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Sewing a Tea Mat To Catch Tea Stains

February 25, 2021 · Leave a Comment

sewing a tea mat

This tea mat project originally appeared on the Minerva Crafts Bloggers’ Network. Since their site relaunched, some of the older stuff has gone, including this. As I’ve had several people ask about it, I’ve rewritten the post with the pattern here.

When we moved into our funny old house 18 years ago, one of the things we wanted to do was replace the kitchen. It took us 14 years to get round to it, and it was such an improvement!

One of the things we did was swap the horrible laminated chipboard worktops for pretty wooden ones. The only slight problem is that they need a little bit more looking after.

I am a human teapot. I’m also a spiller. So when I needed to zap the tea stains on the laminate worktop, I used bicarb and vinegar and it worked a treat. However I wouldn’t want to use anything that harsh on my wooden ones, so the obvious answer was to try to avoid the tea stains in the first place.

So I made a tea mat that could live on the worktop next to the kettle, and when I spilt tea on it I could pop it in the washing machine and the worktops would be fine. Also the linen blend I used was already tea coloured, so if the tea didn’t wash out it wouldn’t show very much!

Another option would be to use the tea mat to line a tray. This was what I’d planned to do originally but all the trays in my house had partially finished Lego models in them!

As well as the linen, I used a cotton spotty print for the underside. The fabric for the bias binding and the teapot came from a fat quarter pack. I also used some sew in interfacing to give the tea mat some weight.

If you need to buy fabric for this project, Fabric Godmother is an independent fabric shop on the south coast. This isn’t an affiliate link. I want to help small businesses at a time when lots of people are finding things tough.

I used machine embroidery to applique the teapot and embroider the letters. It was the first time I’d tried machine embroidering letters, and I’m happy with how it’s turned out! I went over the letters twice as they looked spidery after the first time.

Having an embroidery foot really helped as it allowed me to see what I was sewing! If you read the post I wrote about sewing machine feet, you’ll know that I don’t believe that having lots of feet is necessary. However it can be useful to have particular feet for certain tasks, and using an embroidery foot definitely made it easier.

Sewing a tea mat

Instructions For Making a Tea Mat

You Will Need

Fabric for the top (I used a linen cotton blend)
Fabric for the underside (cotton is a good choice)
Sew in interfacing
A small piece of cotton print for the teapot
Fusible interfacing (optional, but useful especially if the teapot fabric frays easily)
Fabric to make the bias binding, or you could use some pre made.

If you are making your own bias binding, a bias binding maker is handy.

The template for the teapot and the lettering can be downloaded by filling in the form at the the end of the post.

Cutting Out

You will need to cut an A3 sized piece from the linen (42 cm x 30 cm, or 16 1/2″ x 12″), the spots and the sew in interfacing.

For the teapot, you will need a piece of the floral fabric roughly A5 sized (21 cm x 15 cm, or 8 1/2″ x 6″).

You might like to iron on a piece of fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric before you cut out the teapot.

Making the Bias Strips

If you’re using ready made bias binding, you can skip this bit!

1. Take the floral fabric with the roses and fold one edge over to make a triangle. 

2. From the folded edge, measure 2.5 cm all the way along. Draw a line.SAM_3757.JPG

3. From that line, measure 5 cm and draw another line.

4. Cut along the lines. This is easiest with a rotary cutter. If you’re using scissors, make sure you use plenty of pins!

5. You should now have 3 bias strips, all 5 cm wide. Cut the ends off so that they are square.

6. Take 2 of the strips and put the ends together at right angles. Check that the print is running the same way! Sew across the square from top left to bottom right. Add the third strip in the same way.SAM_3798.JPG

7. Cut the corners off and press the seams open.SAM_3799.JPG

SAM_3805.JPG

8. Fold the bias strip in half lengthways and press. If you have a bias binding maker, you can use that to finish making your bias binding. There’s a tutorial showing how to use one here.

If you don’t have a bias binding maker, fold the raw edges into the middle and press. Fold the strip in half and press again.SAM_3806.JPG

Now put your bias binding to one side while you make the rest of the tea mat!

Appliqueing the Teapot

1. Take the linen and the piece of sew in interfacing. Position the the teapot on the linen and pin it on, through the linen and the interfacing.SAM_3758.JPG

3. Applique the teapot using a straight stitch.SAM_3770.JPG

4. Add the extra details like the lid and the base using machine embroidery. SAM_3776.JPGIf you’ve never done this before, use a short stitch and an embroidery foot if you have one. The embroidery foot is not essential, but it will allow you to see more of your sewing.

