Patterns, Techniques, Articles, Blogs, and other resources to learn how to sew
Continuing her Summer of Skirts series, Amber from Ruffles and Roses shows how to make a gathered skirt from a man’s dress shirt. The buttons down the front of the skirt add fun detail! Go to the tutorial.
[photo from Ruffles and Roses]
[tags]sewing, tutorial, gathered, skirt, shirt, refashion[/tags]
It doesn’t matter whether you sew by hand or by machine, you need a pincushion. You need a spot to parks pins and needles and keep them within easy reach for when you need them again. There are a lot of styles of pincushion to choose from. Some magnetic, some fabric. Some cute, some purely functional. This “little bit extra” pincushion has a spot to store all the different types of pins and needles you might need while sewing. Polka Dot Chair has a free sewing pattern you can use to make one for yourself.
This handy little pincushion has a circular shape and is divided into sections to store different types of pins. The bottom section is for your regular straight pins. Just poke them in and they’re ready for when you need them. The top has one section with a felt flap perfect for holding your sewing needles. I don’t know about you but I don’t like mixing my hand sewing needles in with my pins on a pincushion. It makes it hard to find the needle when I want it. So having a separate section for the needles is a great idea.
This “little bit extra” pincushion also has a spot to hold a few fabric clips. Fabric clips have become popular alternatives to a traditional straight pin. They hold fabric pieces together without piercing the fabric, which is important when sewing leather, vinyl, or other materials that will show permanent holes from pins.
You can sew the “little bit extra” pincushion from large fabric scraps or small fabric cuts (fat eighth). You probably already have all the supplies you need to sew one in your sewing supplies already.
Get the free pattern for this “little bit extra” pincushion over at Polka Dot Chair.
[photo credit: Polka Dot Chair]
hi, I am confused…I keep coming back to the tutorial and am not finding what I need in the way of info. How do you make the waistband out of the thrifted shirt for this skirt? I have thought about it and thought about it and being that I am NOT very skilled seamstress…I came up with nothing. while I would love to make this skirt(i have 3 shirts in the waiting) I cannot for the life of me figure out what you made the waistband out of from the thrifted shirt. email me if you can.
thank you. christine
Christine, The person who wrote this tutoria is the best one to ask. But I’ll give my best stab at it. My guess is that she used the fabric from the sleeves that she cut off to make the waistband. You’ll probably have to piece it together to get the length you need. As for making the waistband, if you look at step 2 you’ll see that she links out to a previous tutorial for making a waistband. Hope that helps! –Anne