The first quilt is a corduroy quilt that I made from a worn bedspread because it was a favorite I did not want to toss. It is very warm and cozy. I left my pillows off the bed for a better view. Some of the corduroy is from skirts or shirts or pockets, and I left things like buttons and plackets on the blocks. The baby quilt I made for a friend's grandbaby. The third one is a quilt I made for my grandson when he was born. The fourth one is the first quilt I made from a damaged sleeping bag. I work at our church community center, and a chewed up sleeping bag came in. It is a heavy duty Coleman so I adopted it and mended it, and made it into a quilt. My Mother helped me tie it off.
These are not quilts. The pet bed I made from a sweater, and my cats love it. The wedding dress I made for my second wedding. It is a satin slip and a lace dress with French seams, and loads of pintucks. I have made other wedding party dresses. This one I made for my sister's wedding a very long time ago. Yes, that is me back then. My Mother helped with the hem. It is lined, and I think I did the French seams here too. I never took photos of the others. I once tailored a man's suit for my husband, and it turned out fine, except he chose a very ugly fabric for it. It was plaid--men, do not wear plaid suits please--and it took two weeks to just to lay it out for cutting. I had a how-to book for the men's tailoring, that was a huge help.
Those are perfect! The cat bet is like someone is hugging your cat . The quilts embody the true meaning of quilting - making something beautiful and practical, from fabric that was saved from a previous life . My next two quilts have been begun. One is a star design, made mostly from mens shirts and some other fabrics. The other will be a Chinese Lantern pattern, made mostly from silk neckties. I just started processing the fabric for that one. I think the background fabric will be left- over from the star quilt, so the star quilt comes first.
AAnightowl and Daniel……. Sewing…knitting … and beautiful wedding dress. You both have some really well made patterns, clothing , quilts . Many which are well designed and so amazing. I could never sit still long enough to learn how . I see all the different things you have made with a great deal of admiration of the talent and skills it takes . ‘ thanks for sharing all the wonderful items.
@AAnightowl, I'm in awe of your creative skills. Love the way you think when you make your pieces. The dresses are lovely too, and such a precious baby!
My grandson is 20 now and all grown up. Time sure flies! (I had to do some math and double check his birthday.) The pet bed idea came from Pinterest. I had patterns for the dresses. The corduroy quilt I just used random sized blocks and sewed it by hand because it is way too big for the sewing machine. It took me six months. The baby quilt took a few days.
AAnightowl it’s the imagination skills knowing we’re to start and with what that amazes me. I look at all your designs with wonder.. how in he world does anyone know how to even start . The passage of time can be overwhelming. I always wonder how and where the time goes.
Learning to sew is not so hard as it might seem. Patterns come with instructions. I assume that you can cook and bake? You start with a recipe. Patterns are similar. The back of the pattern packet tells you how much yardage something takes in various sizes. You can go to the fabric section at Walmart for example or any fabric store. If they have types of fabrics suggested, you can look for that kind of fabric and then pick something you like. The sales person can help you out. Many churches or communities have classes for beginners. You can even find tutorials on you tube. Fabrics come in several different widths if you purchased a piece of fabric. A popular width is 45-50 inches wide. And you would fold it in half, usually lengthwise. The instructions have picture diagrams to show you how to lay the pieces--sleeves, skirt or dress sections, etc--on the fabric. You cut the pieces out before laying them on the fabric, and then use straight pins to fasten the pieces to the fabric. The instructions tell you which pieces to start with putting them together. When you are making a garment for instance, it is good to iron each seam flat as you make it. Then it will fit nicely. Did you have "Home Ec" in school? It was required when I went to school. Girls had to take sewing and cooking. I guess some got to take a shop class, but I did not know that at the time. When my boys were growing up, the schools called it "life skills" and boys and girls all had to take shop, cooking and sewing classes. I took Home Ec in 7th and 8th grades, both cooking and basic sewing. In my senior year of high school, I needed an elective to finish up. It was either cooking or advance clothing. I worked in the school cafeteria so I was not interested in cooking class. Advanced clothing got me some new clothes. I really enjoyed that class and got some new dresses out of it. Making French seams was something I learned in that class. I think you could learn how to sew and make things. It is not as difficult as you think. Just start with something easy. That pet bed was quite easy! Take an old sweater: (You also need some heavy thread and a needle.) 1. Sew the neck hole closed. I did all of it by hand. 2. Stuff it with pillow stuffing (available at any fabric store/department). Stuff the chest part full, and sew the bottom shut. 3. Stuff the sleeves full of stuffing, and sew the wrists shut. 4. Wrap the sleeves around the chest part--it would be good to pin them in place, and then sew them to form the circle. Voila! You have made a nice pet bed.
Quilts are kind of a fabric "sandwich". The top is made of blocks and pieces in various sizes, much like a jigsaw puzzle. In olden days, ladies used all kinds of scrap pieces of fabric so as not to waste anything. Sometimes they made a pretty pattern, like a wedding ring quilt, or a loghouse pattern. Sometimes it was just random pieces sewed together until they had a blanket sized quilt. When your top is the size you want, you can put an edge around it to bind it after it is fastened to the back. You need a piece of fabric the same size for the back. A bedsheet often does the job, or a bought piece of fabric if you prefer. Then you need batting for the stuffing. You can get thin batting or thicker batting for a heavier quilt. Other ideas for batting are a wool blanket--lots of people are allergic to have wool touch their skin directly; sometimes a matress pad of the cotton type will work. It depends on what you have on hand or your $$$ means. You have to lay the layers out carefully, and pin them together. People sometimes have a large quilting frame to attach it to at this point. You might hand stitch the quilt if you have the patience (I do NOT) and can make the small even stitches. A quilting frame takes up a lot of floor space, so if your house is small, that might not be an option. My house is way too small for a quilting frame. (And the cats would wreak havoc with it.) Another option is to pay to have someone machine quilt your quilt together. Some quilts are tied together with yarn at the corners of the blocks, like my very first quilt above. You need a large eyed needle for that. Nowadays, they have mats marked with measurements for cutting out quilt blocks, and you can get a rolling blade (think Fiskars!) to cut your fabrics faster. These mats come in different sizes. You might also get plastic pattern pieces for various block sizes and shapes. A lot of people use cardboard to make their patterns. Cardboard from cereal boxes or the inserts with shirts or other things are good for this. You can write the size on your pattern pieces for more than one use. Tip: do NOT use your good sewing scissors or rolling blade to cut anything but fabrics! Use other tools for cardboard cutting. Learning to sew is not difficult.
AAnightowl. For me sitting still and sewing was like trying to herd cats. I totally understand what you have described. Never even owned a sewing machine. When I had my own business measuring for clients drapery’s - I know that fabric length with a pattern has a repeat that added length measurements. Different Widths and types of fabric , how much to fabric ti add on the length to include drapery hems and drapery headers. Depending on the style of drapery’s. I carried fabric samples around in and out of clients homes. Every fabric and type of drapery’s /curtains/shades etc and some had lining and crinoline to include for drapery’s. Measurements included windows of various sizes, shapes when ordering fabrics . Same for bedspreads, furniture coverings , carpeting and many types of floor coverings, as well as wallpaper.
Pacnorwest, you already have a good foundation for learning to sew! You do not have to complete a project in one or two sittings. Sew a bit, and go do other things for however long and come back another time. I bet your draperies turn out very nice. I don't make drapes, but can make curtains. I think drapery fabrics take a special needle or machine? I have tried to mend drapes, but my machine refused to do it.
