T-Time

Little bag person

2011-07-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

I have been sewing some clothes and some ... bags.

I'll soon post the clothing items here also, but allow me to start with the smaller pieces.

A Super simple handbag with bamboo handles. Actually, sewing the handles was the most tricky part for me since this was my very first experience with pre-made handles like these.

The outer layer has a part with print fabric and a part with regular white cotton fabric. That's due to a shortage of the print material. (Found a small piece in the fabric shop and it wasnt big enough sadly)
Inside is dark blue and has a 14x16 cm pocket with a loop for a crab hook keychain holder. (For fastening our keychains to it to avoid them getting lost between the contents of the bag)

The second bag has handles that look a bit more familiar to most people. Since the smooth ones the previous bag had were a surprise to me also. I had only seen the second kind of round handles before.
This Bag is made of a thicker printed cotton with a flower motif and a light green cotton lining. Pockets the same as on the previous bag, but the depth of the bag is a bit bigger.

And the same bag while just made and empty

And from the remaining fabric I created this little bean shaped handbag. The inside has two 8x16 cm pockets with loops on both pockets. The bag strap is removable since i used simple crab hooks for attaching them to the bag. A small fabric flower brooch made of the lining fabric adds a bit of a lively touch to the bag. The piping that follows the contours of the bags front and back pieces is filled with a thin corset piping that has been folded in half and sown together to prevent it from unfolding.

I still have one more hoop bag in the works and I have fabric for a navy-white striped small bean bag prepared. :)

Second blog

2010-12-08T05:49:00.001-08:00

Hi all.

I have decided to make another blog. Which is focused on BJD/Dollfies. I just recently got one and I've made a few items for her already and I decided I wanted to share my doll adventures with others. But I dont want to cover this blog with doll stuff, so I made a separate one instead.

You can find the link to the blog on the link collection on the right. :)

Clothing lineup

2010-08-24T06:15:00.000-07:00

I have stocked up quite a pile of clothes that I havent shared with you yet. We managed to get out and take photos of most of them, but some are still waiting to be captured on a photo.

So. Without much chatter, let's begin.

First off a dress and a skirt made of the same fabric.
The fabric is very nice and cool. Perfect for hot summer days.

Next is a set of tops I made to test out a few patterns I had drawn to make a lolita dress+blouse set. The top layer has a shirred area on the back and an invisible zipper on the side.
This is the lower layer. It's made of thin cotton jersey and it's very soft. The pattern worked well for this piece, but on the final item, I had to leave some extra width to the pattern to make it fit.

Next is a dress I made for my graduation ceremony. I got the material from a teacher and I've still got a looot of it left.
I wore it with the black crop jacket I posted here a while ago (the one with the tutorial).

Next are the things I've made for my sister. The first two are tops I made for her to wear when she needed them.
This one is slightly influenced by punk style and a Korean drama heroine played by Rainie Yang. The material is thin cotton jersey in grey and purple.

Now, this is a set of a high waisted pencil skirt- that used to be high waisted pants- and a jacket. Soft and warm cotton fabric, lined with black polyester lining.

And last but not least, the final project of my school. A coat I designed with my sister.
The knit collar and sleeves are attached to the coat. The lining is a black viscose lining. Coat fabric is woollen with a hint of acrylic fibres.

As I mentioned, I still have a few pieces of clothing to show you and without no doubt, by the time I get to it, there will be even more.

Jewellery lineup

2010-04-03T03:51:00.000-07:00

I have been making some more simple earrings and necklaces. Mostly as presents or for myself for daily wear.

Photos have arrived!

2010-03-21T13:18:00.001-07:00

We finally got the photos from the fashion show~!
But they aren't that great =_= nyoron~

I'll share the group photos with you anyway.

Glam Rock is Back- musical instruments edition:The items I made for the musical team are:
Red dress
Red-white top, Jeans decoration with lace
Sparkly black mens bodysuit thing (no idea what to call that monster XD)
White latex double circle skirt and underskirt.
White Latex mens pants.

Glam Rock is Back - gold edition:The items I made for the Golden team are:
Golden leggings x 3
Pattern for the corset and skirt (far left)
Draped dress (second from right) and it's underskirt

There were a lot of things I would have wanted to make differently, but since we only had about one day per item. So we couldn't afford to concentrate on specifics much. I do not regret taking part of the show. It was interesting and made me think faster.

Other updates:

I got a place where I'll be working for a month~ Our school requires that the students spend a month working at a tailor atelier. Me and a classmate of mine decided to try our luck and apply to the atelier of The Estonian Opera house ( named 'Estonia') And we got accepted! I'm going to be working on female clothing and my buddy will be working on mens clothes. It's most likely that we'll only do fixing jobs or fittings, since they dont seem to have new costumes to make.
The work period starts on May 24-th, my 21-st birthday. I'm considering taking a cake along.

Arts and ceafts

2010-02-07T11:18:00.000-08:00

The fashion show we made clothes for was a few weeks ago. Things in class and outside have gotten slower. Funny thing is, I miss the hectic moments.

It was thrilling to make clothes for the fashion show. Yes, the fabrics they bought were not the best to work with (referring to white latex for a suit) And everything didnt turn out 100% like intended.... But. It was worth it. The show was a huge success. Clapping and screaming! It was as if the pressure had been lifted and everyone was just having a great time.

I've returned to working on my own set of clothes now. I'll have my sister pose in the costume (jacket + pants) once I finish it (hopefully the coming week). Now al I have to worry about is getting the material for her coat.

Unlike the sewing world, I havent been that active in drawing lately. I started one drawing yesterday out of.. um. boredom. Or was it inspiration.... naw. Boredom fits. You can have a little sneak peak at a few semi-finished details. Bet you cant guess what the picture looks like.

Last years doings

2010-01-07T09:42:00.000-08:00

Hello all.

I have been working on quite a number of things that I havent mentioned yet.

First, allow me to start off with the older happenings.
I joined a LARP (live action role play) game that one of my classmates arranged. It was my first, and even though I could barely understand what was going on (because the language they used was Russian, and I'm not too good at that language) I had a really good time.

