Author Archives: brigitdermott

Little purse

Posted in Holiday, Kids, Sewing, Stuff to make by

Last year, I went on a business trip for two weeks–to Los Angeles, in February. I have to confess it was pretty fantastic, but I missed Valentine’s Day, my wedding anniversary, and two major snowstorms. I left this little purse and some felt barrettes behind as a present to make up for missing Valentine’s Day (to one of my loved ones, at least). There wasn’t much I could do about the snowstorms, except not gloat about the sunshine.

The idea for the purse came from a linen basket in the wonderfully cute book Zakka Sewing. I changed the square shape to the old-lady-purse shape, but the pattern was very helpful in figuring out how to attach the straps neatly.

The felt barrettes were adapted from the purl bee pattern for rose barrettes.

You might want to try making one of these projects for your own sweetheart!

Curtains

Posted in Brooklyn, Sewing, Stuff to make by

Here are some curtains I made using the purl bee pattern lovely lined curtains. In case you haven’t noticed, I am seriously enamored with all things purl. In case you are thinking of trying the pattern, it might be worth noting that it recommends pulling a thread to make a straight line for cutting, which is a very clever trick. After a painstaking hour of pulling tiny bits of thread, I couldn’t stand it and zipped through the fabric with my rotary cutter–so satisfying! But, as the pattern forewarns, it’s pretty much impossible to cut a straight line 60-inches long. As you can see below, my lovely lining peeks out from the bottom of one panel, but it’s really only noticeable upon close inspection. The fabric is from Joelle Hoverson’s collection Cake Rock Beach. I love the seaweed pattern, which reminds me that Brooklyn is actually very close to the ocean!

Doll’s bed

Posted in Kids, Recycled materials, Stuff to make by

My daughter got a new American Girl doll for Christmas, so a new bed was needed for the dormitory. A free weekend, a sturdy box, and some left over fabric, and Eve soon had a cozy bed of her own. We started with box from a new pair of boots, and added some foam-core board to the top to make it the right length. (Bonus: the bed opens up to store dolls’ shoes, socks, accessories, and a few musical instruments.)

My daughter chose the fabrics she wanted to use from my scrap box. To make the bed skirt, I attached three panels of red cotton/linen to a rectangle of muslin in a simple box shape. I made a mattress out of plain white cotton with cotton batting.  Same for the pillow, but I tore up the batting to make it more fluffy. Then, my daughter, who was given an embroidery kit from my granny, embroidered the pillow case–all by herself!

Finally, the quilt was really quick to make. My daughter wanted one fabric for the top, so I pieced together a few scraps to make a rectangle, and then used white for the backing. Rather than binding the quilt, I sewed regular seams and just turned it inside out. I also tried quilter’s knots to quilt the layers together, for the first time. All around, we’re pretty pleased with how this turned out–without spending a penny!

Have you made anything for American Girls? We’d love to hear about your excuses to play with your kids’ toys!

Oh, happy day!

Posted in Brooklyn, Knitting, Sewing, Stuff to make by

A three-day weekend, and a sale at my local, friendly yarn and fabric store, Brooklyn General–what could be better? Brooklyn General is a cozy store with a great selection of natural fibers, a helpful staff, and a doll’s house in case you have a small person in tow. Another great thing–a few times a year everything in the store is 25 percent off, which is such a treat. Here are the things I bought–the black fabric with the sporty cars is for a sewing machine cover, the yarn is for a keyhole scarf for my niece, and the plain cotton (Kona) is for just about anything.

Gloves galore

Posted in Knitting, Stuff to make by

It all started when this gorgeous Mori yarn went on sale at purl soho, which is dangerously close to my office. Yay, I thought, I’ll make fingerless gloves for everyone! I bought five skeins in lovely colors. More than a month later, I’ve completed one pair, and started a second. It turns out I need to knit on size 1 double-pointed needles; they are barely bigger than toothpicks. The gloves were meant for Christmas presents, then New Year’s, but soon I will be handing out gifts for unlikely holidays. Look a Martin Luther King’s Day pair of gloves just for you! But maybe an unexpected gift in January, OK possibly February, is just what’s needed in the heart of winter.

The pattern is also from the good people at purl. Like all the patterns on the purl bee, this one for striped fingerless handwarmers, is well written and turns out as expected.