Sweatshirt to Jacket Transformation for a "Tween"

Here's yet another sweatshirt to jacket project.  I bought this sweatshirt from Nancy's Notions, along with several others, on sale.  I used the quick fitting method on this very fast jacket project.

Source

When I went to the Quilt Festival in Houston a few years ago I bought some Fusible Stay Tape (pictured above) from Londa's Creative Threads booth, as well as some of her books.  This Fusible Stay Tape is so easy to use - it is narrow (unlike others I found) and stabilizes the knit fabric by simply fusing it (fusible on one side only) so no stay-stitching is required.  There are two types: "Knit" and "Straight".  I use the "knit" tape on necklines or curved areas.  I use the "straight"  tape on front openings (after cutting open).  Before I found this product I "tried" to stabilize with fusibles, but couldn't find anything narrow enough.  There is a LOT in each package.  I still haven't used it all yet.

Since this jacket was for a "tween" I used sweet and fun flower appliques from BunnyCup Embroidery.  It was free! It stitched out very nicely and I resized it with no problems.  It's amazing how many free designs are out there.

The brown print was a small amount  bought years ago to "audition" for baby bedding.  It was ultimately not used for that purpose and I've since used just about all of it up.  I had just enough for this project.  I didn't have quite enough for true bias tape, so I had to make due with simple foldover.  If you look closely at the neckline you can see that bias would have been better, but... I used the same fabric as a ruffle at the sleeve.

Closure detail

In this close-up of the closure you can see that I used a black hair elastic and two covered buttons.  The one on the left anchors the elastic and the one on the right is the one the elastic goes around to secure. (not sure if that even makes sense, but it's late).  I love covered buttons and they're so easy and cheap to make!

Close-up of the appliqued flowers.

Tips for Embroidering or Appliqueing on Knit T-Shirts



Finished T-Shirt

One of the best sites for general embroidery designs and tutorials on how to do just about everything there is to do on an embroidery machine is emblibrary.com.  I've done a lot of embroidery and applique on t-shirts, which can be tricky, but still make mistakes and need to go back to the basics.  Most of the time any problems I encounter are due to operator error. 

I always make sure to prewash and dry the t-shirt and any applique fabrics and then press.  Never use fabric softener because this can interfere with some fusibles. 

Selection of stabilizer is very important.  I like Floriani no-show mesh stabilizer for t-shirts.  It is fusible which I really like.  It's a cut-away type so whatever you don't trim away stays in place.  This is important because it will continue to stabilize the fabric/applique during wear and laundering.  After I fuse on that stabilizer, I add either a fusible tear away or I'll use a wash-away sticky stabilizer.  I choose the fusible tear away if the shirt is a larger size or if I'm only stitching on a portion of a shirt (in a smaller hoop).  If I'm working on a onesie or small t-shirt I use the sticky stabilizer, press the shirt in place and pin outside of the stitching area.  It's just too hard to try to hoop a small item. 

I also use wash-away film type stabilizer as a topper when satin stitching (not during the applique process).

Some of the stabilizers I use

After I launder the applique fabrics, I press well and then apply a fusible webbing.  I like Heat N Bond Lite.  It fuses well but does not gunk up the needle.  Steam-a-Seam  - even their "lite" products - will gunk up the needle - it does not work for me at all.  It's great for fusing things but don't use it in machine embroidery! Take my word for it.  Some designs have so much stitching that a fusible webbing may not be necessary but I think it's a good idea to use this in children's clothing.



Heat N Bond Lite

After pressing the t-shirt I mark the placement of the design with a wash away marker.  I find the center of the neckline and mark to the bottom of the shirt and make another line from one underarm seam to the other.  Then I hoop the shirt, making sure it's all lined up.

My large embroidery hoop is a little on the loose side, which is one of the reasons I use two layers of stabilizer (the mesh and the tear away).  I also like to use a screwdriver to tighten it up after hand tightening.  Maybe one day I'll splurge and get a Snap Hoop and elminate all this work. 



For a large t-shirt, I pull the back up and over the top of the hoop.  There's really no easy way to pin the excess fabric out of the way during stitching, so I just move it around as I go.  I could use sticky stabilizer on the larger t-shirts, but the shirt will be more stable if it's hooped.