The theme was Warhammer 40k, setting- spacecraft, that got a sos signal. I could tell you what went on briefly, but it might not interest you, so I'll spare you and just show you what costume I had made for myself.
My role was an Eldar Bonesinger a craftsman/technician

The next thing that happened was that we got a huge order of clothes for a fashion show. We only have about 3 weeks to finish about 40 sets of clothing. I personally am responsible for 10 sets of clothes. I'll have some photos to share soon.

And lastly, Christmas!
I made necklaces as presents to my best friends/ the classmates I like best XD

And two necklaces for my aunt.

I'll try my best to keep you all informed about my doings and hopefully I'll have some tutorials to share again soon.
Happy New year to you all!

The Infinity gown

2009-10-22T10:00:00.001-07:00

I saw an infinity gown on Crafster.org and felt like it was a wonderful piece of clothing. I didnt have a need for one at the time though, so I quickly forgot about it.

But then! Dun dun dun daa~
My older sister said she needed a gown for a school dance. The one she had before was too narrow for dancing the waltz. At first she was going to wear parts of my/my twins rococoo costume but then I remembered that the Infinity gown was rather interesting, so I looked it up.

Once I knew what goes where and how, it was easy to convince my sister to allow me to make it for her. Got the cloth (3,6 m of quite heavy jersey like material - made of polyester ) and made the dress in a few hours (thinking time and dinner in between haha ). I tried it on and I must say, it's unbelievably comfortable to wear! No fear of it falling off or anything of the sort.

So I took it to class today to show my teacher and classmates. They were quite surprised! It just showed them how easy it is to make a gorgeous dress in less than a day. My teacher was glad I shared the dress with her and the others since they hadnt heard of it before.

Now to finish my mothers party clothes - a capelet with a hood and a mask. The next post will most likely be of them. Or some other fun things. >D

How to: Little black jacket pattern

2009-10-13T06:01:00.001-07:00

How to make a pattern for a little jacket aka a shrug.

1. Get a basic blouse pattern - preferably made after your own measurements, but you can use one from a pattern sheet that you know that it will fit you.

This is what a basic blouse pattern looks like.

2. Marking down the shape.

For this piece of clothing you only need the upper part of the blouse pattern. Trace the needed lines over to a new sheet of paper if you dont want to cut up the paper the pattern is on.

You can shape the front of the jacket as you wish. You can make it close with buttons, hooks, a zipper or any other method you can come up with.

3. Transferring and erasing of darts.

There are three methods to get rid of darts:
1 - cut in to the paper in a straight line, aiming for the tip of the dart. Fold the dart closed (lines must go onto of each other) This will move the dart, however you still have to sew it. Example seen on the back.
2 - I cut a small slit in towards the dart on the front piece and folded the dart closed again. In this case we dont sew the small dart left on the lower edge of the jacket.
3 - This method is useful for getting rid of darts that are in the middle of a piece. You care allowed to "move" the dart to the back seam or the side seam.

Below is the finished product of the dart moving.

Now the body of the jacket is ready.

4. Making the collar.

Measure the neckline (on the paper or on the finished jacket body). Remember to only measure half of the WHOLE neckline.

Making the collar starts with 3 lines. 1 horizontal which is the measure you just got from the neckline. And 2 vertical lines in 90* angle to the horizontal line. Mark down the middle of the horizontal line ( that's 1/4-th of the whole collar).
Next choose the height of the collar (1) and pull the next horizontal line.
Then choose how much the collar will curve (2). Mark down the amount and connect the point with the centre point of the collar pattern. Make the line smooth. Draw a second line above that as before (make sure the collar stays even in width. Unless you want an asymmetrical collar )
Then connect the two lines. And you're done with the collar~

You can bend the collar downwards for a collar that holds away from your neck \ / <- like this.

5. Making the sleeve pattern.

First measure the arm hole and the arm hole width on the pattern. Mark them down.
Draw a vertical line and start drawing horizontal lines on it. The vertical line should divide the horizontal lines in half. You can start off by making a full-sized sleeve at first and then when the pattern is done you can chop it off to a 3/4 or a smaller sleeve.

Connect the points marked on the horizontal lines in the following way:

For the curve of the sleeve shoulder part, follow these measurements and guidelines.
A good tip for marking down which way the sleeve is to be sewn on - clip(only a little bit) the seam allowance of the sleeves at the part where the 3 cm vertical line meets the curve (on the left part of the sleeve pattern).

6. The pattern is now finished and you can cut out the cloth details.

Dont forget seam allowance!

Details you'll need:
2 x front piece
2X back piece OR 1 x back piece ( no back seam and no slit)
2X collar piece
2 X sleeves

And now you can start sewing!

I hope this tutorial was helpful. I will answer all questions you might have.
I'd love to see what you make, so drop me a comment or two if you do.

Leather - enemy of fingers

2009-08-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

Today I worked with leather again after a loooong time - last time being when I was in 6-th grade or even earlier.

So I took the leather leftovers I got from my aunt and pondered what I could possibly make of them. Took some thread and started to randomly embroider on one piece and inspiration struck!

This is a choker necklace~
The flower motif is hand embroidered on the leather. ( it has 5 transparent white seed beads on it)
I lined the leather part with black cotton (to avoid getting black splotches on the skin around the area)
Chain for the closure is hand twisted with black seed beads.

Materials: Leather, cotton cloth, wire, thread, seed beads..

Aftermath:
Fingers: ouch
Necklace: pretty!

Rococo cream

2009-08-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

The Rococo costume I started for the 11-th of July got mostly done on time, but once I had some more time I made a few modifications to the top layer of the ensemble.

The cloth is a nice off white-creamy colour. It has a pattern of darker beige flowers and shiny geometrical shapes alongside said flowers. The material is mostly cotton, so it breathes very well. The underskirt and 2 layers of the corset are made of a fabric that's 100% cotton.

The pattern was made by me from scratch. I googled for other similar costumes a lot in the process of making this costume. I mostly based it off Madam Pompadours pictures.

The under layer looks like this:
(click to make it bigger)

The petticoat isn't very big as one can see. The skirt doesn't look too poufy, but we thought it looked good enough as it was.

The model in the pictures is my twin sister Tiia.

Fair coming up

2009-06-29T03:26:00.000-07:00

Hey fellow blogers!

