Thursday, February 18, 2016

Not Quite What I Imagined, But....

While looking for scarf patterns a few days ago, I came across a bunch that I wanted to make.  Once again, like the scarf I did a few days ago, I've tried to turn a knitted pattern into a sewing pattern.


It's not bad, right?  Even though it doesn't look like the inspiration scarf below, I am pleased with the way it turned out. 



Love it--the fabric, the design, the versatility!  The biggest problem was trying to figure out what fabric I could use to achieve the look.  While I would love to buy some awesome wool fabric, I need to start using the stash.  Decision, decisions!  I didn't have anything light and drapey that I could use as a single layer.  I decided to go with the lightweight Shao mist pink interlock that had been sitting in the stash since, well let's see.


Wow, this one is practically new! Barely over a year of sitting on my shelf.  (Did I mention that this would be my first attempt at working with knit fabric, too?)  I was hoping the interlock would achieve those nice, deep folds, but that didn't work out.  In retrospect, I think a narrower top section might have come closer to achieving that look.  Here's a quick look at how I came up with the pattern and put it together.

First, the knitting pattern gives no finished size.  There are a couple of diagrams like this one from the pdf:


I chose to interpret each of the jagged lines as an inch.  Now, I think the top section might work better if it was narrower by a couple of inches.  I'd also probably drop a couple of those slits.

This one required the dining room table for cutting.


It may look like isosceles triangle here with the two long sides being even, but it really drops 5 inches from one side to the other on the small end,  making the other two sides uneven as well.  I'd like to try making a larger drop from side to side next time. 

I chose to make buttonholes for the slits in the top.


I basted some light-weight interfacing where the buttonholes would be, serged the edges leaving a few inches open for turning, turned it out, top-stitched the edges, and spaced out six buttonholes at the top. Took out the interface basting and it was done!

Once I got over my initial disappointment that it is quite different from the inspiration piece, I started having fun with it.  The more I played with it, the more options I found for wearing it.







Taking a short break from scarf making to put together something special from an unusual fabric source.  Hope it will be ready to show you in a couple of days.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Perfect Weather for Making A Scarf

I'm in a scarf-making mood today. That may be the result of our temperatures.  This is the information for our area from weather.com.

Clifton Park, New York Weather
Observed at 3:45 pm EST
Wind Chill Warning Until 1:00 pm EST, Sunday February 14
0°F
Feels Like -20°F 
                                                                    

 On the bright side, I now have this:



The inspiration came from this knitted scarf on Pinterest.  I dearly hate it when the ends of my scarves are continually falling forward.  No matter what method of wrapping them around I use, the damned things don't stay in place.  I like the idea here in the knitted one, but I don't knit.

try to create a sewing pattern:

My few forays into knitting were neither fun nor pretty.  I chose to attempt a sewn version.  I was a bit obsessed with getting the ends to look something like the knitted version which proved to be the hardest part for me.  In retrospect, simple rounded or squared ends would have been fine.

The rest of the project was quick and easy.  It's two long strips of flannel sewn leaving a couples of inches open for turning right-side out. The width was chosen from a scarf I own that I like.  I chose the length by wrapping it around and deciding where I wanted it to end on each side.  I also used this same method for deciding where I wanted to put the band that would serve as a fastener.


The yo-yo is on top of the band of fabric you pull other side of the scarf through.


I free-handed a piece for the PITA end, folded in half
 And voila!

If you have any artistic talent, coming up with a fancy shape for the end will be a cinch.  This took  me forever and was not worth the simple shape I ended up doing.  Next time, I'll trace something round and be done with it.  

To keep the bottom piece from lying flat (which did not look good), I made a pleat that is held in place by the yo-yo band.


You can see that in the photo below.  Both edges of the band catch the pleat to hold it in place.


And it matches my headband from a week or two ago!

I do love it when a sewing experiment goes well. 
 

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Clover Wonder Clips vs. The Other Brand


I love my Clover wonder clips, but they are so expensive.  I decided to take a chance on the off brand and ordered a package of a hundred Urbest clips by iauto from Amazon for $9.99.  The lowest price for the same number of Clover brand clips would have  been $25.

No plastic box with Urbest Wonder Clips, but I never liked the box anyway. 
 Both sets are exactly the same size.



