Mock Roman Shade

I've had an embroidered shower curtain I have loved, for over 5 years now. And I keep thinking I'm going to make something. It has all of the colors I am using in my Master bathroom so I've been looking at it and trying to figure out what I want to do with it.

I finally decided to make a mock Roman shade and re-cover the vanity chair to match. Using a fabric shower curtain in the bathroom is especially nice because if there is over-splash from the shower onto the Roman, it will dry quickly and not streak.

The mock Roman uses the same process as a regular Roman except it doesn't need to be strung and you don't need to mess with all of those cords and safety anchors. Since I like to see the sun through the textured glass, it will act more like a valance than a Roman shade. The formula for width measure is: Width of fabric = 1/2" less than actual inside window measurement. Wood header = 1" less than actual inside window measurement (or...1/2" less than fabric measurement).

Squaring the Fabric

It's very important to square your fabric all along. If the fabric is not square, it will not fit into the window properly. I start by pulling a thread across the bottom of the fabric and create a good cutting line for myself. Cut away the selvedges, making sure they are square to the bottom cut line.

Now you'll  want to measure the width and length of your shade. I always add 6" to my width (1-1/2" double hem [3"] on each side) and 3" to the bottom (1-1/2" double bottom hem). Since I am going to create 4 folds at the bottom, I added 16" extra inches to the length (4 folds at 2" doubled = 16"). In addition, this particular Roman has to be a little wider at the bottom in order for it to hang square in the window, so I made the bottom 2" wider than the top.

I purchased a light weight lining (a little heavier than batiste) so that the Roman would have soft folds at the bottom. Before stitching up the bottom and side hems, lay in the lining and cut it away at the crease for the hems. If you want to add a trim to the bottom, like I did, do that now. Go ahead and hem the bottom, then the sides. I did mine by hand, but you can use a blind hemmer.

Tacking the Folds

Press everything and line it up on your cutting table to be sure it is square. As you will see, the bottom is 2" wider so you'll have to take that into consideration when squaring. Hand stitch the lining to the face fabric across the top of the Roman.

From the bottom, mark a skirt (1-1/2 to 2"), then 4 spaces of 4" each for your folds. Pull up the folds and anchor them with strong thread (I use hand-quilting thread because it's strong but light weight). Tack close to the sides and go through all layers of the Roman. Leave your tails long and slip in an acrylic (or wood) dowel covered in fabric. Stitch it to the 4 folds. (Your dowel should be the same width as your finished fabric at the top (remember? 1/2" less than your window measurement, see paragraph 3).

Repeat the same procedure on the other side and anchor your bottom rod on that side as well. Softly fold along the entire width and finger roll your pleats to give them a natural look.

With push pins, hang your Roman into the window and be sure it is hanging square. Move the sides or middle to help square it before putting it onto the board. Once you know it's going to look good, use a disappearing marking pen across the top of the Roman where it meets the window frame.

Now you're ready to mount your board to it. Your board should be narrow enough to fit between the window jam and the sashing.  A 1 to 1-1/2" return is usually adequate (mine is 1-1/2"). Cut your board and cover it with lining fabric if you desire. I painted my board white so didn't need to cover it.You will mount your board (inside) to the line you made while it was hanging from the push pins. I use a heavy duty workroom stapler. No need to finish edges as everything will be hidden inside the window frame. Now simply drill  3 holes and send screws up into the head board! Easy Peasy!

A lovely place to sit your hiney!

I went ahead and recovered the vanity chair also, but this time I decided to add a single button to the middle. I didn't have the strength to pull down as tightly as I would have liked (due to the stroke) but I think it looks better than it did. And, the nice thing is that it matches the Roman!

If you try one of these Romans, be sure and send me a photo!

Draping a Sundress

 Things You’ll Need

                 L-square, sharp pencil or marker, calculator, 1/8" black art tape, lots of pins, scissors, tape measure.                                                                                     

                              

Draping is a technique designers use to create patterns for the fashion industry. On one hand, draping uses a lot more fabric than making a traditional paper pattern, but it can also take less time, particularly for asymmetrical or pleated designs. 

