pouffe bag

This is my latest creation on a lazy weekend. Inspired by puffy skirts and blouses, I decided to make it out of soft Thai slik material, fully lined, with a border. Its simple for a quick trip out to lunch, yet dressy enough to take on an evening out. The straps can be hidden within the bag and turn it ito a soft clutch. The bag also has a base, so it is pretty well structured despite the soft puffy body. The design makes the bag very roomy, you can pretty much stuff all you need inside.

This bag is made especially for Kak Z. Happy Birthday Kak Z! Hope you’ll love it

Bag Dimension: 6″L (base & opening ) x 8″ H. Straps: 12″

 

vacation

LEGOLAND Windsor, UK

 

 

 

pussycat pussycat where have you been?

to London to London to see the Queen

pussycat pussycat what saw you there?

a little mouse under the chair.

 

 

 

 

 

 So I guess I’ve been ignoring this blog for quite some time now. It had been a pretty hectic time since Raya, with all the sewing, work…but all work and no play makes jack a dull boy.. we did squeeze in a vacation to London. It was a tiring-but-satisfying-and-pocket exhausting trip all in all. Weather was cold, so poor kids weren’t in their best of health. Managed to take the kids to Legoland, and sure enough, they are very very happy to finally go somewhere in their interest. In the photo above, all the buildings in the background were really made from Legos, and they were all truly inspiring.

A LEGO fan myself, I couldn’t help myself shopping for all sorts of Legos not available locally, and they were definitely much cheaper. So what’s the damage? look on…the two darlings absolute love their new toys, its like Xmas in October! (yeah, they are fans of LEGO long before this trip).

Of course, we went everywhere else in London, being true tourists, and I shopped like it was in Bandung. Crazy huh? Oh well, it’s not like I’m going over there again anytime soon. Broke, but happy

So things are settling down and I hope to post all my projects where we left off. Coming up next is the Raya 2009 Dress Collection. Stay tuned.

 

 

embellishments

Trims Trims Trims!

In the heart of sewing dresses for my 2 darlings, I couldn’t help myself to lots and lots of ribbons, laces, and ric racs. At first, I really don’t know where to look for ric racs off hand, so got my fingers to do the work.. found an Australia based online store which ships to Malaysia. They have extensive pretty trimmings that makes you drool.. have a look at http://www.ribbonjar.com. Prices are slightly higher though. Also found a US based online store that does bulk orders. So if anyone is interested, maybe we could do ‘pool ordering’ and save some on shipping, yeah? The site is http://www.jkmribbon.com

Short of ordering from them, I tried my luck at my favourite craft shop in SS2, and another in Puchong, and more or less got what I wanted eventhough choices of colors are limited. 

I guess I went a little bit overboard with these embellishments..but oh well.. they are sooo pretty I could just buy ‘em all and keep ‘em in a box just to look at!

fabrics mania

  Fabrics galore

    

  So.. where did I disappear to? It has been a busy month, granted.. last week I went to JB for a conference, and sure enough, took the oppurtunity to go to Singapore. Whereabouts? The famous Arab Street, of course. Upon first impression, the so called Arab Street of textile heaven could not even compare to our Jalan TAR. BUT, and it is a big ‘but’, you would not find the same selection of fabrics here. This is true especially for cottons, they really do have 100 times more options, AND, definitely cheaper.

So I got really cross-eyed looking at miles and miles of cotton.. I would have bought a whole shop’s worth if not for hubby dearie So managed to grab a few lovely cottons for my girls on a slender budget… of course, I am still dreaming of the ones that I didn’t buy! hahahaha…

 I also found many eyelet fabrics (swiss cotton embroidered fabrics) in Singapore, with a reasonable price. They are truly gorgeous, but I already bought some in KL, so have to forego those..This is what I got for a good bargain:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HD Sleeve

Portable Hard Drive Sleeve

from MYR 30.00

Stylish and sleek. Flash your passion for design. All the rave about laptop sleeves, well, I’ve decided to create a mini hard drive sleeve. Designed to protect your precious data storage from scratches and mild impact, the sleeve also has an internal pocket to store usb cables or even your thumb drives. With a snap button closure, and slightly padded for that extra protection, this hard drive sleeve is truly the other unique option than boring off the counter pouches..

Made with 100% cotton print, it is durable and washable. You can match it to your HD, and even better, custom made it to your HD size.  The sleeve also has coordinating  internal cotton print lining and embellished with a cute button (optional). Make it cute, make it chic, make it macho, make it urban, your choice, but it will surely be stylish. Own yours today, or get it as a gift for that someone.

 

Dimensions: 4.5″ W x 6″ L x 1″ D (fits standard 3.5″ hdd)

 

Item on display is made from 100% cotton  imported designer fabric.

 

**Note: More fabric selections coming soon. I am in the midst of ‘fabric inventory’ updating. stay tuned.

 

 

 

Click to enlarge:

chelsea bag

 

Modern, sleek, stylish. The Chelsea Bag by Amy Butler

  

Made with 100% imported designer cotton print, the bag has boxy design, truly unique and urban. It is also reversible, so it is basically two bags to suit your mood. Smart shape and clean lines allow for easy access, contemporary flair, yet practical.

Bring it to the office to carry those extra paperwork, or those miscellanueous you lug around that just wont fit into your gorgeous handbag. Why use boring paper bags when you can flaunt your personal style? Others will drool at this modern tote!

