FO: Rifle Sun Girls Apron for Shannon

It's my sister's birthday today! I managed to get her gift to her about a week ago, so I actually have pictures and a post ready to go on the day of - woo hoo!

This gift started several months ago when my Rifle Paper Company released a special edition apron made in their newest fabrics on their website. For $100 each. For an apron! I mean I appreciate the workmanship as much as the next person, but come on, right? Shannon messaged me to see if I would make her an apron if she bought the fabric. I said no problem, so she started narrowing down which print she liked best. At the time I had no idea how much fabric it would take to make an apron, so I looked up a pattern and told her she needed 2.5 yards. When you add that up on Rifle's canvas fabrics (the kind they used for the aprons they sell), that gets very expensive very quickly. Shannon didn't love the available prints on the canvas anyway, so after a brief moment where she asked me if rayon would be good for an apron (to which I emphatically said No), she settled on the Amalfi Sun Girls quilting cotton in the blue colorway. Knowing she didn't need this eminently, I offered to pick up the fabric at 40% off during the 4th of July sale at The Sewing Studio. And basically since she had already waited that long, what's another few months to get your dream apron as a birthday gift? lol Long story, but that is the progression of this project that only took me one night to make. But it's fancy, so read on!

Shannon just wanted a classic apron shape, and after searching all the available patterns (which only seemed to have vintage or frilly or otherwise complicated aprons) I eventually decided to just copy an apron I already had. My mom gave me a great apron for my birthday - it's covered in baked goods and it's yellow - and since it was a simple shape, I could just lay it on the fabric and trace :)

Here's where things get fancy - the quilting cotton, while lovely, was just not weighty enough for a nice and effective apron. I made my mom an apron years ago with just quilting cotton, and sure it keeps stains away, but your clothes still get wet when you wear it - I've worn it many times at her house and I've always hated that I still get wet. So to avoid that disappointment on this version, I decided to add a lining fabric. I think that Rifle would have chosen a "natural" or "linen" looking fabric to accent (like their canvas is printed on), but with this light color I really didn't want to add anything to distract. I have several yards of this great lightweight white denim I got at a thrift store in my stash, so I decided to use that to add a bit of heft. Adding the lining also simplified my "pattern making" because I was able to just lay the apron on the denim and trace its exact size. I didn't need to add seam allowances to the denim since I wanted to roll the main fabric over like a binding :) This fabric worked perfectly and now the finished apron feels substantial. To sew it together, I pinned the denim to the wrong side of the cotton and pinned it all over like you would a quilt before quilting it on a machine, then I just went around each edge, pressing the edge in twice to get that bound look and top stitched all over.

I made 3 long tie pieces, all of which are also lined with the denim for heft. Confession: this was the worst part of this project. I sewed them as tubes and then turned them right-side out, which seriously took longer than the entire rest of the project did put together. The straps are 1" wide, and I had to actually use a pair of pliers to turn them. After complaining about how long it took to my mom, she said, "Why didn't you just fold the edges under and top stitch them?" To which I had a total pause-and-blink-silently moment because I had never even thought of this and it would've been SOOOO much easier. Ah, well.

The 3rd strap piece was for the neck - interestingly on the original apron, this tie is the same length as the waist ties, which is why mine is so long; I think I would shorten just the neck one in the future. The neck is one of my favorite parts of this apron - it has a long tie on one side and a tiny tie on the other with 2 D rings that you use to adjust the length. As you can see in the photo, I wound up with a decent amount of excess once it was adjusted, but I like that you could easily slide the tie and make it longer or shorter if need be. I also copied the pocket on the original - this is just a rectangle that is sewn to the denim lining and then turned right-side out and top stitched. Oh so useful though.

And the crowning jewel - the original apron had a facing at the neck, so I decided to cut my facing from the selvage, meaning that Shannon's apron is now "officially" fancy because it says it's from Rifle Paper Company :)

Here some detail shots - first is the backside of the D ring closure (this pleases me because I think it makes the apron look more store bought). Next you can see a close up of the binding inside - I top stitched at the edge of the binding as well as at the edge of the apron itself, so everything has 2 passes and it more stable. Bottom right is a close up of the strap. I copied the original apron and I think this is a great little detail. The strap was sewn to the edge of the unfolded cotton fabric, then it was turned under with the binding before stitching down. Not only does this neaten up any fraying edges, it also makes it (you guessed it) much more secure. I want this thing to last lots of washes, so being secure was a big concern of mine :) The bottom left photo is just to show the lining of the pocket. I also top stitched 2 lines of stitching to the pocket edge before sewing it on the apron (also with 2 lines of stitching) just so it looks consistent and lays very flat.

And to top off the apron, I had to get a card to match! My husband works just around the corner from the flagship Rifle Paper Co store, so I sent him b on his way home to pick the perfect card :) Yes, I am THAT cool, lol.

I sent the apron to Shannon last week to make sure she would get it in time and she opened it early (she already knew what it was, so it's no big deal) so she took pictures with the fancy dishware she sells :) Her mixing bowl is probably Juliska here. She loves it, and my other family members have requested a few for themselves after seeing hers. I guess I know what people will be getting for Christmas this year!

