by Sherri Sylvester | Mar 15, 2016
My husband and I differ in the amount of closet space we need. Here’s a quick run-down.
Every time I purge my “half” of the closet and get rid of clothing, it results in my husband appropriating the extra space for himself. I am starting to wonder if leaving piles of decoy clothing around would be helpful in case I ever need more space!
The thing that I don’t understand is that a disproportionate amount of those clothes are graphic tees, sports t-shirts, jerseys or free tees from things like wing eating challenges. Things he’s not ever going to give up, but also does not really wear. Ack! They sit there, taking up space – and more importantly, being messy – since other wearable tees are mixed in with them. Not that I’m a perfectionist or anything – but I love me a tidy closet!
Thankfully, I was able to convince him we were able to compromise and he let me chop some of them up into a t-shirt quilt. #ifyoucantbeatthem #jointhem We managed to pare the pile down by 20 tees. That’s 14″ less clothing piled on our shelves (I know, because I just measured a stack.) Makes me feel even better about this project. But, of course, it’s been almost 2 years since I took these photos and we’ve accumulated a full closet again. Turns out I should have made him king-sized quilt instead of only a twin!
If you might possibly have the same shared-closet predicament in your family dynamics *ahem-yes?* I would recommend that this is definitely the way to go! It’s been our go-to downstairs basement blanket ever since it was finished. I think maybe it was my first ever “real” quilt finish. At least, it is the first-quilt I am most proud of. The photoshoot was fun too. There’s a great park in Oakville by the waterfront that has these amazing life-size moose and wolf statues. #verymanly for our manly t-shirt quilt!
I think I started this project almost 4 years ago now. I found a nice t-shirt quilt tutorial on Goose Tracks Quilts. It is simple, without drawings or photos, and well written. Right down to a link to finding your fabric yardage. The design is a straight-forward and beginner friendly t-shirt quilt with same-sized blocks and simple sashing. Appealing to my sense of symmetry and order! I pieced a few of the blocks together to include the front and back of the tee together. And added in some important patches on the back.
The hardest part about this quilt was quilting it on my old budget basic machine. My non-quilty self decided to use a heavy blanket for the batting and my husband wanted to back it in baby-wale corduroy “that reminded him of a Scottish tartan”. Add the weight of the tee’s, and the interfacing you need to keep them from stretching. It’s a wonder my arms didnt’ fall off! Right – and then after that I pieced the t-shirt leftovers together for binding… *oof* #novicequilter!
In the end, the heaviness is so nice to cozy up under, And I’m glad we got to keep some fun memory t-shirts mixed in with the crazy graphic tee’s. His U2 concert tees, designs he made for work and shirts we designed and inkjet ironed-on. Oh, and one of the five epic basketball jersey we naively decided to double-layer applique lettering on for a basketball tournament (What was I thinking? Well, we were dating… Moving on!) Now these memories are preserved as a quilt we use almost everyday. I should probably add a label.
I wanna know! What has been your favorite quilt project?
Disclaimer: My inadvertent throwing Matt under the bus has been fully approved by the spouse in question. 🙂
by Sherri Sylvester | Feb 22, 2016
Wow, it’s almost March already and here I am posting a Christmas present from last year. It’s been photographed and patiently waiting since December! Every year I try to make a gift for the girls and their cousins. Thankfully there are (so far) only 4 of them – so it’s not that time consuming. Especially with this particular project. It take just over an hour to make one of these blankets!
Remember this 10 Minute Facecloth tutorial? These blankets use exactly the same method of construction – just in a much larger size! The great thing about these blankets is that they are simple and easy to make with any size starting fabric, as long as the backing fabric is wider and longer than the main fabric by the same amount on each side.
I used 1 yard of licensed fabric, about 36″ x 44″ and 1 1/2 yards of minky, about 54″ x 60″, for each blanket. (My Little Pony and Ninja Turtles from Funky Monkey Fabrics, Cinderella and Star Wars from The Fabric Society.) This will make a good sized kid’s throw blanket, or adult lap blanket at around 43″ x 50″.
Here are some simple instructions for how I made these:
- Pre-wash both fabrics.
- Trim the licensed fabric so each corner is square – roughly 34-35″ high x 43-44″ wide.
- Cut the minky so it was about 15″ wider and longer than the fabric – roughly 49″ high x 58″ wide. This could be any size, as long as the minky is larger than the fabric by the same amount width and length.
- Use the same instructions as the 10 Minute Facecloth, only sew using a 1/2″ seam instead of a 1/4″ seam.
I was holding my breath when the kids unwrapped them, and thankfully they liked them! I was delighted that the girls and their cousins took them to bed that night and all over the house for the next few days. Just goes to show how some well-placed licensed fabrics can get you “in” with the cool kids!
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 21, 2015
Update 2020-09-17: Since Craftsy is not available anymore – please find the tutorial on the Way Back Machine by clicking the link below:
Access the FREE ONE HOUR DOPP KIT TUTORIAL here.