Embroidering the Letters

1. To transfer the letters to the fabric, I traced them onto the interfacing, then used a plastic box and a torch as a homemade light box to trace the letters from the interfacing to the linen.SAM_3781.JPGSAM_3782.JPG

2. Starting at the end of the cross bar of the tea, embroider the letters. Each word will need to be worked separately, but all the letters of each word are joined up so you can do each word all in one go.SAM_3786.JPG

This is a bit fiddly! Use a short stitch and go slowly. Be ready to move the fabric and pay attention to where there are curves and where there are points.

3. Once you have embroidered the letters, go over them again.SAM_3788.JPG

Finishing Off the Tea Mat

1. Pin the piece of spotty fabric to the back of the linen and the interfacing.SAM_3795.JPG

2. Fold over one end of the bias binding by about 1 cm. Starting at the bottom, pin the bias binding to the wrong side of the tea mat so that the raw edges are together.SAM_3808.JPG

3. Sew the bias binding to the wrong side, keeping close to the fold. When you get back to where you started, overlap the ends and sew them in place.SAM_3811.JPG

4. Fold the bias binding over the raw edge. Sew it in place on the right side, taking care to fold the corners when you sew them.SAM_3822.JPGSAM_3816.JPG

Run the iron on it, trim away any threads ands your tea mat is ready to keep your worktops stain free!SAM_3835.JPGSAM_3842.JPGSAM_3854.JPG

To download the teapot template and the lettering, please enter your email address in the form below.

Please note that in doing this, you will be added to the Tea and a Sewing Machine email list. This will usually arrive in your inbox weekly, and usually at the weekend. I don’t send spam. The newsletter is updates, links, things I think you might find interesting and the occasional free thing. You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. If you’d like more information about why I do this, please click here.

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Filed In: Blog, Sewing Projects / Tagged: applique, embroidery, home, how to, kitchen, machine embroidery

DIY Fabric Covered Box

February 5, 2021 · Leave a Comment

DIY Fabric Covered Box

In England, we are about a month into Lockdown 3. This time they’ve shut the schools again, so as well as my 2 home educated boys, I have my teenaged Covid schoolies as well.

Things were slightly in different in Lockdown 1, mainly because the schools didn’t have long to get ready. Most of my older boys’ school stuff was on the homework app.

This time schools have been more prepared, and my boys’ school are trying to keep it as much like school as possible. Personally I think this is bonkers because they’re not at school, they’re at home, and the lack of flexibility is making things difficult.

So if you’re out there in internetland and you feel that you’re struggling, believe me, you’re not on your own!

Another thing that’s an issue this time is that our house really does feel small. Although the days are starting to draw out now, it’s still cold and damp and nobody wants to spend much time outside. Being able to use the garden as well was the thing that saved our sanity last time!

So at the moment, I have one messy husband who has taken over the kitchen as his own personal office, my 15 year old Covid schoolie does his school stuff upstairs, and my 13 year old Covid schoolie is in the living room with me and the School of Mummy boys.

However, people manage in small houses, and controlling mess is one way to make a house feel less small, although that’s easier said than done sometimes in a house full of messy people!

The School of Mummy mess is mostly contained, but the 13 year old tends to leave his stuff strewn about everywhere.

One thing I’ve done to help him is to sort him out with a box to keep all of his books and things in. I didn’t have anything nice that didn’t already have stuff in it, but I did have an Amazon box.

DIY Fabric Covered Box

Now if I was inclined to be precious about this kind of thing, I might describe an Amazon box as unsightly. I’m not going to though, because a cardboard box with books in it is a whole lot less unsightly than a lot of school books littering the sofa and the floor.

Having said that, I did want to make it a bit nicer.

I’ve made fabric baskets before, and it can be tricky getting them to hold their shape. The best ones that did were these. I used a fusible stiffener which made them more rigid than ones where I’ve used ordinary interfacing.

I didn’t want to buy anything else, so the easiest and most obvious thing to do was to take the box we were using and turn it into a fabric covered box.

The best thing about this is that it can be adapted for a box any size.

DIY Fabric Covered Box

Instructions

You Will Need

A box
A tape measure
Fabric
Paper and pencil
Usual sewing supplies

Measuring the Box

The first thing to do is to measure the box.