There is a fair kind of thing coming up in my home town Põltsamaa in july. It's in the castlejard and there will be a lot of stands set up with lots and lots of handicraft.

The style of the castle was rococo, so the outfit my mom wears in the museum is kind of in that style (It's not too accurate ^^; ). But now I'm actually trying to make a relatively accurate dress for my twin sister. I wanted to make one for myself at first, but she wanted one too, so she comes first.

Right now I'm working on making the corset.

Days left until the fair: 11

How to make a High-waist corset skirt

2009-06-02T05:48:00.000-07:00

In this tutorial you will learn how to make the pattern and how to sew together a skirt similar to the one below.

You will need
-measuring tape
-paper (the bigger the better)
-pencil
-eraser
-ruler (as long as possible)
-cloth
-thread
-pins/needles
-corset boning - if possible the kind you can actually sew on the cloth.
-eyelets
-invisible zipper
-fusible interfacing
-ribbon, lace etc for finishing touches
-sewing machine

Taking the needed measures:

A - waist
B - hip
C - under bust
D - distance from the waistline to the hip-line (it's usually around 18-20 cm / 7,1 - 7,9 in depending on the person)
E - distance from the hip-line to the desired skirt length.
F - distance between the waistline and the under bust-line (desired height)

Making the pattern

Start off by creating a box system like you can see in the image below.
The distance from point 1 to point 2 is half of your HIP measure ( let's say mine is 95 cm - the distance from 1 to 2 is 47,5 cm for me then). Mark down a center point in-between - this is the side line (line going down your side). The distance from point 1 to point 3 is the length of the skirt from the waistline down (D+E)
The line going down straight from point 1 is the front folding line (front half center line) and the line below point nr 2 is the back folding line.
(Sorry for the mistake earlier! Thank you Sara for pointing that out! )

Line nr 4 is the hip line. The distance between the hip and the waist line was D. The line nr 5 is exactly in the middle of the two lines. It's not necessary, just helps with the hip line drawing later.

Next we'll draw out the hip curve. From the middle line measure the given distance to both sides.

Now draw a curved line from the bottom point (on the hip-line) to the points you marked previously. Make sure the curves are exactly the same. This line will make the skirt hug your hips naturally - you might have to check the curve in a fitting though.

To make the skirt hold against your figure better even more, add small darts to the front and the back of the skirt. The width of the darts can be calculated from the waist and hip measurements with ease. For example, when the waist is 70 cm, hips - 95 cm it goes like this: 95 - 70 = 25 / 2 = 12,5 - (2x4)= 4,5 this means you have 4,5 cm to use for the darts. I'll divide it in half so, 2,25 for the front and 2,25 for the back. The length of the darts on the front side of the skirt is half of D, while the length of the darts on the back is ½D+ 5 cm/2 in. The distances of the darts:
- on the front piece from the front center line towards the hip curve waist /6 (ex: 70 cm/6=11,6 cm)
- on the back piece from the back center line towards the hip curve waist /10 (ex: 70 cm/10=7 cm)

Now you have your basic skirt pattern all ready. If you wish, you can save it for later use and make a copy of it to continue making the high-waist skirt.

To make the waistline come up, draw a new line above the already finished pattern. The distance from point 1 to point 6 is F

Now find out how much you need to take in from the bust-line. C-A = 76 cm - 70 cm= 6 cm / 2 = 3 cm. This means I can take in 3 cm with the dart tips. you can use the most of this on the vertical hip line. Now connect the points and finish the patterns darts.

Now you can draw out the shape of the corset part. You can make it angular like mine or you can make it straight or oval. You can be creative at this point. Extend the middle line of the dart in the front so that it reaches the corset bottom line.
NB! At this point, you can still move around the darts. If you want them to be placed differently now is the time to move them.

Now once you've finished the pattern and all firs (remeasure many times to avoid mistakes) you can cut out the patterns. To make the skirts bottom part wide and flowy, cut it to strips while leaving a tiny bit uncut at the top. Later I'll show what to do with them.

Ok so the bottom part of the skirt is to be placed on cloth like this: the cloth folded in half and the folding line and the front/back center lines aligned. Now start placing the strips of the pattern apart while you make sure that the distances between each strip are about the same. Once that's done draw the new bottom line on the cloth. You can add a bit more width to the skirt by adding a bit more to the side, but you dont have to.

Option 2: for a folded or gathered skirt, cut the strips apart completely and place them apart according to the size of the folds or the amount of gathering.

Okay. Now to place all the pattern pieces on the cloth. You can choose how you want to fold the cloth but make sure that the parts- where the center lines are - are neatly aligned with the cloths folding line. Otherwise you'll have 2 pieces of fabric instead of 1 later. The corset will be 2 layered thus we'll need to cut out twice as many details for it. You can use a different cloth for it, even lining if you want to( but for now le's pretend you're using the same material). Try to save as much cloth as you can, you'll need a few more pieces later. Use chalk to mark down the outlines of the pattern pieces.
!!! Dont forget the seam allowance!
Mark down the waistline spot on the cloth for easier assembly!

Naming your pattern pieces is a good idea. You'll be able to tell them apart that way later.

Getting ready for the first fitting!

Now take one set of the corset details and apply fusible interfacing on it to make it a bit more sturdy. This will be your inner layer where you'll sew the boning on later.

Sew one set of the corset details together with mildly strong thread - by hand along the chalk lines. Once the corset part is all together (leave one side open where the hidden zipper will be later) sew together the two bottom parts of the skirt the same way.. Next attach the corset part to the bottom and try it on. Fasten the one open side with pins while you're wearing it. If you cant get it to close, then you have to take it all apart and stitch it all together again, leaving less seam allowance (thus giving more width to the details).
Once all fits separate the bottom from the corset part and you can begin sewing the bottom parts together. Leave space for the zipper!
If you made changes to the pattern of the corset part in the fitting, make sure you transfer the changes to the other set of details as well.

Sewing the corset part:

Sew one set together at a time starting with the inner set (the one with the fusible interfacing). Make sure the seams are straight and follow the pattern outline (or the new outline you made after the fitting). It's important to know which pieces are supposed to be sewn together.
Once the two sets are all ready take the inner set and your corset boning. Sew a strip of the boning on each seam, making sure to leave some space between the chalk line and the boning so that the seam allowance has a place to fit to later. It's good to fasten the boning with two lines of stitches ( | | ).

