Two-Sided Top and More Ponte Shorts

I had a very pretty front of an oversized lilac rayon shirt with a subtle tone on tone palm print that I had bought at a thrift store and lavender cotton knit fabric left over from a dress I had made. I combined them for a summer top. I think it works even though the fabric weights are different. A woven rayon with a rayon jersey or a heavier cotton woven with a cotton knit would have been better, but the whole point was using what I had. I had to piece the jersey, and I ended up sewing the button placket closed to eliminate gaping. I made woven binding and I used a jersey needle. Getting the armholes right (neither too tight or loose) always takes adjusting for me. I often have to tighten up the upper side seam.

I sewed my first pair of shorts from ponte de Roma fabric, which is a stable double knit fabric with some heft to it, five years ago. When I walked my dog, the weight of my phone in my pocket pulled my cotton shorts down, and I was hoping for a more sturdy pair of shorts that would stay put on my body. I liked them so much for athletic wear that I wanted to wear them all the time. I made several more in different colors. Well, phones have gotten bigger since then and I really need the big pockets. You can’t find pockets like these in ready-to-wear. I also love that these shorts fit me regardless of weight gain or loss.

Right Side Out

Wrong Side Out

I prefer the rayon blend ponte fabric to the mostly polyester kind.

I use the Patterns for Pirates Mama Bear Joggers with the curved four piece waistband of the Itch to Stitch Mountain View Pull-on Jeans. I’m not sure what size I started with because I have adjusted the pieces, and changed the rise to be high waisted. The pattern is now me-sized. I make them with slat pockets, and I use a slinky woven fabric for the pocket linings for less bulk. The pattern pieces fit nicely on one yard, which is great.

Here are some construction photos:

Pocket linings

Pocket Sandwich

Finished Pocket

Elastic applied to seam allowance

They fit like they were made for me. 🙂

I Sewed a Rug!

I enjoy learning new crafting and sewing techniques and the excitement of making something for the first time. I came across a type of rug called a jelly roll rug. Apparently, this type of rug has been popular in quilting circles for years, but I hadn’t heard of it. It’s made from a tube created from 2 and 1/2 inch strips of fabric with batting in the center which is then sewn together with a zigzag stitch. A pre-cut jelly roll has 40 coordinating strips of fabric about 42-44 inches long. But I didn’t use a jelly roll – I cut strips from scraps of fabric I’ve saved from all of the years I’ve been sewing. I mainly used blues, green, and florals.

I used a gadget similar to a bias tape maker that turns both sides to the center, and then the second part of the gadget turns the tube in half again for stitching. You don’t need a gadget for this. It can be done by hand and clipped in place prior to sewing.

I didn’t roll my completed tube up. I just let it fall into a basket. I used 3/4 of a 50 foot roll of batting.

There is an official pattern to make these rugs, but I didn’t buy it. I watched several You Tube videos. I started with a 10 inch coil to make the oval rug I was attempting to make. I made a false start on my beginning coil, unpicked and resewed and got the hang of turning around in circles.

I sewed with the plump unstitched side going to the outside and with the new rounds facing the throat of the machine so as the rug grows the bulk is on the left.

There are two main types of problems when sewing the rugs: cupping and rippling depending on if the coil is being attached too loosely or tightly.

Most tutorials advise taking the rug off the machine often and pressing it, but I never put an iron to mine. I did lay it on the floor from time to time to see if it was lying flat. I noticed rippling when the rug became larger and harder to handle. The rippling was in more places than the one spot I photographed; it was at intervals all around the perimeter. The rug needs to be kept flat while sewing which is why I attached my quilting table. I think my tension was also affected by the cord being twisted.

I unpicked the last two revolutions, moved my machine to the middle of the table, and added notebooks to make a larger flat service. And it worked! I finished my rug at 31 x 36 inches. I love the rug and I loved the creative process of making it!

In this rug I see the first dress I sewed, the 10 year old gingham shorts I was wearing while I sewed it, the vintage sheets my mother bought, fabrics I thrifted, linen blend pants, and denim pants I sewed. I see the bedspread I made that ended up with a big ripped hole in the middle. That fabric with a Mediterranean village scene was one of the first fabrics I bought when my stepmother took me to a quilt store and I looked around and had no idea how to choose a fabric or what I planned to sew.

