Floor Cushion

After I hurt my back, I had to change my chair with a more ergonomic one, i had to change my sitting habits and I found myself in need of a floor cushion, to rest my feet on.

It was pure serendipity, that just recently, in Knitted Bliss's blog, I came upon a floor cushion pattern and photo tutorial, posted by Bernina.

Of course, their cushion is quite sophisticated, quilted and very colorful, I needed a practical and sturdy one, to be placed on the floor under my desk. So, I chose to make mine out of old jeans. I have a sack of these, that I have been collecting over the years - long ago, when the children were still small, I decided not to throw away, donate or otherwise dispose of old jeans, but to collect them and harvest the denim textile for various projects.

So, first I cut 16 wedges out of various old jeans and connected them to make the upper and bottom part of the cushion.

Then I cut a 10 cm wide side panel and connected the top and bottom pieces to the side panel, leaving an opening for the filling. However, when I filled the cushion, I found, that it was too big for my liking and I was kind of disheartened. I pushed the project aside and slept on it. In the morning, I decided to get rid of the side panel and make the cushion, using only the top and the bottom parts.

The disassembly was actually quite a slog, as first I had to remove all of the filling, then to rip the seams and on top of it - I had overlocked the seams between the side panel and the flower pieces together and all of that had to be ripped as well :(. When the last overlocking thread was finally removed, I overlocked individually the top and bottom pieces, sewed them together and filled in the cushion. My filling consists entirely from fabric cuttings from all the dozens of sewing projects I've completed lately. Such a filling is definitely much denser and heavier than the special cushion fillings which are store sold, but it works fine in my case, as the cushion I need has to be sturdy and heavy and stay in place.

I'm still thinking about how to approach the problem with cleaning of the cushion. If this floor cushion proves to be really just the thing I need, I might consider installing a long zipper and make the inside filling removable.

Denim Jacket for Gaby

Right after I finished my denim jacket in January I planned another one for Gaby and it was only a question of finding the right fabric before I made it. Of course, the second time cutting it and sewing it was much easier and, having had the experience of wearing my jacket all spring, I made some changes to the pattern.

The jacket is cropped and I had cropped it further for myself, as I am short. It is perfectly fine for my height, but as Gaby is taller, I went back to the original size 18 length and added further 2 cm below the waist. I also returned to the original widths, as mine proved to be a  tad too narrow for wearing more voluminous tops underneath, so hers is the original size 18 width too.

The pattern - Burda 109 from 02/2010, was on my Make Nine list, but I'm not sure if making it twice counts as two items from that list :) Anyway, it is a really well drafted tailored short denim jacket and i still would recommend it to anyone in the market for such a jacket.

Pattern: Burda #109 02/2010

Size: 18, modified

Fabric: denim

Time to make: one week

 

Another slight difference from my own version of the pattern, is that this time I used  denim with elastane, which I hope would add to the comfort value of the jacket; and, on quite a different note, I experimented with the decorative stitching. I had read, that one could use regular thread for decorative denim stitching, but threading it double from two bobbins into the same needle. Well, it works and was actually easier to sew that the thick cotton thread, sold for this specific aim - while my machine struggled with the tension of the thick thread, it took quite nicely the thinner thread, coming from two bobbins. And apart from better looking seams, this opens the possibility for cheaper and easier accessible decorative seams in numerous colors.

I heard from Gaby last night and she told me that the jacket fitted her beautifully and she already wore it to Uni together with a couple of her new blouses.

Denim Pinafore

And here are the last two items I made for Gaby this spring - a denim jacket and a denim pinafore I managed to cut from the remnants of the jacket.

 

The pinafore is based heavily on a RTW pinafore in Gaby's wardrobe. The upper part of the pinafore and the pockets I copied directly from the RTW item and for the skirt I used a Burda pattern I have already made once - Burda skirt 6252.

I had a small piece of fabric left after I made the jacket. I could place the main pieces of the pinafore, but  I couldn't cut the pockets in one piece. Still I thought the pinafore would be unthinkable without big pockets, so I made a compromise and cut them out of two pieces and made the connecting lines a feature.

Pattern: Burda 6252, modified based on RTW pinafore

Size: 34

Fabric: denim with elastane 

Time to make: 4 days

I was so short of fabric, that I had to make the inside of the belt out of an old pair of jeans - I really like to use up fabric to the very last piece :)

The pinafore came out looking almost exactly as the original, but if I were to make it again, I would choose a different pattern for the skirt, as this one is rather trapezoid, narrow at the hips and too wide at the hem. I do hope it will fit Gaby, as this blind sewing is a bit of a gamble, especially with close fitting items.

Denim Jacket

Ta-da! The first finished sewing item for 2022 and the first of my Make Nine - the denim jacket.