The plastic parts seem to be identical in shape, thickness, and quality. There is a difference in the metal piece in that the Urbest brand seems a little stiffer.  I think that translates to a need for slightly more pressure to open the clip.  If you really have a problem with your hands, they might not be a good buy for you. For me, this is not a problem at all.  The difference between opening the different clips is minimal. 

Both brands hold onto fabric well and open sufficiently to get around the number of layers needed for quilting and binding.  Since some reviewers said there were broken clips in their packs, I tested every single clip.  One of the clips was off kilter making it unusable.  The rest were fine.  For a savings of $15, I am glad I went with the cheaper brand. 

I like my new storage container, too. 


Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Prayer Kneeling Pad

Update:  Rather than a new separate post, I am posting about prototype #2--the more successful one here.  I was not happy with the give of the foam sold at Joann's even with the addition of the  heavyweight Pellon.  After Kyle left, I decided to try making one with an ordinary garden kneeling pad cut down to size.  Yes, he could drag along a plain garden kneeling but, but doesn't this look better?


The garden kneeling pad I used had a handle as in an oblong hole at one end.  I cut off the handle section making the pad about 16 inches long.  

Final consensus is that this one is the winner for several reasons. 
  •  First, it is more comfortable to kneel on for an extended period of time.
  •  Second,the all-round sizing works better.  The extra inch of width makes it easier to kneel on while the loss of length was not any problem at all.  The loss of depth makes it less cumbersome.
  • Third, this is a tightly woven denim which works well for sewing and longevity.
  • Last, it is lighter and easier to carry in his backpack.
As Pam mentioned in her comment, you could put some hardware on for a carrying strap.  I had mentioned that to Kyle, but he nixed it.  He will be tossing it in his bag and didn't see a need.  I almost wish I had gone ahead and done it with this new kneeler.  I think he would have found a removable strap to be handy at times--maybe even for hanging it up when not in use.

The minister son apparently gets stuck kneeling on hard surfaces for extended periods of time.  I don't know about you, but for me having a guy in the family ask you to sew something is highly unusual.  To encourage that, I got this done pretty quickly-- for me.

I like to refer to this color denim as minister black.  I don't know what Joann's calls it.

It is 15x10 inches which was just enough on the long side for him.  Do men have man-spread when they kneel??  Without having had him kneel down for measuring, I would not have known to make this 15 inches wide.  It just works for him.  Might try 16 inches the next one.


We had some foam cushions around to help choose the thickness (high density from Joann's).  He thought three inches was too much, but I would have wanted the three inches.  He choose the two inch thickness.  I added squares of the heavy-weight Pellon product used in bag-making over the top and bottom of the foam.  The Pellon is soft and gives a nice flat top.  I might add a layer of batting over the Pellon next time to soften the edges, though.

The fabric is a black denim from Joann's.  I used this on the advice of a store clerk and wish I had gone with the other heavyweight fabric with a tighter weave as I originally planned.  The edges of the denim unraveled like crazy without serging.


The two main squares of fabric were 16x11, and the zipper was long enough to go around the sides about a third of the way. I cut a three-inch strip for the side without the zipper and two-inch strips for each side of the zipper.  After sewing these two strips to the zipper, I cut that strip to three inches.

Look at that nice fold for hiding the zipper ends.  Remember to put on the no-zipper strip first.  Then it will be on top of the zipper says the person who did not do that and made some seam ripper work.

Zipped up, finished and ready for Kyle to take back to Minnesota on Saturday.  Oh, doesn't it feel good to finish a project?

Sunday, January 31, 2016

The New Slippers

Apparently these slippers are quite popular with men in Mongolia.  My son Kyle knows his father's taste in clothing runs about as simple as possible.  Shirt, pants, shoes, belt--all in dull colors and he's set for the day. I only got him to wear a pull-over sweater a couple of years ago.  So, of course, these slippers are what Kyle brought back from Mongolia for his dad this week. Kyle also knows that no matter what he gives his dad it will be accepted graciously.  These slippers, however, truly were a test of that.   

Brian's been wearing them a lot since getting them.  I suspect he's hoping to wear them out fast. If these slippers are as good as the Mongolian socks Kyle brought back last year, Brian's slippers will be keeping our kids giggling for years to come. I'm just waiting for the day Brian forgets he's wearing them when he goes out to the mailbox. 


Sewing with Joann's Shopping Bag Fabric

Finally getting around to using this fabric purchased long, long ago.  As I said a few posts back, this is the same as the fabric that is now being called Oly Fun.  Here's my first reusable grocery bag from Joann's shopping bag fabric.
Straps are too long.  Will have to fix that.

