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Walking the path to recovery one stitch at a time
Walking the path to recovery one stitch at a time
When a traumatic head injury left me concussed and depressed, art therapy and meditation were among the many forms of treatment that have helped me recover. Read more about my injury here
This page is a collection of projects I have made as I learned to use mindfulness and crafting to heal.
My second attempt at garment making, was mildly successful. This tank top was a simple project inspired by this video tutorial by Comical Creations. The process was simple to follow but the results were less than ideal. The main issue was the fit and the floppy - albeit gorgeous - neckline.
For this project, I also tried drafting a pattern for the very first time. I traced one of my existing tops on paper and then adjusted its length according to my preference. What I should have also adjusted is the arm holes, since arm holes on a tank top are much smaller than ones on a top with sleeves.
I was excited to put my brand new Accuquilt GO! fabric cutter to use for this project, modern Kufic calligraphy in patchwork.
Cutting out 260 1.5" squares was a breeze but piecing them together was a lot of work! I forgot how time consuming pixel designs are.
I tried a similar design again, this time varying the square sizes so I wasn't needlessly piecing together large areas that were going to be the same fabric. It went so much faster! I also think the result was a lot cleaner.
Creating this bag for my frame drum was an ambitious undertaking! I customized the measurements so it fit my drum exactly.
It was fully lined, with two pockets and seam bindings for a flawless finish inside and out.
My friend got me this embroidered belt from Peru, and I wanted to use it as the strap on the bag, but sadly it wasn't long enough.
A shaman gifted an embroidered blanket to my friend. It was so special to him, so he asked me to turn it into a bag for his drum.
I was so scared to ruin it! But thankfully, it turned out really nicely.
I put a cotton lining on the inside and made it a touch smaller so the lining would take the weight of the drum, instead of the embroidered exterior.
I didn't want to waste any of the embroidered fabric, so I took all the little bits and added decorative trim to the back flap.
My friend was so happy with the results!
And the adjustable strap makes it super easy to make the strap extra long for my extra tall friend.
My set of 72 pencil crayons came in an awkward plastic container that was difficult to use, so I wanted a better way to store them. This pencil roll-up was the perfect solution! I can see all the pencils while I use them and they are easy to take in and out.
Sewing this roll-up was harder than I thought, but I'm so happy with the way it turned out. The hardest part was sewing the elastic into loops that hold the pencils. Erica Arndt does it so quickly in her tutorial, but it took me hours! It was also my first time creating a binding using a sewing machine. Making neat mitered corners was tricky, especially since there was a lot of bulk because of the multiple layers of fabric.
Used the leftover fabric to make this adorable tube pencil case using a tutorial from Minki Kim. It's cute, but was so annoyingly complicated to make. I think I just hate sewing circular items! I'm going to keep trying different variations of circular sewing to see if my feelings about it change.
The fun part of the challenge was trying foam stabilizer and fusible webbing for the first time. The foam stabilizer gives the case more body so it can retain its shape, and the fusible webbing is used to glue the foam stabilizer to the fabric.
I'm in love with this folding tote sewing tutorial from Sew Sweet Lemon! It's an easy project and has such a nice, professional finish.
I adjusted the size of the bag by simply altering the dimensions of the cut material to my preference and used cotton instead of canvas.
I bought a snap button press specifically for this project. I'm so glad I did, because I'm in love with these adorable little snap buttons. Although it was my first time doing so, attaching them was ... a snap.
I can't wait to put snap buttons on everything now!
I wanted to add some comfort and warmth to this plain white chair with a seat cushion.
I used two precut pieces of foam and upholstery fabric to make this box cushion. It was my first time working with upholstery fabric, and I just loved the feel and weight of it.
The pattern from Online Fabric Store was pretty straightforward. The most complicated part was lining up the fabric print, and making the corners neat.
I'm obsessed with the grey and white pattern. It reminds me of tree branches, but I love that they form a chevron-like design. I love chevrons!
Didn't need a pattern for this quilt design! I found an 8-bit image of a minion online, which I brought into Google Sheets to figure out all the measurements. Although this quilt is for a baby, I made the size larger closer to a twin size, mainly because I didn't want the individual squares to be too small because they would be too hard to work with.
Then, I meticulously hand cut 368 3-inch squares. It took an entire weekend to do this!
Piecing together the quilt top was the fun part. Since I did a good job of cutting the fabric precisely, the design came together quickly and smoothly with my sewing machine and my trusty 1/4 inch quilting presser foot.
Then came the hard part: Putting the quilt top together with the batting and backing fabric, and top stitching it all together. Since I wanted to use matching thread for each part of the quilt, I decided to do this entire step using a hand needle. It....took.....forever!! Two weeks of working on it for a couple of hours every day! By the end of it, my fingers were calloused....but it was worth it. Look how cute it turned out! Hope my friend's son likes it :)
I hate carrying bulky wallets! I wanted something to carry my phone, cash and cards together. This cute little wristlet was the perfect solution.
This design from the Online Fabric Store looked complex but came together pretty easily. It's available in several sized and I think it would be a great pattern to adapt into a book jacket too! I'm thinking of making one for my favourite journal.
My friend was so excited when I gave her this simple drawstring backpack in her favourite colours.
The stripes made for a sleek look on the outside. Inside, I used this awesome floral fabric for the lining.
