Category: Sewing

Patriotic Dress

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As we are all aware, this year is an election year, and so we’re seeing patriotic displays up in many places. Hancock Fabrics is no exception, with a new patriotic fabric group that has recently arrived.

One of our demonstrators, Carol has put together a political dress to show off the fabrics (and her creativity!). She showed me this outfit just today, and I just had to share it with you.

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The dress is made using Butterick Pattern #1268, a simple and yet elegant v-neck dress that can be dressed up or down as you choose.

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The jacket is from a different pattern, Butterick #B5187, obviously a more casual look, and very fun with the different prints on it.

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And here is the back of the jacket, so you can get a better look at the collar.

But, I haven’t shown you the best part of this jacket yet! Did you notice that the sleeves have writing on them? Well, each sleeve is different, the right sleeve says “Republican” and the left sleeve says “Democrat”. Here are some closeups of the sleeves for you.

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Isn’t that just so cute?

Here are closeups of each of the fabrics used in the garment separately. Take a good look at this first one, the lettering blends into the design from a distance, but closeup you can read it easily. (You’ll probably want to click on each of the thumbnails to view the larger image.)

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A fun way to show your patriotic spirit!
Sheila Reinke, Heart of Sewing
Sheila

Drapery Fabric = Jacket?

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If you read my post yesterday, you know I was teaching a seminar in the Hancock Fabrics store in Onalaska, WI. Yesterday, I shared two gorgeous chenille jackets that had been made by employees at the store. But they are not alone in their love of jackets. Today I have two jackets made by Rose, another employee at the store.

Instead of making chenille to make her jackets, Rose uses drapery fabrics. The weight and texture of the fabrics make for a very rich looking jacket.


This jacket was made using Kwik Sew Pattern #3236

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And here is a view of the back of the jacket – aren’t the colors just perfect together? Imagine this on a cool fall day!

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A closeup of the back of the jacket, can you see the slight textural differences in the fabrics that were used?

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And this button, with it’s slightly antiqued look, really sets off the jacket. So often we don’t think of finding a good ‘match’ for accessories like buttons, but they really do make a big difference!

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And because in Wisconsin, even spring can be rather cool, this jacket is a perfect way to let you ‘think spring’ even when you can’t really go outside and enjoy spring yet. Made using Kwik Sew Pattern #3129

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This jacket was made using drapery remnants, which makes it a much more affordable option than going out and purchasing a one large piece of fabric for the jacket. And, just as with the brown jacket above, the different fabrics add interest to the jacket.

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We’ve all seen great purses and bags made using decorator fabrics. They are a great choice not only due to the colors and patterns available, but because of the durability of the fabrics – now you’ve seen that those same fabrics make a great option for a light-weight jacket. What other ways can you think of to use decorator fabrics – other than the expected?

Love the feel of chenille? Here are some more ideas for making and using your own chenille fabric:

Sheila Reinke, Heart of Sewing
Sheila

Chenille Jackets

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Today I am teaching a seminar at a store in Onalaska, WI. I was very surprised when I saw two of the employees come in wearing very different, but also very striking chenille jackets! Each of these ladies has had her jacket for a while now, and could not tell me what patterns were used to create the jackets – but I just had to share the pictures with you. They were made with regular fabric that had been chenilled, just as I explained in this post: Make Your Own Chenille, and the Olfa Chenille Cutter was used to make the chenille in each case.

It was exciting to see these great examples of hand-made chenille so soon after posting about this process here on the blog!


This jacket was made using 6 layers of a challis fabric (rayon). Cut through 5 layers.
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The jacket was finished off with a binding at the edges, just as if you were finishing off a quilt.
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A couple of closeups of the fabric – can’t you just imagine how soft this would be to touch?
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This beige jacket was made using 2 layers of a green plaid homespun, and 4 layers of osnaburg. The green plaid provides the backing, and the osnaburg is the fabric that was chenilled through.
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For this jacket, the back was stitched in a V design. This particular design made me think of a suggestion in making chenilled clothing – layer your fabrics on top of each other and when you cut, cut about 1 “ bigger all around because as you sew your channels of stitching your fabrics can shift around a little. After you do the stitching on the bias and cut the channels – then you can cut the piece to the exact pattern piece.
This will make a slightly difficult pattern element such as this back design a lot easier to create.
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This pattern allows for the lapels of the collar to be turned outward for a different look, or as you can see from the other pictures the jacket looks great with the lapels of the collar turned in – whichever look you choose for the day.
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These closeups show a bit more of the detail of the chenilleing process, can you see the green plaid peeking through the chenille rows? Adds an extra bit of depth to the look of this lovely jacket.

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The woman in the beige jacket was my ‘Vanna’ for the afternoon (holding up quilts as I talked about them to the audience). She was kind enough to volunteer to wear her jacket throughout the program today, just so that people could see the chenille look as I was talking about it! Now, I have to tell you, it may not be exactly warm in Wisconsin right now, but it’s not cold enough to be wearing a thick jacket like this indoors for two hours! Clapping 2 What a Trooper!

Many thanks to both of these ladies for their willingness to share these lovely creations.

Love the feel of chenille? Be sure to check out these other posts about making and sewing with your own chenille fabric:

Sheila Reinke, Heart of Sewing
Sheila