Before you begin sewing the outer set, cut out 2 strips from the fabric and apply fusible interfacing on it. The measurements according to the length of the corset and the size of the eyelets. The width of my eyelets is 0,4 cm / 0,2 in, the width of the strip of cloth I cut out was 4 cm/ 1,6 in.
1 - strip folded half, right sides inside, sewn from the top and bottom.
2 - strip turned right side out, pressed, seam allowance line marked on the strip.

The strip is to be sewn between two front (or back, depending on your skirts design...) details so, that there is room for the eyelets to be fastened later.
Finish sewing together the outer corset details. Make sure you leave the right seam open for the zipper! Check by placing the layers on top of each-other wrong sides facing.

Next we sew the inner and outer layer together at the top. Place them so that their right sides are facing. Align the seams and pin them down. Sew together by hand first, then by machine.

Then place the outer layer on top of the skirts bottom part. Make the side seams align, the front central lines likewise. Pin, sew and press the seam allowance up towards the corset.

Take the invisible zipper (How to sew an invisible zipper) and sew it on the outer layer and the skirts lower part, leaving the inner layer unattached.

Once that's done, fasten the inner layer on the zipper fabric and the outer layers seam allowance so, that the zipper can open and close freely while the upper corners look clean.

The last sewing step for now is the fastening of the inner layer to the corsets and the skirt parts seam. Turn the seam allowance in, stitch the layer in place by hand so, that there is at least 0,2 cm / o,1 in cloth over the seam line. From the right side of the skirt, sew along the seam thus fastening the inner layer permanently to the corset.

You can do almost anything you wish to the bottom hem of the skirt. You can add lace, strips of other cloth, ribbons, beads etc.

Once the hem's ready, fasten the eyelets and weave the ribbon through them.
The skirt it ready to be worn!

Thank you for reading!
I would love to see what you make with this!

The making - Green Tartan bag

2009-05-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

I've been hiding a pile of photos of the making of my green tartan bag for a while now. But now I guess it's time to share!

So here goes! ( forgive me for the bad quality of the photos)

Laid down the basic pattern for the bag. Mainly rectangles of different sizes.

and cut 'em out.

Next I marked down a design for the front of the bag. Tartan style as the name says. Tried out the pattern on a smaller piece.

And finished the tartan pattern!

Then I made 2 seams along the folding lines on the bottom of the bag. Filled the small 'tubes' with thread... You can use something more sturdy for that though. Wire perhaps.

Next I made a smaller pocket for the backside of the bag - a nice and practical addition to any bag. The zipper is covered so it wont rub off layers of my pants as I walk.

The inside is a black lining material.

And this is what it looks like from the inside. Dont worry, you wont be able to see it later on.

I attached the side panels and begun sewing on the black bag strap. I also fastened the bottom halves of the clasps.

On the top of the side panels I attached these plastic parts that make it possible to sew on the rest of the bag strap later. You dont need to have them, but I thought that it looks better and more sophisticated.

Next I made the inner lining bag. Also black.

Nice and spacious.

Now I made the closure for the inner bag. It's also a zipper and it's covered with the main material just like I covered the zipper on the back of the bag. The green part covers up the bags inside and also helps to keep it in shape when it's not as full as it can be.

And the zipper opened a little:

Connected pieces here and there.

Almost done! I attached the bag lining and the closure as you can see, cleaned up the borders of the bag and attached a second layer of the green material to the bag front piece, covering up the machine embroidery I had made earlier. I fastened the upper parts of the bag clasps before putting it on it though.

Everything is checked, all fits. Time for the last stitches.

And after a while of sitting behind the sewing machine, the bag is ready for use.

That's all! Thanks for reading!

Crafting continues and not

2009-05-25T08:11:00.000-07:00

Hey again!

First things first.
Yesterday (may 24-th) was my and my twin sisters 20th birthday! Yey for us!

On to crafting~

I've made some sets of jewellery lately.

A Red currant themed set (click to enlarge)

And a silver star set

I also finished the green tartan bag!

There are still more things I've made in the meantime. Like a vest and a short shoulder jacket/shrug. And a black petticoat out of lining.

I still havent made anything with the cloth we bought last time. But two identical summer dresses are in planning for now, so keep your eyes open~

Aside crafting I've been writing and drawing.

At the moment I cant share the writing with you unless you mail and ask me to show it to you. I dont want people to lurk - I like to know what they think of it.

As for the drawings... Just head on to my deviantart gallery to view works like:

Schoolwork and supplies

2009-04-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

Hello all Blogger people!

Lately We've had quite a lot of work to do in class. There was a HUGE order from a group of flamenco dancers asking us to make them three kinds of skirts.

1 - Black stretch fabric - fish tail design image found here. It was quite easy to make. Only had to stitch it together, do a fitting and then sew it together with a 4-thread overlock. Sewing the hidden zipper was the easiest on this skirt. The bottom hem was made with a domestic overlock while we stretched the fabric a little making it ruffle a little.

2 - Black Lace fabric - With a pattern similar to this the second skirt was nearly as easy to make as the first one. The zipper sewing was a tricky task since the sewing machine didnt want to drag the lace forward while sewing. We placed paper between the lace and the 'teeth' of the sewing machine and it worked quite good!

3 - Green velvet fabric - This is bound to be the trickiest. The material is super stretchy and sewing the zipper will surely be difficult. I saw how one of my classmates struggled with it earlier. Gotta be prepared for the worst. This skirt has inserted godet parts (like medium sectors )

Aside from the skirts we have other commissions also.
I got an order from an older lady who wanted a shirt and a set of a summer shirt and skirt.
The first shirt is nearly ready, only the collar is left to be attached. The shirt and skirt combo is awaiting its fitting. I'll show images at an other time.

And about the promised supplies!

We went to plunder one of the local fabric shops last Tuesday. We bought a lot of cloth. Well. Reasonably lot.
We bought cloth to make us matching shirts (silk-like material), bathing suits (Some stretchy material I can't name at the moment) and jackets or some other clothing items (cotton). We haven't decided yet.

