My recent sewing adventures

I am so delighted to be asked back to be a part of Sew Crafty online shops Design Team again. Chosen to create projects using supplies from their fabulous shop. For my main project I chose to make a pinafore tunic dress using Sew Me Something’s ‘Beatrice’ pattern with denim fabric, I also made two smaller projects; an infinity scarf from jersey and lace and an upcycled lamp using a pattered cotton fabric. Doing these projects has definitely reignited my love of sewing after a long break.

The ‘Beatrice’ pinafore dress 

I saw the Sew Me Something ‘Beatrice’ pattern on Sew Crafty’s Online shop and it appealed to me straight away. It looked like it would be a really comfortable garment, perfect to wear over pyjamas clothing to get busy crafting in.

I debated about which fabric to make the pinafore in, I couldn’t decide between linen or denim. Eventually I picked a medium denim, because I thought the thickness would make it more hardwearing, and it wouldn’t need to be ironed as much. The pockets are also a great size for keeping bits and bobs in such as tape measures and chalk etc. They fit a phone perfectly too.

I have a very care free (alright lazy) sewing style and am not very good with following patterns and being precise. I usually prefer to wing it when making a garment but when I do plan on making something using a pattern I look for easy to follow instructions and simple pattern pieces. The ‘Beatrice’ pattern ticked both boxes. The pattern would even suit beginners, as it has straight forward instructions and no complicated techniques are needed. 

The paper pattern itself was also simple to cut out.

I used a dark blue binding I had already to cover the upper edge of the pockets, there are loads of bindings to choose from on Sew Crafty Online. A contrasting colour of binding could make the pockets stand out.

   

Half way through sewing the pinafore I decided to unpick most of it to do a double hem around the edges as I was worried they would fray with just a single hem. Overlocking or shearing with pinking shears the edges are other options you could try.

The crossover back.

I found the most difficult aspect of sewing the pinafore was hemming the curves of the back pieces and the pockets. There is definitely a knack to hemming a curved edge! Ironing the curved edges over first helped a lot. With a bit of trial and error, unpicking, ironing and pinning I got the hang of hemming a curve. Phew!

Overall, I am very pleased with the result of the pinafore. It is a very comfortable garment to wear, I thought it might feel a little heavy but it doesn’t at all. There are no zips or buttons to bother with, just put it over your head and put your arms through, easy on and off. I can see myself wearing it often. 

I would definitely recommend trying the ‘Beatrice’ pattern and using medium denim as it was very easy to sew, just enough stretch in it, hardwearing but not stiff or heavy, really comfortable.

Infinity Scarf

This month I’ve also had a go at making an Infinity Scarf out of Jersey and Lace. I followed a tutorial on Youtube and I managed to whip it up quite quickly. I love the colour of the jersey and absolutely adore the black lace, its gorgeous.

I was little nervous sewing with lace for the first time but it was actually a joy. The only tricky part was hand sewing the three inch gap that I used to pull the fabric through the right way at the end.

My tip would be to try and make sure when cutting pieces of lace to avoid parts of the lace with large holes. You could hem the lace first so you sew through two layers of lace to make it feel sturdier. I plan on making a few more infinity scarfs, they are nice to give as gifts too.

Upcycled lamp

I also upcycled a lamp using a lovely fabric called Blend Folk Music Melody Collection Chimes Blue which is actually under half price right now (only £2.50 per half metre, was £6.04) in Sew Crafty’s shop. No sewing was required for this project, just cut out enough fabric to cover the shade and leave an extra inch to fold over the edge and glue, done!

Please check out my fellow Design Team members projects using the hashtag #scdesignteam on Instagram. They are so talented. I would love to hear any feedback on my projects or hear about any projects you are doing in the comments section.

How-to make fabric postcards

It is no secret that I am a huge snail mail fan and I’m always on the look out for ways to make my mail unique. A while back I had the idea to make postcards out of fabric which could be sent and the receiver could keep as keepsakes. I knew exactly how I was going to do it. Being able to choose fabrics from the Sew Crafty shop as a part of the Sew Crafty Design Team made it so much more exciting, they have such a gorgeous selection to pick from. I chose some lovely fabrics that I think make nice postcard fronts. Here is how I went about making the fabric postcards:

You will need:

• White fabric for the back (writing side)
• Patterned fabric. I made a few postcards using different fabrics from the Dashwood Sweet Escape range, Dashwood Confetti range and Sealed with a Kiss Envelopes fabric
• Embroidery thread
• Card (I used a cereal box)
• Scissors/rotary fabric cutter
• Pins
• Chalk or vanishing pen
• Pinking shears
• Clear flexible plastic (I used plastic from a travel card holder)
• Sewing machine

Step 1. 

