Finding Thrifted Fabric

The linens section at secondhand shops are positive goldmines. Old tablecloths and curtains have such good texture, and you can’t beat the price for the yardage! Here are some recent finds from my local thrift shops. If I remember correctly, all of these were purchased for less than $3.00.

Many people recommend not buying fabric unless you have a specific project in mind. I, on the other hand, think it’s a good idea to buy fabric with no project in mind. Fabric is a special thing. If you find something you love at a good price, don’t let it slip away. For many of us sewing is our main creative outlet. Having fabrics of various materials and sizes and colors on hand to play with is so important in our lives.

I love the freedom of checking my stash and picking out the right fabric for an idea the same hour it forms in my head. I love being able to play and experiment without driving to the store and waiting for new fabric to wash and dry. Our time is so limited — I want the time I dedicate to playfulness in my sewing room to be as productive as possible.

So, I believe in big stashes.

Flannel Jumpsuit - Peppermint Mag & In the Folds Free Jumpsuit Pattern

Last winter there was a noticeable gap in my wardrobe. The house gets quite chilly in the cold months, especially in my sewing room, and I needed something warm to wear on those difficult days with… ahm…. cramps.

I wanted something that would keep my legs warm without putting any pressure on my tummy, so I printed out this free jumpsuit pattern by In the Folds for Peppermint Mag. In retrospect I didn’t need it quite this baggy and should have made a smaller size, but I think it’s bagginess is kind of endearing and it’s so comfortable.

To make it extra warm and cozy I sewed it in flannel (can you ever have too much flannel in your wardrobe?), and I just recently realized that I could pair it with my matching green flannel, self drafted, short sleeved turtle neck I made the winter before last for an even more cozy outfit.

This year I’m ready and armed with warmth for those cold days already on the way. I’m so thankful to have this piece in my wardrobe. It makes me happy having something joyful and soft and warm and cozy to put on.

Even though I made this mainly to wear at home, I love the bagginess and color and texture. I think I’ll wear it out and about this fall, too.

Notes:

The jumpsuit pattern has an invisible zipper in the back that I omitted. I deepened the V in the back by 1” or so to be sure I could slip it on without the zipper, but since I made a larger size I don’t think that was really necessary. I used French Seams instead of serging… I’m not sure why. I guess I usually prefer French seams.

The green flannel fabric is from Joann stores.

Blue shoes from Nike.

Orange trucker hat from winning the Youth Illinois Corn Husking Contest a few years ago. My favorite hat.

Persephone Pants

After sewing these Persephone Pants the direction of my wardrobe has undergone a shift. It feels as if my wardrobe listened to one of those incredibly insightful self help lectures or books and walked away with a deep new appreciation for a different way of thinking. Making jeans was intimidating until I started. I was quickly swept away in the current of sewing. Anna’s instructions are so easy and fun to follow it’s like a book you can’t put down. You traverse without halt from one step to the next, scarcely noticing the beginning or ending of chapters.

These pants make me want to get rid of nearly all my non-memade clothes and just sew everything from now on. They feel so good. I mean not just physically — it feels so good to put on a pair of jeans that you made yourself. They bring me so much joy. I want all my clothes to bring me this much joy.

Thank you, Anna, for all of your hard work on this pattern. I so appreciate your creation.

Notes:

These are a size 0 with an extra 3/8” taken off the center back of the pattern piece. I think next time I’ll make them even a bit smaller so they stay tight as the fabric relaxes with wear. Instead of buttons I used snaps for the fly.

The bright orange fabric is Duck Canvas from Joann stores.

This yellow shirt is a rayon knit from Salvation Army thrift store several years ago.

Blue shoes are Nike (found on clearance!).

How to Sew a Lined Vest - Two Easy Methods

Have you ever wondered how to sew a lined vest without any raw edges showing? Wonder no more! Here are two ways to do it. The first method has open shoulders and the second has the shoulders sewn shut.

The pattern used in this tutorial is a self drafted miniature vest.

