Cover Designs! #36: No one is Coming to Save Us

 

Cover Designs is a feature in which I try to match up the outfit on a book cover with a dress pattern and sometimes even potential fabric matches as well.

Today's pick is No One Is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts. 

Summary from the Publisher: 

JJ Ferguson has returned home to Pinewood, North Carolina to build his dream home and to woo his high school sweetheart, Ava. But he finds that the people he once knew and loved have changed, just as he has. Ava is now married, and wants a baby more than anything. The decline of the town’s once-thriving furniture industry has made Ava’s husband Henry grow distant and frustrated. Ava’s mother Sylvia has put her own life on hold as she caters to and meddles with those around her, trying to fill the void left by her absent son. And Don, Sylvia’s undeserving but charming husband, just won’t stop hanging around.

JJ’s newfound wealth forces everyone to consider what more they want and deserve from life than what they already have—and how they might go about getting it. Can they shape their lives to align with their wishes rather than their realities? Or are they resigned to the rhythms of the particular lives they lead? No One Is Coming to Save Us is a revelatory debut from an insightful voice that combines a universally resonant story with an intimate glimpse into the hearts of one family.

This beautiful summer outfit on the cover of this dress could be reproduced with a few pattern ideas. The first one I thought of was the Know Me 2040 by Brittany J. Jones. It has slightly wider straps and a skirt that's a bit fuller, but it's close. 

Or the Claudia dress by Tessuti might work -- it has the lower, angled bodice of the cover image and skinny straps too. It has a straight skirt, and even has pockets!

You might even choose a similar fabric, like this black and white floral from Fabrics & Fabrics

If you want to accessorize like the lovely woman on the cover, you can use the new Closet Core Sunhat pattern -- it's free, has a sewalong video, and looks very similar to our cover image! 

You could even make a bag to match, the Classic Handbag by Mrs H is similar though not quite so square. Still, make it in black and it would be close.

Any of these ideas combined could get you close to the elegant summer outfit on the cover of this book. Perfect for summer reading. 

First Make of 2024: a pretty pencil case

The first item I've made for myself in 2024 is unusual for me -- I've made a pencil case! I don't often make small things like this, but I really needed a pouch for my nice pens that would stay with my bullet journal. When I was putting together the list of free Christmas project ideas, this little Burda pattern stuck with me. I have the original magazine so used that, but you can also find this pencil case pattern on the Burda website. 

It was quite straightforward. I used two pieces of cotton that are stuck together with fusible, then you wrap them around and stitch a zipper in. I had a gorgeous rainbow zip that was perfect for this, although it was a bit shorter than the pattern called for. Fortunately, I was planning on shortening the pouch anyhow, since my notebook was a bit smaller than it was designed for. The zip was 7/8" shorter than the pattern wanted so I shortened my pattern pieces (rectangles) by the same amount. 

The only difficulty I ran into was stitching the zip in. Although the pattern doesn't say so, I think that a separating zip would be a LOT easier to install. As it is, I just stitched the last inch or so of the second side down by hand, since I couldn't twist the little tube around enough to manage by machine. It was pretty quick, although I do recommed a thimble since you're stitching through two layers of stiffened cotton plus a zipper tape. 

The extra cool thing about this pattern is that there is elastic sewn in to the ends, so that you can loop it around your notebook. This helps me to keep it closed, and to have a nice pen and anything else I might need handy at all times. 

I really loved the combo of the brand new fat quarter that I used for the outside, with its astronomical theme, and the lining which was a very old marbled print cotton in the same colour tones. They match nicely with this year's notebook, too! 

What a fun way to start the sewing year, by making something that will help to keep me organized. I really enjoyed making this, and love using it, too! 

Leftover Letters to Infinity

After I cut my Mandy Boat Tee from my letter print fabric last week, I had a wide strip left over along the bottom. Plus a half width chunk that was left from the section where the sleeves were cut. I was able to join those two half strips and then use the two pieces together, so I wouldn't waste anything from this amazing fabric. 

