A photoshoot!

Rainbows and Ringlets had an awesome time recently with the lovely ladies from Captured With Love Photography who took amazing photos of our rainbow stockings and my gorgeous youngest girl. We were part of a photoshoot with other Coffs Coast WAHM's and WAHMs from Facebook. The Made With Love Product shoot featured gorgeous Muddy Ruffles Pettiskirts, Hair bows and accessories from BOWtique and Shelli Morse Designs, beautiful embellished singlets from TizzyD, Rainbows and Ringlets own Rainbow Stockings, and a handmade Monsters by Malt, Sock Monkeys by Monkey Dreams.

It was such a beautiful event, all the girls looked wonderful in their pettiskirts, tops and rainbow stockings with gumboots! Here are a few of photos which the lovely Sophie and Laura revealed on their Facebook page.

And a long time coming on our FB page is a giveaway! I am sorry for the delay but rules on FB would leave me open to being shut down if I gave away there and I just didn't have time to arrange sooner. So to celebrate an awesome 6 months, 500+ FB fans and our first ever product shoot I would like to giveaway two things-

Giveaway no1- 
a $25 voucher for spending in my MiniCUTEture store for telling me what is YOUR favourite photo from the photoshoot and why in 25 words or less (short and sweet is good too).

Giveaway no2-
One pair of child size rainbow stockings- sizes are limited but I have most sizes from babies up to Girls sz 11-14. If I don't have your size (or you have boys!) It will be a $15 voucher for my miniCUTEture store. This is for the first person to guess correctly which is MY favourite photo from the whole shoot- while confessing my daughter was also modelling in the shoot, shes the model above in the blue pettiskirt! I will message a friend with my fav photo so I can't change my mind!

Please post all your answers below this blog post, with the Giveaway number at the top of your answer.

Thank you :D Only one giveaway prize per person! And only one entry in each giveaway to make it fair on others to guess :)

Winners will be announced Saturday 18th September- 8.30pm!

I will just pop this up now, but if I can encourage you all to visit the FB pages of all the lovely ladies involved in the product shoot and "like" them as they are ALL awesome and had beautiful items. Links in my post and list coming shortly!

Not much sewing happening around here!

Not much sewing but lots of dyeing and a bit of knitting ;)

As I go through a lot of procion dyes and they have a limited life on cotton, I thought I'd try them out as acid dyes (as you can do that too!) Simple Turquoise, Fuschia and Yellow and I couldn't help myself but make rainbow yarn hehe.

Procions start to lose the capability to bond with cotton the older they get but the dye portion of them is fine, its just the "glue" so to speak that breaks down. So using them as acid dyes I prepared the yarn - Bendigo Woollen Mills Melody in this case- with a vinegar soak as per normal wool dyeing. I then applied dye as normal, wrapped in cling wrap and steamed inside a steriliser. It worked! and I am thrilled at the result, and hoping some of my favourite colours translate ok to wool too.

And then I couldn't resist as I needed to knit it up to see how it turned out, I CO Celias emergency 1 day hat for my youngest. Great knit and a free pattern too! It just squeezed in with enough to weave in the end left over (ok I made it fit lol) She loves it to bits too which is pretty good for a not quite 2yo! My older girl Ellie likes it too, and it fits her as well, but she isn't allowed to touch it with Kayla around, bossy much?

I have overflowing bags of undyed yarn and just slipped and ordered some more Melody, whoops! so better get dyeing some more...

aha! a hat!

Hooray it's finished!!!

This hat had been giving me curry as I couldn't work out the best way to dye it, I even had a miserable test run on one of dd's old hats (lets just say its ummm colourful now but not quite how I wanted it lol). Then I tried playing with the sodium alginate for painting with dye instead. It thickens the dye so it doesn't run everywhere. Of course my first attempt with that was hilarious...I still have a jug of goo! what was rather interesting looking lumpy grainy stuff, actually turned to a gel the next day and went quite thick, like jelly!

Did anyone see Masterchef episode with the carnival/beach challenge, where they were making popcorn icecream, and Claire and Jonathon put in a heap of this stuff to thicken it, they had to guess how much to use. I had to laugh as thats the stuff I'm using exactly, but they were cooking with it.

My results were similar to theirs, but with dye! hehe Its actually seaweed of all things. It does work quite well for dye thickening, but then I'm no artist so then couldn't figure out how to paint it on, a couple of singlets to practice on and I still wasn't happy... was I ever going to get this hat finished?????  I even had a couple of goes putting the gooey dye in squirty bottles but nah, not worth the effort.

Then inspiration struck (yeah I know its more like what I usually do - thats slow inspiration for you... ) and tada! end result, one tie dyed hat... its still damp and drying but thought it was about time for a pic, dyeing with procion dyes can be so prolonged, especially in winter I feel like I'm not getting anywhere so piccies help me feel like I'm achieving hehe.