 

Dimensions: 12 .5” wide across the top of the bag and 9 .5” wide across the bottom x 14 .5” tall x 3” deep

 

Reversible Handbag size is also available:

15” wide across the top of the bag and 12” wide across the bottom x 8” tall x 3” deep

 

 Note: This bag is made from the Amy Butler Chelsea Bag design. Any orders will be custom made according to your fabric selection. Please allow 3-4 weeks for orders with imported fabric.

 

Click to enlarge:

Party Pouch

Reversible Party Pouch MYR 9.90

Having a party? Need a unique, hip and funky party bag for all the goodies? Search no more. Your very own custom party pouch, 1 pouch, 2 designs. Reversible, great for boys and girls.

Go Green! Minimize the use of plastic and paper. The bag is made of 100% cotton fabric and is very durable. It can withstand everyday wear and tear. Why waste on plastic or paper party packs when you will throw it out at the end of the day?

What’s not to like – a reversible, washable, reusable party pouch all in one. When you’re done with the party, simply use it to carry just about anything. Great for a quick diaper change too – simply stuff a diaper or two, some wet tissue, and you’re good to go. You could also use it to store those tiny miscellaneaous toys or stationaries lying about the house, use it as a quick getaway pouch for the market, or your little girl’s purse to store all her treasures and trinkets. The possibilities are endless!

You may request a different color theme for the pouch, and I will try to accomodate your requirements. Of course, you could also use your own fabric.

 

Dimensions:  H 10″ x W 9″ x D 3″

 

Enlarged views when you click on the picture:

1st birthday

Happy 1st birthday Mishel!

July 11th

My 2nd darling’s birthday. She’s 1 year old? So fast! Where did the time go? It felt just like yesterday we brought her back from the hospital.
We had a superb party at a hotel for hi-tea. Food was abundant and we totally stayed till 5! Worth every penny Cake was superb and simply too cute to cut into.

And the best of it all, I got to sew my very own party pouch!
Yeah that’s right.. During the planning, when I was surveying for that perfect party goodies bag, nothing suits and the price? I mean, I really could make a nicer, better ones than what they have on the market, and save some bucks. So why not? Friday night (yeah, ’tis was the night before the party!) I burnt the midnight oil and sew some party pouches for all my nieces and nephews (lucky me there aren’t too many of them!)

Here they are, all filled and good to go! Oh, did I mention they are reversible? Awesome huh? 1 pouch with 2 looks..Also, the pretty tie ribbon completes the look. 

 

So what’s inside? Let’s take a peek…

 

I totally forgot to put in the teddy bear chocolates I was keeping in the fridge! Oh well, more chocolates for big sis!

 

More details on the party pouch here

Smocking – Part 1

 

How to manually pleat checked/gingham/stripe garments

 

Pleating a fabric for smocking is a simple and quick task with a pleater machine. Although for checked, ginghams or stripes fabrics, machine pleating results in an uneven colored panel. For example, a pink and white striped fabric can either be pleated into all pink or all white panel for smocking. But with machine pleating, one cannot get such results. Hence, pleating manually is the only way to achieve beautiful and even panel.

Pleating these fabrics are not that complicated since the design of the fabric is already in checks. (For stripes, you would have to draw straight lines across the garment)

 

Preparation

1. Before beginning to pleat, choose a contrast colored thread, and make sure it is not in the color group of your smocking. You can easily identify this pleating thread to pull out later on.

2. The thread has to be the same length of the garment to be pleated, with an extra 4 inches on each side to hang loose.

3. Decide which color you want to appear as the background panel for your smocking. The way you pleat will determine which color as the background, so if you are unsure, try a few stitches first. The thread should go under on the part of the color you want. Confused? You will see what I’m trying to say in the next few steps. 

4. For this tutorial, I used a blue and white checked fabric, and chose to have a blue background as my smocking panel. Note the contrasting colored thread I used: orange.

 

Pleating

1. Starting 1cm from the top edge of your garment, stitch a straight running stitch (jelujur). Thread your needle through the first checks, making sure you thread under the color that you want. See picture. Each stitch should be about 2mm apart. The finer this gap is, the thinner your smocked panel will be, and neater.

2. Leave about 4inches of thread to hang loose on both sides. You will need this when you pull your pleats together to be blocked.

3. Continue stitching the length of your garment. Repeat for every row, gap between rows should be about 1cm or following the design of your garment.

 

4. Finished pleated garment ready to be blocked.

 

Stay tuned for Part 2 where I will explain about blocking your garment.

beadworks

raya raya raya…! time to get those beads to coordinate with all the new kebaya/ baju kurung.

I use to balk at the rate people charges to add beadworks to the clothes. I mean, they don’t look that hard to do, right? So one fine day, I went out to get some matching beads and without any basics on sewing beads (ever) mind you, started to sew away on my kebaya. Here’s my first ever try at beadworks some years ago. Not too shabby huh?

 It’s not that complicated, for those of you who wants to try. Start with a simple design. You just need a lot of time and patience    and it will definitely put a strain on those eyes, so good posture and lighting are essential. I definitely understand why some people charge  so much, and some overcharge, so go ahead and save a couple of bucks by sewing them yourself. Trust me, its not that hard!