Showing posts with label Sewing. Show all posts

Make a Coiled Bowl using Fabric Scraps

I think every sewing enthusiast has a box or bag full of a variety of leftover scraps of fabric. I've hoarded every scrap which I could possibly use, however tiny. I'm always looking on pinterest for new ways to use up all these scraps, mainly to clear up space but also because I'm scared my mum will finally realise what I'm using all the boxes in the attic for and throw them out. I found this tutorial for coiled fabric coasters which I adapted to make loads of coasters to use on my decoupage table and to take to uni with me. These worked so well that I decided to sew two bowls. I made a large one and a smaller one. I placed the larger one on my table and I keep the smaller one by my bed to put my earrings in.
You make the bowls in pretty much the same way as you make the coasters. I first gathered together loads of fabric, I chose a variety of colours and textures to give my coasters and bowls an eclectic and boho vibe. You will also need a length of washing line. I chose fabric covered plastic washing line which I picked up cheaply at Boyes. Cut strips of around 1 inch width from your fabric, I had very varying lengths because they were just scraps. You might recognise some of this fabric from my Merchant and Mills dresses. Start sewing the strips together. I simply sewed a straight stitch to join the ends together, reversing to secure. I chose a red coloured thread for this bowl as many of my strips of fabric were red. 
Begin wrapping the fabric around the end of the clothesline. You want to make sure that the end doesn't come loose, try to wrap so that the end is tucked inside the coiled fabric. 
Continue wrapping until about 30 cm of the clothes line is covered. Secure the end of the fabric to the line with a clip.
Fold over the end of the fabric covered clothes line by about an inch and sew with a zig zag stitch to secure this end. Start to coil the line around this end, you want to coil clockwise so that the bulk of the bowl won't get trapped under your sewing machine.
Continue sewing and coiling. When you run out of fabric, pause to wrap more fabric around the line. 
When your base is the size you want begin tilting the base so that you get a curved bowl shape. The amount that you tilt your base will depend on how steep you want the sides of your bowl to be. 

As you reach the end of your clothes line, wrap the end of the fabric around the end of the clothes line as you did at the start and sew to secure to the bowl. Backstitch to secure.
 Neaten up your bowl by trimming any loose threads.
These bowls are so useful and surprisingly easy. They look super impressive but are perfect for beginners. I love how unique they are and how cheap they are to make. I will definitely be making more as I still have so many scraps of fabric. I would love to see your photos on instagram and pinterest and would love to hear how you use your leftover scraps of fabric.

Love Rhiannon x

Refashion: Men's Shirt into Skirt

I love refashioning things- I've made dresses from scarves, cardigans from jumpers and skirts from dresses. I kept seeing all these men's shirt refashions on Pinterest and when my mum gave me a stack of my dad's old shirts I knew that I had to try one. I refashioned this shirt into a skirt.


I chose this GAP gingham shirt with strange green stains on it. I knew that I wanted to make a skirt which still resembled a shirt. I started by chopping off the sleeves and the back yoke.


The pocket was in the wrong place to incorporate it into the design so I unpicked it.


I then cut along from the bottom of the sleeves all the way around.


I measured around my waist and then cut a waistline from the top scrap material. I kept the shirt buttoned up and then cut so that a button would be centred on my waistband. I ended up with two waistband pieces of length waist measurement plus 1 inch and width of two inches. 



From the sleeves I cut two equally sized pieces. I also cut two pieces of fusible interfacing. I attached the two outer pieces right sides together along with the lining and sewed along the edges with 1/2 inch seam allowance to create a long strip. I did the same with the pieces cut from the sleeves and then pinned the two strips together and sewed along the edge leaving the ends open.


I then turned this strip inside out and pressed along the edges well. The openings were then slip-stitched closed. I edge stitched along the edge of the waistband.


I folded and pinned some pleats in the main body of the skirt so that it was the same length as the waistband. I then sewed along the top to secure the pleats. I pinned the waistband and the skirt right sides together and sewed along the top. 