You will need to measure the height, depth and breadth.

Make a note of these and add 2 cm to each of them. This will be your seam allowance.

Cutting Out

From your fabric, cut 1 piece depth x breadth. This will be the bit that goes in the bottom of the box.

Then cut 4 rectangles that are depth x height, and 4 rectangles that are breadth x height.

Sewing the Cover For the Box

Take 2 of the smaller rectangles and sew them together along one of the long edges. If you’re using a directional print, one of the pieces will need to be upside down.

Trim the seam and press it open.

DIY Fabric Covered Box

Do the same with the other 2 smaller rectangles.

Now repeat with with the larger rectangles.

Take one of the larger side sections and 1 of the smaller ones. With the right sides together, pin them so that the short edges are aligned on the right hand side.

DIY Fabric Covered Box

Check that the seams match, then sew the side seams. Trim and press.

Repeat with the the other side pieces.

Now join these sections together. You have a longer piece, a shorter piece, then a longer one, then a shorter one.

DIY Fabric Covered Box

Hem the outside edge.

Fold in half along the seam and press. This is so that the top edge will sit neatly on the box.

Pin the bottom section to the bottom of the side pieces and sew. The easiest way to do this neatly is by pinning then sewing one side at a time. Because the seam allowance is small, you might not need to trim it, but you’ll probably want to cut the corners off.

DIY Fabric Covered Box

Here’s the finished fabric covered box…

DIY Fabric Covered Box
DIY Fabric Covered Box

And here it is where it now lives with Aidan’s stuff in it!

DIY Fabric Covered Box

Tips

To give the cover more weight, you could add some interfacing.

If you wanted the bottom hem to not be visible, you could add extra length to the outside pieces and either tuck them under or use elastic to hold them.

This is the kind of project that calls for bits of fabric left over from other things! If you don’t have enough of one kind, choose another fabric to go with it. Making a fabric covered box with each section in a different fabric could be fun!

If you are using a directional print, when you sew the side pieces, the inside section will need to be the opposite way up to the outside piece.

If you’re looking for inspiration for sewing baskets and boxes, I have in Pinterest board full of them here!

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Filed In: Blog, Sewing Projects / Tagged: box, how to, storage, upcycling

Pinwheel Purse Scrap Project

January 22, 2021 · Leave a Comment

Pinwheel Purse Scrap Project

Those of us who are inclined to be messy often jump on the “Let’s Get Organised” bandwagon in January, and in my house, this year is no exception.

One of the things earmarked for sorting out is the fabric mountain behind the bedroom door.

It has got so bad that there could even be a dragon living in it and I wouldn’t know.

The worst thing is when it collapses and then nobody can get in or out!

So I’ve decided that most of it has to go.

I’ve so far sorted through about half of it, and over half of that is destined to go.

The bigger bits will be listed in my Etsy shop as remnants or fat quarters depending on their size, and some of the smaller bits will become craft kits.

pinwheel purse scrap project

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working on the first of what will hopefully be several new kits.

This one is a little pinwheel purse that has a pinwheel quilt block on the front. The fabric is included along with a zip, pattern pieces and instructions.

If you have some left over fabric, you might like to make one yourself! Otherwise the kits I have for sale can be found here.

pinwheel purse craft kit

Pinwheel Purse Instructions

You Will Need

Scraps of fabric. I used 5 different fabrics. If you have about a fat quarter in total, that should be enough.

A 10 cm (4 inch) zip

A smallish piece of interfacing

Usual sewing supplies

Cutting Out

I’ve allowed a 1 cm (1/4 inch) seam allowance.

For the lining, cut 2 pieces 12 cm x 12 cm.

Cut another piece the same size for the back of the purse outer, and 2 pieces of interfacing.

For the purse front, the easiest thing to do is to use the pattern which you can download for free at the bottom of the post.

Instructions

Assembling the Pinwheel Block

pinwheel purse scrap project

The pinwheel is made up of 4 identical squares, each with one large triangle and two smaller triangles.

pinwheel purse scrap project

To assemble the pinwheel, each square is made separately, then the squares are sewn together.

I batched the tasks for efficiency, but how you do them is up to you!

Take 2 of the smaller triangles, 1 from each fabric.