I'm pretty sure my grocery bags are gonna be prettier than yours---and yes, I am bragging.  I used a ready-made shopping bag for  measurements.  That worked well except that I picked up the wrong bag to measure for handles.  These are a bit too long.

You have to press the bag to get sharp, easy-to-fold corners.  (Not too hot!  Fortunately it peeled off my ironing board and pressing cloth easily when experimenting last week.) Without pressing, it balloons out when open and doesn't fold well.

My bag before pressing--the pretty one--next to the ready made used as a pattern.

Once pressed, it is easy to fold back up for storage and seems to hold the creases well.

Nicely pressed and folded.
 I serged the seams although the fabric doesn't unravel. I think I'm still trying to justify my serger's existence for something other than sewing up the edges for fabric for prewashing.

Yes, those are nicely serged seams!

I like this stuff.  I know it will wear faster than other fabrics, but other fabrics don't stand up for easy filling at the grocery store like this does.  It cuts easily, sews easily, and is only $2.99 full price for a yard of 60 inch wide fabric. Then there are always those Joann's coupons for 40 or 50% off.  Can't beat that unless you have a mismatched set of bags with all kinds of company logos on the front--which is what I am presently using.  Looking forward to finishing a few more of these.

Saturday, January 30, 2016

A Flapper Headband Success

I used FleeceFun.com's great FREE pattern to make this:

This one is the slim adult which I traced onto the fabric using that line as the cutting line--kind of between the regular flapper and the slim adult flapper headband sizes.  Slim looked like it might be too thin for me (cuz I get to keep all my prototypes, of course;-).  It probably would have been fine, but my version worked, too.  I chose top stitching rather than putting in piping, but may do piping on the next one.

Here is the back.
Since this was my first try and I was making it to fit me, I decided not to bother with a buttonhole.  I wrapped it around, tacked the spot where it fit, then sewed on a button.  Directions say you might want to put on a couple of buttonholes if it is for someone else to make sure it will fit.  I think I'd use velcro rather than having an extra buttonhole showing.  BUT you gotta have A button on there even without buttonholes cuz it looks so cool.

If you use a yo-yo flower as I did, you get to have matching buttons.  Fleece Fun has a link to directions for making a satin flower if you prefer something a little fancier.

The pattern was quick and easy.  Even with making the yo-yo and hand sewing the buttons, it was finished in less than an hour including getting the pattern ready. 

Sunday, January 24, 2016

The Force Is With Me

in the laundry room.
Kind of a funny thing about this fabric (from Missouri Quilt Company, btw). I saw the fabric before the movie.  From the picture of Rey on the fabric, I thought she had one leg.  I asked Brian who had seen the movie about it, and he had no idea what I was talking about.  I mean, come on!  Look at her.  Am I the only one who thinks she looks like she has one leg there? I actually thought that was kind of cool and wondered about the back story.  Okay, maybe it's just me.  Moving right along.  Back to the post.
My OCD insists that I apologize for not seeing that thread on the S before photographing this.  Stupid OCD.

I loved these hampers until I found that hampers without tops are not a great idea when the laundry room opens to the family room.  As they say, don't be airing your dirty laundry.  Hence the need for hamper covers.  Putting this on Sew Can Do link party--the force demands to be shared.

ANOTHER PROJECT DONE!!!! YAY!!!   And I got a new toy. 

Is that not cool?  It creates a beautiful, ever-moving mist.  It was a gift from the universe because my sister couldn't keep it.  Her cats viewed it as a combination personal drinking fountain and toy.  You can change the lights to a few different colors or have it change continuously from one color to another..  Then there are the light flashing options, one of which  is way too close to the disco lights of old.  That option will not be happening. Disco lights have always made me feel as though I'm one step away from a seizure.

This is the first fountain I've had with a silent motor--no noise.    All you hear is the tinkling sound of water.  I like it, but Brian has become a bit obsessed with it.  He drags anyone who comes in the house to stare at it and treats them to a light show.  I fear he will start knocking on the neighbors' doors to invite they over to see it.  I'm hoping his infatuation dies down by the end of football season.  Right now he can hardly leave the house because of games of one kind or another, and, for once, I am thankful for that.

Friday, January 22, 2016

What the Hell is Oly-Fun Fabric?

