Black & White Part Three

This is the part where I went a little crazy with the Black and White themed apron I made recently for Tie One On.  The previous posts can be found here and here.

I thought the apron was finished and I was really pleased with the result.

Then I decided the bottom section was a little too plain and black.  I've been doing a little bit of free motion quilting recently and I still don't feel as comfortable as I'd like to be when doing it.  I thought maybe I'd use this black "canvas" to practice some more.

i switched my presser foot from the one on the right to the one on the left

this free-motion quilting foot is great

i had to unscrew and remove the entire foot

then i screwed the other one on

i thought it might be a good idea to use a scrap piece of fabric

to test-run this flower idea i had

so far so good

ugh

ugh-ly

i might need some more practice...

at least the petals sort of met in the middle this time

also, you'll notice the freezer paper that i ironed on to the back

the freezer paper helped to give some bulk to the fabric

i thought maybe if i circled the center it might make the petals look like they meet up nicely

This is where i have a problem with my free-motion sewing.  I love the way it looks when someone else does it.  When I'm doing it however, I am way too critical and need things to line up too perfectly.  I am getting better about just enjoying the end result and not worrying too much about the few stray stitches along the way.  I do like the way it looks in the end, but I still have trouble letting myself go during the process.

So I thought I better just skip the FOURTH test run and dive in to the apron.  I also told myself that no matter how bad it came out I wouldn't use my seam ripper.

i ironed a big piece of freezer paper to the back of the apron bottom

i also grabbed my spray bottle which came in handy later

i sketched a flower chain with some chalk

just so i could have a general idea of where

the flowers should be placed

here it is after stitching

you can see that it doesn't line up exactly

that's ok

i like how it looks

i LIKE the imperfections

(those last three phrases are my new mantra)

this is how the freezer paper looks after stitching

it's a little easier to see the stiches here

you can also see how i got about two flowers in

when my bobbin thread ran out

seriously?

i was so nervous about the whole process

and it's going along great

i'm repeating my mantra

that's ok

i like how it looks

i LIKE the imperfections

then my bobbin thread ran out

so frustrating

it didn't stop me though

i just tied the threads together on the back

when i was done

then i used my trusty spray bottle

i like that it's orange

spraying the paper makes it a little easier to remove

peel away the pieces of the freezer paper from the back

gently use a tweezer if necessary

it helps to remove the smaller bits

this is the back and you can still see a few

pieces of the paper stuck in the centers

that's ok

they'll work their way out eventually

i also used the spray bottle to remove the chalk from the front

i must say i really do like how the flowers look

much better once the chalk lines were removed

now it doesn't look so plain right?

i can't wait to wear this apron

i had no idea what it would look like when i started

but i love how it turned out

now it's time to tackle a quilt using this flower chain stitch

Black & White Part Two

On to the assembly of my Black and White themed Tie One On apron.  In my previous post I showed you how I made the pattern and now I'll show you how I sewed it together.

i folded the strips for the straps in half with right sides facing

they were pressed, but still didn't lay exactly flat since it is swimsuit fabric

by folding over one end before sewing the wrong sides together

i was was able to create a nice edge

this was the end of the strap which would not be concealed later

the second strap was sewn together the same way

i guess i should say it was serged together the same way

if you don't have a serger you could use a zigzag stitch

using a safety pin i turned the strap tubes right side out

and then topstitched so they would lay flat and not be so tubey anymore

By the way...

sharing my space with cats

means i have to use my serger

AND my sewing machine

in the same space

but i'm happy to at least HAVE a serger

here are the two straps

each with only one nice finished edge

the other will be concealed in a minute

but first i have to sew the hand-wipe band together

with right sides facing, serge the top (curved) edge of the band pieces together

then press toward the backing fabric

i also stitched the serged seam to the backing fabric to make sure the seam would

stay nice and flat

that swimsuiting can be tricky

i don't want any surprises once the apron's been washed and worn

while i was stitching the seam down i did this:

by pulling the fabric away from the seam but still sewing along the seam i was able to mimic

the effect of pressing the fabric once the bands would be folded back with wrong sides together

as you can see below i used white thread to keep that seam in line

this is the bottom rectangle

three of the sides are pressed and folded in two times

just to clean up the edges

i could have use the serger to keep the inside edges nice

but i liked the bulk on the edges that folding created

plus i wanted to use a zigzag stitch to sew the seams

i thought it would be a nice decorative border

the black seemed too plain

it looked like a napkin

i could use a napkin next time

the zigzag gives it flare

now find the midpoint of the raw edge

and the midpoint of the swimsuit fabric band

pin them together from their midpoints outward

on both sides

notice that the band is not folded in half yet

the black part on top above will be the back of the band

this is a strange view, but the lower part of the apron is hanging down from the band

this is after the previous seam was sewn

this gives you a better idea of what's going on

i wanted to show that the lower part of the apron still existed

this next part might get weird

and the apron's starting to look like a t-shirt

just trust me

i worked the edges one at a time

above you are looking at the raw edge of a strap about to be concealed

you may notice in these next pictures that i folded up the other edges

that was before i decided to sew the seams one at a time

it really wasn't necessary

and looks a little silly now

so we'll just pretend it didn't happen

deal?

by folding the band pieces right sides together

at the already stitched seam

i could catch the strap inside

(yes those are the folded edges.... so silly)

you can see where the zigzag edge of the lower apron

meets the edge of the back band panel about to be sewn

i sewed from the zigzag stitching around the corner and down

an L shape

i also reinforced the corners since i planned to snip the extra fabric away

both sides of the apron were sewn this way

the sides were turned right-side out and pressed

this is the back view, but you can see the strap coming out the side

again, this is the back view

it looks like a t-shirt

the middle seam has not been stitched down at this point

see?

i topstitched with a zigzag in order to keep the pattern going

and to hide my mess of bobbin threads under the seam

now it's starting to look like an apron

or a t-shirt

i thought i was done...

