Silhouette Me: An Adventures in Sewing Story

*Duct Tape Dangers Disclosure

My adventures in sewing began in 2011 when L. left for college and the unpredictable 'empty nest' season began.  Live & Learn With Sally has been a depository for both the emotional and artistic journey.  Silhouette Me is another stop along this road.

The Refashion movement has caught my eye.  I've tackled minor adjustments on blouses through haphazard pinning while looking at my reflection in the mirror.

 A major dress refashion has swirled through my mind for some time. My avoidance is in large part due to the lack of confidence to 'fit' the refashion accurately and sufficiently.  Honestly, I want to "want" to wear this dress when the refashion is done.

What I really needed was a dress form which cost $100+, a sum I'm not willing to spend if I'm only going to use it once.  (See Upholstery Re-Do)

A trip on the internet leads to more tutorials on 'Making Your Own Dress Dummy' than you would ever expect.  The two common instructions: you need another person and more than one roll of duct tape.  D. was my willing taper and Sam's provided the bulk package of duct tape.

The adventure began:

Start in a trash bag or old t-shirt.

It is important to capture
every curve.

We followed specific
wrapping instructions.

Getting close but not tight.

2 1/2 hours in and we
are done wrapping;
now to cut me out.

Stuffed and ready
for service.

Dress ready for a
refashion.

The intention for this dress refashion is to make the skirt portion an A-Line and bring up the hem without removing the back zipper.

I will post the results, success or failure, to let you know how the refashion goes and the dress form performs.

Thanks for stopping by.






*Duct Tape Dangers Disclosure
In an effort for full disclosure be aware that continued use of duct tape over an extended period of time can result in blisters.

D. took one for the team!

I Made a Duffle!

In the current recycle/reuse environment I was going through a bag of clothes destined for donation when my recycle eye caught sight of a pair of cargo pants with a draw string waist and excellent pockets.

A bag pattern came to mind inspiring the next project.

With many of these new endeavors I often fly by the seat of my pants; following the suggestion of a pattern and designing as I go.


After cutting out the seams a visit to Joann Fabrics yielded an upholstery remnant that complimented the cargo blue.


Two 4 inch strips replaced the seams.  A bucket design made the best use of size and pocket placement.  My sewing machine couldn't accommodate the thick fabric for sewing the handle strap but two gold buttons did the trick.



The lining came together with minimal frustration and installed with ease.  I am still on the hunt for a cord lock large enough to accommodate the draw string which will make the bag complete.

Deep into the process, as I was wrestling the fabric thorough my machine that wasn't made to handle industrial sewing, it seemed this project might have been too ambitious.

Multiple trips to the fabric store and additional days thinking through problem areas did result in a pleasing duffle.

My feelings regarding this project is similar to the Chair Re-do.  I am happy with how it turned out but I won't intentionally revisit it again.  I do like the myriad of bags and purse patterns out there and this has given me a great trial run.  There is likely another effort out there but on a much smaller scale.

Because it turned out to be much larger than initially expected I have to consider it's purpose. I've decided it would make a great Diaper Duffle.  The pockets are perfect for all the various and sundry small baby items with the interior large enough for diapers, extra clothes and toys.

Another item for my Grandmother's hope chest. :)

The Nut Doesn't Fall Far....

Recent posts have showcased my swirl through the world of crafts, sewing in particular. In my lifetime I have attempted many different types of crafts and been pleased by most results.

My husband, D., has a talent working with wood.  In the early years of our marriage, mainly due to a tight budget, most of our furniture was rebuilt and refinished by D.

This weekend he took two old end tables that were becoming rickety and scarred renewing them with a screwdriver and can of spray paint.  L., too, has proved to be quite crafty.

He has been an avid gamer in many mediums.  Currently he is a supporter of board games, especially games still in development. Most of the games he purchases from Kickstarter and are played with cards, many, many cards.

There are a few 'card carriers' available for these enthusiasts but it is early in their own development leaving much room for improvement. L. stepped into this void with some help from the internet.

A trip to Hobby Lobby brought a painters box plus red felt.  Home Depot had the hard board and stain.  Dad stained the box and cut the hard board for dividers from L.'s measurements.  L. glued all the inside pieces together and used a wood burner to etch the game title on the lid.  I glued the felt inside the box.  For under $36 we created this personalized card box.

Clearly, the nut does not fall far from the tree.

Sewing Presents for Christmas 2013

Fraternity T-shirt Back

Fraternity T-shirt Front

On the previous post which highlighted the college t-shirt quilt I hinted at a creative use for additional
t-shirts.  Online there is no difficulty finding many neat ideas for reusing favorite t-shirts but I've never before seen pillowcases.



I work for the Student Ministry at a local church and t-shirts are ordered for multiple events every year.  By Christmas there remains a large selection of leftovers.

Graphic T's Front

Graphic T's Back

After seeing my previous t-shirt quilts one of our youth interns was interested in having a quilt made out of his many graphic t's.  We struck a deal in which he cut the squares and provided the backing and I constructed the quilt.





With t-shirts on my mind and so many at my disposal I wanted to make a quick gift for all the interns.  In retrospect I did make a t-shirt pillow case many years ago with some left over Christmas fabric and a white t-shirt.  The idea popped up again and with a dip into the many wonderful remnants I am still working through I went to work.

Front/Back with added fabric
top and bottom.

For the youth staff I sewed a pair of pillow cases out of 4 different shirts.  I did a slightly different style on each but on every pair I added stability by lining the inside of the opening with the coordinating fabric.