I decided that because the leftover bits were so wide (around 8" deep) I'd make an infinity scarf. I can wear it with the original top, or to jazz up other outfits. I used the same procedure as my last set of infinity scarves way back in 2016. This is a super quick project to use up leftover knits, and I wear scarves a lot so it's perfect for me.

Also, I hate wasting fabric, especially when I really love it! Now I have just a couple of odd shaped scraps of a few inches left, much more satisfying :) 

This is also a great last-minute gift project, as it doesn't require a lot of fabric or precision sewing either. If you have bits of knit in your stash and are in need of a quick gift, give it a go. 

A Marbled Men's Cravat

I took a little detour in my sewing last week and made something unusual -- a cravat! Finally some menswear ;)

I have been looking through all my cotton scraps in my stash lately, to make a few face masks, and came across a larger piece of this marbled cotton that I had used originally to make this Book Dress. But my husband really liked this fabric, and has been asking for a cravat for ages, so I decided that this was the time.

I used the pattern from The Gentleman's Wardrobe by Vanessa Mooncie. It's pretty simple -- a long tie with pointed ends and with pleats around the neck to allow it to sit smoothly. It's pretty slick and worked very well. The book has limited sizing as I noted in my original review, but the neck size works for my model so I didn't have to make any adjustments that way. It would be easy enough to adjust for a larger neck -- just add some inches in to the centre back.

Because I was working with scraps I did have to make a few adjustments. The cravat pattern is one long piece that is then doubled over, like a waist sash really. But my pieces were shorter chunks, so I added a centre back seam to fit it onto my fabric.I would add one anyhow if my print was directional since otherwise you'll have one end with an upright print and the other with an upside down one.

The other issue I had was that one piece of fabric had a triangular chunk missing, from the original use. I made sure to cut it so that the hole was nearest to the back seam. Then I used some of the smaller scraps to match the print, and just pressed a very narrow edge under on the main piece and topstitched the scrap filler in. Because it's near the back and subsequently pleated you can't notice it at all on the finished project.

The recommended fabric for this project is a drapier, silky fabric, but this light quilting cotton worked quite well anyhow. It was a fun challenge using scraps and making something that I wasn't planning on making! I really like the use of pleats to narrow the neck section; it gives this some heft and my husband states that it is comfortable to wear. He also enjoyed this project, and I hope that he will actually be able to wear this somewhere someday.

Weekend Review: Fabricate

Fabricate / Susan Wasinger
Interweave Press, c2009
128 p.

This little book has been on my shelf for a long time and there are some really neat ideas in it. There are 17 projects in this book, each featuring a different kind of fabric manipulation and/or surface decoration idea. The projects are really neither here nor there, in my view -- it's the techniques that are most interesting.

Take the cover -- I won't make a clutch purse like that, but I most definitely will try felting up some floral decor for another project more likely to be used by me. Other items in the book include rugs, pillows, bags, throws, wraps, scarves etc. Lots of fun ways to make something really original here. 

Techniques range from chenille or felting to shibori and fabric etching. There is discussion of laminates, or repeat surface design via notions like ric-rac or zippers; there is pleating, puckering, applique and more. Actually for such a small book with only 17 projects, there are many ideas you can run with in your own way. 

What she calls nonstitch embroidery -- scraps fused to
a skirt under a translucent fusible interfacing as a feature!

One of the unusual ideas that caught my attention when I first had this book was the concept of ironing -- or fusing -- plastic sheets together. Using shopping bags, she irons them into heavier sheets to make bigger bags or plastic material.

I used this idea to fuse the thin blue bags that newspapers are wrapped in into largeish sheets that I am using for a series of ocean themed embroideries. The first one features coral!

French knots on blue plastic :)

There's a mix of accessory and clothing projects in the book, but many of the ideas can be adapted for garments. From the unusual to the usual and classic pleating/tucking ideas, there are so many pretty and intriguing ideas here to fancy up and personalize a project. 

The instructions for the projects are brief but clear, and the photos are all lovely and detailed. Recommended even if just for browsing through for enjoyment!