My other challenge I'd been wanting to try was a infant sized hoodie, it had been sitting in my basket for a month or two waiting for the chance and inspiration. In the end I grabbed it the other day, threw it in the soaking solution, and tied it, why not have another rainbow... lol. I am rather fond of my rainbow colours :)

So here I am quite pleased, a couple of the projects that had been stumping me as to how to dye them, and in the end they actually turned out like most of my items hehe! But I'm very happy with the results. Don't mess with what works is perhaps something I should keep in mind ;)

Kaylas new longies!

Kaylas new Fairy Ribbons longies! A marathon effort, took nearly 2 months, yikes! Just haven't had time each night to knit as I've been dyeing instead :) Gorgeous Ladybug Loops organic Aran, and the pattern is Ladybug Loops Longies. I just love how they turned out. They haven't been blocked or lanolised yet, definitely need to get onto that this week. I've knitted this pattern so many times and keep going to try a different one, but this one works so well!

I've now done a couple of tension swatches with some divine new yarn from Celias Basket its so soft and luscious. Next project is In Threes a cardigan for Kayla... lets hope its ready before summer hehe.

Finally my own space!

Finally my own little dyeing nook!

Ok, a work in progress but at least I don't need to pack up and down at the kitchen table anymore, and what a relief that is! This is my new "studio" (its not much of a studio yet but its a start lol). I plan on taking over most of the garage and setting up a little display and packing area as well, plus setting up my sewing machine and overlocker so I can get back to sewing. At the moment I'm settling for functional, and child safe with the safety gate keeping Kayla out of there, I can keep it set up all the time.

My dyeing table (I'm hoping to get a bigger, longer table but for now theres no room so the old outside table has been claimed) Its so good to leave everything set up ready to go, and I can duck out there at any time

The only place I have to put my long flat items at the moment is the top of the chest freezer, but its better than trying to keep them in the laundry lol. These stockings are nearly all destined for Swings and Roundabouts!

I can't wait to do more yarn dyeing but that has to wait until the current orders are completed! Oh and sewing well thats a bit hard atm, I'm afraid theres no more sewing challenges for me for a few months at least.

The last couple of weeks have been enough of a challenge (on top of a lot of orders to dye/pack/send, and dyeing some rainbow stockings for Swings and Roundabouts, a local shop which I'm really excited about stocking in hehe!). I've also been trying to work out how to dye a hat! Perhaps I should have dyed some fabric and tried to sew it up, but having never attempted to make a hat before I went for an already made one.

My first effort with one of Ellies old preschool hats didn't go so well although Kayla loves it, because its not flat, the dye just ran everywhere and mingled too much. So this week I've been playing with thickening dyes to see if that would help and I think thats the way to go :)

So I've been busy :P

I haven't blogged for a few weeks, I began to a couple of times but got sidetracked again :) Very busy dyeing my little fingers off but have also been knitting, sewing and dyeing for a swap I was involved in on Rav!

unfortunately I was rushing to the PO to get the express deadline and didn't take a pic before I posted it all off, but the pic up above is the Travelling Woman shawl I knitted for my recipient Vanessa! I also hand dyed some Quilters cotton in shades of deep blue and jade and sewed a wee project bag for her. I hope she likes it all and can use it. Its in a gorgeous BFL Evoke sock yarn called Depth from the Yarn Cafe.

Amazingly my swapee also knitted the same shawl for me in almost identical yarn, in fact yarn that I almost bought for Vanessas shawl, which I absolutely LOVE! So I'm very spoilt :) here is a piccy of my lovely shawl and I also recieved an awesome scarf, some amazing buttons and gorgeous fabric from my swap, plus some goodies for the kids! I really need to take another pic of this gorgeous shawl, its so lovely to have received one back the same that I knitted :D

Then I played with some more dyes, who needs boring white socks anyway :P Kayla loved her new "shoes" lol. Though she does know them as socks now, she loves them. Wore them all over the yard so I had to then scrub them clean again :) I've just dyed a heap more for us, my SIL and gorgeous nieces and a friends daughter too. I love dyeing socks! I 've also dyed a heap more shirts too but you'll have to head over to the FB page to check those out, if you haven't already.

I've also been experimenting with bleach tie dyeing, and overdying with bright colours, a good result but unfortunately the colours did wash out a little too much (could have been I left it soaking too long too). I'm not sure whether the dyes weren't strong enough or the bleach stopped them reacting with the fabric properly, but its fun and will investigate further and get some more ingredients for a better go next time.

