T-shirt Upcycled to Gift Bag

One thing I love about the green trend is that now I can upcycle a gift and not have to work so hard to make it look new while satisfying my urge to reuse before I recycle. This afternoon, my serger and I turned out a quick upcycled T-shirt bag to hold presents for my 14-year-old nephew. (Well, he'll be 14 tomorrow, and we had his family party this afternoon.) I lifted my serger's cutting blade for step #1 to close off the bottom. Where the instructions say to cut, I used my serger with woolly nylon to finish the edges while also cutting. The part that worked out the best was step #2 where the instructions reminded to trace the shape (I just traced the shape of the front neckline on the back so the two sides match without removing much material).

I was going to embroider his name on the back, but I accidentally put the wrong bobbin in and broke a needle (yes, I was wearing safety glasses) while creating holes in the tee-shirt. Fail! To fix those holes while still adding his name to his gift bag, I cut a letter E out of iron-on patch material and patched the holes in style. His mom and sister were ready to take over the upcycled bag but I pointed out it was personalized! So I guess I should grab some more teeshirts that haven't been worn in years to make more gift bags.

(He got a very sun-faded now light salmon orange but still in good shape tee that said 55 Thunderbird Rock-n-Roll with a picture of a jukebox and a 1955 Ford Thunderbird. And the blue E on the other side to cover the first holes in the shirt from that failed machine embroidery. I just can't use that embroidery machine when I'm in a hurry. I can kick out a quick serger project, and sergers are supposed to be hard, but they're easy for me next to the embroidery monsters. Make sure you master your sewing machine first!)

Pillow Pal

Karston said he wanted a ladybug pillow pet, but we just don't see buying more toys so soon after Christmas. So I said I would make one with him. I read the pattern PDF from Twelve Crafts til Christmas, looked at Jen Goode's bed bugs, and also Dollar Store Crafts.

What I learned from the pattern PDF was to appliqué all the decorations on the top piece of red felt. So I started with two large red felt squares, using the felt selvedge on the "head" end of both red squares. I appliquéd on four spots and four feet (verisimilitude not required) from black felt. I cut out the spots by cutting around a cup with a scalpel; I cut out the four black feet by cutting around a bowl with a scalpel and cutting it into quarters, and two more red circle from the same bowl for the head. I did freehand cutting of black felt for two eyes, nose, and a smile.

I made two wide red strips, added black velcro, and sewed the strips into tubes (straps without loose ends). I put the straps and the appliqué side to the inside, and sewed most of the red squares together, leaving a reinforced 3 inches open in the middle of the selvedge (head) side. Turn right side out, stuff, hand-sew the opening shut.

Appliqué face, tuck antennae and appliqué to the inside while sewing front to back, leaving a 2 inch opening between the antennae. Turn right side out, stuff, hand-sew the opening shut (optionally catching some yarn to make loops of "hair"). So far, about an hour of sewing.

Now to attach the head to the body ... time to finish, not blog!

Silk Tie Ideas

I did a quick 'net search for silk tie refashion ideas.

• The tie belt looks spiffy, and reminds me that two ties could make suspenders (attach suspender clips, and cross the ties in the back; my mom says she did that when she was pregnant with me). I wouldn't trust glue to have belt-worthy strength, but I don't mind using my sewing machine for belts and suspenders. Not that I've wanted suspenders since I was pregnant either!
• This sunglasses case looks good (again, I would sew instead of glue, and I would also use a slippery fabric lining), and could easily become a phone case, an iPod case with a belt loop, or a skinny purse. If you open up the tie to scavenge the material, you can make this small purse too. Following this theme, you can also make a zip pouch.
• The necktie place mats and napkin rings look very formal and manly. And they would easily adapt to be a picnic roll-up (a placemat with flatware and napkin pockets that you roll up and tie shut for the journey to your picnic destination, even Martha's done it)!
• If you have a lot of ties and patience, try the neck tie school bag.
• And finally, a scarf.
• A late 2014 addition, a coffee cup cozy.

Yep, more potential projects than I have time! I do love the whole refashion and upcycle idea, though.

Full-Bust Adjustment

Now that I've done a full-bust adjustment on a tank-top pattern my mother drafted, and researched how to do it for princess seams, it strikes me that the infamous FBA can be summarized this way:

You add that shape to the pattern piece that covers the side, either princess or darted. You modify that shape to fit your shape. You also make the patterns pieces that connect to this one longer to match. It's always that general shape, and now I wonder why it took me so long to try it. What's the point to sewing clothes for myself if they don't fit better than RTW? No wonder my last big projects have been for the boys. Well, I'm getting better (or just more confident) at this, so who knows!