Oly-Fun is the fabric many companies use to make reusable grocery bag.  It's extremely lightweight and soft but kind of rigid in a soft way. (I hope that makes sense, best can do.) 

It's a 100% polypropylene, can be washed on gentle, air dried, and will not unravel. 

Since Sandra wanted to see if it would work as a substitute for felt for eyes and such on toys, the experimenting began. 
A couple of circles, small and smaller--easy to draw on the fabric.

It is easy to cut, easier than felt.   I still found it hard to get a nice circle.  I could be that I just really suck at this.  Should have paid attention in grade school art classes. I always sew mine down which covers a multitude of sins anyway.

HOWEVER, the black seems to cut better than the white.  It has a much smoother edge which may not be too obvious here.  Take my word for it.  I just could not bring myself to get out the white chalk to make a full circle.  As my mother used to say of me, "lazier than a pet skunk."


An issue with the white is that it has a level of translucence that may make it unsuitable as a felt substitute.  You can see the lines of my cutting board pretty clearly here.  If you put the white on dark fabric, it makes it look dull and grayish (greyish for you Canadians/Australians).  If you are sewing them down, a double thickness would solve that problem.

See double thickness is opaque.
Now for the cost.  I got a beautiful bird print from Joann's a while back for $2.99 a yard (60 inches wide).  Joann's called it "shopping bag" fabric.  I've never seen it online, but have gotten it several times in the store around the shelved decorator fabrics despite the fact that it is clearly a utility fabric.  It may be there because it comes on a bolt rather than the large rolls used for utility fabrics. Now Joann's is selling this same type of fabric online and in some stores as Oly-Fun fabric in lots of bright colors along with black and white).  Cost comparisons from two places I found it because it's really important! Pay attention!
  • Joann's online or in store:  You can get a 10-yard bolt of 60-inch wide fabric for $29.99 and who doesn't have a 40 or 50 percent off coupon sitting around.   With a 50 percent off coupon, we are talking $15 for 10 yards of 60" fabric or $1.50 a yard.  I know some of the Joann brick and mortar stores are selling Oly-Fun, but I don't know for sure that it is being sold by the yard or just the bolt.  As I said, though, the "shopping bag" fabric was available by the yard, so I'm thinking Oly-Fun will be, too.

  • Walmart has prepackaged Oly-Fun with prices, depending on the color you choose, from $4.73 to $8.97 for 3 yards of 20-inch wide .  My black Oly-Fun was $7.59, and the white one was $8.97. 
         My math sucks, but let me try this.
    • Three yard of black 60" Oly-Fun at Joann's:  $8.97 at full price (don't forget, you get to use a coupon to bring that down 40 or 50% most times) .  To get the same amount from Walmart I would need to buy 3 packages of 20" wide, 3 yard long fabric at $8.97 making it  a whopping $26.91. No coupons for Walmart.
    • Three yards of white 60" Oly-Fun at Joann's at full price:  $8.97 (but remember that 40 or 50% off coupon).  Same amount at Walmart would be three packages at $7.59 making that $22.77.  
The comments under the Joann reviews give you a several ideas for using this fabric for projects  other than shopping bags, but I'll be making bags.  Someday I will be making bag.  Anyone who sews knows how that goes.  So many projects!

Feel free to share any needed math corrections in the comments. 

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Pillow Stand For My Kindle

I made this for two reasons.  First, I've wanted one for years.  The Pinterest links have been on one of my boards for at least two years.  Second, I thought these might make good gifts.  I finally tried one!

The stripes were supposed to be going the the other direction!  That would have looked so much nicer.
The tutorial is from FactotumofArts.com.  Of the pillow-type stand tutorials I found, this one has the best directions and finishing.  I changed it--of course.  I think most people will want this for sitting pretty much upright and it does, no doubt, work quite well for that purpose.  I want it for reading in bed, and, apparently I slouch down a lot.
Not a great angle when lying down.

 I made changes to try to accommodate the fact that I want the Kindle to be more upright, but, as it turned out,  I still really need to play with the pillow section to make it hold the device further forward.  I had already cut the fabric before realizing it would not be large enough.  I am assuming a larger pillow will have more vertical lift, right??  Changes I made to try to fix my issue at that point:
  • I shortened up the lip in the front.  My Kindle is thin enough not to need the large lip anyway.
  • I also shortened up the flat area where the device sits.  Again, the kindle doesn't need that much space anyway, and it would seem to provide even further space for the kindle to angle down too far.  In fact, I might even eliminate this extra space altogether on the next one.  The Kindle is so thin it should fit nicely between the lip and pillow. 
Had I not shortened up those two area, the pillow section would have been much smaller which would seem to equate with it being less able to hold the Kindle as upright as I wanted.

