Project #3: Footstool Slipcover with Piping

This slipcover has nice piping detail.

This slipcover has nice piping detail.

A little more than a month ago I bought a sewing desk and stool set at the Salvation Army. The desk was in great condition, but the stool top; the cushion , was a duct taped mess. I originally thought about just ripping off and redoing the cushion, but then, I came across this footstool slipcover in a new book called Stitch Savvy  and felt that this would make a better solution.

As with most slipcover patterns, you need to do the measuring and mathematics yourself. My advice, triple check everything, because it is easy to make a mistake. Once measured you’ll need to figure out the size to cut out. This stool is rectangular, so it is important to make sure you sew your “tube” together correctly. I didn’t see any mention of this in the pattern instructions.

Footstool cover

Fresh and oh-so-very-me!

I would say the most challenging part is adding the piping. It’s a scary task, but it’s more a matter of going slowly than really being “hard to do”. By taking my time and making sure everything lined up nicely, I think I got a fairly good result.

One thing that perplexed me about this pattern was the use of packaged bias tape to make the piping. I don’t get it? If I am going to buy bias tape, well, I might as well buy the pre-made piping, at stores here, they are the same price (bias tape and piping). If I am going to make the piping myself, I might as well make the bias tape myself too. That’s my thought process.

Book: Stitch Savvy: 25 Skill-Building Projects to Take Your Sewing Technique to the Next Level

Project: Footstool Slipcover with Piping

Fabric: “Wild Things” canvas (from Fabric.com)
Notions: Piping in light blue
Thread: Gutermann 100% polyester col: 10

Difficulty: Some challenges
Sew again: Probably not

Project #1: All-You-Need Sewing Kit

The ribbon trimming sweetly accents Amy Butlers fabulous Full Moon Dot

The ribbon trimming sweetly accents Amy Butlers fabulous Full Moon Dot

I have a couple dozen sewing books on my bookshelf, but I find that I don’t use them very often. I gravitate to the same books over and over again, while perfectly enticing projects in other books lay neglected and unused. This year I’ve decided to complete at least one project from each book I own. This will not only allow me to peruse all of my investments, but to really get a sense of what I do, and do not like when it comes to pattern books.

My first project is from the first sewing book ever I purchased, some 2 years ago, heck, 2 sewing machines ago! One-Yard Wonders: 101 Sewing Fabric Projects caught my eye from the day I first thumbed through its pages of fascinating projects. It was perfect for me; a new sewist, struggling to figure out how to wind a bobbin, let alone use one of my precious fabric pieces to make something.

One-Yard Wonders remains one of the books I flip through most, and it seems fitting that it would be the first project I work on this year. I chose the All-You-Need Sewing Kit because it seemed like something that would make a nice gift, or work as a hand-sewing kit to keep by the sofa.

I finally tied a bow I can be proud of!

I finally tied a bow I can be proud of!

The kit comes together fairly quickly once you get past the teenie-tiny double fold hem on each of the three pockets, but I found many of the steps took the “long” way of doing things. For example, the casing with the elastic requires creating the casing, turning it out and then adding in the elastic. I simply sewed the casing with the elastic enclosed. I found the same issue with the ties, instead of creating the ties, turning the out and then adding the trimming as instructed, I simply sewed the ties right side out, then attached the trimming over the seam.

In the end, though I think the sewing kit is cute, I find it too awkward when filled with sewing gear. That said,  I think this kit could be a sweet way to showcase antique sewing notions and maybe some old thread spools.

Book:  One-Yard Wonders: 101 Sewing Fabric Projects; Look How Much You Can Make with Just One Yard of Fabric!

Project: All-You-Need Sewing Kit

Fabric: .5 meters of Amy Butler Full Moon Dot in Slate (Etsy shop Bella Fabrics)
Trimming: 1″ ribbon, source unknown
Thread: Gutermann 100% Polester col: 610
Elastic: 1/2″ wide

Difficulty: Easy
Sew again: Probably Not