Tutorial Tuesday: Make a Governors Island Backpack

This summer, the {NewNew} will commandeer one of Governors Island's original dwellings and transform it into a one-of-a-kind boutique of handmade treasures. To celebrate this event,  Kimm of KimmChi and I have collaborated on a special Governors Island backpack that will be available in our store. For those of you who won't be able to come to the Island we offer you this tutorial so you can make your own bag for your summer treasures:

Materials

• Two 16"x16" pieces of fabric for the body of the bag
• One 4" x 7" strip of fabric for the bottom loops
• Two 4" x 17" strips of fabric for the cord casing
• Two 2' lengths of cord

Step 1 - Make the Bottom Loops

Take the 4" x 7" strip of fabric, fold it in half left sides together and press it. Then fold the edges toward the middle line you created and press this piece.

Fold the strip in half again and press it. You know have a 1" x 7" folded strip of fabric.

Sew the open edge together with a 1/8 seam. Repeat on the other edge.

Cut the strip in half so you have two 1"x3.5" pieces of fabric.

Step 2 - Put Together the Body of the Bag

The body of the bag is sewn together with French seams as follows: take the two 16" squares, with left sides together and the right side of the top piece facing you, pin the sides and the bottom together leaving the top of the bag open.
Fold the two 1" x 3.5" pieces you just made in half and pin them between the top and the bottom layer about 3/4" from the bottom. These will form the loops at the bottom of the bag that you will use to attach the backpack cords.
Sew the sides and the bottom closed with a 1/4" seam allowance while catching the loop strips on the sides in your seam.

Clip the seam allowance to within 1/8" of the stitches.

Turn the body of the bag inside out with right sides together and the left (wrong) side of the fabric facing you.  Press the seams flat. With a 3/8" seam allowance stitch down the sides and the bottoms. This seam encloses the raw edge of the first seam.

Step 3 - Construct the Cord Casing

The only fabric remaining now are the two 4"x 17" strips of fabric for the casing.

To construct the first casing, fold over 3/8" of the long edge of the casing and press.
Repeat with the edge on the opposite side.
Then fold over 3/8" of the short edge of the casing and fold it over again enclosing the raw edge. Press. Repeat with the other short side. Stitch down one short side.

With right side of the casing touching the left side of the body of the bag, pin the casing to one side of the bag.
Make any adjustments necessary to match the length of the casing to the width of the bag.
Stitch down the other short side.
Sew the length of the casing to the width of the bag.
Turn the bag right side out

Press the seam down, away from the casing, toward the body of the bag.

Fold over the casing to enclose the seam you just pressed down.

With 1/8" seam allowance, stitch this edge of the casing to the bag's body creating a sort of tunnel.

Sew a second top stitch about 1/4" from the first stitch and 3/8" from the casing edge where it meets the body of the bag.

Repeat this process with the second casing.

You now have a bag with a casing that goes all around the top of the bag leaving two openings, one on each side of the bag.

Step 4 - Thread the Cord

Take one length of 2' cord and thread it through the casing all around the bag to exit at the same side where it entered the casing.

Thread one end of the cord through the loop on the same side of the bag and knot the two ends together.
Repeat with the other side.

Cinch your bag together and you're ready to go. Hope to see you on the island.

Simone
groundsel.etsy.com

Give the Gift of Luxurious Zzzs

Silk pillow cases are a unique gift. Not only are they indulgent, but they literally aid your beauty sleep. They make you feel luxurious while preventing your hair from breaking and alleviating wrinkles. Here are some instructions to make a basic silk pillow case:

Materials

• Sample pillow case
  
• 1¼ yard silk/satin fabric- basic lining silks cost $6-$8 per yard, while the more ideal heavier satin silks cost $12-$14
• Matching thread
• Scissors
• Pins
• Tape measure

Making a Silk Pillow

Measure the sample pillow case by placing the tape measure seam to seam and adding a seam allowance of 5/8" to 1" to all edges. Silk will shrink in the wash, so it is better to measure out the body a little larger (you can eyeball this).

