I do enjoy making people Christmas presents, but it is too much of a risk to blog about them before the day because who knows if they will see! I have made a couple of special things thought this year which I wanted to be able to share.
First, for my brother, a memory pillow. A couple of months ago, James handed me a load of this old military t-shirts. He didn’t need them anymore and wasn’t sure what to do with them, but they do have interesting logos and memories attached. I took them home, not quite sure what they were going to become, but I’m pleased with the outcome. There were only 5 shirts, but one had James’ army nickname on the arm too which I wanted to save. I carefully cut 15cm squares around the logo’s and put them together on my overlocker.
The back uses the backs of some of the t-shirts. I did think I might be able to use the hems already there, but they were pretty wavy with constant washing and use so I just cut rectangles and hemmed them myself. The back of one of the t-shirts had James’ job role printed on it too, so that also got saved and included. It wouldn’t mean much to anyone else, but to James I hope it serves as a way to save some good memories for a little while longer.
For Matt, I have been experimenting with some knitting, which is a bit of a departure from my usual crafting. So far, I only have the patience to knit small things, such as baby booties and this hat. Perhaps my patience will improve, but I do also like the more rapid results that I see when sewing.
This hat is really simple. It is a very old free pattern from a magazine (Let’s knit, October 2013). It is supposed to be knit in 2×2 rib all the way through, but at some point I must have not been paying enough attention and I switched the rib direction. Fortunately it looks sufficiently intentional as an edging pattern.
It was a pretty easy project in the end (apart from trying to find time to knit when Matt wasn’t around) and I actually found doing the ribbing quite therapeutic. The yarn is a cotton/acrylic/wool blend with some muted colour variation (Sirdar Crofter DK, Fair Isle). I quite like that the stripes are not particularly regular or uniform, and Matt also seems happy enough wearing it!
Finally, my Grandma has a very old and special bear which she has had and loved since the age of 4. Big Ted is now 84, and apparently had a need for some PJ’s. Since it was a special request, I had to see what I could do. Big Ted is a slightly unusual shape, and I didn’t have him with me to work from, just a handful of measurements so I’m not sure these fit quite as well as I would like, but they seem to have been popular.
I adapted a pattern from Bear Wear Patterns. The pattern was for hospital wear, which opened at the back so I modified the pattern pieces so that it was the front which opened, and drafted my own collar to make some fairly traditional PJ’s.
Just in case big teddy was lounging around though, I thought he could do with a dressing gown. This one is based on a pattern from It’s Always Autumn, but I didn’t have it printed out so I just copied the shapes and sizes approximately to put mine together. It seems to have come together pretty nicely, and Grandma and teddy were both very pleased!
It’s all pretty different from my usual sewing and blogging which is a bit of fun. Usual service will be resumed in the new year though, when I will be back with my plans and a giveaway.
Naomi Sews 
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