Crossover Top

 

Finished top

     For 2021 I made a list of sewing projects that I wanted to do during the year.  I looked through my stash of fabrics and patterns and came up with 17 items.  Some of those were gifts I needed to make like the birthday t-shirts for the grandkids and a couple were making/finishing quilts for wedding gifts.  Others were things I had fabric for but never made.

Closeup of fabric

     This top is one that I had the pattern for a few years and the fabric for even longer.  I liked the crossover knot and the long sleeves with thumbholes.  The fabric is a textured knit.  I had a little trouble getting the knot/crossover right.  I had to redo it once.  This fabric may have been a bit too heavy for the pattern as is seems to form a large lump in the front.  Probably a lighter weight knit would have worked better or possibly a larger opening.  Either way I still like the top and it is a nice warm over layer.

Pattern used

    

      I might try this again with a lighter weight knit just to see how it works.  My suggestion is to go slow and just follow the pictures along with the written directions to get the crossover right the first time.

Overnight Bags

 

Under the hoop

     Our son asked if I could embroider names on some overnight bags that the kids got for Christmas.  Of course I said yes.

Dinosaur bag

    Our son chose the font he wanted, a simple one that the kids could read.  Then the older grandson picked out his thread colorant we just chose white for the younger one.

Animal bag

     He had wanted the name on the pocket but there was no way to hoop it and not lose the use of the pocket.  As it was, I had to use the under the hoop method because I couldn't hoop the bag and sticky paper wasn't working either.  I hooped a heavy cutaway stabilizer and cut a window in it.  Then I pinned the bag to the underside of the hoop and placed it on the machine.  This works well for simple embroidery but may not do as well for more complex designs. 

Valentine T-shirts 2021

 

Race car Valentine

     The two older grandkids came by with their mom one Saturday.  They had bought some t-shirts and wanted a Valentine design on them.  We looked through my designs and my grandson chose a cool race car Valentine design.  He then helped pick out all the fabrics for the applique pieces.

Unicorn for Valentine's Day

     My granddaughter had a harder time choosing a design.  None of my Valentine designs appealed to her.  Instead she chose a unicorn design and she picked out a heart fabric for the body of the unicorn.  We then picked out the coordinating fabrics, mostly pink and purple since those are her favorite colors.

     I washed the t-shirts, ironed on a cut-away mesh stabilizer and then hooped the shirts for the embroidery.  The designs I used were from Designs by JuJu.  You can find the race car here and the unicorn design here.  I really like these designs as they always turn out great.

Christmas Gifts 2020 Part 4

 

Half and half sheets for the bed

     The last of the gifts I made for Christmas 2020 was two sets of sheets for my son and daughter-in-law.  This was a special request from them.  My daughter-in-law loves flannel sheets for the winter while my son does not.  They picked out two sets of sheets which we then bought.  Then it was time to get to work.

Label for easy bed making

Tacking down the elastic

      First I pre-washed the sheets.  Then my husband and I placed them on our bed so I knew which was the top/bottom and which was the side.  After we did that and I was getting ready to start cutting, I found these labels in the elastic edge.  So smart of them as we always seem to put on our sheets the wrong way the first time.  Before I started cutting, I tacked down the elastic on either side of the cut so it wouldn't disappear.  

Cutting the sheet apart

     I carefully cut each bottom/fitted sheet in half which wasn't that easy with the elastic scrunching it up. 

Serged seam

     I then sewed a regular sheet half to a flannel sheet half with about a 3/8 inch seam allowance so as not to lose too much of the width.  I then serged the seam to prevent fraying.  After that, I pressed the seam to one side and top stitched it down to be sure everything was smooth.

Topstitching down the seam

     I then cut the top sheets in half.  After determining which side they each slept on, I sewed the two halves back together.  One set was easy as I used the left of one and the right of the other.  The second one was trickier as I had to undo the side hems, sew up those edges and then redo the side hems.  That kept the top and bottom hems in the right place.  The flannel top sheet was a little longer so I just folded up a little on the bottom to make them the same length.  

Sewing the edges together

     In the above photo you can see where I undid the side hems and pressed everything flat to sew them back together.  

     It may look a little funny on the bed, but they are enjoying their new custom sheets.

Bottom sheet and pillows on the bed

     Of course I couldn't not do some embroidery.  For the pillowcases I chose to embroider His and Hers.  I had a design in my stash that was for fall with leaves on it.  I used my software to remove some of the colors and it now looked more like some snow.

Before editing

After editing

     I pulled colors to match the sheets and embroidered the four pillowcases.  It was a fun project, one I wouldn't have thought of but it does make a lot of sense.

Embroidered pillowcases