Sewing Projects

Inspired by a dress I saw in a magazine that had a stiff bib with a metal bar through it, I wanted to make a square flat top with rods in it. I used the Three of Swords as a model, where a heart if pierced by three swords, I used knitting needles.

I drafted the top as a waistcoat that hung the front like a literal card. The front is quilted for extra structure and attaches to the sides with 6 heart shaped buttons. I used a pant pattern as a starting point for the flared pants, but then changed the lines and added a coordinating tuxedo strip.

I had small remnants of blue mohair and some wool tartan that coordinated. Taking advice on how to draft a raglan pattern from It's Always Autumn, I chewed through a couple meter of Swiss tracing paper. Since I had limited fabric, I wanted to make sure that I drafted a pattern that fit before I started cutting. 

The raglan assumes you are using jersey or something with stretch, but my wool does not and so the neck hole would need to adjusted. Making it large enough would give me a weird scoop neck, so I put in a zipper at the shoulder. I liked the contrasting ring zippers and put ones in at the sides too.

The hood I drafted wanted to continue past the arms, so I need a solution to allow a shoulder zipper and still have a hood, so I attached the from of the hood with snaps to allow you to pull back the hood and open the shoulder zipper. Once it was contracted, I used blue linen bias tape to finished all the exposed edges.

This started with McCall's M7003, a costume coat. I modified the pattern to make it slimmer. I added a quilted, leather shoulder pad to the right shoulder, to give it a hunting jacket feel. The whole thing is made from vintage fabric remnants from various flea markets – so I didn't have anything that was the right size or not a bit wonky from age.

The shell is the end of a wool piece from a a 70+ year old stash. It was the start of the weave, so there are some loose bits that I had to cut around. The lining is red silk that had lots of small tears from being improperly shipped. The color is dyed lambs fur. 

I was at a flea market at AllyPally and found 9 meters of this tartan. It had a small swatch cut from the end, otherwise it was untouched and had been sitting in some woman's basement for a couple of decades. (Original price tag was still there, and I got it for about that much).

The Creek, also called the Muscogee, are tribe of Native Americans who were moved from their native lands on the Trail of Tears. Before America betrayed their trust, they fought on the side of the Americans during the French-American war under the leadership of a Scot named Dude Macintosh. In thanks, Macintosh commissioned this tartan for the tribe. He also married into the tribe and his son became on of the tribal leaders.

This is the first traditional kilt I have made – first time I had enough fabric. It was also the first time I used a pleating technique I saw on youtube, where you use basting stitched to lace up the side of the pleat from the outside, allowing you to get the good line ups you need for the tartan. 

Down in Soho, there is a place that sell really nice wool, tartan, tweed, etc. It is also very expensive. But further down the street is their outlet where they sell remnants. I found several 2-3 meter pieces of this heavy plaid and an almost 2 meter piece of greenish tweed that had "Woven in Scotland" woven into the selvage. I wanted to use that for my apron and selvage piece for a kilt.

I could sew enough of the plaid together, and hide the seams in the seats of the pleats to get my almost 9 meters. As long as I can keep finding the wool, i think these things might be an unhealthy addiction.

I had cut 9 meters from a cloth to make a kilt, leaving me 9 meters of 4'' wide tartan. I used a shirt dummy to try a drape a shirt, but I didn't 't have enough fabric. Also, the heavy event wool didn't like being in small pieces or sharp folds. I was really fighting the fabric. So, using fewer longer pieces I ended up with a sort of sash. I had enough scrap denim and other tartan to add a hoodie. So I have the most impractical item ever made. Woolen and yet not warm. Perfect for the tropical highland summers.

My last trip to Edinburgh resulted in another load of kilt remnents – yet not enough for another kilt.

When life gives you scraps, make a patch work shirt. I drafted the pattern on a raglan shirt. I served the edged of all of the strips and either used them as filler or appliqué over parts to make enough fabric to cover the whole pattern.

When two ethnic outfits appropriate each other, inappropriately. Or funny things to do with kilt scraps.

Using The Gentleman's Wardrobe: Vintage-Style Projects for the Modern Man as a starting point, I drafted a part of jodhpurs/golf pants based upon a pair of trousers. I used left over tweed from my Tweed Kilt project.

Made a kilt, a vest, and a backpack – so I am ready for some highland hiking!

I found 2.5 meters of the herringbone pattern in blue with yellow stripes, and another 2.5 meters of yellow with blue stripes. So I made the back of the kilt in blue and the apron in yellow. I did the opposite for the vest with yellow pocket flaps.

I uses leftovers from my previous attempt to make a tweed backpack.

I had been sitting on 8 yards of a brown wool plaid for a couple of years. I had dreams of making a kilt, but couldn't quit figure it out. Plus, once you took into the edges and the length to set the plaid; I doubted that i had enough. Flash forward a couple of years and I had gotten my hands on 2 meters (The don't use yards in the U.K.) of cool green tweed. Stealing inspiration from 21st Century Kilts, I decided to make a "modern kilt."

This is actually two items: a wrap and a sweater. I found a length of semi-felted wool plaid that was almost like a blanket.