Decorative stripe with inside lining.

With this style the neck was retained filling in with fabric from the sleeve. The shirt was a large which was wide enough to reach the standard pillow case size without extra fabric therefore coordinating fabric was used to decorate the outside of the pillow case as well as inside the opening.


An extra large shirt was too big for a standard sized pillow case.  On this design I cut more fabric off the sides and made the pillow case to size with the coordinating fabric.  This design also retained the neck.

The neck was retained and filled in with fabric from the sleeve.

The quilt I'd made for our intern had enough remnants to create matching pillow cases out of yet another shirt.

I expect these pillow cases will be used at times when a pillow may get thrown around on the vehicle floor, into a tent or out by the fire.

 Situations where you don't want to mess up a "good" pillow case, which makes them perfect for anybody on a road trip, school trip, family trip or at scout camp, summer camp, church camp or on any kind of overnight adventure.

If you make a pillowcase I would love to see it, please post a link in your comments.

Happy Holidays, Happy Sewing!!

Out of Sync Birthdays

L. turns 21 today.  December 7th, within the UT college calendar falls at the beginning of semester finals.  This is L's third year at UT, so as in the two years past we planned to celebrate over Thanksgiving break.

We drove down to Austin to pick him up but he was booked to fly back the following Sunday.  This required taking his gifts with us as there were some big boxes and all needed to end up in Austin.

Circumstances such as these puts a birthday out of sync.  Instead of being a problem I see these as opportunities to make a week, or month, celebration instead of only one day.  On November 27 we celebrated in his dorm room as he opened gifts.  On November 29 we celebrated with cake and candles at home.  Today he is back in Austin celebrating with friends and I get to cyber-shout out, one more time.


One of the large gifts was a UT
 t-shirt quilt.  It is the first full size quilt I have 'quilted' on my home machine.  The backing is that ultra-soft minky material and although it shifted slightly the adhesive spray recommended to aid in the quilting process worked great.

Quilting a full size takes patience and practice.  The process and result went so well I've decided to make baby size quilts to practice and improve my patience and machine quilting skills on.

L. was thrilled with the new college quilt, which takes the place of his high school quilt.  There were many other shirts that didn't make the cut for this gift.  Watch for a future post on the creative end found for those
t-shirts.

Here on Pearl Harbor day we wish L. a Happy, Happy 21st Birthday!

Quilt Number ??

Three years in and I am losing count on how many quilts have been completed.  It would seem safe to say I found a hobby and the counting can cease.

There is never a lack of ideas or patterns to choose from when, along with the rest of the techno-savvy public, web surfing has become a frequent past time.

In the process of getting Logan settled for his junior year at UT he gleaned through his closet and we ended up with a stack of jeans he could no longer wear.  Initially they were headed for Goodwill until I tripped over a Denim Circle Quilt that mimics the Cathedral Window pattern.  Now with plenty of denim conveniently in stock I had my next project.

The prints are from the fabulous stash R. gave me months ago.

Something to mention at the beginning of a denim project; denim is HEAVY and can be difficult manipulating through the sewing machine. That said, although I love the end product here, it is 'regular' bed size.  I prefer queen size but I was at my limit for wrestling this cover through all the top-stitching.

The bobbin thread was cranberry to match a color on the front and to highlight the top stitching (unable to see here on the back) but it added a nice touch and has me feeling confident enough to try machine quilting on my next project.

Because of the smaller size and the lovely stash of coordinating print fabric I added a 3 inch frame with denim binding. 

My continuous sewing has brought gifts of supplies from fellow sewers downsizing.  I've received several bags of batting which has the ideas churning on how to use them.  If the machine quilting goes well perhaps I can use the batting for baby quilts to test new block patterns and practice machine quilting techniques. 

Hobby indeed!

2013 Fall Back

It has been since the Bear Quilt that anything new has come out of the sewing room.  The machines have not been silent just busy refashioning tops.

In 2010, with the implementation of a wellness program at D.s company, we went on 20 weeks of Weight Watchers with great success.  A total loss of 40 pounds changed my wardrobe over and the 'big' clothes were packed away.

There are a couple schools of thought on retaining 'big' clothes.  A frequent comment was, "You should get rid of those sizes so you don't have them to get back into."  That is an understandable idea but I have some very nice pieces and am realistic enough to know that those boxes may need to be revisited.

Three years down the road and indeed, those boxes came out of storage.  I have regained 20 of those pounds and some of the stored tops refashioned, are a sensible, economical choice.

Don't be discouraged for me, I am back at Weight Watchers for a refresher and expect to unpack the smaller tops that, for the moment, have been stored away.

This pillow has been at the back of my mind since I finished the Raw Edged quilt.  A round pillow was my initial concept but it didn't have the bright blue fabric that popped on the quilt so my intention was always to make another round or square.

My friend S. over at Thoughts From Mill Street sent me the Exploding Pineapple pattern some time ago.  I decided to give it a try and in an afternoon this came together using a small pillow form.  I believe this is a much better compliment to the quilt.

L. is back at UT for his junior year and that seems to be the motivation for getting the sewing room up to full speed.  Already in mind for the holidays; I like to cover the couch pillows in decorative fabric and there is a 'hidden zipper' tutorial to try with the fall material.  As well, Elysium has a wonderful, free Good Deeds dress pattern for small girls I want to get started on.

With Fall at our doorstep what is on your mind?

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