Covers

Both my sewing chair and my current computer chair have plastic seats, and I've been covering those with towels so my bare legs don't stick to them.  While this is certainly effective, it is also very very ugly.  So!  I decided to make covers for them.

I quickly rejected the idea of making these covers from properly quilted patchwork, because I know that calico cottons don't hold up to upholstery needs very well.  I turned to my stash of 'tapestry' jacquards, most of which I have had for a very long time, saving them for Just The Right Project.

...and, honestly, I didn't feel like this project was that, but I decided to use one of those jacquards anyway.  Since the fabric was so precious, did I make patterns? Mock ups? Any kind of test at all for my ideas about how to make these chair covers (things I have very little experience making)? Nope! I went straight to draping and cutting the irreplaceable vintage fabric. It worked out.

(there's more)

Doll-themed Patchwork

(but not doll-size patchwork)

When I was cutting the patches for the tiered patchwork skirt I made in early August, I had started with a slightly different set of fabrics.  The more I cut, though, the more I realized that there were two distinct themes and color schemes developing, so I went ahead and cut enough for two skirts.

The original fabric selection for everything was centered around the doll print and coordinating madras that I used for a button up shirt.  I obviously went in a different direction for the first tiered patchwork skirt I made, and this one uses the assortment of prints and plaids more centered on the doll print. 

 

There's an odd assortment of "coordinating but not" colors in the doll print, and they're reflected pretty well in the additional print assortment.  

Even if it looks disjointed.

A More Traditional Kind of Patchwork Skirt

If there is a quintessential example of my approach to patchwork--heavier fabrics, relatively structured--it would probably be the long A-line skirt I made last summer.

I decided I would put aside my propensity for structured patchwork and try a more "normal" approach of sewing strips of squares and gathering them into tiers for a skirt.

It worked out nicely.

Petticoat Function

When making the lattice print skirt, I got very sidetracked by the decision to line it—sidetracked because the fabric I thought I would use had been set aside to make a petticoat.  I knew it wouldn't take all of it to make the petticoat, but I didn't want to use it in the skirt lining first, then discover there wasn't enough left to make the petticoat.  So!  Pause the lattice skirt to make the petticoat.

 

Lattice

About two years ago, a visit to the craft thrift store found a length of very 1990s rayon, which I bought after being overwhelmed by nostalgia, but with no clear plans for it.  I honestly thought I'd make it into a button up shirt, because I could very much imagine that's something I would have worn in high school.

And, after making the previous few simple shirts, I was ready to make this one!  So I got out the fabric and...didn't want to make it into a shirt.  I briefly considered a dress, but I'm not the right shape for anything that seemed suitable for that fabric in that quantity.

I've also wanted to make some simple dirndl type skirts, and I realized that the nice heavy swish of the rayon would be very good for that.  The fact that it's predominantly white did make me pause, for various reasons, but...that swish was just so nice...

The thought process then went on to "Well, it definitely needs pockets," followed by "There's not enough of this fabric to make self pockets, so I'd need to use something else" and "Any pockets would be clearly visible through the white fabric, as well as any underwear," so that's how I ended up also lining it.

This means I still haven't made a simple dirndl style skirt, but I did make this one!

 

I am surprised by how much I like it.

Rainbow Foil Camouflage Bucket Bag

Of all the fabric I ordered from FabricMart in January, the most 100% impulsive choice was a black synthetic knit with a foiled design, bearing multi-color splotches on silver foil, and the foil laid down in camouflage blobs.  And, since it was $1/yard (and I was ordering other things--specifically, more of the apple print--so shipping costs would be distributed), I got silly and ordered ten yards of it.  Yes, as a knit, it's 60" wide.  The quantity of this fabric is mildly overwhelming.

Also, after taking the time to figure out what to do with all of the apple print--for which I had at least the one plan, when I ordered it each time--I did not want to spend a lot of time trying to use up all of this fabric at once.  It would be fine in the stash until inspiration hit.  But.  I still wanted to make at least one thing from it before putting it away.

And, while I honestly probably will make a jacket from a bit of it, eventually, like I did with some of the other foiled knits from the same manufacturer (here and here), I didn't want to do that now.

For reasons that aren't entirely clear, my mind settled on making a bucket bag.  I'm not sure if I've ever even owned a bucket bag before, let alone made one.  I definitely don't have a pattern for one, but, after looking at bucket bags for sale, and at blogs showing how to make them, I felt confident enough to start cutting a bunch of rectangles and a few circles and start sewing things together.

