Pillow Case

We recently began remodeling the bedroom shared by my two youngest daughters, ages 8 and 12. My 8 year old needed a pillow case for her favorite pillow, so I sewed this one up for her.

Tension and Stitch Length (when sewing denim)

When using denim thread. My machine sews much better when I up the tension. This is especially true if I'm using the same heavy duty thread in the bobbin as well. You'll have to play with it on your machine to see what looks best. Test it out on a scrap of fabric that is the same or very similar to what you'll actually be sewing on for your project.

Just remember where the tension was to begin with and set it back there after you are done!

 

Here are examples of how the stitches look at different stitch lengths. For top stitching I always use a long stitch length. I just think it looks better and shows up better.

Ruffle Front Skirt

This is one of my all time favorites that I've made.

Dark blue jeans with striped panel, ruffled at the bottom in back and ruffled panel in front.

 

 

 

 

Paneled Circle and Half Circle Skirts

Circle skirt made from jelly roll strips that were pieced together. I then cut out the panels from this "fabric" that I "made" and added the black and white polka dot ruffle and heart applique.

 

 

Circle skirt made from men's button down shirts. Again I sewed together scraps to make "fabric" and cut out some of the panels. Some of the other panels are from the shirt fronts, some from the shirt backs.

 

This one is a half circle skirt made from two of my no longer wanted dresses.

 

Ice Skating Skirts

Made these for my little girls to match the shirt/vest combos for ice skating.

 

Panel Skirts

I made these skirts for myself using the top of a pair of jeans (dark one) and a pair of shorts (light one).  Legs off of several other pairs of jeans were used for the panels.

 

Rosey Ruffle Skirts

I made these for my girls. Basic jeans to skirt. Then added the ruffle and the denim roses.

 

Little Girls Skirts

These skirts were made by me for a friends little girl. The first two are made from jeans and the last one was made with denim fabric with button hole elastic in the waist band adjustable.



Basic Cheeta Print

From jeans to a skirt using cheetah print denim.

Just the basic skirt with the leg off a matching pair of jeans used as the insert.

I turned the legs at an angle so that the side seam from the extra skirt made the panel look like it was pieced together.

 

 

Skirt With Side Panels

This skirt is extra full because besides the regular inserts, I added side panel inserts too. I ripped out the side seams of the jeans and put in triangular panels to give it more fullness.

 

Fireworks Skirt

I made this skirt for my daughter quite a while ago.

We call it the fireworks skirt because she wore it to see the fireworks last year and because it reminded us of fireworks in the first place.

 

Just Below The Knee Skirt With Bottom Ruffle

This was a very unique pair of jeans to begin with.

I did have to put backing behind the "threadbare" out parts so the wouldn't be see through.

 

Baby Boy Blanket

This blanket was made for my niece in New York.

 

 

 

I added some jean pockets to each side. The one below is from the front top of a pair of Levi's. Its that little change pocket that's sticking out of your regular pocket.

 

Two Levi's pockets from the back of the jeans were placed on the diagonal on the other side at opposite ends. 

Cute binding with a checkerboard pattern.

 

Rolled up and tied with ribbon and jute. Toys peeking out of the pocket.

 

Baby Girl Blanket

 

I made this blanket for my niece in California. It is composed of two pieces of coordinating fabric attached with binding around the edge. I also embellished it with a flower on one side. These flowers come on a roll and you can find them at Wal-Mart with the trim and ribbon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transforming Jeans Into Skirts, A Photo Tutorial