Tuesday Tutorial: Denim Sewing Machine Cover from Jeans

One thing I learned about spring break, or any break for that matter, is that my stuff needs protection! This sewing machine cover was long overdue. I am not sure why I  didn't do this earlier. I guess Dan unraveling my thread for the upteenth time during break caused a crafty craze that had me searching for the nearest fabric and whip up armor for my defenseless machine.

The closest fabric was in the form of these jeans. Thank God they were in a pile to be reconstructed anyway. Otherwise, I would be showing you some flowery machine cover made from a dress or a plastic one made from a shower curtain. Lol!  These were given to my older son by his cousin. They were too small and he has trouble with button closures anyway so it was a perfect fit.

After I measured my machine, I ascertained that I can cut the pant legs right here.

I cut through the inseam of each leg and this is what I am left with. These will be the front and back of the cover.

Then I cut the waist band off of the top

Then I cut the back part of the pants starting with the middle seam and continuing down the inseam of each side. I was left with this. These will form the sides of the cover.

This is what is left of the front, I did not use this part.

I then stitched the two pieces together.

I also cut the seam bulk from the bottom of the pants for easier sewing. This then goes draped over the machine.  I simply sewed the edge of the top and bottom parts of the pants around the edges of the back pockets to make the sides.

Here you have it! My new denim sewing machine cover.

Here's a side view to show you where the pockets went. 

Mission accomplished: PROTECTED!

Now Dan doesn't have a chance against my third child, my sewing machine! Lol.

As always, tell me what you think. I appreciate your feedback.  

Big Pants to Smaller Pants Refashion

Hello! The kids went back to school on Wednesday and I am still playing catch up. So happy to be back after a week of not posting. 

Anyway...here you have a pants refashion! 

This looks like a weightloss ad! lol

I am a lazy seamstress. There, I admit it. I don't particularly love putting in zippers, buttons, or pockets. That requires a lot of time and it's just plain tedious to me. This is the main reason why I don't make pants. The thought of sewing in the zipper, well it just makes me not want to even start the project. 

Mind you, I have made pants from scratch in the past, but when there are so many other things I rather do, like dresses, hats and tops, pants are always last on my list. 

Anyway, when I saw larged-sized pants on sale for $1.00 in my local thrift shop, a light bulb went off.   "Why don't I just re-size these big pants", I thought. I wouldn't have to put in the zipper or pockets!  I bought three of them with this idea and off I went to execute it. 




This was how big the pants were on me. 

This a full view, they were also very long. 

I decided that the only way to resize these pants was to remove the waist, cut between the pocket and the zipper, and then sew it back together, creating a middle seam on each side, front and back. Then I had to sew the waist band back on. 

This is how it looks when you turn it inside out. 

Here's the back view turned inside out. I lost the back pocket and I didn't do anything to make the insides pretty. I could've serged the unfinished seams but I was just experimenting at this stage. 

Everything was going okay until I had to re-attach the waistband to the pants. I don't know if I had the wrong needle, or if i didn't leave enough room between the waist band and bottom, but I did have a difficult time re-attaching the two. I finally got it done but it does not look pretty. I definitoley have to wear a long shirt to cover the top.

They also became capri pants when I realized I cut too much off. I am a bit impulsive and need to learn to wait and measure before I start chopping fabric off. But I don't mind it since Spring is here. 

A view from the back 

Sorry for the messy hair, lol.

All in all, I like the way it looks, I got a new pair of pants that fit me without having to put in a zipper or pockets. Was it worth all the hassle? I'm not sure yet.

What do you think? 



Sew and Tell: Draped Sweatshirt

My kids are home for spring break so I didn't have time to post my biweekly Tuesday Tutorial. Sorry about that, hopefully, I'll have it up by next week. In it's place, here you have what will be last sweatshirt post until the fall.

Here's a draped sweatshirt I made from a 3X mens sweatshirt. I know, I know, sweatshirts don't drape well but hey, I had to try it out. I like it and it does look good with leggings. 

I also like the sleeves which are half off. A little Star Warsy, no? I need every bit of warrior fashion to face spring break with the kids! Lol.

Here it is without the belt. 

I then decided to add a snap to it and now I love it even more. 

"Wait a second children, one last pic"

I feel like a warrior mom ready to tackle spring break with the kids!!!

Thoughts?

