embellishing

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Girlifying khaki shorts

June 8, 2010 in refashioning, sewing, tutorials and tips by Cindy | No comments

These shorts began life as standard storebought khaki pants for the boy, at some point got cut off into shorts and today got a little girlifying with some graphic pink floral print scraps and some rather scratchy polyester “lace”. I’m fairly certain the fabric is a Jane Sassaman design but I couldn’t identify it positively. I also switched out the old plain buttons for covered buttons using the same pink print.

boys khaki shorts trimmed in pink fabric and lace for a girl

After I did the first side I decided to take pictures so here’s a quick tutorial. For the fabric trim you can use purchased bias trim, or handcut bias or straight grain fabric as I did. I cut mine about one inch wide and a little longer than the distance around the hem of the shorts leg. Cut the lace to the same length. First turn your shorts inside out so you can work on the right side of the fabric more easily. I prefer to offset the seam of the trim a little towards the rear to eliminate extra bulk at the inseam.

Step 1: Lay the fabric strip face down with the top edge of the lace overlapping the width of your zigzag stitch. Pin as desired. Skipping the first centimeter, zigzag down the overlap until you are nearly back around to the beginning. Trim your fabric and lace to fit under the beginning with a little extra to fold over. Fold the fabric end up but underneath the beginning flap. Fold the lace ends at a right angle with the short ends underneath or towards the right side of the shorts, trimming if necessary. Finish zigzagging.

shorts trim tutorial by random-charm 1/9 shorts trim tutorial by random-charm 2/9 shorts trim tutorial by random-charm 3/9

Step 2:
Fold the left edge of the fabric to meet the edge of the trim and finger press. (Or iron if you prefer.) Then finger press again to conceal the zigzag stitching. (I finger press a little at a time as I stitch.) Topstitch the open edge slowly. When you get to the end you will reach the folded end of the fabric trim. You can sew that little space shut if you choose but I didn’t bother. Your fabric and lace trim is now secure. You may add a decorative line of topstitching to the top edge of the fabric trim if you like.

shorts trim tutorial by random-charm 4/9 shorts trim tutorial by random-charm 5/9 shorts trim tutorial by random-charm 6/9

shorts trim tutorial by random-charm 7/9 shorts trim tutorial by random-charm 8/9 shorts trim tutorial by random-charm 9/9

And the finished shorts modeled rather reluctantly by the girl. Don’t let the grin fool you, her contrariness is barely concealed by her choice of the most unpink shirt she owns. After I took the picture she insisted on wearing the shorts backwards for the rest of the day.

IMG_8083

P.S. Isn’t she getting tall?? I’m telling myself it’s just the picture but . . . the camera doesn’t lie, does it?

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Quick knitted headbands

March 31, 2010 in needle arts by Cindy | 2 comments

I’m always trying to find a way to contain the girl’s hair. It’s wispy just like mine. I tried this quick headband with some leftover yarns. The first one was made following this pattern from Carissa Knits (Ravelry link). The only changes I made was to size it down for a smaller head (8″ ties and 8″center). It turned out to be stretchy enough that I could wear it too.

knitted headband with crocheted flowers

I added some rather roughly crocheted white flowers to the ballet pink basketweave headband. The ties are made with I-cord which I had never tried before. It turned out to be fast and easy and fun! The second one was made from green cotton using the same recipe but substituting garter stitch for the basketweave and I used some of the pink yarn to embroider some wonky flowers. The green one is going to my little niece for Easter. Hopefully she won’t notice that embroidery is not one of my better skills.

knitted headband with embroidered flowers

These were so simple I actually made two in one day despite the crankies. I may even make one for myself, I have a little ball of dark plum colored cotton that might be just right.

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A package from a friend

March 17, 2010 in fiber arts, friend's art by Cindy | 1 comment

Some months ago I joined in a little fun that I called
brown paper packages which boiled down to making and sending handmade gifts to other people just because. The nice thing about it was that you had plenty of time and you could make anything you wanted. My friend Krista sent me these lovely felted wool coasters. The images are graphic and organic at the same time and evoke elements of nature. Aren’t they lovely? Truth be told, they may end up on the wall instead of under a mug!

felted wool coasters

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Earthtone tuxedo stripes?