Tutorial from Orange Bettie.
Maybe I'm just lazy, but I find preparing a hot water bottle to be a cumbersome process. Solution? This rice heating pad I made using a pattern from Sew Can She. I just pop it in the microwave for a minute before draping it over my sore shoulder muscles.
I've made several lined zipper pouches by this point, so I thought that making a lined zipper tote would be almost the same thing but larger. Well, technically it was....but somehow this project was so much harder than I expected. Handling the larger pieces of fabric was trickier. It was harder to cut things perfectly to size, and the larger pieces had a greater tendency to shift while sewing.
I had to rip out a couple of seams because I wasn't happy with how imperfect they were, but I took my time and was very happy with the end result.
I love that the yellow print in the lining matches the yellow accents in the outer fabric. The boxed bottom made the bag nice and roomy.
I top-stitched the straps 2 different ways just to try it. Can't decide which one I like more and I'm only slightly bothered that they don't match. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I used this tutorial from Easy to Sew and am now following this vlog because there are so many great ideas on it I want to try!
My Lush order came wrapped in this super cute fabric that reminded me of a place where unicorns might live.
I used one piece to make two of these lined, double zipper pouches.
Couldn't find any unicorn fabric, but these flamingos fit right in!
I used the other piece to make this reversible drawstring bag.
It looks like a completely different bag when flipped the other way!
This tutorial from Sew Very Easy really was super easy and I was very happy with the results.
I had only ever hand sewn quilts before, and the last time I did that was when I was a teen. Sewing a quilt by machine seemed much more efficient. So I decided to give it a shot, starting with a simple chevron pattern.
The hardest part of the entire process was the precision needed to make sure everything lined up perfectly. I took my time cutting out the fabric squares, and used a 1/4" quilting presser foot on my sewing machine to make sure the seams were straight and even.
To finish, I opted for a very simple quilting design. I made straight and parallel lines of quilt stitching that followed the chevron pattern.
Although I created my own pattern for this quilt, Christa Watson's beginners quilting class on Craftsy taught me a lot of great tips that helped me with this project.
My apartment can get pretty chilly during the winter months. I love snuggling up with cosy PJs ... but also hate to wear pants at home. Solution? A Moroccan style djellaba. I saw so many beautifully woven woolen ones worn by locals in the mountainous northern areas of Morocco. I really wanted one! So I decided to make one for myself out of fleece.
I love throwing this on when I first wake up, or after a shower. It's basically like wearing a big blanket. Soooo cosy!
This circular bottom bag was way harder to sew than it looked. Getting my machine to sew straight along a tight curve took a lot of patience (and basting).
Yes, those are doggy paws in the lining, not bear paws. But the fabric was too cute and the red colour too perfect for me not to use. Let's just pretend they're bear paws, okay??
Made myself a bag to keep my crochet projects in while I'm working on them. It has a fun lining, a drawstring and a boxed bottom so it can hold more bulk.
This simple drawstring backpack was a gift for my cosplayer friend who loves dressing up as Spider Gwen and hitting comic book conventions.
I had some leftover Spider-Man fabric so I made this little lined zipper pouch too.
This other scrap was long enough for another zipper pouch, but not wide enough. So I added more of the lining material and hand embroidered it with the web pattern.
Even this tiny bit of scrap fabric didn't go to waste. This headband was quick and easy to make.
My teeny tiny kitchen table needed custom-sized placemats. They're reversible too so they can change along with my mood.
My first shot at sewing a zipper with a sewing machine and it was way easier than I thought it would be!
How cute is this fabric and contrast lining?
I picked up a needle and thread for the first time in years, and dove in on this simple straight stitch embroidery, tracing the feather pattern of the fabric.
I just loved this lime green and grey colour combo, so I added a simple lining and drawstring in the same shade. This was a perfect warm-up sewing project.
I may have been the only one who thought Lenny Kravitz's scarf was NOT ridiculous. I just loved how big and fabulous it was! It launched my own obsession with super-sized scarves.
Admittedly, none of these are as big and bold as Lenny's.
Made this sparkly version for a friend. Sadly this photo doesn't capture just how sparkly it is in real life. She's working it, though!
And this warm, brown one was just perfect for my other friend.
This half purple, half grey scarf seems to shape-shift depending on how I drape it. I just love it so much!
I love my oversized scarves, but if I try to wear one with my big winter parka, it gets too big and fluffy. So, I made this grey cowl which is perfect for keeping my neck warm without the (admittedly fabulous) bulk.
This basket weave pattern took me FOREVER to complete. It was well worth the effort though.
I made a case to keep my crochet hooks in using a waffle stitch ... the second best thing to actual waffles.
Added a lining on the inside so the hooks wouldn't slide through the gaps in the yarn.
I tried Tunisian crochet and fell in love with it! Unfortunately, at the time learning the new stitches of this very different crochet style was too much for my healing brain. I hope to give it another try soon.
I love bringing snacks and drinks to work in leak proof mason jars. I made this cosy to keep drinks warm and to prevent the glass from breaking in my bag.
Made these crochet slipper boots using this great video tutorial by Ani Tugushi.
This "1 hour" toque pattern was either entirely misleading, or my fingers just don't work as fast as the average crocheter. Regardless, I loved making it and I love wearing it too.
It took me a week to make, but this chunky ribbed pattern is everything!
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