Vintage Sheet Clutches

I have been a sewing mood as of late. I have been especially fond of sewing with vintage sheets. I am not  one that is crazy about cutting into my precious stash, but it has been fairly easy to cut and rip into a few of them. A bunch of them I have duplicates of so that helps. For the past couple of days (when I can sneak off and get a moment's worth of peace to myself) I have been designing and sewing a clutches. I have only managed a couple so far, but hopefully when the weekend gets here and can push out a few more.

This is my favorite of the two.

I haven't had a chance to make the purse straps yet. I haven't any D-rings at my apartment; I have to pick them up from my parents still. I just love mixing the prints together to get a whole new look. I can't wait to make more.

I have a few pillow shames that I have in the works as well. Can't wait to get those done!!

What have you made lately?

Simplicity 9012: Vintage Sheet Button-down

I am not big on patterns, never really have been. But I do love to bring home vintage patterns from thrift stores that have simple classic lines. Awhile back I picked up a child's button-down and paperbag skirt pattern.

Simplicity 9012

When I first purchased it, I thought it was a dress. I got really excited about that. After thoroughly looking it over I noticed that it was a button-down shirt and a paperbag skirt. Still very cute. I had forgotten that I had it until I was unpacking some boxes the other day and came across it. It has been some time since I have made anything for my daughter, so I decided to go with this.

front

placket

collar

back

I used an assortment of vintage glass buttons on the placket; I figured I may as well use some and not hoard them all. Instead of attaching the sleeves like the pattern called for, I bound the armholes. It's about to be summer after all and can't have her melting out in the sun.

The directions were sort of redundant and over-explanatory on some steps; that is part of the reason I am not too fond of patterns. It came together fairly easily and quickly once I got all of the minor detailing out of the way.

Since the pattern is a size 6 and she is in between a 4 and 5, it is a tad big. I think the next time I make this without sleeves I will adjust the armholes. This looks a bit more cap-sleeve than sleeveless.

Overall I am pleased and honestly am looking for a similar pattern for myself. I have grown very fond of button-down shirts lately and would love to add a vintage floral  pattern to my collection.

I also spent some of yesterday morning turning an amass of clean, tangled vintage sheets and pillowcases into a nice neat folded stack.

Turning this...

...into this.

Now I have a fresh pile of wonderful smelling vintage sheets waiting to be cut up.

{Tutorial}: Oilcloth Market Tote

Inspired by the oilcloth lunch bag that I posted, I decided to whip up a quick tutorial for a large oilcloth tote in the likeness of the lunch sack. It comes together fairly quick, especially if you have the proper tools to sew on oilcloth.

Let's begin!

TIPS FOR SEWING VINYL:

-Use a Walking (Even-feed) foot, Roller Foot, or Teflon Foot if you have one available.
-If none of these feet are available, attach a piece of Scotch tape to the bottom of your regular presser foot so that the vinyl won't stick. Or place a piece of tissue paper on top of the vinyl and tear away once the stitching is complete.
-Never pin vinyl. It will leave holes. Instead hold pieces together with masking/painters tape, binder clips, or paper clips.
-Use a denim or leather needle, a longer stitch, and a looser tension. I usually set my stitch length to 4.5mm or longer and my tension at 3 or 4.
-Go slow and take your time. The slower you go the more control you will have over this tricky fabric.

You will need:
-at least 5/8 yard of 2 different oilcloth prints
-Teflon foot, roller foot, or Even-feed (Walking) foot--If none of these are available then making tape on the bottom of your regular foot will suffice.

Cut 2 pieces 16" by 18" from each oilcloth print.Designate one pattern for the outside of the bag and the other pattern for the lining. Place one outside and one lining piece right sides together, making sure you match up all of the sides. Since you cannot pin oilcloth without poking holes into the fabric, use paperclips or bobby pins to hold the pieces in place. I used a temporary adhesive and some hem clips.

Now mark a dot 2.5" down from the shorter edge and another dot 4". At the 2.5" mark a dot a 6" and 10" and connect these 2 points. Repeat at the 4" mark. Now connect the lines to form the rectangular handle.

Stitch on the shape that you just drew.

Cut inside of the rectangle like this. Then push the lining through that hole. It looks tricky, but I promise you it will work.

Your panel should look like this now. Repeat with the other 2 pieces of fabric.

 

Topstitch around the handle.