Sew and Tell: Sweatshirt Jumpsuit #2

I know that spring is coming soon and I will have to hang up my sweatshirts but it is still cold here in New York and I am still sporting these so I might as well show you this second sweatshirt jumpsuit while I still can! Remember the first? I also made this one from 2 1/12 sweatshirts. 

I thought it would be too bulky if I made the pockets from sweatshirts so these were made from t-shirt. Unlike the first jumpsuit, these pockets are also deeper so they appear less drapey.  Like the first one, though, the bottom part of the legs are made from left over sleeves. I really do have to post a tutorial. 

Like my striped socks! The overlapping v-neck contains less fabric than the first as to, again, do away with the bulk.  

What do you think? Would you wear one of these? Attempt to make one?  Which do you like better? The first or the second?

Tutorial Tuesday: Turning Fashion on its Head; Upside Down Jacket Tutorial

A while back I accidentally put one of my jackets on upside down and voila! A new idea was born. 

I noticed that by putting the bottom part at the top, a very wide collar on a cropped jacket was created. I liked the collar idea but not the cropped part so I decided I was going to reinvent this whole upside down jacket concept. 

I started out with this jacket
that I bought at a thrift store. I knew that I wanted lettering on it because I wanted people to tell that I had turned it upside down. I also wanted it to be green as I knew St. Patricks Day was approaching.

This Audubon Soccer jacket was perfect.  It was green, had lettering, and it also had snaps which could add some interest. I don't know how Coach Accardi (coach's name is in the front) would feel about my refashioning his team's jacket. Oh well. 

I started by cutting it apart; arms are cut and the bottom was cut shorter in the front than in the back.

This is still right side up. I sewed up the lining on the bottom of the top portion and did the same for the bottom.

Then I turned the top and bottom upside down where you get a wider collar on top and on the bottom, you get a triangle hemline. 

I stitched the two halves together this way. I had to create pleats on the middle lower back so the two halves could line up evenly. Can you tell that the collar is the lower back now?

This is what it looks like from the front.

This is how it looks on me

 Front and back.

For the most part, I used the snaps from the original design but I did add 2 snaps at the top and one snap on the bottom of the top part. 

I also did away with the sleeves and simply sewed the green part of the sleeves over the lining turning it into a vest. The upside down pockets are useless now!  

I really liked the way it came out. It's a great vest for transitioning into Spring. Happy early St. Patricks Day!

Update on Frida Kahlo Color Block Custom Order

Hello! Last Saturday I told you about this custom order I was working on.

Well, here it is! My client wanted it in blue and red. I really like the way it came out, very super heroish with this color combination.

What do you think?

Tuesday Tutorial: Boy Pants from Sweatshirt Sleeves

Rarely, do I sew for my boys. I know, I know, how aweful! I just find male clothing, well, a bit boring. However, my mind was changed when I worked with a really cool male client last year who wasn't afraid to think outside the box in terms of style and really appreciated my design aesthetic. Anyway, I digress, I'll write about that in another post. 

All this to say that for this Tuesday tutorial, I transform sweatshirt sleeves into boy sweat pants! Remember when I made my sweatshirt jumpsuit? I had a couple of sleeves left over and this is what I came up with; a really easy, fun, fast tute:

 I used a pair of Dan's pj pants to outline the shape of the pants. Four piecs make up a pair of pants, two front pieces and two back pieces. Each sleeve will make up a front and a back piece. 

I wanted to sew as little as possible, using the natural shape of the sleeves and the seams already sewn. I cut along the white lines making the shape of the pants.

This is what it looked like after I cut along the white line on each sleeve.

With right sides together, pin the center seam and then sew.

Now you can either fold and add an elastic or attach a waist band.

When I compared them to Dan's current PJ pants, I realized they were too short for me to add an elastic so I pulled out a waistband from another sweatshirt project, 

measured, cut and attached (sewed) it to the pants. I used the waist measurement from the PJ pants. This added a bit more length to them.  

There you have it: boy sweatshirt pants from two sleeves! They were still a bit too short but not as much as they would have been had I folded the waist down and added an elastic like I originally planned. Next time I will use sleeves from a 3X sweatshirt. 

Yes, Dan loves to play with cables! It's one of his little quirks

My model stayed put long enough for me to take a picture of him in his new sweatpants!

I hope you liked this refashion. I particularly enjoyed this one  because I finally made something for my boy. Now I have to make something for the other one to avoid any sibling rivalry!