I also got the last few details I needed for the green tartan bag project. I can really start working on it soon!

As other supplies.. Well.
A long time ago Tiia (my twin sister) bought me some clay like substance so that I could practice doll making a bit. The truth is that I'm a huge Dollfie fan ^////^ and being poor and creative as I am I wanted to make one myself.
Tonight I had a nice lil 'rehearsal' with the materials provided by my very lovely sister. (Who also wants me to make one hur hur ) The result.. Well. You'll see some day when I get a few pictures of it. All I can say is that it's not bad considering I've only made heads twice before ( and those were terrible heads).

Peace out! That's all from me for now!
-blinds away-

Huge bag project

2009-03-24T22:56:00.000-07:00

Big green tartan bag - project start.

I've been wanting a big bag that would be able to accommodate my laptop and my sketchbooks. But there arent any I like in the shops and I dont intend to waste hundreds and hundreds of EEK (Estonian currency) on one that I dont like that much.

I have the cloth, it's green like on the picture. Got it with some other cloth for only 15 EEK. Which is super cheap!

The bag design:

-The front: embroidered in a tartan pattern with a black wider border to accentuate the shape of the front piece. This is made out of two layers of the green cloth for extra stiffness.

-The body: is two(?) layered, plain green without an embroidered pattern. Will add plastic to keep the shape and to add strength.

-The inside: black thin fabric.

More to come.

2009-03-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

The making of Gatorbag

Well, here begins our very first crafting project.

I made myself a 'gatorbag' in September (or October~ ) And now on Thursday (yesterday) a classmate of mine asked me to make her a black version of mine. So. I accepted and decided to record the making process in photos. To show everyone it's not as difficult as it seems.

First We need a pattern. Sketch down the rough design on cheap paper. Go wild if you have to.

Since I already have made one before, I have an example of the finished product, which is this:

A sexy beast, no?

The most important part of the pattern making is to make the head area big enough to fit into the bag clasps. If it's too big, well. It wont fit. And if it's too small, it's not gonna reach into the clasp sides.

Next thing one has to do is to cut the pattern open.
Before you cut it open to strips, make a copy of the whole body. It's to be named the BELLY.
Then cut the first one into strips. If you fold the body in half and cut the strips then, it can help you to make the strips exactly the same.
Make sure you'll be able to tell what is what later on. Name the strips.

Now we take out the materials. I'm going all black with this one. Cloth for the outside, the inside and thread for sewing it all together.

Place the patterns on the outside cloth. Mark down their outline with chalk and also add 1 cm more around the whole pieces.

Then cut them out along the outside lines. The material under the smallest strips is two layered. so while you cut out once, you get two pieces instead of one.

Now to make the zigzags on it's back, we need to measure the length of the gaps between the strips. In my case, the spine is 14,2 cm and the other line is 15 cm.

On a clean paper (the cheap kind of paper again ) mark down the lengths of the zigzags and with a ruler draw them on the paper. The triangles should get smaller as they near the end of the gatorbag/ the tail tip.

When you're ready, cut out the zigzag patterns.

Place them on the cloth, trace with chalk. Remember, you need to have two layers of cloth for each zigzag line. Don't bother cutting the cloth smaller right now. You can do it when you've finished sewing the zigzags.

When you're sewing the zigzag things first sew one line, and when you get to the tip, halt the machine and make sure the needle is in the cloth. Then raise the presser foot and turn the cloth to the new direction. Make each seam straight!

Tada~ One done. Now finish the rest.

When you're done, you can cut out the excess cloth. Leave some spare along the seams so that it wont rip when you try to turn it inside out. And make small slits in the places, where I made the red marks. Dont cut the thread though!

Turn it inside out!

You can get the tips to come out when you fiddle in it with a needle. (See, the first gatorbag keeps his eye on things... sharp fellow)

Alright, let's continue with the joining of the body. place the zigzag thing on the right side of the side strip. Fasten it with some stitches.

Now add the spine strip on it with the right side down. Make sure the lines you made after the paper pattern line up.

This is what it's inside looks like right now.

Sew the pieces together along the line.

Now you can look at the other side a bit better. (old gator is there again. I think he's up to something)

When you want to connect the two side-spine pieces along the spine line, make sure there are no other pieces in the way. Place the zigzag thing between the two bigger pieces just like you did while making them.

Sew them together and there you have it, most of the upper side of the gator bag is done.

Trim the excess cloth from the underside.

Now to attach the head. Make sure the outlines you made with the chalk are visible.

Stitch it together along the line. And then sew it through along the line on the sewing machine.

Embroider the eyes when done.

Next you have to join together the back and the belly. Only sew together the parts below the head. So that the bag clasps have a place to go to.

Turn it inside out for a bit to inspect what you've made.

Then we take the cloth meant for the inside layer. Again, only sew to the part where the head area begins. And leave an opening for later ( on the tail somewhere) so that we can turn it outside out again.

Sew the inside layer together and trim the excess cloth.

Then we place the head pieces together like this:

Both layers are inside out.

Then through the hole you left in the tail you can turn it outside out again. Then you close the hole in the tail. I stitched the two layers together temporarily to make sure I can sew it so that it will stay in place.

Removed the white thread and inserted the gator into the bag clasps.

Here she is showing off her shiny mouth, ready to snap on my fingers ;;T AT

And a shot from the top.

And there. We're done.

I hope you enjoyed this. Leave me a note or mail me when you make your own!

Miku Miku Hatsune~

2009-03-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

In Deviantart, to celebrate the acquiring of my 3000-th page view, I promised to draw whoever got the said page view anything they would like me to draw.

The person to get the 3000-th and the 4000-th pageview was Dan (blog Kaheksateist).

After torturing him to decide what he wanted me to draw for him, he chose Miku Hatsune, the teal Vocaloid.

So I've been working on the image a little. The image doesnt really have the feel I wanted it to have, but it can still change.

The current state of the image is this:

Phase 1B

Phase 1 C

Fixed the placement of the facial features. The most important part of a drawing of someone is the face. If the face looks off, the image will be looked at differently.

That's all about what I've been up to drawing wise. ( Though I do have a lot more things in the works... )

T-Time aka Tea-time

2009-01-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

I have decided to change the aim of this blog a little. And it's name.