I slip stitched the seam down, pressed and cut off any loose threads.


I'm really happy with how this skirt turned out. I wear it with a black crop-top, ankle-boots, and my faux-leather jacket.  I hope this has inspired you to refashion some of your old clothes and give them new life.

Love Rhiannon x

Three Metres, Three Ways

I'm a big believer in that if something is cheap, bulk-buy it. I recently bought 3 metres of green French linen from my local fabric barn in order to make a dress for my mum and something with the left over fabric. I ended up having enough material to make a dress, a skirt and a top-with enough to make a small purse with the left-over scraps.

I used the majority of the fabric to make this simple dress using the Camber Set Pattern (mentioned in a previous blog post). It is the perfect fabric for a dress like this. It doesn't fray when you are trying to make the neckline and is light enough that it fits nicely around the body.

I also made this top using a pattern from the Great British Sewing Bee Book. However, when I tried it on I found that it was slightly too tight across my shoulders. I do have naturally broad shoulders but I think the main problem was that I had used the wrong kind of material. It was a pattern designed for a soft silk or chiffon but my material was just not stretchy enough. I decided to cut a small triangle in the front and face it, binding the neckline as specified in the instructions. I then attached some ribbon to give it a vintage feel. 
For my third project I wanted to make a skirt. I've made a pleated skirt, a circle skirt, and an elasticated skirt but I wanted to try something a bit different. I stumbled across this great tutorial on making wrap skirts and gave it a go. It is super easy and quick and, in this fabric, makes a very smart and elegant skirt. I'm looking forward to making this in a lighter material and creating more volume by using a longer length of fabric. 
 I couldn't quite believe that I managed to create 3 items of clothing out of 3 metres of fabric. I am always ending up with half a metre of fabric after a project and wishing that I had an extra half so that I could make something more interesting than a tote bag or purse.

I hope you've been inspired to make the most of your fabric.

Love Rhiannon x

Pattern Review: Merchant and Mills- The Camber Set


This was one of the first patterns I bought, a year ago, from a cute little craft barn in my town. It marked the beginning of my obsession with dress-making. The pattern is getting a little ragged around the edges, I've made so many dresses and tops using it. It is an extremely adaptable pattern, featuring both patterns for a top and a dress in the same a-line shape. I've made it into a colour-block dress, made a top with a button neckline and next time I use it I plan to make contrasting front-pockets. 

The pattern is quite pricey but it does come with easy-to-follow instructions and can be made in a variety of sizes. I made it in a 10 so that I could make dresses for my mum as well as for myself. The first dress I made was in a blue tartan cotton which was a good choice because it hid some of my mistakes and gave me some good practice at pattern-matching. I didn't read the instructions properly so ended up making the neck-hole too small and then had to un-pick all my stitching. On re-reading it made complete sense though. Top tip for all sewing projects: read the instructions The most difficult bits are definitely the neckline and the yoke and it takes time to master them. I made the dress quite short and I always wear it with a belt because I like to have a defined waist-line. I wear this dress all the time, all year long. In summer I wear this with my brogues and in winter with a dark blue long sleeved top underneath and ankle boots with tights. 

I had some of the blue tartan material left from making the dress but not quite enough to make a full t-shirt so I cut up an old green linen top which was sun-cream stained and used it to create a colour-block top. I folded the pattern just above the bust darts and added a seam allowance when I was cutting out my fabric. I made the top half of the top and the yoke in the green fabric but used the tartan for the bottom of the top, the back and the sleeves. It was quite hard to sew because the materials were so different but it looks great with rolled up jeans and some boots.

I loved the colour-block top so much that I decided to make a colour-block dress with some floral fabric I picked up at a market and some matching beige fabric. I think the neckline is the best thing about this pattern. It is so elegant and simple and is low enough to sit just below the collar bones. When I was making a top from the left-over material I found that I had made the neck-hole too small to fit over my head so I cut a small triangle, bias-bound the edge and added a button and loop to close it. I think this actually made the top better than it would have been if the neck-hole had been big enough.