Cut out 2 rectangles 19 cm’s by 15 cm’s (approx 7.5 inches x 6 inches): one in white fabric for the writing side and another one in a patterned fabric.

Step 2. 

On the white fabric rectangle draw out your written message and postcard lines with chalk or a fabric pen with erasable ink. Then using embroidery thread (dark colours like black work best) sew on top of what you have drawn using a running stitch or backstitch.

Not a fan of embroidery? Why not use a fabric pen instead. I did this for the address below. A pen for labelling works as it is permanent. I already had a pen but there are a variety of pens available.

Step 3.  

The next step is the stamp.

Option A.

Stamps out of fabric. Cut a small rectangle out of white fabric (cotton, felt or leather. I used leftover interfacing!). Then use pinking shears to cut a zig zag shape around the four edges. Cut a smaller rectangle out of patterned fabric. Then sew the smaller patterned fabric on top of the white zig zagged rectangle. Finally, sew the stamp to the right corner of the writing side of the postcard leaving a margin for when the postcard is sewn together.

Option B. 

This option is if you would like to actually send your fabric postcard through the mail. Simply sew a rectangle piece of flexible clear plastic (such as that from an old travel card wallet) to the right hand corner of the white (writing side) fabric. 

When sewing on your plastic leave a margin for when the front and back fabrics are sewn together.

Step 4. 

Place your 2 rectangles of fabric right sides together and pin in place. Then sew along three sides (1cm from edge), leaving one short side open. 

Trim the corners and turn the postcard the right way round.

Step 5. 

Put your piece of card inside and fold in the open edges. Iron the folds (don’t use steam as this will make the card inside soggy) and pin together. You can invisible stitch the opening closed or sew it closed with a sewing machine in the final step, where you sew all around the edges.

Step 6. 

Finally, sew around all four sides approximately half a centimetre from the outer edge. 

Here is how the fronts of the postcards looked above. The pink one is actually a pouch.

Here are the backs of the postcards showing the two different types of stamps.

Pouch option: 

If you would like to send a secret letter in your postcard you can turn it into a pouch. You can do this  by sewing a zip either at the side or along the top.

For the pouch above I sewed the zip along the top edges of the fabric then sewed together the remaining three sides (right sides together) using a 1cm margin. I then turned it the right way around and gave it a quick press with an iron. Put a piece of card inside for stability if it is to flimsy. You could keep it as a pouch for yourself and not send it at all if you wanted. Would be great for storing letters or pens.

Would you like a fabric postcard in the mail? Would love to know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Upcycled: How to turn a woman's top into a cushion

I love bright and bold colour home furnishings. I have been on the look out for some bohemian style cushions but haven't been able to find anything I like. I frequently come across women's boho style tunics/tops in my local charity shops though so I thought I would buy some to make my own cushions. I have made a couple so far and this is how I have done it.

Instructions for making a cushion cover out of a top

The instructions below are how to make a cushion cover with an envelope opening at the back.

1) First measure the cushion you want to cover.

2) I made a sewing pattern out of paper using the measurements (I find it easier than drawing straight onto the fabric and as I often use the same size cushions having the pattern saves me measuring up each time). I added an extra 1cm width all round the pattern pieces for the seam allowance. As the cushions I use are square it is the same width and hight. To make a cushion with an envelope back you will need three pieces altogether; the front (square) piece and two back pieces (about two thirds the length of the square front piece) pieces.

3) On the front side of your top draw around the square template and cut it out.

4) Then draw around the other pattern pieces onto the back of your top and cut them out.  

5) Sew a hem along one long side of each of the back pieces (the long sides that will make the envelope opening).

4) Lay the front square piece right (patterned) side up and place one of the back panels right side down along the top edge and sew along the top and side edges. Then lay the last back panel right side onto the bottom edge (the back panels should overlap) and sew along the bottom and sides. Then turn the cover right side out and place your cushion filling inside using the envelope opening. That's it, all finished. 

 

Upcycle a shower curtain four ways

I set myself a challenge to upcycle a shower curtain that I didn't really need. Initially I thought I could probably make one or two things but was actually surprised with how many possibilities there were. So far I have made four things; a make up bag, a kids apron, a drawstring bag and a suit bag but I still have about a metre square of curtain left. Any suggestions are very welcome for what else I could make. I am thinking maybe an apron for myself or a tablecloth for my little table.

Here are a couple of links to good sewing tutorials that have lots of helpful photos; over on danamadeit.com is the nice tutorial I used for the make up case and I followed this helpful tutorial by kittybabylove.com for the drawstring bag. The suit bag and kids apron were improvised.