Showing posts with label clothes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clothes. Show all posts

Monday, March 21, 2011

Scrappy Skirt


Lots of sewing happening during these rainy days: new garments, re-fashions and mending. I've had this khaki skirt in my closet for years, and last year set it aside for embellishing. Since I had the scraps out for other projects, I decided to use some on this as well.
A very quick, simple applique. I decided to straight stitch the edges to keep with a more primitive look, with some intentionally quirky outline stitching around the tops. I continued the pattern around the back a bit, too.
 Sorry for the bad inside shot, but it's gray and blustery outside. At least the skirt looks like spring!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Recycling T-shirts

Oh, the t-shirt. We have lots of t-shirts hanging around here, many  of them with stains, or too small, or out of fashion. Max's Disneyland shirt fell into the too small category, but never fear, we can rebuild it. All you need is a little fusible web, a clearance t-shirt, and a little machine stitching and Bam! a new t-shirt.
Sometimes my screen prints don't come out exactly right. I had a shirt where the placement was off, so a few snips and the shirt becomes a patch.
The backs of the old t-shirts become blanks for screen printing, or material for sewing projects, or even rags. The possibilities are endless!

Sadly, I have no drawings to share this week. It seems the only thing I've used a pencil for lately has been to write math problems. I'm going to take a little week or so blogging break to focus on my kids for a bit, but I do have more in store to share with you! See you in a week!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Pant Cuffs Galore!

Max has grown taller than last year, but not any heavier, so it's difficult to find pants that fit. Since he has plenty of room in his pants from last season, I decided to simply add some additional length with cuffs. It's a super easy process and a great way to use up scraps! If the bottoms of the pant legs are a little worn, I simply take a strip material that is twice the size of the cuff I want, fold it in half and press. I press the tops over 1/4 of an inch and then pin the cuff around the bottom of the pant, encasing the pant leg in it.
If the pant leg is in good shape, I simply fold the cuff in half, pink the edges, and pin it around the inside of the pant leg (not encasing the bottom of the leg).

For either method, I sew around the edge of the cuff, fold a clean edge where the fabric meets, and sew a seam. Turn the pants right side out, fold up cuff and press. Bingo! Instant length, and a little style to boot!


I actually got started on my Sketchbook Project this weekend. I mostly prepped pages, but I have a concept I'm working with, finally, and hopefully more completed pages this week. I'll post my progress on Wednesday.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Birthday Sewing

My darling goddaughter is turning three, so that means a new dress. I made a dress like this one for her last year, and this year I also returned to my favorite elastic thread for some shirring. This year it is shirred around the waist, with elastic at the top. It's never very impressive looking on the hanger, but oh, so cute on.
I played with the back this time. I love the bustles and ruffles from places like Chasing Fireflies (sigh, their clothes are amazing!), so the back got a little fancy:
And since a three year old may not find clothes too exciting as a birthday gift, there were also art supplies and this smock, from Bend The Rules Sewing, to go with it:
I just love that IKEA fabric. Cathleen, I think the baby needs some bibs and such from this fabric, don't you? The sewing machine is still humming...