I like that I have something else I can make with scraps (or an actual jelly roll), and can make dresser mats and bowls with the same technique. I also want to make rugs, bowls, and baskets with non-machine sewing techniques: crocheting with yarn and fabric, wrapping or crocheting over cording, knotted Amish or toothbrush rugs, braiding fabric strips, and whatever else I come across and want to try. I have a ribbon yarn I bought 20 years ago and I have an idea…

Tiana’s Closet Tops

I hadn’t sewn clothes since last summer when I set out to make a free top pattern from Tiana’s Closet, the Basalie, this spring. I love the sample with three different prints.

I used a cotton Indian block printed fabric. The main feature of the pattern is very wide flutter sleeves. The top also has gathers and a slit at the back neck. I meant to sew a size large but didn’t take a close look at the pattern I had printed out many months before and instead cut out a size extra large. The top was too large, and I made many revisions. I made the armholes much shallower. Looking at the posted photo for reference, I think they were meant to be deep. They were much lower than my bra sides which made me uncomfortable. The instructions were minimal, and I wasn’t sure how much ease was intended. I may have taken out too much.

I used a light fabric to line the yoke and understitched for a nice finish.

I don’t love the neckline. I would lower it a bit if I made the Basalie again.

While looking at the website after sewing the Basalie, I saw the Sandy top, and thought it would be perfect for the beautiful linen blend striped fabric I had leftover from making a zero waste shirt some years ago. It is also a free pattern.

The Sandy top is sleeveless with a v-neck front and a deeper v at the back with a tie. This time I made some changes to the pattern before cutting. I made a dart box and lowered the dart one inch. I shortened the dart and made a small full bust adjustment. I’m not a big fan of bust darts. It’s hard to get them right, and they often look awkward on me. When there is a dart, I think I get a better fit in the shoulders and upper body by choosing a size based on my high bust measurement instead of full bust, and then doing a full bust alteration. I also raised the front and back necklines by an inch. I have shorter proportions than average,

I added a seam allowance and cut the back as two pieces instead of on the fold. I also added side slits. I love side slits for ease over the hips.

I used a straw and skewer to turn my strap tube right side out. It’s a fun technique when it works.

I had trouble with the v-neckline. I always seem to stretch one side, and I confess I forgot to stay stitch. The bias of a v-neck is easily stretched. I would need to do more research before sewing another v-neck. I would try sewing each side from the v to the shoulder. The top uses bias tape instead of facing.

This is how it looks on me.

The back view is the star of this design. I unpicked and lowered the tie about an inch. It feels more comfortable that way.

That was the longest I went without garment sewing since I started sewing. I didn’t stop sewing altogether during that time. I did some kitchen and quilted sewing. It’s all good!

Serger Cover – Same Pattern, Pretty Fabric

One of the earliest projects I sewed was a simple cover for my sewing machine. Years later, I made a much more involved cover with quilting, patchwork, and applique, pictured below.

When I got a serger, I used the old cover. It kept the dust out, but I never liked the fabric. Pretty fabric is very important to a good outcome!

I used the same simple pattern from the book One Yard Woders, but this time I lined it with a fleece interfacing that I thought was fusible. When that didn’t work, I quilted the layers together. I used a quilting panel for the lined pocket.

The cover is made from two rectangles with a step that boxes the top corners for a three dimensional fit. The squares I cut out were 2 and 1/2 inches.

Old to new:

So pretty!

I needed an upgrade for my pretty, new sewing space.

Help! When Good Machines Go Bad

It’s no fun sewing and downright annoying when you feel like you’re fighting your machine. This happened to me when there was something wrong with my feed dogs. It was an ongoing problem for a while. They weren’t moving my fabric along like they were supposed to, and my stitches were so tiny and short that I had to put the stitch length up to its highest and that still didn’t solve the problem. I guess I just bought a dud machine.

Then I was sewing and it did that thing where it shudders and won’t sew and I had to turn it off. My machine was done! I pulled to get my caught fabric out of the machine and was surprised at what came up. Eww – what is that?

Ok, now I see the problem. Time to open the machine up, but I couldn’t reach the screws to open the needle plate. Then I found the right part for the job.