Pin, then sew them together. The right angle needs to be on the right and the lighter coloured fabric at the top.

pinwheel purse scrap project

Trim the seam and press it open.

pinwheel purse scrap project

Take one of the larger triangles and place it on top of the smaller ones so that the right sides are together and the long edges are aligned.

pinwheel purse scrap project

Pin, then sew along the long edge. Trim the seam and press.

pinwheel purse scrap project

Make the other three squares in the same way.

Arrange the squares so that they form a larger square. Rotate them so that they resemble the picture below. 

pinwheel purse scrap project

Now join two of the squares together.

Do the same with the other two. 

Trim the seams and press them.

pinwheel purse scrap project

Sew the 2 sections together. I forgot to take a photo of this step!

Don’t worry if the pieces don’t match up exactly. Just try to ensure as far as possible that the seams in the centre of the square are aligned, because that bit will be most noticeable if it is off.

Join the shorter border pieces to the top and bottom.

Now join the longer border pieces to the sides.

Trim and press the seams.

pinwheel purse scrap project

Assembling the Purse

Take one of the interfacing pieces and place the purse front on top of it.

Lay the zip face down with the top edge matched up with the top edge of the purse front and the zipper on the left.

pinwheel purse scrap project

Now put one of the lining pieces on top with the right side facing down.

pinwheel purse scrap project

Pin, then sew, keeping close to the teeth of the zip.

Press the purse pieces away from the zip.

Take the purse back and place it on top of the other piece of interfacing.

Line up the free edge of the zip with the top of the purse back. The zipper will be on the left this time. Put the other lining piece on top face down. Pin all of it together, then sew. Press the outer and the lining away from the zip.

Top stitch along the seam on both sides, keeping close to the edge.

pinwheel purse scrap project

Open the zip. Don’t skip this part! If you don’t open the zip, you’ll have a frustrating time with the unpicker later!

Rearrange your purse so that the lining pieces are together on one side of the zip and the outer/ interfacing pieces are together on the other side.

At the sides, push the zip towards the lining and the seams towards the outer.

Pin the sides and the bottom edges.

Open the zip. Don’t skip this part! If you don’t open the zip, you’ll have a frustrating time with the unpicker later!  Rearrange your purse so that the lining pieces are together on one side of the zip and the outer/ interfacing pieces are together on the other side.

Sew the side seams and the bottom edge of the outer. When you sew the bottom edge of the lining, leave a gap.

pinwheel purse scrap project

Trim the seams.

Now push the outer through the open zip, followed by the lining, and it should be the right way out! If it’s a bit crumpled, run the iron over it.

Slip stitch the opening in the lining.

Now your pinwheel purse is finished!

pinwheel purse scrap project
pinwheel purse scrap project

If you’d like the templates for the pinwheel purse front, please fill in the form below. Please note that your email address will be added to the Tea and a Sewing Machine email list. You can find out more about why I do this here, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Filed In: Blog, Sewing Projects / Tagged: craft fair, craft kit, gift, how to, purse, quilt block, scrap project

DIY Craft Tote Tutorial

January 12, 2021 · 1 Comment

diy craft tote tutorial

This DIY craft tote tutorial is a sponsored post in association with TNTEX, a family run textiles company based in Spain.

TNTEX sell every kind of interfacing. Woven and non woven, fusible, knitted, napped, all kinds of weights, plus buckram and interfacing for millinery projects. More information about their products can be found here in their online shop. They deliver internationally as well, so it doesn’t matter if you don’t live in Spain!

Their products are all made free from harmful substances and are certified for being so. You can read more about the company here.

I was sent a sample of their medium weight interfacing and I’ve used it in this project. It’s 100% viscose, and it’s very similar in weight and feel to Vlieseline M12, which is what I would normally use for this kind of project.

diy craft tote tutorial

When you’re working on a project, it’s nice to have somewhere to keep it.

And if you’re anything like me, the number of projects you have on the go at any one time can start to feel a little bit out of control!

So when the blanket you are crocheting keeps getting tangled up with the other blanket you’re crocheting and the mittens you’re knitting, and you keep losing the zip and the buttons for the dress you’re making, one answer is to put things in bags.

At least then the crochet won’t get tangled up with the knitting and the stuff for your dress is all in one place!

