Sewing Recap–Dec 2012

    Quilted Gift Bag

This holiday gift bag was a test of one of my patterns I’ve been working on.  One of the most difficult aspects of pattern design for me is the writing of the instructions.  My goal is to describe the process of constructing a craft project in a clear precise way and sometimes that means I have to write, test, and re-write. 
 
I had this cotton border fabric in my stash for years and knew that someday I would find the perfect use for it.  All I had to do is pick out a contrasting lining.
 
I used some thin polyester batting leftovers and quilted simple horizontal lines to accentuate the candy cane trim.  I also free-motion quilted the outline of the bears.  They are sooo cute.  

 

 

      Serger Zip Bag

I bought my MyLock 234 serger in 1987.  It was put to use a lot in those days making turtleneck tops, leggings, sweatshirts and other home décor items.  But then it sat, unused and collecting dust for nearly 20 years.

This bag is one of the projects in the Beginner Serging class with Amy Alan at Craftsy.com.  Even though I’d used my machine a lot in the past, this is actually the first class I’ve taken and I’ve learned a lot.  Because mine is an older machine it has its limits with regard to stitch types and does not have some of the newer fancy knobs and gadgets.  In spite of that, this has been a great refresher and inspiration. I plan to use this bag to store hold my machine’s power supply and peddle as well as extra accessories.

                                      Knit T-shirts

I’d been thinking about making some long sleeve t-shirts when I saw a new class offered on Craftsy.com .  Meg McElwee is the instructor for Sewing With Knits: 5 Wardrobe Essentials and provides patterns for a fleece hoodie, scoop-neck and v-neck tees, fold-over waistband pocket pants with shorts option, surplice empire-waist dress, and a fold-over waistband skirt.  The Craftsy platform is perfect for me because I can access the class on my own as time permits. 

I dug around in my fabric stash and found some light-weight t-shirt knits to use for my first projects.  I’m not really sure if they are jerseys or interlocks. The aqua shirt was the first one I made.  I blogged about it here.

 
For my second t-shirt, also a scoop-neck version in periwinkle, I adjusted the pattern to add some extra to the side seams.  The neck band did not lay as flat as I would have liked but its good enough.  

 







My last t-shirt is this burgundy knit.  Unlike the other two t-shirts, I bought this fabric recently.  It is really light-weight and soft.  I had problems with the neck band not laying flat, so I unpicked all the stitching, including my top-stitching, and started over.  By comparing the pattern piece with the band I just removed, I discovered that it had stretched about 2 inches longed in the process of my sewing it on the first time.  I cut it back to proper size and reattached it to the neckline.  Much better result.  

For this shirt I used the next larger pattern size and made the bottom hem more like a shirt and not straight across like the other two.  I also used my serger for all the shoulders, sleeves, and side seams.  I like the nice clean finish on the inside of the shirt.


 
      A Mobius Scarf

I also made a Mobius scarf from my left-over fabric. 
I cut a piece 37” (cross-grain) by 10” wide then folded it in half length-wise.  I found instructions for constructing a Mobius scarf posted by Weekend Designer here.  
I’ll most likely make more of this type of scarf.  Hummmm…..I wonder if you could make it with more than one twist?  Something to consider for a future project.