Monday 19 December 2011

Poshed up wine

Oh, I forgot to tell you about the work Christmas party, the one I was dreading?  It was great fun!  I managed to avoid those colleagues that I didn't wish to speak to whilst having a good time at the blackjack table and the buffet with those colleagues I like!

Today I've got another present to show you, this one is for my brother who is partial to a nice bottle of Rioja.  I hope it's a nice bottle I've bought, I wouldn't know, I hate red wine.  I wanted to dress it up and this wine bottle cosy seemed perfect.  Actually, perfect is not quite the right word...  I think US bottles of wine must be thinner than UK bottles...  The first attempt didn't fit.  I'll show you and try to explain though I didn't take any failure pictures as I was far too busy cursing.


It's made from layer cake squares of Petit Ecole.  If you look at the tutorial you'll see that I sewed the two pieces up the wrong way!  It's supposed to have two different fabric designs horizontally, not vertically! 

I didn't think to check the fit before I sewed, so I handsewed the buttons to the layer of fabric and wadding, then added the elastic ties (which were a bugger to sew), then I sewed the front to the lining and turned... luckily I checked the fit before topsewing or that would have been even more unpicking to do!


There was no way I was re-sewing those buttons and elastic, so I cut the wadding away, unpicked the seam joining the two pieces and sewed an extra strip in there.  I needed an extra 2 inches!  The annoying thing is that I was telling myself it didn't look big enough but the wine was downstairs and I was up on the top floor and I'm very lazy.


That stripey strip is the extra 2 inches.  I had to do the same for the lining piece.




Due to the unfittingness of the cosy, I had to redo the bottom piece, for the second time!  The pattern said to cut 3 circles - one lining fabric, one outer fabric and one wadding, then sew them together.  So I did.  Except they didn't line themselves up very well (yes, that's right, I'm avoiding the responsibility there!), so I had to do it again, this time cutting larger squares, drawing on the stitching line and cutting out afterwards.  So I then had to repeat that step with a larger base piece!

I don't know if I misunderstood the sewing instruction for the base piece, but I think it looks really messy due to the raw edges... by this point, there was NO WAY I was redoing it!


Perfectionist?  Me?  Not in the slightest!


5 comments:

Tezzcan said...

lol,I know the "I'm not redoing it, I'm not" so did you?

RobynLouise said...

I don't like raw edges either and I'm learning not to try new sewing experiences when I'm pushed for time. Fortunately men don't seem to notice things like exposed raw edges and your brother will probably be delighted with his bottle in it's colourful bag :). The stripey strip looks intended not added in so it has become another design extra! I think you're too critical of yourself as you make some great items and that you are able to correct any problems that arise just shows what a good creative problem solver you are :D.
Give yourself a pat on the back.
Cheers,
Robyn

Allie said...

Looks great to me girl, I wouldn't even have attempted it, lol! Or if I had, I might have polished off that bottle during construction!

Nancy Lee said...

Okay, you don't want to hear this now, but on a breakfast TV chat show this morning, I saw a lady demonstrate how to wrap a wine bottle in a pair of festive socks. The wine goes into one sock and the other one is tied around the bottle like a bow.
However, your wine cosy is very lovely, and not at all sock like!
Glad you had a grand time at the party!

Kara at Petals to Picots said...

This is such a cute idea. I love it! I am over visiting from Someday Crafts link party and am now your newest google follower :) If you get a moment, I would love for you to check out my blog and follow back.
~Kara (www.petalstopicots.com)