 This picture shows a portion of the applique, just after it's been tacked down. 

After this tack down, I remove the hoop from the machine and cut away the excess fabric.  This is where the fusible webbing comes in. I use my Clover mini-iron to set the fusible webbing in place. By doing it at this step I avoid over-pressing the satin stitches.

In order to press in the hoop I made a pressing pad that fits the stitch area of my largest hoop.  I used ironing board fabric (teflon coated I think) on the pressing side and a quilting fabric on the other side.  In between is Insul-Brite fleece.  It's basically like a large potholder.  I added a coordinating ribbon tab so that I can hang the pad near my machine.  I can slip the pad under the hoop while it's still on the machine and press.  This saves a lot of time.

Fall Themed Monogrammed Kitchen Towel

I had this really cute applique design from Applique Planet, (which primarily sells applique designs geared towards children) and after making a t-shirt for Rylan with this same design I decided I needed one for my kitchen.  Their appliques are really detailed and stitch out perfectly.  I especially love the heavy top stitching on top of the satin stitch. 

Due to the extra applique fabric, embroidery thread and stabilizers, the embroidered side of the towel is heavier than the other, which can cause it to slip off of towel racks, which is extremely annoying in the kitchen.  To prevent this, I now add weight to the other side of the towel by adding a little extra fabric or interfacing to the band at the lower edge.  It's tucked into the wrong side of the band so it doesn't show but it serves to balance out the weight.

These pictures were taken after I'd used the towel and washed and dried it.  I didn't use fusible webbing on the applique fabric and even though I prewashed all fabrics, you can see that it still puckered a little after laundering.

If At First You Don't Succeed - Throw It Away and Start Over!!

Little Journey LOVES dinosaurs.  She knows the names of many of them.  Her favorite:  Brachiosaurus.  She attends a pre-school a couple days a week and they had show and tell featuring items starting with the letter "B".  She has a three foot long blow up Brachiosaurus that she was going to bring.  Coincidentally I made her a little play set with a dinosaur print fabric and an embroidered Brachiosaurus on it which she was able to wear that day.

When I saw this dinosaur print fabric I knew I had to make something out of it for Journey.  I used a turquoise linen blend for the capri pants, which does not require ironing.  I found some cute buttons to match.  You can find these button sets everywhere - JoAnn's, Wal-Mart, etc.  They come in little packets and they also have coordinated sets of buttons.  I have about 10 sets. 

This little outfit seemed simple enough, but once I got into it, it turned out to be more work than I wanted to spend on play clothes.  The sleeves and neck were finished with bias binding and there was a placket and buttons on the back. 

I already had the dinosaur applique design and had used it on something else and knew that it would stitch out nicely.  I used a 4 x 4 size and decided it was too small.  I tried to do the larger size over it but of course it didn't completely cover the 4x4.  Thankfully I had enough fabric to cut another front and start over.  The dinosaur turned out perfect this time.  I was busily sewing along and realized that I had managed to get a fold caught up in the serger knife and had cut into the fabric, front and back, at the top sleeve area.  What to do?  I SHOULD have thrown it out and started over, again, since I did have more print fabric, but I didn't want to go to the trouble of cutting, pressing, fusing stabilizer and interfacing, re-doing the applique, etc.  So I created more trouble for myself in the long run. 

I applied interfacing to the cut area, then fabric glue.  It was still noticeable.  I then decided to create a yoke to cover the cut.  That looked cute.  I added ric rac trim at the bottom of the raw edge of the yoke instead of seaming together the new yoke and the bottom of the top front (this came back to haunt me later).   I added some decorative stitches using embroidery thread. 

Next came the placket.  For whatever reason (operator error??) the placket didn't line up right, which of course I didn't realize until I was completely done and ready for buttonholes.  Oh well, no one would know unless they turn it inside out and examine it closely.



Auditioning Buttons

When I was ready to sew on the decorative buttons to the front yoke I realized in horror that a smidgen of the raw edge of the yoke was visible.  AHHHHHH!!!!  It was too late to throw it away now.  More decorative stitches and I was done.  I told Stephanie to wash it on delicate and use fabric glue if the thing doesn't hold up in the wash.