There are 3 (three) major draping styles; Sloper Draping, Engineering Design, and Free-style Draping. For this sundress I used Engineering Design, but my favorite is free-form draping where  I can let the fabric dictate the design.

I like to drape only one side of the mannequin if I'm not doing an asymmetric design; it saves fabric and time.

Placing the tape

1.  Always block your fabric to be sure it is true to the grainline.

2. Using 1/8” black art tape on your mannequin, create a neckline, waistline, back plunge, or whatever details you would like in your finished design. These will serve as your guidelines.

3. Once you’re happy with the look of the tape, use a fabric similar to your finished design fabric, and drape, using your guidelines. If you use your actual fabric you will not have a pattern to re-use, so use a fabric with the same construction and weight as your actual dress will have.

Note: Unless I’m making an asymmetrical design, I like to drape only one side of the mannequin. 1) It can help me decide whether to put my front or back center piece on a fold just by what the fabric is doing. 2) It takes less fabric.

            

Pin down the center front

4. Always start with the center front and pin down the grainline so your   fabric stays true.

Cut away bodice, but leave pinned

5.  Remember, you may need to add darts or tucks to keep the grainline true. I added a dart in the front and two in the back of the skirt.

6.  Once you like your creation, mark all seamlines, special    placements, etc. on your sloper carefully.

Add the skirt along the bodice line

Add the back of the dress

            7.  Now you are ready to take the
            dress off the dress form.

            8.  Double check that everything is marked and then you can cut  
             around the pieces to create a paper pattern. Don’t forget to add seam allowances, notches, and other things that will help you sew together your new design.

            9.  Add seam allowances and use this as your pattern. When garment is complete, make final adjustments and transfer to paper pattern.

Remember to keep darts and grainlines true

Add seam allowances, mark gathering places

Woodwork Projects Remembered!

I was trying to clean up some of my old photo files today when I ran across some woodworking projects I'd done several years ago. I hadn't remembered doing all of these until I started going through them. I've since gotten rid of my radial saw but I still have my router, saber saw, miter saw, and jigsaw. This has given me a renewed desire to get back into the shed to make sawdust again!

Unfortunately, I didn't take photos of the process of creating these items, but I hope you can see what was done and perhaps it will help generate some ideas of your own! Please share your projects with me!

Planter Box: A gift for my Mother-in-law!

I had to piece together 4 wood slats to create the base for this planter box. The tiles I found at Home Depot, I believe. This was really fun and very rewarding as it turned out so nice. It was approximately 12"w x 30"l  x 12"d (pretty good sized).

Monogrammed magnets for the metallic note-bar

When my daughters moved into their first apartment (wow, a very long time ago), I made them a bulletin board/white board for the front door.They could slip bills and other mail between the folds of the fabric, and leave notes for each other. And, of course the keys were always handy this way.

Side view and front on...very convenient 

I always like to keep my paper plates handy--we use those more than our every-day dinnerware--so I created a holder that matched the kitchen theme and attached it to the cupboard. Quite a hit!

The sides are attached to the front with a series of dowels. I do wish I'd made this a little larger, though. It will only hold 8-3/4" plates.

For breakfast in bed

The breakfast tray turned out to be a gift for a bride and groom. I made the tray from pine and used the side handles as a guide for the napkin rings. I embroidered the linen napkins with the new couples monogram and did an Italian hemstitch on the napkins as well. I finished everything with a natural stain so it would go with any decor, although now days this isn't really a desirable stain color.

The Growth Chart is an easy gift to make and takes very few supplies. It's approximately 18"w x 60"h (I'm working from memory, here) and it's just a sheet of 1/2" - 3/4" pine. I used my router to bevel the edges and then I painted it and personalized it. I believe you can even purchase these already cut and beveled at Home Depot or Michael's if you don't want to cut the wood. I used acrylic paints (my paints of choice) and measured off numbers so it could hang about 1-1/2 feet off the floor. I added screw holes and, there you have it!