From today on, I'll post small projects in every post. Stuff like how to make something cute out of left over crafting supplies or anything one could find at home and my drawing projects (ones that dont want to get ready in one go).

I'll hopefully be able to bring the first project to you soon.

Til the next time!
Lots of love,

Tea

It's been a month

2008-10-02T08:09:00.000-07:00

I have been learning to become a tailor for a whole month now.

I am really enjoying it!
We havent made anything specific as of yet. Just practicing and learning about different stuff in mini format.

I sometimes get to help the others out. I dont know why they ask for my help lol. It's as if I have a natural talent at this. huhuhuuu...

On another note.

I have gotten myself a job. I dont get paid but it is... fun~
I make pixel items for an online forum community similar to gaiaonline. It's called Crysandria.com . It is still pretty new, but I am sure it will be big!

If you join or are a member already, look me up, I'm Tea there~

This is all for now. Gotta keep on working!

Forgotten words...

2008-08-13T02:19:00.000-07:00

There are a few things I've forgotten to write about.

Let's begin from the oldest.

The school art contest and what became of it.

As I already told you, I got the first place in my age group.
I waited for an award or some kind of acknowledgment until the day of our graduation. I almost knew they were going to add the "huhu she won this contest" part to the person description speech they had made for me.
So. I waited. And waited.
My name was called out last from my class! What a shocker!
I dont remember the exact words they used and so on, but my description sounded something like this:
Headmaster: "(...some part missing...) The winner of this years art contest in the high school level. And a good helper of their homeroom teacher. Tea Tänav"
Student representation: "Tea is the artist in our class. The different things her hands can make can never be counted. Name a language and she speaks it. (...some parts missing...)"

And then I got my diploma and a calendar of the winning pictures in the art contest.
Oh joy, mine was not even in it. I was quite disappointed.

On to an other topic.

The big painting like thing with the faces cut out.
The art school teacher wanted me to continue painting it. But I really really didnt know what she wanted. huhuu. So I played stupid and let her do it. Bad choice! I think.
She pulled some dark and messy lines to the hair and to some of the clothes. It looks very different now.

I cant say it is my work anymore, because well.. I wouldn't have made it like this. It got ruined even before the event it was made for. So yeah. I dont like it.

What kind of cheers me up in this point is that the tourists have a lot of fun posing behind it.
I worked at the art shop that has it in front of it's front door. Of course I had to drag it out of a small door every day. the building - cold; visitors - many; buyers- a few.
All together. I will never go work there again unless I'm their last hope!

New aim

2008-08-13T02:10:00.000-07:00

I have found a new "calling" school wise.

I've applied to a school where I am going to learn how to become a tailor. In the next two years, I'm going to learn about sewing different things.

This is actually something I've been interested in for a long time. I love making things for myself so knowing how to make some more complex things is really good.
Wish me luck.

On an other note.

I've almost finished re-writing the first 10 parts of my story "The return of Hope" (Lame name, I know). It has changed tremendously! And to the better I hope!

I really enjoy pouring all my imagination into writing it. Sadly I cant write and draw at the same time, so unfortunately there is not much new to be found in my art gallery.

I've been crafting

2008-07-18T00:59:00.000-07:00

I have been crafting quite a lot recently... or something along those lines. I think it's a lot to me at least. I still have a few things unfinished, but I'm working on them ^_^

I've made 10 mobile phone straps/decorations and put them up for sale in a museum in our town. So far, all the red and green apples have been bought. >=D It's going pretty good.. But not as fast as I had hoped. Maybe it's because there are so few to choose from.. or the location is bad.

Either way. I should make more soon, because a large horde of people is coming to the museum some time soon. I know this because I've been asked to work on the large picture thing I talked about in the previous post.

Aside all that I'm sewing some things for myself. So that I could go out with a complete schoolgirl outfit. I cant wait to have it all done! <<; But I'm taking it slow cause I am not sure I'm doing everything right. hehee... Anyways. I'll make sure to show the outfit off here. That's all for now!

failure...

2008-07-15T03:36:00.000-07:00

It happened a while ago but I haven't gotten to write about it yet.

What I'm talking about is what happened when I applied to an art school.
Long story short - I didn't get in. It was entirely my fault and I feel very stupid because of that.

Now I have to wait until next year to apply again. I an hoping to learn a lot during this year, so that I could be sure of getting into that school. One can dream, right?

Anyways, I have to look for a job now. Not an easy task.

End project

2008-07-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

The big painting project has finally ended! I hope... <<;

It took me many days to make this and it was pretty much rushed. I don't like it too much the way it is now. But oh well.

The process was slow and tedious at least. We didn't use normal paint since... well... the person who made me make it didn't want to waste her good paint on that. So we mixed some glue with some color pigments and got this paint that started to bubble when you added water to it and painted using that mixture X'D On one day, the person behind the plan made 2 of her students help out. It was a disaster! One rubbed a bit of the paint completely off, the other messed up a dress by making folds on the corset, drawing spots and some really weird lines all over it. Fortunately, Tiia saved it... as much as possible~

To see pictures of the making process, click here.

as promised...

2008-06-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

As I promised yesterday, I am going to share some images of the big project I'm working on with you all.

It is quite big, the figures on the middle part are actually life sized!

The last thing we did was making a supportive frame for the slabs of plywood along with legs, to keep them at the right height.

Also we added the first coat of paint. I is promising to become a quite time-consuming thing. Especially since it has to be ready by the 5-th of July.

A bit more about the image:
The middle part has a royal family on it. The style is rococo, so the dresses and hairstyles are going to be huge and detailed... Though I don't know if we'll manage to make them as awesome as I would like to make them. On the side panels, we decided to put some less important people.

Here's a better image of the people in the middle

On an other note...

I have received a commission from a fellow Estonian. The subject is a young male band member. The picture is going to his girlfriend, so I have to make it a pretty one!
I begun drawing it today and hopefully it will turn out fairly gorgeous~

Graduated!!

2008-06-23T16:08:00.000-07:00

Me, my twin sister and also my older sister graduated this past weekend.

Here is a photo of us.
Tiia, my twin, on the left, me in the middle and my older sister on the right.
Photo was taken at our grandmothers farm.