The Full Bust Adjustment

I was inspired by this post on her first Full Bust Adjustment, so I decided I should finally try it. I started with (a copy of) the tank top pattern that my mom drafted, but I didn't feel like making a muslin that didn't fit, so I just pinned up my copy and put it on my dressmaker's dummy. This was my first time using that dressmaker's form I got from my grandmother two years ago, and it works really well!

In fact, pinning and adjusting right on the dressmakers form was easy enough that I made all of the adjustments ... so much for beautiful directions (as these are) with inspiration, because I just winged it. I have a newfound appreciation for my dressmaker's form: that's the easy way to adjust fit!

I did spend a moment wondering how to lower the bust point on my dressmaker's form, though. Then I realized that I could effectively raise the shoulders by using gaffer's tape to attach thin 3" x 5" pieces of foam we had sitting around for another project that expired before we started. So now the form is even more accurate than when I started!

Halter Tank Top

I'm a sucker for patterns that match my measurements, and I’m always on the lookout for tank top patterns that use minimal fabric. If this one is made with a contrasting border (an opportunity both to slit the side seams and to use less main fabric) and even a contrasting back, it won’t use much of the main fabric at all. The contrasting border reduces the chance that the wrong side of the fabric will be seen, and the shelf bra does extra duty as a front facing and modesty lining. But rather than wing it entirely, I notice that it's similar to Belle Epoch Whimsy's tie tank top tutorial (I too would make it with buttonhole in front to tie there not at shoulders) which has excellent directions for a measure-then-draft pattern. The difference is that this has a lower back that's elasticized and sewn to (elasticized) shelf bra in front.

From Belle Epoch pattern drafting (except cut 1 for the front, not 2; use b-w-d-line trapezoid as pattern for the back and a-c-b-curve curved-side trapezoid as the shelf bra facing pattern -- BUT add seam allowance to back (upward) and facing (downward) on the 'b' edge so you may need to make three pattern pieces if you don't want to wing it too much), first measure yourself (in inches).

x = high bust

y = full bust

z = vertical distance between x and y

w = vertical distance between y and where you'd like the tank top to end

v = your (horizontal) body width at measurement point w

Then do some simple math:

a = THE SMALLER OF ( (x ÷ 4) + 1.5 ) AND ( b - 1 )

b = (y ÷ 4) + 3

c = z + 2

d = (v ÷ 4) + 4

Look at the pattern drafting directions from Belle Epoch for pattern drafting pictures -- a picture is worth a thousand words (or more in this case!).

Now armed with a pattern, make a strap (you can cut a skinny rectangle without a pattern, right? or use ribbon) and continue sewing from the Sewing Dork directions.

The pattern has IIRC 4 inches of ease, so it will be loose. But it's also a fitted-to-you pattern!

Recycled into a Child's Shirt

Kid's shirts can be so inexpensive as to make this not-as-useful, but I made Karston a long-sleeved shirt from one of my old tee-shirts and a "rag" tee-shirt. He really liked the unique print on the front of my old tee-shirt that I didn't wear anymore, so this project was worth my time. I finished it in a week, just working on it a few minutes most days.

1. trace an existing long-sleeved shirt that fits well onto large-enough paper (like a paper grocery bag sliced open)
2. cut pattern
3. cut pieces from inside-out shirt
4. pin shoulders
5. thread serger
6. serge shoulders
7. serge neckline
8. pin sleeves to shoulders, matching sleeve top to new shoulder seam
9. serge sleeves to shoulders, but leave sides open
10. pin sleeves and sides
11. start at cuff, and serge from sleeve to side
12. serge bottom of shirt
13. pin hem
14. iron hem in place
15. switch from serger to sewing machine, thread sewing machine
16. stitch hem using a stitch with some stretch (zig-zag typically, but I used a wave to go with the shells)
17. pin fold-over elastic around neckline
18. stitch foe at neck with zig-zag
19. using a small crochet hook, catch all serger ends underneath closest serged seam

Voilà, one long-sleeved kid's shirt, made an adult's shirt! Easier to do than I expected too -- sergers really are fast!

that's what's missing!

I've had my new sewing machine, a Brother CS-6000i, for over two years now, and I just figured out what feature my old (and much cheaper) sewing machine had that this one doesn't. It doesn't do free-arm sewing, although it claims that feature. I'm not positive I could finish a sleeve's cuff on this machine because the free arm area is still fairly large. On the other hand, it has all those fancy stitches, and accessories, and quilting features, and it's taken me over two years to notice this. I use the one-step buttonhole attachment more often than the free-arm.

I finished today's sewing project by hand in about the same time anyway.

My First Sewing Machine

I'm getting my first sewing machine ready for a new home (yay! I couldn't throw it out, but I rarely used it), and it makes me think of the checklist I used to select it in fall of 1991.