Getting Organized: a needle tracker

I have had this idea on my mind for quite a while but finally got around to making it this week. PatternReview is having a month of mini contests in May & this week is sewing room accessories. It gave me the push I needed !I always find that keeping track of my needles and which I am currently using or have used but it is still good for another project -- all that -- confuses me. So when I first saw this project online I thought it was next to brilliant. 

This is actually a fairly easy project, based on this genius tutorial by Portia Lawrie at the Makery. I changed it just a bit. 

For my version I used a fat quarter of Japanese cotton as my backing, just folding it in half to get the size I wanted ( the fatter rather than skinny fold). I fused on some medium weight interfacing to one half of it to give it a bit more body, and then stitched around the outer edges and turned it right side out. After pressing it again I topstitched the edges, closing up the turning gap that way.

I cut 4 strips of cream felt at 1.5" to make the needle pockets, dividing them into 4 sections with stitching. I added one 1.75" strip of grey felt at the bottom and made 3 pockets in it. 

The grey section is for the packet that I am currently using, and since I have 3 machines I made 3 pockets. I am going to add an initial to each one to help differentiate between my Janome, Kenmore, & Featherweight.

The cream pockets are for all the needle packets that I have or am likely to use soon. As I use one, the little container goes down into the grey section, and when I am done, the container goes back up into a cream storage pocket and if the needle is still usable it gets stuck into the front of the appropriate needle pocket for later use.

I think this system will help me keep much better track of my machine needles without having to resort to a magnifying glass to see the marks on a needle.

Do you have a good system for this? I have always found organization difficult so am glad to find something that feels easy to manage!

Call it Collars

Last September's challenge over at the Monthly Stitch was "Stick Your Neck Out". Make something with an appealing collar design, whatever you like -- but of course I took this quite literally, and made a few detachable collars! I've had them finished for ages but haven't had the chance to take photos, as I don't have a top with a high enough neckline to work with them. But I wanted to share them so just decided to use the one closest to working, and snapped some quick and silly selfies!

I've been wanting to try out some of these collar patterns for a while -- I've made a Vogue dress with a detachable collar previously, but never just a collar on its own.

I started with Simplicity 1727, intending to try a couple of the views, but only got as far as View A. You can see that this one would require a neckline that fits quite snugly in order to work properly. This dress with a fairly high scoop neck isn't high enough. But you get the idea...

The pattern is quite nice, although I did find that it's quite small in circumference, suited for a narrow neck or a really high collar. It's a bit too tight for me; I'll be adding 1/2" to the centre back the next go round so that it fits a little more evenly. I used a hook and eye closure instead of ties, but they aren't quite even so I have to reattach the eye properly so the collar front lays smoothly. There are a number of other views to be tried as well.

However, the pattern instructions are useful, giving assistance in some techniques that will keep a flat collar like this rolled to the underside, including understitching the facing as far as you can, and I used these techniques on the next collar, which was a better pattern for me but with hardly any instructions -- typical Burda! Here it is tied loosely to match with the edges of the neckline of this dress.

I found this pattern in the September 2017 Burda magazine. When I saw this I knew I'd have to try it, even if I didn't like the way it was styled in the magazine, over another frilly neckline. Too much going on! I'd like to try a velvety black collar using this pattern though.

This one was a better fit for my neck; it's the right circumference and I like the design. The only thing I realized after I'd finished was that once again I forgot to add seam allowances to my Burda pattern! Thankfully it still works on a project like this, it just made a skinny collar. I have retraced it and have plans to make another Burda shortly to test that out.

Tied tightly, pretending I have a full black background there....

The final one that I tried out was the free, downloadable Alva Collar from Named Patterns. I don't have any Named patterns yet (not even the Alva), but thought I'd try out this free addition. It's a different style of collar, as instead of tying or clipping at front centre, it has a button closure at the back. Imagine the ways you could personalize this shape.

 I laid the tissue around my neck first to test it out and determined that I needed more length. I added in 3/4" at each side, at around the shoulder, and I like it -- but I've reduced the extra length to 1/2" at each side for future attempts. It is just a smidge too long. But I really like this style and can see it done up again in many different ways. I was pleased with the design & the back closure; it works best of all of the designs so far.

