Here`s a warming tutorial for you; How to make a heatpillow!

Today I have a great tutorial for you! This one is super for everyone with sore necks and shoulders, cramps or even cold feet.
For christmas I wanted to make something homemade for several of my family members.
And I thouhgt about something that I made about a year ago. My husband and I are both acquaintanced whit the term of stiff and tiered neck. So I made a proto type of a heating pillow. You know, the kind you just throw in you`re microwave and heat a few minutes before you place it on the needed area.

But as mentioned, this was just a proto type that I tossed together, so I had to come up with something a bit more clever and lasting.  I made a picture series that shows you the step-by-step making of this clever little thing.
I allso have to mention that the ones I gave away for chirstmas were VERY popular, and the word spread. I have made 15 of these, both as gifts and for paying customers. You should definitely give it a try.
Just follow these steps:

 1) Find You`re fabric. Flannel is the best kind.
Off course it`s extra fun if you have very nice fabric! I bought these flannels here

2) Then you have to cut you`re fabric. Cut two same length pieces (find the measurements that fits you. Mine
has about 60 x 12-15 cm ).  Pin the pieces together and stitch using zigzag stitches, starting from one corner, and all the way around. Leave an opening at one of the short sides, enough to get a big spoon in. The gap right here is where you are going to insert the rice.

3) Then you topstitch all the way around, BUT still leave an opening at the shorter side.  Howdie!

Now it is time to fill up this sucker! You might want to mark where you want to stitch up the pockets of rice in advance so that you get an even result.

You`ll need quite a lot of rice. You can allso use other things like wheat or even cherrystones, I have heard. But I dont eat a whole lot of cherries.... Allso, I like the waight that rice gives. It makes just the right pressure.

Here`s a tip for you: before you insert the rice, blend in a couple drops of lavender! It makes you feel like you are at the spa when you use you`re heatpillow :D

4) Pour the rice whit a spoon. Now, there will be some spilling. Just dont let it get to you...

Make sure that you dont add to much rice, neither to little. You`ll get the hang of it as you go.

After each "pocket" has enough rice, bring it over to an ironing board, or the edge of youre table. You want to do this so that the rice gathers on the bottom, before you pin it down where you measured it earlier. 

Now you are ready to sew it up. Just be carefull not to sew over alot of the rice. You can break the needle. But again, you`ll get the hang of it.

5) After you have finnished all of the "pockets", you have to close up were you kept the shrort side open. Just tuck in the edges short of a centimeter, pin it, and sew over a couple of times. You want to make shure it does`nt rip open.

And there you have it! Just throw it in you`re micro wave oven for a minute or two (this depends on youre oven) and place it where it is needed. I often have it with me in bed when it is very cold. It is great for coold feet. Even my two kids asks for it when it`s bedtime. 

But be ware! If you tell anyone of this lovey creations, they will bag you to make them one. So you might as well just make a bunch when you`re first at it;)

A late post of my to favourite pieces of me-mades, the Laurel and Beignet

Well, this is awkward..... One of my favourit pieces was finnished almost 5 months ago, and I have`nt blogged about it! (what kind of blogger am I?.... dont answer that....)

I made a second verison of Colette Patterns Laurel dress. My first was this one. It was ok, but not GREAT.
So I wanted to make another one. This time whit the cute ruffled things on the arms.
And allso, I made pockets. A dress neeeeeds pockets! I made them whit a contrast cotton fabric.
I am very impressed whit this dress, as it has a great fit and gives a nice silhouette. I use it to work as well as more special occacions. Simple to style up or down whit different accecories and shoes.
It is the most worn me-made item in my wordrobe.
But I had some fitting issues this time around on the Laurel, since the fabric is a bit more bulkier. And it has some stretch...
So I put in a few extra darts on both the back and on the bust area. Allso the waist got some, and it gave the dress some lovely tucks.

''

Along whit the grey suited Laurel dress, the Beignet skirt, allso from Colette patterns, is allso one of my biggest prides sewing-vise. You can read more of the Beignet here.
These two pieces are both made out of the same fabric. Unfortunately, now I am out.....

The perfect Lady Skater Dress with a twist

By now, I am pretty shure that "everyone" has heard, or even made Kitchy Coo`s famous Lady Skater dress. As usuall I am late to the party... I overthink and over-process the whole thing EVERY TIME I have my mind set to make something. That means hours and hours of Pinteresting for ideas, reading and searching other bloggers thoughts about the pattern, and looking at pictures of the finnished results.

I really liked the pattern and the dress, but I am very self-conscious about my stomach-area (show me a woman who`s not!), therefore I had a problem whit the whole knit-dress-stomach-hugging thing.
ALLSO! I have been wanting a wrap dress since FOREVER! And I thought that the Lady Skater pattern would be perfect for that kind of thing.... I just had to convert the bodice to a wrap... but how?
I am not a fan of self drafting patterns. I am more like the "Hey! A perfect pattern that hundreds of people have allready tried out and aproved"-kind of gal`.
Now that I allready had the LSD-pattern  (wow... did that just spell LSD??...) I needed a pattern that someone else allready had tried out. That`s when I found Sew a straight lines` hacked version of the Lady Skater Dress, altered into a wrap dress! It was a wrap! Litteraly!  Check out here super tutorial on how to make you`re skater dress to a faux wrap dress!

It was all very easy peacy! The Lady Skater is pretty simple to sew up. Could that just be because I got a serger for my birthday a few weeks ago? Hahaha.. It was actually my first project ever on a serger.
A little nerve-wrecked over the fact that I coul cut the fabric on the serger-knife. But It worked out just well.

And now for some pictures...

Such a great pattern calls for a great introduction ;)

Close up on the waist-belt wich I can tie round my waist 2-3 times,

the 3/4 arm-cuff and the bodice wrap. I stitched the pieces together whit 

a few stitches just to avoid my girls falling out...

I am very please whit the results, and it will defenitely not be my last one, since I love wrap dresses.

I personally think that a wrap dress whit a belt like this helps to camuflage the stomach area, and that was eccactly my intension! Mission acomplished.

Have you made Kitchy Coos Lady Skater Dress? What was your verdict? I would love to see pictures:)