Selfish Sewing: Shirred Scarf

You can see the bobbin side of the shirring in this shot.

In an effort to expand my wardrobe, and bust my fabric stash, I've been sewing a bit more for myself lately, and may I just say that it feels great. I've made a couple of scarves lately, and I love how quick and easy they are to make.  I also love that one size fits all. If you are trying to think of something to give a new mama, a scarf is a perfect option.

This particular scarf is a shirred scarf.  It was made by using two widths of material that were sewn together to form a long strip (I believe that I cut my material to be 9 inches wide).  I used a narrow rolled hem to finish off the edges, and I then shirred two rows using elastic thread. My shirred rows are roughly 3 inches from each edge.

You can find my tutorial for this scarf here.

One thing that I'd really like to do this year is use up the fabric that I've collected over the past couple of years.  I've picked up fabric on sale, but unfortunately it seems that I've collected it quicker than I've been able to use it up.  This particular fabric I've only had since June, but still that is 6 months. I'd like to use the fabric I have before I decide that I no longer like it.  

So, what are your favorite stash busting projects, and how long do you hold onto fabric before passing it on?  I'm thinking that eventually I'll have to have a fabric stash swap with some local sewists.

Tiered Skirt for Mama

A few weeks back I mentioned that I was working on a skirt for myself.  Well, I worked on it, I finished it, I wore it, but I failed to photograph it.

So here are a few shots of the skirt, but unfortunately I don't have any of me modeling the skirt.  I quite like it, and it is very comfortable to wear.

I found this sheer, crimped, fabric for $1/yard.  I'm not sure what the exact material is, but it was fun to work with.

The skirt itself is three layers: a lining, a long layer, and a shorter layer (about four inch difference).  I rolled the hems on each layer, which worked well for the sheer material, but not for my lining.  I had hoped to shir the waistband of the skirt, but unfortunately the three layers of fabric were too much for the elastic thread.  I ended up with four bands of stitching, but no gather.  I ended up sewing in some 1/4 inch elastic along each of the shir lines on the back of the skirt.  It keeps the skirt on my hips, but adds a bit of bulk to my backside, which I guess isn't all bad.

It was a really quick project, and I'm rather pleased with my new skirt.  I'll try to get a shot of it the next time I wear it.


Did you miss the post on sewing and serging rolled hems?  You can find it here.

Tips, Tricks, and Techniques: The Rolled Hem

As I mentioned yesterday, I have recently spent some time playing with my new Brother overlock machine.  Yesterday I serged a few of my first rolled hems.  A rolled hem is a beautiful thing.  It is such a neat and tidy way to take care of raw edges.  You can easily find the settings for rolled hems in your serger handbook.  It took me a little while to get used to removing needles, and  stitch fingers, but I'm sure that in no time it will be as easy to prepare rolled hem settings as it is to thread a needle on the sewing machine.

I thought that I'd devote todays post to rolled hems and narrow rolled hems.  A rolled hem can be created using a standard sewing machine, but the equipment is a little different, and the end result is a bit more polished.  Both types of sewing machines can create quite impressive results.

A rolled hem is created when the right side of the fabric is rolled back toward the wrong side of the fabric, and stitched in place.  With an overlock machine, the upper and lower looper threads secure the fabric by looping around the rolled edge. The tension on the lower looper thread is greater than that of the upper, causing the fabric to pull toward the wrong side. Often times you will see different variations of rolled hems on shirts, table linens, cloth napkins, bed linens, and sheer fabrics such as skirts and scarves.  There are a number of different applications, but an overlocked rolled hem is particularly useful when finishing off knit and woven fabrics.

Image Source: Modest Maven

One example of a rolled serged hem is on this Sensei Top by Jodell, of Modest Maven.

For tips on serging a rolled hem, read this article from Sew Inspired.

Image Source: Craft Stylish