I purposely choose fabric for this tutorial that you can easily see the right and wrong sides and differentiate the lining from the outer layer.

Method One: Open Shoulders

Step 1: Cut all the pieces - lining and outer layer.

Step 2: Sew the shoulders of the outer layers together and the shoulders of the lining layers together with right sides together.

Step 3: Lay the two layers with right sides together. Press seams open and stitch from the bottom of the front center up around the neck and back down the front center of the other side. (If you look closely in the photo you can see white thread where I’ve stitched!)

Step 4: Stitch around the arm holes on each side. Don’t sew down the sides, just the arm holes.

Step 5: Clip curves and trim corners.

Step 6: Turn the vest right side out through the shoulders.

Step 7: Press the seams open and sew up the sides with right sides together. (This part is tricky to explain and photograph clearly, but it makes sence once you get it! Just play around with it a little bit.)

Be sure to match up the seams. (This is the side seam right by the arm opening.)

Here’s what it looks like with the sides sewn together.

Step 8: Now that the side seams are sewn, admire how good your vest is looking so far.

Step 9: Turn the vest inside out. Press the seams open and sew the bottom of the vest leaving a few inches open in the back. The thicker the fabric the wider you want to leave the hole for turning the vest right side out.

Since turning the vest can put a lot of stress on the stitching, it works well to sew down to the bottom edge of the fabric to add extra stability. It makes for much less stressful turning!

Step 10 & 11: Clip the corners. Turn the vest inside out through the opening in the back and hand or machine stitch the opening closed.

Give the vest a good press and it’s ready to wear!

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Method Two: Closed Shoulders

Step 1: Cut out all the pieces - the lining and the outer layer.

Step 2: Lay the lining and the outer layers right sides together. Sew around the neck and arm openings on the back pieces. Sew around the arms, neck, and front center of the front pieces.

Step 3: Clip the curves, trim the corners, and trim the seam allowance at the top of the arm openings and neck by the shoulders.

Step 4: Turn the front vest pieces right side out.

Step 5: Put the front vest pieces in between the lining and outer layer of the back piece.

Step 6: Sew the shoulders closed.

Step 7: Press seams open and sew the sides of the vest with right sides together.

Be sure to match up the side seams.

Here’s what it looks like when the sides are sewn together.

Step 8: Turn the vest right side out and admire how it’s looking so far.

Step 9: Turn the vest inside out (one last time), press the seams open and sew the bottom shut leaving a few inches open in the back.

Step 10: Trim the corners.

Step 11: Turn the vest right side out (for the last time) through the opening in the back. Hand or machine stitch the opening shut.

Give the vest a good press and try it on to see how it looks.

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Discussion notes:

In both of these examples I left the opening to turn the vest right side out on the bottom seam. It’s also a good option to leave the opening in the side seam of the lining instead of in the bottom.

The pattern used in this tutorial was a mini self drafted vest for easy sewing and photographing, but I used the pattern to make this little quilted vest with snaps. I used the open shoulder method for this vest so I could put the batting through the shoulders. I’m quite in love with how it turned out.

Then I made this full sized quilted vest for myself. For the batting I used wool from my parents’ sheep farm and a really lightweight ripstop nylon for the outer shell. I again used the open shoulder method to get batting up through the shoulders.

FREE Sewing Pattern - Pear Pouch

After posting a photo of these little Pear Pouches on Instagram a few months ago, I've had soo many messages asking for this sewing pattern. So here it is! 

Download PDF Here!

Features:

• Two sizes of pouches

• Fully lined

• French Seamed

• Ideal for altering and making your own sizes and dimensions.

Finished Dimensions (H x W x L):

• Large pouch: 6" x 3 1/2" x 9"

• Small pouch: 4 1/2" x 3" x 7"

I hope this pattern can serve as a reference on how to sew lining with a zipper, how to sew zipper ends, how to sew French seams, and offer a good base pattern to alter if you would like to make your own sizes of pouches. 

Here's that link again: Download PDF Here!