Sewing: Drawstring Goody Bag {Tutorial & Pattern}

I made this patchwork goody bag over the weekend after being inspired by the flag my daughter brought back from her school!!! Happy Birthday, Malaysia!!! 53rd Anniversary since Malaysia commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaya from British colonial rule, celebrated on today August 31. Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!!!! I love you… but, do you love us??? I believe a lot of Malaysians would like to know the answer.

I used 4 colors for the border which are also the colors of the Malaysian flag, red, yellow, blue and white. The center piece is an applique of a hibiscus, our national flower. You can make this for your own ….

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Crochet: Straw Sun Hat {Pattern}

Isn’t it summer hot and sunny? Some of you enjoy the sunbeam but I am not, too bad huh~~~ I need a sun hat to cover and protect my head and face… in fact, I need this all year round over here… lol!!!

This straw wide brim sun hat matches the straw beach bag perfectly (click the link to go to the tutorial on how to crochet the beach bag). Upon finishing the beach bag, I have to buy extra rafia (raffia) yarn to make this sun hat, love the finishing that the rafia yarn gave. The flower brooch on the hat is from the left over rafia yarn from this hat, and I also bought some green yarn to make the petal (pattern  and tutorial coming soon here).

The crochet technique is the same as those in straw beach bag, a 2 layer crochet by using the back loop and front loop of a stitch respectively for each layer. You may refer the tutorial on how to crochet it in the straw beach bag.

Get the crochet pattern after the jump. ….

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Crochet: Straw Beach Bag {Tutorial & Pattern}

This is a crochet straw beach bag (drawstring type) I designed and made with rafia yarn recently. The rafia yarn is thin and flat like plastic strips, softer than rafia twine. It is easy to crochet and the result is surprisingly soft and gentle to touch.

This shoulder bag is made by a double layer crochet technique. The 1st layer is single crochet (back loops only) from bottom to top, then you work upside down for the second layer, just slip stitch on the front loops for each and every stitch. As simple as that!

Remember to crochet 12 holes for the eyelets. Used a long fat white elastic band ( I bought it from hair accessories shop) and sew a fabric to the ends as the ribbon ties. The elastic drawstring closure is superbly convenient, now you don’t have to pull-to-tie and untie-to-release the bag when taking things in and out. Didn’t summer supposed to be easy and relax?

Get the crochet pattern and some how-to photos after the jump. ….

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Sewing: Puppy Plush Toy {Tutorial & Pattern}

I was fascinated over sewing a plush toy after had a great pleasure on making turtle pincushion sewing kit, piggy pillow and tiger softies. To keep the momentum going and trying out others free pattern, I searched around and found this little puppy plush toy in Woman’s Day (Get the free pattern & instructions here). This puppy is too cute to let go, so… a pair of them were born here, a male and a female puppy. I added a yellow tie for the male puppy. Aren’t they a lovely couple???

[Remark: There are also some other cool stuffs over in the Woman's Day sewing, crocheting & knitting categories. Go and dig them out!]

Also, I made and contributed 5 of the female puppies to a charity event to raise fund for the hearing impaired student in my country. I am glad to have some of them sold to help in raising the fund…. or fun?

As usual, here are my tutorial or pictorial but you must read the full print-out detail because my photos  ….

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Sewing: Note Book Cover {Tutorial & Pattern}

Let’s dressed-up your note book and personalized it to your taste with a new cover!!!!

I made mine after buying a cheap note book from the stationery shop! Why spend more on the cover that I will throw away upon finished up the whole book? I salvaged some left over fabrics from my stashes to sew it, which I can use it repeatedly, book after book. Look familiar? You are right! Those left over fabrics are from my trifold floral wallet project. Now, I have a set of matching wallet with a note book!!! What’s next, may be a bag? May be, thinking, thinking, planning, planning!!!

This pattern is for A5 size note book, if you have other sizes, don’t worry, you can still adapt to this pattern or you can make a non sew-up back cover with a strap for adjustment to suit different width. Read further for more info about how to sew this note book.

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Knitting Pattern: Vest For Children

Where has the time gone? Can’t believe that July is ending…..  Actually, I completed this vest for my son in May but only able post it up now… Pattern writing is not a simple task to me.

I used circular needles all the way for this knit. Firstly, I can save up a little time by not having to work on the side seams. Secondly, it is much comfortable to wear without the extra piece of seam at the sides. The shoulder seam is also an invisible type, where I didn’t bind-off upon finishing the shoulder. I just left all the stitches on the needle, and sew them up by weaving stitch to stitch by resembling a row of knit.

This free pattern is suitable for toddlers from age 2 to 5. I made it comfortable to wear, so that kids ….

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