Cut out 2 pieces of the fabric to the chosen size. In laying out your pattern, consider that the selvage (the finished edge of the fabric) will become the opening side of the pillow case.

Now place the fabric with right sides together, pin, and stitch around 3 sides. The pillow opening side, which has the selvage, stays open.

Turn the pillow case right-side-out, iron, and it's done!

For a more feminine look, add a matching, contrasting, or coordinating frill to a simple pillow. Alternative Windows has instructions on adding frills to cushions.

For an additional flair, I included a store-bought pouch and stuffed it with fresh lavender. DIY Life has a more sophisticated lavender sachet recipe. Or you might add other lavender products that incorporate the R&R theme such as scented bath salts prepared according to Nordea's recipe. The NewNew spa products also help pamper the body and soul.

I made a silk pillow case for myself and found my husband clamoring for his own… leading me to believe this is also a great metro-sexual Father’s Day gift!

-Fairywallah

How-To: Refit Old Jeans with Side Panels

We all have them. Those jeans that we USED TO be able to wear. Those jeans we WISH we could still wear. I admit I am guilty of keeping a bunch of jeans I wore in college. Ten years and two kids later, and there is very little chance that I will ever be able to wear them again, even if they were, by some odd chance, to come back in style again.

Since I have serious problems getting rid of perfectly good clothes, there is a simple solution: make the jeans fit by adding a side panel that provides a little more room. Let's start with the jeans we are going to refit.

These jeans are pretty great, with the exception, of course, that they are about 2 sizes too small. On the plus side though, they are in great condition, they have the right length inseam for me, they have a button fly (which I love), and they are boot cut, so I won't have to add any additional width at the bottom to account for tapered jeans. They're also FREE, having been in my attic since I got pregnant with my 6 year old.

Incidentally, if you're not a denim hoarder like me, you can also do this with any pair of old jeans from the thrift store. In this economy, who wouldn't love to be able to walk into a store, pick up pretty much any pair of second-hand jeans in the store and know they could make them work?The first thing to do is to rip out the outseams with a seam ripper. I do this exactly the way your sewing instructor told you NOT to rip out seams. I put the seam ripper between the two sides of denim and cut the threads. Since the jeans have been sewn together with a chain stitch, you should be able to get enough play to just pull and rip without ripping a hole in the denim....and heck, it's quicker.

Cut all of the stitching on both sides from the beginning of the waistband to the hem. At the hem, tear out the stitches a few inches to either side of the seam and unroll the hem around the outseam.

Once your seams are ripped out, remove the stitches and left over thread pieces. Do NOT press the jeans after doing this. At the waistband, cut the waistband straight up from the seam.

At this point, measure the outseam of the pants INCLUDING the extra fabric from the unrolled hem, but NOT including the waistband. This will be measurement A.

Additionally, measure the width of the waistband.
Then, try on the pants. Yes, post rip. Now you can get them on. The way I like to do this is by running a belt through the belt loops and tightening it so it hits at my waist.

Straighten out the jeans so the seams are in the right place and measure how much space there is between the outseams. Measure in a few different places along your hips, thighs, and waist, and be sure to measure on both sides. One measurement will be the largest. Use that one to give you an idea of how wide your side panels will have to be, as you can see in my picture here.
I need about 4" at the lower hip. For the panel I need to make, I will add 1" for seams and an additional 1" for comfort, for a total of 6" of width. This will be measurement B.

Note: this is a good time, if you want to, to add any appliques, embroideries, or other embellishments to your jeans.

Now, you know how large the side panels of your pants will need to be. (A long, by B wide). The easiest way to do this is to cut a single piece of fabric to that measurement. I, however, tend to prefer to make a patchwork panel for the sides of my jeans, so that is what I will be showing.