Frosty

These Christmas Card Holders were fun and simple. I came up with 3 designs (Santa is not shown) and just sketched them out. They're about 18" long. You can't see it in the photos but there is a semi-circle shaped piece of wood perpendicular to the length to create a base that will not fall over. Once I painted the designs, I added heavy wire (I actually think this is solder) and looped it so cards would stay in the loops. Not too many people send Christmas Cards any more, but at the time, these were very useful. 

Rudolph

Another project was cookie jar covers. You can purchase these traditional glass cookie jars at OSH or Michael's (well at least you used to be able to. They came in two sizes). I took off the metal screw-on cover it came with and cut out a 3/4" thick wood circle that fit perfectly into the opening. Then I used my jigsaw to carve out different shapes for decoration and made sure they extended beyond the mouth of the jar. I screwed the circle base into the bottom of the new shape and the cover fit right over the mouth of the cookie jar, keeping the cookies fresh and clean.

I even did a year's worth set of covers for my sister-in-law. That way she could change out the top of the cookie jar for each month of the year and her kids could have fun deciding what they would put on it for the month. Again, I used acrylic paint. Hint: if you're not good at free-hand art, blow up graphics from the Internet, or use a color book for your designs!

Layered bear form my teddy-bear-collecting sister

An apple for the kitchen

A year's worth!

Perfect Applique Every Time

I just finished making a gift for my niece's baby girl (not born quite yet) and I thought you might like to see a quick, fool-proof way to applique.

Start with "Steam-A-Seam 2 Lite" (SAS2). This a double-stick fusible web that allows you to fuse one side, peel off the other side and fuse it to something else. This product stays flexible and won't stiffen up when you want to use it on clothing. Make a rough cut of the applique you want to add (if it's attached to something else). I used a section from the bottom of the jumpsuit I'm making so it's already printed for me--I just have to cut it out.

Rough cut applique and SAS2

Lay the applique piece or pieces over the top of the web (don't fuse yet) and rough cut them out together. Cutting them together will help you avoid having the web stick out over the applique and fuse to your iron or ironing board. Yikes!

Iron the web to the back of the applique

Fussy cut after fusing

Now flip over the web and peel away one of the layers of paper. Place the applique against the sticky side of the web (the side you just peeled) and iron the web side onto the back of the applique per the instruction on the SAS2 package. Once that's fused well, it's time to fussy-cut the applique. I leave about 1/8 inch around my applique so I don't cover so much of the design when I do my satin stitch.

Applique is almost ready for garment

Peel off final paper backing

Your applique is almost ready to attach to your bodice (or wherever it's going!). Flip over the applique and peel off the final backing from the web. This will leave you with a sticky-backed product. You can now easily put the applique were you want it and move it around till you're happy with it. I left a space at the top of the bodice so I could embroider the name of my new niece.

Once it's evenly positioned onto the garment, press it. If you're working with anything that shows marks easily, use a pressing cloth or press from the back. You should now have an applique that is ready for sewing.

Fuse the applique to the bodice

Choose a thread color that will compliment your garment or the applique. I like my applique stitches to blend rather than make a statement, so I chose a color close to the bodice color. I like to use Sulky Rayon Embroidery Thread in 40 weight. It gives a little sheen to the "patch". For the bobbin, I use a lightweight cotton embroidery thread (Mettler; comes in white or black). By using lighter weight thread specifically for embroidery in the bobbin, the bobbin thread pulls the satin stitch to the bottom of the project and keeps your bobbin thread from showing on top of the work. You'll be very pleased with the professional results you get by using these threads instead of your standard 50 weight sewing thread.