These will be handy to add some spark to a bland tee or shift dress, for sure! I also have a very vintage pattern with some pretty wild collars to test out in future.

Have you ever made accessories like this?

Obi Belt + Hidden Pocket: A Tutorial

I'm sharing a recent project I put together when I was wearing an outfit short of a pocket. Here's my take on the ubiquitous Obi Belt, this time with a hidden pocket to store all those little necessaries like keys. I hope my free-form sewing makes sense to you!


Obi Belt with Hidden Pocket

Materials:

About 1/2 metre of 60" chosen fabric (knit or heavy woven)

Scrap of fabric for pocket (I used a silky polyester from a dress project)

I started with a favourite obi from another dress, and traced around it, then split the "fat" front panel into a separate piece from the ties (to fit onto a regular piece of fabric). My original RTW inspiration was made from a stretch fabric, and I found this piece of heavier brown knit with a thread of gold in it and thought it would work beautifully. I bought 1/2 metre of 60" wide fabric, but you might want a slight bit more, as I ended up piecing the back of one of the ties.

You could start with a more specific pattern, say Mimi G's downloadable version, or even the belt pattern from New Look 6120 or 6144, or anything similar that you may already have. You may have to make a few alterations to the pattern, though!

What you need to start is two pieces for the front panel, and four for the ties -- you could use only two for the ties if you have a double sided fabric that won't show a "wrong" side when you tie them, if you want. In that case, the final steps will be slightly different. You will always need two pieces for the front panel, though, so that you can sandwich in a pocket.

Remember to cut these out on fabric folded right sides together so the orientation is correct

Next you'll want to put a pin in the centre of one of the front pieces - just fold it in half and pin mark the centre. Use a piece of tissue or paper and place it about half way between the centre and the outer edge and draw a pocket shape. Make sure you leave enough room at the bottom to allow for the seam allowance (1/2 inch) and a bit of wiggle room.

Use this pocket pattern to cut out your pocket pieces from scraps, right sides together.

Pin one piece to the front panel, right sides together. Lay the other front panel piece alongside and pin mark the placement for the other pocket piece. Remember to mark this with the right sides of the front panel pieces together so that your pocket pieces end up on the same side!

Sew the pocket on with a 1/4" seam 

Flip the pocket out so that the front panel and pocket are both right sides facing up. Give it a press to smooth it out, and then understitch the pocket piece to help keep it from rolling out when you're wearing the belt -- this is a hidden pocket, after all! Do the same for both sides.

Pin the two front panel & pocket pieces together and sew with a 1/2 " seam allowance. Stitch along the long side, pivoting and stitching around the edge of the pocket pieces and then to the end of the belt. Notice that you leave the pocket opening where the pin is in the photo. Trim the seams.

Stitch each of the the two matching ties together along one long end, then pin to the prepared front panel piece. Stitch with a 1/2 " seam allowance. Trim. Do this for both ties.***

Fold right sides togeter and pin all the way around the belt, remembering to leave an opening to turn the belt. It's best to do this nearer the centre so that the larger middle isn't too difficult to turn through a really narrow tie end.

Trim the seams and snip off the point of the ties, it makes it easier to turn and poke out the ties afterward.

Carefully start pulling the belt inside/right-side out. You may want to use a chopstick to gently encourage the tie ends to turn out completely. Don't poke too hard! You don't want to jab through the fabric. Give it all a good press when done.

You'll note the opening left between the two pins here that we've just used to turn the belt right-side out. Depending on your fabric, you'll either want to slipstitch this closed by hand or if  you are using a thicker, busy fabric like I am, that hides the stitching really well, you can just topstitch it close to the edge, turning in the seam allowances first.

Like this.

Ta Da! What a cute belt. Press it neatly and wear proudly.

Enjoy our little secret...

***If you are using fabric with indistinguishable right & wrong sides and want to use a single layer tie rather than a sewn and turned one, your process will be slightly different. When sewing in the pocket, sew both long sides of the front panel closed, leaving the short ends open. Press a 1/2 seam to wrong sides and turn right side out. Slip in the ties (finish the edges first) to each end, pin and topstitch in place. A bit of a different look but also a bit faster.