The white dresses were bought, but I had to make us the shrugs since bare shoulders were a no-no at the ceremony. It was quite astonishing, how easy the process was!

Our father came to the graduation ceremony and a little party we had after it all. I really hope he had fun here!

He, I may brag, is a blacksmith! And a darn good one at that! I was really impressed by his work! He brought us an iron rose that he himself had made.

Now that school is over, we're going to work and doing things we couldn't do during school. I have received a task to paint a big picture with a art teacher. It is not going too fast. I fear we might not make it in time.
I'll post some photos of it next time.

All over

2008-06-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

It's official, I have finished all my exams for the final year of high school.
Now the only remaining question is if I passed them also.

I am most afraid of the results of the math exam I had today. I am really really afraid I did not do good enough.

I am pretty confident in the other exam results though, but I haven't looked them up yet. I shall do it tomorrow.

So, there is a bit more of nerve wrecking tension remaining until we graduate.

Idea overflow

2008-06-03T06:47:00.000-07:00

There is about 2 more weeks left until my last exam and that means I have to be careful and learn as much as I can, but... I just cant keep away from the computer. Either it's drawing, chatting or writing, I always enjoy it more than reading the textbooks.

I have gotten so many fun ideas of things I want to make but while I whine about having no time to make them I wast precious studying time. I must be a real genius.

I'll hopefully get a chance to satisfy my crafting and drawing and writing needs soon.

Other than that, I am really proud of a classmate of mine. She is a really good writer! I have been given the chance to read her newest work and I must say it is amazing! She is such an inspiration that I started to want to write again.

I wish her all the fame in the world!

Goal!?!

2008-05-13T08:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I asked my arts teacher about the school art contest I took part in and she told me that I could be sure of getting an award. I was so happy to hear that, because I really wanted to be remembered as the girl who won the first school drawing contest. At least I think it was the first one they have held. ^_^;;

But then she told me why I could be so sure. It was because there had been almost no other entries in my age group! I hate winning by default. That means the judges didn't have to think about what my drawing means, how good it actually is and so on and on. I want to win because I drew the best picture, not because I was one of the few people who actually sent something in.

At least she told me that my drawing was recognizable. "It was so you," she said. She knows I like to draw anime style pictures, but she told me to find my own drawing style. I know I have to, but I'm not quite there yet.

Let's run towards our goals with full speed!

..towards the goal...

2008-05-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

How I made .:Guarded Reading:.
Tutorial 2: Lineart to finished artwork

Step 1
Find a lineart to color. You can draw it yourself, or ask some one else to draw you the lineart and use that one. Stay away from stealing the lines! (but I guess when it's only for practicing, no artist would mind you using his or her lineart... only practicing means that it will never be put up online and you will not take credit for the whole image.)

The lineart I'm going to use is from the previous post/tutorial.

Step 2
Take a look at your reference picture (if you have one)

Now we start making the palette for the picture. Select different shades of the colors and organize them like you feel like.

This is my result. Not quite clean or anything fancy but helps to get the job done.

Step 3
Start filling in different colored areas. Each color on a different layer. If there are different items that are the same color, but next to each other, then it's better to draw them on different layers as well.
When filling in areas that are really light, use a darker color first and then recolor it to the lighter color. When using a darker shadow of the color of the area, you can see better, if you have missed any spots.

This is my picture with the skin colored in.

Step 4
Continue filling in the lineart until you're done.

Step 5

Let's start shading~

The brush you are going to use for the shading is quite important. If it doesn't give you the results you wish it did, try a new brush. ^^

These are the characteristics of the brush I use for shading (in photoshop 7.0.1)

Basically, it's a round brush, with a opacity that depends on the pressure of the tablet pen. I find it a very useful brush, since I only have to do a little color choosing myself. ^^

Ok, now for the shading process..Take the darkest shadow color and start marking down where the shadow should be at. Don't worry about being messy, we're going for a soft shading in this tutorial, so it will eventually be fixed anyway.

I also marked down some highlight areas. Looks quite ok now, doesn't it? During this step, you can try out different angles for the lighting. My current light source is in the top left corner of the image.
The feel of a picture depends greatly of the placement of the light source.

Step 6
Smoothing it out.... is quite a tedious process, but the hard work pays off!
The process goes like this:
1- use the darkest shadow color and mark down the shadow areas.
2- take a middle tone (between the darkest and the normal color) and start to make a sort of a blend.
3- take different shades of the colors and smoothen things out.
4 - add highlights and blend them in. (they're not very noticeable on my image, sorry^^; )

Step 7
Finish shading. My final result:

It looks a bit too.. hmm.. bright in some places, so we'll add more shadows.

Step 8
Add the additional shadow on a new layer above all color layers. Choose a random color that is not represented in the picture much (for it to be seen better...)

Draw the shadows in the places you think the shadow should be darker and more distinctive. I used purple for the job~

Step 9
Make the shadow look like a shadow. Put the layer into multiply mode and if you want, change the color of the shadows. I found the purple shadow quite fun, so I left my shadow purple. You may blur it in some places.

All you need to do now it to draw a background and you're done!
<<; I wont be teaching how to make backgrounds because I just randomly create mine and some even come by accident, so it's kind of difficult to make a step by step tutorial on that. My finished drawing:

Lets take one step at a time...

2008-05-08T02:31:00.000-07:00

I was feeling like drawing some more art for my friends from gaiaonline.com, so I started to draw. While I sketched in Open canvas 1.1, I constantly took screen shots of the progress (so that I could be sure I wouldn't be loosing that to a crashing program.. hehee...). So, I realized that this is a great opportunity to make a tutorial about how I draw.

Easier said then done! I am facing multiple hindrances right now. Firstly, I don't have my very own drawing style yet. And secondly, after getting the rough sketch done, I don't know what drawing technique to use for finishing the piece. Cell shading, soft cell shading, realistic coloring with no dark out lines.... the choices are limitless.
So, for now, I'll leave this a sketching tutorial and then, when I've finished the piece, I'll show you all how I did it. (aka I'll be posting this post with the current progress and then I'll add more later.) Sounds fair?
Also, if you want, leave me a comment and tell me what else I should show you. (tutorial wise... )

How I made .:Guarded Reading:.
Tutorial 1: blank paper to lineart

I used the program called Open canvas 1.1 for the whole sketching progress. The program is free to use and it is easy to use since it has only a few tools. (Leave a comment when you want me to share the program with you)
But you also are very welcome to use your own favorite drawing program or pencils and paper. I just chose open canvas because it seems faster on my computer.