 

 I think it turned out OK.

Pillowcase Splat

I bought some splatter print fabric the last time I went to the craft thrift store, with the intent of making a button up shirt for the kiddo.  Alas, it was only 40" wide, so I could not finagle much of anything out of it, in regard to a shirt, and I really didn't want to try to juggle print mixing (weird, I know)

But. I was determined to make something from it, for the kiddo, and immediately.  One of his sarcastic thrifted pillow cases recently started tearing (flannelette how I despise you.  but, it was a weird cat print, so...)  I decided the splatter print would become a pillowcase, and so it did

 

A flat pillowcase does not make an interesting photo, but this is simply proof that I made something.

I left the dark green thread in the serger, and it ended up blending well with the print

As with my preferred approach to many clothing hems, I pressed the 4" deep pillowcase hem flat, before I sewed the pillow into a tube, then unfolded it to sew and folded it back to hem.

And now the kiddo has an intact alternate pillowcase and I have used some of the most-recently purchased fabric.

(I didn't use the full width, and that removed width has been added to the doll clothes fabric stash.)

Wash Bag

There has been a small pile of relatively delicate garments accumulating on my dresser that I have not wanted to hand wash.  They are all too large for the lingerie bag I have, so of course my solution was to make a larger bag myself.

I did not have suitable fabric, so I kept an eye on the Walmart mill-end precut selection, and it recently turned up a weird synthetic mesh-y fabric that seemed good enough.  Bonus that it was 2 yards for $4.

Itai!

 I've wanted to try making an ita bag for a while.  When I finished the patchwork jacket, I decided that my next project would be that bag.

I made a stack of the materials I had that seemed suitable--clear vinyl purpose bought from Joann, some glitter vinyl and several pieces of free-table cloth from the craft thrift store, leftover scraps of the glowworm green lining, bag zippers from Wawak, webbing and hardware salvaged from some baby thing from the kiddo's extreme youth, a stack of thrifted embroidery stabilizer, and a whole lot of Wonder Under and fusible webbing

I knew I didn't want to do a style with a heart-shaped window (I'm not a heart-shape person), and decided to rein myself in and not do anything complicated.  The only odd thing was that the glitter vinyl sheets had been used a bit, so I had to figure out how to work around that.

I absolutely made up every part of this as I went along.

Quick Skirt...uh...Checkerboard Lovecore?

 I thought the pink T-shirt in the previous post and the red/gray/black plaid jacket from the post before that coordinated nicely, so thought I'd make a skirt to go with them.  Turns out this is not a skirt that goes with them, but it is something I've been thinking of making for a while--well, thinking of combining these prints, at least

Super Simple Sparkle Skirt

 I have had this small amount of big confetti dot fabric since the early 2000s 

 And since I finally used the (much newer) zombie knit, I decided why not go ahead and use this, too, and for something fast and easy...and, due to the nature of the fabric, it would also be something Unwise

While the tulle star shirt showed that I am not averse to making more complicated things from novelty fabrics, I also understand that not everything has to showcase my sewing abilities

UFO Sighting

 I started this purse in summer of 2019, got to the point of being ready to sew all the sub-assemblies together, then put it into a bag and didn't touch it again until yesterday. Sewing a purse that I do like in the meantime did not encourage me to return to this project with any speed, either.

However, I have been doing a tiny bit of stash organizing (and admitting that a lot of the fabric I'd picked out to donate, then decided to keep and sew through...nah, I really should donate, especially after a burn test showed that one--a nice shirt weight--was a polyester blend, which I would never use.) I decided to finish this purse so I could eliminate the bag it had been stored in, and here we are

It's not great, and it was as infuriating to finish as I expected it to be, and I have no need for another purse, but I still kinda like it?

Three Tier Skirt

 I realized that I have made a small stack of shirts, plus a few jumpers, and no skirts I can wear (the skirt I made with the Lekala pattern is too big--I do want to take it apart and re-sew it...eventually...)  So, I decided to take a beak from trying to get the shirt pattern how I want it to make a skirt.  I used to wear tiered skirts a lot, so that that's what I did.

This kind of skirt doesn't need a pattern--rip a narrow strip for the waistband, and rip a lot of wider strips to assemble into long strips to make the tiers, then start gathering.