The wrap is essentially a 3.5'' by 6'' rectangle of fabric. I serged all four of the sides, and attached a exaggerated zipper to the 3.5'' foot sides so it could zip up to make a tube. I then fastened leather straps to make small loops across the right side of the fabric, along one edge. The loops allow the wrap to be fasted by o-clips into various styles. It can be worn as a poncho, a wrap with huge shoulders, or more of a cape style.

The seater is made of the same material using a raglan t-shirt pattern. I extended the sleeves. I used leatherette binding tape for the trim on the shoulder and cuffs. I used a small loop of bias tape to disguise the joins. Because the fabric has no give, I put in zippers along the side seam so I could more easily get it off and on.

 Read more about these shirts at Hello Scriptkitty

 You can read more about at Hello Scriptkitty.

Check out instructions at my blog.

Liberty of London's fabric section is a mecca for design. After seeing thousands of multi-hundred pound scarves in their accessory departmart, I was looking for something just as fabulous but more economical.

Likewise, their fabric isn't priced to move, but their remnants section is second to none. I scored two pieces of purple, printed light-weight wool and two super thick silk prints in similar purples. Each piece was approximately 1sq meter...so you can see where this is going.

I used my serger on a 2-thread roll hem with the narrowest stitch setting and made two double-layered scarves: shiny silk for comfort and luxurious matte wool for warmth.

This is a modified pattern from A Very Easy Vogue.

I found a heavy rayon upholstery fabric that looked good right and wrong side, so I didn't want to line it. It has a heavy, silk like drape. So I assembled the whole thing on a serger using a 3-thread roll stitch to give me finished seams and edges. 

I extended the collar to a three button up scarf that sits inside of the hood. I used more upholstery cord trim, in two weights, to give all the edges a more lux look and to give it a weightier hang.

I was careful to cut the fabric so that the pattern would be symmetric. 

I had this green jersey around for a while and had an idea of making something "Robin Hood"-eqsue.

It was a riff off of those hat-scarf combos that have pockets for your hands at the end of the scarf. I started by tracing a t-shirt and then extending the sides into scarfs with pockets and removing a lot of the back and front, to make it more like a shrug. The hood was from tracing Mr. Styrofoam head and making a curve that matched the neckband.

I have posted the pattern at: https://helloscriptkitty.wordpress.com/2015/06/29/hoodie-vest/

My friend was having a baby with his wonder wife from Russia, so he was having an actual Russian doll. When I saw these three fabrics, I knew it was his destiny to get a baby bag. I took one of the Russian doll prints to make a patch on the front pocket.

One of my friends just had twins, a boy and a girl. Her husband is a helicopter pilot, so she wanted helicopters on the bag. The closest I could find was this great Japanese print canvas, but they were not really baby colors. So I found a coordinating fabric with birds; so i decided birds and helicopters were good for boys and girls.

I fashioned that bag of my old Owl and Stripe Beach Bag pattern. 

JoAnn's actually carried bolts of this fabric that was already elasticized at the top. So, making this dress was simply cutting it to the knee length and putting in a roll hem and then sewing it together up the back.

The elastic top makes it an easy fit and on-off, so no tricky zippers or closures. The entire project took about 1 hour and was a total confidence builder.

 The owl fabric was a Alexander Henry cotton print that I found on the cheap in the L.A. Fashion District. I wanted to make a big ol' beach bag for my Grandma. I found the scrimshaw buttons there also, which I think added more vintage flair.

This was scrap fabric from my Owl and Stripe Beach Bag project, and also my first pair of pants. I made it from a pattern based on a real pair of pajama pants and a lot of trial and error with about 10 yds. worth of muslin.

 After my Owl and Stripe Beach Bag, I was on the hunt for Alexander Henry prints. I saw scraps for this cheeky print in a local store and I had a friend with a birthday coming up--total kismet.

Using a similar fabric to my Black Tea Dress, I started on a tea dress for my sister. She is big on the pink and girly look, so I wanted something a little funky/punky meets girlie girl.

Sam and I decided to take a class together at the Sewing Arts Center which would show us how to make a "Paradise Bag." We leaned abut magnetic snaps, purse feet, boning, and a bunch of other sneaky tricks of the bag making trade. Watch out Kate Spade, we are gunning for you!

In the sewing class for my Paradise Bag, one of the students had a great sewing apron that she had made. It had a set of pockets that kept all of her sewing tools organized and within handy reach. Her one complaint was that the scissors and other sharp tools were poking through the bottom of the pockets and she needed to add a more resilient liner.

Once again, I use the skills from my Paradise Bag class for something more macho: a quiver for my arrows.

I used the ragline boning to make a top that stays open and plastic sheets to make a cone to protect the bottom.

The body of the quiver is decorated by a design I made using 4D Embroidery Software and a Viking SE machine. I made two designs, an abstract tree and a little owl for the side. I am on an owl kick right now.

I used large button holes to make a flexible way of attaching the shoulder and hip straps.

 I get excited about movies, even bad ones. So I needed a way to combine my practicing with my embroidery digitizing skills and going to watch Harry Potter that night.

So I made some shirts that featured a lightening bolt and an owl.

My fabulous and super amazing friend Chris was having a birthday, so I wanted to make him a wine cozy; but, it had to be as fabulous as he is. The bag doesn't do him justice, but it is what I can make. Using the sew-fu that I leaned for my Paradise Bag, I got to work.