In the past I have used all kinds of things, but what could be better than a little craft tote that you’ve made yourself, with pockets for scissors, thread, unpicker, crochet hook and anything else you might need?

diy craft tote tutorial

How To Sew a Craft Tote

You Will Need

Cotton fabric for the main part of the tote and the lining. I used the same medium weight cotton for both the outer and the lining.

Cotton fabric for the pockets and the pocket lining.

Cotton fabric for the handles.

Interfacing. I used this.

Ricrac (optional)

Cutting out

A 1 cm seam allowance is included.

Tote outer: from medium weight cotton, cut 1 base (22 cm x 15 cm), 2 front/ back pieces (22 cm x 16 cm) and 2 side pieces (15 cm x 16 cm).

Interfacing: cut 1 base (22 cm x 15 cm), 2 front/ back pieces (22 cm x 16 cm) and 2 sides (15 cm x 16 cm).

Tote Lining: cut 1 base (22 cm x 15 cm), 2 front back pieces (22 cm x 19 cm) and 2 side pieces (15 cm x 19 cm).

Pocket Outer: cut 2 pieces 22 cm x 12 cm and 2 pieces 15 cm x 12 cm.

Pocket lining: cut 2 pieces 22 cm x 12 cm and 2 pieces 15 cm x 12 cm.

Handles: Cut 2 pieces 24 cm x 5 cm.

Sewing the Pockets

Take one of the larger pocket outer pieces and the corresponding lining piece. With the right sides together, pin along the top edge. Sew, trim the seam and turn the right way out. Press the seam.

diy craft tote tutorial

If you are using ricrac, cut a piece the same width as the pocket. Pin the ricrac about a cm down from the top. Sew the ricrac to the pocket.

diy craft tote tutorial

Do the same with the other pocket pieces, so that you have 2 smallish pockets and 2 wider ones.

diy craft tote tutorial

Sewing The Outer

The first thing to do is to pin the pockets to the side and front/ back pieces. Pin them right side up to the right side of the outer panels. Make sure that the bottom of the pockets are lined up with the bottom of the panels.

On the front/ back sections, measure half way along and sew vertically down the pocket do divide it into 2. You might want to backstitch at the top a couple of times to reinforce it.

diy craft tote tutorial
diy craft tote tutorial

Now take one of the side pieces and one of the front/ back pieces with the pockets pinned, and the corresponding pieces of interfacing.

This is where you will be making a weird kind of sandwich. Firstly take the front/ back piece of interfacing. On that place the front/ back piece of tote outer with the pockets pinned.

On top of that and face down, place one of the side pieces, matching up the side edges. Place a piece of interfacing on top of that, then pin the side seam. Sew, then trim the seam.

diy craft tote tutorial

Attach the other side and front/ back piece in the same way. You’ll end up with a kind of bottomless box. Trim the seams and press.

diy craft tote tutorial

Sewing the base is a little bit fiddly! The trick here is to pin one edge, sew it, then pin the next and sew that until you have attached the base to all four sides.

Sewing the Lining

Take one of the front back pieces and one of the side pieces. Pin the sides with the right sides of the fabric together. Sew the side seam.

Attach the other side and front/ back pieces in the same way. Trim the seams and press them.

Pin the base to the sides and front in the same way you did with the outer. Sew. Trim the seams.

Making The Handles

Take one of the handle pieces. Fold the long edge inwards towards the centre and pin, then fold the other long edge inwards so that they meet. Press it where you have folded (your finger will do), then fold it in half lengthways. Pin it, then press it with the iron.

diy craft tote tutorial
diy craft tote tutorial
diy craft tote tutorial

Use pins to mark 4 cm in from each end of the handle. Now sew the folded edges together.

Repeat with the other handle.

Finishing The Bag

Turn the outer the right way out. Now pop the lining inside so that the wrong sides are together. Pinning the base and the sides of the lining to the outer will make the next bit easier!

diy craft tote tutorial

Fold the top of the lining over the outer, then fold the raw edges underneath. Pin, then sew all the way round, keeping close to the lower edge.

diy craft tote tutorial
diy craft tote tutorial

To attach the handles, measure 3 cm in from the edge of one of the long sides.

Fold the raw edge of the handle end underneath, then pin the handle to the tote bag. Do the same with the other end of the handle.

diy craft tote tutorial
diy craft tote tutorial

Sew the handle to the tote bag. It’s a good idea to backstitch over where you’ve sewn so that the handles won’t fall off!

Repeat with the other handle.

Now you have a nice little craft tote to keep one of the projects you are working on!