Next up is a shibori experiment, I'm having so much fun exploring the realm of fabric dyeing, I definitely need to dye some more quilters cotton too and make myself another project bag or two. 

anyway, enough for now, Happy Mothers Day to you all! Thanks for listening :)

Some explosions of colour

I've been flat out with some orders and some fabric experimenting. I love the way they turned out and hope I get to dye some more and get sewing soon :)

Dyeing with large pieces of fabric is much more time consuming, depending on technique used. These pics were taken in the shade so are a little darker than how they are, but in direct sunlight they were washed out. I need to find the perfect time and place for photos, the clothesline will do this time however!

This was a test on some cotton drill, several different techniques but using just mulberry, fuschia and violet dye, I did another test on some cheesecloth (not pictured) with more colours and that turned out well. It will become a rainbow skirt for one or both of the girls :)

These are also cotton drill, a custom for Maggie Made Pop over and check out her site, she has some awesome 3 in 1 baby bags that convert to a playmat and sleeping bag for on the go with baby! I can't wait to see the end result! You can also find Maggie Made on Facebook and Made It and get sneak peeks of whats coming :)

A sneaky peek at whats coming

These aren't all for me, in fact maybe only one. I am exhuasted, and there are even more hiding in the wash, the dyeing bucket and on the drying rack lol

Hoping they are something yummy for everyone, I love them, in fact I'd keep nearly all of them! Trying to dye boy colours is proving challenging but I made up some more colours tonight to make it more interesting. Will need to order more dyes next week too, running out of supplies and some colours.

Plenty more white shirts are awaiting me too, all prepped ready for dyeing but I think I'll take a day or two off and just finish off the ones curing and washing now.

Having a fantastic time with it all though. My facebook page Rainbows and Ringlets is at Rainbows and Ringlets drop by sometime! I'll be doing a giveaway soon when I reach 100 fans :)

Creation central

I am really pleased with these items, have been trying a few more techniques and dye combos, some good some need work. But very happy all the same.

Have been thinking of opening a store or similar for some time now, well nearly a year, but wasn't sure what to make or sell. At this stage I'll be selling dyed items, but I'm pretty keen to sew some things too. Will see whats in the wind.

Just a couple of my favs from this last dyeup...I bought some more shirts today so back to dyeing again tomorrow!

A Spring Garden Tee

Finally another knit finished, I have so many things I want to make and so little time to do so!

Love the top its pretty, although the pattern could have been explained a lot better. Thankfully I had others previous questions to look up on Ravelry, and they were exactly what I was wondering, so it wasn't just me lol. I made a size 2 so it will fit her better in spring but I'd rather that than it fit her well now and not in spring :)

March Sewing challenge complete! Meet Baby Bows

This is Baby Bows, she's one of the first softies I saw and just had to make her. She was quite easy too :)

Spotlight running true to form didn't have anything like craft velour, she is actually made of swimwear lining, which works really well! My friend Chris was working so I asked her advice. She suggested the swimwear lining and its awesome stuff. She's made some amazing dolls before, usually funky looking ones (not for kids lol). Its very stretchy and is soft, though doesn't have the plush softness velour does of course. Super stretchy though and wonderful for stuffing.

All in all I'm very impressed with how she came out. She has two faces, one sleepy and the other awake. Her face didn't come out perfect but Kayla didn't care :) She loves her to bits, she won't leave her hat on though, and has given her lots of kisses and cuddles. I'll have to hunt down some more cute clothes for her too.

But I love her, Kayla does too and my March sewing challenge is complete!! Yay!

Baby Bows free tutorial is here

Finally an apron!

My darling daughter has been waiting since christmas but other projects kept getting in the way :) finally she has an apron, which I am hoping will encourage her to help out in the kitchen.

Here's a pic of E and her apron, an unwilling model but quite pleased I made something for her this time!

I was tempted to add some embellishments in shape of a pocket, but maybe next time as I had too many other projects on the go! It is reversible, which she was pleased about, although it "doesn't look like she imagined it would" apparently LOL. But she's happy all the same :)

And the Woollybutts JDRF fundraiser was a roaring success, my Project bags sold for $47.50 (yay!) and a total of $3408.20 was raised, how AWESOME is that!

I have heaps of other things to blog but will leave them until next time!

Head down to Woollybutts!

Woollybutts is hosting a heap fundraiser auctions for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation!

My bags are up and already have bids yay!

The linky is here: Woollybutts

HEAPS of awesome goodies, bags, shawls, pretty knit dresses, MCN soakers/shorties/nappies, pamper packs, you name it :D Even crochet sandwiches!

And the most adorable crochet beanies that I'll just have to bid on! They are seriously cute!

Bags but not for me!

I have been seriously busy over the last few weeks, incredibly so and this week I had to put a stop on it all and even wagged my weekly craft group, along with all the other commitments you end up falling int! Sometimes you just have to stay home to get things done.

These boxy knitting project bags are from a lovely quilters cotton, very like the one I made a few weeks back. Mine has been getting a great workout and its a pleasure to reach for my project without that awful old granny bag I used to use.