We were very lucky today, that the weather cleared a bit, the sun shone brightly and the temperatures rose from -10C in the morning to about 4C in the early afternoon, when we took these photos in the local park. Of course, we had a nice stroll afterwards, basking in the sun, and of course, I had my winter jacket on right after the last photo was taken :))

The pattern is Burda #109 02/2010, a cropped denim jacket, designed for shorter women (height 160 cm). I chose size 18 (S) and made a proper muslin first. Based on my muslin, I narrowed the back by 2 cm, shortened the sleeves by 2 cm and shortened the sleeve heads by 2 cm. 

I had a very small piece of denim fabric I took from the scraps bin almost for pennies last summer. I never imagined it would be enough for a jacket, I took it with the idea to make a mixed fabric denim jacket as I saw in Knip Mode last year. However, I was able to squeeze almost the entire thing out of this small unevenly cut piece (between 75 and 85 cm long, 150 cm wide), only the inner piece of the collar is cut from old jeans.

Another modification I made to the pattern - I made the yoke pieces single layer. I would have done it even if I wasn't short of fabric, as I think this is a warm weather piece and the double yoke out of denim would have been redundant. 

General first impression - a very good pattern, which I would definitely recommend. Because of the cold weather outside I am modelling it with jeans and boots, but I think it will be perfect with spring and summer dresses. 

Pattern: Burda #109 02/2010

Size: 18, modified

Fabric: denim

Time to make: two weeks

I definitely like the tailored design of the jacket and I think Gaby might like one for herself too, if she needs a light and cropped denim jacket.

A view from the park to the snow covered peaks of Vitosha:

Denim Backpack

My latest make and I am very, very happy with it - a denim backpack. For this make I used parts out of five different pairs of old jeans and a very clear and easy to follow youtube tutorial.

The backpack is about 30 cm high and 25 cm wide, with three pockets on the outside (each having a smaller pocket on top) and an internal zippered pocket on the inside.

Two denim straps with D-rings and 3-glides and a denim handle:

My daughter asked for some color and I added a flower from the facing cotton fabric. I secured the ends of the flower with transparent nail polish and glued it to the pocket. No idea how it will fare in the laundry.

One thing I intend to change is the red string. I intended to buy another string, but I've reached the conclusion that these plastic strings cheapen the look of the backpack, so I intend to make a denim string these days.

I am especially proud of my rivets - don't they look professional!

My first zippered pocket! It turned out not so difficult to make it and I am glad I made it the difficult way - my previous backpacks and bags had simple pockets. To make the backpack more sturdy, the bottom of the lining is also out of denim with fusible.

I'm looking forward to the end of the quarantine, so that we'll be able to go out again and use our new makes :)

Denim Pencil Case

A small project I sewed these last days - a new pencil case. Both of my children are already in university, but my nephew is still in school and I thought he might like a new pencil case for the beginning of the new school year. I used three different color old jeans and the labels from one of the pairs to add some color and interest to the case. The pouch is basically the same as an old one I made for Gaby years ago and I followed the same photo tutorial.

: The case is fairly big and it fits quite a lot of drawing supplies

: The final dimensions are 26 cm x 14 cm x 5 cm

: First I made a rectangle out of five straps of denim 5 x 31 cm and then I cut a second solid color rectangle 18 x 31 cm.

: All four rectangles - the outer denim layer and the inner cotton ranforce layers are lined with fusible.

: As my nephew lives on the Black sea coast, the idea was to have a sea theme - various colors of blue, fish on the jeans label and anchors on the ranforce lining.

: I hope he likes his new pencil case.

Aikido Weapon Bag

Last October Gaby enrolled in an Aikido club and she recently bought her own wooden weapons. I thought it would be fun instead of buying the standard black polyester weapon bag to make her a personalized weapon bag out of two of her old pairs of jeans. I confess - I am extremely proud how this bag came out!

The bag is intended for keeping and carrying three wooden weapons - jo, bokken and tanto:

I used the entire length of the first pair of jeans to make the case, cutting four straight rectangular pieces from the bottom of the legs up to the cutting for the pockets. The case is fully lined with cotton textile with reinforced denim bottom. For the lining I used remains from a piece of fabric for a table cloth I made a few years ago:

The case closes with adjustable cotton string:

The pocket and the pocket flap for the tanto are also lined with cotton. The embroidery comes from the second pair of jeans:

The only new material I bought - the strap. Gaby was insistent that she didn't want it to be adjustable, so I I discarded the metal rings I had bought for a simple strap adjustment system and just sewed the strap to the side pieces. She claims it's more comfortable this way.

The bottom is reinforced with additional layers of denim. I hope to get a few pictures of the bag in action, but until then - just these a few detail pictures I managed to snap before she took the bag and carried it away to the dojo.