My most recent project was a dress I made for my mum. She chose some material and chose the length (apparently my dresses are too short for her) and I made this dress for her. I had to borrow it to take this photo and now I wish it was mine. It is for her to wear at work so it is very simple- no button necklines or colour-blocking here. Having now used this pattern 5 times I think I'm suitably qualified to give some tips. Firstly, read the instructions carefully. They are brief but include all the information you will need. Secondly, be very careful when cutting out the sleeves because you need them to be mirror-images of each other and have the notches in the right place to match the main-body of the dress/top. I have sewn in the wrong sleeve on multiple occasion. Thirdly, try it on after each step. You don't want to finish the top/dress and then realise you can't fit your head through. Finally, I would advise finishing the edges of the back and front before sewing them together because it looks neater on the finished project and also I have on many occasions ended up getting material caught up and then having to unpick my zig-zag stitching. In all my projects I've used quite thick material which still allows for structure and shape. If you were to use a thicker material I would suggest shaping it more around the waist just so it doesn't look bulky and with lighter material you would have to be very careful when cutting out and sewing so that it hangs evenly on the body

This is a great pattern if you are a beginner or just want to invest in a pattern you will use time and time again. If you love this pattern as much as I do or if you want some help with your project comment down below. Happy sewing!!

Love Rhiannon x                                                                                                    

Tutorial: Simple Lined Zipper Pouch with Pocket

I've made a number of these for friends and family over the years because they are so quick and simple to make and a great way to use those ends of fabric that seem to accumulate. This pouch has an optional pocket and is fully lined. This is the finished pouch being used as either a make-up bag or a pencil case.


To make this pouch you will need:
  • A piece of patterned fabric. I used a Liberty fat quarter.
  • A piece of matching/contrasting fabric. I used black lining fabric.
  • A matching/contrasting zip. I used an 8 inch long zip.
  • Matching/contrasting thread.















1. I started by cutting my fabric into pieces with dimensions 8.5 by 6.5 inches. These dimensions can be altered depending on the length of your zip and how long you want your pouch to be. Add 0.5 inches to the length of your zip to get the width measurement.















2. You should end up with 2 pieces of outer and 2 pieces of lining fabric.











3. Place the patterned fabric right-side up. Unzip the zip so that the zipper is in the middle. Line up the zip across the top of the fabric with the metal/plastic parts at 1/4 inch from the edge.









4. Pin the lining fabric to the zip and to the patterned fabric with right-sides together.









5. Sew using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. When you reach the zipper, leave the needle down and lift the machine's foot. Move the zipper to the sewn part and sew the rest of the zip. Press and then top-stitch the zip as shown.









6. From each of the fabrics cut a piece with dimensions 8.5 by 3.5 inches or adjusted to your chosen dimensions. These pieces will be used to create the pocket.





7. Pin right-sides together and sew with a 1/4 inch seam allowance across one edge. Fold over and press. Top-stitch.





8. Line up the pocket with the edge of the other piece of patterned fabric. Sew all around the edges of the pocket with an 1/8 inch seam allowance.












9. Sew this other piece of fabric along with the lining to the zip in the same way as was done with the other side. Press and top-stitch.











10. Match the right-sides of the patterned fabric together and pin around the edge. Make sure that the zipper is in the centre of the zip and that the teeth of the zip are pointing away from the patterned fabric pieces. Sew all around the edge from the top stitching-seams using a 1/2 inch seam allowance.





11. Pin the lining fabric together and sew from the teeth of the zip around the edge with the same seam allowance but leave a gap to turn it inside out.










12. Turn the pouch inside out.









13. Make sure the corners are fully pushed out. Slip stitch the opening in the lining fabric closed and press the pouch. I hand-stitched 1 cm down the centre of the pocket to prevent things from falling out or you could perhaps use a button.







You can add whatever you like to this pouch. You could try making it bigger for a laptop-case, adding zipped pockets or adding embellishments like lace-ribbon to make it more personalised.
I hope you have fun making this!

Love Rhiannon x
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)