Copycat T-shirt

My daughter shops at a popular teen store at the mall where the clothing is trendy and not too expensive. I have to admit that I look around the store occasionally just to get ideas for sewing projects. I've noticed that all of their t-shirts are basically the same pattern with different neckline, sleeve, and hem treatments. I decided to trace the simple pattern for one of her favorite knits tops and use it as a basis for her summer top wardrobe.  I added a self fabric knit binding to the neckline and topstitched with my coverstitch machine. The sleeves have a narrow hem also stitched with the coverstitch and the bottom is finished with a band cut crosswise from the same fabric. I used Design Plus Ultra-Soft Double Sided Fusible from The Sewing Place to fuse the sleeve hem before stitching. With very lightweight knits such as this one, hems tend to tunnel even when stitched with the double-needle coverstitch. The fusible makes the hem very even and professional looking.

I decided that I really like the color of this knit and hated to throw away the small amount of leftover scraps. I cut a narrow scarf across the width of the fabric about 8 inches by 66 inches (the width of the fabric). I let the edges roll rather than finishing them.

I also had enough little scrappy pieces left to make a headband and a fabric flower. For the headband, I cut a strip 5 1/2 inches wide and 20 1/2 inches long. I folded the strip lengthwise, serged a 1/4 inch seam, turned the tube and stitched a seam in the back. I stitched on a fabric flower and it's done. Quick and easy. I had enough left to make another flower which I sewed to a felt circle and attached a clasp pin to the back.

I finally decided that there simply was not enough fabric left to make anything else and moved on to my next project. What are your ideas for using leftover fabrics from your sewing/craft projects?

Wristlet Purse for Sarah

I found this great tutorial on Noodlehead's blog for a gathered clutch purse. Since Sarah has really enjoyed using her Scrappy Loyalty Wallet that I made for her birthday, I decided to make a wristlet to go with it. Sometimes she just doesn't want to carry a large, heavy purse. I had enough assorted fabrics left from the wallet to mix and match a wristlet.

I became a little concerned that my choice of fabrics made it look like a cosmetic bag so I added a fun flower to the band on the front.

Instead of the two horizontal pockets that the tutorial suggested I divided the pocket section into 3 vertical pockets. I didn't add the center divider. Since the front has extra body with the gathers and band, I added the interfaced pockets to the back lining to balance things out. The front and back outer sections are also interfaced.

I love the zipper end covers. I will definitely use this technique again.

Sarah doesn't know that I made this wristlet for her. I guess I will find out if she is reading my blog if I hear from her soon!

Scrappy Flower Headbands

This is one of my favorite projects for fabric flowers. Just grab some scraps from your stash and get started. The headband is a strip of fabric about a yard in length, hemmed on all edges. The finished width is about 2 inches at the widest center part, tapering to 3/4 inch at the ends. The flower is sewn on a little off center so that it doesn't sit directly on top of the head.

For this headband, I folded the strip of fabric for the flower lengthwise, formed little pleats in a circle, and quickly stitched it down to the headband by machine. I added leaves from green linen scraps.

This little blue flower is similar to the red flower from my previous fun flower post. It is hand stitched to a coordinating headband. Similar headbands sell for about $15 in a local boutique!

What do you like to embellish with your little fabric flowers?

Fun flowers

These little pins are so much fun to make from little fabric scraps. I usually wear mine on a white linen jacket but they look great on headbands, too.


 For this pin, I tore a strip of fabric an inch or so wide. As I twisted the fabric strip, I started winding it from the inside and tacking in place until it was the size I wanted. I added a small pearl button in the center. On the back, I stitched a small circle of felt and added a clasp pin.

I found the tutorial for this Kanzashi flower here.  It is made from a light to medium weight linen. Have I mentioned that I love linen? I also added a pearl button to the center of this pretty flower and a pin on the back to attach it to my jacket.