I absolutely HATE to scrap a project.  I will hold onto it until I get it done, even if it takes years.  I have a couple of not-quite-completed projects on the shelf right now.  My problem is I get so many things in the queue that I'm bored with them by the time I get around to working on them.  One of them - the oldest in the pile -  WILL be a Christmas present if it kills me this year.  Another is a project I was to complete for my sister, almost a  year ago.  She's probably either forgotten it or figures I will never get it done and has bought a replacement.  I need to work on my procrastination issues . . . maybe tomorrow.

This little outfit turned out cute, just don't look too close!!

Naughty or Nice

Here are some pics of the Christmas outfit I made for Journey. I started with McCall's 6062 pattern. It's a peasant style dress. It was very fast and easy to make. I made a few changes from the pattern's instructions. The pattern called for an underskirt and an overskirt. It was a huge waste of fabric and didn't add anything to the overall look, so I omitted the overskirt and added an apron. I wanted it to look like the PortobelloPixie Claire peasant dress. I had used that pattern last year to make Christmas dresses for sale. We made the apron tie style, but found (after making MANY dresses) that the pattern didn't fit as expected, so I didn't want any surprises this year, which is why I used the McCalls pattern. The PP pattern is so cute and features a full color instruction booklet which I liked, but the end result was disappointing. Also it was very expensive!! I used the PP apron pattern piece for this one. I ended up cutting it down just a little. I embroidered the apron first, then added a lining and bound the edges. The tie around the waist is part of the McCalls pattern. I cut the ruffle using the pattern but I cut an extra piece and used the ruffler to make the ruffle. Gone are the days when I will sit and gather fabric. It's amazing what a $20-$30 attachment can do to automatic your sewing.

Since this is a winter dress, I wanted long sleeves, which the pattern didn't include so I converted the sleeve to 3/4 length. Another change I made was adding ribbon instead of elastic at the neck and sleeves. This way, we can customize the fit for Journey this year, and will allow her to wear it again next year.

Here's the back view:

I used some of the motifs from the skirt fabric to embroider the jacket and apron. This is the same owl I used to make Rylan's scarf, shown in a previous post, just different fabrics. It's featured in this month's Designs in Machine Embroidery magazine I noticed. It's from Planet Applique and SO cute. They have really cute kid's applique designs.

This fabric at first glance doesn't look "Christmasy" at all. But if you look close there's a stocking, present, snowflakes, etc.

We have professional labels that we add to garments that we sell, but I like to add a "Grandma" label and a size label to gifts too.

The jacket is a project that I've been wanting to try for over a year. The concept is basically taking a sweatshirt and refashioning it into a cardigan. I have searched high and low for a sweatshirt in a toddler size that didn't already have designs on it and couldn't find one. I finally found a fleece shirt that I could use. To make this you start by cutting off the collar and cuff ribbing, cut up the center of the front, and stabilize all edges with iron on interfacing. From there it's all design fun. I embroidered motifs that matched the skirt fabric and apron on the front and back, then made about ten miles of bias binding which took longer than anything else.

My friend Beth loaned me a book by Mary Mulari and Nancy Zieman called "Sweatshirt Makeovers for Kids" which contains some techniques and ideas. The closure idea came from her book, although I altered it just a little. It's a little flap that uses hook and loop tape (which I have in pink of course).

When I got my sewing machine I bought every accessory they made for it, some of which I still haven't used yet. I have a bias binding foot but it says it's for commercial binding, so I didn't try it out on this project. Commercial binding has one side that slightly wider than the other. Obviously my home made binding is not perfectly straight much less wider on one side... I also bought a "Ditch Quilting Foot" which I'd never used before, so I thought I would try it out. I am wondering how I ever lived without it. It made 'stitching in the ditch' incredibly easy and SO precise. Here's a closeup of the foot in action:

It has a blade that skims along in the "ditch" keeping the stitching lined up perfectly.

Nancy's Notions had a sale on sweatshirts so I bought about 6 of them to make cardigans for myself. These are nothing like Wal-Mart shirts - the fit is perfect and they are preshrunk. Stay tuned for more sweatshirt transformations.