Aprons, potholders and pinchers!

Lately, I've been watching a lot of cooking shows and although I'm not a cook, (anyone that knows me  can attest to that!)  I do think putting on a cute apron and having matching potholders is definitely going to make me more motivated in the kitchen, it's kinda like excercising, you don't feel like going to the gym if you don't cute gym clothes to exercise in, and once  you get the cute clothes, you have to go, if nothing else, but to show them off!!  Well, I suppose I have no excuse now, I made two aprons so far, and one potholder and one pincher.   Since I didn't have a pattern for pinchers, I had to make my own.  I had to draw them out first.... well, take a look.....

The first one I drew looked more like a maxi pad!   I didn't even cut that out, the second one wasn't big enough, the third one was better, but  I really didn't enjoy making pinchers, I don't think I'll be making many more.  I made a potholder/trivet, that was better, but I found it to be too tedious and binding the corners really put me over the edge, enough of that! I may make more potholders, but not so detailed.

I also made a potholder/trivet.  I really like the colors, I wanted to add red to the apron, but got talked out of it by my husband, I should have stuck to my instincts.

Next is the apron, I enjoyed making this apron and plan to make more.

The last apron, I changed things up a bit, I changed the pockets and added a ruffle, I also plan on making a potholder/trivet and maybe an oven mitt, but I have to recover from the first set!

What do you do with left over scraps?

I tend to have lots of scraps left over from my sewing projects....not enough to make a top or anything like that, but in the past I made coin purses, wristlets, anything small that didn't require a lot of fabric.  Since I started sewing with knits, I have lots of it left over.  Now, I must admit, I don't know a lot of small projects you can make with knit.  I've been reading posts about making your own underwear, but  I haven't been able to find a pattern that I like, so I thought I would just take apart a pair of underwear that I know fits, so I did just that.  I was pretty surprised with the outcome.   I tried regular elastic, lingerie elastic, but my favorite and easiest by far is foldover elastic

This was left over from the very first top I made, before I got a serger and before I figured out what size I needed to cut out, it actually turned out to big.  But the panties turned out great!

You might recognize this fabric, I made a self drafted tee from this fabric, the panties fit a lot better than the tee did!

 I actually haven't made a top from this fabric, but if you notice the crotch is a  blue cotton knit which I made a self drafted tee.

I was really surprised with the outcome, I love my panties, and they cost next to nothing to make, I think I love that more than anything.  Do you have any left over fabric?   I would love to hear what projects you make with your scraps.

Blank Tee

I think I may have another favorite pattern!  It's simple, fast to make and best of all.....it's free, yes, I said free.  I've come across this pattern several times, but always overlooked it, mostly because it's so much like another free pattern I downloaded a few months back.  But I decided I should give it a chance and take a closer look.  I'm so glad I did.  It may look like a t-shirt I've made in the past, but it differs in that it has neck and sleeve bindings that give it a more finished look.  I really like it and can be finished in an hour or so, if you don't have many distractions (tv, phone, etc)

I like that it has a more fitted look.

I'd like to say I did a pretty good job matching up the wavy lines on the side seam, but it just luck!  I wasn't even thinking of it at the time!

I used my serger to hem the bottom.  Have I mentioned how much I love my serger?!