There are lots of ways to stitch down an applique; blanket, zig zag, straight, satin, or decorative. And you can do the stitching by machine or by hand. I will be using my sewing machine, and I've set it for a small satin stitch (SL is 0.6 and LW is 2.0). Always do a test first and make sure your stitch will grab enough fabric, otherwise your applique will fall apart after the first washing. I suggest you never go narrower that 2.0 in a satin stitch.

Open Toe Foot

I use an "open toe foot" for my applique. It allows me to see my stitches more easily and helps me glide around the turns. You will also want to reduce your presser foot pressure. By releasing some of the pressure of the foot on the fabric, it will allow you to turn the corners of your applique much easier. This particular applique has a lot of curves, so I take it slow and steady. If your sewing machine is going at a consistent rate of speed, it is much easier to control the turns. The less stopping you do around the curves, the smoother your curves will look.

Before you begin sewing around the applique, always add a stabilizer. There are many tear-away stabilizers available (once you've sewing the applique, you tear away the stabilizer and no one is any the wiser that you had it in there!).

Adding tear-away stabilizer

I LOVE the Sulky product Totally Stable. It irons on to give you a very firm foundation, and then it tears right off afterward, leaving no residue. Once you've got your applique stabilized, begin sewing in a non-conspicuous place on the applique.

After you go around the entire applique, take a look at it and add to it if you want to. In this case, I added another row of satin stitching inside the large heart. I also did a straight stitch around the elephants' ears and gave them each a tail since I had cut off their tails earlier (small details, such as elephant tails, whiskers, etc, are better left stitched later).

Tear away your stabilizer

If you like your finished product, turn it over and tear away your stabilizer. Don't be too rough on the stitches you just made, but once you've started, you should be able to tear right along the stitching line of the design. Use your seam ripper to start the sections inside hearts, balls, letters, etc. Now turn over the finished applique and press it.

The final product is clean and neat!

Double stitched heart

That's all there is to it! The applique looks professional and it only took about 40 minutes from start to finish. You can add applique in this method, over holes in jeans, on ready-to-wear clothing, tote bags, or like me, on something you're sewing from scratch. Enjoy doing applique, the easy way!

Final product--sorry about the lighting!

Hand-Quilted Is Best!

I just finished this quilt for my guest room. Doesn't it look inviting? My guest room shares space with my sewing room. Since my sewing room was there before the bed was, I already had the room completed with some of my favorite colors. Once I decided I'd make a matching quilt for the bed, I rushed to find the left-over fabrics (thankfully I saved them) from the already-made valance, covered chairs, and draw curtain for the computer area. By adding just a few other scraps, I was able to create an appealing bed cover and even had enough left over to make a couple pillows!


I hand- quilted each of the squares inside the 9-patch and although I'm not the straightest hand-stitcher in the world, it works!

The nice thing about hand-quilting is even if the stitches aren't as little or as straight as you'd like, the more the quilt is washed, the better it will look! 



I'm a sucker for a frilly bedroom so I tried to keep the furniture and accessories white and just add color with the soft goods.

I built a shelf for my few nick knacks and attached a valance to keep the window treatment simple. I'm not a big fan of Chotchkies, but the few I do have, I want out of the way to create less clutter.

I upholstered two chairs; the sewing machine chair, and the computer chair. And since I recently fractured my tailbone from a fall, I upholstered over a "donut pillow" for my computer chair. If you look closely (below) you can see the little indentation in the back area where there is no foam. :) It has actually worked very well considering I spend a good deal of time at my computer.

In the last photo at the bottom, you'll see the curtain for closing off the computer area when we have a sleepover guest. I made a tab-top curtain and slid it over a tension rod. This computer area used to be a dressing room when I was doing fashion design, but since my stroke I'm not doing as much of that for others (just myself) so I moved the computer into that area and made room for the guest bed.

The Valance is attached to a shelf I built

See, quite a lot can be done in a small space!

The perfect place to sit my broken tail!

My ex-dressing room turned computer nook