Tutorial : Little Girl Sling Pouch

Hello everyone! I am super excited today to participate in Mayya’s wonderful Inspire To Create series over at Sew Chic And Unique. I must say all the previous bloggers have wowed me with so many inspiring projects, and I feel very honored when Mayya invited me to participate. Please do drop by Mayya’s blog to see them, as well as all the fabulous things she blogs about.

I must confess that I am a diehard fabric fan. I hoard fabrics like crazy thus sewing is the next logical thing to do. However I wanted to more than just churning out clothes or bags. I wanted to share my passion. 

When I first started this blog, my main intention was to document my sewing for my girls so that when they grow up they could come back anytime to see what mommy sewed for them as well as read the little tid bits I wrote. I am also hoping to inspire them to be more creative and sew if they want to. 

Later, as my readers grow, I feel tremendous joy to be able to share my sewing adventure with so many wonderful people on blogville. Thank you all for stopping by and keeping me company as I step on the sewing machine pedal in this little studio of mine and blog about it :)

Today, I would like to share a tutorial on how I made this cute Sling Pouch for my girls. Let’s get started shall we? :)

First, the pattern. The pouch pattern is a simple bowl shape of approximately 6 x 5 inches you can always draw yourself. If you’d like to skip the drawing part, feel free to download my pattern here.

Use the pattern to cut 2 outer fabric, 2 lining fabric, 2 interfacing, 2 quilt batting (optional). I am quilting my outer pieces, you can skip this part if you don’t want to quilt it. In the above picture I already interfaced the outer pieces.

Next, if you are quilting the outer pieces, take the batting and the outer pieces and quilt through all layers. You can either use adhesive spray to temporarily bond it for quilting or just pin since it is such a small piece. If you're wondering this is the spray I used (I bought it at Craftworld) :

Next steps are shown in these pictures with additional steps marked in * ( the ones I forgot to take pics :P )

* Repeat with the Lining Pieces

* Turn the pieces right side out, press along the top opening, then topstitch all around, sewing the gap shut.

Now, your new sling pouch is ready to be modeled :

And perfect for storing little treasures! (It's something Aisha sewed if you're wondering and I have no idea what it is lol)

I really hope you like the tutorial and please do let me know if you try it ya?

Lastly I would like to again thank Mayya for inviting me to participate in Inspire to Create. Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day! :)

Giveaway Winner!

Morning y'all! Sorry for the delay in making the announcement, went out for dinner last night and we returned home quite late, I just went straight to bed :)

So let's get down to business shall we? There were 33 eligible entries, the number selected by Random.org is....

And the lucky number 21 is Ira (fb : Arifah Fahira). Congratulations Ira! Please contact me to choose your prize, either the Bias Tapes or the Discount Certificate.

Thank you all for participating and for your endless support. I will be posting more specials and giveaways in the future, so stay tuned! :D

Tropical Beauty and A Fun Trade

I made this halter dress during the fasting month. It was one of the most satisfying project ever. So easy to sew and turned out really pretty on my little tropical beauty. I made it using the Ensley pattern by Noodles and Milk on Etsy.

The open back provides much needed airiness in our hot Malaysian weather and little miss Hanan is currently in her very active toddler phase, sweating ALL the time! Non stop jumping, running and dancing (you should see her dance, it's hilarious how she would swoop low and raise her feet high just like what she saw on So You Think You Can Dance!). And my, she's so chatty nowadays, she makes ME sweat sometimes with all her questions!

And how about that beautiful flower hair band? It came all the way from Puerto Rico! Yes, I had a fun trade with Katie from Miamoo Designs, where we traded handmade items just like the old barter system! Katie made the prettiest hairbands for little girls, love the pink Swarovsky crystals decked in the flower, thank you Katie! The Little Princess was so into her new hairband, she of course calls it her Pinchess hairband lol

Linking this at :

My Pride and Joy

Thought of giving the business a facelift.

I am over the moon! Pretty, whimsical with the right dose of cuteness.

Do you like it? :)

Lovemelots Creations Facebook Page and A Giveaway!

Yeay! At last, I manage to set up Lovemelots Creations page on Facebook. Been wanting to do this for a looong time.You'll find the Like Box on the side bar. Please Like us if you like us? :D

To celebrate the occasion, I'd like to giveaway 2 yards of Handmade Bias Tape which I am currently making from these yummy pindot fabrics. Yes, you heard it right, 2 yards of Lovemelots Handmade Bias Tape (worth RM12/yard)! They will be half inch, double fold tapes, so easy to mix and match & brighten up your current projects. Just choose either 2 yards from one color OR 1 yard each from 2 colors :)

If you don't sew, fret not! Receive a 30% Discount Certificate from any of Lovemelots Creations baby or girl dresses, custom made for you using designer fabrics of your choice. If you win, you can choose to use the certificate anytime you want, great as gift too! Isn't that fun?

To enter, become a fan (Like) on Lovemelots Creations Facebook page, then leave a comment here, stating your Facebook profile name (for me to verify) AND your email address. I will pick one winner randomly on Friday, 24th September 2010 at 9.00pm Malaysian time :)

Please help us get the word around by suggesting Lovemelots Creations fb page to your friends. Here's a HUGE virtual **hugs** to you, THANK YOU for your support and have joyful day!

Special Feature - Baby Serena in Lovemelots Bella Dress

Remember the dress I sewed here?   Here's the owner, little princess Serena. Isn't she the cutest?? My heart just melted, that toothy grin is just soooo adorable!!