Summary:
Fabric: 1.25 yards Amalfi Sun Girls in Sky Blue Quilting Cotton by Rifle Paper Company, 1 yard white denim (thrifted)
Pattern: Copied from a store bought apron
Notions: 2 D rings, thread
Time: 3 hours

Christmas FO: The QVC Shirt

Back in early November or thereabouts, my mom bought a shirt off of  QVC that she and my sister, Kelly, immediately fell in love with. She ordered it in 2 colors for herself, but my sister wanted one as well and asked if I could copy it for her Christmas gift. It was a fairly simple t-shirt design, so I knew it would be simple to copy, so I said yes :) The glory of this project was that the shirt already fit great, so I didn't have to do much in the way of alterations.

Since this is technically a wearable muslin, we picked fabric from my stash that had a similar body as the original. The inspiration shirt was a medium weight bamboo rayon, so the closest thing I had that was not too precious was this cotton interlock. The body is similar and Kelly liked the color, so I went with that. Not having matching thread in my stash, I used a medium gray thread and it blends in wonderfully.

The shirt has princess seams on the front and back and the area below the bust flares slightly on each piece to drape away from the body. After sewing the whole thing together I did have Kelly try it on before hemming just to see where she wanted the sleeves to hit, etc. We went with this 3/4 length just below the elbow. I also copied the neckline finish where a band is applied and then folded completely to the inside and then top stitched with a double needle. This is one of my favorite neckline finishes now and I've used it on all of my boat neck shirts as it's so nice and clean looking but still sturdy.

The fabric is prone to wrinkle (being cotton), but these pictures were taken after wearing it at work all day, so not too bad. We kept the slight high-lo hem of the original shirt that gave good butt coverage, which Kelly liked. The shirt is almost tunic length but not quite.

The flare around the hips creates a nice "skirt" if you will. It's pretty wide when you pull the hem out all the way, but with the drape of the fabric it still hangs nicely.

So that's Kelly's Christmas shirt - the QVC shirt as I call it. I included the pattern I made of the shirt as part of her gift because she wants to learn to sew t-shirts too, so we should be making more of these some time. Kelly wear this quite often - she says it's very comfy :) It needs a few tweaks on the next version (like a full bust adjustment of some kind), but it certainly fits as well as the original shirt and that's all we were really aiming for with this. I'm just glad she gets some wear out of this gift.

Summary:
Fabric: 2.5 yards of taupe cotton interlock knit (thrifted)
Pattern: Drafted from a rtw shirt from QVC
Notions: grey thread, gray woolly nylon thread
Time: 3 hours

Christmas FO: Black Sequin Striped Shirt

My sister, Kelly, requested that I sew her a t-shirt for Christmas - which I was more than happy to oblige since I so enjoy sewing them :) The request got pretty specific - she wanted me to recreate a shirt that she liked the fit of, but in black rayon jersey. "No problem," I thought. I'd just have to find some rayon jersey that wasn't too expensive. Then one day I came across a perfect refashioning specimen at the thrift store...

Sorry for the terrible picture, but it was dark out and I had to get sewing it so this is all I have of what it once looked like. The shirt was a size 2X faux-twin-set by INC. It was designed to look like a sequined striped tank top with a drapey shirt over top, but the tank top was actually just the front of the shirt and it was all sewn as one. Surely this would be enough fabric to make Kelly's shirt, and it would be much cooler than just a boring black top! I tried to feel her out about the sequins and decided to just go with it in the end. So I got to cutting!

I traced off Kelly's beloved shirt and made a pattern, then cut apart the thrifted top. This is where the changes started occurring, lol. Kelly's shirt was a boatneck, and I hoped that since it was such a large size that I would be able to still make the higher neckline happen. Sadly, the scoop was just too far and since Kelly wanted me to make this new shirt longer, I couldn't do the boat neck :( Womp womp. So the shirt that I set out to make "to order" is now nothing like what she requested, lol. I just used the existing scoop neckline and recut the front and back pieces, then I opened up the sleeves and recut them as well. I used the existing hem on all of those pieces as well as the scoop front neck band - the only finishing I had to do was to add a makeshift neckband piece to the back of the neckline, and I cut that piece out of the scraps. I still have the two drapey pieces from this project that I didn't manage to use.

I have to say that I am quite pleased with how this refashion turned out :) As in I borderline wanted to keep this shirt and make her a different one, lol. It was ridiculously difficult to photograph those sequins, but they are a nice little touch that makes the piece look more ready-to-wear in my opinion. As someone who has correctly sewn knit tops, I will confess that it does bug me that the hem and neckbands don't enclose the side seams as they should - but I'm not hung up on that and absolutely no one notices that there is anything different about it. My sister has worn the shirt very frequently and she says she gets compliments on it all the time :)

A little better view of the sequins for you :) I had hoped to get pictures of Kelly wearing the shirt, but we are all busy people and I didn't want to put off posting this forever. To anyone concerned about sewing with sequins - don't be. I did nothing special to work with this fabric. The original shirt had the sequins stop before the side seams, but I just sewed right through them as I took the shirt in and I had zero issues. Kelly says the shirt is comfy and she loves it. Definitely a successful Christmas gift!

