Designs By Ellen

Long time no see!

designsbyellen — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 02:48:30 +0000

I decided to visit my blog today and saw that the last post I made was in November of last year. So I thought it was time that I posted something.

This is a hat I’m working on, it’s not a sewing project but it is something that I am working on. The pattern was published in the most recent issue of knitty and can be found here: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEdf10/PATTbrambles.php

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEdf10/PATTbrambles.ph

A couple of bags and a baby shirt

designsbyellen — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 07:00:17 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, I’ve made several new bags since I posted last but I still need to photograph one of them.

First off is a purse I made as a birthday present for my friend. I’ve had this blue and brown fabric laying around for a while, just waiting to be made into a bag, but all previous attempts didn’t turn out how I wanted them to. I am really happy with how this one turned out though! I salvaged the snap closure from an old purse.

The second bag is another one I made for a friend’s birthday (that’s usually when I end up making new bags). This friend is one of the most enthusiastic people I know, so I wanted to make her something that I felt really suited her personality. While looking at craft websites I saw a bag really similar to this and I knew I had found the perfect bag for her!

The outside fabric is a blue-green color in person and it’s really soft and fuzzy. The inside is a flannel that I just had laying around and the face is made from felt. I salvaged the o-rings and the strap from another bag I had that had stolen stuff from previously

The lining fabric,

The o-ring that the strap attaches to,

Lastly is a baby shirt that I appliqued a flower to for my friend’s baby (the same friend that I made the diaper bag for). I didn’t make the shirt, but I cut all the flower petals out and appliqued them to the shirt using an iron-on adhesive.

A diaper bag and a handbag

designsbyellen — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:04:09 +0000

Here are a couple bags I’ve made recently:

The first is a diaper bag I made for a friend who is pregnant. She is a photographer too and I wanted to provide a spot for her to keep her camera where it wouldn’t get damaged. The fabric I chose is a canvas type, similar to that of patio furniture. I can’t remember what the inside is, but I know the exterior fabric is 100% cotton. Now for some pictures!

The bag stays shut with adjustable buckles attached to the flap.

The pockets in the front close with velcro, as well as the ones on the side (not shown).

The inside of the diaper bag has elastic pockets on the right and a padded section to hold her camera on the left. The divider between the two sections is removable and is held in by velcro.

The back of the diaper bag has a zippered pocket that serves as storage for the changing pad I made for her.

The changing pad folds up nicely into 1/3rds and stays closed with velcro

The changing pad is lined with vinyl for easy clean-up.

I didn’t post all of the pictures here but the rest can be viewed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/39842658@N02/sets/72157620466585025/

The second bag is one that I whipped up yesterday. I had bought the handles for this purse a while ago not quite sure what I would use them for, but knowing that I wanted to try a bag with handles. At the same time I purchased some remnant fabric (the blue and brown). The main fabric is left over from a dress I made, and both fabrics are 100% cotton.

You can’t really tell from these pictures but the main fabric is a light aqua blue with little white flowers all over it.

I hand sewed the zipper in using an invisible slipstitch. I really like how it follows the curve of the handles.

I turned the bag inside-out here to show the lining, and the pocket. There is one on the other side as well for my phone.

That’s all for now!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2567/3662975377_0f843fb9de.jpg?v=0

Hello world!

designsbyellen — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:31:38 +0000

This is my first blog post and it will be short but I wanted to give a general idea of what my blog will mostly be about.

I love to sew and I’m planning to post pictures of my work on here to share with you. I also may tell about my life as an Apparel Design student and a dancer. I guess I’m not quite sure of what this will be yet, but I’m excited to see where it goes.