December 29, 2009 in pattern drafting, sewing by Cindy | 5 comments

Or something like that. I have apparently lost the boy’s basic pants pattern, waaah. I looked high and low for it and finally gave up and drew up a new one, mostly based off the most recently finished pair. I was planning special Christmas pajamas but I needed to test the pattern before I cut into my nice new flannel. I decided to use this great moss green brushed twill and accent it somehow. But I didn’t have time to deal with pockets and patches and a bunch of topstitching, etc. so I decided for some reason that tuxedo stripes a.k.a. windpant stripes down the sides would be less trouble. You’re laughing at me right?

tuxedo stripe or windpant stripe on little boy's hand sewn pants

Guess what! I found a great way to apply these stripes using a variation of my flat-felled seam variation. You know that doubled over and double topstitched seam on your jeans? That one, except I have my own way of doing it on a home sewing machine. I probably owe you all a tutorial on that too.

Anyway, I applied these stripes in a similar manner which requires very little pinning and relies almost entirely on your sewing machine and iron to make the straight lines. Much better than appliqué turning those little stripes and then pinning and stitching them down perfectly.

close-up of tuxedo stripes on boy's pants

But of course what really matters is that the boy liked them immediately despite the lack of pockets. He even told me that he likes the pants I make him better than his other pants. Words to melt my heart. Of course I know it’s really about that soft brushed twill I use.

PS. These pants were made before Christmas. I have lots of stuff to post but I’ve been working hard at reorganizing the kids’ room. The boy has been very excited about this but the girl has been none too pleased. Such is life. You win some, you lose some, and perhaps eventually I’ll be caught up and everything will be put away.

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A little surprise Christmas sewing

December 21, 2009 in sewing by Cindy | 4 comments

Our church received a request over the weekend for Christmas help for a family with young children. Several of us coordinated getting various things to “make Christmas”. I went looking for stockings and was appalled at the selection available in the big box store. Most of the stockings available were cheaply made of such grotesque fabric that I was depressed that anyone would use those as part of their family traditions. So despite the deadline projects hanging over my head I went home and started pulling out the ingredients to make some personalized stockings.

handmade Christmas stockings

I cut the main body of all three stockings out of a thick red textured fleece and then pulled together a few wintry prints to make the contrasting heels, toes and cuffs. The boy helped me with the sewing. I was planning on using a white dimensional paint to write the names on the stockings but I did not read the directions until about 10pm. Since I didn’t have 24 hours for the paint to dry flat I had to come up with another plan! After fooling around a bit I pulled out the last piece of matte shrink plastic and the permanent markers. I picked out some (hopefully) appropriate typefaces to set their names in on the computer and then printed out a template to trace. A few seconds in the oven and a quick rubdown with the sandpaper, and I had some nice thick white ovals that I stitched onto the stocking cuffs with black upholstery thread. Although putting the names on shrink plastic tags was a last ditch idea, I like how well it turned out so I will probably find some way to use it again.

Christmas stocking with shrink plastic name tag

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More pink tie dye

September 2, 2009 in crafting, refashioning by Cindy | 6 comments

pink tie dye shirt with scattered daisies

Please excuse the silly look on my face. Rich told me I looked too serious. An old white shirt freshened up with pink on pink tie dye and then embellished across one shoulder with a little daisy rubber stamp using fabric inks. And a little frog hiding in the daisies at the hip.

rubber stamp with fabric ink on tie dye shirt rubber stamped frog and daisies embellish tie dye shirt

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Waaaaayyyyyy too much pink tie dye

August 29, 2009 in crafting by Cindy | 6 comments

All of the pink/purple was done this week, other colors were done previously. I did all of the stamping/embellishing last night, heat fixed by Rich. These baby clothes are going out all over the continent (literally) to his friends. There are a few more but I’ll save those for another post.

onesie:
baby onesie tie dye with butterfly and matching socks

onesie:
butterflies stamped on tie dye baby onesie and matching socks in pink and purple

detail:
detail of stamped butterflies on pink and purple tie dye baby onesie

twinkie rompers:
pink and purple tie dyed baby rompers with matching socks

baby gown:
pink and purple tie dye baby gown with matching socks

and my favorite seaglass colors:
green and blue baby boy onesie with little frogs

with frog detail:
stamped and colored frogs on blue/green tie dye baby boy onesie

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Quick skirt for me

August 3, 2009 in refashioning, sewing by Cindy | 2 comments

long drawstring skirt made from fringed rayon jacquard scarf

This was originally a very long (72″ x 28″?) rayon jacquard scarf with fringed ends. I believe it came from Nepal. It’s a coral sort of pink color. Not something I would normally pick for myself but for some reason I really like it. I know I was not going to wear it as a scarf so I decided to make it over into a skirt.

The fabric is lusciously soft and drapey and I was terrified to cut into it. I pinned and pressed very carefully to line everything up and then cut out a few inches of the middle to make the skirt the right length for me. I sewed up the side seams, finished the top edge and turned it over to encase 1/2″ elastic and a drawstring cord. Very simple.