Step 1
What are you drawing?
I asked my friend about her characters (the ones I'm about to sketch) and she told me that the older one reads a lot and the younger one acts like a guard. So, it seemed a good idea to draw them in such a situation: older one reading while sitting on the floor. One knee bent a bit more, one hand to support the body, the other to hold the open book. Face pointed towards the book. The younger one would be a bit more in the front area of the picture. Arms crossed, and a expression like "What do you need?" on his face.

A very good thing to do at this point is to imagine how you wish the picture would look like when finished. Don't worry much when it doesn't turn out like you wanted at first, the change might have been for the better.

Step 2
My drawing has 2 characters in it, but I always start by placing one of them on the picture first.
I draw a circle to mark down his head, then draw a curved line which represents the spine... and so on and on. I placed two bent rectangles on his lap to mark down the book, drew the jawline and a basic sketch for where I wanted his fingers to be at. The little round scribbles are representing his joints.

Since I planned for the other character to cover up his feet, I didn't draw them.

Step 3
Ok, with the main skeleton ready, we should start adding some flesh.

I first focused on his supportive arm and the fingers. When look at your own arm for a reference, you'll see, that it's wider in some places and narrower in other parts. Look at the elbow, it is marked down with one of those scribbly balls, I've drawn it as quite wide. And mind, that the wrist is kind of not smooth either. The little hand picture ->
...should help a bit. I am no good at fingers yet, but I think it is helpful to have the main bones marked down while drawing hands.

Step 4
Ok, now it's about time to place the other skeleton on the picture.

Say hello to the little cross armed chap! Please dont mind the fingers on him ^^; what a royal messup..
The one in the background got a neck (a cylinder that connects the collar bone and the scull...) and shoulders... ^^

Step 5
More flesh and details!

The older boy has demonic wings, so I added those. NB: wings attach to the back just below the shoulder blade.
I didnt bother much with the figure drawing on the kid, I just drew clothes on him as they should look like when he has them on. Little hints of folds here and there.
The older boys book holding hands elbow was too low, so I raised it a bit, added details to the book, gave him more clothes.

Step 6
Final details for the sketch.

The boys got a face, hair, ears, and clothing details. The older boys legs have been defined better.

Don't go too much into detail when sketching the hair and clothes, you can always make the details when you make the lineart.

When sketching, use one color, but when adding smaller details, use a smaller brush and a darker color, it helps to keep it visible.

Step 7
Now we'll begin with the lineart making process! First of all, we need to make our sketch as light as needed, so that you could see what you have made! (Drawing a new black line over dark gray does not show, believe me.)

Pink-ish~ ^^; Nice and light now, ok?
There are many ways for re-coloring your sketch. In open canvas, use an "add" layer, in photoshop, you can just use colorize or some other method you might think of.

For now, I've moved to photoshop (7.0.1).

Step 8
The actual line art making begins now!

I started at the face details. I thought that while you are feeling nice and fresh, it's easier to make them. ^^; Use a brush you feel that leaves a nice line. Dont worry about having to re-stroke parts of the lineart, nor should you be afraid of using the eraser tool to smoothen the lines.

Notice how I've moved one of the eyes on the right side of the picture? This is your chance now, you can still change your details while "inking".

Step 9
With a reliable, confident and un-cramped hand, draw the lines. Give it all a bit of a volume.

Don't let the picture overwhelm you, it can only get better! (...says the person who left the drawing for about half of the day, ironic much?)

Step 10
Let's focus on the fingers once more.
I felt they really really looked WRONG! hehee.. So, I started to reinvent them.

My first time using blocks to do something like that! But still.. don't let the new sketch tell you exactly what and how thick to draw. The block-fingers are way too thick looking right now, so I'll just have to draw them slimmer while making the actual lineart.

Now I decided that he needed to have something under his hand. And what would fit better than a book?

Now make the next lines! I also made the lines for the wings and the other book~

Step 11
Finish "inking" the rest of the body, clothes. This is what I had once I did that.

Some little folds here and there are what make the picture look like it well.. is something 3-d. I know everyone (almost) hates making folds, because they never turn out ok, but sometimes a little hint of a fold is good enough.

Step 12
Making hair!

I zoomed in to the face and started re-sketching the hair (different layer than the lineart layer). I used the same brush I use for making the lineart (less problems with getting back the right settings). Do it freely, imagine different layers of hair, the effects of wind, gravity... Not much detail needed yet.

Ok, then start making the lines on the lineart layer again. Some artists say that it's better to make the hair lineart on a separate layer from the other lines since cleaning up might be troublesome otherwise.

My finished lineart! <3
This is all for now. It still lacks color! (and the lineart for the other chap, but it's not that big of a problem. )
I'll be posting the coloring tutorial in the next post or so. This one is getting rather long.

Artistic

2008-05-07T03:10:00.000-07:00

I have been drawing quite a lot lately.
It feels really good!

Main amount of the drawings I've made are somehow related to gaiaonline and my friends there. ^^ I think it's cool to draw pictures for your friends. It gives them something to remember you by.

While drawing the picture I've added to this post, I tried out a new drawing style I've almost never used before. I might actually think that it looks great! >u<;;

I still cant draw proper butterflies XD!

Welcome~

2008-05-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

Good day!

This is my first post in this blog, I hope it wont be the last! (would be kind of silly, wouldn't it?)

So, I thought I'd mention some things about what one might expect to find here later on.

I write - I'm working on a story at the moment. It is unfinished, but already quite long.
I draw - I just love drawing! I'll post some of my drawings here and I'll also try to make some tutorials.
I craft - I mainly make jewelry, but I also sew, knit, crochet and of course cook.
I love anime! - I'll share my findings with you when I really see an anime I think everyone should see~

Ok. That's it for now. I hope you'll like this blog once it has gathered some more posts on it's bones.