Pages

Thursday 10 March 2011

Labels and Patterns and Feet Oh My!

Today i arrived home to find two very exciting items of post on my doormat...my new zipper foot, and also my very first set of personalised labels! Yes i realise i may be getting slightly ahead of myself here, as i have finished precisely one homemade item so far, but after admiring such labels on a number of other blogs, i took advice from Handmade Jane given in her excellent Craft Fair Tips post, and ordered myself a set from here at the bargainous price of £3.99 for 72. I cannot possibly imagine a time in the future where i will have made 72 handmade goodies, but you never know!

Here are my beautiful labels....


In retrospect perhaps pink was not the best colour choice, at least in this font, as they are quite difficult to read, but ah well i now know for next time :) The best bit is, they arrived in time for me to pop into my first homemade gifts, which are due to be delivered this weekend! It was very satisfying sewing one into my bag, although i think i may have underestimated the task at hand as it was surprisingly fiddly. Yet again my hand sewing let me down, but hopefully it will not notice too much!



I did have some problems with fraying of the ends which i am not sure how to solve...melting them perhaps? The proximity to fire scares me a little here though. I would welcome any tips!!

In other news, after encouragement from the lovely Marie i have started looking at dress patterns. It is quite shocking for me to admit that i do not currently own any clothing patterns at all, but this is something that i intend to rectify very soon. I am a little scared of venturing into the world of garment making, but i am hoping that i will be able to find something relatively simple to start me off and give me some confidence. The kind of thing i am looking for is what i would call a "sun dress", something strappy and with a full-ish skirt. I am planning a month in America this summer (excited is not the word!!), including time in California and Las Vegas, where it is going to be HOT!! My wardrobe is not built for this kind of weather, so i figured it would be nice to make some lightweight dresses that i could take with me. I think my favourite dress styles are from the 50s, with their flattering fitted bodices and slightly full skirts, so that is the kind of thing i am after. After browsing on eBay i say some nice patterns but have not committed to anything yet, as i am a little unsure about the sizing. I have heard that they are different to sizes we would use these days, so i think i need to check my measurements before buying anything! Any advice/recommendations would be gratefully received :)

Right, best get sewing....i have another present on the go which needs to be finished tonight (nothing like working to a tight deadline.....!!)

K x

6 comments:

  1. Lovely labels Kat! After hand sewing my very first one, I've opted for machine sewing thereafter! I just fold down the raw edges either side and machine right over them...it's much faster!

    I cannot wait for you to get stuck in to dressmaking, I think you'll love it! Definitely check the sizing with vintage patterns, you'll be at least a couple of sizes bigger than your actual size today. Sellers selling vintage patterns tend to always list a pattern's bust, waist and hip measurements - so you should be able to figure it out that way.

    Hope you get all your handmade gifts in time for the weekend ;o)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ooh lovely labels! I also machine my labels with the ends turned under. I can't seem to find an e-mail address on your blogger profile. Can you send me an e-mail please (my address is on my blogger profile) and I'll let you have some thoughts about pricing handmade goods. Hope you finished your present on time! x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Duh, just seen your e-mail address at the top of the page!!! Sorry about that, ignore my last comment! Will e-mail you soon. x

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Kat,
    I love the labels!The price seems very reasonable! Think I might get some myself! with regards to fraying you can get different products for that. I'm sure one of them was simply called stop fray. In an emergency some clear nailvarnish would do the job as long as the nailvarnish wasn't making direct contact with your skin as this could be scratchy.And yes I agree with Marie that machine sewing them is a whole lot easier.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Everyone, thank you for all your lovely comments. I can't beleive people are actually reading my blog!! I had much more success with my second attempt at handsewing in a label, but i definatly think that machine sewing is the way forward in future, thank you for the tips :)

    Marie - i can't wait to get stuck into dressmaking either, so many exciting possibilities!

    Jane - Thank so much for offering to share your tips on pricing, i look forward to your email :)

    I did managed to get two handmade gifts completed, still one to go but that doesn't need to be finished until next week really. A blog post about them to follow :) x

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lots of hand crafts are sold on and should have a care label attached if a garment, so thet the buyer knows how to wash the item
    We are helping many mums enter the self employed baby clothing market by supplying low cost care labels for the clothes. We will give advice on the materials and markings required for babies clothes and send you a sample pack of care labels printed to your design free of any charges. Just visit www.care-labels.co/free-care-labels-samples.html and get started on your new venture

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...