Altering Wool Pants With a Lining

 Hello Readers. I love to go to thrift stores and clothes swaps. I found these wool trousers at a recent clothes swap. They were vintage and still had their tags. That was a great find. Wool is so warm in the winter, these will be wonderful. 

Before and after.

These pants were way too long. (*Spoiler- I am way too short.) I knew I might have to do some hemming but for vintage clothes... it's worth it. 

I cut the excess length off. That was easy.

You can see some hand sewing on the inside of the hem. That is so the pants do not have a visible hem on the outside. I hate hand sewing. Was there a way to do this hem without using a needle and thread?

I had an idea to do this a different way. It is all made up in my head because I will always try to find a quicker and easier way if I can. To start I cut the lining shorter than the outer wool layer. 

My next step was to use my serger to sew the bottom of the lining to the bottom of the wool layer. 

 

When I straightened out the layers the lining held the end of the wool layer inside the pant leg so the stitching was hidden. I gave it a really good press with my iron. 

The hem is invisible from the outside. I think my idea worked! It was quick and easy too. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

 

Quilted Vest From Fabric Samples

 Hello Readers. I have a lot of fabric sample that my mother in law gave me. She used to work at a fabric store and these sample pieces were on display. They are squares and 30" by 30". They are not always big enough to make clothes but I had 2 of these quilted pieces. That was enough for the front and back of the vest. I love quilted items and this quilting was already done for me. 

Sewing from my stash? I love it!

This fabric was a few layers thick because of the quilting. I liked the off-white color. 

I started by using pattern 8632 by Simplicity. I made my vest larger so the pattern was more of a loose guide, but it helped.

This pattern was so simple it was easy to work with.

I put my vest together. I left these small openings so I could add some pockets. I thought that would be easy even with no guide or pattern. It should have been but I sewed the pockets in with the seams showing on the outside. Twice. Ugh!!! It was OK, I just kept going.

I used bias tape on all the cut edges to finish the vest. I didn't want to turn the edges under because it was thick and it would be bulky. It was OK, I just kept going.

The bias tape was great until I ran out. You can see the left armhole is not done. It had to wait for me to get to the store. It was OK, I just kept going.

I used these buttons that my daughter got for me as a souvenir from her trip to Iceland. They are made from bone or antler... I can't remember. I have been wanting to use them for a while. Sewing them on was easy.

I had to make the button holes without a buttonhole maker. I just eyeballed it and used a zigzag stitch. My sewing machine is from 1943 and it doesn't have a buttonhole feature. It is the only thing from modern machines that I wish I had. 

Here is a look at the back. (I did get more bias tape and finished that armhole.) 

It was really OK, I finished it! This vest is very neutral in color. It should go with everything and be easy to wear. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

A Men's Shirt Refashion

 Hello Readers. Not every project works out well. Mistakes are made. Disasters happen. C'est la vie! I tried to make this men's shirt into a dress and messed up. I mis-measured and it was a bit shorter than I wanted. 

Before and after.

I started marking out where to cut the skirt and the bodice from this men's shirt. I measured the skirt correctly. Now that I can look back, I measured the bodice wrong and did not noticed. 

How did I not notice how short the top was? This is crazy.

I used my serger on all the cut edges. I thought it was all OK so far.

I turned the edges under and stitched them down. And I was about to see my mistake.

I thought I would use this gray ribbon as a waistband. It could have been great. 

I put it on my dress form and it didn't fit at all. I made this dress form to match my measurements and if it doesn't fit the dress form, it's not going to fit me. The bodice is way too short. It needs another 4-6 inches.

This is not comfortable, it is too tight, it is too short... The top is not long enough. I really messed it up. Sometimes that happens. Oh, well. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. And measure carefully!

 

Making a Leather Clutch

 Hello Readers. I need to start with a full disclosure statement that I do not know what I am doing and just learning as I go along. (In sewing and in life.) I wanted to try and work with leather so I tried it. Let me show you what I made.

Before and after. 

I was given this leather. It was the scrap pieces from a sofa project. (Thanks P. G.) I don't think I would go buy leather but I was going to have fun trying to work with it. It was very soft and pliable. Could my sewing machine sew through it. Did I need special equipment? Let's find out.

I decided to make the simplest bag I could just to start easy. I cut 2 rectangles the same size. It was not hard to cut through the leather but it did move a lot and that was annoying. I had to do a lot of trimming to make everything even. 

Using a book to hold the leather piece helped a little.

I wanted to cut a circle in both pieces as a handle. Tracing the circle was very easy.

I thought I should cut both circles at the same time so they would match. This was impossible. 

Would a rotary cutter work better? No. I also tried a box cutter and it was awful. 

Mistakes were made.

This was the only way I could cut the circles. The curves were really difficult. I almost gave up because I wasn't even sure I would be able to stitch through this leather with my sewing machine. 

I lined up my 2 rectangles. I did not have special needles or thread. I had a universal needle and all purpose thread. and it was so easy to sew through the 2 layers of leather. I started slow and it went well. I sped up a little and never even broke a needle. I never broke the thread. I could not believe the sewing was easier than the cutting! It was easier than some denim I have worked with. 

My bag was done.

When the top folds over it makes a nice clutch bag. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

The Vintage Bicycle T-shirt

Hello Readers. I receive hand-me-downs on occasion and it is always fun to try and make them fit and look like they are my clothes and not someone else's. Let's talk about it.

Before and after.

This shirt was clearly not right. I don't look stylish or even like I know what size I am. But I love this shirt because it had old fashioned bikes on it. 

I have a thing for vintage bicycles. My sister-in-law gave me this one. I ride it with my kids for fun. 

I want this to fit well. I cut some fabric off each side of the shirt. How did I know how much to cut off?

 

I used a shirt that I liked the fit of as a guide for my new side seams.

 

I used matching thread in my serger to make my new side seams. If you don't have a serger, use a zigzag stitch on your sewing machine. 

 

I put the right sides together and lined up the edges. Then I stitched from the sleeve to the hem. 

 

I also Adjusted the size of the jeans at the waist and hip. I wanted the jeans to be loose but also stay up at my waist.

 

Denim is thick and it breaks my needles a lot so I don't use my serger for jeans. I usually try the jeans on inside out and mark where the new seam needs to be. I sew a straight seam and try them on right-side out. If I like the fit, THEN I cut the excess fabric off. If the jeans are too loose, I can sew a new seam to make them smaller. (If it's too tight I can unpick the stitches and try again. If I cut the excess off and it's too tight, I can't fix that.) When I am done sizing and trying them on, I can cut the excess off. Then I head back to the sewing machine and use a zigzag stitch on the edge to keep the seams from fraying inside the jeans. This will make the new seams neater and stronger over time. 

 

Everything fits well. 

 

It was a little too cold and snowy for a bike ride this day. 

 

My daughter said we should go thrifting and we saw this wine sign that was as big as I am. Where would anyone put this? It would take over the whole room. It was huge. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.