Or you could make a few and give them to people as presents.

diy craft tote tutorial
diy craft tote tutorial

Now for the verdict on the interfacing! It compared very favourably with the Vlieseline I would normally use. It was nice to work with and I’m pleased with the results!

If you like this DIY craft tote tutorial, you might also like this fat quarter basket tutorial.

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Filed In: Blog, Sewing Projects / Tagged: gift ideas

Adapting an A Line Skirt Pattern

November 15, 2020 · Leave a Comment

Adapting an A Line Skirt Pattern

The other week I showed how to draft a pattern for an A line skirt. It’s here if you missed it!

Although A line skirts are just fine as they are, I had plans for adapting an A line skirt pattern to make it a little bit different.

My plan was to remove a section of the skirt from the side, and replace it with a pleated section in a contrasting fabric.

I’ve finally finished it and here it is! It was quite windy when we took the pictures!

adapting an a line skirt

It is basically still an A line skirt with a waistband, but with a pleated bit at the side.

adapting an a line skirt pattern

I’m going to walk you through how I did it, and hopefully it will inspire you to take patterns that you have already, and things that you know how to make already, and adapt them to make them into something different.

It’s a little bit easier than designing and making an item of clothing entirely from scratch, but it’s just as much fun!

Adapting the Pattern

The A line skirt pattern that I used had 3 pieces for the skirt (one front and 2 back), plus the waistband.

The only bits I made changes to were the front and the back right sections.

I made a copy of the pattern onto pattern paper. It’s best to do this first rather than immediately hacking away at your fabric! You’re free to experiment as much as you like with the pattern paper, then when you’re happy you can cut out your fabric. There are a lot less tears that way!

I decided where I wanted the pleated section to be, and marked it on the waist of the front and back sections.

Being an A line and because the extra section didn’t take up a whole half of the skirt, it wasn’t as simple as just cutting off a chunk at the side!

The centre front runs up and down on the grain of the fabric. By the time you get to the side seams, it’s slanted like the legs of an A.

So the piece I cut out of the front section needed to be somewhere between the vertical of the centre front and the slanted line of the side seam.

I wanted the contrasting section to start about half way between the centre front and the side, so this is where I marked on the waist. After doing this, I then needed to find the same point on the hemline, half way between the centre front and the side.

adapting an a line skirt

I drew the line here, then cut away the extra bit of the skirt front. Then I did the same with the back right.

To make the pleated section, I cut a piece of pattern paper about 3 times wider than the bit of the skirt that was now missing. I experimented with the pleats until I was happy with them. To begin with, I made them quite narrow. Unfortunately this made it look too much like a kilt, so in the end I made each pleat 4 cm. 4 pleats of this size fitted nicely into the space, with enough for a seam allowance.

adapting an a line skirt

Finishing the Skirt

With the tricky bit done, the next job was to adjust the hem where the seams met. This meant reducing how much the front and back left pieces curved where they met with the pleated bit.

The last thing was to add the waistband. For this I used the original pattern pieces.

Where Next?

I think this has quite a lot of potential. One of the reasons for pleating the contrast section as opposed to gathering it is because I didn’t want to draw attention to the Covid cake baby that has developed around my middle. For a slimmer person, gathers might be fine, especially if the skirt is made from a lighter fabric.

A summery option could be made from cotton, with a gathered or pleated section made from floaty fabric.

Another possibility would be to put the contrast section on the other side. This might feel more “right” if you are left handed. Or you could try pleated bits on both sides.

Something else to consider is adding godets, kick pleats or contrasting sections all the way round.

Or chop a big chunk off the bottom at an angle and make a bit from different fabric.

Collect some ideas and have some fun adapting an a line skirt pattern!

If you like dressmaking, I have a Pinterest board full of ideas here!

You might also be interested to have a look at my ebooks and printables here. I have one in particular about making dresses from you own designs.

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Filed In: Blog, Sewing Projects / Tagged: refashioning

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I'm Anna and I live in rural Norfolk in the UK. My mum taught me how to use a sewing machine when I was 10 and I haven't looked back! I love making all sorts of things and I hope you find inspiration here.

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My New Ebook

things to male and do in the autumn

Bunting Makes Everything Better Tote Bag

Featured Kit

The Sewing Journal

My Kits and Patterns on Etsy

Shop the Christmas Shop at Sew and So



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