To the proud momma, Mikhaila, you have a beautiful daughter, and she is so lucky to have a warm and loving mother! Thank you for all the chatty emails and your friendship. It never ceases to amaze me how powerful blogging is in terms of connecting people and creating new relationships. Thank you for the dress order plus the pretty pictures Mikhaila, sending wishes of love and happiness to you and your family in Chicago, all the way from Malaysia *hugs*  :)

Linking Up at:

Lazy Sewing For The Home

I rarely sew for my home. Main reason - not my property. I will only go crazy with decorating when we move to our own permanent home, which only God knows when. Right now I'm saving whatever amount of money I have left after buying fabrics (lol) for a furniture and decorating spree once we moved.

Still, it's Eid, and families and friends are going to visit us. Hubby hinted a few times for me to do something with our tables. They are either covered in hideous, old cloth or just plain naked. I relented after he promised not to say anything about our curtains lol.

So the above is just a simple spread of Amy Butler home decor fabric. The lazy sewer here just serged, turned and hemmed the four sides. I used the whole 2 yards in my stash. I wanna keep it simple, let the print shine in its own splendor.

The naked, cheapo coffe table got dressed in another AB Love home decor print. I only have half yard, but wanted it reversible, so I sewed that IKEA fabric you see peeking, right side together, turned it inside out, top stitched all around and wallah! New table runner-ish kind a thing in my living room :)

The glass jars housed 6 different types of biskut raya (festive cookies). Nope, if you come visit that is NOT all that will be served, I promise :P

Speaking of IKEA, our recent trip got one little girl very, very happy :D

LoveMeLots Babies!

My niece, Asma Widad, in Lovemelots Bella dress. Super cute!

Little princesses in LoveMeLots Dresses.

Thank you to the proud mommas, Feena and Yus for the pretty pics, they are simply adorable!

Featuring these made my day and motivates me to create. More will come from LoveMeLots Creations in months ahead. In between, I have many projects planned for this blog to make things a little bit more interesting for you, lovely readers and hopefully inspiring you too. Stay tuned!

Till then, have a beautiful day!

First Baju Kurung Sewn By Me and Eid Family Photos

This year's Eidulfitri celebration is extra special for this sewing momma as I managed to finish these two baju kurung (traditional Malay tunic dress) for my two little angels. This is a big milestone for me as, here in Malaysia, you're not really a sewer/seamstress if you don't know how to sew baju kurung lol...

For the record, it was not the easiest feat for me. I used at least 4 online tutorials and 2 books to complete these! Many people, including my mom said it's the simplest to sew, but honestly, I think sewing dresses is WAY easier! I need to improve a lot in this traditional garment sewing department and will sew more of these in the future.

I'm sure many Malaysian friends are still in their hometown celebrating Eid with the families. I, myself is writing this at my parent in laws's place. Here, Eid means lots of love, family time, lots of food and long holidays. I'd like to share how this year's first day of Eid is celebrated with my family in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. This is the time of the year when we take tons of photos, please excuse my pic overload here lol....

1st Day of Eid Morning - The day begins with family breakfast and Eid prayer. Then, the tradition of the children asking for parent's blessing and forgiveness. Here is Aisha kissing my hands, and we both cried when she asked mommy to forgive her mistakes and promised to be a good girl. I was really touched but also distracted as you can see little Hanan was crying and so clingy. I love my girls...

Next, family portrait. The four of us...so blessed...Alhamdulillah...

As you can see, the girls are in their new, matching, mommy sewn baju kurung. But me? Well, since I didn't have enough time to sew for myself, and simply refused to spend on a new baju kurung that I will not wear again, I just wore this white jubah (long tunic/kaftan) I bought in Makkah and the pashmina from Egypt. It just so happened hubby already has a white baju melayu. So not exactly sedondon (matchy-matchy) with the girls but the colors blend nicely.

Then, we moved to my grandma's house in Bunut Payong. But before that hubby made a detour and stopped at the heart of KB town, near Istana Balai Besar to take a few pics near the arch and in front of the old palace. Fun time with the girls!

Here are my girls with their cousin, my niece, Asma Widad. How time flies, she's already 6 months old and such a bright, beautiful baby! The girls simply adore her!

Hubby's family side (the Pasir Puteh clan). In the middle is my daughter's great grandmother :)

Lastly, hope you had a wonderful Eid celebration with your loved ones, lots of love, from me and my angels. Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day! :)

Raya Sewing 2010 Portfolio - Finale & Selamat Hari Raya!

The last of Raya orders have been sent out. I am combining a few orders in one post as Eid is just around the corner and I am going on my balik kampung trip in a few minutes.

These dresses are ordered by my former staff, CC Liza for her darling 2 and 3 yo daughters. They are the same dress I sewed for Hanan's birthday. 

Aren't they regal?

I just LOVE them so much! Perfect for the special occasion oh I can just imagine the little princesses parading around in their beautiful Raya dresses!

The following two are for Feena and Sherina. Both lovely in their own ways....

This year's Raya sewing is a celebration on its own for me as I managed to finish everything on time and learned so much from the experience. Thank you all for your orders and would love to work with all of you again.

Lastly, I would like to wish all Sew Retro Chic readers and Lovemelots Creations customers Eid Mubarak, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir dan Batin if in any unknown to me ways I have made any mistakes or hurt anyones feelings. It's the time for forgiveness, love and joy, here's wishing you a wonderful holidays with your family.

Next post will be a blog post from my hometown, in Kota Bharu, till then,

*hugs*

LOVE,

Zura