Sew-sew

By Aneesah, 29 Aug 10

Hello again! Thanks very much for your kind words regarding the new domain and stuff. 😀 This post is a short-ish one (I’m practising, ok?) about a few crafty things I’ve been making… and then some. I’ll start by mentioning this new Facebook “fan” Page I made a few days ago, as a place to keep track of the arts- and crafts-things I’ve made over the years. Previously, it has all been at Flickr, but I’m not a Pro member there (which means the total number of photos in my gallery is limited — and yes I’ve had to delete photos before =/ ), and not many people I know have an account or browse Flickr regularly. I’m hoping that having a gallery on Facebook will make my works more reachable to non-crafty folks and general acquaintances.

I’ll mostly be posting photos of new handmade things there, and share crafty links or tutorials, etc. etc. I think what would also be cool is if people who own anything made in Aneesah’s Hideaway (ie. made by me ^_^ ) share their pics as fan photos. Two-way communication is good, yes?

I haven’t been very crafty during the holidays because… well, I’d like to blame work, but it’s just the general busy-ness and staying in a temporary room with half my stuff still in sealed boxes and working on less glamourous tasks like altering clothes. Mainly shortening jean legs and adjusting their waistbands. I have gotten into a habit of purchasing kids’ size jeans when they are on sale (I’m talking age 13-14 here, and a price range of about £7 – £12. I have always envied children’s clothing and footwear, but sadly my feet are quite average-sized for a 21-year-old), but even then the leg lengths sometimes still require adjusting. ^^; Also they tend to suit a child’s body (…well, duh? :suspicious: ) and usually the waist needs to be taken in a bit, or else I’ll have to wear a belt, which I dislike.

People like to say but I don’t know how to ___ when it comes to these DIY things, but really, all you need to do is Google. I confess myself a beginner in sewing garments, so a little online help would point in the right direction. There is a way to shorten trouser legs while retaining the original hem (that means the bit of existing stitching at the end of the leg), which I learned here. I did the waist here in a not-so-discreet way of adding darts (after shortening the waistband), but a neater (and more labourious) way of using the side seams is described here. I don’t mind the visible darts on mine because I usually wear longer shirts that hide even the back pockets of my jeans.

Since I’ve had a lot of jeans over these two years, I get to cut them up when I don’t want to (or can’t :X ) wear them anymore. Denim is a really nice material to make bags and pouches from since it’s sturdy and stiff and naturally pretty. These are a couple that I’ve made lately:

I have a couple more pouches to do for an order (one is a felt one — I haven’t worked in 100% felt in awhile :boogie: ) so hopefully I’ll be un-lazy enough for those. See, I do make things for people who ask for them (and accept payment if they generously offer 😉 ), but I can never have a deadline or set a time frame because I just don’t work that way. :shake: It becomes too uni-like or work-like and then I just don’t want to do it. :T

In other news, I was the recipient of a very cute elephant necklace made from melty beads (also known as pixellettes, hama beads, perler beads, and maybe several other terms). This was from beadbreath’s giveaway (another crafty Malaysian, w00t! :yay: ). I’ve dabbled in this craft before, but have never seen pieces done like beadbreath’s. It’s double-sided, and jointed, upping the cute factor. ^_^ And so I made a tulip and kitty cat, trying her technique. I hope you don’t mind, beadbreath, I don’t sell these things anyway. They are a fun simple activity for friends to do if they venture into my room. (I swear my friends are older than 12. 😆 Hey, who says adults can’t play anymore?)

The kitty has two joints, and I couldn’t resist making it do a little jig:

I’ve posted the keychain to a dear friend of mine, I hope she’s looking out for mail back home. ^^;

Till next time, peace! And Ramadhan mubarak!