The drawstring cord took a bit of time because I had a foolish notion to unravel the few inches I had cut off and twist the long weft threads into a cord. It worked but it wasn’t as neat as I had hoped it would be. With the help of my spindle I plied it and then doubled it again and threaded the ends with some olivewood beads from Israel. Surprisingly the drawstring is stronger than it looks. If it doesn’t last I’ll just find some matching pearl cotton.

wood beaded drawstring cord on jacquard skirt

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Refashion: plain long sleeve T into ruffle trimmed tank

July 22, 2009 in refashioning, sewing by Cindy | 4 comments

I discovered that my summer wardrobe is missing sleeveless shirts so I decided to make one quickly by refashioning a well-loved long sleeve tee shirt. This shirt may be 10 years old, made by the GAP originally, always long lasting. It was finally getting a bit ragged around the neckline and cuffs though so I cut the sleeves off, cut the neckline lower and used Made By Rae’s ruffle treatment around the neckline. It came out pretty well and comfortable in the sunnier weather we’ve been having. My 3.5 year old daughter kindly took the photo for me. I don’t usually like having my picture taken but she did a great job so I’ll share it with you, tilt and all. :)

ruffle trimmed tank top refashioned from long sleeve tee shirt

photo credit: the girl

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Techno geek baby

June 5, 2009 in graphic design by Cindy | 2 comments

techno geek baby girl onesies

A baby shower was held at my husband’s office this week in honor of a new baby girl soon to arrive in the household of my husband’s cohort in all things computer. The theme was appropriately “techno geek”. My husband and I tossed around some ideas for decorating onesies—the staple of the newborn wardrobe.

ASCII flowers on a baby onesie hexadecimal color for pink on a pink circle on a baby onesie

We ended up firing up the heat press and using transfer paper to embellish the first onesie with a colorful garden of ASCII flowers. Those of you my age or older may remember making similar pictures on a typewriter in typing class! The second onesie sports a large pink dot with the hexadecimal (web) color number used to specify that particular shade of pink to computers. Apparently one of the adults wanted one of these in her size. We may need to oblige as I am thinking I might want one for me as well! It could very easily be made for boys too of course.

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DIY Bias Cutting Gauge

June 3, 2009 in repurposing, sewing by Cindy | 1 comment

If you’ve ever made your own bias trim or piping, you’ll know that it is not the easiest task but produces a most rewarding and unique embellishment. My 1953 Singer Sewing Book makes reference to a bias cutting gauge made by Singer which could be clipped to your scissors to automatically cut the perfect width strips of fabric.

illustration of bias cutting gauge

Intrigued I searched the internet to see if I could purchase one of these handy gadgets. I found a vintage example for sale at a ridiculously high price. Karen of OneGirlCircus, found a modern version at a very reasonable price, but while quite adjustable, it seemed rather large in comparison and frankly, I was reluctant to pay the shipping to buy one item.

So, of course the next logical step (for me) was to attempt to make my own. The first version was quickly bent out of a leftover piece of metal flashing (that would be the kind that goes on your roof). Worked great, a little flimsy, not so attractive.

diy bias strip cutting guide/gauge handmade bias cutting guide

Version two was formed out of a flat bobby pin. Bingo, definitely a winner—slim, smooth and easy to use. Now just today I ran across a much better photo of a vintage version which shows how it was adjustable. I think with a little tinkering I can incorporate that into the next version. I’m not sure which excites me more, having this great new tool or the fact that I figured out how to make it myself!

DIY bias cutting gauge
using the handmade bias cutting guide

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The tooth fairy found our house

May 22, 2009 in sewing, with/for/about kids by Cindy | 3 comments

The boy finally lost his first tooth this week. I think he was feeling a bit left out as quite a few of his friends had already lost their first teeth. There was much dancing and singing. While the boy was gone to school I decided to make a tooth pillow so the “tooth fairy” would be able to find the little tooth under the boy’s pillow that night. I thought about doing some needle felting but ended up using embroidery floss to stitch a little face on the tooth and blanket stitch to stitch the tooth shape onto the pillow and finish the edges as well. I left a little opening at the top of the tooth big enough for a quarter (according to the song the boy learned in school, bless that music teacher!)

hand made felt tooth fairy pillow

I don’t do embroidery or cross stitch too often but occasionally I like to do it, especially on a small project like this where there are immediately satisfying results. After I was done with the tooth pillow I was reminded of this Japanese craft book that my aunt gave me years ago. It’s full of adorable felt people, animals and plants. The boy and the girl have already picked out projects for me to do, of course.

Japanese craft book of felt people, animals and plants

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What would you do with a black box?

