had enough to reinforce 3 out of the four pieces of my pattern. Oops. I used fusible for the 4th piece. But, I made that piece the underside of the flap in case it turned out bubbly and wrinkly.

I pressed the hell out of that piece. I went with advice I read in a blog and used a damp cloth and a dry iron. I pressed the iron down hard on the cloth over my piece and kept it there until the cloth was dry. Then I moved on to the next spot, until the whole cloth was dry. I waited until my fabric was cool, then flipped it over and pressed the other side with the steam setting on my iron.

It actually turned out well-- no bubbles! I guess my problem with those other projects was just impatience. Looking at both sides of the flap, you can't really tell the difference between the two types of interfacing. However, on the other parts of the clutch which have sewable, there is a lot more movement in the fabric. I guess that makes sense because the interfacing is only attached along the edges of each piece. I can see how you might use each interfacing in different contexts. I don't really have pictures because you can't see the difference - it's more of a feel. In the future, if I make more of these, I'm definitely going with a stiffer interfacing (the clutch is a little floppy), and will probably stick with fusible if the fabric will support it.