I start off by laying out the patches for my pants to get a good idea of how they will look. I then sew the patches together. Since the patches are cotton, and cotton is lighter weight than denim, I like to also add a lining piece of fabric for the inside of the jeans. This adds weight and also increases the durability of the panels.
For the waistband, I take a piece of fabric the width of the panels and twice the length of the waistband plus 1" for seams. I fold the fabric lengthwise and place the raw edges lined up with the top of the panel going into the side of the pants. If you are using a lining piece, line this piece up also, matching the wrong side of the lining to the wrong side of the panel with the waistband piece on the outside, sandwiching the panel piece. Additionally, I like to have a small piece of heavy duty elastic to add to the inside of the waistband. This helps pull in the waist from the comfort inches I added into the pants earlier.

I cut a piece of elastic 1" smaller than the actual measurement I needed from the pants when I measured them (for me this is 3"). If you prefer not to have elastic in your waistband, make the waistband the actual width you needed added to your jeans plus 1" for seams, and taper out from the waistband measurement along the sides of the panels until you get to the full width of the panels at approximately 3-4" below the waist. I prefer the elastic because it allows for "fat days" and slight weight fluctuations.

Line up the elastic with the center of the waistband, pin right sides together, and sew your side panel onto your jeans. The easiest way to do this is to have the jeans on top going through the sewing machine, and sewing right along the old seam line. The jeans should still have a slight fold where the old seam was. Just slowly follow along in this. No worries about the different coloration from the dyeing of the denim showing,and the jeans will automatically press to the side after stitching so they lie flat.You will need to be careful when sewing around the rivet. Just go slowly and make sure you don't try to actually sew it. It should be off to the side, but in some jeans it is close.

Once you reach the hem, you may have some fabric left--cut that off straight across. Then sew on the other side of the panel, again with the jeans on top. Stop right before you hit the waistband on the way up, pull the elastic through the casing, and sew everything together. It should look like this when you are done:

Repeat with the other side.

Once the side panels are all sewn in, I like to finish the seams. This will keep them from unraveling. I have a serger so I just serge the edges of the seams, just as they were before I ripped out the side seams of the jeans. If you don't have a serger, you can zig-zag along the raw edge, or you can use an over cast stitch if your machine has one.

For the hem, re-roll the jeans back to how they were originally rolled. The panel will start to roll for you. Just follow that roll all the way across, top stitch following the old hem seam, and you are done.
To troubleshoot length: If your jeans are NOT the correct inseam length, there are a few ways to work through this. If the pants are too short, measure how much additional length you need. you can either cut off the hem, and sew a length of fabric onto the bottom for this extra length as an easy fix, or you can use this more complicated method: After opening the outseam, but before measuring for the needed length of the panel, cut the measurement of the additional length you need above the hem plus one inch off the hem off the jeans. For example, if you need 3 extra inches, cut your jeans off 4" above the factory hem.

With the jeans open, sew a strip of fabric that is the extra length you need plus 1" for seams onto the bottom. Then sew on the hem of the jeans. Finish the jeans as above.

Try on your new jeans and give yourself a pat on the back.
One other trouble shooting tip: If your jeans are tapered at the ankle, you can counter that by tapering the bottom of your side panel so the bottom of your jeans is nice and straight...and along those same lines, if you like flares, just flare the panel as much as you want. Above all, feel free to experiment!

Another great thing about these jeans: If you get tired of the way they look, or if you lose or gain weight so they no longer fit again, you can just rip out the panels and start all over again! Good luck and Enjoy your new wardrobe!

-Angela
http://coquiainjelfire.etsy.com/

Wardrobe Refashion: How to Hem a Leather Garment

Leather is a material that I love for long-wearing garments because it only seems to get better as it ages. When my partner's mother gave me this leather jacket, I was thrilled, except for the fact that I couldn't see my own hands beneath the super long sleeves. Here are the steps I took to shorten the hem, and adjust the lining.

