Sewing

The Tote Bag Project Is Finished

recycled military uniform — Military Uniform Recycled Into a Tote Bag

A while back, my daughter in law asked me if I could make a tote bag for her out my son’s old Air Force uniform. I told her I would certainly try. She left the design and colors up to me. This turned out really cute! I had wanted to use the waistband from the pants around the top of the bag, and put an orange grosgrain ribbon through it, but I couldn’t figure out how to add it without messing up the handles. Oh well, it’s still cute!

recycled military uniform tote bag — This is a large tote bag

When I received the old uniform, I cut off the pockets and the various patches, and reused them on the outside of the bag. My son’s last name on the pocket makes this a really personalized bag for Sarah. The pattern I had did not have that fabric stripe near the bottom, but once I got the pieces cut out, it looked like it could use a touch of color, so I added it in.

military uniform tote bag — Lots of pockets inside

The bag has lots of pockets on the inside, too. And believe it or not, the whole thing is reversible, so Sarah can have two looks out of this bag if she wants to.

air force uniform recycled as tote bag — This is a large bag!

The finished bag is very big! She will be able to carry everything she needs for her two little ones in it. The straps are long enough to wear over the body, or on the shoulder. I am really pleased with the way this turned out. And yes, if anyone wants one, you have to send me an old uniform, and we can discuss what type of bag you want made. Price depends on what you want done.

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Fabric Pretties and Other Stuff

Karen · 3 Comments

This year is going by way too fast for me. I just can’t believe it’s already March. I have so many projects either piled up on my sewing table or in my head, and so little time to do them. It took me way longer to finish that flower girl dress for my niece’s wedding than I anticipated, so other things got pushed aside. Then we had to go to Georgia for our daughter’s wedding. We got back last week, and I have not felt good since then.

I went to the doctor yesterday, with a list of complaints a mile long. I have a bladder infection, which is making me listless and tired, so instead of sewing, I’ve been napping. I’m hoping I’ll feel better tomorrow after the meds have a chance to do their magic.

I also had the doc look at the rash on my face, and he diagnosed Rosacea. And of course, there was a med for that and a cream for that. Along with my regular blood pressure and diabetes meds. And don’t forget the anti-fungal potion that keeps me from itching to death. The doctor finally told me “It’s not unusual for a fungus infection to recur often. They are difficult to get rid of once you get them.” Well, DUH! He could have told me that last year. All in all, I walked away with six prescriptions @ a total of $132, not including the doctor’s office visit. All out of pocket, I might add as I do not have health insurance.

While we were out, I bought a new iron. Yes, an iron. You can not sew without an iron. The old one was probably 15 years old and just does not heat up like it should anymore. So out it goes, and in comes the new. I wanted one that is heavy–because it is hard to press seams when the iron is lightweight, in my opinion. This new GE is a beauty as far as irons go:

GE Easy Set Iron with Color Response — Ooooo, Baby!

I have no clue how it works, as it doesn’t have a temperature setting knob on it that I can find. I guess I’ll have to get out the instruction booklet that came with it. Who knew you’d have to read up on how to use an iron?

I needed the iron to finish up this cute project I’m working on. See the uniform my son is wearing:

seth in camo — My son--I am so proud of him

My daughter in law asked me to make a tote bag for her out of one of his old ones. So, here is what I have done so far:

military uniform purse — Uniform tote bag

and another view:

When I finish this bag, I have a huge project coming up. A long time reader of my blog, Judy from Travels With Emma, asked me to make her a T-shirt quilt. She spent the day a while back cutting the backs and sleeves out of her shirts so she could mail them to me. I borrowed this pic from Judy’s blog:

I ordered the fabric for the sashing, borders and back, a lovely brown diamond print:

studioe diamonds in brown — Studio e Diamonds in brown

The T-shirt fronts arrived last week:

And this is as far as I have gotten with the project:

quilt strips — 2.5 inch strips for sahing the quilt

So, as soon as I am feeling better, I will be back to work on this. I can not wait to see how it turns out.

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The Flower Girl Tries On The Dress

Karen · 5 Comments

On the way to Becky’s wedding, I met my sister at a gas station just off I-20 to drop off the Flower Girl Dress that I made for my niece’s wedding. My niece, Stefanie, is getting married in June. They were going to the bridal shop for their dress fittings, and they wanted to have the flower girl try on her dress, too.

Linda, my sister, said Adayla loved her dressy dress. They will have it hemmed and finish the straps a couple of weeks before the wedding. She’ll be such a cute flower girl.

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Just Had To Brag!

Karen · 7 Comments

FabGrandpa and I drove from Alabama to Georgia yesterday for Becky’s wedding tomorrow. On the way, we met my sister and handed off the flower girl dress. My niece and her bridesmaids and the flower girl were getting together at David’s Bridal for their alteration fittings today. This is what my sister posted on her Facebook Wall tonight:

“The Flower Girl dress that my Sister made for Adayla is gorgeous AND the Seamstress at David’s Bridal said that my Sister did an EXCELLENT job on the dress…said the hidden zipper was awesome…Karen…you have been lifted above even David’s Bridal’s Seamstresses….you should be proud….”

Girl! I am bustin at the seams proud of that!