One success was the use of poly pellets for stuffing on the pillow section.  I have put off using these because of the horror stories out there about how hard they are to work with.   They turned out to be  easier to use than the poly fill suggested for the lip section.  The tutorial suggests using rice for the pillow section with the addition of poly fiberfill for the very top because you would not be able to fill the pillow completely with rice due to spilling issues.  I am not sure why one could not just fill it with rice.  I had no problem at all.  I left a one inch opening in the pillow section which worked out perfectly for the funnel.  I filled the pillow almost completely with the pellets.  The needle was threaded and ready to go making closing the pillow quick and easy.  I might have had five or six pellets on the table that needed to be picked up at the end. 

I shall certainly try this pattern again!  I'm going to enlarge the pattern by 3 inches in each direction the next time.   I will also use a different fabric.  I thought the decorator weight fabric would be a good choice, but it turned into a wrinkled mess when turning it right-side out.  With the seams going in opposite directions on the top and bottom,  pressing was crazy hard.  I hate wrinkles.  Fortunately I love ironing.

Here is is without the Kindle.  A bit plain and, as I said, the stripes are going in the wrong direction.  It makes it look a tad roly-poly.  I think I might try embroidering something on it next time or using a busier print.
I used poly pellets to stuff it.
Now I just need to leave it out to see who expresses an interest for gifting. 

Monday, January 11, 2016

Sew4Home's Neck Pillow

I should say Relaxing Neck Pillow cuz that's what the Sew4Home people call it.  We shall see about the relaxing part later, but I am really pleased with how easily this thing went together. The free pattern and tutorial are available at their site.  Just click on the link above.  I wanted to see if this would be something I would want to make for gift-giving.  The answer is absolutely yes.

It's a quick project that looks like it took a lot more time and effort than it does.  The site says it can be done in a half hour.  I doubt I could do one that fast even if I used the twill for handles as they suggested rather than making them from fabric.  Some of you cracker jack sewers may well be able to turn it out in that half hour time frame though.   Off to try out my new pillow. 




Saturday, January 9, 2016

Preparing for the end of the year by starting at the beginning...

Raise your had if you think I can reach my Christmas sewing goal by starting now?  Well, for all you doubters, I have started.

Can't believe I'm saying this, but I need to buy  more ribbon.  Need some wide silky or grosgrain red here.

One wrapping sack down, countless more to go.  I even boxed the corners.


I wish this fabric showed up as well in  photos as it does in person.  The color are vibrant and it's covered in shiny silver glitter.  If someone knows a camera trick, please share.  Here is close-up that kinda shows it.

Yay for Joann's remnant piles! 

A thank you to sewing muse Sandra for the challenge!

With all the busy-ness, I never showed you my Christmas tree.


Still love the tulle with lights for skirting.
  
OOOOHHHHHH, isn't that pretty?!!! Yes, but I'm glad it's all put away now. There is just so much fa la la I can take. 








Take care, y'all.



Wednesday, January 6, 2016

I Made Them Cookies

Sandra of Suddenly Sandra suggested that I join her Yahoo Christmas sewing group after I failed to remotely reach my Christmas sewing goals for the big day.  This is the response I got:  Your request to join was not approved.  Did I just get cut off like a tacky price tag on wrapping night by those sorority sisters?  Yup.  Sandra suggested I try again and offer cookies.  Well, I was desperate.  I haven't reached a Christmas sewing goal.....ever.  I made the cookies, but my passive-aggressiveness might be showing through.


 Fortunately they let me in before seeing the cookies.  I got some icing to make the white/black eyes and mouth like the emoji that did not work AT ALL!.  This is what I used.  The directions say to cut off the top.  That would have made for big old blobs.  The tops are flat, not pointy.  I tried poking a hole instead. 

The icing came out, just not quite the way I was hoping for.  It was impossible to smooth it out.  Okay, there may be some artistic issues at play here, too.
I ate my mistakes.  Yes, life is hard sometimes.  The icing may have been a pain to put on, but it tasted great.  Thanks for reconsidering, ladies!  Those rumors about me are only about three quarters true.