After measuring to see how much shorter I needed to go, and making a note of that measurement, I opened up the lining at the wrist to take a look at what was inside. I marked the length to shorten to as mark #2 all the way around. Mark #3 was where to cut for a 1 1/2" turn, and Mark #1 was that same 1 1/2" turn to align the cut edge.

Next I cut a long 1" wide strip of iron-on interfacing to press just above my hem line. This step does double duty: it keeps the leather from stretching out over time, and it makes a crisp turn line. Alternately you can glue in a strip of any non-stretch woven fabric for the same effect.

Using leather glue (rubber cement is a good alternative), I spread a thin, even layer about 2" wide right over where the hem would be. For the adhesive to work properly, let the glue dry until opaque and tacky before folding up the edge to your marked line.

I used a roller to smooth the hem into a tight crease. Any burnishing tool, bone folder, or back of a spoon would also be useful for this step.

To ensure that my lining was long enough (it should be longer than the sleeve where it is attached to keep it from pulling), I thread-marked it where the hem was the same length, added 1/2" seam allowance and cut off the excess. I drew a line 1" up from the hem on the leather, and hand stitched in the lining along my thread-marked line.


This technique for hemming leather is equally useful for skirts or pants.

Like any good "after" shot, my smile is much bigger than before. Now I have a jacket that fits properly and will likely give me a decade of use.


~Kari
http://ikyoto.etsy.com

wardrobe refashion: small changes make a huge difference...

i bought this dress at the salvation army a few weeks ago, and though i loved the fabric and general shape, i had a couple of issues with it:
the band of dark fabric at the bottom seemed too wide, and strapless bandeau-type tops aren't the most flattering on me. so i figured out a way to solve both problems in one fell swoop.

i started by hacking off about half of the band at the bottom:

then i measured from the top of the dress to where my neck and shoulder meet, and based on that, drew a rough pattern of a halter strap, which i pinned to the fabric i had cut off:

i used a double layer of fabric, for two reasons: 1) i thought it would look right beside the thick elastic-filled top of the dress, and 2) i hate to hem. so i ended up with 4 halter strap pieces, which i sewed together at the middle and then along the edges...
...then turned inside out. and i made a boomerang! thanks for coming, next time: fabric nunchuks! hee hee.
to attach them without the stitches showing, i sewed them to the edge of the interior seam at the top of the dress, where the elastic band met the main fabric:

then i hemmed up the bottom edge, and ended up with a dress that i love!



- cakehouse

How To: Making a shawl for a cool spring wedding

March heralds spring and that means weddings are in the air!!
But it’s still too cool for those fabulous strapless and spaghetti strapped wedding dresses. So let’s make this shawl, choose your color, choose your fabric. Here we chose white satin with a grey cotton ribbon for the fringe. You can use satin, silk, velvet or any ribbon you like….here’s an opportunity to do your “something blue”.

Need
Fabric 62” x 21”
Ribbon or braid approximately 13 yards (cut into 12” strips)
Thread suitable for the fabric chosen
New pins

1. Fold fabric in half length-wise and mark seam. Opening fabric out flat, lay ribbon or braid on right side of fabric with end up against the width end of the fabric. Make sure the ribbon lays flat on what will be the good side of the fabric, each strip paralled and at least ½ inch apart on only one half of fabric.2. Pin each strip in place on both ends of your fabric. It will help to baste stitch each strip of ribbon in place.

3. With ribbon basted in place, fold over side of fabric without ribbon using your center seam mark as your guide for the fold.

4. Carefully stitch the two ends and most of the open length together. Leave a small opening for turning shawl.

5. Turn shawl inside out
6. Iron shawl carefully, making sure that ribbon strips extend to form a fringe at both ends.

7. Hand sew the opening close and iron flat.

Voila, you have the perfect shawl for a cool spring wedding.

By Marilyn Ng-A-Qui
vyphuisdesigns.etsy.com