Place the 2 completed panels right sides together and stitch around the three sides not closest to the handle.

Box the corners of the bag 2" from the edge. Trim close to stitching.

 

Sorry this photo is sideways...

This is what your bag is supposed to look like by now. If the top is uneven, now  is the time to even it out. You will need to cut a "binding" strip from a scrap piece of oilcloth that is 2" wide by however long your your oilcloth is.

 

Fold your strip in half and crease it. Fold it over the edge of your bag's opening like so. I used some vintage hem clips to keep it in place while I sewed and took them off when I started stitching close to them. Bobby pins, paper clips, quilt binding clips, and bulldog clips all work well too. Edgstitch close to the cut edge of the binding.

 

When you get close to the finishing point, overlap the edges about an inch and finish edgestitching. And you're all done!!

 

Enjoy!!!

Shop Update

Just a quick update: Quilted Keychain Wallets are now available in my shop. Go to create. by lani now for selection!

Oilcloth Lunch Bag

I absolutely love oilcloth. I especially love the Mexican floral patterns that are available for purchase from different online shops. Months ago I ran into an oilcloth clearance on Fashion Fabrics Club and purchased a couple yards of oilcloth. I never really did anything with the oilcloth but I knew that I wanted to make some sort of lunch bag from them.

It wasn't until the other day when I ran across this Reusable lunch bag/car trash bag on Craft Buds that I was sure what to do with my little stash. So I pulled out a couple of coordinating prints and whipped one up.

I did make a few changes to the way that I sewed it. For example instead of cutting squares out of the corners as the tutorial calls for, I left them in tact and just boxed the corners of the bag. I also left the handle lining the same size and just sewed it in as part of the bag. I didn't fold the opening down and stitch, instead I stitched the bag outer fabric and lining together and trimmed close to stitching.

It turned out to be a pretty deep little sack. I love the cutout handle, makes it very easy for carrying and makes the bag a tad sturdier. I really like the idea of using oilcloth for a project like this because oilcloth absorbs cooler temperatures well and doesn't require a lot of finishing stitches to secure the fabric.

The next time I plan on making one of these I think I will fully line it and maybe add a snap to it. Maybe even pink the top edges.

This will be a nice pretty addition to my sandwich lunches to work. It gives me a little more height than my Old Navy oilcloth lunch bag and is much sturdier than it as well. I can't wait to pack a "sack" lunch now!!!

Thrifting 5.14.12

It seems I had the case of the blues Monday when I went to the thrift store. I managed to bring home 2 blue sheets, 1 blue pillowcase and a yellow sheet.

This was the pillowcase that I found.

I really like this sheet. It has wonderful yellows and mustards in it. I actually have this sheet in a different colorway. The one that I have already has yellow, red, and blue flowers in it.

This is another sheet that I have duplicates of in other colorways. I have this sheet in pink and yellow. I find the pink and yellow sheets like all the time. I have also found one blue pillowcase in this print.

This is one of my favorite sheets. I am so glad that I found another one because I was getting low on the one that I had.


I also got a few things last week that I have yet to share.

I found one pillowcase and 2 sheets.

This pillowcase print I have in a blue sheet and orange sheet.

I absolutely love this sheet!!!! The border is just gorgeous. I think that I have a blue sheet in this print.

I love this yellow stripe. It has a few blemishes, but I think I can work around it though.


That is all that I have found recently. What have you found lately?

Vintage Sheet Quilt Top

I am no quilter. I love and appreciate the art form; but I do not feel overly compelled to create many quilts. I will incorporate some patchwork into my items, but I am intimidated by placing patchwork on top of batting and quilting and even more intimidated by binding things.

I do sometimes wish I could whip out these incredible masterpieces that I see all over blogland and wish that I could do it in a matter of a day as some people can. That's not my style.

I did, however, manage to get out one quilt top (and it has been a quilt top for a looooong time) from vintage sheets. I really wish I had the confidence to quilt it.

I didn't go with any particular pattern; I just went with long, skinny strips because I have always liked the way that looks and I figured I could't botch that up too much. I don't think me and squares would get along too well.

Even though it isn't a true quilt, I still sleep underneath it. It feels divine. All of those pre-loved, worn-soft vintage goodness pieces are so soft, perfect for warmer evenings.

Right now I'm using as a "sheet," but I'll either swallow my fear of quilting or turn it into a duvet cover. I'm banking on the latter...