April 18, 2009 in crafting, give away, repurposing by Cindy | 6 comments

empty black velvet lined boxes


I scored a few of these previously used black boxes, a little dusty but sturdy. They are some sort of thin but hard board covered in faded black paper and lined with foam covered with cheap velvet. (I’m sure these will be very easy to gut.) Some of them have little latches and some of them have self-closing hinges. Some are approximately 5×7″ and others are 6×8″, about 2.5″ deep. I didn’t know what I would do with them but obviously they have great potential. The girl appropriated one for her little dolls as soon as I got them in the door!

So I’m throwing this out there to my readers. What would you do with one of these? I’d love to hear your ideas on how you might decorate the outsides and what you might put inside. I’m thinking treasure boxes, photo storage, special gift packaging, triptychs, memory boxes, craft tool cases, decoupage purse. What are you thinking?  Leave me a comment by May 5th and I’ll be giving a few of these out.** Feel free to spread the word, I want to hear lots of ideas!

**Two catches – I’ll want you to e-mail a picture of your finished project to post here on my blog by May 31 and I won’t be sending any outside the US, because I’m broke, sorry.

lavender tulips in a metal bucket
just because they’re pretty ;)

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And now for something completely different . . .

April 2, 2009 in pattern drafting, sewing by Cindy | 5 comments

A skirt for me. Wow, it’s been a while. This skirt has a lot of features that I wouldn’t normally wear or sew for myself. First I used a conversation print – Alexander Henry’s Starlings. I rarely wear prints at all. I also used red! as a secondary accent to highlight the red in the print and contrast with the main fabric of the skirt which is denim. I also appliqued one of the birds to the back waist, I don’t know why but hopefully it looks cute in a good way. I can’t think when was the last time I used piping and I’m sure it wasn’t on a garment for myself. I was originally going to use bias tape as the edging but went with the piping after seeing Rae’s use of piping on a child’s backpack. It really made the lines of the design stand out.

birdskirtfront birdskirtback

Other details: I’ve never cared for waistbands so that’s not new. But I don’t think I’ve ever done one like this. I cut some of the print fabric on the bias and used it to bind the top of the skirt which also helped reduce bulk since the body of the skirt is made from a hefty 12 oz. denim. The pattern is my own, rough modification of an existing six gore skirt pattern I drafted ages ago. Red topstitching. I love invisible zippers! And a resin snap for the closure. I also fused the lightweight print to white cotton to give it some bulk so it would stand up to the denim and a crisper hand to hold the pleat even when walking. That worked out very well.

birdskirtapplique

I apologize for the grainy pictures, these were all taken at night and Frances (my dressmaker’s dummy) was a bit tipsy as well. And unfortunately the skirt turned out a tad big despite stopping for a fitting midway. Oh well. Maybe it will shrink in the wash. (I pre-washed the fabrics of course.)

I need to thank FW and the gals on designer-stashers for turning me on to new fabrics and for hosting a skirt sew-along which is probably the only reason I got this done! And finally, the skirt on the reluctant model, wearing some eye-brow raising 70s looking clogs scored from DH’s office. (Amazing things turn up when you are cleaning out an advertising agency. :) )
birdskirtside birdskirtfrontview

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Inkjet printed fabric labels

February 14, 2009 in product reviews, sewing by Cindy | Comments closed

img_3182Did that title make any sense at all? I suppose this is somewhat of a review. I originally got this paper-backed fabric for use with inkjet printers for another project. I used it this week to make labels for some baby carriers I donated to a not-for-profit group, HUGS. HUGS is run by two sisters who sell selendangs through their website. A selendang is a traditional piece of cloth used in Indonesia for many purposes, one of the most important being carrying babies. The sisters then donate the profits back to providing traditional selendang baby carriers to mothers in need, mainly in Indonesia I think. Go check it out, a really lovely family effort.

Anyway, you are wondering what this has to do with me printing fabric labels on my inkjet printer. I purchased and used some of the beautiful HUGS fabric to make into more structured two shoulder carriers. I wanted to put their logo on the strap so I decided to try out this product, PhotoFabric from Blumenthal Craft. I think there are many other brands of this same type of stuff. While the colors could have been more vibrant, I was impressed at the detail I was able to get, 5 point type was perfectly readable. I cut out the labels and turned under the edges with the iron and then sewed them on. It worked very well and looks nice. I test washed one of the labels and it did not bleed at all even under hot water.

You can also draw easily on this paper with colored pencils, which makes it great for kids. You can take their drawing and incorporate it into a sewn fabric creation. I’m curious to see if it can withstand machine washing. If so, I’ll certainly be using it to put “made by mom” tags into my kids’ clothes!

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