DIY Tailors Ham and Sleeve Roll

A while ago I posted a question on instagram asking whether I should make my own tailors ham or buy one. 

And the response was mixed to say the least. No literally the replies were split down the middle which makes me think a lot is personal preference. The pros of making one were that I could choose whatever fabric I liked [ie. make it personal] And that its cheaper than buying one and the pros of buying one was that I could save a lot of time! 

At the time funds were low so I decided to make my own. I didn't even spend anything! I used a free pattern from craftsy and we already keep sawdust in the house for the guinea pig so I didn't need to buy any of that to stuff it with. [You can also use fabric scraps if you don't like the sound of using sawdust although traditionally that is whats used and the wood does something magic with the heat of your iron meaning the seams press better. I'm sure theirs a science explanation but *magic* sounds better.]

I made both the tailors ham and sleeve roll at the same time and they only took about 30 mins to print off, tape together, cut out and sew. In fact the majority of the time spent on these was for stuffing the bloody things! 

WARNING to anyone who's thinking of making one using sawdust, Its blooming messy. We had sawdust across the house for ages and it sticks to everything. You see you have to really cram it in to make it nice and firm for ironing your seams. In the end I enlisted Rikkis help and things went like this:

-I'd sit and spend 30/40 minutes cramming sawdust in through the little gap I'd left.

- I'd say I think its done....

-Rikki would come over and cram all the stuffing down, compacting it and inevitability leaving me with a gap to fill with yet more stuffing! 

Lets just say it took at lot longer than I thought and I used a lot more saw dust than I thought, and I was glad I had Rikki on hand to "punch" it down so to speak.

Fabric wise I used a cotton fat quarter from Minerva crafts for the front and some spare boiled wool for the back. I sewed the seams using a small stitch on my machine and then over locked them for security. The gap I left for stuffing was sewn shut by hand [ if your making your own I suggest leaving a fairly large gap as it makes it easier to stuff. I started off with a little gap and ended up throwing a tantrum] 

 I think my favourite part of this make might be the fabric I used. It was nice to use up some of the left over boiled wool and I really liked using up a sewing themed fat quarter for a sewing themed project! I can't find the fabric I used on the website but I think it would also be cute made up in this. 

Now the funny thing is the morning I finished these I received a gift in the post from Prym and lo and behold it was their tailors ham and sleeve roll! Which is kind of hilarious but also gives me a good opportunity to compare the two so look out for a post soon that compares my handmade tailors ham with the real deal! 

In other news! 

- I'm tired, It sounds stupid but I haven't been sleeping well so if anyone has any ideas of how I can get a decent nights sleep I'd really appreciate it. But preferably with lavender as it brings Rikki out in a rash and as much as I'd like a good nights sleep him next to me whimpering that his skin hurts won't help! 

- Lil mans nose is much better. A cotton pad, a warm bath and a lot of patience helped to get all of the dried blood off his nose and he was really brave whilst I cleaned it up. Its still swollen and he says it still hurts a bit but its not bleeding as much and a lot of the bruising has gone so that's good. 

Much Love

Frankie 

xxx