Long Sleeve Bolero Jacket

 Hello Readers. I had this piece of fabric in my stash and I liked the colors and softness of it. What could I make from it? It was a smallish scrap and it was an unusual shape. 

Before and after. 

Here is a look at my plan. Do I have any talent or skill at drawing? No. But this is the best I can do. I thought I could make a bolero type jacket. 

I cut the piece of fabric a bit so that each side was the same or symmetrical. 

I also had this satin sample square and I thought it would make a nice lining for the back of my little bolero jacket. I also thought it was just pretty and was happy to use it. 

I cut the satin piece the same size and shape as the green fabric. I was going to sew them with the right sides together along the top and bottom. 

 

I had already used my serger on the open edges to prevent fraying. When I was done sewing them together I turned the whole thing right-side out.

 

Here is a look at the 2 pieces sewn together. I liked the satin as a lining. I wanted to connect the sides to make sleeves next.

 

I am not sure how this was heavy and thick enough to break both needles in my serger but it was. The back of the collar can stand up or...

Or I can fold it down and let the satin inside peek out. 

The hemline of the jacket is curved because the piece of fabric I had to work with was curved. I love how it looks though. The sheen of the fabrics makes this look quite dressy and I think it will be nice for a holiday party or event. 

But I might just wear it to the grocery store because I like it so much. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

Quilted Dish Cover

 Hello Readers. The holiday season is upon us and that means we will be taking food to parties and get-togethers as we visit friends and family. I thought it would handy to have a cover and carrying case for my baking dish. It wasn't hard to make, let me show you.

Take a dish to dinner and keep it warm too. 

I had a piece of quilted fabric that I wanted to use. I have an unusual size dish. It is 9x11 but it is very deep. I tried different ways to fit my fabric piece around my dish first to make sure it would work. I made sure the fabric could wrap up the sides of my dish and overlap on the top of the dish. That is the key to the whole project.

*You could also use an old blanket, pillow sham, quilt, table cover, towel .... anything that you like that has a bit of thickness to insulate your dish.

I wanted to make my cover in the same shape as my dish. I wanted it to have sides that my dish could sit down in. I cut out these squares so that I could sew the corners of my cover. 

You can see here what I mean. I wanted to sew this corner together so the sides would stand up. The extra fabric will cover the top and keep my dish warm. 

 

I used my serger to sew the sides. It will keep them from fraying. You could also use a sewing machine with a zigzag stitch.
 

Here is a look at the cover with the corners sewn so that the sides stand up. There is extra fabric on each side and it looks too big but don't cut it off. It is going to make the top of the cover. 

When the fabric is over the top of the dish those extra "flaps" can be tucked into the cover and add insulation to the top of the dish. 

When these little flaps are tucked in the cover is nicely closed and the dish is covered and will stay warmer than if it was just sitting out uncovered. But those edges don't look great. Let's make it prettier. 

 

 

 I used matching double-fold bias tape on all the exposed edges.

 It will make the cover look more nicely finished. 

I sewed the bias tape with matching thread so that the stitches would blend in. 

The bias tape is folded so no raw edges will show. The bias tape is like a hot dog bun and the fabric edge is the hot dog. I fit the edge of the fabric into the bias tape and sewed all 3 layers together. 

The bias tape looks much better than the unfinished edges. 

I took a piece of wide ribbon that was about a yard long. I connected the ends to make a loop. This is going to be the handles to carry the cover and dish. 

I put the loop under the cover. The wide ribbon will help keep the dish stable and level. 

I pinned the ribbon to the cover so it would stay centered in the middle of the bottom of the cover while I sew. The ribbon needs to be symmetrical to keep the dish level when carrying it. 

The ribbon loop comes up over the top and makes 2 handles. 

I stitched both sides of the ribbon to the cover so that it would stay in place. 

I folded the handles into thirds where my hand would hold it. 

I sewed about 3 inches to make the "handle" easy to grab. 

When my cover was finished it stayed closed over the dish and was easy to carry. And it looks cute too. 

When I open the cover my baking dish is ready to open and share. I hope you can enjoy food and fun with friends and family in the coming months.

Tiered Shirt to Full Skirt

 Hello Readers. I love getting hand-me-downs to refashion and this shirt was one of those hand-me-downs. It was an unusual shirt. It had pretty stitched detail at the neckline and it had very full tiers of ruffles like a skirt.

 

Before and after. 

This shirt was so wide and full. I wasn't sure why it was quite so big. 

This shirt was a size small but it was as big around as a full skirt. So, I made a skirt.

I cut the sleeves off the shirt. I really liked that needle point decoration at the neckline. Maybe that could be the waistband. 

I folded the top of my new skirt under. I thought I could make a casing for an elastic waistband. 

 

 I finished the casing and put elastic through it using a large safety pin. I sewed the waistband closed and that was it.

 

I always like green and the colors of the waistband were a nice touch. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
 

Denim for Pennies

 Hello Readers. Sometimes when I go on a thrift adventure I find a real gem. This classic simple denim skirt was an amazing find. It was only 25 cents.That's right. One quarter.

Before and after. 

I liked these front seams a lot and the dark wash of the denim was nice too. 

I found this skirt in the 25 cent bin. 

Were they serious??? I doubled checked with the nice grandma-type woman at the front desk. (She reminded me of my Grandmom.) They were serious. It was only a quarter!!

The only problem was that the skirt had was the messy hem someone had made. I didn't mind, I have made some messy hems before. I took it home and made it my own. 

I needed to resize this skirt. It was just a bit big and I wanted it to fit really well. It had stretch to it and that would help with fit and comfort. I made new side seams so that I could keep those 2 front seams centered and symmetrically placed. 

I wanted the skirt to have a straight fit like a pencil skirt. I liked how it turned out. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. And go by your local thrift store, you might find something fabulous.

Fall Collage Top

 Hello Readers. I really like fall colors and these 2 shirt had beautiful floral patterns. Neither shirt fit so I decided to cut them up and use them for parts.

Before and after. 

I had 2 shirts with nice fall colors and I had my Collage Top pattern. I thought I could make one perfect fall top.

I cut out my pieces. I had to adjust a little because I did not have quite enough fabric. I always think I have enough fabric but I never actually verify that before I start a project. Then I am "creatively" trying anything and everything to make it work out. This pattern has good directions, you should follow them more closely than I did.

I did some sewing. 

I love how it turned out using the three different fabrics from the original shirts. The neckline was a bit big and it didn't fit quite right so I folded the fabric over and into the center and added a button to improve the fit. 

I had made a big mess by the time I was done. 

I loved the end result.

Do you say Autumn or Fall? Either way, thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.