Hopefully these bags will find a new home and raise some money for Juvenile Diabetes research, they have gone to a good cause! There are a flurry of auctions to be held shortly with some gorgeous handmade items, many handknitted intricate shawls and gorgeous baby and toddler items. I have been watching a few sneak peeks by the different makers pop up and can't wait!

I will post the link to the auctions when its up and running, Ciao for now !

Repairing elastic on an Itti Bitti AIO Nappy

Well can't let them go to waste now can I? These nappies are still in fantastic condition and aren't cheap to buy new :) This is how I repaired the elastic on the above medium Itti bitti AIO (sewn in). I thought I'd take pics etc as I was too worried about attacking it blindly and really wanted some helpful tutorials and there's just nothing about ;) This is all how I will approach itti's in future- I'll spare you the details of how else I tried to do it first by unpicking at the sides (not worth the effort and I had to tidy that up before I sewed in the elastic! )

This itti bitti has had a couple of 10min bursts in the dryer to finish drying in wet weather- as its a sewn in it takes too long sometimes lol. And somehow it often gets caught on the drum, no other nappy, just this one! I guess thats why the elastic failed as none of the others have elastic issues.

Ok so lets begin...

The place to start is the front, unpick the front seam above the snaps, this must be where they turn it right way out and stitch it closed as its the only part that isn't overlocked, right in the centre.


Unpick about 8cm dead in the middle, staying away from the overlocking just unpick until you reach it, its the easiest part of the nappy to unpick and sew back together.

Turn the nappy inside out. You can now see how the elastic is stitched onto the overlocking each side (I have already removed the dead elastic in this pic)

Carefully remove dead elastic, marking where the points to start and finish, or be lazy and just leave a little bit behind ;)

This is a pic of how the elastic should look when in good condition, this is the back waist elastic and shows close up how it sits and is stitched in, we're going to leave this alone however as its good.


Using some 3mm swimwear elastic, give it a good stretch or two before cutting to desired size of around 10cm (you could use thicker 5mm I just used what itti themselves suggested). Make sure you give the elastic a few good stretches BEFORE you cut and measure so it doesn't grow on you!

Note- I was wary of sewing with the PUL being sticky etc, so used greaseproof baking paper underneath the PUL as I sewed the elastic on. You certainly don't need to do this but if you're having trouble, try it, then rip it off later when you are finished.

At the first starting point, anchor the elastic by sewing back and forth across the width of the elastic, being careful to stay in the overlocked seam allowance. Stretching the elastic fairly firmly as you go, use a small zigzag and zigzag the elastic into place, making sure that you have enough stretch to last the distance. I prefer to go slow and even stop and adjust if I'm going off the track. Anchor at the finish point also.


Sew the elastic the same way to the other side, keeping in the seam allowance at all times. Trim all the excess threads from both sides.

Nearly done!

Next turn your nappy back the right way, and go back to the front and stitch neatly to close following along the stitch line.

Thats it! snap it back together on your baby/toddler and away you go.

I'm not the worlds best tutorial writer (especially as this is my first LOL) but would love to put together a series of the nappies I repair, to make it easier for those that want to repair them also. There are so many questions pop up about them in the Nappy forums around the place, and I just want to make it easier and less scary to attempt. I had a lot of fun and it was very rewarding. I will definitely repair more of them :)

Heres an action pic of the rascal girl wearing it later, its so nice to have nappies back in the stash instead of the mending tub!

Mending time

Have been needing to get to these for so long. Always hanging over my head, you know how that is. I can't get any good sewing done until I at least make a start in this.

see this tub- its full of nappies- modern cloth nappies that is, and they all need new elastic! so rather than throw them out as they are all still fantastic (otherwise I wouldn't mend them lol) I'm attempting to replace all the elastic on them haha. Some Kayla has grown out of but I hate to just throw them out so will pass them onto someone :) Its fiddly work but has to be done.



Am working my way through them, having to guess how much elastic for each leg is interesting. So far I've actually finished 2! and that was todays effort. I am most of the way through an Itti Bitti but need to run to spotlight and see if they have any 3mm swimwear elastic tomorrow. All good as I need to go there anyway to get some stiff interfacing for some bag making.

But hey who needs an excuse to go to spotlight :)

The inside of nappies is intriguing, in a I want to make more kind of way lol. This is an Itti Bitti AIO, I had no idea it was microfibre inside! The elastic in this one was almost gone, I have several other ittis to repair boosters on, and they aren't even in the mending tub, I think I'll be repairing nappies for months lol

I might try and do a tutorial for one or two brands as when I was researching there just wasn't anything much to find on some of them.

time to knit I think, enough mending for one day! Two more nappies back into the stash but don't look at them too closely hehe :) One Large magicall AIO and one Med Bumgenius AIO