I wanted

• straight stitch and
• zig-zag stitches in at least 3mm and 5mm stitch widths,
• variable stitch lengths,
• reverse for easy bar tacking,
• and hopefully a free arm for sewing in tight spaces.

What I sew determines what sewing machine features I use. I've made clothes, accessories (like purses), and some light household items (napkins and curtains). I've added applique accents. Sometimes I mend fabric things, but I usually mend by hand since it seems easier.

For my second and current sewing machine, the main feature I added to that list was a 1-step automatic buttonholer. I was, I confess, also swayed by all of the accessories and specialty stitches on my new one. However, those extras didn't add to the cost once "one-step buttonhole" made the necessary list. I noticed that I made shirts in one long weekend except for the buttonholes, and those took a couple of months to get around to finishing. Making buttonholes fun, instead of a chore, speeds up the whole project.

Between the first sewing machine and the second, I've also added a serger and an embroidery machine to my collection, so I didn't need or want a combination machine. I expect a combo machine to be jack of those trades, master of none.

Sewing machines can last a long time. When I say a working sewing machine is old, I usually mean that it needs to have its timing adjusted. However that service costs $50 or more, a good portion of the cost of a new not-too-specialized machine. Sewing machines have their timing slip most commonly when sewing heavy fabrics, like layers of denim. After the timing goes, a sewing machine doesn't stitch thin fabric as well as a new or recently tuned one. So my thought is, use an old machine for the heavy work, and new for light.

I don't like maintenance-free sewing machines (or anything else). They may go longer without service, but at a high cost. The maintenance-free failure mode is that it breaks, while the maintenance one just needs that tune-up. Hmm, several tune-ups (maybe many!) versus dead. Not a tough choice for me since I don't mind oiling and cleaning my sewing machine! Other than that, I like good workmanship (it just fits together well) and a good sound (easier to hear when you need maintenance).

Birdsnesting

Daddy bought an embroidery machine for me as a mom present while we were at the mall the day before my water broke the day before Karston was born. It is a Brother PE-180D, I knew it was well-liked, and it was an incredible price (1/4 the best price on Froogle, and 1/8 the best price I had ever seen in person) because it was the display unit. However, I've had to solve a number of open box problems. The first was that I didn't have the manual. Luckily the on-screen help covers almost everything. Then I found a link to the manual at SewForLess. (I couldn't find the manual with Google, and Brother's web find only wanted to sell me a printed copy. The kicker is that the link goes to Brother's web site!) The second problem was that I had the wrong hoop. Yes, the dangers of open box: not only are some components like the manual missing, others could be just plain wrong! After careful analysis of how the hoop went on the arm (don't forget, we're a two-engineer household!), we knew they didn't go together. There was no way to latch the hoop securely that also held the fabric flush with the bed so that it wasn't a hazard. (I broke two needles proving this before the careful analysis. The first needle break launched one shard just below my left eye, and now I always wear safety glasses when embroidering. I bet you didn't think safety glasses belong in a sewing room! but they do in mine.) I ordered the hoop from SewForLess since they supplied the manual link. But I still had a serious problem with a large snarl of thread on the underside of the fabric that eventually would break the upper thread. First I had to discover the name of this problem: birdsnesting. Once I knew that, I could troubleshoot with Google. At the sewing machine fault finder, I learned that birdsnesting is usually caused by improper upper threading. At first I scoffed, since I have a lot of machine threading experience. But I re-threaded it very carefully and slowly, following the on-screen directions, and the bird's nest disappeared. In this case I think my sewing and serging experience was part of the problem: I was sure I could just whip that upper thread through its path, no need to read the directions or to be careful! Now I know that I need to be very careful, and that following the on-screen directions helps. I still feel that I can thread the needle faster by hand than with the F.A.S.T. system, so I do let my experience over-ride that part of the directions. But slowing down vastly improved the results! Then my final problem, on my second test embroidery, the upper thread broke. When I grabbed the thread end, it was obvious: the large embroidery thread cone, 6 inches tall, wasn't unwinding freely. I was using my serger's stand and thread arm and reaching over to the embroidery machine, but it wasn't a good kluge. So Daddy installed the thread cone stand from my mom, the thread flowed easily, and the embroidery just worked. Ahh... since embroidery was part of our Christmas gift plans, the last two solutions were just in time!

I can now embroider when I want (OK, a year and a half later). The only remaining problem is that sometimes the bobbin thread pulls through to the front for a while. To keep it from showing up, I just wind a bobbin in the same color. Having equal weight upper and lower thread usually helps sewing anyway, and Singer Type 66 bobbins are easy to find. I might solve that problem in time, but for now I'm happy that I can now embroider what I want when I want.