Of course, I automated that--and the eventual 'whole lotta hem'--with sewing machine gadgets

And so a skirt was made

I guess I'll call this one...FOILed Again. Maybe.

 ...because...y'know...  It's what I did with the sticky leather and adhesive transfer foil experiment I showed a few posts ago. 

 

Ruffle & Roll

 Just posted another quick doll video, showing how I use a narrow rolled hem foot and ruffler to make quick doll skirts (my biggest deviation from most advice you see about using the rolled hem foot is that I use it just fine on calico and quilting cotton all the time, while I see a lot of advice on using the narrow rolled hem foot insist that it's only usable on super lightweight fabrics.  I gotta say, though, the idea of trying to use this thing on something as delicate as chiffon sounds horrible to me...)

And here's the skirt made in the video

Speedy Spider Scarf

 Continuing the hazy idea of making things that fit with Lagenlook or mori kei/dark mori or strega style, I decided I would make a Very Long Scarf.

I used the spiderweb lace yardage that I've used in small amounts before, in the layering shirt I made a bit over a year ago and in another shirt that I seem not to have blogged and no longer have.  Huh.

 I cut a lengthwise strip roughly 80" long by 24" wide (even more roughly 200cm x 60cm) and got into my lace stash where I rediscovered the thrifted 18 yard roll of black cluny lace, which, honestly, was the only length of black lace I had that was going to be long enough for this project.  I sewed the lace to the edge all around with a narrow seam allowance, flipped it outward, and then sewed through all layers of that narrow seam allowance.  Tedious, but easy.

And now I have a ridiculously dramatic spidery scarf

Utility Sewing...for Dolls

I store doll clothes in zip bags I made a few years ago--I can't find any posts about them here (I may have forgotten to tag 'em, because I know I made them less time ago than I started this blog--hey, I'm tired, that makes enough sense.)  They're super simple: front/back/zipper, no lining, no seam finishing.

They worked for years, but...things have been getting crowded, so I finally took the time to make more

 A random hand-full of mostly gifted fabrics, some of which have been seen here before (and one of which I'm wearing right now.)

I sewed four individually before I realized that batch sewing would probably be good, if only to reduce the need to switch between the straight stitch foot and zipper foot so often.

I mostly kept these simple, but I did serge the seam allowances

and the bag destined to hold doll socks and tights got a few pockets, so (in theory) I can keep basic styles sorted.

The only sewy oddness that happened was the way, when I top stitch along the fabric edge by the zipper,  I move the zipper pull by stopping with the needle down, raising the presser foot, then using a heavy needle to help maneuver the zipper pull out of the way, back beyond the presser foot

It takes both hands, and my camera is a DSLR which also really needs both hands, so this is the best recreation I could do.  And this particular vintage zipper is a bit...storage worn.

It's fine.

I'll figure out what goes where tomorrow.  Time for sleep now.

Duvet Retro

I am one of those people who likes a lot of blankets, while the other person in bed...not so much.  So, ages ago, I made a just-for-me comforter, two yards by 40"

I recently took a good look at it and realized that I had worn it threadbare in many places, as well as being reminded of the random holes and popped seams, and also the colors were very much not my thing these days.

But, it still worked perfectly well as a blanket, so I decided I'd make a new cover for it, and I decided to go ahead and make it a duvet cover.

Impulse Curtains (and tablecloth and more curtains and a windowsill runner and oh look another curtain)

Two days ago was the first Saturday of the month, which--around here, at least--is "half off everything in the store" day at all the Goodwills.  I have recently taken back up with houseplants again, and had the idea I could go to the Goodwill that I hadn't gone to earlier in the week and grab some cache pots for cheap, and also maybe find a mirror to put behind the shelf recently installed in here to hold houseplants.

I did find a few cache pots, but no suitable mirrors.  And I also saw this

Marked $9.99, so $5, with indeterminately many yards rolled up in the tube, and with stripes in a nice watermelon-y pink color.  At first I scoffed, because what use would I have for so much interior decorating weight cloth?

Last Big Project of the Year

Not 'complicated' big as much as '90" square big, plus matching pillow shams' big.

So.

Many years ago--but I'm not sure exactly how many, because I seem not to have taken a photo of it when it was completed--I made this patchwork bedspread and matching pillow shams for our bed

 And I still like it!  And it is mostly still in good shape...mostly.