Summary:
Fabric: thrifted INC black with sequins shirt - $3.00
Pattern: copied from RTW shirt - free
Notions: knit stay tape - $0.50, thread - stash
Hours: 2 to 3
Total Cost: $3.50

FO: Pretteh Kitteh Skirt

I am proud to announce that I actually finished something that I planned fro a sew-along and I absolutely LOVE it :) I call this my "Pretteh Kitteh" skirt.

This project sort of started out a year or so ago when I decided I would like to replicate one of my favorite ready to wear skirts. I bought a Liz Claiborne skirt years and years ago that is just over knee length, a fun polyester print with a lining, and has a ribbon waistband on the inside of the lining. It always seemed like a simple construction and I knew I could replicate it if I set my mind to it. A few months ago when I was walking through Hancock Fabrics (I was there for 99¢ patterns and a zipper, I swear!), I passed by this kitty ca fabric and I was in love. It's a nice, light fabric with a pretty drape, but mostly I was so in love with the print that I knew I had to have it in my life. I'm not even a crazy cat lady (I do have a cat, but I think most cats are jerks), but the print was just so fun and I love the colors. I bought 2.5 yards with the plan of finally remaking my beloved skirt with it :)

It's so wonderfully swishy!

Construction on this was fairly interesting. I started by just taking my measurements and drafting a simple a-line skirt pattern for the lining. I dug through my stashed lining fabrics and settled on the only one I had that didn't show through the front and wasn't too heavy - this thrifted pink mystery fabric. I think it might be bemberg rayon, or at least a much higher quality polyester lining material than I've used before because it was much nicer feeling, though it still did fray like the dickens. I think the pink is pretty boring to be perfectly honest. I don't really think it looks complimentary inside the skirt either - I loved the look of a brown fabric I had, but it showed through to the outside :( Oh well, it was the main fabric I was concerned with anyway :)

Ugh, talk about a lack of hanger-appeal!

Once I had the lining fitting well, I added a 1/2" wide orange polyester ribbon just outside the seam allowance to act as the "waistband" but still be invisible from the outside. Next I just measured my original skirt and cut two pieces of the cat fabric across the entire 60" width (the pieces I cut were 26" long). I sewed the side seams first and inserted the invisible zipper, then I sewed the lining to the zipper - I had never done this before, so I followed the free Craftsy zipper class to do it and I am so proud of how professional it looks! The hardest part of this was figuring out the size to make the pleats. This took a few hours of measuring and pinning each pleat as I went, trying to make the main fabric the same width as my waistband. I finally ended up fudging it a bit - the pleats aren't all perfectly even, but I don't think it's very noticeable unless you're really inspecting it close, so I can live with that. These pleats are sewn down as rectangles and then all of them are laid in the same direction inside the skirt. Once I got the pleats situated, I sewed the lining to the main fabric and under-stitched the seam allowance onto the ribbon. It kept everything very neat and tidy inside :) Sadly, when I tried it on I discovered a big mistake - I had sewn the pleats 5" long and straight down - I didn't angle them out for my hips at all! The result was that my waistband had to sit up under my boobs to even zip up - not a good look. I was really bummed, and I certainly wasn't going to unpick the under-stitching and everything at the already graded waist seam. I had to unpick the bottoms of the rectangles until they were only about 2" long, and when I tried to stitch the bottoms back at a perpendicular angle, I kept sewing the pleats together accidentally since it was pretty impossible to separate each pleat enough to get my foot onto the original seam line at that point. I ended up hand stitching them back, which is certainly less than wonderful looking, even from the outside :( I still plan to finangle it somehow into my machine sometime soon to keep it from falling apart on me. That would be tragic.

Here are the detail shots. Isn't the fabric great?! I love the occasional blue cats with stars on them - so fun! And I am still impressed at how good the inside of my zipper looks, even though the ribbon doesn't match exactly - oh well, you can't have everything. I also am thrilled with my narrow hems! I've only done narrow hems a few times, but I am fast becoming addicted to it - it's really simple with the rolled hem foot on my machine, and it just looks so professional. And I'm pretty proud of the outside of my zipper as well, even though I didn't pattern match at all - the pattern is so crazy that it didn't matter to me.

So, there you have it - I have a ridiculously fun skirt With kitties AND goes along with a sew-along AND goes with my Swedish Hasbeens wonderfully :) I'm so excited about this skirt, and even in spite of its flaws I know I will wear it like crazy. Hooray for sewing!

Summary:
Fabric: 1.5 yards Polyster Value Print from Hancock Fabrics - $ 7.00, 1 yard pink mystery lining (possibly bemberg rayon) - $0.25 thrifted
Notions: 9" invisible zipper, $1.00
Pattern: self drafted from rtw Liz Claiborne skirt
Hours: 6-ish?

Ha ha, these were just too ridiculous not to include in this post. Enjoy!