So dirty!!! It was the unseen lint monster I had been fighting.

The feed dog channels were completely blocked. The photo shows me clearing the channel on the right side.

A little cleaning and I am good to sew again!

Retro Kitchen Curtain Makeover

Do you prefer modern or retro kitchen window treatments? Modern window treatments prioritize minimalism, functionality, and clean lines using shades or blinds. In contrast, 1950s kitchen decor emphasizes nostalgia, warmth, and charm with patterned cafe curtains, gingham, and lace.

I had shutters and simple white curtains for decades covering the three windows and the door window in the kitchen of my 1950s built house. I had bought yellow gingham curtains at an estate sale several years back, but had stored them in the garage and never used them. I decided it was time to change things up, and hung my curtains. I enjoyed them through the spring and summer.

Then I thought it would be fun to switch things up with the seasons, and bought some red and white buffalo check curtains and valences.

I have shutters on my lower windows except for the window over the sink. I wanted to have a different but coordinating fabric for this window. I saw this fun cotton strawberry fabric and loved it so much. I bought a yard to make curtains for the over the sink window.

Previously, I made apple themed things for the kitchen:

I also have many apple decor items:

Apples are still my favorite, but the scale and print of the strawberry fabric was perfect so I branched out.

The strawberry curtains would be about 19 inches long. It’s a 42 inch fabric, so I would have to use all of the yard and piece it to make my two panels wide enough to fit the window with gathers. My dilemma was that I wanted to have enough fabric left over for placemats. I made the curtains back in October, and I didn’t remember some details so I looked up the purchase. I spent $25 so I thought I must have bought two yards, but no. For frugal me, that’s expensive for a yard of quilting cotton, and why I didn’t want to buy another yard. So I combined the print with a red gingham which turned out to be a perfect idea.

Could they be any cuter for a 1950s era kitchen?

I used every bit of the strawberry fabric to also make 2 placemats quilted in a one inch cross hatch using a walking foot and quilting guide….

and I also sewed a potholder….

and then I combined two leftover strips to make a mat for in front of the microwave.

From apples to strawberries, that’s my 50s kitchen in a nutshell.

My Summer Sewing

I sewed 3 tank tops : two cotton knit and one rayon knit, and a modified woven rayon Bardon dress. The 3 patterns I used were all free when I downloaded them, but two might have a small cost now.

When I looked through my tank and shorts drawer, I found that many of my tanks were either too tight, worn, or stained and better suited to be cut up as rags. I realized that I deserve to feel good whether I’m at home, walking the dog, or going out, and wearing nicer clothes is a significant part of that. I wanted to buy some cotton tank tops but didn’t find ones with the right neckline depth, length and armhole fit so I made a few. I used my modified pattern of the Laundry Day Tee by Love Notions for the turquoise and rayon print tanks. The print uses fabric left over from my maxi dress. I had ordered 3 yards of it. I stretch the bands and make them tighter when I sew a rayon knit to keep the armholes and necklines from growing and drooping. This happened with the first rayon knit I sewed. The tanks come together fast, but I find sewing the neck and armhole bands tedious. It was product sewing, not process.

The Luna tank is a free pattern by Helen’s Closet. I made this pattern for the first time using a 3X tee shirt from my stash. The swing hemline is so wide that I needed to piece 2 v-shaped insets at each side. I raised the necklines so I had to figure out the length of the binding. It took me a couple of tries to get it right. I left the hemline raw as the pattern suggests.

I made my new favorite version of the Bardon dress from Peppermint Magazine and Elbe Textiles from a cool rayon fabric with a beautiful abstract batik-like print. My previous versions were made from quilting cotton I had bought when I first started sewing. I had no idea about different fabric types, fabric weights and fabric drape, and that apparel fabric is better suited for clothes making.

I changed the proportions so that the bodice is a shorter empire waist. The bottom tier is also shorter, and I had to cut it on the cross-grain to eke out the dress from 2 yards of a narrower fabric. The print makes it hard to see the 3 tiers. I love the fit; it has ease without being oversized and the gathering makes it comfortable whether I’m standing or sitting.

The dress floats! Perfect for the hottest days of summer.