Cute right?  Not WWE-nightmare at all right? 

I met my goals:

high-waisted, swimsuit hand-wiping panel, black, white, simple.

I decided to go one step further before it was complete.  I may have failed simple....

Black & White

Time for another Apron contest over at Tie One On.  The theme for this one is Black & White.  I've been thinking about making another apron since the plaid one I made in the fall and I was hoping to find the time to make one before the end of February.  My mother is coming to visit for the weekend and was supposed to arrive this morning.  Due to bad weather her flight was canceled which means she's delayed until tonight.  It's too bad we'll miss the day together, but that did give me a few hours to kill.  My thoughts immediately went to the apron.

I had no idea what type of apron to make.  I like the way half aprons look and I'm more apt to wear one if there's only one set of ties, but I have this terrible habit of wiping my hands near my waist so half aprons don't have enough coverage for me.  I also love anything with a high waist these days.

ok maybe not "anything"

I thought maybe a high waist black leather apron would be perfect.

Just kidding.  

I thought maybe a high waist  apron with an area made especially for hand wiping would be best.  I also wanted something simple since I only had a few hours to play with.  So I went through my stash and found some black and white fabrics.  These were narrowed down to:

a black piece of i'm not sure what type of fabric. 

it feels like a light canvas and i have no idea where it came from.

i just know it's perfect for an apron.

it almost feels like a heavy napkin fabric?

and the flowery fabric is PERFECT.  guess what it's made from.....

swimsuit material!!!

i made a suit out of it years ago and i had a piece just the right size.

you do realize i meant swim"suit" right? 

just checking

First I had to make a quick pattern for the high waist area since I wanted it to curve at the top edge and look sharp.  I had a gift bag that was too crumpled up to save so I cut it up to use as a pattern.

it's at this point that i'm going to apologize for the blurry pics.  the lighting was terrible in my sewing area this morning so i played with some of the settings.  the results are less than perfect






Most of the measurements were just where the ruler ended up since nothing had to be exact, but this is what i came up with:

32" wide by 6" high at the center point

from the center i measured out 3 1/2" on both sides twice

the first off-center points are 5 1/2" high

the second off-center points are 5" high

I have Styling Design Ruler which I don't really use the way it's probably meant to be used.  I got it for a class a took a few years ago.  I enjoyed the class, but we never really used the ruler much during it.  I've used it a ton since, but again I have no idea what I'm doing with it half the time.  That being said, I used it this morning.

from the center point to the first off-center points i drew the arc from about 14 1/2 to 18

seriously though, you could use anything to make this arc.

there's no need to get out a fancy ruler.

i just like the way it feels when i use it.

like something amazing is being created.

it's like using beakers and flasks in the kitchen...

not that kind of flask

this kind

Anyway, back to the pattern

for the second off-center points i drew the arc from about 6 1/4 to 10

that's because this part of the apron will be around my hip

no it won't

i just liked the shape of that arc

please ignore the part where the ruler mentions hips

Then I drew a straight line to the side edge.  When I cut out the pattern and pinned it to my dress form it started to look like what I had envisioned. 

yes that's right...

...i had envisioned a wrestling belt

I started to doubt my vision.  I started to doubt my skills.  I started to doubt my Styling Design Ruler....

I pressed on and pinned some of the black fabric to the dress form to figure out what size rectangle to cut.

what's that? 

do i have a cat?

why do you ask?

oh.  yeah that's gross.

don't worry.

i have to share my sewing area with the cats

but i have a secret weapon:

the apron will be machine-washable

i also have this not-so-secret weapon

it's that new pledge hair picker-upper-thing

and it works pretty well

sorry, but cats shed

Remember how I pinned the black fabric to determine the size rectangle I should cut?  Well it turned out to be about 17" by 21" which I of course forgot to actually measure.  It looked like this when cut and pinned:

except it was less fuzzy in person

When I took the paper pattern off the dress form I cut it in the center since I wanted both sides to be the same.  I cut a piece of the black fabric on the fold using the pattern.

 the other side of the paper was shiny and blue, remember?







I also cut a piece of the swimsuit fabric on the fold.

Remember how I have to share my sewing space with cats?

ugh....
i don't have a secret weapon for dealing with kitty snags on swimsuit fabric.
yet.
i saved that piece in case i find one.
or invent one.



The last two pieces I cut will be used for ties.  I like the idea of using the swimsuiting for ties.  It gives them a stretchiness.

these are 2" by 14" strips of the swimsuit fabric

also i found where i DID take an accurate measurement of

the black rectangle

and it says 17" by 21"

so i should feel smart

because i figured it out without the piece of paper

but i really just feel dumb for forgetting about the piece of paper

Now that I had all the pieces cut out and ready to go I had to figure out what to do with them.  I'll post the assembly section soon.

Keep your fingers crossed that this apron doesn't look turn out looking like a WWE nightmare....