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How To Make A Ruffled Pillow, Part 2

Karen · 3 Comments

Yesterday, I got as far as making all the ruffles. Today, the first thing I did was pin the ruffle to the pillow. To do this, take one piece of the pillow, and place it right side up on your sewing table. Pin the ruffle in place, with the edge of the ruffle even with the edge of the pillow fabric, and with the ruffle toward the center of the pillow:

how to make a ruffled pillow — Pin the ruffle to the pillow fabric

Straighten the ruffle and smooth it out as you go. Notice the rounded corners on this pillow–it is much easier to make a pillow with ruffles with rounded rather than square corners. Once you have the ruffle pinned all the way around, you’ll need to sew the ends of the ruffle together. To do this, pin the ends together, then take out the pins for a couple of inches on either side of the ends. Pull the ruffle away from the pillow, and stitch together. Re-pin the ruffle to the pillow fabric. Once you have done this, the piece will look like this:

ruffled pillow tutorial — Pillow with ruffle pinned in place

Take your piece with the ruffle pinned in place to the sewing machine, and stitch all the way around with a 7/8 inch seam.

sewing a ruffled pillow — Sew the ruffle to the pillow fabric, using a 7/8" seam.

Be careful while sewing this seam, because with all the layers and pins, it will be thick and you could break the needle.

broken sewing machine needle — Broke the needle

After you change the needle in your machine, sew around the entire piece again, 1/4 inch from the edge. Next, pin the pillow pieces together. Place the piece with the ruffle sewn on right side up on your table. Then, place the other piece right side down on top. Line up the corners and pin all the way around.

Now that you have the pieces pinned together, mark an opening on the fabric. You will start sewing at one mark, and sew around to the other mark. This will leave a place where you can turn the pillow right side out and have room to insert the stuffing.

sew a ruffled pillow — Mark an opening for your pillow

The size of the opening depends on how large the pillow is and what you are using to stuff the pillow. This pillow is rather large, and is stuffed with polyester fiberfill, which was reused from the original pillow. I left a 15″ opening so it would be easy to stuff. If you are using a foam block, you would need to measure the block to determine what size opening you would need. You might even have to leave one whole end open like a pillowcase in order to get a foam block inside. Sew around the pillow, beginning at the first mark and ending at the second one. Turn the pillow right side out.

Stuff the filling into the pillow. Once it is all in, pin the opening closed.

This next step is a little difficult to complete because the stuffed pillow is very large and bulky–I had to get FabGrandpa to help me. Take the entire pillow to your sewing machine. Stitch very close to the edge of the pillow to close the opening.

Your pillow is now complete. I have one more to go and my pillow project will be done. Here is how the new one looks compared to the old one:

Pin3

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How To Make A Ruffled Pillow, Part 1

Karen · 4 Comments

This was my old bedspread. It came with the trailer when we bought it, and I hated it from day one. It was ugly and scratchy and I was really happy to get rid of it when I finished my quilt a few months ago.

So now I have that fabulous new quilt, but I still have the ugly scratchy pillows going on. Today, I started making the new covers for the pillows. It started out with my old friend, the seam ripper. Together we ripped the old pillows apart. Then I used the old covers as a pattern to cut out the new ones.

Now I am working on making the ruffles. Ruffles are pretty easy, just monotonous work. To make ruffles, cut your fabric twice as wide as you want the ruffle to be, and two and a half as long as the circumference of the pillow. Fold the fabric piece in half with wrong sides together, and stitch 1/4 inch from the edge. Then, starting at one end, and using the widest zigzag stitch your machine will make, sew a piece of cord or yarn to the fabric, using the first stitching as a guide for placement of the yarn. Make sure you do not stitch through the yarn, just over it with the zigzag stitch:

how to sew ruffles — Stitch over the yarn with a wide zigzag stitch

After you have stitched the yarn to the fabric, hold one end of the yarn, pulling it to “bunch up” the fabric on the yarn. Spread out the gathering until it is evenly spaced, and stitch over the yarn using a straight stitch.

Continue pulling up the yarn, bunching up the fabric, and stitching the fabric in place until you get to the end of the piece. I use a pin to pull up the yarn between the zigzag stitches as I progress down the length of the fabric:

sewing a ruffle — Continue pulling up the yarn to gather the fabric and stitching the gathers in place until you get to the end of the fabric

The sewing area was a mess! That fluff on the floor is the inside of the pillow I took apart today. Tomorrow I’ll put all the pieces together again, and then the pillows will match the quilt. Next up: new curtains.

ruffles are easy to make — Ruffles are easy to make

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A Sash For The Bride

Karen · 1 Comment

wedding dress sash — Pay no attention to the model. He is such a good sport, though.

After I finished the flower girl dress, it was time to start on the sash for my niece’s wedding dress. She wanted the sash to match the sash on the flower girl dress–it also matches the dresses the bridesmaids will be wearing. I put off making this sash because it is so long, and had to be turned after it was sewn, and I hate doing that. When I make tote bags, I fold and press, then top stitch the handles so that there is no turning involved. It’s just that the turning makes my fingers hurt.

My husband is such a good sport. He knew that this picture would wind up on the internet, but he doesn’t care. I guess I could have gone outside and tied the sash around a tree, but it was cold out there and I didn’t want to get the sash dirty. And FabGrandpa was handy, so there ya go. I am sure Stefanie will be a beautiful bride. The wedding party’s wardrobe is certainly looking good so far.

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The Flower Girl Dress Is Powerless Over Me!

Karen · 19 Comments

After months of it watching me cower in the corner, I finally made my move, and have emerged victorious over the Flower Girl Dress. While it thought it would leave me in a huddled mess, I stood up to the challenge of it’s incredible super powers. The Slick Fabric:

The dastardly Invisible Zipper:

The Stiff Fabric Sash:

The Full Lining:

The defeated enemy:

And again:

I am glad I took the challenge of making this dress. I learned some new techniques, and figured out how to put a lining in a dress when none is called for in the pattern. It was interesting, and fun. I still have some “finger work” left to do, but it is basically finished. I can’t hem it because the Flower Girl lives 250 miles from me, but I hate hemming anyway. We’ll have to wait until June to see a picture of Adayla wearing it. Stefanie and Adam are getting married on June 18. Next, I get to make the Sash For The Bride.

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