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Needing a super-quick gift to sew up? This project suits the manly giftee in your life perfectly! Of course, we know how hard it is to find sewing projects for men – though or course you can make it for women or kids too.
It takes only an hour, including cutting – seriously – not kidding… You start with 3 large same-sized rectangles and 2 small same-sized ones. I was so happy when I figured out how to make it fully lined, no exposed seams and fat-quarter friendly! I hope you love it too.
This project posted up on the Craftsy sewing blog last Thursday, and I was thrilled to have someone already make a few for her grandsons. Yippee! Makes my day every time I see something posted that one of you has made from a Thread Riding Hood tutorial.
by Sherri Sylvester | Nov 9, 2015
I’m not a big fan of darts. The clothing kind – not the throwing kind! Their construction can seem finicky. And lining up the dart legs drives the perfectionist in me crazy!
Enter stage left, the Citronille Jackie coat and the Pleated Pencil skirt. They have 6 to 8 darts each. #aaaaarrrrgggggh I figured there must be a better way than “fold in half to match dart legs” and came up with a needle & thread hand-basting option that makes my detail-oriented heart super-happy!
If you’ve been here long, you know that hand sewing of any kind is low on my priority list. So, if I propose doing it, the technique must be either: 1) Amazing or 2) Really, really quick. This technique fills both categories! (If I can say so myself?)
Speed up your sewing! Find out how to get perfectly matched dart legs the easy way in this Crafty blog post.
Thanks for checking it out! What do you think of this technique? Will you use it on your next project?
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 1, 2015
Ever since I made four more Noodlehead Cargo Duffles at Christmas last year I’ve been wanting to make some for my girls. They would be perfect for overnight stays at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. And how cute would it be to go on vacation with some too! I’ve recently been looking for the pattern yardage information and it reminded me that I meant to post this yardage-saving information earlier this year. Oops.
Moving on! When planning to make my family their Cargo Duffles, I wanted to do it as cost effectively as possible. When all the pieces were laid out, I noticed that the Cargo Duffle pattern yardage can be reduced quite a bit if you are careful! Of course, if you like having extra fabric around, Anna’s suggestions are just fine – and leave you room for error. Always a good way to go!
If you are looking to save fabric and use up some smaller cuts, the cutting layouts below work great and save you an entire yard of fabric. I would recommend that you are VERY careful when using the Exterior Main cutting layout (see below). It fits absolutely perfectly into a 1/2 yard cut. This leaves no room for error, or pre-washing/shrinking even! Make sure that whoever cuts your yardage is precise – and that the print is on-grain or not obvious – so if it is not straight it won’t look wrong when you make the bag.
Note: These cutting layouts do not include measurements. These are available in the free Cargo Duffle Pattern by Anna from Noodlehead. All other measurements in the pattern should be used as they are noted in the original Cargo Duffle Pattern. These layouts do not include the binding and canvas, interfacing etc.
Hope it helps! Let me know if you have any questions. One day I’ll make some for my girls… (I hope!)
Have you made an Overnight-Style Bag before? What is your favorite one?
Other useful Cargo Duffle related posts I’ve written are here:
by Sherri Sylvester | Jul 10, 2015
I made another First Day Top! If you’ve been around for a bit you know that’s nothing new (it’s my favorite!)… but this one is extra special. It’s made so I could take photos for the very first post I’ve written for the Craftsy Sewing Blog!
When they contacted me a few months ago I was thrilled to say yes. You’ve likely heard about their online classes or downloaded a pattern from one of your favorite makers there. When I checked out their blog I found it full of tutorials and great information. They even have Free Fabric Friday!
I’m am beyond pleased to be writing for Craftsy! I thought I should write my first post about something I had promised to all of you. A tutorial on how to exactly match your fabric pattern across a zipper opening. I’ve done this quite a few times now and it looks so professional.
Using it with an invisible zipper along with the pattern matching almost makes the seam disappear too! You can see more examples on these dresses and my Violette Field Threads Ginger as well!
And so, we come back to me making this peplum top. I bought the gorgeous floral fabric from Country Clothesline for my oldest a Creativ Festival last spring. My oldest is IN LOVE with floral fabrics and I can guarantee this will be worn so much this summer.
I have to admit, though, that it was tricky to get her to try on her sister’s Cotton + Steel Mustang Top before she’d agree to the style – now she’s hooked! These little tops are easy to wear, fast to make and use up those perfect 1/2 yards (or so) of stashed favorites.
And of course, since is is summer, face paint is allowed in the photos. Her aunt did such a cute job on this rainbow!
I love the more relaxed photo shoots we can have when there isn’t as much of a schedule. This spot is near a park, which was fun, though next time I will have to remember to bring running shoes. The slippery soled dressy sandals just don’t do a good job when you want to go up the slide “the wrong way”!
I’ll be back this Sunday with the most amazing week in Thread Riding Hood history! Want a hint? Head over to the Thread Riding Hood Facebook page to get the latest updates.
